Race Walker Robyn Stevens Is Back On Track For Paris Olympics

Robyn Stevens walks faster than most people run and is on track to make her second Olympic Team.

Stevens is the fastest female race walker in the country.

Growing up in Vacaville, she said a high school track coach suggested she try race walking. Stevens did and instantly fell in love with the sport. 

"It's super technical it's what drew me to it," Stevens said.

Women compete in the 20-kilometer distance in the Olympics. The sport relies on precision and power.

"With race walking, you have to land with one foot on the ground at all times. You have to land with [a] straight leg that stays straight until it passes beneath the hip," Stevens said.

Judges line the course watching for foot infractions and rely purely on what they see. There is no video review.

Athletes walk faster than most of us can run.

"In a 20k race, I'll average anywhere from a 7-minute to 7:15 a mile," Stevens said.

She contemplated retiring after the delayed Tokyo Games where she finished 33rd out of 58 competitors.

Two things kept her in the sport: One, she'd like her mom to see her compete at an Olympics in person. Fans weren't allowed at the Tokyo Olympics because of pandemic restrictions.

The second is that at age 41, she's still the fastest American race walker.

And that's despite having her 2023 training year disrupted severely by long-haul COVID-19 symptoms.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why Robyn wants an Olympic do-over
• The impact long haul Covid has on endurance athletes 
•  How she's changed her Olympic mindset to balance her personal and professional life
• What it's like to train for hours a day on your own
• And we break down the mechanics of race walking

 

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