Competitive walking appeared in England by the early
17th century as aristocrats wagered over whose footman was fastest. With
sizable sums at stake, nobleman sought footmen with speed and stamina. The
sport had few rules. Competitors were expected to use a "fair heel and
toe" technique, trotting as necessary to ward off cramps, but not running.
In the early 1800s, "amateur race walking"
emerged at private sporting clubs in large cities. It was introduced into the
Olympics in 1908 for men (in 1992 for women). The Olympics and Commonwealth
Games now include race walks of 20K for women, and 20K and 50K for men. (At the
men's 50K race walk is the longest Olympic road racing event.)
The rules of Race Walking are simple but highly technical due to subjective nature of the interpretation of the two rules being “Bent Knee “ and Loss of Contact”.
The IAAF Rule 230 states “Race Walking is a progression of steps so taken that the walker makes contact with the ground, so that no visible (to the human eye) loss of contact occurs. The advancing leg shall be straightened, (i.e. not bent at the knee) from the moment of first contact with the ground until the vertical upright position.”
OVA have a proud history in the race walking events including Daniel Coleman, who represented Australia in 2 World
Race-Walking Cups in Russia and Spain, winner of the Hong Kong International
and holder of many Australian and State Championships.
Stephanie Stigwood was also one of the club's most successful race walkers who represented Australia on multiple occasions and was the holder of no less than 5 Olympic qualifiers ahead of the 2016 Rio Games,
OVA also have a number of developing junior walks athletes who frequent both track and out of stadium walks competition on a year round basis.
If you're interested in participating in the race walking disciplines of athletics, then we invite you to contact the OVA Southern Saints.
Specific race walking coaching is undertaken at the Domain Athletic Centre on Mondays and Thursdays between 3.50pm-5pm, by specialist coach Rosemary Coleman.
For any further enquiries:
Leave us a message through our contact page.
Or if you're ready to jump on board, then Join OVA through our membership portal - Join OVA
Alice and Bayley take to the race walking