Poděbrady Race Walking & Running

WA Race Walking Tour Gold Meeting

Saturday morning belonged to five and ten kilometre races for young and experienced walkers on the circuit in the spa park. They brought joy to the home team in the form of fulfilled entries for the youth championships.

The 10km races were announced for the under-23 category. Among the men, the German-Czech pair broke away right after the start and stayed together for two thirds of the race. Jassam Abu el Wafa from Germany was stronger in the final laps and came through to win in 41:29. He reached the finish line eight seconds later and with 41:37 he met the requirement for the European U23 Championships in Bergen with a small margin (entry 41:45). The third place was taken by the Slovakian Tomas Mencel (43:28). All of them, however, set new personal bests. 

The women's race belonged to a trio of walkers right from the start. The German Kylie Garreis dictated the pace from the start, her lead was over half a minute, but eventually thinned out and she still won sovereignly in 46:50. Her compatriot Tabea Kiefer went with the home team's Alžběta Franklová, then broke away from her, but did not keep the quarter-minute lead. Frankl had a strong finish, and not only did her acceleration put her in second place, she broke the federation's standard for the European Championships in Bergen by a single second with a time of 47:14. Kiefer was third in 47:23.

Traditionally, young and veteran walkers meet in Poděbrady for the 5kilometre race. Dan Mochal, a junior, shone in particular, as his personal best of 21:59 fulfilled the performance requirement for the European Youth Olympic Festival. One minute behind him, Martin Nedvídek (23:01) was the best of the masters. The fastest among the women was German junior Maria-Lena Carniel in 24:26, while Jana Zikmundova was the first among the home team (26:49).

Results