Previews16 May 2007


European Cup of Race Walking - PREVIEW

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Ryta Turava on her way to victory in Sesto San Giovanni (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)

Leamington Spa, UKFor the first time in a major championship, spectators will have the luxury of watching all of the race walking, all of the time.

The homely and very English Victoria Park in Leamington Spa might not boast the fastest circuit – but thanks to a mere 1km loop visible throughout – it should be the most user-friendly for the seventh European Cup of Race Walking which will be held this Sunday 20 May.

Thanks to changes in course restrictions, the race is a break from the traditional 2km lap which demanded that walkers disappear down long roads only to reappear some time later.

If the experiment works, Leamington will be the model for exciting shorter circuits with the possibility of fans lined the whole length.

The microchip is also a reason why recorders don’t fear a Sunday morning nightmare of up to 93 walkers in two different races streaming by at the same time. The tagging device attached to walkers’ shoes means there is practically no chance of a mix-up in lap counts. Although if everyone finishes all three races - the junior 10ks are back-to-back - there will have been 3350 circuits notched up by midday alone.

Fortunately for the races themselves, only one event looks a foregone conclusion.

WOMEN’s 20km

It will be a major surprise if Ryta Turava doesn’t sweep all in front of her in the women’s 20km.

The World Cup titleholder and European champion won the prestigious Sesto San Giovanni IAAF Race Walking Challenge title in March only two seconds outside the 1:27:10 she set in Gothenburg last year.

The Belarussian triumphed in Italy by 31 seconds, and such is her dominance of the event she could have the distinction of being close to lapping the entire field in Leamington if circumstances are right.

The race for places should be tighter.

Italian Elisa Rigaudo, the European Cup bronze medallist in 2005, is one of the few to have tasted victory on the park course when she won the Grand Prix event here nearly a year ago, while Germany’s Melanie Seeger and Sabine Zimmer have shown early 2007 form. The silver medallist two years ago, Susan Feitor of Portugal, is also entered.

As usual the Russians will have a strong team, and newcomer Alena Nartova might be the outsider to force a way on to the podium.

For all that, look no further than Italy or Russia for the team title.

MEN’s 20km

It depends on who you are with regards to the men’s 20km.

The organisers would have liked double European champion Francisco Javier Fernandez, the 2006 World Cup winner to attack his own Leamington course record. But the nearest the Spaniard will get to the Midlands town is courtesy of sending coach and legendary walker Robert Korzeniowski, who has taken up his invitation to attend.

However, it opens up the way for a fascinating race with any one of seven walkers realistically able to lay a claim to the title.

The man in form is Erik Tysse. The Norwegian will be very disappointed if he doesn’t drastically improve his eighth place at the last Cup final in Miskolc in Hungary two years ago.

Tysse notched a sparkling 1:21:38 to win Sesto San Giovanni, although Russians, Viktor Burayev and 20-year-old Valeriy Borchin, have already recorded sub 80-minute times at their country’s winter championships in February.

Two previous winners in Leamington will also be treading on heels at the front.

European champion Yohan Diniz won in the park just prior to his surprise European 50km triumph in Gothenburg last year, and Irishman Robbie Heffernan was back to his best when he took 11th at the super-fast IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Shenzen, China, in March.

German Andre Hohne is in good form, and if Ivan Brugnetti is in the mood, the Italian Olympic champion has more than enough to ask questions of those around him. Juan Manuel Molina of Spain the silver medallist in 2005 is also entered.

Team-wise Russia should be top the podium – dependent on how the judges call it, but Korzeniowski should enjoy the legacy of his fabulous career by watching a solid Polish team collect a medal of some colour.

MEN’s 50km

Like the men’s 20km race, the 50km is also missing the number one favourite.

Alex Schwazer came within 17 seconds of breaking Australian Nathan Deakes’ World record in February, which itself was only two months old. The Italian notched a head-turning 3:36:04, but the effort took its toll and leaves the way clear for Aleksey Voyevodin to win back-to-back European Cup titles.

The consistent Russian has mostly played second fiddle to Korzeniowski in his career - but he still one of only two men on the Leamington list to have gone under the magical 3:40:00 mark.

The other is former World champion Jesus Angel Garcia of Spain, who took European silver last summer. In an endurance event where form goes out of the window as fatigue and mental doubt kick in, 36-year-old Garcia’s awkward style inevitably sees him fighting to the front when it matters.

Vladimir Kanaykin’s best marks should have seen the Russian with more to show for his efforts. But the dreaded judge’s red disc has largely been the difference between a major win and another disappointment. Should he survive scrutiny, the 22-year-old who was runner-up two year's ago will almost certainly be in the shake-up for a medal.

However, the most likely challenger to Voyovedin is Trond Nymark. The Norwegian led for a long while in the European Championships only to despair as three faster finishers, including Diniz and Garcia, swept by.

Should Nymark get his pace judgment right this time, he will get some consolation for his demise in the rain at Gothenburg.

The two junior races also pack the day’s programme, with the inevitable charge led by Russian teams in both events.

Paul Warburton for the IAAF

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