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
2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk 2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk ] The Men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 28 on a loop course starting and finishing at Gukchae - bosang Memorial Park in the center of Daegu. Forty-six men started the competition and 27 countries were represented. Valeriy Borchin entered as the reigning world and 2008 Olympic champion. The athletes on the Chinese and Russian teams led the rankings that year: Wang Zhen and Chu Yafei were the top two, while Borchin, world record holder Vladimir Kanaykin, and Sergey Morozov