La Coruña is a port city located on the northwest coast of Galicia, in a picturesque position on a strip of land stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean. It has ten kilometers of promenade, a large beach at the foot of the city, a historic center to see during the day and to live at night, lively bars, clubs and nightlife until late.
Among the most striking events, in addition to the Carnival, which gathers a huge popular participation, there are the night of San Giovanni, June 24, when the city and the sea shine for hundreds of bonfires celebrating the arrival of summer, and the Fiestas de Maria Pìta, in August, with outdoor dancing, a battle of flowers and a great fireworks display.
Another characteristic manifestation of this city of probable Celtic origin is the Grand Prix Internacional de Marcha Cantones de A Coruña - Trophy Sergio Vázquez (dedicated to its founder) this year at its XXXII edition.
Every year on the last weekend of May or the first of June they fight on the 1km track. in Avenida da Mariña, some of the best heel and toe specialists.
Scrolling through the list of winners of previous editions we can find the gotha of the world race walk. Olympic Champions and World Champions such as Maurizio Damilano competed on the Galician roads: Ernesto Canto, Andrey Perlov, Daniel Plaza, Robert Korzeniowski, Jefferson Pérez, Jarred Tallent, Miguel Angel Lopez and Wang Zhen, without forgetting other great performers of the heel and toe as Valentin Massana, Mihail Schennikov, Francisco Fernández, Chu Yafei and Cai Zelin in the men's field.
On the female side, the "parterre de roi" of the competition is equally very rich. We remember, among the many: Karry Saxby, Yelena Nikolayeva, Maria Vasco, Susana Feitor, Rita Turava, Kjersti Plätzer, Olga Kaniskina, Olimpiada Ivanova; Liu Hong and the Italian Annarita Sidoti, Erika Alfridi, Elisabetta Perrone and Rossella Giordano.
In 1996, in the tenth edition of the Cantones Grand Prix, the first edition of the European Cup was held in the Galician capital. The flagship of the zealous and tireless organisers, is undoubtedly the organization, in 2006, of the XXII IAAF World Race Walking Cup. A high-level edition with exciting duels (Fernández and Pérez in the men's 20 km; and Ivanova in the women's 20 km, Nizhegorodov and Nymark in the 50 km.) and high leve performances.
Another unforgettable moment to remember on Avenida da Mariña was the World Record, established in 2015, by Chinese Liu Hong on 20 km. women.
The Galician race always enjoys excellent participation because, apart from the brief interlude of the Dublin race, it is the last international race before the big events scheduled in August (Olympics, World Cup, European Championships). The weather conditions are always optimal to allow good time performance, finally the course is, of course, very fast.
Also this year the races did not disappoint the expectations. In female field the Tibetan monologue of Qieyang Shenjie already second in the World Team Championships in Taicang. The Chinese girl has closed with a great time: 1:26:28. Time that, net of the performances obtained in Russia by Yelena Lashmanova (one in Sochi and the other in Cheboksary), at this time still out of international competitions, represents the best seasonal world performance. Very good also the Spanish naturalized Hungarian, Julia Takács (1:27:58) who improved her personal record by almost a minute. This improvement, after a month before had been tested on 50 km. and it came from a hard preparation for the longest distance, it should make many coaches think about some training theories.
The men's race that saw the victory of a brisk Arévalo (1:19:14) was much more fought and captivating. The world champion in London has thus, partially, redeemed from the disappointment he had in Taicang (12th in 1:23:46). Also the second arrived was redeemed by the bad race in the World Team Championship: the Spaniard García (1:19:18, a shattered personal record). The 3rd and 4th place of the Japanese Noda (1:19:49) and Kawano (1:20:11) should be noted. The two Japanese were not even selected in the World Team Championships by Rising Sun Country. A demonstration of great solidity, compactness and strength that Japan has right now.
The only sore point (and noticed by the organizers and other participants) the total lack of Italian athletes. Some preferred to compete a week later in Alytus (Lithuania).
Before the races there was a nice ceremony. The organizers, by the Galician president Isidoro Ornillos Baz, the current organizer Dolores Rojas Suárez and the founder of the Grand Prix, Sergio Vasquez, wanted to pay tribute, with a dedicated plaque, to the Italian international judge, Nicola Maggio. The judge from Trieste at the end of the year, having reached the age limit, will end his international career.
As reported in the four Gospels, Jesus Christ pronounced the famous phrase "Nemo prophetus acceptus est in his patria sua" in Nazareth in reference to the rather cold reception given to him by his countrymen and the fact that his conducy was not appreciated by those who had been closer. The touching and brief ceremony of La Coruña is yet another testimony of how current this phrase is.