PREVIEW | Oceania & Australian Race Walking Championships 

Australia’s best race walkers will descend upon Adelaide for the Oceania and Australian 20km Race Walking Championships, with competition set to be fierce as Sunday becomes one of the most important dates on the 2022 Australian race walking calendar. 

Our walkers were in career-best form last time we saw them compete over 20km at the Tokyo Olympics, but a stacked international calendar starting with the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat, Oman next month, means athletes will need to push themselves to their limits to secure their spots on various teams.

This year’s Championships will act as the selection trial for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, and if the two athletes who win the coveted men’s and women’s titles notch World Championships qualifiers, they will secure the first spots on offer for the Australian team travelling to the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

Reigning national champions Rhydian Cowley (Brent Vallance) and Jemima Montag (Brent Vallance) headline the event, but both will be challenged as Tokyo Olympians Declan Tingay (Steve Tingay) Kyle Swan (Brent Vallance) and Rebecca Henderson (Simon Baker) push for their maiden Open national titles.

Montag, who on Sunday will go for the three-peat, will have one goal in mind and that’s to cement herself a spot on the team for Oregon. A first-year medical student, Montag has not declared herself for the Muscat Championships due to university commitments, but having already notched 1:30.39 in the scorching Sapporo sun at the Tokyo Games, all she will need to do to is defeat the six-strong women’s field to secure her ticket to the World Championships.   

Up against Montag will be 2021 bronze medallist Henderson, who has added considerable experience to her career since achieving her 1:31:53 personal best at last year’s championships. Henderson will be looking to walk under the 1:31:00 World Championships qualifying standard but will also be out to prove to selectors what she will able to do against her international counterparts in Muscat. One to watch this year will be 2016 World Under 20 Championships representative Clara Smith, who has recently returned to the sport but has not yet competed in the 20km event. 

Cowley walked his way to eighth place in the 50km walk at the Olympic Games in a personal best time of 3:52:01 but has only recently turned his attention back to shorter distances of 20km and 10km.  Raring for the title will be Tingay, who will not only be aiming to secure his spot on the teams for Muscat and Oregon, but also out to redeem himself after his loss to Cowley last year. At last year’s Championships, the West Australian crossed the line 0.01 seconds head of Cowley but a two-minute time deduction following a third red card on his final lap of Fawkner Park in Melbourne saw him in third place behind Swan. This year both Tingay and Swan have impressed across two 10,000m mixed race hit outs on the rack, and are in good form to generate some tough competition. 

The program also includes the Oceania U20 10km Race Walking Championships, which will see defending champions Alanna Peart (Wayne Peart) and Will Thompson (Brent Vallance) and the likes of rising walks star Olivia Sandery compete for World Under 20 Championships qualifiers. Sandery and Peart have registered qualifiers of 46:12.0 and 48:18.9 respectively over the last month, and are taking every opportunity possible to lower their times to be competitive for their first major Championships event later this year.  

The Oceania & Australian 20km Race Walking Championships begin on Sunday at 7am at War Memorial Drive, Adelaide. 

Full timetable:

7:00am – Men’s 20km Race Walk Open
7:00am – Women’s 20km Race Walk Open
8:00am – Men’s 10km Race Walk Under 20
8:00am – Women’s 10km Race Walk Under 20
8:00am – Men’s 5km Race Walk Under 18
8:00am – Women’s 5km Race Walk Under 18

For more information, visit https://www.athletics.com.au/events/125469/

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 10/2/2021