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| Slovakia's Matej Toth celebrates after winning the 50km walkat the European Athletics Race Walking permit meeting in Dudince on Saturday. |
The 2010 World Race Walking Cup 50km winner Matej Tóth delighted the local crowd watching the 30th edition of the famous Dudinska Patdesiatka walking meeting, in the southern Slovakian spa town of Dudince, with a national record of 3:39:46 on Saturday.
It was the fastest time in the world on the roads this year and Tóth was also the first local winner over 50km, the show-piece distance for the event, for seven years.
Tóth’s previous Slovak record of 3:41:32 was set at the same meeting two years ago. He was well in front for almost all of this year’s race and at 40km he was still on target to beat the course record of 3:38:45, set by France’s Yohan Diniz in 2009, and it even looked like he might go under 3:37.
However, strong winds in the final stretch slowed him down. “It was like I wanted; fast to begin with and then I try to see whether I can keep up the pace. Only in the last five kilometres did that not work. But I must be satisfied, sub-3:40 was always my dream,” reflected Tóth.
Behind Tóth the next four men home, all from Poland and racing in the concurrent Polish championship, were more than six minutes adrift but the quartet all still set personal bests.
The Polish title went to Rafal Fedaczynski, who finished 8th at the 2008 Olympic Games, in 3:46:05 and he just came home ahead of Rafal Sikora in 3:46:16.
Lukasz Nowak was fourth in 3:46:40 while Rafal Augustyn, the 2010 Dudinska Patdesiatka winner and Polish 50km walk champion, had to settle for fifth place this time despite finishing in 3:46:56, almost three minutes faster than he had ever gone before.
Ireland’s 2009 World Championships silver medallist Olive Loughnane finished in front of the 67 starters (47 of whom finished) in the women’s 20km event and crossed the line in 1:32:40.
It was Loughnane’s first race since stomach problems forced her to drop out of the European Athletics Championships 20km walk last summer.
Czech Republic’s Zuzana Schindlerova, the winner in Dudince 12 months ago and the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships silver medallist, was second in 1:33:51 while Ukraine’s Nadya Borovska finished third in 1:33:59.
In the men’s 20 km, Ukraine’s Andriy Kovenko was a clear winner in a personal best of 1:21:44. There was also a Ukrainian winner in the junior men’s 10km with Igor Puzanov taking the plaudits in 43:28 while Ireland´s Kate Veale won the junior women’s 10km in 46:43.
Both Puzanov and Veale should be in contention for a medal at the 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, this summer.
However, even more impressive was Slovakia’s Patrik Spevak, who was even faster than his junior counterparts in the boys 10km, winning in 43:23 and advertising that he will be one to watch at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France, this summer. Czech Republic’s Anezka Drahotova was the best in the girl’s 5km with 23:03.
The third of this winter’s four European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meetings will be the Podebrady 2011 Walking meeting in Podebrady, Czech Republic, on 9 April.