Karlstrom and Garcia break meeting records in Podebrady

March winds were harsh on both Podebrady Walking winners, but April has brought pure joy.

Perseus Karlstrom and Kimberly Garcia were forced to drop out of World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold races last month, but bounced back to triumph in the Czech spa town east of Prague on Saturday (6).

Garcia took on a hot race in every sense of the word. The thermometer rose to 23°C in a 20km race that still provided a course record for the double world champion from Peru.

In fact, the first three broke the previous mark set by Antonella Palmisano in 2021.

This time, the Olympic gold medallist had to give way at 16km as Garcia went through the gears. It seemed for a moment the Italian was destined to take a consolation second place. But Ecuador’s Glenda Morejon had other ideas, turning a two seconds disadvantage into a three-second lead going into the bell lap that decided the order.

All three were comfortably under 1:28:00. Garcia’s new Podebrady mark was a heartening 1:27:08.

Behind them were four PBs in the top 10 to belie conditions.

From the gun, 20-plus athletes went through the first kilometre in a comfortable 4:30, comfortable that is for the calibre of walker at the front.

By the end of the second lap, that throng was already thinning as the pace picked up. In fact, the leading nine had creviced open a small gap at 3km (13:16), with another significant group headed by France’s Clemence Beretta right behind.

The pace had steadied by the next time round, but it still found past winner Eleonora Giorgi just about hanging on.

The leaders were forced to go the long way round, right and left, when passing four lapped walkers stretched across the course. Even so, quarter distance was reached in 22:06, and the leaders were down to six although Magaly Bonilla from Ecuador was desperately trying to stay in touch.

It was Italy versus south and central America by lap eight (35:21) – and the rest playing catch-up, with double world silver medallist Katarzyna Zdzieblo back in 13th already 34 seconds behind, and Beretta passed by two teammates mixing it with a second group from South America.

At halfway in 44:06, Bonilla and Giorgi were again feeling the pace, especially with a last circuit of 4:21. 

The gloves were definitely off one lap later. The front four clocked 4:18, and that did for Giorgi, Bonilla and Brazilian Viviane Lyra. 

The next casualty was surprisingly Alegna Gonzalez from Mexico, with Garcia biding her time. That was because the pink-vested Morejon had already made a break for home, seven laps before the finish.

But the gap was a mere second, and Garcia underlined her class as she refused to give way.

At three-quarters distance (65:39) it was 22 seconds to a distant Gonzalez walking solo, so barring disaster the podium was already filled.

As the leading trio completed 16km with a 4:17 lap, it was Garcia’s turn to put the hammer down.

As the day got hotter, so did the pace. The next lap was a second quicker but it found Palmisano and Morejon nine seconds back.

The leader sailed on imperiously over the next kilometre, and the battle for second also looked settled. Palmisano got a vital three seconds over the Ecuadorean, and that appeared to be that in deciding first, second, third.

However, Morejon would not be denied and lit the afterburners to claw back the deficit and finish a fine second.

There were PBs for Lyra and Bonilla in fifth and sixth behind Gonzalez, who duelled to the line, as well as Paula Torres from Ecuador who chopped a massive 3:15 off her previous mark.

France’s Pauline Stey, ninth, and Camille Moutard, 11th, also had reasons to be cheerful as they re-wrote personal records going under 1:30:00 for the first time.

“I liked the circuit very much and was happy to set the record,” said Garcia. “Everything is geared to the Olympics and the preparation is going well.”

Win No.4 for Karlstrom

Unlike the women, the leading group of 14 men had already creviced a small gap after the first 1km lap, covered in 3:54.

The pace eased to a more comfortable 4:03 at 2km, and 11:58, one lap later, suggested things were levelling out with real racing yet to come.

Mexico’s Jose Luis Doctor and Ricardo Ortiz were pushing at the front of a group of nine, but four others ominously including Sweden’s multiple world medallist Karlstrom were only a couple of seconds back.

The pace eased a little more, so that by 5km in 20:00 exactly a single file of 18 streamed through. Parity was almost retained at 7km, but that stretched elastic had whittled the group as it lost three off the back.

Olympic and world bronze medallist Evan Dunfee of Canada decided to give it a go at the front and clocked a three-second lead over former winners Francisco Fortunato of Italy, Caio Bonfim of Brazil and Christopher Linke of Germany, by eighth time round. 

They in turn had the luxury of a gap to the leading chasers now passing in dribs and drabs.

Karlstrom then hit the accelerator to join the chasing three, and along with Linke and Dunfee they had left Bonfim and Fortunato in their wake at halfway (39:40).

Dunfee was just about in touch by 14km, but still four seconds behind the Swede, with Bonfim (55:25) now commanding third ahead of Fortunato (55:37). France's Gabriel Bordier was having the race of his life and chasing Fortunato.

A symmetrical 58:58 was Karlstrom’s clocking after 15km, with Dunfee staring at the leader’s distant back which was getting smaller all the time.

Bonfim was an isolated third, but Bordier had drawn level with Fortunato and both were another 30 seconds in arrears.

The race for top spot was over at 17km. 

By then, Karlstrom was 30 seconds up on Dunfee, although Bonfim was enjoying a second wind and closing in on second place. In fact, there was only seven seconds in it at the bell, but it was enough and the order of the first three was decided.

Bordier was a plucky fourth, and last year’s winner Fortunato finished a tired sixth.

Behind them was a PB for his Italian teammate Andrea Cosi in 1:20:56, improving his previous best by an impressive 43 seconds.

The winner admitted he eased off the pedal despite clocking a meeting record of 1:18:22 to break the existing mark – his own, shared with Bonfim – by 32 seconds.

“I could see at 16km I had a lead, but I was worried my leg was tightening up and so I slowed down a little,” said Karlstrom, “but I was still pleased with my performance.”

Paul Warburton for World Athletics