Age&nbsp;proved no barrier to Maria Vasco when the 34-year-old Spaniard defied the early evening heat and a dogged opponent to break the tape in the women's IAAF World Walking Cup 20km.
Only the great Yelena Nikolayeva had more years on her birth certificate when she won the 2004 edition - but the Russian did so in much kinder conditions.
First gold after three bronze medals
Vasco knows all about medals - she has a trio of bronzes from the Olympics, IAAF World Championships and World Cup - but all good things come to those that wait, and Vasco produced a negative second-half split to make good her prediction of a winning time between 1:31:00 and 1:32:00.
But to make her first visit to the top of the podium, the native from Barcelona had to come back from a final 2km sprint that had everyone around the course predicting a jump from third in 2008 to first for Vera Santos.
The Portuguese led from the start and gave it everything, only to run out of gas over the last 500 yards when Vasco used all her experience to hang on to her lead. &nbsp; Santos looked as if she was just itching to show the rest a proverbial clean pair of heels when she glanced left and right just a few seconds into the race.
The Portuguese need not have worried.
Had it been a cycle race, the first 25 would all have been given the same time as they completed the first 2km lap in a dawdling 9:36.
The next time around daylight began to appear, although it was closer to blinding even though well past 6pm.
Santos kick not good&nbsp;enough for win&nbsp;
Santos was joined by two Russians, two Spaniards that included Vasco, and Portuguese team-mate Ines Henriques.
However, shortly after 5km (23:29) with Santos and Anisya Kirdyapkina walking together, Russian hopes were dented when Tatiana Sibileva, third on the year’s fastest times, was disqualified.
The gaps were even bigger by lap four with the race already down to three after former double junior champion Vera Sokolova joined Vasco and Santos at the front.
Henriques was desperately trying to stay in touch, but despite leading the 2010 rankings, Kirdyapkina was already falling off the back.
There was little change for the next two trips around the u-shaped course, but at the 13km mark it was unlucky for Sokolova when Santos and Vasco moved up half a gear to put a vital 10 yards between themselves and the Russian.
By 16km, Sokolova had been caught by the speeding Henriques, whose face betrayed the strain although her legs were working as well as anyone’s in the race.
Maybe it was osmosis or something, because Santos, 200 metres down the road, also picked up the pace to put five yards on Vasco at the same time as her Portuguese team-mate was cementing third.
But the Spaniard refused to be dropped and was practically treading on Santos’s heels by the bell.
Behind, it was lone walking for Henriques, Sokolova and Kirdyapkina in that order, with a trio of Chinese Yanfei Li, Mayumi Kawasaki from Japan and Ana Cabecinha making up the top eight.
The third Portuguese proved to be vital as it allowed her country to get its first team gold medal with Spain second, and China third.
Paul Warburton for the IAAF

Age&nbsp;proved no barrier to Maria Vasco when the 34-year-old Spaniard defied the early evening heat and a dogged opponent to break the tape in the women's IAAF World Walking Cup 20km.

Experience pays off for Vasco - Women's 20km Race report

New junior 10km champion Eider Arevelo reckoned his role model would still talk to him - even though the Colombian stole a march on the coveted status of being first from his country to gain an IAAF World Race Walking Cup medal.
Luis Lopes had hoped it would be him in the men’s 20km, but his teenage admirer cheekily claimed it wouldn’t matter when Lopes won Sunday’s race.
Arevelo added: “Luis helped me a lot to get here. He’s a role model for me - and I thank him for his support. I’m sure he’ll talk to me when he wins gold in the 20km.”
And Arevelo’s patience paid off when he waited until the last 500 metres before striking for home.
He said: “On the last lap I knew I had a medal - I was just hoping it would be gold.”
For second place Zelin Cai, his country’s third medal since the inaugural 10km in 2004, was a reward for a dedicated last week of training.
He said: “I came seven days ago, and trained every day at the track. Weather and wind made it very difficult, but I trusted my fitness.”
Sadly for favourite Valeriy Filipchuk - the conditions saw his hopes fade from gold to bronze.
The Russian said: “I had a race plan, but couldn’t follow it because of the weather, After 4km, I was sweating badly, and I also had a stomach problem.”
Paul Warburton for the IAAF
&nbsp;

New junior 10km champion Eider Arevelo reckoned his role model would still talk to him - even though the Colombian stole a march on the coveted status of being first from his country to gain an IAAF World Race Walking Cup medal.

Arevedo draws inspiration from compatriot Luis Lopez

Colombia’s first medal in the IAAF World Race Walking Cup came a day earlier than expected.
Luis Fernando Lopez was hoping it would be him in the men’s 20km - but instead Saturday's second surprise saw Eider Arevelo win in a fast time for the burning heat - as well as producing a personal best for the 17-year-old.
First ever gold for Colombia
Like the men’s 50km winner in the morning, Arevelo bided his time before launching a devastating attack. But when he did it was all over for Chinese Zelin Cai, who was the only one with the Colombian for the last kilometre.
Arevelo pushed on just short of the final turn and then hit the afterburners to put nine seconds between him and Cai by the line.
A tiring Valeriy Filipchuk made sure Russia got at least one medal to go with a podium appearance for his country ever since the first 10km in 2004.
But even the European bronze medallist from last year got lucky when Brazilian Caio Bonfim got a third disqualification card on the last lap when he and the leading two were well clear of the rest.
Filipchuk gives Russia individual bronze and team title
The expected Russian charge from the gun saw all three of their walkers past the 2km mark in 8:33 - well inside that which Filipchuk walked when he won the Russian Winter Championships in February.
And because the pace was just about sustainable for a group of 12 others - for once, the red vests had more company than they’ve come to expect in the last two World Cups.
Lurking just behind was China’s Fudong Cong trying to repeat the feat of his country when they won the inaugural junior 10km in 2004.
But the canny on-course commentators only had to mention the name Ever Palma to bring a chorus of teenage shrieks from hundreds of junior fans presumably bussed into to cheer the Mexican on.
Even if his entire school were behind him, Palma was already getting a walking lesson from Filipchuk and team-mate Konstantin Kulagov, who had forged a five-yard gap on the chasing pack. 
Fast pace despite gruelling conditions&nbsp;
But just shy of 5km, the group including Bonfim closed the tiny lead, and because they were all back together the pace picked up again for six to cross halfway in 21:06 - amazing, considering the 35 degrees that was battering them.
Sensing the Russians were wary of falling foul of the heat, the second Chinese, Cai by this point, also had a kilometre at the front, only to suffer the same fate as the Russians when Arevelo showed for the first time to make up the distance.
At the bell in 34:00 on the button, it was anybody’s from Cai, Bonfim, and Arevelo. But little did the Brazilian realise that three red cards had appeared next to his name, and although he powered on, the 19-year-old was living on borrowed time.
Once he departed, Arevelo hovered like a scorpion ready to deliver the final sting.
The team competition was just as exciting with Russia edging out China for gold, with Arevelo’s day made when Colombia got a team bronze when Alexander Castaneda finished eighth. &nbsp; Paul Warburton for the IAAF

Colombia’s first medal in the IAAF World Race Walking Cup came a day earlier than expected.

Arevelo makes history for Colombia - Men's Junior Race report

It was an ill wind that blew Matej Toth a power of good.
The surprise IAAF World Race Walking Cup 50km winner admitted if it hadn’t blown so strongly around the Deportivo Sur course in Chihuahua - the Slovakian might not have been bouncing around on top of the podium at the end.
He said: “If the wind hadn’t picked up in the last 10km, I don’t think I would have won the gold.
“Horacio (Nava, silver) and Jared (Tallent, bronze) were tired and it played in my favour.
“My race plan was always to start easy like in training - and to give everything in the last 10km.
“I did not feel the heat, and when I realised I could be on the podium, euphoria took over.”
However, Horacio Nava was a shocked silver medallist when he looked set for top honours for all but the last kilometre when Toth took charge.
The Mexican admitted he might still take flak for going to the front in the difficult conditions.
He said: “I thought after working so hard for 48km I would get a better result. But today was not about time - it was about getting on the podium.
“It was a big surprise to be passed in the last kilometre. I was criticised for adopting a similar strategy in Berlin at the World Championships last year - but I was motivated by being with Jared Tallent - and I wanted a medal.
“I thought I had gold, but I’m still learning, and maybe I’m not ready for first just yet.”
The Australian bronze medallist and pre-race favourite paid dearly for a bout of sickness at 30km.
After recovering, he caught up with Nava, but had nothing left for a final push.
He said: “I was better after being sick, and felt a surge as I caught up with Horacio. But I did not manage to get over the dehydration the sickness took out of me.
“And the wind also made me suffer. So in the end I was glad to finish at all - never mind making it to third place.”
Paul Warburton for the IAAF

It was an ill wind that blew Matej Toth a power of good.

Hot wind plays in Toth's favour in Chihuahua

It was appropriate the winner of the 50km was wearing blue - because Matej Toth came out of the blue to win the first event of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in searing conditions.
Slovakia’s first ever medallist - never mind winner - didn’t hit the front until the last kilometre of a race in which the man whose face adorns every street corner in Chihuahua had led for all but the first 10km.
Horacio Nava is the one member of his team to come from the host city, and cheered on by fans with banners, hooters and drums, he nearly rescued his bid for gold at 40km.
Long-time leader Horacio Nava holds on to silver
Having led for all but 10km, Nava was caught by pre-race favourite Jared Tallent of Australia, and at that point a long-time leader in this race normally falls apart.
Not Nava.
He looked once to his right and then gradually re-opened a gap step-by-step to leave Tallent looking pale and spent.
But it was the Mexican who looked aghast as Toth went into overdrive to come from as far back as 10th to gradually knock off the opposition and record a shattering 21:44 for the final 5km.
In this heat, that was all but needed for the 27-year-old to spring a massive surprise despite the slowest winning time in the competition since 1993 when the event was last held in Mexico.
Nava clearly ignored his own advice at yesterday’s press conference where he warned that those who went solo would suffer. Silver is hardly eating your own words - but a little reserve might have made a whole heap of difference.
Nava goes solo for nearly 40km
The solitary Mexican had more than a minute’s lead at one point, but it’s funny what massive support does to carefully laid plans. &nbsp; And it was a sign of the conditions that when walkers came past the main stand each 2km lap, they hugged the tiny ribbon of shade it afforded as the temperature soared. &nbsp; There’s always one that doesn’t heed the warning signs, and in this case it was Luis Fernando Garcia of Guatemala who went to the front at 5km.
Even then the pace was a modest 4:00:00 for the whole trip, although the rest, which at the early stages constituted two groups of five, hung back by 10 seconds or more.
Garcia was allowed to hang on to his tenuous lead until just past the 12km mark when Nava took the lead and opened up a real gap.
The big surprise was the sight of Jesus Angel Garcia up amongst the eight followers so early in the race. The 40-year-old Spaniard’s trademark is a late charge that mostly garners him a top-four finish.
But this time he, Tallent and Australian team-mates Luke Adams and Chris Erickson, together with Nava’s compatriot Cristian Berdeja and a surprise package in Emerson Hernandez from El Salvador were the only ones in sight of the hometown boy.
The pace was barely much quicker at 20km which Nava crossed in 1:34:39. Rarely have so many top athletes gone so slowly in a top race.
Most of the top 20 train at this pace, but the horror stories of heat and hurt had clearly made their mark with the leader 35 seconds up on the following four.
Nava had nearly a minute on the Spanish Garcia and the two Australians, although a pack some 1:24 behind involving a teams-worth of Chinese and Russians had started to make ground on those ahead.
But the Mexican had clearly got the bit between his teeth - although there appeared to be a permanent bulge in his left cheek, probably some supplement to aide his strike for glory.
If anyone knew the course before the event it was Nava. After all, he had trained on it most of the winter in between training camps with the national team, and spurred on by his countryman around the unusually-shaped 2km loop he had stretched the lead to almost a minute by half-way.
But as anyone familiar with this gruelling event knows, the race doesn’t often start until 30km.
Bronze medallist Jared Tallent recovers from stomach problems
By this point the immediate chasers behind Nava (2:20:25) were going solo.
A rush of blood to Berdeja’s head saw him take 30 seconds out of Tallent inside three minutes, with Garcia, the speeding Chinese, Marco de Luca from Italy and Japan’s Yuki Yamazaki all sweeping past the tiring Adams and Erickson.
It was then that Tallent stopped just in front of the dignitaries to show them what he had for breakfast, and probably the night before judging by his convulsions.
Having pulled himself together and got back to the front, it looked as if all the smart money would be returned - but Nava thought he had other ideas until Toth showed that Latin familiarity with the sun isn’t everything when you’re in this kind of form. 
In the team standings, Mexicans also had to be content with silver missing out on the title by just 1 point as a trio of Chinese finishing strongly all packed in the top nine. In bronze, Russia and Spain both totalled 38 points but the medal will be awarded to the Eastern Europeans their last scorer coming in 16th, 6 places ahead of the third scoring Spaniard. &nbsp; Paul Warburton for the IAAF
&nbsp;

It was appropriate the winner of the 50km was wearing blue - because Matej Toth came out of the blue to win the first event of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in searing conditions.

Surprise winner Toth spoils Mexican Party – Men’s 50km Race Report

When the word ‘difficult’ was mentioned for the fifth time at today’s IAAF World Race Walking Cup press conference in Chihuahua - there was little doubt course and conditions are about to play a huge part in the 24th edition that starts bright and early tomorrow with the men’s 50km.
The 2km loop at the new Deportivo Sur sports complex 5km south of the northern Mexican town is all but shade-less, and the thermometer was touching 33 degrees around midday when the conference broke up.
"No daring strategies," says Horacio Nava
Throw in the fact it’s 1400m above sea level - and the warning from hometown favourite Horacio Nava, that anyone going solo at the start of the 50km would be paying dearly by the end was stating the obvious.
He said: “The course will make the competition more of a level ground, and in some ways more interesting.
“Athletes won’t risk daring strategies from the beginning - and no one should be going alone.”
The major player who brought the competition to Mexico for the second time naturally hoped that ‘level ground’ might just tip slightly in the home nation’s favour.
LOC Director Miguel Angel Rodriguez has spent the last two years and close to a $1million bringing the competition to a country that considers walking a national sport.
The former IAAF World Championship medallist made it plain the Mexican 50km team would be ready to cash in if some of the more obvious favourites faltered.
He said: “The strategy of walkers will be key to getting results, and we have good possibilities in the 50km team.
“Eder Sanchez in the (men’s) 20km on Sunday also has the chance to take advantage of the conditions.”
And if 1400m up in the air sounds testing - what price the thinnest air known to man at a habitable level?
Tallent aiming for full set of medals
Mexico took its team for a final training camp to Bolivia where at 2400m, anyone but a super athlete would have difficulty breathing properly - never mind training for a World Cup.
For all that, Jared Tallent did his diplomatic best to hide the pleasant surprise that his main rival for the gold medal won’t be lining up alongside the Australian in the 50km.
Italy’s Alex Schwazer pulled out of the race Thursday with a stomach complaint - leaving Tallent as odds-on favourite for the long haul.
He said: “I’m in two minds about Alex’s withdrawal. It’s not exactly relief, but it’s difficult to explain. You don’t wish anybody not to be there - but it would be nice to win team gold and give Australia a full set of medals to go with the silver and bronzes we’ve already won.”
The 25-year-old from Ballarat opted for the 50km even though he won Olympic silver at 20km.
He explained: “There’s only one race – the 20km at the Commonwealth Games in October, so this race gives me a chance to do both distances.”
Lopez&nbsp;chasing history for&nbsp;Colombia 
Although all Mexican eyes will be on Sanchez for the 20km, Colombia’s Luis Lopez could be the first from his country to win a World Cup medal after placing fifth in the IAAF World Championships last August.
Lopez clearly thinks he might be in with a chance after inviting his fiancé and father to one of his big races for the first time.
He said: “We only have one medal from a major athletics championships – and that was in the ’92 Olympics.
“It would be a great honour to be the first in walking. Since the last World Cup when it was good just to be competing, I’ve gained so much experience since then.”
If experience is going to be the major player here in Chihuahua, Maria Vasco has already got one foot on the 20km women's podium.
Experience strong asset for Vasco
The 34-year-old Spaniard is competing in her seventh World Cup, and already has an Olympic bronze, World Championships and World Cup bronze in her trophy cabinet.
She said: “I think our team is the best we’ve had in World Cup history. The course is going to be difficult, and I’m not expecting any wonders. But a winning time of between 1:31:00 and 1:32:00 would be good – and I’ve trained for the event.”
IAAF Secretary General Pierre Weiss admitted numbers were down for the five races on previous World Cups – but was delighted there were 275 walkers who did make the trip as well as four new countries ready to heel-and-toe in a major competition for the first time.
He added: “We have 44 countries here – and we would love to have had 50. But as we pay only 50 percent of travel costs, as opposed to the IAAF World Junior Championships later in the year when we pay 100 per cent and have 185 countries – it’s not difficult to see why.”
Paul Warburton for the IAAF
&nbsp;

When the word ‘difficult’ was mentioned for the fifth time at today’s IAAF World Race Walking Cup press conference in Chihuahua - there was little doubt course and conditions are about to play a huge part in the 24th edition that starts bright and early tomorrow with the men’s 50km.

Chihuahua 2010 - Athletes' Press Conference Quotes

One of the major candidates for the men's 50km Race Walking title here in Chihuahua, Mexico, Olympic champion Alex Schwazer has withdrawn from the event with gastrointestinal problems. “It really is not possible,” the Italian champion was quoted in an official statement issued by his national federation. “I have tried to walk this morning, but I am not in condition to tackle such a challenging competition without putting my long-term objective at risks. The season is long and the European Championships are looming. I prefer not to take part here in very demanding weather conditions and on such a difficult course.” Swchazer was due to compete in tomorrow’s 50km race walk.
Programme of events
Saturday 15 May
8:00&nbsp;Men’s 50km 17:00&nbsp;Junior Men’s 10km 18:00&nbsp;Women’s 20km
Sunday 16 May 
9:00&nbsp;Junior Women’s 10km 10:10&nbsp;Men’s 20km
Click under related items to access Athletes’ Biographies by day.

One of the major candidates for the men's 50km Race Walking title here in Chihuahua, Mexico, Olympic champion Alex Schwazer has withdrawn from the event with gastrointestinal problems.

Chihuahua 2010 - Athletes' Biographies available - Alex Schwazer withdraws

The provisional entry lists for The IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Chihuahua 2010, are now available. You can download the entry lists by event and by country from the links in 'related items' at right. Also available is the Chihuahua 2010 Facts and Figures statistical and historical reference. IAAF

The provisional entry lists for The IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Chihuahua 2010, are now available.

Chihuahua 2010 - Provisional Entry Lists as @ 12 May 

Following yesterday's preview, we now take a closer look at the women's 20km and women's junior 10km races expected in Chihuahua.
Women 20km
Her husband has been left at home – but Anisa Kirdyapkina could bring Sergey more than a souvenir sombrero from Chihuahua.
The Russian woman posted a super-fast 85:11 for a PB at Sochi in the Russian Winter Championships three months ago, and could be about to push the other half’s two IAAF World Championship golds along the family mantelpiece to make way for her first major honour.
The cautionary note is Kirdyapkina’s sub 86-minute clockings were all logged at either Sochi or Adler over the last two years where records go unratified – and her next best time in a major competition brought her fourth in Berlin last August, but nearly five minutes outside her PB.
That leaves open the possibility for both Vera Sokolova and Tatyana Mineeva to make the grade at senior level after rampant success as juniors.
Sokolova won the first two editions of the World Cup 10km in 2004 and 2006 – and Mineeva won the IAAF World Junior Championships in 2008 – but the young Russians will be under serious threat from the Portuguese walkers and newcomers on the block, Japan.
Vera Santos broke the tape at the Rio Maior leg of the IAAF Walks Challenge race in April, and the 29-year-old is a veteran of successive top 10 finishes at all the majors – including a bronze two years ago at the last World Cup.
The Portuguese has the advantage of a strong team around her, but Masumi Fuchise is also a regular collector of sub 90:00-minute times, while Japanese team-mates Kumi Otoshi and Mayumi Kawasaki are not far behind.
China’s team all boast world-class times, and in Hong Liu have their best chance of a senior win since 1999.
The walker, who celebrates her 23rd birthday three days before the gun goes in Chihuahua, stuck to the task when she collected a bronze at the IAAF World Championships last August.
Liu is one of the few from her country who turns out top performances away from the comfort of domestic competition, although Maria Vasco has walked all over the world to record superlative times in her 12-year affair with the distance.
The Spaniard has a strong team around her like Portugal does over the border, but spare a thought for the one Briton who toes the line for her country in Chihuahua.
Johanna Jackson shoulders GB expectations in a competition where the Union flag used to fly frequently at medal ceremonies in the early days of what was then called the Lugano Cup.
The Yorkshire girl has made impressive progress over the last two years since the last Cup, and could be her country’s first top-12 finisher since Lisa Langford achieved the feat 23 years ago in New York. &nbsp; Junior women 10km
The other 35 walkers in the junior women’s 10km are living in dreamland if they think they will disturb Russian dominance of the event.
Not since the race’s inception in 2004 has anyone but those wearing a red vest, although it’s also been white, collected the top two individual medals as well as all three team medals on offer.
Two years ago in Cheboksary, Russia made a clean sweep of the entire table, with the race, as one understands the word, lasting about 10 seconds.
That’s how long it took for the three Russians to break clear of the rest at the gun and disappear into the horizon.
A brand new team, spearheads the charge for title number four, with Nina Okhotnikova who was third in the European Championships last summer in Serbia, the best known of the trio.
The slowest Russian is Svetlana Vasilyeva with a PB from the Russian Winter Championships of 44:25 – but even that is more than a minute in front of next-best Anotella Palmisano, making a second appearance in Italy’s colours.
After that, there is a huge clutch of walkers in the 48-50 minute bracket that should make the minor placings something of a fight, with a team bronze up for grabs just about anywhere provided the judges aren’t overworked.

Following yesterday's preview, we now take a closer look at the women's 20km and women's junior 10km races expected in Chihuahua.

Russian Affair in Chihuahua? - WOMEN'S RACES PREVIEW

With less than a week to go to the IAAF World Race Walking Cup which will be held in Chihuahua, Mexico, the IAAF previews the highlights which can be expected next Saturday and next Sunday 14 &amp; 15 May. 
Men 50km
This could be the race of the weekend with Alex Schwazer and Jared Tallent going head-to-head for the individual title.
Even if the Russian machine had its shiniest components - it’s doubtful that&nbsp;they would have motored past this pair.
Both are in the form of their life - and both fill the top-two spots for fastest 20km times in 2010. Schwazer strolled a 3:50:22 in March at the longer distance, and his Australian rival surprised himself when the aptly named Tallent dipped under 3:39:00 back in November.
The pair also race well under pressure as befits a duo who can lay out their World Cup and Olympic medals in all three colours.
For a short while, Schwazer was also the World record holder, until eclipsed by Denis Nizhegorodov at the last World Cup in 2008.
But the Russian won’t be in Chihuahua – and more to the point – this race will be 1,400m above sea level.
If there’s one event that could see conditions having an effect, it’s a race where the best merely bide their time for the first 30km – and then move up a couple of gears.
That won’t be easy with less oxygen to go around, and anyone getting under 3:45.00 will be pretty certain to feature in the medal shake-up.
Italy versus Australia for the team race is also on the bill – although Mexico and Spain will undoubtedly have something to say about that.
Russia could even struggle to even get on the podium with none of their 2008walkers in Chihuahua if the other countries mentioned are on form.
Horacio Nava, with a 3:45:21 PB, is the one top Mexican actually from the host city, and should be best able to deal with heat and height when those with faster times start to wilt. 
And would anyone care to bet against Jesus Angel Garcia getting another medal?
The Spaniard will be 41 in October, and at an age when the rest have long binned their trainers, Garcia won bronze in the IAAF World Championships last August to go with the five other gold medals gained at the highest level – and 13 years after he won the World Cup 50km in Podebrady.
But if Garcia has defied the age barrier, Fabio Ruzzier has smashed it down. The Slovenian had to take a deep breath to blow all the candles out at his birthday in January – there were 53 of them. He too, will be toeing the line in the north Mexican city. &nbsp; Men 20km
Unless someone has been keeping their form secret – the men’s 20km looks to be a very lonely walk for Eder Sanchez.
If ever a walker had an incentive to win a race, it’s the IAAF World Championship bronze medallist and IAAF Walks Challenge winner on home soil following a solid winter’s training in Australia.
Sanchez’s times since the turn of the year have been nothing special - but he’s now got the hang of showing when it matters, and the smart money is on a man who’s been biding his time for this one.
His technique usually attracts little attention from the judges - but there will certainly be others hoping to give him a walk for his money.
If Sanchez falters, there’s a phalanx of talent ready to step out of his shadow.
Former IAAF Challenge winner Erik Tysse will certainly be close after setting his PB in the previous World Cup in Cheboksary two years ago.
The consistent Norwegian lies fifth on the current 2010 list after a pacy 80:08 win at the Rio Maior IAAF Walks Challenge last month.
Former European Cup winner Yohan Diniz has switched back to the shorter distance after mixed results at 50km, although the Frenchman should be looking over his shoulder at two outsiders.
The Russians have sent what coach Alex Melnikov describes as a ‘young’ team for the trip to Chihuahua, and they don’t get much younger and talented than Denis Strelkov.
Last year, the 19-year-old was a mere fourth in the European Cup junior 10km in Metz on the back of a bronze at the Cheboksary World Cup.
But Strelkov has been elevated to the senior team after a sparkling 80:19 debut at his country’s winter championships in February.
If the big occasion gets the better of the teenager, Luis Fernando Lopez picks up the reins of a strong Colombian tradition in the event. And after posting 81:17 in Rio Maior – it’s worth noting Sanchez himself considers Lopez a threat.
Japan occupy two of the top-six form places in Iasamu Fujisawa Yusuke Suzuku, with the latter posting a massive two-minute improvement on 2009 to record 80:06 in February. 
Team-wise, China, Russia, and Spain all have top outfits, and the hosts also will be there or thereabouts.
Intriguingly, Mexico has named 40-year-old Bernardo Segura in their line-up.
Even non-walking fans will remember the man who appeared to have won the 2000 Olympic title, only to be disqualified 35 minutes later as he was congratulated on the phone by the Mexican President.
Perhaps this time, the 1999 World Cup winner will make another call to tell absent friends he’s back on the podium again as a be-medalled team member. &nbsp; Junior men 10km
The red tryst with the junior competitions seems as strong as ever – despite the fact Russia has largely two unknown teams headed for Chihuahua.
Valeriy Filipchuk is the best known of the six men and women having won the European junior bronze medal in Serbia last year to go with silver at the European Cup – but the others are the inevitable product of the Russian Winter World Championships in Sochi.
Each World Cup year since the first junior championship in 2004, the races down by the Black Sea produce the fastest times going into the Cup – and each year those who shine in the sun inevitably produce the goods later on as well.
Sochi, or Adler next door, has produced a clutch of world’s fastest times that go unratified because they don’t have the top judges to monitor the top walks.
However, no-one doubts the form recorded, and it would be a brave man who saw anything but another clean sweep for a country that by its own admission expects to hog the lot.
Those headed for the team podium alongside Filipchuk are Konstantin Kulagov and Dementiy Cheparev – all with times comfortably under 41 minutes, which by Russian standards is dawdling, but still far too good for the rest.
The one fly in the Russian ointment could be Veli-Matti Partanen from next door in Finland.
The 18-year-old broke up the Russian clean sweep at the European Cup last year when he landed an unexpected bronze – and with a season’s best of 41:41 to go with a cool head when it comes to racing – could easily do the same again.
As ever, China has a decent team on paper, with Australia, Colombia and Italy also boasting strength in depth. That said, with the exception of Partanen, the rest could be anything up to the 400 metres behind Russia by the finish if form is anything to go by. 
Paul Warburton for the IAAF

- With less than a week to go to the IAAF World Race Walking Cup which will be held in Chihuahua, Mexico, the IAAF previews the highlights which can be expected next Saturday and next Sunday 14 &amp; 15 May.

Schwazer Vs Tallent as Sanchez carries local hopes in Chihuahua - MEN'S RACES PREVIEW

Mexico City, MexicoMexico has a long and victorious history in the world race walking, and now a&nbsp;new generation of Mexican athletes has the chance&nbsp;to write an even more successful chapter for their&nbsp;country at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, 15/16 May. &nbsp; World 20Km bronze medallist Eder Sanchez and Horacio Nava, who finished sixth over 50Km at the 2008 Olympics, will lead the Mexican squad who will be looking to expand upon their past success on their home soil. &nbsp; In his career Sanchez has won three medals in World Race Walking Cup events: a bronze in the 20Km at Cheboksary 2008, and four years before that, in 2004, as a junior he won the silver medal at 10Km and junior team gold. Despite his past success, the 23-year -old Sanchez thinks Chihuahua 2010 is an important challenge. &nbsp; “This is a very important event for all the Mexican athletes,” said Sanchez, who is also a Second Sergeant in the Mexican Army. “Not just because we have a great world history in race walking, and not just because I won a bronze medal at Cheboksary 2008, but because this is the first time for us,&nbsp;the new generation of Mexican race walkers, that we will have the opportunity to compete in our country in such a big event. We all make big efforts to give to our country a wonderful result, especially in this important year that all Mexicans celebrate two centuries of the Independence Movement, and one century of the Mexican Revolution. This World Cup means a lot more for Mexican athletes.” &nbsp; Nava to compete in hometown World and Olympic finalist Nava will lead the team at 50Km. Nava, the sixth place finisher at Beijing 2008, and also the silver medalist at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2007, won’t make his 2010 debut until Chihuahua. &nbsp; “I won’t have any competitions until Chihuahua 2010. I’m just making the best workouts at Creel, Chihuahua,” said Nava, who finished fifth in Cheboksary 2008, where he also won team silver, a strong follow-up to his seventh place showing in La Coruña, Spain in 2006. “This will be a very important competition for me and my trainer, Ruben Arikado, because we will be competing in our own town, with our people, so we have a big commitment with them to improve the result in the past World Cups.” &nbsp; Joining Nava on the 50Km squad will be Jesus Sanchez, who finished eighth at 20Km and 13th at 50Km in at the World Championships last year, the only Mexican race walker who participated at both disciplines and finished in the top 15; Omar Zepeda, who finished sixth at 50Km in Helsinki; Cristian Berdeja, the World junior 10Km champion in 2000; and Leyver Ojeda. &nbsp; Miguel Angel Rodriguez, a former race walker and now the president of the Organizing Committee of Chihuahua 2010, believes the host team has a strong chance to reach the podium. “I think we have a big opportunity to see our 50km race walkers winning a medal as a team,” Rodriguez said. “Their times are close and they can make a great competition if they work together.” Olympians lead womens’ 20Km squad &nbsp; Besides Eder, there will be another representative from the Sanchez family at the World Race Walking Cup: his aunt, the Olympian Rosario Sanchez, who has 22 years experience at the highest competition level. &nbsp; &nbsp;“I’m very proud to make the team. I felt very good in this competition even if the circuit was not so good; it is very nice for me to represent my country once again, but to be honest I really wish to see a new generation of Mexican women in race walking too, as is happening&nbsp;with the&nbsp;men,” said Rosario. &nbsp; The Mexican team will be rounded out by Pan American bronze medallist Esther Sanchez; Angelica Hernandez, and Guadalupe Sanchez, the best Mexican female race walking ever. Guadalupe Sanchez is the only Mexican woman with a top eight finish in an Olympic competition, from Sydney. Now, ten years later she wants to write some new history. “It was very difficult for me to qualify. It has been ten years since I competed in Sydney 2000, and I have had two surgeries on my knees, so for me just make the team was a big goal. But now, I have the commitment to make a good competition, and I will go for a good place in Chihuahua.” &nbsp; Monica Equihua will be on the team as well. Equihua is coached by 1997 World champion Daniel Garcia, and will have her first international competition. “This is the first time I train someone, and I feel very good to see the results of our work with this qualification,” Garcia said. “But this is just the beginning, and now, the important part is to have good preparation for next May.” &nbsp; For juniors, international debuts &nbsp; For the juniors who will compete over 10Km, Chihuahua 2010 represents their first international event. That’s the case for Ever Palma and Jesus Vega, who will represent Mexican race walking at the Inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore later this summer as well. &nbsp; “I feel very proud,” Vega said. “I just have one year in the race walking, because before I was playing soccer, but my uncle Pedro Aroche (the 1977 Silver medalilst at the 50km in the World Race Walking Cup) invited me to train. So here I am. I never thought I would represent my country in an international competition, and this year I will do it twice!” &nbsp; For Julio César Salazar, another junior team member, the Cup has added importance since Chihuahua is his hometown. &nbsp; “I’m very excited because my family and my friends will see me at Chihuahua,” said Salazar, who was ninth at the World Youth Championships in Bressanone last year. “And I’m very proud because my coach, Ruben Arikado had faith in me to make the team.” &nbsp; In the women’s race, the team will consist of Mariana Morales (51:19), Alejandra Ortega (51:49) and Sandra Nervaez (52:06). It is very interesting to see Ortega on this team, because she defeated Yanelli Caballero, the World youth silver medallist from Bressanone, at the National Junior Olympics in 2009. &nbsp; “I’m very happy to qualify for Chihuahua, this is the first time I’ll go to an international competition,” Ortega said. “Last year I defeated Yanelli in the National Junior Olympics, even though I’m younger than her, but I think 2010 will be the most important season of my life, because I will compete in Chihuahua 2010. I’m starting my history, looking forward to Rio 2016”. &nbsp; Chihuahua 2010 represents the second time that Mexico will host a Race Walking World Cup. The first time was in 1993 at Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, when Daniel Garcia won the 20Km, Carlos Mercenario won the 50Km and the Mexican team won the gold medal too. &nbsp; Seventeen years later this new generation of race walkers wants to grab history&nbsp;with their hands, walk every step with their hearts and write new stories to tell to the Mexican crowd, and the whole world too. Katya Lopez for the IAAF &nbsp; Mexican Team – Men - 20km Eder Sanchez Daniel Gomez Bernardo Segura Claudio Erasmo Vargas Giovanni Torres &nbsp; 50km Horacio Nava Jesus Sanchez Omar Zepeda Cristian Berdeja Leyver Ojeda 10km (junior) Ever Palma Jesus Vega Julio César Salazar Women – 20km Rosario Sanchez Guadalupe Sanchez Esther Sanchez Agelica Hernandez Monica Equihua 10km (junior) Mariana Morales Alejandra Ortega Sandra Nervaez

Mexico has a long and victorious history in the world race walking, and now a&nbsp;new generation of Mexican athletes has the chance&nbsp;to write an even more successful chapter for their&nbsp;country at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, 15/16 May.

Sanchez and Nava lead Mexican squad for Chihuahua – World Race Walking Cup

Reigning Olympic 50Km Race Walk champion Alex Schwazer and former Olympic champion Ivano Brugnetti head the Italian squad for the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, 15/16 May, FIDAL, the Italian federation announced. Schwazer, 25, a two-time World bronze medallist over 50Km, will contest the longer event in Chihuahua. Brugnetti, 33, the World 50Km champion in 1999 and Olympic champion in the 20Km in 2004, will compete over the shorter distance. Giorgio Rubino, who finished fourth in the 20Km at the World Championships last year, has struggled with injury this season, and will not compete. The Italian Team: MEN -?50Km seniors - Alex SCHWAZER&nbsp; (C.S. Carabinieri) Marco DE LUCA&nbsp; (G.A. Fiamme Gialle) Diego CAFAGNA&nbsp; (C.S. Carabinieri) Federico TONTODONATI (CUS Torino) Andrea ADRAGNA (Atl. Riccardi Milano) ?20Km seniors - Ivano BRUGNETTI (G.A. Fiamme Gialle) Fortunato D’ONOFRIO (C.S. Aeronautica Militare/Bruni Pubbl. Atl. Vomano) Matteo GIUPPONI (C.S. Carabinieri/Atl. Bergamo 1959 Creberg) Jean Jacques NKOULOUKIDI (G.A. Fiamme Gialle) Daniele PARIS (C.S. Aeronautica Militare) 10Km juniors - Leonardo DEI TOS (Atl. Lib. Tonon SpA Vittorio Veneto) Giovanni RENO' (Atletica Don Milani) Massimo STANO (Atl. Aden Exprivia Molfetta) WOMEN - 10Km juniors - Antonella PALMISANO (Atletica Don Milani) Federica CURIAZZI (Atl. Bergamo 1959 Creberg) Cecilia STETSKIV&nbsp; (ASD Agg. Hinna) FIDAL for the IAAF

Reigning Olympic 50Km Race Walk champion Alex Schwazer and former Olympic champion Ivano Brugnetti head the Italian squad for the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, 15/16 May, FIDAL, the Italian federation announced.

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