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A
BRIEF HISTORY OF RACEWAKING
Competitive walking began almost 400 years ago as English noblemen wagered
over whose footman was faster. In the first half of the 19th Century, it
had found its way across the Atlantic and, by the late 1870's, had become
the second largest betting sport in the United States -- second only to horse
racing. Walking ("pedestrian") races often lasted for days, covered very
long distances, and provided ample opportunities for wagering. (Two of the
more famous long-distance pedestrian races involved trying to walk 100 miles
in less than 24 hours, or trying to walk 1 mile each hour for 1,000 consecutive
hours -- more than 41 days. People who walk 100 miles in less than 24 hours
were, and still are, known as "centurions.")
Excesses in "professional" athletics (notibly betting excesses) during the
closing decades of the 19th Century led to their being replaced by "amateur"
athletics -- most notably with the introduction of the modern Olympic Games
in 1896. Walking experienced corresponding changes as "wagering opportunities"
were replaced by amateur walking races. Racewalking has been a part of the
Olympic Games since 1908 for men, and since 1992 for women.
Racewalking style has evolved from one of wildly gyrating hips (the fodder
of many laughs) to one of fluid movement that directs almost all energy into
forward motion. Top racewalking form today is as smooth as top running form
-- and, as expected, poor racewalking form is still as funny looking
as poor running form.
Racewalking is now very popular in Europe, Russia, China, Australia, and
Mexico (where a major championship can draw tens of thousands of spectators).
In the United States, several thousand racewalkers can be found participating
in local, regional, national, or international races; and the top racewalkers
are working diligently to match the performances of the world's
best.
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DID YOU KNOW:
For centuries, competitive walkers had observed a "fair
heel and toe" format in which most of their time was spent walking but
they could "occassionally trot to ward off cramp." In 1878, however, a new
race appeared in England (the Astley Belt Race) in which competitors could
"go as you please" (i.e., walk or run). The athletes who chose this format
established the basis for long-distance running events (such as the marathon)
which first appeared in the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
In ancient Greece, the longest competitive runs
were about 3 miles -- though messengers, such as Phidippides, ran/walked
much longer distances. In effect then, modern long-distance runners are either
emulating ancient messengers or they are simply racewalkers who choose
to ignore the rules. |
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