After a successful first edition held last year, some of the world’s finest race walkers will clash in Madrid on Sunday (30) when the second Gran Premio Internacional Finetwork Madrid Marcha takes place in the Spanish capital. One of the most iconic streets of Madrid, Gran Via, will be the venue for the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event.

The men’s 10km contest features the whole podium from last year, when Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom took an emphatic win, Spain’s Diego Garcia was runner-up and Brazil’s Caio Bonfim completed a quality podium. That trio will be aiming for the top spots again as they all have shown fine form at this early stage of the season. 

Karlstrom enjoyed a fantastic 2022, winning three major medals as he captured world bronze in Eugene in both the 20km and 35km before bagging silver at the European Championships in Munich over the shorter distance. The Swede will be on show in Madrid just two days before turning 33 years of age. He spent the first part of the year in Australia, where he contested three races, topped by a winning 1:19:27 20km in Melbourne on 12 February. Back in Europe, he proved his consistency with another 1:19:44 performance to take second place in Dudince on 25 March.

Karlstrom was a convincing 10km victor in Madrid in 2022 thanks to a 38:42 performance over the 1km circuit and has recently commented that he’s determined to strike again on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, the Madrid-born Garcia has faced a busy few weeks as he is also one of the main organisers of the event in his role of elite athlete coordinator. The 27-year-old claimed European 20km bronze last year and he also boasts a fine sixth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics. He kicked off this season with a 2:29:04 debut for the 35km event to grab silver at the Spanish Championships held in Cieza on 26 February, when he was defeated by two-time European 20km champion Alvaro Martin, but Garcia later took revenge as he claimed the 10,000m Spanish University Championships title in Leon ahead of his compatriot in a lifetime best of 39:13.43 last Saturday. 

As for Bonfim, the 32-year-old Brazilian took the 2017 world 20km bronze medal and is also a multiple major championships finalist, as was the case at last year’s World Championships in Oregon where he doubled in the 20km and 35km races, managing sixth and seventh spots, respectively. He finished second in Dudince in 2:27:00 (35km) one month ago and is fresh from an overwhelming 20km win in Warsaw last Sunday in 1:19:42.

Trying to deny them back-to-back podium places will be China’s Qian Haifeng, the 22-year-old who lowered his 20km lifetime best to 1:19:09 in Nomi last March, and he will be joined by his compatriot Wang Zhaozhao, also fresh from a 1:19:40 lifetime best this season. 

Watch out too for the in-form Ecuadorian David Hurtado, who has already twice improved his 20km PB courtesy of successive 1:19:24 and 1:18:45 performances, the latter in Taicang barely three weeks ago. The 23-year-old is the 2018 world U20 10,000m silver medallist and he placed 11th in Oregon over 20km. 

Not to be discounted for a top-five spot is Germany’s European 35km silver medallist Christopher Linke. The 34-year-old made a successful start to his season two weeks ago, taking the national title in style with a 1:21.11 clocking, while Italy’s Olympic 20km and world 35km champion Massimo Stano will make his first appearance this campaign, being joined by his fellow Italian Francesco Fortunato, who finished fifth in Munich over 20km and who took the Italian title last month in 1:21:11.

In addition to Garcia, Spanish hopes rest on the reigning European U20 10,000m champion and world U20 bronze medallist Paul McGrath, a fine sixth last year in Madrid, and the Tokyo Olympics 50km fourth-place finisher Marc Tur.

Chinese walkers to strike, Olympic champion Palmisano is back

As was the case last year, the women’s 10km event will be held jointly with the men’s over a 1km circuit. China’s world record-holder Yang Jiayu starts as favourite as she clocked 1:26:41 last month in Huangshan, where she achieved her 1:23:49 performance in 2021.

Yet her compatriot Ma Zhenxia, a fine 10th in Oregon over 20km, was only two seconds slower than Yang at the National Race Walking Grand Prix in March (1:26:43) and should be a factor on Sunday, while Li Maocuo, the 2019 world 50km silver medallist, will try to complete a clean sweep of medals for her country after improving her 35km PB to 2:42:39 in Huangshan.

Italy’s Olympic 20km champion Antonella Palmisano will compete for the first time since her success in Sapporo. Palmisano became Olympic gold medallist on the day of her 30th birthday but has been hampered by injuries since then. The 2017 world bronze medallist missed the whole 2022 season to finally undergo surgery in September but she then experienced further problems with her left sciatic nerve. Palmisano will walk in the company of her compatriot Valentina Trapletti, a surprise eight-place finisher in Oregon over 20km.

Other leading entrants include the in-form Mexican Alegna Gonzalez, winner in Dudince in a lifetime best of 1:28:09, and Greece’s double European champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti, owner of a PB of 1:28:12 set in Melbourne last February. France’s Clemence Beretta, sixth in Munich over 20km, will also be in contention having improved her PB this season to 1:30:20.

Spain’s Raquel Gonzalez and Hungary’s Viktoria Madarasz, silver and bronze medallists respectively over 35km in Munich, will also be on show alongside the local Laura Garcia-Caro, a fine third last year in Madrid before a sixth-place finish in Oregon over 35km.

Weather forecasters predict a pleasant and sunny day with the thermometer reaching 17ºC by the time of the event.

Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics