The past and present of Poděbrady Race Walking meeting
The first walking race from Prague to Poděbrady was organized in 1894 as a club championship by the Pedestrian Club Královské Vinohrady and the winner was František Malý at 5:50. After a long break, the race was not resumed until 1929 by the AC Praha 1890 club in preparation for the newly entered 50km distance for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games; since then, it has been held annually except for the war period 1941-1944, since 1947 with international participation. The original route from Prague's Karlín to the spa colonnade in Poděbrady was a test for pedestrians of courage, perseverance and the ability to overcome themselves.
Until 1946, the best time on the classic course was 4:40:20 hours by Jaroslav Štorek-Žofka (1936), then it was repeatedly improved by Josef Doležal from 4:23:40 (1946) to 4:16:06 (1954); Mexican Raúl Gonzales was the first to break the 4-hour barrier in 1978 with a new world best time of 3:41:19.2. However, car traffic on the roads and the health risk continued to grow, which is why the race was moved to the city circuit in Poděbrady in 1991 in the spirit of the IAAF's safety and organizational requirements.
The historical highlight of the race was the organization of the 18th IAAF Race Walking World Cup in 1997 on the occasion of 100 years of Czech athletics, which brought extraordinary world performances on the circuit leading through the spa colonnade and across the square to the extraordinary interest of competitors and spectators. Spaniard Jesús Angel Garcia walked on the Poděbrady lap track at 50 km the best time of 3:39:54 h.
Following an agreement with the Slovak organizers of the internationally famous "Dudinská padesátka" race, the distance in Poděbrady has changed to 20 km since 2003 and currently the race has the status of an EA Race Walking Permit Meeting. Since 1982, the women's races have been a part of it, first for 5 km and later for 10 km up to today's 20 km; 10 km distance is offered for juniors and 5 km for youth category. As part of the race, there are international matches of men, women, juniors and the championship of the Czech Republic for 20 km of men and women.
The course record holders are Olympic champion Jefferson Pérez from Ecuador on the men's 20 km track (1:18:24 h in 1997), Irina Stankina on the women's 10 km (41:52 min in 1997) [MP1] and on the 20 km Italian Antonella Palmisano (1:28:40 in 2020). In 2017, the European Race Walking Cup took place in Poděbrady on a 1 km long circuit in the spa park as part of the celebrations of the 120th anniversary of the Czech athletic federation.
Many domestic and foreign walking personalities are connected with the history of the Poděbrady meeting. Among the natives, the primacy belongs to Josef Doležal, the multiple world record holder, the silver Olympian from Helsinki in 1952 and the European champion from Bern in 1954 won seven times in a row. The legendary pedestrian Jaroslav Štork-Žofka won five times in the 1930s, the fourth of 50 km at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin; Other greats of the Czech walk, world record holder Ladislav Moc and other Olympian Alexandr Bílek, won the international competition. The track world record holders Milan Skřont and Svatopluk Sýkora, the unforgettable Oldřich Stránský and in women category Anežka Drahotová also entered the books with their performances.
Among the foreign winners of the traditional "fifties" from Prague to Poděbrady, it is worth mentioning the most successful: Olympic winners and world record holders Italian Abdon Pamich (3x winner) and German Christoph Höhne (2x winner), course record holder Mexican Raúl Gonzales (2x winner) and three-time winner German Mathias Kroel. Many world walkers took part in the 20 km circuit races in the Spa Park, the most famous being the four-time Slovak winner Matej Tóth, the Olympic winner (Rio de Janeiro 2016, 50 km) and world champion (Beijing 2015, 50 km) and the phenomenal 50 km world record holder Frenchman Yohann Diniz. Among women with three victories, Polish Silvia Korzeniowska won, the sister of the legendary Olympic winner both in the 20 and 50 km Robert, who was the guest of honor at her start.