This morning in Ranchi in the state of Jharjhand in India, the first day of the 8th edition of the 2021 National Walking Championships took place.
This day was the 20km race program for men and women, both divided into two groups according to the athletes' accreditation performances, with the following starting times:
- 6:00: 20km men (group A of the best)
- 6.20: 20km women (group A of the best)
- 7.45am: 20km men (group B)
- 7:50 am: 20km women (Group B)
The 1km course was excellent, as were the climatic conditions with absolutely no wind.
20km men group A
The two favorites of the eve Kumar Sandeep (IND) and Rahul (IND) immediately start the race.
Their passage at 5km is 19:41.
Follows them at 1:27 Hardeep (IND). The others are farther away.
The pair are still together at 15km after achieving the following split times at:
- 10km in 39:27 (19:46)
- 15km in 59:41 (20:14)
In the final race Kumar Sandeep forces his pace and wins with a ten-second advantage.after covering the last 5km in 20:35
Victory to Kumar Sandeep (IND) in 1:20:16 which is currently the best seasonal performance in the world (previous by Hiroto Jusho, JPN in 1:20:46 established in Tokyo on 1.1.2021)
Second place to Rahul (IND) in 1:20:26 representing the second best seasonal performance in the world
Third place in Hardeep (IND) in 1:24:41
In group B with 25 athletes at the start Sunil Vishwakarma (IND) wins in 1:28:09
20km women group A
The favorite of the day before, Priyanka Goswami (IND), has no difficulty in winning the race as she leads from start to finish.
These are the partials of her:
- 5km: 21:27
- 10km: 43:31 (22:04)
- 15km: 1:05:58 (22:27)
- last 5km in 22:47
She finishes in 1:28:45 which represents the new national record of India (previous of 1:29:54 obtained by Bhawana Jat, on 02.15.2020 in Ranchi, IND).
Among other things, this performance is also the best seasonal world performance (previous by Mariavittoria Becchetti, ITA in 1:34:09 established in Ostia (ITA) on 23.1.2021.
Second place to Bhawana Jat (IND) in 1:32:59
Third place in Sonal Sukhwal (IND) in 1:36:05
In group B with 14 athletes at the start Pooja (IND) wins in 1:42:40
Risultati ufficiali - Official results