The South Tyrolean wins in Germany in the new specialty with a time of 3h01’55”, beating the record held by Andrea Agrusti by almost two minutes
Achievement by Alex Schwazer at 41 years old: victory and Italian record in the walking marathon (42.195 km). The South Tyrolean, gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games (then twice disqualified for doping, the second time with endless controversy over the regularity of the controls), won by a landslide the race valid for the German specialty championships held near Frankfurt with a time of 3h01’55”. He swept away all his opponents and also the previous Italian record which belonged to Andrea Agrusti by almost two minutes. Schwazer was about three minutes faster than Hayato Katsuki, the Japanese winner on 12 April in Brasilia of the World Team Walking Championships race in 3 hours 04’58”. Behind Schwazer came the Slovakian Duda Michal (3 hours 27’14”), with Irishman Joe Mooney third (3 hours 29’14”)
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Waiting for Schwazer at the arrival was Sandro Donati, his coach who also fought the legal battle with Alex after the 8-year disqualification for doping imposed by Wada before the Rio 2016 Games, a stop which prevented the Italian walker from competing after having served the disqualification for the first case of doping, confessed by Alex. The second positivity, however, was the subject of strong dispute with a criminal investigation by the Italian judiciary which acquitted Schwazer of the charge of sports fraud, reaching the conclusion of manipulation by the leaders of sports institutions to frame the South Tyrolean. But sports justice never wanted to face a revision of the sentence, confirming the 8 years despite the many inconsistencies and the evidence brought to support the thesis by the Bolzano Prosecutor’s Office. Once the disqualification ended, in 2024, Schwazer started marching again, demonstrating that the years that have passed have not affected his talent and determination. The Italian record obtained today in the new specialty (the walking marathon will be held from this year) clearly demonstrates this.
