Richmond’s Olympic race walking hero Evan Dunfee isn’t quite sure how the vote will go on Friday, but he’s certain he’s going to have some big decisions to make very soon.
Up for grabs at the end of the week is the future of race walking’s arduous 50 km event in major competition, such as the World Championships and the Olympics.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is voting, for various reasons, on whether to scrap the long-distance event, which is Dunfee’s specialty.
If it votes to kill the 50 km, the World Race Walking Championships in China in May 2018 would be the last major competition for the event.
And with the Richmond native already almost a year into the four-year cycle to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he and fellow race walkers across the world are imploring the IAAF to, at the very least, delay any change until after the next Olympics.
“I know that our event probably needs to adapt and evolve, but the fact that all of this seems to be getting done behind our backs is a major problem,” said Dunfee, who shot to fame globally at the Rio Olympics last summer when he was bumped near the end of the race, before graciously ending an appeal process that potentially would have given him the bronze medal.
“I’m not a 20 km specialist, although I still have that option for Tokyo in 2020. I’d have to assess things if changes were made for 2020; but they really shouldn’t be making any changes before the Olympics.
“People have started committing to the four-year cycle for the Olympics. I’m in that right now. I’ve already told friends that I can’t be at their wedding in 2019; we plan that far ahead.”
The event’s lack of popularity and gender equality issues are among the concerns the IAAF is wrestling with, after apparently being put under pressure by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make changes to the sport.
The race walking fraternity around the world has, according to Dunfee, been petitioning everyone they know to draw attention to the controversial move.
“I’ve been getting in contact with our representatives at Athletics Canada and been trying to rally public support,” he told the Richmond News on Monday.
“Our argument isn’t that there shouldn’t be change, it’s about the athletes having a voice; we seem to have no say or input in this.
“The IOC showed up unannounced and said that changes need to be made right now or they would make them.
“In my opinion, the IOC doesn’t like the length of the event; it doesn’t like the road closures; they think it doesn’t appeal to the younger generation and is not particularly marketable.”
As for gender equality — there is no women’s 50 km event — the IAAF tried to remedy the situation by introducing a 50 km race for women.
However, according to Dunfee, the “women must match the men’s times” for it to be considered.
“It’s not a great first step really,” he said.
Dunfee set a new Canadian record in the 50 km race at the Olympics in Rio, where he placed fourth. It appeared, initially, he won bronze after it was first determined Japan’s Hirooki Arai made contact with Dunfee as the race reached its climax. But officials overturned the decision.
Dunfee then advised the Canadian athletics team not to protest the decision, which further endeared him to fans around the world.
