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The official organ of the Victorian Race Walking Club 2013/2014 Number 47 19 August 2014

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Address: RUNNERS WORLD, 598 High Street, East Kew, Victoria (Melways 45 G4) Telephone: 03 9817 3503 Hours : Monday to Friday: 9:30am to 5:30pm Saturday: 9:00am to 3:00pm Website: http://www.runnersworld.com.au Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Runners-World/235649459888840

TIM'S WALKER OF THE WEEK

Ok, this week's newsletter is coming to you from outback NSW and it's been a rush job so apologies if I have missed out on particular races or performances. I will catch up next week.

There can only be one Walker of the Week this time – the new world record holder for the 50km roadwalk – Frenchman . Racing across wet streets and battling strong early morning rains in Zurich last Friday, the 36-year-old Frenchman broke the tape in 3:32:33 to knock nearly two minutes from the previous record of 3:34:14 set by Russian in in 2008. “This is the best day of my life,” said Diniz, who crossed the line carrying both the French and Portuguese flags, the latter in dedication to his Portuguese grandmother who passed away earlier this year. The performance was the second world record for Diniz, who clocked 3:35:27 over 50,000m on the track in 2011. But his race walking tour through the streets of Zurich will certainly prove more memorable. With the victory, Diniz became the first man to win three successive European titles over the distance.

Johann Diniz celebrates his 50km road world record and third successive European 50km championship win

WHAT'S COMING UP

Next Saturday sees VRWC walkers back at Middle Park for another round of our winter season scratch races

Saturday 23rd August 2014, Middle Park VRWC EVENTS: Entries close for all events at 2.00pm sharp. 2.15pm 8km Open 2.15pm 6km Open 2.15pm 4km Open 2.15pm 4km Under 15 2.30pm 1km Under 9 2.40pm 2km Under 12 Next weekend also sees the National Roadwalk championship in Albany in Western . Alas, the start lists look dreadfully small as most walkers and their families have made the decision not to go – the costs were deemed to be too high for most of those with whom I spoke. Good luck to those who will be racing next Sunday.

Looking further forward, the Victorian 50km championship will be held on Sunday 14 September. This must be entered via the AV portal http://athsvic.org.au/event/2014-av-walk-series-50km-walk/ and it is open to all currently registered Athletics Victoria walkers. This meet also includes a Australia 50km Championship for Women - any female walker who is a member of one of our racewalking clubs can participate. Entries will be taken on the day or via our VRWC online entry panel.

And my usual plugs

• Our annual Falls Creek training camp will run from Sunday 28 December 2014 to Saturday 10 January 2015. You can keep up with the latest Falls Creek Camp news by joining our facebook webpage at https://www.facebook.com/groups/726992100645163.

• Entries are now open for our VRWC 24 Hour carnival on the weekend of 4-5 October 2014. Events include 24 Hours, 12 Hours, 6 Hours and RWA 100km. Check it out or enter at http://www.centurions.org.au/event2014.shtml.

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 16 AUGUST

VMA walkers contested their annual 10km masters roadwalk championships last Saturday at Middle Park in suburban . Best walks probably by Heather Carr (58:28 W65), Pam Mews (55:41, W50) and Ralph Bennett (59:53 M70).

10km Masters Women 1. Pam Tindal 55:41 W50 - 54 2. Donna Elms 1:06:29 W50 - 54 3. Caroline Rosenbrod 1:07:10 W50 - 54 1. Marlene Gourlay 1:01:14 W60 - 64 2. Alison Thompson 1:05:23 W60 - 64 1. Heather Carr 58:28 W65 - 69 2. Elizabeth Feldman 1:04:15 W65 - 69 3. Celia Johnson 1:12:02 W65 - 69 1. Margaret Beaumont 1:24:48 W75 - 79

10km Masters Men 1. David Smyth 56:00 M40 - 44 1. Simon Evans 55:32 M50 - 54 1. Ralph Bennett 59:53 M70 - 74

VRWC walkers also had their usual assortment of races on offer and quite a few turned up for some late season racing. It was good to see Tayla-Paige Billington back in action after her World Juniors foray. Good walks from Gerard Feain (57:44 for 10km), Corey Dickson (25:41 for 5km), Nikola Mandic (30:07 for 5km), Hayden Walmsley (15:55 for 3km) and Kathleen O'Mahony (14:06 for 2.5km).

10km Open 1. Gerard Feain 57:44 2. Alex Poore * 1:21:00 3. Ian Beaumont * 1:24:43

5km Open 1. Jason Kozica 23:26 2. Adam Garganis 23:29 3. Reese Walmsley 23:34 4. Corey Dickson 25:41 5. Nikola Mandic 30:07 6. Gwen Steed 34:07 7. Barrie Wicks 38:45 Tayla-Paige Billington DNF

3km Open 1. Paul Kennedy 16:05 2. Emily Swan 17:05 3. Madeleine Feain 19:16 4. Jan Morrey 20:59 5. Pam Mews 29:49 3km Under 15 1. Kyle Swan 14:35 2. Hayden Walmsley 15:55 3. Lachlan Feain 16:29 4. Brodie Richardson 17:08 5. Gabriella Crea 18:18 6. Jessica Lillie 20:42

2.5km Under 12 1. Kathleen O'Mahoney 14:06 2. Ruby Paten 14:30 3. Grace Louey 14:55 4. Madison Clarke 15:01 5. Charlotte Hay 15:08 6. Chloe Karagiorgos 16:05

1.5km Under 9 1. Joel Prys 8:18 2. Elise Carbery 9:57

Arch Garganis took our photos this week and Terry Swan has uploaded them – thanks Arch and Terry: see http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=181. Sorry I can't produce some for the newsletter but the clock is ticking so I will leave readers to check them out for themselves.

And thanks to our officials and judges. Sorry if I missed anyone – it is all by word of mouth as I was not there.

Judges: Susanne Callaway (Chief), Stuart Cooper, Terry Swan, Brenda Felton, Gordon Loughnan, Alan Lucas, Lloyd Nichols, Mike Bodey (DQ), Peter Vysma (DQ & Bike) Officials: Bob Gardiner, Damien Elms, Mark Donahoo, Ian Laurie, Mark O'Mahoney, Paul Kozaris Canteen: Wendy Cooper

SAMA ROADWALKS, WEST BEACH, ADELAIDE, SATURDAY 16 AUGUST

Thanks to Colin Hainsworth for the latest results from the South Australian Masters in Adelaide. Colin commented: Cold arvo, undulating course. Prizes arvo. George White dominated as usual.

10km yacht handicap 1. M81 David Robertson 1:21:20 74.20% 2. M69 George White 55:13 92.06% 3. M55 Norman White 1:10:16 62.60% 4. W54 Marie Maxted 1:06:18 72.89% 5. W60 Linda Whitelaw 1:19:46 64.93% 6. M71 Graham Harrison 1:09:51 74.62% 7. M84 Colin Hainsworth 1:23:16 76.37% 8. W49 Raelene Schild 1:16:36 59.98% 9. M43 Matthew Anderson 1:27:36 45.49% 10. W70 Margaret Trengove 1:18:47 75.75%

5km yacht handicap 1. W70 Valmai Padget 39:52 70.69% 2. W60 Edna Bates 41:58 59.58% 3. W60 Helen Suridge 37:08 68.98%

ACT RACEWALKING CLUB ROADWALKS, LENNOX GARDENS, CANBERRA, SATURDAY 16 AUGUST

Thanks to Robin Whyte for the latest results from Canberra.

20km Walk 5km Walk 1. Robin Whyte 2:09:41 1. Zoe Hunt 26:02 2. Derek Robinson 2:23:53 2. Callum Burns 26:03 3. Bob Parker 2:33:25 3. Gabby Hunt 26:08 4. Val Chesterton 2:57:02 4. Kate Black 31:29 5. Phil Essam 3:06:55 5. Connor Frew 32:28 6. Dylan Eddowes 32:41 7. Barbara Eddowes 35:31 10km Walk 8. Rod Gilchrist 36:16 1. Pat Fisher 1:22:21 9. Michelle Burns 37.36 10. Jennifer Gilchrist 38:43 3km Walk 1. Spencer Burns 15:51 1.5km Walk 2. Mitchell Baker 16:49 1. Laura Burns 8:07 3. Peter Baker 17:28 2. Sophie Rogic 9:20 4. Colby Eddowes 19:40 5. Chelsea Rogic 20:17 6. Venesser Rogic 21:43 7. Carmen Carlon 35:16

WARWC ROADWEALKS, SHELLEY, PERTH, SUNDAY 17 AUGUST

Thanks to Terry Jones for the latest results from the Western Australian Racewalking Club in Perth.

10Km Handicap 1. Sonia Tingay 72.56 2. Bree-Anna Hennighan 66.20 3. Robyn Hughes 74.53 4. Declan Tingay 54.58 5. Karyn Tolardo 65.17

5Km Handicap 1. Mikayla Johns 28.36 2. Dale Hennighan 24.34 3. Tom Lenane 33.32

3Km Handicap 1. Tiahna Ruane 16.38 2. Ben Reid 18.47

2Km Handicap 1. Hannah Martin 13.01 2. Emily Bogaers 14.09 3. Declan Johns 14.12 4. Alessia Andritsos 13.12 5. Amy Holland 11.07 6. Lesley Romeo 15.38 7. Sienna Andritsos 12.19

QRWC ROADWALKS, MURARRIE, QLD, SUNDAY 17 AUGUST

Queensland walkers were in action on Sunday morning in Murarrie.

RWQ Mens 20km Club Championship 1. Peter Bennett 1.51.08

10km Walk 1. Nick Dewar 45.39 2. Donna Beikoff 66.39 3. Noela McKinven 79.13

8km Walk 1. Shane Pearson 50.50 2. Patrick Sela 58.11 3. Christiane Dauphinet 64.13

5km Walk 1. Mikaela Woodward 27.58

3km Walk 1. Jamison Stovin 16.13 2. Aimee Brackin 17.57 3. Callum Haig 19.17 4. Ethan Clarke 19.42 2km Walk 1. Adam Buchhorn 11.30

1km Walk 1. Anika Clarke 6.40 2. Emma Brittain 6.41

Queensland Masters Athletics Long Walks Championships 20km M55-59 1 Peter Bennett 1.51.08 10km M75-79 1 Patrick Sela 1.12.53 W80-84 1 Christiane Dauphinet 1.20.38 W70-74 1 Noela McKinven 1.19.13 W45-49 1 Donna Beikoff 1.06.39

EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS, ZURICH, , 12-17 AUGUST

The highly anticipated 2014 European T&F Championships have now been completed in Zurich and the highlights were many. As expected the racewalks were high quality exciting contests.

Emmanuel Tardi was there, camera in hand, and has captured the action with three fantastic photo galleries:

20km women: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114298325582846831610/albums/6047435717674301425 20km men: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114298325582846831610/albums/6047049507510442641 50km: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114298325582846831610/albums/6047776811029033953

Men's 20km Walk, Wednesday 13 August The men's 20km championship was the first walk to be contested, taking place last Wednesday. It was a super exciting race with only 2 seconds separating the first 4 walkers after a last 2 km that had to be seen to be believed. My report is taken from the European Aths website: http://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-athletics-championships/news/article=day-morning-review/

Miguel Angel Lopez won gold for on the second day of the European Athletics Championships with a tremendous finishing surge in the final stages of a brilliant 20km walk. The 26-year-old Spaniard, fifth at the in in 2012 before taking bronze at last summer's IAAF World Championships, reached the top of the podium at last as he beat the man who triumphed in . Russian Aleksandr Ivanov had moved in front in a dramatic last two kilometres of the race alongside the River Limmat, but as the finish line drew nearer, Lopez took control. The winning gap was only a second - the closest in the history of the European Athletics Championships - but Lopez was not going to be passed as he crossed the line in 1:19.44 from Ivanov, whose Russian teammate Denis Strelkov was third, just a second further back. It was a time he shared with 's , the World Race Walking Cup champion, who was left devastated as he sat on the floor having missed out on a medal. These four had broken away in the second half of the race, with Lopez, Ivanov and Dmytrenko taking turns to lead, but Strelkov holding enough in reserve to snatch bronze. "It was a difficult race,” said Lopez. “Any of us could have won but in the end I had enough. Spain has a great tradition in race walking and it is a big responsibility to keep that going.

The second part of the race was super fast for the first four finishers - 39:01 for Lopez, 39:02 for Ivanov, 39:03 for Strelkov and Dmytrenko, compared to their first 10km of 40:43. As was stated in the marciaitaliana article, this is the difference between excellence and normality. And a special mention for Britain’s Tom Bosworth who clocked his third quickest ever time (1:23:17) for 12th to secure the best result by a British male at the European Championships in 32 years.

Other reports at http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/2014/08/miguel-angel-lopez-campeao-europeu-dos.html http://www.athleticsweekly.com/featured/miguel-angel-lopez-wins-european-race-walk-gold-9545/ http://www.marciaitaliana.com/ita/dettagli_news.aspx?id=1852

1. Miguel Angel LOPEZ ESP 88 1:19:44 2. Aleksandr IVANOV RUS 93 1:19:45 3. Denis STRELKOV RUS 90 1:19:46 4. Ruslan DMYTRENKO UKR 86 1:19:46 5. Christopher LINKE GER 88 1:21:00 6. Alvaro MARTIN ESP 94 1:21:41 7. Andriy KOVENKO UKR 73 1:21:48 8. Giorgio RUBINO ITA 86 1:22:07 9. NOR 80 1:22:19 10. Luis Alberto AMEZCUA ESP 92 1:22:26 11. Kevin CAMPION FRA 88 1:23:04 12. Tom BOSWORTH GBR 90 1:23:17 13. Dzianis SIMANOVICH BLR 87 1:23:35 14. Nazar KOVALENKO UKR 89 1:23:51 15. Hagen POHLE GER 92 1:24:00 16. Rafał FEDACZYŃSKI POL 80 1:24:28 17. Perseus IBANEZ SWE 90 1:24:41 18. Marius SAVELSKIS LTU 94 1:24:54 19. Matteo GIUPPONI ITA 88 1:25:04 20. Anton KUČMÍN SVK 84 1:25:07 21. Antonin BOYEZ FRA 84 1:25:31 22. Marius ZIUKAS LTU 85 1:25:43 23. Arnis RUMBENIEKS LAT 88 1:27:07 24. Genadiy KOZLOVSKIY LTU 91 1:27:45 25. Máté HELEBRANDT HUN 89 1:27:54 26. Massimo STANO ITA 92 1:29:14 27. Nils Christopher GLOGER GER 90 1:29:44 28. Patrik SPEVÁK SVK 94 1:31:30 Andreas GUSTAFSON SWE 81 DNF Alexandros PAPAMIKHAIL GRE 88 DNF Sándor RÁCZ HUN 86 DNF Joao VIEIRA POR 76 DNF Sérgio VIEIRA POR 76 DNF Håvard HAUKENES NOR 90 DQ

The men's field early on The final four fight out the last lap

Women's 20km Walk, Thursday 14 August Th e women were up the next morning and, once again, it was a final last 2 km which decided the medals. To quote the European Athletics website: http://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-athletics-championships/news/article=alembekova- walks-her-way-glory/?cid=rss

Elmira Alembekova won 20km race walk gold for on the third day of the European Athletics Championships in Zurich this morning after an exciting tussle with the ’s teenage star Anezka Drahotova and 21-year-old Ukrainian Lyudmyla Olyanovskaya. Alembekova made her break with two laps of the 1km course to go, maintaining the title in her country’s hand after Russia swept the medals in four years ago. In the end the 24-year-old was a decisive winner on the sunny banks of the River Limmat as she threw off the challenge of her younger opponents to cross the line clear of the field in 1:27:56. Olyanovskaya overtook 19-year-old Drahotova on the final circuit to take silver by one second in 1:28:07, while the tall Czech – surely set to be a future star of the event – became the youngest medallist in this event as she won bronze to go with her world junior gold from Eugene last month.

Alembekova won bronze at the World Race Walking World Cup in Taicang this year, and was a European junior champion back in 2009, while Olyanovskaya won silver at the European Athletics U23 Championships in 2013. But it was the youngster Drahotova – a world class cyclist and long distance runner – who looked poised to strike as the group whittled down, first to eight, and then to three with just 4km left to race. Alembekova had other ideas, though, and pulled clear with just over two to go leaving Drahotova and Olyanovskaya to battle for the minor places. "Everything went according to plan," said Alembekova."The toughest moment came when it was down to the final three. I knew then I had to give it everything and do my best." Drahotova is now the youngest walking medallist at a European championships ever. Next she will run a road race 10 km in Praha early September, then compete in the Czech Clubs League and then in the World Road Cycling Championships, cycling in both time- trial and individual races as a junior (see http://www.atletika.cz/aktuality/drahotova-realita-je-hezci-nez-predstavy).

Other excellent race reports at http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/2014/08/russa-alembekova-sagra-se-campea.html http://www.marciaitaliana.com/ita/dettagli_news.aspx?id=1853

And a video of the race at http://eurovision.digotel.com/ea/index.html?video_id=17392

1. Elmira ALEMBEKOVA RUS 90 1:27:56 2. Lyudmila OLYANOVSKA UKR 93 1:28:07 3. Anežka DRAHOTOVÁ CZE 95 1:28:08 NJR 4. Vera SOKOLOVA RUS 87 1:28:24 5. Eleonora Anna GIORGI ITA 89 1:28:28 6. Ana CABECINHA POR 84 1:28:40 7. Antonella PALMISANO ITA 91 1:28:43 8. Beatriz PASCUAL ESP 82 1:29:02 9. Hanna DRABENIA BLR 87 1:29:39 10. Raquel GONZALEZ ESP 89 1:30:03 11. Neringa AIDIETYTĖ LTU 83 1:30:47 12. Viktória MADARÁSZ HUN 85 1:30:57 13. Ines HENRIQUES POR 80 1:31:32 14. Agnieszka DYGACZ POL 85 1:31:36 15. Alina MATVEYUK BLR 90 1:31:46 16. María José POVES ESP 78 1:32:02 17. Mária GÁLIKOVÁ SVK 80 1:32:03 NR 18. Brigita VIRBALYTĖ-DIMSIENĖ LTU 85 1:32:46 19. Laura POLLI SUI 83 1:33:22 20. Despina ZAPOUNIDOU GRE 85 1:34:03 21. Marie POLLI SUI 80 1:34:39 22. Federica CURIAZZI ITA 92 1:35:48 23. Inna KASHINA UKR 91 1:35:51 24. Antigoni DRISBIOTI GRE 84 1:35:54 25. Mária CZÁKOVÁ SVK 88 1:38:38 Paulina BUZIAK POL 86 DNF Lucie PELANTOVÁ CZE 86 DNF Laura REYNOLDS IRL 89 DNF Vasylyna VІTOVSHCHYK UKR 90 DQ

The field negotiates a turn early on The final three fight out the medals Men's 50km Walk, Friday 15 August The men's 50km event, contested last Friday morning, was a fitting way to end the walks, making it three fantastic races out of three. In fact, this was the pick of the races, if such a thing can be said, as it produced a new World Record to French walker Johann Diniz. In this case, my report is taken from the MarciaItaliana website: http://www.marciaitaliana.com/ita/dettagli_news.aspx?id=1854

The 50 km diary

The race starts at 9:00AM instead of the scheduled 9:10AM, with Russians Mikhail Ryzhov, Ivan Noskov going straight to the lead.

10 km - Frenchman Yohann Diniz leads the way with the two Russians, stopping the clock in 43:44. World Champion together with the Slovak Matej Toth and Polish walker Grzegorz Sudol follow next at 44:08. At 44:31 comes a group of four with Ihor Hlavan (UKR), Lukasz Nowak (POL), Aleksandr Yargunkin (RUS) and Olekseiy Kazanin (UKR).

20 km - Yohann Diniz and Mikhail Ryzhov are now the sole leaders in 1:26:55. Ivan Noskov (1:27:20) is third, followed by Robert Heffernan (1:27:21), Matej Toth (1:27:39), Ihor Hlavan (1:27:40) and Grzegorz Sudol (1:28:12). At 1:29:00 come four walkers: Lukasz Nowak (POL), Aleksandr Yargunkin (RUS), Augustin Rafal (POL) and Olekseiy Kazanin (UKR) . The split time is at championship record pace if not world record pace. Two red cards against Pavel Schrom (CZE), Maciej Rosiewicz (GEO), Andreas Gustafsson (SWE). One red card against Mikhail Ryzhov, Lukasz Nowak (POL), Jesus Angel Garcia (ESP).

30 km - Grzegorz Sudol has abandoned the race. Russian Mikhail Ryzhov in 2:09:14 now leads, followed by Yohann Diniz (2:09:20) and Ivan Noskov (2:10:48). In fourth place is Matej Toth (2:10:51) followed by Robert Heffernan (2:11:01) with the Ukrainian Ihor Hlavan (2:11:15) coming back into contention. The leaders are now on possible world record pace with 10 km splits of 43:44, 43:11 and 42:29

40 km – Polish walker Lukasz Nowak and Lithuanian walker Ricardas Rekst have now retired from the race. At the 35km mark, Diniz has gone into the lead. By 40km, he is now clearly in front with 2:51:12 (after a 10km aplit of 41:52) with Ryzhov 2:51:51. The scent of a record world record is in the air. Matej Toth is third at this point with 2:53:42 ahead of Ivan Noskov (2:53:47) and Ihor Hlavan (2:54:50). .Robert Heffernan has abandoned the race.

Last 10 km - Diniz passes the 46th km in 3:15:58, on pace for a new world record. Matej Toth passes Ryzhov. At the bell Diniz's time is 3:24:12 with Toth 3:27:45

50 km - Yohann Diniz wins for the third time in a row with a new world record time of 3:32:33, even stopping for some seconds to grab a Portuguese flag as he trains there in the winter. Matej Toth is second in a new Slovak national record of 3:36:21 while third goes to the Russian Ivan Noskov (3:37:41) who overtakes teammate Ryzhov (3:39:07) in the final lap. Fifth goes to Ukraine's Ivan Banzeruk (3:44:49) in front of Ihor Hlavan (3:45:08)and Marco de Luca (3:45:25) The amazing Jesus Angel Garcia takes 8th place with 3:45:41 – at 44 years of age!

Other reports at http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/2014/08/yohann-diniz-com-recorde-mundial-e.html http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/diniz-50km-walk-world-record-european-champio http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/other-sports/heffernan-head-wrecked-by-dinizs-record-pace-281893.html

And a great video of the final 10 minutes of the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6U5Wk8E1yI

1. Yohann DINIZ FRA 78 3:32:33 WR 2. Matej TÓTH SVK 83 3:36:21 NR 3. Ivan NOSKOV RUS 88 3:37:41 4. Mikhail RYZHOV RUS 91 3:39:07 5. Ivan BANZERUK UKR 90 3:44:49 6. Ihor HLAVAN UKR 90 3:45:08 7. Marco DE LUCA ITA 81 3:45:25 8. Jesús Ángel GARCÍA ESP 69 3:45:41 9. Rafał AUGUSTYN POL 84 3:48:15 10. Ato IBANEZ SWE 85 3:48:42 11. Jarkko KINNUNEN FIN 84 3:48:49 12. Oleksiy KAZANIN UKR 82 3:49:00 13. Alexandros PAPAMIKHAIL GRE 88 3:49:58 14. Aleksandr YARGUNKIN RUS 81 3:50:39 15. Carl DOHMANN GER 90 3:51:27 16. Brendan BOYCE IRL 86 3:51:34 17. Tadas SUSKEVICIUS LTU 85 3:52:39 18. Veli-Matti PARTANEN FIN 91 3:52:58 19. Dušan MAJDAN SVK 87 3:53:26 20. Teodorico CAPORASO ITA 87 3:58:23 21. Francisco ARCILLA ESP 84 4:00:57 22. Jean Jacque NKOULOUKIDI ITA 82 4:01:12 23. Marius COCIORAN ROU 83 4:03:25 24. Martin TIŠŤAN SVK 92 4:06:11 25. Pedro ISIDRO POR 85 4:07:44 26. Lukas GDULA CZE 91 4:08:51 Andreas GUSTAFSON SWE 81 DQ Robert HEFFERNAN IRL 78 DNF Łukasz NOWAK POL 88 DNF Ričardas REKST LTU 87 DNF Grzegorz SUDOŁ POL 78 DNF Ivan TROTSKIY BLR 76 DNF Maciej ROSIEWICZ GEO 77 DQ Pavel SCHROM CZE 91 DQ

AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, MARRAKESH, , 10-14 AUGUST

The All-African T&F Championships were held last week in Marrakesh, Morocco, with 20km roadwalks on offer. Both events are well reported by the oMarchador blogspot website. See http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/2014/08/campeonatos-de-africa-em- marraquexe-com.html and http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/2014/08/wanjiru-e-shange-campeoes-de-africa-em.html. The women's race started at 7:06PM with the temperature around 20oC. Kenyans Grace Wanjiru and Emily Wamusyi immediately took the lead, with the first half of the race covered by both in 47.07. Although Wamusyi took the lead in the second half, it was short lived as Wanjiru eventually won out with 1:37:04, winning by just over 1 minute.Third place went to Ethopian Askale Tiksa Benti whose time of 1:40:05 was a new national record.

The men's race, which began shortly afterwards at 7:19PM, was much more lively with almost half the field still together at 10km, South African Lebogang Shange putttng on the pressure with 44.51. By 16 km, the lead group had been reduced to three, with Shange (1:10:19) only 1 second ahead of Kenyan Samuel Gathimba and Tunisian Hassanine Sebei. Shange was too strong in the second half, storming home to win with 1:26:58 (second 10km of 42:18) ahead of Samuel Gathimba 1:27:11 and 1:27:48. It is worthwhile pointing out that back in 5th place with 1:29:16 was Kenyan walker (Rotich), a regular walker in Olympic and level and still going strong as he turns 45!

Women's 20km Race Walk - 14.08.2014 1. Grace Wanjiru NJUE KEN 79 1:37:04 2. Emily Wamusyi NGII KEN 86 1:38:12 3. Askale TIKSA ETH 94 1:40:05 4. Chahinez NASRI TUN 96 1:42:55 5. Yehualye BELETE MITIKU ETH 1:47:33 6. Corli SWART RSA 91 1:48:13 7. Olfa LAFI TUN 86 1:51:32 8. Faustina OGUN NGR 97 2:04:39 9. Sarah BOUAYADI MAR 2:05:36

Men's 20km Race Walk - 14.08.2014 1. Lebogang SHANGE RSA 90 1:26:58 2. Samuel GATHIMBA KEN 1:27:11 3. Mohamed AMEUR ALG 84 1:27:48 4. Hassanine SBAI TUN 84 1:28:28 5. David KIMUTAI KEN 69 1:29:16 6. Hichem MEDJBER ALG 82 1:33:36 7. Mohamed RAGAB SALEH EGY 94 1:34:26 8. Ferhat BELAID ALG 92 1:35:22 9. Chernet MAKORO ETH 1:36:25 10. Ali DAGHIRI MAR 90 1:38:22 11. Herve NZOSSIE CMR 1:38:57 12. Bemidele ELEGBEDE NGR 85 1:41:11 13. Misebo MINAMO ETH 1:42:25 14. Getamesay NIGUSSE ETH 96 1:44:03

RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL & US/CANADA JUNIOR WALKS, RICHMOND, CANADA, SUN 10 AUG

Back a week to the USA vs Canada Junior walks meet in Richmond, Canada. The following report was posted on the Racewalk West website (http://racewalkwest.com/events):

The 2014 Richmond International Race Walk and US/Canada Junior events provided an exciting day of high level competition after a workshop held the previous day on the sophisticated Biomechanics work being done in Canada in the event field. 33 competitors started and finished the race and over 50 people attended the workshop. The athletes in the Walks events represented 5 countries and 3 provinces. Race day was a perfect cool and clear for the start. The course was an interesting but technically challenging 1.25 km out and back on the Richmond Dyke which holds back the Fraser river.

The 26th edition of the US/Canada Jr Dual saw the US women deliver their own workshop on consistency and quality with all 4 of the US women finishing in order with just over 1 minute separating 1st from 4th. The very young team of Canadian women came across with 3 out of 4 personal best performances. The US women scored a perfect 16 points to Canada’s 6. On the Men’s side the Canadians fared better finishing with the top 2 spots with the US athletes taking 3 rd through 6th place. Canadians rounded out the standings with 7th and 8th place finishes. The Canadian Men finished with 13 points to the US 9. Overall the US was able to maintain the commanding lead for a 25 to 19 combined team victory.

Notable performances were registered by 13 year old Kyra Danielson with a 31:09 for her first 5k ever. 14 year old Nima Parsakish, also competing in his first 5k ever posted a 32:07 time. Katelynn Ramage, after knocking on the 50 minute 10k door for well over a year finally broke through with an 80 second PB of 49:44.

Evan Dunfee started his march toward the 30k record by posting a solid and evenly walked sub 2:12 time in his first official attempt. This event also saw the debut of 30 year old Mathieu Bilodeau who posted a very impressive 1:30:23. Bilodeau is coached by multi-time Olympian Janice McCaffrey and is looking to make his mark in the 50 km event in coming seasons.

The event was attended by Richmond municipal officials who got to see the quality of the competition first hand as well as some of the technical challenges with the current site. Discussions were started before the finish of the event about modifications to the course that would allow for far faster performances. After 15 years of searching high performance race walking may have found a home in BC.

5km Roadwalk 1. Katharine Newhoff US Dual US 25:09 Junior W 1997 2. Anali Cisneros US Dual US 25:50 Junior W 1997 3. Katherine Michta US Dual US 25:51 Junior W 1996 4. Monika Farmer US Dual US 26:15 Junior W 1997 5. Eric Thies StL/Van BC 27:18 Junior M 1997 6. Samanth Cho VOly/Van BC 27:21 Junior W 1998 7. Mandy Roach CARS/Mtl QC 29:54 Junior W 1996 8. Kyra Danielson StL/Van BC 31:09 Midget W 2000 9. Nima Parsakish RW/Van BC 32:07 Midget M 1999 10. Zoe Zhang StL/Van BC 33:39 Junior W 1997 11. Rachel Fouladi Gre/Sur BC 38:30 Master W 1967 12. Lori Graham Gre/Sur BC 43:31 Master W 1958

10km Roadwalk 1. Marek Adamowicz CARS/Mtl QC 46:50 Junior M 1996 2. Caleb Cheng StL/Van BC 47:56 Junior M 1995 3. Anthony Peters US Dual US 48:39 Junior M 1996 4. Cameron Haught US Dual US 48:41 Junior M 1998 5. Dmitry Balbenko Gre/Sur BC 48:57 Master M 1973 6. Nathaniel Roberts US Dual US 49:21 Junior M 1996 7. Alexander Peters US Dual US 49:34 Junior M 1996 8. Katelynn Ramage RW/Van BC 49:44 Senior W 1993 9. Alger Liang StL/Van BC 56:07 Junior M 1998 10. Sue Brooke UN/Edm AB 58:38 Master W 1965 11. Becky Sillito UN/Edm AB 58:45 Master W 1967 12. Dave Keenan ER/Edm AB 60:09 Master M 1957 13. Vincent Gagne FLYS/Mtl QC 61:04 Junior M 1997

20km Open Walk 1. Mathiue Bilodeau UN/Cgy AB 1:30:23 Senior M 1983 2. Bruno Carriere CARS/Mtl QC 1:32:47 Senior M 1992 3. Creighton Conolly ORWA/Tor ON 1:32:48 Senior M 1988 4. Alana Barber New Zealand NZ 1:41:55 Senior W 5. Jessica Ching Hong Kong HK 1:45:44 Senior W

30km Open Walk 1. RW/Van BC 2:11:54 Senior M 1990 2. Quentin Rew New Zealand NZ 2:14:34 Senior M 3. Creighton Conolly Canada 2:18:49 Senior M

Evan Dunfee leads Quentin Rew, Mathieu Bilodeau and Bruno Carriere. Photo by Maurice Wilson SEAA TRACK WALKS CHAMPIONSHIPS, LONDON, SUNDAY 17 AUGUST

Thanks to Ron Wallwork for the latest results from England. Best walk of the day to Callum Wilkinson.

U20 Men 5,000 Metres Walk 1. Callum Wilkinson Enfield & Haringey AC 21.38.62

Senior Men 5,000 Metres Walk (a) 1. Ian Richards Steyning AC 24.43.69 2. Steve Allen Barnet & District AC 28.15.62 3. Arthur Thomson Enfield & Haringey AC 29.05.79 4. Shaun Lightman Surrey Walking Club 30.42.55 5. David Bowker Fairlands Valley Spartans 31.09.94 6. John Borgars Loughton AC 33.17.90 Peter Hannell Surrey Walking Club DQ

Senior Women 5,000 Metres Walk 1. Penelope Cummings Herne Hill Harriers 28.31.89 2. Sandra Brown Surrey Walking Club 29.06.66 3. Angela Martin Paddock Wood AC 33.15.79 4. Sandra Campbell Surrey Walking Club 36.54.40

U15 Girls 3,000 Metres Walk 1. Jacqueline Benson Ashford 20.54.04

U17 Women 3,000 Metres Walk 1. Emily Ghose Tonbridge AC 17.41.26

U17 Men 3,000 Metres Walk 1. Colin Zack Aldershot Farnham & DAC 19.31.81

RWA LONG DISTANCE CHAMPS AND 100 MILES, GARONS PARK, SOUTHEND ON SEA, 2-3 AUGUST

I have been waiting for a while now for the results of the English Centurions annual 100 mile qualifying event which was held two weeks ago at Southend on Sea, in conjunction with the RWA Long Distance Championships. While there is still nothing official on the centurions website (http://www.centurions1911.org.uk), Ultra Walking Espana has published provisional results on Facebook. It looks like we had 13 walkers who reached the magical 100 mile mark within the required 24 hours but don't quote me on this one. His list reads like this

1. Richard Gerrard 19.36.32 2. Sandra Brown 20.40.32 (1 F) 3. Frank van der Gulik 21.26.56 4. Sarah Lightman 22.18.47 (2 F) 5. Antoine Hunting 22.27.42 6. Richard McChesney 22.48.11 7. Chris Cattano 22.55.48 8. Frans Leijtens 23.31.51 9. Jayne Farquhar 23.37.46 (3 F) 10. Tony Hill 23.40.57 11. Robert de Wolf 23.43.57 12. Martin Fisher 23.44.30 13. Mark Haynes 23.46.39

YOUTH OLYMPICS, NANJING, , 16-28 AUGUST

The second edition of the Youth Olympic Games has now started in Nanjing in China. It is a very limited meet with only small numbers of representatives allowed from each major world area. Thanks to MarciaItaliana for all the news and technical downloads: see http://www.marciaitaliana.com/ita/dettagli_news.aspx?id=1857.

In summary, there are two racewalking events, both restricted to 16 and 17 year old walkers.

• The 5000m women's track walk will take place on August 23 at 19:00 local time • The 10,000m men's track walk will take place on August 24 at 19:05 local time.

The number of walkers per area for the two race walk events are

• 10,000m track walk U18 boys Europe: 5 participants Americas: 4 participants Asia: 4 participants Africa: 1 participant Oceania: 1 participant

• 5,000m track walk U18 girls Europe: 7 participants Asia: 5 participants Americas: 1 Participants Africa: 1 participant Oceania: 1 participant

The new IAAF “pit lane rule” will be implemented with the goal to reduce disqualifications.

And thanks to Russ Dickenson for this photo, showing Chinese Olympic champion Ding Chen racewalking into the stadium with the Olympic Flame as part of the Opening Ceremony. Wow, that is good publicity for us!

Ding Chen carries the torch in the Youth Olympics opening ceremony

CHEGIN SURFACES IN ZURICH

It was a tweet-fest a few days ago when disgraced Russian walks coach Victor Chegin turned up unannounced in the call room for the men's 20km walk at the European Championships in Zurich. Obviously, someone let him in as he was not wearing any official accreditation. Not impressed!

Valentin Balahnichev, president of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) is quoted as saying: “If he is here, then he came on his own and is not here as a person accredited by the Russian team”. See http://www.sports.ru/others/athletics/1022827430.html).

In an unrelated but nicely timed article, Russia Beyond the Headlines website reports that Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko came out this week with a hard-hitting speech on the poor recent Russian doping record and his renewed anti-doping efforts - see http://rbth.com/sport/2014/08/14/mutkos_iron_fist_is_long_overdue_in_russian_sports_fight_against_doping_39003.html

To quote in part from the article:

The substance found in 22-year-old Lashmanova’s system, GW1516, provides a boost to endurance but has never been sold legally because it comes with horrifically high risks of causing cancer. In her case, an investigation is under way and heads will roll. Mutko said: “The people responsible for all this will be named. These people will receive the corresponding punishmen.

He did not provide further details but his comments suggest an organized doping operation is suspected. An experimental drug such as GW1516 does not turn up in an athlete’s bloodstream by accident. If a coach or team official acquired this substance and injected it into Lashmanova, that person may have destroyed her career and put her life at risk. Mutko left a slightly mixed impression by describing what happened with Lashmanova as “absolute carelessness.” But his speech marked a watershed and there are positive signs – such as the lack of positive tests among Russian athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Many Russian athletes may have been banned, but perhaps people will look back and mark 2014 as the year that Russia got serious about stamping out doping.

We can only hope!

OUT AND ABOUT

• Coinciding with the start of the 2014 European Championships, the European Athletics Association has launched a short two page document to promote the essential technical and regulatory aspects of racewalking. Thanks to the oMarchador blog, you can check it out at http://omarchador.blogspot.pt/p/docs.html.

• Congratulations to Tasmanian walker Stephanie Stigwood who for the 2nd year in a row has been named Athletics Tasmania Female Athlete for the year ending 31 March 2014. Further, to top off a great Saturday night in Hobart, Tahlia Hunt was named the U16 Female Athlete of the year. well done ladies!

DATES…DATES…DATES

As usual, I finish with a list of upcoming events on the local, national and international fronts. Let me know of any errors/omissions.

2014/2015 Australian/Victorian Winter Season Key Dates Sun 24 Aug, 2014 Australian Roadwalk Championships, Albany, WA Sun 14 Sept, 2014 Victorian 50km and RWA 50km (women), Middle Park 4-5 Oct, 2014 VRWC/Centurions 24 Hour Carnival, Middle Park. Entries at http://www.centurions.org.au/event2014.shtml 11-18 Oct, 2014 Alice Springs Masters Games. See http://www.alicespringsmastersgames.com.au/ Dec 5-7, 2014 Australian All-Schools Championships, Adelaide, SA Sun Dec 14, 2014 Australian 50km Championship meet, Fawkner Park, VIC Dec 28 2014 - Jan 10 Annual VRWC Falls Creek Camp. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/726992100645163/ Mar 11-15, 2015 Australian Junior Championships, , NSW Mar 26-29, 2015 Australian Open T&F Championships, Brisbane, QLD

2014 International Fixture Aug 16-28, 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Nanjing, China. See http://www.nanjing2014.org/en/

Other 2014 Races of Interest Aug 31, 2014 Voronovo Cup, Moscow, Russia Sun 5 Oct, 2014 International 50km Race Walk (IAAF permit) incorporating British RWA 50km Championship , 10AM Sun 26 Oct, 2014 MTR 10km International Walk, Hong Kong. See http://www.hkaaa.com/page.php?pid=1328&mid=147&ac_id=6&type=%

Looking further forward July 3-14, 2015 28th Summer Universiade, Gwanju, July 15-19, 2015 9th World Youth T&F Championships, Cali, Colombia Aug 22-30, 2015 15th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, , China July/Aug 2015 20th World Masters T&F Champs Stadia, Lyon, May 2016 27th IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Cheboksary, Russia July 19-24, 2016 16th World Junior T&F Championships, , Russia Oct 26 -Nov 6, 2016 21st World Masters T&F Champs Stadia, Perth, Australia. See http://www.perth2016.com Aug 2016 31st Olympic Games, , Brazil. See http://www.rio2016.org.br/en/Default.aspx July 2017 10th World Youth T&F Championships, ? July 2017 29th Summer Universiade, Taipei, Taiwan August 5-13, 2017 16th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, London, UK May 2018 28th IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Cheboksary, Russia July 2018 16th World Junior T&F Championships, ? Apr 4-15, 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Queensland (racewalks on the program). See http://www.gc2018.com 2019 17th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, ? July 2019 11th World Youth T&F Championships, ? July 2019 30th Summer Universiade, Brasilia, Brazil July 2020 32nd Olympic Games, Tokyo

Tim Erickson, Secretary, VRWC, [email protected] Home: 03 90125431 Mob: 0412 257 496 Copies of recent newsletters are kept on the VRWC website (http://www.vrwc.org.au)