The 50 kilometre race walk was an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

event that first appeared in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and made its final Olympic appearance in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. The

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, 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. Race judges carefully asses ...

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. 50 kilometres is approximately 31 miles. The 50 kilometres race walk was dropped from the Olympic program after the 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021 and was replaced by a mixed team race, the

marathon race walk mixed relay The marathon race walk mixed relay is a racewalking mixed relay event over the marathon distance that was first contested at the 2024 Summer Olympics on 7 August. World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee introduced the race in Apri ...

in order to achieve gender equality.

World records

The men's

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the 50 km race walk was held by

Denis Nizhegorodov Denis Gennadyevich Nizhegorodov (; born 26 July 1980) is a retired Russian race walking, race walker. Between 2008 and 2014 he held the Men's 50 kilometres walk world record progression, world record over 50 km distance, with a time of 3:34 ...

, through his race of 3:34:14 in

Cheboksary Cheboksary is the capital city of Chuvashia, Russia. It is a port on the Volga River. Geography The city is located in the Volga Upland region and stands on the shore of the Cheboksary Reservoir. Its area is .Resolution #2083 The satellite city ...

in 2008, until it was beaten by Yohann Diniz at the

2014 European Athletics Championships The 2014 European Athletics Championships was held in Zürich, Switzerland, between 12 and 17 August 2014. It was the first time that Switzerland had hosted the European Athletics Championships since 1954 European Athletics Championships, 1954. G ...

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, in a time of 3:32:33.

All-time top 25

Men

*Correct as of December 2021.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 3:38:17: * Yohann Diniz also walked 3:33:12 (2017), 3:37:43 (2019), 3:37:48 (2016). *

also walked 3:35:29 (2004), 3:38:02 (2006). *

Matej Tóth Matej Tóth (; born 10 February 1983) is a retired Slovak race walker. He won the 50 km walk World Championship in 2015, and became an Olympic champion in the same event in 2016. Career Tóth won the gold medal in the 50 km walk at the ...

also walked 3:36:21 (2014). * Robert Korzeniowski also walked 3:36:39 (2002). *

Alex Schwazer Alex Schwazer, OMRI (born 26 December 1984), is an Italian race walker. He was the 2008 Olympic 50k walk champion. Just before the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified for two years for doping with EPO. He immediately admitted his guilt ...

also walked 3:37:04 (2008), 3:37:09 (2008). * Robert Heffernan also walked 3:37:56 (2013).

Women

*Correct as of June 2021.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 4:15:46: * Margarita Nikiforova also walked 4:03:07 (2021). *

Inês Henriques Inês Henriques (born 1 May 1980) is a Portuguese race walker. Internationally, she has won bronze medals at the 2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup and the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics. She represented Portugal at the 2004 Summe ...

also walked 4:08:26 (2017), 4:09:21 (2018), 4:13:57 (2019). * Yin Hang also walked 4:09:09 (2018). * Claire Tallent also walked 4:12:44 (2019). * Júlia Takács also walked 4:13:04 (2018), 4:15:22 (2018). * Ma Faying also walked 4:13:28 (2018). *

Johana Ordóñez Johana Edelmira Ordóñez Lucero (born December 12, 1987, in Guayaquil) is a female Ecuadorian race walker. Career She represented Ecuador at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized a ...

also walked 4:14:28 (2018). *

Monica Svensson Monica Svensson (born December 26, 1978) is a retired race walking, race walker from Sweden. She represented her native country at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, where she ended up in 27th pla ...

also walked 4:14:38 (2009). * Klavdiya Afanasyeva also walked 4:14:46 (2018). * Li Maocuo also walked 4:14:47 (2018). * Mirna Ortíz also walked 4:15:21 (2019).

Olympic medalists

Men’s

World Championships medalists

Men’s

Women’s

Notes

References

External links

50 kilometres race walk all time – men
from IAAF
IAAF list of 50-kilometres-race-walk records in XML
{{Athletics events Race walking distances Summer Olympic disciplines in athletics 50 (number)