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The 2004 20K Olympic Race Walking Trials could have been a boring affair. The top three qualifiers Tim Seaman, John Nunn, and Kevin Eastler were the only competitors that possessed the coveted Olympic A Standard needed to qualify for the Olympic Games. With three competitors possessing the standard another competitor would have had to beat them, finish in the top four (a little know technicality due to the naming of the Olympic Team process), and obtain the standard within the next few weeks. As the race day was a warm one, it was highly unlikely anyone would get the standard today and to think that someone would recover in the next couple of weeks to walk a sub 1:23 performance alone would be inconceivable. With all that said, either the guys could have mailed in the performance or hammered it out for a title and risk their Olympic Team berth. I assumed no one would risk their spot on the team and I was in for a run-of-the-mill race. I was wrong.
The 20K race started on the track, where the walkers completed approximately 1 & 1/2 laps before proceeding to the 2K road course. At first the pace was quite slow considering the top walkers competing at the front of the pack. Going out in a large group, the band of race walkers walked as a tight knit group around the track.
As always, Theron Kissinger did not disappoint. His bright smile was gleaming early.
After a quick lap and a half veteran Curt Clausen took the lead out to the road. Personally, I doubt this was a statement as much as him just taking his time in the front. It seemed most of the lead pack (Curt Clausen, Sean Albert, Tim Seaman, John Nunn and Kevin Eastler) were just happy to walk together. Meanwhile, the remaining walkers started to fall into their own pace.
