Results

2009 IAAF World Championships - 50km Men's Race Walk

Waking up to the sounds of thunder and then the pattering of rain was not the alarm competitors and those involved with the Men’s 50K race walk at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletic - Berlin 2009 were looking for. Reminiscent of the Women’s 20K walk in the Beijing Olympics it would be a long day if the weather continued to frown upon us. Fortunately, by the beginning of the race, just a few refreshing sprinkles littered the course.

There are some axioms with regards to a world class 50K race walk. I’ve said many of them before and I will begin my coverage of this year’s 50K with a few of them. First and foremost, if you ever have the opportunity to watch a world class 50K race walk, do so. It’s simply amazing to watch so many talented former medal winners go at it for over 3 ½ hours. Second, a 50K race doesn’t start until 40K.

The previous two 20K’s started with patience and led to two very exciting races. In contrast, the Men’s race started with a bit of a blast from Yuki Yamazaki (7th in the 50K at the Beijing Olympic Games). Yamazaki took command early with only Australia’s Luke Adams choosing to break from the back and head out early. An elite pack of former Olympic and World Championship medal winners following in hot pursuit.

Start of the Men's 50K Race Walk

Yuki Yamazaki making a statement early

Tallent in excellent company

Hometown hopeful Hohne is one of many doing the double

Pre-race favorite Yohann Diniz pacing himself early

Dennis Nizhegorodov current world record holder

Eric Tysse felt great after his warmup in the 20K

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