After a very conservative start to the Men’s 20K race walk the day before, it would be interesting to see Olga Kaniskina would repeat her statement of confidence from the Olympics and blast out alone? Would she take her teammates, all with a qualifying time in the 1:25’s with her? Would the heat control people’s enthusiasm? The latter proved true as Kaniskina was content to sit back in the lead back while Germany’s Sabine Krantz and Norways Kjersti Platzer took the center stage.
A giant pack of 28 walkers were separated by no more than 5 seconds through 5 kilometers. What a judging nightmare! While there was some jostling for position, for the most part Krantz and Platzer held the front while the favored Kaniskina relaxed mid pack.
Start of the Women's 20K Race Walk
Lead pack on the first lap
Lead pack coming back on the 1st lap
Lead pack coming back on the 1st lap
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