This year we obtained three important records on the Olympic distance of 20 Km road walk: those in men (Yohann Diniz and Yusuke Suzuki), and in women (Liu Hong); also the Russian Alembekova broken the old record, but the performance was not eligible to be approved).
The discussions in this regard, unfortunately, for the most part in Italy, were with tones more or less strong, focusing now on how to walk, now on judging, now on regular courses.
Given that there are situations in which the criticisms are sometime justified, it is also true that it is a mistake to make a bundle of all herbs, and get even to advocate the exclusion of the discipline from the international scene, as in some cases occurred, it is not the best sign to express the passion.
Analysis must be done, however, not at emotional level, but on accurate and comparable data.
Talking of technique of walk is not always easy.
Beyond that the rule does not change from several decades, and especially in its substance, with the two essential bulwarks of contact with the ground visible to the human eye (indispensable precision view of the technological evolution which probably would catch sometime to foul also athletes of the 50s, 60s, 70s etc ...) and the "bent" of the knee, it is identified by the mid-60s.
Often they would discuss interpretations.
Perhaps even more often on evaluations that are derived from image analysis and not by the direct contact with the race.
The judgment is a theme often subjective (not in reference to the meter used by the judges, but also to the subjectivity of those comments, or personal circumstances) so either you do it in "simple view" - as they say - or is it an exercise demagogic and populist.
Questioning the courses can be logical only where there is no real evidence. To date in any of the records in 2015 seems not to exist a proper documentation of the measurement course according to international rules (nevertheless someone could be puzzled about the just over 30 personal best registered in Nomi in Japan).
Having said that, we should then think about some things.
20 km men
Meanwhile, the current world record in 20 km, established by the Japanese Suzuki (1:16:36, and the week before the French Diniz with 1:17:02) means walking at 3:50 per kilometer. This represents an improvement of 2" per kilometer than the world records of the last 20 years:
1994 Bernardo Segura 1:17:25.6;
2003 Jefferson Perez 1:17:21.
Is obvious that this improvement is statistically almost irrelevant, and we would say not entirely resounding, being in the same period fell much more rhythm per kilometer for the record of marathon.
Even more if we see its progress in the different decades starting from 1960 we have this situation:
1:25:58 Vedykov 1960;
1:24:50 Nihill 1972;
1:19:35 Colin 1980;
1:18:30 Blazek 1990;
1:17:26 Segura 1994;
1:17:21 Perez 2003;
1:16:36 Suzuki 2015.
It mens 9 minutes and a half in 55 years.
Compared with the marathon for the same decades, here's the progression:
2:15:16 Bikila 1960;
2:09:28 Hill 1970;
2:08:18 De Castella 1981;
2:06:50 Dinsamo 1988;
2:05:28 Khannouci 2002;
2:02:57 Kipruto 2014.
An improvement of 13 minutes in the same 55 years period
Certainly, seen twice the distance, it is an improvement of speed for each kilometer less. It should however be taken into account as the shortest distance widens the opportunities of records and performance. Other comparison it should be done on the speed, since there is doubt as to be in proportion than the comparison of improvement.
There is another interesting aspect to be taken into consideration, that is, as it is strongly changed the density of athletes who express themselves near these time limitd. This applies both to race walk as for the marathon.
This certainly is food for thought for race walk more than the marathon as a discipline subject to a judgment, and where if the sieve expands its mesh goes a bit all, and the "purity" of the product that is expected to fall loses its fine quality. But as I said this is rebuttable if people are really present at the races.
20 km Women
Let's see what has happened to the female record.
Liu Hong brings the record from 1:25:02 to 1:24:38. It is 24 seconds, or slightly more than 1 second per kilometer.
The progression for women decades was this (officially 20 Km is evidence introduced in 1999 therefore less rich of statistical data and a logical progression faster and more obvious):
1999 Riaskina (RUS) 1:27:30;
2001 Wang (CHN) 1:26:22;
2005 Ivanova (RUS) 1:25:41;
2011 Sokolova (RUS) 1:25:08;
2012 Lashmanova (RUS) 1: 25.02 (record under investigation);
2015 Liu (CHN) 1:24:38.
In 16 years we have an improvement of approximately 11 seconds per kilometer.
We see the women's marathon at the same time:
1999 Laroupe (KEN) 2:20:43;
2001 Takahashi (JAP) 2:19:46;
2001 Ndereba (KEN) 2:18:47;
2002 Radcliffe (GBR) 2:17:18;
2003 Radcliffe (GBR) 2:15:25.
The improvement was about 7 seconds per kilometer (as already said 7” at a rate of 3:15 per kilometer for the record in marathon and 4:13 for race walk, lead to an equivalence close to 10" for the real marathon, which is virtually the same improvement).
In terms of athletic performance, these are the values, and these data confirm a substantial equivalence in improvements in performances between walking and marathon.
The rest of course is debatable and subjective as in the walk count technique, style and judgment which is not referring to running.
One thing is quite certain, however, is in walking and in marathon that we see improvements of records that are almost always done by athletes who have achieved great results in major events (Olympics, world championships or large meeting area), and this is a given significant.
The future
If we compare the current world record of race walk (and marathon) with those, for example, of the 100m and compare it to the IAAF scoring tables of Dr. Bojidar Spiriev we get the following tables
| Men | World record | Points |
| | | |
| 20 km walk | 1:16:36 | 1.266 |
| Marathon | 2:02:57 | 1.292 |
| 100m | 9:58 | 1.356 |
| Women | World recod | Points |
| | | |
| 20 km walk | 1:24:38 | 1.232 |
| Marathon | 2:15:25 | 1.282 |
| 100m | 10:49 | 1.314 |
If we imagine a future, perhaps not so much next, that scores of performances of current world records over 100m dash are also applicable in race walk we will get these stratospheric results
| Event | Points | World record |
| | | |
| 20 km walk men | 1.356 | 1:12:18 |
| 20 km walk women | 1.314 | 1:18:54 |
As you see there is still plenty of room before turning fiery debates.
Liu Hong and Sandro Damilano when the time was unofficial of 1.24:37
Re-measurement of the course by Official Measurer Jorge Blanco (ESP) with the Judges and Police
Official Measures check the calibrated bicycle