Australia’s race walkers will have a slice of history to compete for at Sunday’s Australian 20km Race Walking Championships in Adelaide, lining up for the final national title over the distance as World Athletics transitions to the Half Marathon distance from January 1, 2026.
With Olympic medallists Jemima Montag (VIC, Brent Vallance) and Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance) leading a host of world-class athletes at the World Athletics Race Walking Tour – Bronze competition as part of the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series, the 52nd edition of the championships for men and 42nd for the women looms as a fitting finale for the distance.
Winning five consecutive Australian titles in the event before racing to Olympic bronze in the 20km Race Walk and Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay in Paris, Montag will be out to uphold her dominance at the top, but Olympic teammates Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker) and Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) will mount a challenge.
Montag holds the national record at 1:26:25 and occupies eight of the top nine fastest times in history by Australian women, with Henderson and Sandery coming in at third and fourth on the Australian all-time list with personal bests of 1:28:43 and 1:28:52 respectively, while Elizabeth McMillen (NSW, Jared Tallent) looms as an improver with a best of 1:30:47.
The additions of Olympic silver medallist Lorena Arenas (COL, 1:27:03) and World Championships bronze medallist Antigoni Ntrismpioti (GRE, 1:28:12) add further star-power to the affair; well acquainted with the Australian circuit and athletes as regular training partners down under.
With the Men’s and Women’s 20km Race Walking events both set to begin at 8:00am ACDT on Sunday, the likes of Declan Tingay (WA, Brent Vallance), Olympic medallists Cowley and Evan Dunfee (CAN), and Kyle Swan (VIC, Jared Tallent) will pave the way for the field of 38 across the two events.
International competitors Perseus Karlstrom (SWE) and Dunfee have spoiled the Australian party with line honours in the last two years, with Tingay now on a mission to reclaim victory and the national title which was won by Swan in 2024.
Little separates the top four seedings on paper who all own personal bests between Dunfee’s 1:18:03 and Swan’s 1:18:59, but it was the Canadian who stole the show at last month’s Supernova 10,000m when bettering his own national record in 38:08.50.
On that occasion, Tingay was the first Australian across the line in 38:31.50 by a margin of 45-seconds ahead of Swan, and coupled with his 11th place finish at the Olympic Games makes him a deserving Australian favourite for Sunday’s showdown.
The seasoned veteran Cowley is not to be discarded if a war of attrition eventuates, while the next wave of Australia’s race walkers including Isaac Beacroft (NSW, David Beacroft) and Alexandra Griffin (WA, Jared Tallent) will put their best foot forward for this year’s World University Games.
Ahead of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan this September, Montag, Cowley and Swan are the only Australian athletes with the 20km Race Walk qualifying standard – which stands at 1:19:20 for men and 1:29:00 for women.
Full entry lists and live results can be found HERE.
The event will take place the morning after the Adelaide Invitational, with more information available HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 12/2/2025
