The morning of the 20K Women’s Olympic Race Walk had quite a different feel than the pleasant crystal clear day of the Men’s 20K. Sadly, the sky was dark and releasing it’s fury on the course. The rain would teeter between buckets and what could be a comfortable drizzle. Unfortunately, the buckets were more prevalent. While the temperature was not bad, the course was underwater. The temperatuire was about 70 degrees F(21 degrees C), so without the rain it would have been quite pleasant.

Until that point I had given China A marks for preparedness. However, looking out at the rain-soaked course it appeared this was a contingency they had not prepared for. Puddles of water were everywhere on the Mondo surface and no one seemed concerned. To make matters worse, the removable surface was significantly bubbling up. Given the razor’s edge elite race walkers traverse the course with, I had grave concerns that athletes would slip or trip on the surface.

Waiting for the start of the race

It was going to be a very very wet day

Security seemed ready for the weather

As the time of the race drew near, we thought we heard the race was delayed for an hour. We couldn’t get any conformation of this and later found the delay was realted to the field events. Still the 9:00 hour came and went and no announcement of the start of the race occurred as was previously done for the Men’s 20K. Then about ten minutes past nine, a sole walker appeared in the tunnel. Expecting a pack, Tom Eastler and I assumed it to be someone warming up, and that the race was delayed. To my surprise it was Olga Kaniskina of Russia blasting out of the gate.

Olga Kaniskina from Russia, first out of the tunnel

Unofficially, I was told she completed her first 1K in 4:08 and she officially completed 2K in 8:26. Assuming my unofficial split is correct, this would make her 2nd K split at 4:16. That puts her 2nd K at about the same pace as her latter one’s, so it would appear she went out at a 1:22:40 pace. A full three minutes under the world record! It’s no wonder that no one went with her.

Talk amongst the spectators immediately focused on her and her countrymen who had already failed drug tests. Speculation was made about what she was taking that would enbolden her to go out that fast. I have always been one to defend someone until they are proven guilty, but one can see how easy it is to be concerned. It is truly a dark day for our sport that great performances must be doubted due to the actions of a few immoral competitors.