[gundmc]

> You’ve probably seen it on TV multiple times. Exhausted, depleted of energy, and barely capable of taking another step, elite race walkers collapse as soon as they reach the finish line.

I'm not sure if I have unusual TV habits or if the author is overestimating the amount of watch time and coverage race walking gets.

[paxys]

Race walking is an Olympic sport. Not very common day to day, but I'm sure most people have at least seen videos of it at some point.

[pimlottc]

I agree, which makes it pretty flimsy as proof of the premise. "You've probably seen someone look really tired after race walking. On the other hand, this guy did pushups at the end of a marathon. Ergo, race walking is harder than marathon running."

[wingerlang]

Seems like the target audience is runners? I barely run to catch a train and I've definitely caught this on EuroSport or the Olympics more than a couple of times in my lifetime.

[fungiblecog]

Probably an age thing.

Back in the day - before the internet - there wasn’t much choice of what to watch. I saw a lot of walking races on TV in my youth (in the UK) but haven’t seen one in the last 10-15 years.

[pwthornton]

I have never witnessed race waling in my life, not even in passing. I am aware it exists and have seen clips of it, but I've never actually seen a race live, nor do I know anyone who has.

[dasKrokodil]

Here in Germany, back in the 90s, racewalking was sometimes broadcast at night on Eurosport, along with other weirdo sports like Australian Football.

[xxpor]

My understanding is that its MUCH more popular in the UK

[astura]

I've never even heard of race walking before, let along watched it on TV.

[aitchnyu]

Tangential, how do organisers check if walkers didnt run at all?