Ilya Markov (RUS) - 1999 World champion and 2001 silver medallist - 20km Race Walk (© Getty Images)
With the 2007 IAAF Race Walking Challenge offering prize money for the overall best 8 ranked athletes totalling more than $200,000 in addition to a $150,000 prize purse for each race at the World Championships in Osaka, and significant rewards at each individual event, this year’s Challenge which begins this coming weekend (10 / 11 March) in Naucalpan, Mexico, looks set to be more competitive, and bigger, than ever.
Race Walkers from Russia, the leading nation in the discipline in recent years, have mainly concentrated on qualification for European Cup competitions in the spring and the World Championships in the summer, which is unsurprising considering the supreme standards required to get into their teams.
Leamington and Osaka selection
This year’s Russian Winter Walks Championships, held in Adler on 17 February, were no exception with the top six men inside the previous world leading time at 20km, while the top seven women completed the 20km faster than the previous best walked so far this year.
The men’s 20km was won the 2006 European Championship silver medal winner Valeriy Borchin in a time of 1:18:56, 25 seconds ahead of the 2005 European Under 23 champion Igor Yerokhin, and a minute and one second clear of the 2001 World Championship 20km Race Walk bronze medallist Viktor Burayev.
In the women’s 20km, Alena Nartova improved by 20 seconds and four places compared to the same event last year to win in a time of 1:28:31, ahead of 2003 World University Games champion Tatyana Sibileva (1:28:51) and 2006 European silver medalist and 2006 Russian Winter champion Olga Kaniskina (1:29:02).
The event served as the qualifier for the European Cup of Race Walking to be contested in Leamington, Great Britain, on 20 May.
However, the Russian summer championships in Cheboksary in mid-June will offer final qualification opportunities for the World Championships in Osaka.
The three race walks in the World Championships are part of the IAAF Challenge, and each has $150,000 overall prize money on offer.
Markov - near miss in 2006
A Russian race walker that has blazed a trail in the IAAF Challenge is Ilya Markov, who last year was pipped for the overall Race Walking Challenge prize by the narrowest of margins by Francisco Javier Fernández of Spain.
Despite beating Fernández in China, and winning in the Sesto San Giovanni (ITA) meet, Markov lost out by virtue of achieving one less victory than the Spaniard. However, Markov was, perhaps, unfortunate since he could not contest the deciding race, the World Cup in La Coruña, as he wasn’t selected having not competed in the 2006 Russian Winter championship.
Markov was born in 1972 in Asbest, a city known for the extraction of minerals and located on the eastern slopes of the Urals in the Sverdlovsk region. His major honours include silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and 2001 World championships and gold in the 1999 World Championships in Seville. He also claimed the 1998 European Championship and 2005 European Cup titles.
With Robert's assistance
As with Fernández, Markov is coached by Robert Korzeniowski, for whom he attributed his successful 2006 season.
“Robert helped me a lot in my preparation” said Markov after his victory in Sesto San Giovanni. “We have been friends for many years. He is the best in the history of walking events.”
Markov now lives in Poland, and following the lead of Korzeniowski, who won the first two IAAF Challenge titles in 2003 and 2004, Ilya was fourth in the 2005 Challenge as well as gaining the second prize last year.
Also as with Fernández, all Markov’s walking successes to date have come in the 20km event, although last year he did attempt to qualify for the European Championships 50km but failed to make the distance in the Russian summer championships.
Failed to finish...again
Last month in Adler he started the men’s winter long distance championship over 35km, but again didn’t finish after reaching 20km alongside the 2005 World 50km champion Sergey Kirdyapkin.
The race was eventually won by Vladimir Kanaykin, for the fourth consecutive year, in 2:26:09, ahead of Kirdyapkin (2:28:47) and Oleg Kistkin (2:30:28).
The end of the 2006 season, in the unique market square setting of Krakow, Poland, offered some recompense for Markov, as he defeated Fernández over 10km in the ninth annual ‘Na Rynek marsz!’ meeting.
The tenth edition, this year on 23 June to be contested over 20km, has been upgraded to IAAF Race Walking Challenge status as part of the expansion of the series.
With home advantage there, as well as the final back in Russia on 29 September, Markov will look to be in position for the Challenge title at this year’s decider.
Tim Watt for the IAAF