50km race walking tactics at world championships and olympics

Abstract

This study is an attempt at determining the tactics of 50 km race
walking in the most important sport events, based on the analysis of
5km lap times. The analysis covers lap times of finalists at the World
Championships in Moscow and Beijing well as the Olympics Games
in London and in Rio de Janeiro, and also distribution of lap times of
the gold medallist from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Matei
Toth, during the analysed four competitions. Findings: The
conducted analysis indicates that the speed at which a distance is
covered generally increases until 40 km, while the last 10 km have
no major impact on changes in the final classification. Attention has
been paid to the very important role played by mental resilience. The
authors anticipate, based on the presented findings and trends that
occur in contemporary sport, that the distance will be changed to 45
km at the next Olympics in Tokyo.