'This is the stupidest sport ever, everyone's cheating': Race walking event at Olympics infuriates viewers, participants face backlash
In the 2024 Olympics, the marathon race walk mixed relay made its debut, with Spain's world champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez clinching the gold. In this event, athletes need to walk quickly while keeping one foot on the ground and their leading leg straight. However, there are doubts about whether the event held on Wednesday was conducted fairly as viewers alleged that participants cheated.
One vented, "Nothing infuriates me more than race walk cheaters."
Another accused Team Australia of cheating in the women¡¯s race walk mixed relay final, claiming they were jogging.
Others expressed skepticism, saying, "Not convinced these competitors in the walk race aren't cheating. Looks very much to me like they're jogging."
Yet others questioned the event's purpose, with comments like, "I have never understood why this is an event," and "Can you enlighten me as to why this isn't the stupidest sport ever?"
One social media user commented, "The way I see it, it is basically competition of who can cheat the most?without getting caught. It is [an] entirely flawed sport."
Everyone watching race walking for the first time
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What are the race walking rules?
These are the race walking rules, as stated on Olympics.com:
- Athletes must always have one foot in contact with the ground at all times, as visible to the human eye. If there is no visible contact, it is deemed as 'lifting' and attracts a penalty.
- The athlete¡¯s knee of their advanced leg must not bend and the leg must straighten as the body passes over it.
- If a race walker is shown three warnings (paddles) from different judges, including the chief judge, it leads to disqualification of the athlete.
How did India perform in race walking?
India's marathon race walk mixed relay team, featuring Suraj Panwar and Priyanka Goswami, did not finish the final and was disqualified after multiple warnings.?
Goswami, who had also finished 41st in the women's 20km race walk, faced additional backlash after posting a now-deleted Instagram reel.?
The video showed her replacing a fan with an AC and then sleeping, which angered many on social media who felt athletes should focus more on their sport rather than posting online.
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