Margaryta Turava wins the IAAF World Race Walking Challenge race in Sesto San Giovanni (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
The Belarussian Race Walking Championships took place on 15 April in this small, ancient town which lies some 112km from the capital Minsk, and produced some very impressive performances.
Despite cold, windy weather - the air temperature did not rise above +6 degrees - Ryta Turava established a national record of 1:26:11 in the women’s 20km, while in the men’s 20km, Andrei Talashko established a world season’s lead of 1:19:12.
WOMEN
200m after start of the women’s 20km, while negotiating one of the abrupt turns of the course in the city streets, Ryta Turava, the silver medallist at last summer’s World Championships in Helsinki, slipped on wet asphalt and lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Thankfully the incident didn’t upset Turava too much, and the overall winner of last season’s IAAF Race Walking Challenge title, was able to quickly jump to her feet. Her knees were grazed and she was quite shaken. Her reaction was immediately to put in a spurt of energy, and because of that from that very early moment in the race the 25-year-old Belarussian was alone in front, and remained unopposed throughout the remainder of the 20km.
Turava kept her motivation going throughout and she crossed the finish in 1:26:11, considerably quicker than the national record she had set when finishing second in Helsinki (1:27:05). In the present season only Olga Kaniskina from Russia has walked faster - 1:26:02 (Adler, 19.02.2006).
"I hadn't made any special preparation for the national championship,” confirmed Turava after the finish. “If I had not fallen I could have walked the distance even faster. Before the season I developed a good physical base, and I trained a lot with the leader of the men's national team, Ivan Trotskiy.”
“It is my second start to the season. The first was at the Race Walking Challenge in Rio Maior, but I felt bad during that race and therefore had to withdraw. I shall not go to Race Walking Challenge in China (22 April), and so I won't be able to repeat last year's success in IAAF Race Walking Challenge in 2005.”
“But I hope to compete in World Race Walking Cup in La Coruña, Spain (13 – 14 May) and if everything is alright, I want to establish a new World record.”
Ryta Turava and the other two podium placers - Elena Ginko (1:29:43) and Tatyana Metlevskaya (1:30:25) - will compose the Belarussian team in La Coruña. In reserve will be Snezhana Yurchenko (1:30:33) and Anastasiya Yatsevich (1:32:28), the fourth and the fifth place finishers at the National championship.
MEN
Andrei Talashko made the pace in the men’s 20km race walk in a similar style to Turava’s win in the women’s 20km.
In absence of Ivan Trotskiy, the top Belarussian before this race, the 23-year-old Andrei Talashko, who is a native of Nesviz, was the outstanding winner of the national title. He went further and further away from the field with every kilometre and finished in 1:19:12, the fastest in the world this year by 15 seconds.
Andrei Talashko, along with the silver and bronze medallists - Sergey Chernov (1:20:11) and Nikolay Seredovich (1:20:34) – make up the La Coruña team.
The 21-year-old Vadim Tivanchuk who finished sixth in 1:23:46 is reserve.
Andrey Stepanchuk, who was fourth (1:23:00), will represent Belarus at the 50km in La Coruña.
In junior races, for the women’s 10km, Olga Mazurenok (45:17) and Anna Drabenja (46:01), and for the men’s 10km, Dmitry Gamzunov (41.06) and Denis Kravchuk (41.37), will compose the La Coruña line-up.
Mikhail Dubitski for the IAAF
RESULTS
MEN
20Km
1 Andrei Talashko 1:19:12
2 Sergey Chernov 1:20:11
3 Nikolay Seredovich 1:20:34
4 Andrey Stepanchuk 1:23:00
5 Victor Ginko 1:23:19
6 Vadim Tivanchuk 1:23:46
Junior 10Km
1 Dmitry Gamzunov 41:06
2 Denis Kravchuk 41:37
3 Alexander Ljahovich 42:01
WOMEN
20Km
1 Ryta Turava 1:26:11
2 Elena Ginko 1:29:43
3 Tatyana Metlevskaya 1:30:25
4 Snezhana Yurchenko 1:30:33
5 Anastasiya Yatsevich 1:32:28
6 Alla Bozhka 1:34:55
Junior 10Km
1 Olga Mazurenok 45:17
2 Anna Drabenja 46:01
3 Christina Asipenko 47:21
