The Royal Leamington Spa EAA Grand Prix of Race Walking, takes place in Leamington Spa, England on 16 April 2005, one of the designated qualifying events for this summer's World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

In terms of Olympic medals, Race Walking is Great Britain’s most successful athletics discipline. But it has been three decades since its walkers have challenged at the highest level – which makes the originating nation of the event mindful of developing athletes for the future.

The sixth Royal Leamington Spa EAA Grand Prix of Race Walking on Saturday, promoted by UK Athletics, includes the second Royal Leamington Spa Junior Cup. Also on the same day are the national younger age championships, including a match against Ireland.

Race Walking originated in challenge events along the roads of England and the rules were first codified by the Road Walking Association (now Race Walking Association) as races such as the London to Brighton flourished.

Almost a century on, the spectator-friendly parkland venue of Victoria Park in the dignified Warwickshire spa town of Leamington has become the base from which British Race Walking plans to build momentum for the future.

JUNIORS

This year’s Junior men’s 10km race promises to be particularly exciting. British hopes rest with 16 year-old Nick Ball but he will face strong competition from Hungarian Sandor Racz, American Junior Pan-American Trials winner Zac Pollinger and strong squads from France, Belgium and Denmark.

The Junior women’s 10km field is headed by Ireland’s 2003 IAAF World Youth silver medallist Anne loughnane while the British challenge will come from Jenny Gag who was part of the team that finished seventh in last year’s IAAF World Race Walking Cup and Rebecca Marsh, who won a bronze medal in last year’s English AAA’s senior championships over 5km at the age of just 15. The British athletes will also be looking to reserve their places in the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the EAA European Cup of Race Walking to be held in Miskolc, Hungary on 21 May, a competition that Leamington hopes to stage in 2007.

SENIORS

The senior men’s and women’s Grand Prix races will take place over 20km around the fast circuit (Spain’s Olympic and World silver medallist Francisco Fernandez holds the UK all-comers record of 1:20:18 set at the first Leamington Grand Prix in 2000).

MEN

The Senior men’s race will see the top British athletes battling it out for the UK titles and for places in the British team for the European Race Walking Cup, as well as looking to clock qualifying times for next year’s Commonwealth Games. The domestic challenge will be spearheaded by Britain’s top two 20km walkers Daniel King and Dominic King – twins who’s personal best times set last year are just a second apart! They will expect strong competition from their coach Andi Drake, Steve Partington who currently heads the British rankings at both 20km and 50km and Darrell Stone who finished fourth in both the 1994 and 1998 Commonwealth Games.

WOMEN

Entries in the Women’s 20km are headed by double Irish Olympian Olive Loughnane, who finished twelfth in the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris. The British challenge will come from English Commonwealth Games representatives Niobe Menéndez and Sharon Tonks.

A number of promising younger athletes will make their debuts over the distance including Katie Stones who finished twelfth in the Junior 10km race at last years IAAF World Cup in Naumburg, Sophie Hales and Johanna Jackson.

Qualifying event for Helsinki

The senior races at Leamington have been selected as qualifying events for the IAAF World Championships this summer so there’s every incentive for all to be at the top of their game. According to UK Athletics spokesman and race organiser Ian Richards "the event is also a great chance for Leamington to showcase its bid for the 2007 European Cup of Race Walking which, (it is hoped), will form the basis for the Race Walking Association’s Centenary celebrations that year."

The premier event in the UK Race Walking calendar has attracted 157 athletes for the various races on Saturday. There’s every prospect that a number of British walkers will establish themselves on home soil and be able to make the breakthrough in international competitions later in the year.

Tim Watt for the IAAF