Racewalking

Walking? How can walking be a sport, especially an Olympic sport? That used to be my attitude towards racewalking because I have always thought of walking as a way to get around and not a sport. So yesterday when I saw a racewalking race on the Olympics I was very surprised and decided to research racewalking and try it myself.

Turns out I was wrong. Very, very wrong. I always thought it would be easy because it was just walking, which is really easy right? But when I tried it I realized that it is a lot harder than it looks. Walking really fast for a long time is very tiring for your legs, hips, and even arms. I realize that many racewalkers must meet a lot of people who think their sport is not hard and I feel bad that I always assumed that racewalking was a lame sport without ever trying it for myself.

Racewalking is not just walking fast – there are specific rules in place to make sure that some people don’t have unfair advantages. For example, there is a rule that one foot or atleast part of one foot has to be on the floor at all times. Nowadays with our cameras and all our technology, we can look at close up and slowed down versions of races to check people’s feet. This new technology is causing controversy because the race is judged based on what the judges see with their eyes and not with a camera.

Have you ever heard of racewalking? Have you ever made any assumptions about sports before trying them for yourself or learning more about them?