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 athletes must always have one foot in contact with the ground at all times, as visible to the human eye. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. If there is no visible contact, it is deemed as ‘lifting’ and attracts a penalty. Furthermore, the athlete’s knee of their advanced leg must not bend and the leg must straighten as the body passes over it. Each race walker is judged carefully and can be penalised if he bends his knee during the race.
Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3 kilometres up to 100 kilometres.
