Some reflection in the light of the recent controversy about the event 50 Km.
Lima - Copa Pan-Americana:
They took part in the XVIII Copa Panamericana de Marcha:
50 Km Men: 12 Countries with 20 athletes participating, equal to an average of 1,66 per Country
50 Km women: 4 Countries with 6 athletes participating, equal to an average of 1,50 per Country
20 Km Men: 15 Countries with 39 athletes participating, equal to an average of 2,40 per Country
20 Km women: 13 Countries with athletes participating, equal to an average of 2,46 per Country
Podebrady - European Cup:
They took part in the XII European Race Walking Cup:
50 Km: 14 Countries with 28 athletes participating, equal to an average of 2,00 per Country
20 Km Men: 18 Countries with 68 athletes participating, equal to an average of 3.78 per Country
20 Km Men: 21 Countries with 52 athletes participating, equal to an average of 2,48 per Country
Obviously, the history of race walking in Europe has led to a greater participation in all races, but the highest superiority to that of Lima is recorded only in the 20km men.
The interesting thing is to see how in both events the difference in participation between the 50km and 20km events is two and a half times in Europe, and almost double in Lima, where, among other things, the Pan-American Association opened the 50km, at least on an individual level, to women, thus making a step forward towards the gender equality criterion.
In both continental events, the number of Nations participating in the 50km (men) is less than that of the two 20km (male & female) and even more obvious is the number of nations accessing the final standings by completing the score with the number of athletes provided by their respective regulations. Just look at the following table.
| Venue | 50km: Nations in medal table | 20km Men: Nations in medal table | 20km Women: Nations in medal table |
| | | | |
| Lima | 2 nations | 8 nations | 5 nations |
| Podebrady | 3 nations | 11 nations | 10 nations |
Another interesting topic of analysis is given by how many athletes in these areas that participated in the 50km at Rio 2016 then chose to participate in the same race in Lima or Podebrady or have chosen the different race
| Venue | Starting in Rio | Competing in 50km in Rio | Competing in 50km in Area Cup | Competing in 20km in Area Cup |
| | | | | |
| Pan-American athletes | 80 | 23 | 5 | 4 |
| European athletes | 80 | 41 | 9 | 10 |
If we repeat the same table as those who competed in Rio de Janeiro in the 20km we will see totally different numbers
| Venue | Starting in Rio | Competing in 20km in Rio | Competing in 20km in Area Cup | Competing in 50km in Area Cup |
| | | | | |
| Pan-American athletes | 74 | 21 | 6 | 2 |
| European athletes | 74 | 29 | 13 | 1 |
It seems too obvious the choice of some athletes who usually compete in top events in the 50km (or double if possible) to choose in the 20km Cup races.
Reasons can be many, but probably two are the main ones:
- a different programming course to the top event of the year as some have already opted to participate in a 50km previous
- the need to get a good result in the Cup competition with his country in 20km (the latter leads us to the conclusion that in many Nations the number of athletes who habitually make 50km of those who make the 20km is much lower).
There are reasons to consider in terms of future strategy.
To finish our analysis we propose the following table summarizing the numerical participation in the races that took place in the World in 2017 on the 50km.
| Venue | Nation | Men at the start | Women at the start |
| | | | |
| Dudince | SVK | 34 | 2 |
| El Hierro, Valverde | ESP | 21 | - |
| Porto de Mos | POR | 4 | 1 |
| La Roche-sur-Yon | FRA | 12 | - |
| Schinias, Marathonas | GRE | 3 | - |
| Naumburg | GER | 7 | 1 |
| Podebrady | CZE | 28 | - |
| Huangshan | CHN | 56 | 9 |
| New Delhi | IND | 20 | - |
| Monterrey | MEX | 21 | - |
| Santee | USA | 12 | 9 |
| Bragança Paulista | BRA | 6 | 1 |
| Taicang | CHN | 21 | 3 |
| Wajima | JPN | 28 | - |
| Lima | PER | 20 | 6 |
| Totale partecipanti | | 266 | 32 |
| | | | |
| Total races | | 15 | 8 |
| Average athletes per race | | 18 | 4 |
Conclusions
Should we all wonder what to do to save the 50 Km in the future?
If the interest shown is this, the risk is high.
As we have been examining earlier, participation in the latest Olinpici Games (80 athletes) was much higher.
The same happened at the last Beijing 2015 World Championships with 54 athletes at the start.
This means that the problem to be resolved is locally, with individual Federations, athletes and coaches.
This is a factor that also involves watching to the future, because without the plans to support the 50km by the Federations, young athletes will make this distance less and less, and they will focus on the shorter one.
The lawyer Paul DeMesteer concluded his analysis addressed to members of the IAAF Council with five things to do to save the 50km.
Of these five things four are also reflected in this brief analysis and are:
a) urge Area Association to add a women’s 50km to the Area Race Walk Cup program as was done successfully for Pan American Race Walk Cup
b) urge national federations to include women in their 50km championships
c) urge the respective organizers to combine the men’s and women’s 50km into a single event
and last but not least
d) go out and walk a 50km race. The future of race walking depends on all of us.
Maybe that's exactly what's missing !
(foto di copertina by Getty Images)