Race walking at the Olympics Race walking at the Olympics Race walking events at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. There are three race walking events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's and a women's 20 kilometres walk, and a men's 50 kilometres walk. The races are held in a final-only format. The first men's events came at the 1908 London Olympics, which featured 3500 m and 10-mile distances. A 10-kilometre version was introduced at the 1912 Summer Olympics and it continued until 1952 (skipping three editions from 1928–1936). There was also a one-off
2007 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk 2007 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 26, 2007 in the streets of Osaka, Japan. The event saw some controversy as Paquillo Fernández, who finished second after overtaking Hatem Ghoula in the final straight, was disqualified after the race for lifting. However, following an appeal by the Spanish team the same day, video evidence was examined and Fernández was found to have walked in compliance with the rules. He was thus re-awarded the silver medal. Jefferson Pérez became the first