![Alighiero Guglielmi in trionfo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Alighiero_Guglielmi_in_trionfo.jpg)
The 100-kilometer race walk is a
racewalking
Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...
event. The event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it. 100 kilometers is 62.14 miles.
History
Against the wishes of the Israeli track and field authorities, because the
Munich Massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
had just taken place, Israel
Shaul Ladany
Shaul Paul Ladany ( he, שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk ...
competed and won the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in the World 100 km walking title at the 1972 World Championships in Switzerland, in a time of 9:31:00.
U.S. record
The United States record is 9:36:33, set by Dan Pierce in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, on December 2, 1987.
References
{{Athletics events
Racewalking distances