Officially the first world walks champion was Veniamin Soldatenko, who won the 50km in Malmo after the event was controversially omitted from the 1976 Olympics.
The inaugural men’s 20km champion, in Helsinki in 1983, was Mexican Ernesto Canto, who produced a 19:32 final 5km. Ronald Weigel won the 50km comfortably, though he was ordered to do another lap of the track at the finish, even though he had already completed 50km. Weigel was second in Rome in 1987, but East Germany retained the title as his team-mate Hartwig Gauder won with a quick 42:23 final 10km. His 3:43:08 was the fifth fastest ever time despite sweltering conditions.
The women had their inaugural walk in Italy where Irina Strakhova had halves of 23:21 and 20:51 to win gold. In the 20km, Olympic champion Maurizio Damilano used the same accelerating tactics and delighted the home crowd with a 22-second victory.
Damilano repeated the tactics in Tokyo in 1991, but had three-time world indoor champion Mikhail Shchennikov with him in the stadium, but the Soviet surged a lap too early and the Italian won by nine seconds. The Soviets fared better in the 50km, where 97% humidity caused 12 dropouts. Aleksandr Potashov and Andrey Perlov deliberately crossed the line together, but the photofinish gave it to the former by 0.01 of a second with Gauder third. The Soviets also won the women’s 10km through Alina Ivanova. Finland’s Sari Essayah finished third, after a 19th in 1987, but in Stuttgart in 1993 she gained a narrow victory. The 20km title stayed in Europe as Valenti Massana won a race that saw four of the first nine at 17km disqualified and Spain completed a winning double in Germany as Jesus Garcia won the 50km event by 80 metres from Valentin Kononen.
In Gothenburg in 1995, Finland’s Kononen moved up a place and received great support. Italian Giovanni Perricelli finished second and his nation did even better in the 20km as Michele Didoni beat defending champion Massana. They also won silver in the women’s event, though gold went to Russia’s Irina Stankina, who at 18 years and 135 days became the youngest champion in any event. It was fast as there were quickest ever place times from third to fifteenth.
The road 10km was never contested again, but a track 10,000m walk was held for the only time at Athens 1997. It was won by Annarita Sidoti, who was only originally selected as a reserve for the Italian team. In the 20km, Daniel Garcia, who had been disqualified in the last 250 metres while contesting the lead in 1995 and also in 1993, won but was aided by Ilya Markov being disqualified while holding a clear lead. In the 50km, the title went to Olympic champion Robert Korzeniowski, who had been disqualified in 1993 and was third in 1995.
In Seville in 1999, the Pole was disqualified and the clear winner was seemingly Russian German Skurygin. However, he was later relieved of his title due to a doping infringement and gold retroactively went to Italian Ivano Brugnetti, who had been only 13th at halfway. In the 20km, former world junior champion Ilya Markov became the first Russian to win any world title since the Soviet Union break-up. China dominated the women’s walk with a 1-2 led by Liu Hongyu. Kerry Saxby-Junna, who had been second in 1987, took the bronze for Australia.
Russia took the 2001 title in Edmonton with world record-holder Olimpiada Ivanova an easy winner by more than a minute. The Russians did even better in the men’s 20km as led a clean sweep with Markov just two seconds back. However, they were medal less in the 50km though as Korzeniowski regained his title with 1993 champion Garcia second.
Having won four global titles already, the Pole saved his most memorable race until Paris in 2003 when he won in a world record 3:36:03 from Skurygin. The women’s 20km was won by 1996 Olympic champion Yelena Nikolayeva, who won at her seventh attempt from Ireland’s Gillian O’Sullivan. Ecuador’s Jefferson Perez, who had been second in Seville after a 33rd and 18th in previous championships won the men’s 20km in a world record 1:17:21, which earned him an extra $100,000. His last 10km was just 38:11.
Perez easily defended his title in Helsinki in 2005, winning by more than a minute. Ivanova regained the women’s title in Finland and, though her time wasn’t a PB, the IAAF gave her a world record bonus as her previous best was before they ratified walk records and she won $160,000 with her win bonus. Russia also took the 50km title with Sergey Kirdyapkin a clear winner from his team- mate Aleksey Voyevodin. Alex Schwazer was third – as in Osaka in 2007 where Australia won their first walks title through. It was business as usual, though in the men’s 20km, as Perez won his third title, while Olga Kaniskina led a Russian 1-2 in the women’s event.
Kaniskina won the 2008 Olympics and then easily retained her title in Berlin in 2009 with Ireland’s Olive Loughnane second. The men’s 50km saw Kirdyapkin regain his title with an easy win. Garcia won bronze in his ninth championships. Viktor Chegin was the coach to all three champions in Germany as Valeriy Borchin, who had collapsed in Osaka, won the 20km with ease.
Borchin was also dominant in Daegu in 2011 and Russia also won the 50km through Sergey Bakulin after early leader Yohann Diniz was disqualified. Kaniskina maintained the dominance by winning her third consecutive title in the women’s walk. It was no surprise in Moscow when Russia again dominated. Olympic champion Elena Lashmanova led a 1-2 while they also won the men’s 20km title through Alexsandr Ivanov. The 50km, though, went to a victory to a different nation as Robert Heffernan delighted Irish supporters with a clear victory.