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The first Polish Half Marathon Race Walking Championships took place on Saturday. The event was hosted by Robert Korzeniowski, who once again organized a walking meeting in Warsaw, part of the prestigious World Athletics Race Walking Tour and specifically Silver Label.
Half Marathon Race Walking Women
The first to attempt the half marathon were the women, on Świętokrzyska Street in the capital. Among them was experienced Katarzyna Zdziebło. The athlete from Mielec chased down Ilse Ariadna Guerrero Rodarte (MEX), who had taken the lead in the early stages.
After overtaking her, she found herself battling for the next few kilometers against the strong gusts of wind that accompanied the walkers during the first stretch, the one heading west, where the road, which starts from the Warsaw embankment, climbs slightly.
“I feel tired. However, I must admit that what I lost by running against the wind, I made up for in the opposite direction. It also allowed me to rest a bit. I’m happy with another title at the Polish Championships. The crowd and the atmosphere were also fantastic” Katarzyna Zdziebło admitted at the finish line. Her time of 1:35:49 has been the Polish record since Saturday afternoon. The athlete from Krzysztof Kisiel improved her previous national record, set just two weeks ago at the World Team Championships in Brazil, by almost 5 minutes. Saturday’s result guaranteed Katarzyna Zdziebło direct qualification for the European Championships in August. Second place on the line and in the national championship was taken by Magdalena Żelazna (1:40:43). Third place in the race to Ilse Ariadna Guerrero Rodarte (MEX), while third place of Polish Championships went to the experienced Agnieszka Ellward (1:45:00) sixth overall.
Men’s Half Marathon Race Walking
The men’s race was full of twists and turns. From the start, the Polish duo of Mateusz Nowak and Maher Ben Hlima, accompanied by Vikash Singh (IND), set the pace. After a few laps, the officials handed down a two-minute penalty to Ben
Hlima, and the same fate took to Nowak who was subsequently disqualified. Meanwhile, Maher Ben Hlima catched the Indian with great determination and, after overtaking him, built up a considerable lead. He won with a Polish record time of 1:28:58, while Vikash Singh stopped the clock in 1:31:49. Third place went to Cristhian Donovan Juarez Lopez (MEX) in 1:32:26.
The silver medal at the national championships was won by Rafał Goławski (1:38:29), fourth overall, and the bronze medal by Kacper Łuc (1:39:42), fifth overall.
“Anything happened at this distance! I wanted to do the minimum for the European Championships, and if it hadn’t been for the penalty zone, I would have succeeded. After the restart, I had to accelerate while simultaneously controlling my technique to avoid raising objections from the judges. Overall, I’m very happy to have managed to win gold and break the Polish record” admitted Ben Hlima.
Photo album by Tomasz Kasjaniuk (POL)
