In the 20K race walk, the men’s winner walked an average pace of 3:57 per kilometre, and the women’s winner averaged 4:18.
BY THEO KAHLER
On Thursday morning, the first event of track and field at the Olympics kicked off with the men’s and women’s 20K race walk. The event took place on a 1-kilometer road loop with views of the Eiffel Tower and Seine River.
The men’s race went off first at 8 a.m. Paris time, followed by the women just under two hours later. The conditions were very humid, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures around 15-20 degrees celsius.
Ecuador’s Brian Pintado took the men’s gold medal in 1:18:55, holding off Caio Bonfim of Brazil (silver) and Alvaro Martin of Spain (bronze).
For fun, let’s put these performances in context.
Pinato’s winning time of 1:18:55 means he was walking an average pace of 3:57 per kilometre. Imagine showing up to your local 5K and seeing someone walk a 19:44 5K—and then they do it four times in a row! And Jiayu’s gold medal winning walk is equally as impressive. Her 1:25:54 performance converts to 4:18 kilometre pace—or an average 5K of 21:29.
Even the back of the pack was moving at impressive speeds: the last place finisher in the men’s race, Bence Venyercsán of Hungary, averaged a 4:28 kilometre, and Ana Cabecinha—who rounded out the field in the women’s race—was walking at an 5:19 clip.
Remember, the rules of race walking mandate that athletes must keep one foot on the ground throughout the race and their lead leg must be straight when it hits the ground. All athletes are under a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy; judges are scattered throughout the course and hold up paddles if a rule is violated.
Race walking was first introduced to the Olympics in 1904, but the 20K distance has been contested since 1956 for men and 2000 for women.
