Men's 20k Race Walk - London 2012 Olympics - Medal Results

The Men's 20k Race Walk was an event that I had been both looking forward to and dreading.  See who walked their way into the record books at the London 2012 Olympics and get all your medal results.

Race Walking and Dressage are probably the two Olympic events I have the toughest time grasping.  I have tried to justify the idea of walking really fast vs. running as an Olympic sport to myself by comparing it to all those different swimming strokes, but that really only made me question swimming.

In case you've never watched a race walking event before, to avoid being disqualified from the race you have to keep one foot in contact with the ground at all times and there's something in the rule about not bending your knees.  Apparently, in order to maintain ground contact and walk really fast, you gotta swing those hips, which kind of makes everyone look like some cross between a drag queen and somebody who really needs to poop.

However, I'm sure these competitors are very dedicated and there is no doubt they are all very fit and pretty fast.  Many race walkers at this level can walk faster than a lot of people can run.  The sport has also gained popularity as a fitness activity due to the total body workout and high calorie burn without the wear and tear on the knees caused by running or jogging.

Chen Ding built up a pretty significant lead, though Erick Barrondo made an impressive charge late in the race.  In the end Barrondo made his move too late and Chen Ding won the race by a fairly large margin and set a new Olympic record in the process.

Results:

Gold: Chen Ding - China

Silver: Erick Barrondo - Guatemala

Bronze: Wang Zhen - China

Congratulations to all the medalists!

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