All eyes set on 9th European Cup Race Walking event: Preview – Athletics News
Fans from all over the world seem to expect a wholesome from the competition at the ninth European Cup Race Walking, as a blended line-up of athletes are set to measure their mark to hit the apex, on May 21.
Six-top walkers at least, who were prominently inactive over the past two years will be looking to emerge and make a distinct mark in the competition. Nonetheless, other runners have also prepared themselves to compete and are in good form for the event.
Men’s event of 50k
The Men’s 50k race walking event will intensify in the second-half, as the temperatures are expected to move-up as the event progresses, which ensures that the race will be tough for those athletes who have an eye on the gold medals.
Russian athlete, Nizhegorodov, will be the highlight of the event as he performed well in 2008, when he competed in the IAAF World Cup on his home turf in Cheboksary. He attained his first world record in the event.
At the Athens Olympics seven years ago, the Russian suffered an injury but was still able to attain the silver medal.
A scintillating competition is expected from his team-mates also, as he will lead a team composed of top pedigree walkers, such as the likes of Denis Strelkov, Andrey Ruzavin, and Igor Yerokhin.
Another athlete in sheer form, Poland’s Rafal Augustyn, who secured a defying finishing time of 1:20:57 at the 20k distance at home, last month, may prove as a tough contender in the competition.
Italian, Marco De Luca, has been among the top ten athletes in the world rankings and is sure to put up a good show.
Norwegian, Trond Nymark, had won the second spot at the World Championships in Berlin two years ago and is back with a whole new heap of skills and steady form.
Men’s event of 20k
The Men’s event of the 20k distance also ensures to be a hard race after lunch, with the rising temperatures. The event is predicted to be one of the most intriguing races of the day, as the long walk will be the toughest task for the athletes.
Some of the prolific athletes will be competing in the 20k event, as the world record holder Vladimir Kanaykin, Sergey Morozov, who holds the fastest unofficial mark of all time with a 1:16:43 and former European champion, Francisco Javier Fernandez, will
battle with their skills on the ground.
Competing in the battle for the ultimate glory will be Russian athlete, Vladimir Kanaykin, who is entitled as the walker with the ‘best time’ in 2011. He attained an immaculate victory with 1:19:14 at the Russian championships, in the month of February.
Morozov secured the second spot with a finishing time of 1:20:08 and will be eyeing to replicate his performance this time also.
Spanish athlete, Fernandez, has not quite made it up the rankings, but will be looking to have a good build-up, as he has been training hard since the last competition in March.
The contest ensures unmatched entertainment with a league of medal holders from different disciplines of race walking, which include the Russian trio of Sergey Morozov, Vladimir Kanaykin and Denis Nizhegorodov, Spanish athlete, Franciso Javier Fernandez
, Giorgio Rubino from Italy, along with team-mate Elisa Rigaudo and Melanie Seeger from Germany.
Vera Sokolova Russia and Matej Toth from Slovakia will also be among the players to look out for, as they will be eyeing to put up a challenging performance in the race.
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