Transcript Racewalking: Why the US is a Third

Physiological and Psychological
Determinants of Racewalking
Success: You may already be
coaching a potential Olympian
Dave McGovern, MSS
A Brief History of Racewalking
The 19th-Century:
The Golden Era of
Walking in the US
Pedestrian races
were hugely
popular in the US
and Great Britain
throughout the
19th Century.
Ultra races from 12 hours to six days were among the
most popular spectator sports during the Victorian era.
Due to it’s popularity at the time, racewalking
became one of the first events on the Olympic
program.
The 1904 Olympic
decathlon included a
half-mile walk.
1,500-meter and
3,500-meter races
were contested in
1906 and distances
were gradually
increased to the
present-day 20k and
50k events.
Walking remained
reasonably popular
popular in North
America through
the 1950s, but
we’ve been on a
steady decline ever
since.
Possible reasons for the decline
• Competition for athletes with the “Big 4” sports.
• Lack of developmental opportunities
(No walks in Division I track.)
• Inconsistent support/training
opportunities for elite walkers.
(Walkers no longer able to train at ARCO.)
• Cultural bias
Racewalkers are national heroes in many countries.
Barcelona Olympic Silver Medallist Carlos Mercenario
with with Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone at the
Acapulco Planet Hollywood opening.
In the US? Not so much...
Racewalkers
and distance
runners share
similar
physiological
attributes
Yet there is little correlation between
running success and walking success
1 mile run
1 mile walk
5k run
5k walk
Philip Dunn
4:17
6:11
15:35
20:19
Ian Whatley
4:18
6:16
14:52
20:31
Curt Clausen
4:30
5:48
14:48
19:35
Ray Sharp
4:35
5:46
16:12
20:04
Dave McGovern
4:43
6:00
16:18
20:06
Steve Pecinovsky
4:50
5:51
17:00
20:45
Paul Schwartzburg
4:49
5:58
17:21
20:23
Tim Seaman
5:07
5:46
17:05
19:09 (AR)
Ben Shorey
5:10
6:11
17:30
20:05
Athletes who may not
have the inherent
athletic talent to be
elite distance runners
but who have the
work ethic required to
be elite athletes may
be taught to be
exceptional
racewalkers.
Racewalking is an endurance event, but also a technique-specific skill
for which not everyone has an aptitude. It takes consistent training over
time (10 years+?) to develop a top racewalker. But our chain has too
many broken links to keep walkers around long enough to reach the top.
There are many strong youth programs
across the US that support the walks,
yet only Maine and parts of New York
State have racewalking in their track
programs. And beyond high school,
only the NAIA and a few small division
II conferences conduct racewalks.
The few programs that do support
racewalking have had a huge impact. One
school, UW-Parkside has produced
dozens of National Champions and four
Olympians.
Without opportunities for
consistent training over time, USA
Racewalking has suffered.
Chula Vista from 1997-2004: medals at international competition (3)
Without Assistance 2005-Present: medals at international competition(0)
Chula Vista from 1997-2004: number of athletes with A & B standards (5)
Without Assistance 2005-Present: number of athletes with A & B standards (2)
Chula Vista from 1997-2004: number of spots filled at the Olympics (9)
Without Assistance 2005-Present: number of spots filled at the Olympics (2)
Chula Vista from 1997-2004: American Records (20)
Without Assistance 2005-Present: American Records (2)
Chula Vista from 1997-2004: First time Olympians (5)
Without Assistance 2005-Present: First time Olympians (0)