Beijing 1995: In the Wake
of the Dragon
Until
the 1995 IAAF World Walking Cup it was
China’s women who grabbed the headlines.
But, as PAULWARBURTON reported, in Beijing their
men muscled in on the act.
(An unexpurgated version of this article was
printed in Volume 10, issue 2 of the IAAF
Magazine)
We’ve
had the traditional race walking style and the
Mexican style. In Beijing we witnessed the
Chinese style.
‘Striding
out’ is definitely out. What’s
‘in’ is a short stride that is so fast
it almost defies judging. It seemed as if
bees’ wings – rather than human legs
– were powering the Chinese winners around
the Beijing course.
When we
say ‘judging’ it is important to note
that this means judging under the amended rule
introduced in March 1995 after nine months of
debate. In the past, trial by TV had been race
walking’s nightmare. Today, a very important
allowance is made for human limitation because it
is stated that "race walking is a
progression of steps so taken that the walker
makes contact with the ground, so that no
visible (to the human eye) loss of contact
occurs." As long as the public makes
allowance for the human eye, it will never again
have to suffer by comparison to the camera’s
mechanical version. The rule recognises what the
human eye can/can’t do and what the camera
can.
 It has been
calculated that top-ranked walkers have a strike
rate of four steps to each second. Slowed down
film of 50 km World Cup winner Zhao Yongshen had
him hammering out a winning note of five beats to
the second. Zhao’s feet seemed to never
leave the ground and the blur looked quick even
in slow motion. To be able to walk that fast
requires supreme fitness. But the technique also
means that less time is being spent on what is
known as the ‘flight phase’ – when
walkers have double support and are most likely
to be off the ground.
In
previous World Cups Chinese women grew familiar
with the red disqualification cards that could
end a team’s winning challenge. But in
Beijing, every Chinese athlete survived the
judges’ scrutiny.
What
nearly didn’t survive was a worthwhile
challenge from the rest of the world. Had the
Chinese men had a stronger 50km team they would
have whitewashed the opposition in the Lugano
trophy as they did in the women’s Eschborn
trophy. China’s athletes now seem poised to
become the dominant force in race walking that
Kenya has become in distance running. In Beijing,
all three individual wins – Women’s 10
km, Men’s 20 km and Men’s 50 km –
were by Chinese walkers. The latter race, won by
Zhao, was described by some expert observers as
"the best 50km race of all time."
 The Men’s 20
km was won by a complete unknown – Li Zewen.
Prior to this race, the only thing known about
him was that he was 21 years-old. When he raised
one finger to a road-side friend after three
kilometres of the race it was an indication of
his finishing position and the end of his
anonymity.
It was
certainly the end of China’s isolation as
far as hosting major sporting events was
concerned and about time too. The IAAF can take
credit for helping Beijing overcome the trauma of
its failed 2000 Olympic Games bid.
World
and European champion Sara Essayah seemed
ominously low key in Beijing. The strong rumour
was that she was holding back until the ‘big
one’. Jesus Garcia may have had a race too
many. His futile catching up of Zhao after 35 km
of the 50 km race, provoked the Chinese athlete
to rally and leave him for dead.
PaulWarburton
is a freelance writer and the Walking
Correspondent of British magazine Athletics
Weekly.
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