Battle of the giants

The world’s greatest specialists of the discipline - 10km women, 20km and 50km men - will compete in the 18^th IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Prague-Podebrady (CZE) on 19-20 April. Since the first event in 1961 in Lugano, each edition has grown consistently. Competing for the World Cup and the individual awards ($20,000; 10,000; 7,500; 5,000; 3,500 and 2,500) for the first six places in each race will be a record number of countries (over 40) and the current Olympic and world champions, as well as the winners of the last World Cup held in Peking in 1995.

To compete for the team cups, countries may enter a minimum of three athletes and a maximum of five but only the first three placed athletes will qualify for points. Points are attributed as follows: 1^st place 150, 2^nd place 148, 3^rd 147 and so on down the line. The men’s teams will also compete for the Lugano Trophy, awarded on the basis of the sum of points achieved by athletes from the various countries in both 20km and 50km races.

Race walking has deep rooted traditions in many countries around the world, particularly in China, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, France and Germany. It is a discipline totally centred on passion and sacrifice, requiring no investment in equipment and eminently suited to the sporting education of youngsters and as a means of keeping in shape for the not so young. In Podebrady on 19-20 April, race walking will know one of its finest moments, no less important than that experienced in Atlanta last year or than in the forthcoming 6^th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, taking place next August in Athens.

Jefferson Perez (ECU), the surprise winner of the 20km in the last Olympics will, naturally enough, start favourite in this race particularly in view of his recent successes in Mexico. Valentin Massana (ESP), Olympic 50km silver medallist, Ilya Markov (RUS) and Bernardo Segura (MEX), 2^nd and 3^rd in the 20km in Atlanta will be seeking to upset the tipsters, while a fourth man in search of revenge will be Michele Didoni (ITA) who, despite his victory in Gothenburg, was unable to manage better than 34^th in the Olympics.

In the 50km, Mikhail Shchennikov (RUS) and Arturo di Mezza (ITA), who were the stars of Atlanta behind Polish champion Robert Korzeniowski will be battling it out with current world champion Valentin Kononen of Finland, silver medallist in Gothenburg Giovanni Perricelli (ITA), Zhang Yongshen of China and Jesus Garcia (ESP), respectively first and second in the last World Race Walking Cup. The current world record holder at the distance on the track, Thierry Toutain (FRA) is also entered.

China has a strong men’s team and an extremely strong women’s team: in 1995 in Peking they won the team classification thanks to Gao Hongmiao and Liu Hongyu. But they can expect fierce competition this year from Elisabetta Perrone, Rossella Giordano and Erika Alfridi who will be looking for individual success and a team victory for Italy, just as Irina Stankina, current world champion, and Yelena Nikolayeva, Olympic champion, will be doing for Russia.

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The 18th IAAF World Race Walking Cup will be the greatest meeting of champions in the history of the event. You may not know Podebrady, but this beautiful spa town in the centre of the Czech Republic just a few kilometres from Prague has drawn more champions than any other venue since the Cup's foundation in 1961.