Racewalking bigger joke after 58 year old places 3rd

I guess it is encouraging nobody from the US qualified. That shows our country isn’t taking the sport seriously. This is a win for USA.

14th place In the men’s racewalk was a 2-time Olympian who has set numerous ARs. But he is 60 years old now. The event has always lacked depth in the USA, and it’s not uncommon for an accomplished walker to have a long career.

You and Gault's thoughts on racewalking aside, Rohl is a phenomenal athlete. She also runs master's track and has put up a 5:16.70 indoor mile and 2:24.99 800 this year. That age-group calculates out to 4:19.66 and 2:00.27 respectively. She isn't some local homemaker that entered the race out of boredom. She's a legit athlete and, I suspect, far more accomplished in sport than either you or Gault.

Can we cut through the obvious embarassment of the event still representing a sport we are trying to save and talk about WHO IS PROPPING UP KEEPING IT IN ATHLETICS COMPETITIONS?

Like, what is the secret underground kabal of illuminati billionaires that have compromising photos of Seb Coe and dont allow him to drop and disown it? because one of their great great grandfathers was the 1892 pedestrian champion of Lower Essex Wiltshirehamcester?

I was permanently injured at age 20 and never able to run again. But after a year or two I was able to walk pretty normally. At a ten-mile race that my clubmates were running, I spectated by starting to walk the course before the race began. Cheered on my mates as they passed me, and found that I had walked the course in 1:5x.

Shortly thereafter NYS started the Empire State Games, and one of the events was 50kmRW. Free uniform/sweats, and free food/lodging for the better part of a week? I'm there!

So I got into it because I wanted to race but knew I'd never run again.

Let’s try to avoid a straw man argument. Nobody is claiming that her times on the track aren’t impressive. But when you have to age grade her mile to improve it by a minute to make a point, you end up making my point that the event lacks real athletes. Hundreds, maybe 1000 high school girls can run a 5:15 mile.

Rohl is 58 years old, moron! That's why age-grading comes into play as a point of reference. Let me guess, you thought Ed Whitlock was a slow old man that embarrassed himself on the regular with his marathon records?

We are taking about the Olympic Trials where age grading DOES NOT MATTER. The reality is that while the Rohl is an amazing athlete for her age, she is not currently an amazing athlete compared to the best in the country for running. You stated that she ran a 5:16 mile. That is extremely impressive for her age, but that is not a national caliber time. It is a high school level time. She’s not competing in high school. She is competing in the Olympic Trials against the best out country has to offer. If she was 30 years old with a 5:16 mile, it would still be a joke that she finished 3rd. It’s a joke because racewalker aren’t great athletes. A 5:16 mile is not a national level result.

↑ This is correct. The lack of depth in US race walking can be traced back to one singular event.

I want to say there was a triathlete or cyclist that qualified to the World Cross Country championships this past year. That’s impressive. While running is not his primary sport, he can still compete on the national/global scene in running. The same cannot be said for these racewalkers. We saw Jim Walmsley was able to compete on the national scene in the marathon with a respectable Trials race, even though he is an ultra runner. We don’t see that crossover talent in racewalkers.

This is equivalent to Lolo returning 4 Olympic cycles from now...

Racewalking is much more popular in many countries. Just because it's not popular here really isn't a reason to drop it. The thing I don't get when this topic comes up here is why guys like you want to drop it. Why should the few of us who enjoy watching it not be able to do it because you don't like it? Just don't watch it.

These 800/mile times reinforce the idea that race walking is the minor leagues of track. While those times are admirable for a masters athlete they are not national class. Her

Why would someone choose to be just an ordinary runner when there's an event where you can qualify for the Olympic Trials? Of course it's a bit of an ego thing just as qualifying in any other event is

Agree completely, she is awesome. That said, women's RW is in an unfortunate state. Taylor Ewert didn't stick with it and Michta retired, I think. Maybe some of the younger elites from the past 5-10 years didn't stick with it or couldn't adjust to the longer distance.

That’s a fair post. For me, one of my problems with the existence of the sport is its impact on young people. I don’t want to see young people giving up on running too early because they didn’t find immediate success and take an easy route via racewalking so they can feel better about placing higher in events. I want to see the sport of racewalking die so those young people are forced to battle through adversity.

Fair point when has anything remotely like this happened in US track? Can you think of a single example of a promising young runner giving up running for racewalking?

The elephant in the room with race walking is that by their definition (one foot on the ground at all times), they are running.

RW exists at the youth level which is appalling to me. These kids would be better off playing soccer or youth cross/track. If they are entered into youth RW, it becomes a participation trophy thing. They get the immediate thrill of placing well in a watered-down event and don’t ever pursue maximizing their true athletic potential. To compete in the sport, you have to hold yourself back by placing restrictions on movement. Don’t hold these kids back. Let them be athletes.