Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
The World Athletics Race Walking Tour is a racewalking series organised by World Athletics. Athletes accumulate points in specific race walk meetings during the season. Performances in 10 kilometres race walk, 20 kilometres race walk and 50 kilometres race walk count towards athlete's final scores. Since 2011, racewalking performances at the World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games count towards the series. Women have competed in the 50 km distance since 2018.
Matej Tóth is a Slovak race walker. He is a former Olympic champion in the 50 km walk.
Wang Zhen is a Chinese race walker who specialises in the 10 kilometres and 20 kilometres race walk. He holds the senior Asian record for the 20 km with his time of 1:17:36 hours and is also the Asian, Chinese and junior world record holder over 10 km. He was the bronze medallist over 20 km at the 2012 London Olympics and the gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The 50 kilometre race walk was an Olympic athletics event that first appeared in 1932 and made its final Olympic appearance in 2021. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it.
Cristian Andrés Chocho León is an Ecuadorian race walker who competes in both the 20 km and 50 km walk events. He is the South American record holder in the 50 km and 20,000 metres walking events.
Máté Helebrandt is a Hungarian racewalker. He competed in the 20 km walk at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he placed 32nd, and the 2016 Olympics where he came 28th in the same event.
Race walking events at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. There were three race walking events in the 2020 Summer Olympics: a men's and a women's 20 kilometres walk, and a men's 50 kilometres walk. The races were held in a final-only format.
Veli-Matti "Aku" Partanen is a Finnish racewalker who competes mostly at the 50 kilometres race walk. Partanen's club is Lappeenrannan Urheilumiehet.
Teodorico Caporaso is a male Italian racewalker who won four international medals at senior level at the race walk competitions. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 50 km walk.
Sandeep Kumar is an Indian racewalker. He competed in the 50 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China.
Carl Dohmann is a male German racewalker. He competed in the 50 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, but did not finish. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 50 km walk, but did not finish the race.
Rhydian Cowley is an Australian race walker born in Glen Waverley, Victoria who specialises in the 50 kilometres race walk and 20 kilometres race walk. Cowley competed in the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. For both of his major championship competitions, Cowley qualified in the 20 kilometres race walk. He has also competed at a Summer Universiade, five World Race Walking Cups, and a World Junior Championships. In 2021, he competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where he finished in 8th in the men's 50 kilometres walk with a new personal best time of 3:52.01 just 113 seconds behind the eventual winner Dawid Tomala of Poland.
The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 5 August 2021 in Sapporo. Approximately 60 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the number qualifying through time. The reigning champion is Wang Zhen of China.
The men's 50 kilometres walk event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 August 2021 in Sapporo. 59 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter athletes in addition to the number qualifying through time.
Dzmitry Mikhailavich Dziubin is a Belarusian male racewalking athlete. He was the bronze medallist in the 50 kilometres race walk at the 2018 European Athletics Championships and won silver medals in that event at the European Race Walking Cup and Military World Games in 2019. He has represented Belarus twice at the World Athletics Championships and is a five-time participant at the World Race Walking Team Championships.
Hayato Katsuki is a Japanese racewalker. In 2018, he won the gold medal in the men's 50 kilometres walk event at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
