Marcia dal Mondo - Dettaglio News - 03/06/2020 - Liu Hong the most consistent female athlete of the last 20 years, Ana Cabecinha the one always at the highest levels

HOW TO JUDGE RACE WALKING
by Jeff Salvage & Gary Westerfield

03/06/2020 Liu Hong the most consistent female athlete of the last 20 years, Ana Cabecinha the one always at the highest levels

We propose today the same continuity analysis done for 20km men on a female level.

Analysis methodology

1) The best athletes from 1999 (from when the women's 20 km. was introduced) to 2020 who have obtained at least 10 performances and have achieved an average below 1:32:00 have been taken into consideration.

2) In addition to the general ranking, Sandro Damilano then proposed us the rankings by decade (2000/2010 and 2010/2020)

3) The ranking on the average of the 10 best performances of each individual athlete gives us the representation of the regularity and consistency of results that this athlete has obtained.

It is an important fact to understand the continuity with which this walker has expressed himself over time.

4) The difference, in seconds, between the personal best and the average of the 10 results indicates instead how much the athlete has always been able to express himself at his maximum levels.

Only those athletes who have an average lower than 1:29:00 were taken into consideration.

The athlete with the best differential is the Portuguese Ana Cabecinha with 51" of difference between the average of the 10 results and her best mark. Then we find another Portuguese, Susana Feitor with 55" and in third place the Italian Elisa Rigaudo with 62".

5) In the ranking there are no important walkers who have won or placed in the big competitions (Olympics, World Championships, Team World Championships and Area Championships).

In some cases, for these athletes, we have not been able to know at least 10 results.

In other cases, it is in particular athletes who have recently entered the international limelight, and who have not yet played 10 races.

6) The results obtained on the basis of the final decisions of the TAS were removed from the athletes disqualified for doping.

7) A separate case is Yelena Lashmanova (RUS).

The ten best performances on 20km of the Russian athlete were obtained in:

- Cheboksary 9.6.2018 (1:23:39)

- Sochi 18.2.2019 (1:24:31)

- Cheboksary 25.6.2016 (1:24:58)

- London 11.8.2012 (1:25:02)

- Sochi 18.2.2017 (1:25:18)

- Sochi 23.2.2013 (1:25:49)

- Sochi 19.2.2018 (1:26:23)

- Sochi 18.2.2012 (1:26:30)

- Moskwa 13.8.2013 (1:27:08)

- Cheboksary 15.6.2019 (1:27:19)

which would bring the athlete's average to 1:25:40 (it would be the best average ever) with a differential from the personal best of exactly 121".

After careful consideration we decided not to consider the results obtained in the disqualification period of the Russian Federation (those highlighted above in red).

Part of these have been partially replaced with the following obtained prior to the disqualification of Yelena Lashmanova for doping:

- Saransk 13.5.2012 (1:27:38)

- Rio Maior 6.4.2013 (1:28:19)

- Sesto San Giovanni 1.5.2013 (1:32:07),

but nevertheless the Russian athlete would have only seven useful results and therefore has not been considered for our purpose.

General ranking (first 23 athletes with results below 1:29:00)

11 Nations (3 Areas, 3 Continents) are represented as follows:

- Russia (7);

- China (6);

- Italy (3);

- Portugal (2)

- 1 athlete each for Belarus; Norway; Czech Republic; Ireland; Spain and Brasil.

There are, in these first 23 athletes, four Olympic Champions and four World Champions (all four have won both the Olympic Games and the World Championships).

Very curious is the same average in the 10 best performances obtained by Liu Hong (CHN) and Vera Sokolova (RUS). We have chosen the athlete from China for the best personal best which is also the actual world record.

N°	Athletes	Nat.	Average 10 best results	P.B.	Year	Difference P.B - Average
1	Liu Hong	Chn	1:26:34	1:24:38	2015	116”
2	Sokolova	Rus	1:26:34	1:25:08	2011	86”
3	Qieyang Shenjie	Chn	1:26:46	1:25:16	2012	90”
4	Kirdyapkina	Rus	1:26:52	1:25:11	2010	101”
5	Kaniskina	Rus	1:26:54	1:24:56	2009	120”
6	Ivanova O.	Rus	1:26:56	1:25:41	2005	75”
7	Lu Xiuzhi	Chn	1:27:20	1:25:12	2015	128”
8	Turava M.	Blr	1:27:27	1:26:11	2006	76”
9	Nikolayeva	Rus	1:27:34	1:26:22	2003	72”
10	Yang Jiayu	Chn	1:27:39	1:25:34	2019	125”
11	Giorgi	Ita	1:27:42	1:26:16	2015	86”
12	Fedoskina	Rus	1:28:10	1:26:50	2001	80”
13	Rigaudo	Ita	1:28:14	1:27:12	2008	62”
14	Plätzer	Nor	1:28:22	1:27:07	2008	75”
15	Drahotová A.	Cze	1:28:26	1:26:53	2015	93”
16	Song Hongjuan	Chn	1:28:28	1:26:46	2004	102”
17	Palmisano	Ita	1:28:29	1:26:36	2017	113”
18	De Sena	Bra	1:28:29	1:26:59	2017	90”
19	Cabecinha	Por	1:28:37	1:27:46	2008	51”
20	Wang Liping	Chn	1:28:49	1:26:33	2005	136”
21	Feitor	Por	1:28:50	1:27:55	2001	55”
22	O’Sullivan	Irl	1:28:51	1:27:22	2003	89”
23	Pascual	Esp	1:28:55	1:27:44	2008	71”

Ranking by decades (top 10 female athletes with results below 1:29:00)

2000 - 2010

Decade dominated by Russian representatives.

Six nations present in the top 10 positions. Eight athletes are European and two Asian.

Four winners of the Olympic Games (3 Russian - 1 Chinese).

Three World Champions (the three Russian also winners of the Olympics).

The average of the top 10 in this decade is 1:27:58.

Elisa Rigaudo (ITA) has been included in this decade despite having competed until 2016, as it is in these years that she has achieved the best results.

N°

Athletes

Nat.

Average

10 best results

P.B.

Year

Difference

P.B - Average

1	Kaniskina	Rus	1:26:54	1:24:56	2009	120”
2	Ivanova O.	Rus	1:26:56	1:25:41	2005	75”
3	Turava M.	Blr	1:27:27	1:26:11	2006	76”
4	Nikolayeva	Rus	1:27:34	1:26:22	2003	72”
5	Fedoskina	Rus	1:28:10	1:26:50	2001	80”
6	Rigaudo	Ita	1:28:14	1:27:12	2008	62”
7	Plätzer	Nor	1:28:22	1:27:07	2008	75”
8	Song Hongjuan	Chn	1:28:28	1:26:46	2004	102”
9	Wang Liping	Chn	1:28:49	1:26:33	2005	136”
10	Feitor	Por	1:28:50	1:27:55	2001	55”

2010 - 2020

With the premises indicated in point 7), this decade was characterized by the prevalence of Chinese athletes (also due to the many Russian disqualifications for doping events).

Even in this decade, 6 nations are represented in the top 10 positions. There are three mainland areas present. An Olympic winner (Liu Hong) and two world champions (in addition to the Olympic winner we find another Chinese, Yang Jiayu).

The average of the top 10 (always excluding Yelena Lashmanova) in this decade is 1:27:41 (it would have been 1:27:16 with Lashmanova). It is an average of 17" faster than (42" with Lashmanova) in the previous decade, even if only 24 athletes, compared to 44 in the previous decade, reached an average of 1:32:00.

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