General view of the women's 20km - 2006 World Cup (© Getty Images)
MonteCarloThe IAAF Race Walking Challenge is coming to the end of its fifth successful season, and for the first time ever will conclude with a specific Challenge Final, the inaugural edition of which will be held this weekend in Saransk, Russia.
Saransk is situated in the Republic of Mordovia which constitutes part of the Russian Federation. It lies along the upper Insar River and on the western flank of the Volga River uplands, 630 km east of Moscow, and has a population of over 300,000 inhabitants.
With a huge overall Challenge prize purse to be distributed, large crowds of spectators and participants (in two public mass races), and the presence of the Head of State, this is set to be a memorable finale to the race walking year.
The IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final is composed of two 20km Race Walks which will take place in the late morning and early afternoon (men 10.00hrs / women midday – GMT +3hrs) of Saturday 29 September.
The race route is a loop course in the central part of Saransk, with the Start/Finish area just opposite the Mordovian State University (MGU Medical School) on Ulyanova street, and large crowds of spectators are expected to line the roads to give their support.
On the eve of the competitions (Fri 28 Sep), a number of celebratory events have been arranged.
At 1700hrs (GMT + 3hrs) a new National Olympic Training Centre dedicated to race walking will be inaugurated. Then at 1800hrs a formal opening ceremony for the Final will then be held at the city’s “START” Stadium, in the presence of the Head of the Republic, Nikolay Ivanovich Merkushkin.
Saransk prides itself as being a centre of race walking, and so appropriately the opening ceremony will be followed in the stadium by mass 5000m (men) and 3000m (women) race walks which are open to the public and which are expected to attract many hundreds of participants.
US$202,000 in prize money
There is a minimum prize structure of US$7500 to cover the first 8 athletes who finish in each of the Race Walking Challenge 20km races in Saransk on the Saturday. Yet there is a lot more at stake, as athletes who have competed in four of the eight Challenge events this year (there are seven events + Osaka World Champs) will be eligible for Overall Awards for the entire 2007 IAAF Race Walking Challenge which amount to US$202,000 (101,000$ for men and women).
1st place: US$30,000
2nd place: US$20,000
3rd place: US$15,000
4th place: US$10,000
5th place: US$8000
6th place: US$7000
7th place: US$6000
8th place: US$5000
Click here to go to Challenge Regulations 2007 (in pdf)
Click here to go to current Results and Standings of the Challenge 2007
IAAF
NB. A preview and a competition report from an IAAF correspondent in Saransk will be published on the IAAF Website