Walking Events at the Olympics
The 20km for both men and women and the 50km walk for men only are the two walking events that are contested as part of the track and field discipline during the Olympics. Though both of these racewalking events were introduced much later, there has been some form of a walking race held in every Olympics since 1908 until the current distances were standardized. See more information about the discontinued walking events at the Olympics.
20km walk event
The men's event was introduced in 1956 and the women's event started more recently at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Though the men's race has had a lot of parity, the women's event, in its short history has belonged to the Russians who have won the gold medals in the last two Olympics, 2012 and 2008.
Chen Ding of China holds the current men's Olympic record at 1:18:46 set during the 2012 London Olympics. Elena Lashmanova from Romania holds the women's record at 1:25:02, which is also the current world record, set at the 2012 London Games.
racewalkers50km walk event
The 50km walk event was introduced into the Olympics in 1932. Robert Korzeniowski, who won the gold medal in three consecutive Olympics, 1996, 2000 and 2004, is the most notable athlete of the event. No other man has won the gold medal more than once.
Sergey Kirdyapkin of Russia holds the current Olympic record of 3:35:59 set at the 2012 London Games.
The 50km walk will be removed from the Olympic Games athletics program, starting in 2024.
Related Pages
- Long distance events at the Olympics
- Discontinued walking events at the Olympics
- Marathon at the Olympics
- About Track and Field at the Olympics
- The Greatest T&F Athletes at the Olympics.
- List of Olympic Sports
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