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Old 08-06-2021, 12:46 AM   #248
JonInMiddleGA
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA
Quote:
Originally Posted by thesloppy View Post
I haven't seen a lick of this, is there a judge to make sure people aren't walking too fast?

Not "too fast" exactly but "according to the rules"

Quote:
Race walking differs from running in that competitors must keep at least one foot in contact with the ground at all times. Violation of that rule is known as ‘lifting’. Walkers must also keep their their advanced leg straight as their trailing leg moves past it.

Judges stationed on the race route monitor whether athletes are abiding by these rules, and will hold up paddles for ‘loss of contact’ and ‘bent knee’ - marked with the symbols ‘~’ and ‘<‘, respectively - to offending competitors. A walker is then disqualified if they receive three such warnings.

Rule breaking must be visible to a judge’s naked eye, making it possible for athletes to escape a warning for lifting as long as the loss of contact with the ground is brief enough.

According to Iñaki Gómez, a Canadian race walker who finished 13th in the men’s 20km event at London 2012, “Your eye can catch anything that is slower than 0.6 seconds, so the quickest lifter is going to be okay within the rules. You have to push the envelope, you want to be on the edge.”
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