Even though 2007 marks her twenty first season of international Race Walking, Norway’s Kjersti Plätzer is motivated and positive about the battle for this year's IAAF Race Walking Challenge title.

The Sydney Olympic 20km Race Walk silver medallist has a best placing of second in the series, behind Ireland’s Gillian O’Sullivan, in the inaugural IAAF Race Walking Challenge of 2003.

https://worldathletics.org/news/news/platzer-targets-the-iaaf-race-walking-challen

Just outside the medals in Gothenburg
Like O’Sullivan, Plätzer is looking forward to a comeback having missed all the IAAF events in 2006 due to injury. She did, however, return in the latter part of the season to take fourth place in the European Championships in Gothenburg, and went on to walk her fastest 20km time in 6 years in October .

Plätzer also missed the whole 2005 season for a more joyful reason - in that year she gave birth to her second child Sebastian. Being married to her coach (the German middle-distance runner Stephan Plätzer), and with her brother Erik Tysse also a top level Race Walker, she was never likely to take much of a break.

“It probably became a bit too much last year with a lot of training at altitude and I also studied with Adecco (on their leadership programme) plus I breast-fed. All that together with a lot of training in snow and bad weather meant I got injured. So we learned from that!” revealed Kjersti, before leaving for more altitude training, en masse, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

During her training camp she will probably travel south to compete in the first leg of this year’s IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Naucalpan, Mexico on 10 March 2007.

To be within eight seconds of a medal in Gothenburg, certainly offers encouragement.

“That was fun” said Kjersti. “Of course I was unsure with no race walking in the most important part of the year from March ‘til May.”

“It was a good race - Stephan said I did everything perfectly. It was a comeback year and my best European Championships so I have to be happy with that.”

Brother Erik in good form too

Erik Tysse, now also coached full time by Stephan Plätzer, has already shown he has laid down a strong base for the coming season. On 28 January he achieved an IAAF A standard time for the Osaka World championships for his second choice event in winning the United States 50km Race Walk Championship in Chula Vista, CA,.

The 26-year-old won in a time of 3:57:35, ahead of Javier Moreno of Ecuador, and the USA’s Kevin Eastler (also coached by Stephan) taking the US national title in his first ever 50km.

The 2007 IAAF World Race Walking Challenge consists of six of the classic walks meetings across the globe, as well as the World Championships and, for the first time, culminates in a final on 29 September in Saransk, Russia.

Hungry for expanding challenge

The IAAF Challenge has grown significantly since 2003 and will mean a long season for Plätzer and the other top race walkers.

According to Plätzer “I think its good - although there will be more 20km races for women than ever before. The men are used to it but for us it will be hard to do. It’s especially good to get the Russians out to compete, as well as the Chinese.”

“I’ll probably do Mexico, and then Rio Maior (POR) and Sesto San Giovanni (ITA), and for sure Krakow (POL), and then we are not yet sure about La Coruña (ESP).” said Plätzer of her plans. “I will definitely do four before the World Championships. Then the final on 29 September in Russia, which for me is fine as I have always done well near the end of a season.”

Recently turned thirty-five, Kjersti remains hungry for competition in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge.

“It was very good to have the year off from racing and the hunger for competing returned. For me it’s all about competing. I think it’s a strength I have - I don’t care if it’s a World Championships - for me it’s a race.”

Tim Watt for the IAAF