Cowley and Ruddick Crowned Champions | Oceania and Australian 35km Race Walking Championships

Melbourne’s Fawkner Park this morning played host to many of Oceania’s premier race walkers for the Oceania and Australian 35km Race Walking Championships, with Rhydian Cowley and Kelly Ruddick reigning supreme to walk their way into the history books as the inaugural Australian champions.

As World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee transition away from the 50km event which was last walked at the Tokyo Games, the introduction of the 35km distance for both men and women at major championships will become the focus of many race walkers – with securing bonus points for qualification high on the agenda at Fawkner Park.

The Men’s 35km bout saw New Zealand’s Quentin Rew deliver a stunning walk of 2:32:58 to nail the 2:33:00 world standard and be crowned the Oceania champion, but it was two-time Olympian Rhydian Cowley who clinched the inaugural Australian 35-kilometre race walking title with his performance of 2:37:57.

Entering as the reigning Australian 50km champion and with an Olympic top eight finish to his name, Cowley was determined to cement his name in history as the first ever 35km Australian champion.

“I have to say, I feel a lot better after this than I did after my 50km races! That extra 15km definitely makes a big difference,” Cowley says.

“The result is in alignment with how training has been going which is good. I haven’t quite been training as well as last year, because I was hitting everything out of the park in the lead up to the Olympics. I’ve got a little bit of time left to bring things to a crescendo,” Cowley says.

Walking alongside Carl Gibbons early in the encounter, Cowley proceeded to cut loose over the final laps of the two-kilometre circuit, stretching the gap on Gibbons.

“Carl and I were aiming to find a good rhythm early at around that two hours and forty minute pace, and then to pick it up and see what we could do towards the finish. It was a pretty solid negative split for me, but it’s always nice to walk with someone,” Cowley says.

Gibbons was rewarded with national silver for his performance of 2:43:04, while Kim Mottram’s 3:03:17 saw him round out the podium.

The Women’s race only ever belonged to Kelly Ruddick, who built a commanding lead that eventuated in an emphatic 15-minutes victory when clocking 3:00:04 to defeat Laura Langley of New Zealand who was second in 3:15:58. Ruddick’s compatriot Sarah Brennan was disqualified.

The 49-year-old fought on as she sought the 2:54:00 World Athletics Championships qualifying standard, with the required pace proving a bridge too far on the day..

“It’s pretty exciting! It’s a long way, so it was a good feeling to cross the line,” Ruddick says.

“I found the bottom end quite tight and I hurt myself early on, so I had to struggle through the rest of the race unfortunately. I have recently done a 32km in training a little bit quicker than that, so I’m a bit disappointed,” Ruddick says.

The Invitational Open Women’s 20km was won by Jemima Montag in a time of 1:32:32, as the world number one cruised to victory ahead of Colombian Olympic silver medallist Sandra Lorena Arenas. Australian Under 20 representative Olivia Sandery finished third at her 20km debut in a time of 1:34:35, as the junior lays the foundations of her transition to the senior ranks.

Montag and Arenas went step-for-step in the early stages of the battle but it was the 24-year-old Australian who stretched away from the visitor to add another feather in her cap as she prepares to win the world title and Commonwealth Games.

The Invitational Men’s 20km was won by Tim Fraser as the clock read 1:26:00, with the 22-year-old proving too good for his competitors as he walked to a significant personal best in the favourable conditions at Fawkner Park.

Full results can be found here. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 15/5/2022