The Oceania 20km Racewalking Championships will take place in Adelaide, Australia this weekend.

With 3 Oceania Federations represented plus several other stellar walkers from all around the world. This kicks off the IAAF Racewalking season.

The Women’s race features the top 2 from last year’s Commonwealth Games, in Jemima Montag (AUS) and Alana Barber (AUS). Sandra Lorena Arenas (COL) is the favourite on paper, being the South American Champion, and 5th placer from London 2017, taking out the 10,000m track walk in Canberra only two weeks ago.

Whilst Australian Katie Hayward will be looking to add to her Oceania 10,000m U20 record, which she broke in Canberra to finish third behind Lorenas and Montag. The 20km U20 Oceania Record is held by Natalie Saville, set on the 27th of February 1997, two and half years before Hayward was born.

The Men’s race sees a field of 34 take the start line.

The local story line is two of Australia’s recent Olympic medallist racing in Australia, with Adelaide local Jared Tallent and 2016 Bronze Medalist Dane Bird-Smith both racing.

Tallent racing for the first time in 23 months, after persistent injuries have derailed his walking, it will also be the first hitout since taking to the track in November to run a 1500m at a local Queensland shield meeting.

Whilst Tallent and Bird-Smith aren’t the only big-name competitors toeing the line. Evan Dunfee, the Canadian reigning NACAC 20km Racewalking Champion and 4th place in the 2016 Olympic 50km walk, starts in good form after finishing second in the Canberra 10,000m race a fortnight ago.

The winner from Canberra, Persus Karlstrom of Sweeden, who won this race last year, will look to defend his title. Karlstrom has a good record in Australia, winning his last 7 races in the country, over 4 different distances. The last time he was beaten was the Oceania Championships in 2016.

Entry list

20km Race Walk - men open

Araya, Edward Chile

Araya, Yerko Chile

Arevalo, Eider Colombia

Arteaga, Mauricio Ecuador

Bilodeau, Mat Canada

Bird, Kyle Australia

Bird-Smith, Dane Australia

Blocki, Damian Poland

Brzozowski, Artur Poland

Cowley, Rhydian Australia

Dunfee, Evan Canada

Espada, Luis Puerto Rico

Gibbons, Carl Australia

Jones, Tyler Australia

Karlstrom, Perseus Sweden

Kozica, Jason Australia

Melendez, Jose Peurto Rico

Palma, Ever Mexico

Prasad, Pramesh Fiji

Reading, Brendon Australia

Rew, Quentin New Zealand

Richardson, Dylan Australia

Ruiz, Jorge Colombia

Sikora, Rafal Poland

Suskevicius, Tadas Lithuania

Tallent, Jared Australia

Tingay, Declan Australia

Tse, Chun Hung Hong Kong

Uradnik, Miroslav Slovakia

Yamamoto, Toru Japan

Ziukas, Marius Lithuania

Cortes, Araya Chile

20km Race Walk - women open

Hayward, Katie  Australia

Huse, Philippa   Australia

Arenas, Sandra Lorena  Colombia

Martin, Katya  Australia

Montag, Jemima  Australia

Ng, Sau Man  Hong Kong

Papadopoulos, Christina  Australia

Pickles, Jessica  Australia

Ruddick, Kelly  Australia

Tallent, Claire  Australia

Virbalytre, Brigita  Lithuania

Tallent, Rachel  Australia