Robert Korzeniowski of Poland wins the 50km walk (© Getty Images)
Tijuana, MexicoThe northern city of Tijuana, situated on the USA-Mexican border, will host the inaugural event of the 2004 IAAF Race Walking Challenge this weekend. The Challenge which includes seven scoring events will reach its climax at the Olympic Games in Athens, August 13-29.
169 athletes representing 18 countries have so far registered for the Grand Prix Internacional de Marcha in Tijuana, including the fastest walkers in history: Ecuador's Jefferson Perez (20km) and Poland's Robert Korzeniowski (50km).
Both walkers lead the foreign challenge against the Mexican armada, headed by Sydney Olympic silver medallist Noe Hernandez. The competition has special significance for the host country as the Tijuana results will determine the national team for the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Naumburg, Germany, May 1-2.
Men’s 20km race
Robert Korzeniowski conducted a successful training camp with other European walkers in the central state of Queretaro, tuning up for the first major test of the year. The 35-year old Pole, who is undoubtedly the best race walker ever, showed great early season form with three indoor wins in France, Poland and Northern Ireland. He also came close to his 11-year old personal best over 5000m walk with a 18:38.79 clocking in Belfast on 15 February.
Tijuana will be the first international outing of the season for Jefferson Perez who has been recovering from a breathing problem and a minor nose surgery earlier this year.
Noe Hernandez is Mexico's best bet as last year's winner Bernardo Segura's participation is a question mark. Hernandez has been close to the medals in the last two major race walking events, finishing twice fourth in the 2002 Turin World Cup and the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris.
Alejandro Lopez, the 2002 World Cup bronze medallist and tenth place finisher in Paris, is another strong contender in the local squad.
The men's 20km also features Italy's 1995 World champion Michele Didoni, Ivano Brugnetti, the 1999 50km World champion, Lorenzo Civallero, eleventh in the French capital, as well as Guatemala's Julio Rene Martinez, who set the world road best (1:17.46) in 1999.
Spain's Francisco Javier Fernandez, the European champion and Paris silver medallist, will be the biggest absentee. Fernandez will be out of training for six weeks to recover from a stress fracture in his right leg. He will also miss the World Cup in Germany.
Men’s 50km race
Russia, one of the world's leading Race Walking countries, will be represented by Vasiliy Ivanov in the 20km and Nikolay Matyukhin in the 50km.
But the longer event looks to be in Spain's three-time World Championships medallist Jesus Angel Garcia's hands. Garcia claimed a clear win last year in Tijuana, but he will be threatened again by the best local specialists, including World Championships bronze medallists Edgar Hernandez (2001) and Miguel Angel Rodriguez (1997), Paris 12th place finisher and Pan American champion German Sanchez, Rogelio Sanchez, Omar Zepeda, Claudio Vargas and Miguel Solis, among others.
Women’s 20km race
The women's field promises to be a European battle for top positions with Ireland’s Gillian O’Sullivan, Italy's Elisabeta Perrone and Portugal's Susana Feitor as the clear favourites. Australia's two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jane Saville should also provide a strong challenge.
Winner of last year’s Tijuana meeting, O’Sullivan accomplished her best season ever in 2003, claiming the silver medal in Paris. The 27-year old Irish also topped the overall IAAF Challenge standings.
Perrone, the 2001 Edmonton World Championships bronze medallist and 1996 Atlanta Olympic runner-up, should pose serious opposition, as well as the Portuguese Feitor, the only competitor who participated in all scoring events in 2003 to claim the fourth place overall. Feitor, Saville and Perrone raced in Tijuana last year, finishing third, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Victoria Palacios and Rosario Sanchez, first and second at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, will be the best Mexican representatives. Bolivia's Geovana Irusta, the South American champion, also hopes to be among the top 10.
Russia’s chances will be defended by Antonina Petrova and Tatyana Korotkova.
“Race walking is alive”
As Tijuana continues to welcome the world's race walking elite for the first event of the IAAF Challenge, race director Jose Antonio Baltazar highlighted a better organisation in all areas compared to last year and "there is a great atmosphere in the city expecting the races this weekend."
"We want to offer a great show to the public, to prove that race walking is alive and that it will continue in the Olympic programme," he added.
Organisers aim to attract more than the 12.000 crowd that followed the Tijuana action during two days last year. Cool temperatures are expected this weekend, ranging from 6-8 degree Celsius at 6.00am to 16-18 degrees at noon, thus favouring fast times.
The course will be the same as last year: 2km out and back on the Paseo de los Heroes Avenue from the Monumento de las Dos Culturas to the Monumento a Bejanmin Franklin.
Action will start Saturday at 8.00 with the women's 20km, followed two hours later by the men's 20km. The 50km event will be held on Sunday at 6.00 am.
Tijuana is following Mexico's tradition in organising major athletic events. The country formerly hosted the 1968 Olympic Games (Mexico City), 1993 IAAF World Race Walking Cup (Monterrey) and the 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships (Veracruz).
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
