Men 50km race start (© IAAF)
MonteCarloIn a major new initiative to promote the discipline of Race Walking, the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, an annual event for both men and women will be inaugurated in 2003, with the first of six scoring events to be held in Tijuana, Mexico on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March, and an opening ceremony on Friday 7 March 2003.
The IAAF Race Walking Challenge 2003, which will culminate at the IAAF World Championships in Paris in August, will be a truly worldwide spectacle, visiting venues in Portugal, Italy, China and Spain, following the debut event in Mexico.
The six events will stage their races over standard distances and can be on either road or track courses – road: men - 20km or 50km and women - 10km or 20km; track: men - 20,000m or 50,000m.
A straightforward points system – 10 for the winner, 9 for second place, 8 for third etc…will make the challenge easy to follow during the course of the year, with rankings based upon the addition of the three best results achieved by athletes in any of the competitions.
Prize money will be substantial, with US $30,000 awarded to first place, $20,000 for second place and $15,000 for third…, graduating down to $5,000 for an eighth place finish.
The six scoring events are as follows – date, venue, distances (W - Women; M - Men)
8/9 March - Tijuana (MEX): 20km W + 20 km M + 50 km M
5 April - Rio Major (POR): 20 km W + 20 km M
1 May - Sesto San Giovanni (ITA): 20 km W + 20 km M
24/25 May - Shanghai (CHN): 20 km W + 20 km M
7 June - La Coruòa (ESP): 20 km W + 20 km M
23 -31 August - Paris/St Denis (FRA): 20 km W + 20 km M + 50 km M (IAAF World Championships)
IAAF