<h2>European Race Walking Team Championships</h2>
This is an event dedicated to race walking organised on a biennial basis. This event was established in 1996 and was formerly called, until 2021, the European Race Walking Cup.&nbsp;
It now includes a senior men's and women's 20km and 35km and 10km races for men and women in the U20 category. The team scores are calculated by aggregating the positions of the first three finishers (senior) or two finishers (U20). The team with the lowest aggregate of points will be judged the winner.
At the 2023 European Race Walking Team Championships in Podebrady, Spain topped the medal table again with six gold medals. Their star performer was Maria Perez who won the 35km race walk title in a world record of 2:37:15 and led Spain to a clean sweep of the individual medals.
Perez provided the second half of a Spanish double after Alvaro Martin won the men's event in a national record of 2:25:35 and also led Spain to the team title.
The Italians also performed brilliantly in Podebrady, coming away with five gold medals in total. Francesco Fortunato won the 20km race walk ahead of two-time winner Perseus Karlstrom and his more revered teammate Massimo Stano and Diego Giampaolo and Giulia Gabriele swept the U20 10km titles for Italy.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 39-year-old Antigoni Ntrismpioti proved her reputation as a fine championship competitor. The double European champion from Munich 2022 won the 20km race walk title for Greece, just ahead of Olympic champion Antonella Palmisano from Italy.&nbsp;
The 2025 edition of the European Race Walking Team Championships will also be held in Podebrady.&nbsp;

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Ntrismpioti strikes for Greece in the 20km

Martin wins 35km gold in a Spanish record

World record! Maria Perez stars in Podebrady

Maria Perez might have had a 2022 season to forget having been disqualified at the World and European Athletics Championships but there will be high expectations when she lines up in the 35km race walk at the European Race Walking Team Championships in Podebrady on 21 May.
After her annus horribilis, the 2018 European champion has bounced back strongly this year by smashing her national record at the Spanish 20km Race Walking Championships in Cordoba with a world leading time of 1:25:30.
&ldquo;After those setbacks I needed to reset and refresh mentally so I resumed my training in October but I did running instead of walking. It was only by the end of December that I began my usual race walking sessions once I felt psychologically ready after several tough months,&rdquo; said Perez in an exclusive interview with European Athletics.
More than one month on and Perez is still surprised by that clocking, the fastest ever non-Russian time recorded by a European race walker in the history of the event.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t expect such a quick time at that early stage of the season since we had barely done quality work; I only remember doing a couple of reps sessions (10x1000m and 6x2000m) but I also knew I had that kind of time in my legs after all the hard work done the previous years,&rdquo; she said.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/057017c8-7d20-4e56-965f-8c38963d1cc6?width=3657&amp;height=2438" alt="Getty Images 1408957698 (1)" />
Looking ahead to the European Race Walking Team Championships, statistics play in the favour of the 27-year-old. She came sixth in 2017 and second in 2021 on her previous appearances in the 20km race walk in Podebrady but Perez prefers to take a cautious approach.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To be honest, I&rsquo;m not aiming to win or to smash any records, my two goals in Podebrady are just to romp home and show all the technical work we have done over the last months,&rdquo; said Perez.
The Spaniard is an accomplished performer at both the 20km and 35km race walk distances but Perez explains why she is planning to contest the longer of the two distances in Podebrady.&nbsp;
&ldquo;After my good performance in C&oacute;rdoba we decided to work on my stamina and mileage as I plan to double up at the World Athletics Championships this summer. I am averaging over 125 kilometres per week with some peaks of 135 kilometres at the most,&rdquo; said Perez, who is the European record-holder at the longer distance with 2:39:16 time set last year.
The upcoming European Race Walking Team Championships will be Perez&rsquo;s fourth race over the longer distance but her first internationally in an event which only made its debut on the major championships programme last summer.
&ldquo;To be honest, I haven&rsquo;t got any hint on what type of race we&rsquo;ll have in Podebrady, let&rsquo;s see how the race develops,&rdquo; said Perez.
&ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t forget that it&rsquo;s a team championship so the primary goal will be to win the gold medal for my country alongside my teammates but Italy, Greece [gold and silver medallists in 2021], Ukraine and France have strong specialists,&rdquo; said Perez.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/CqbM0cRrX8Q"]
Perez will meet up with them again in just over a week on a circuit which is of her liking. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a beautiful circuit, quite broad except for the final stages when it narrows; in addition there are a lot of trees in the park which give shade for much of the race. I really enjoy walking in Podebrady,&rdquo; she said.
<h2>"Fiercest rival but also the best teammate"</h2>
Unlike Perez, her compatriot Raquel Gonzalez enjoyed the season of her life in the 35km race walk in 2022 with a fifth-place finish at the World Athletics Championships and a silver medal at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich.
&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t pick one performance over the other; to be fifth at a world level is amazing but a medal is a medal and that&rsquo;s what every athlete fights for. After those results I feel more ambitious,&rdquo; said Gonzalez, who was also crowned women's Spanish Athlete of the Year for 2022.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/6c1d2e19-f008-467e-8009-30f0e1cea579?width=3459&amp;height=5188" alt="Getty Images 1415149026" />
Boosted by such a brilliant campaign, Gonzalez spent over one month early this year in Australia &ndash; Canberra and Perisher Valley &ndash; to take part in the Supernova 7 training camp alongside other elite walkers such as Greece&rsquo;s double European champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti who will contest the 20km race walk in Podebrady.
&ldquo;The topic of the experiment was to study the altitude training effect on the haemoglobin of female walkers; we also followed a very specific diet program, combining a high energy intake over the first two weeks and a low energy intake for the last week,&rdquo; explained Gonzalez.
The 33-year-old is looking forward to returning to Podebrady two years after a performance which left her with mixed emotions.
"Today I have a very positive memory as we managed the 20km gold medal as a team but believe me when I tell you, I had a bittersweet feeling for some time as I missed an individual medal and also a lifetime best for barely one second,&rdquo; recalls Gonzalez, who came fourth in 1:28:37, tantalisingly close to her lifetime best which dates back to 2014.
Thinking about the upcoming 2023 edition, the Madrid-based walker said: &ldquo;We have a very powerful squad and definitely we&rsquo;ll go for team gold, that&rsquo;s for sure&rdquo;.&nbsp;
Asked on whether her fellow Spaniard Maria Perez should be regarded as her main opponent individually, Gonzalez says adamantly: &ldquo;Of course, Maria will be both the fiercest rival but also the best teammate&rdquo;.&nbsp;
Having raced over the shorter distances - 5km, 10km, 20km - so far this campaign, Podebrady will mark Gonzalez&rsquo;s first appearance over 35km distance this season but far from hesitating on her outcome, she&rsquo;s fully determined to perform well.
The Spaniard boasts a 2:42:27 career best for the event but she&rsquo;s reluctant to reply when asked what kind of clocking we can expect from her on this occasion.
"That would be giving advantage to my rivals!" she laughs.&nbsp;
Emeterio Vailente for European Athletics

After contrasting fortunes in 2022, Perez and Gonzalez to join forces for Spain over 35km in Podebrady

Europe&rsquo;s race walkers will congregate in the Czech spa town of Podebrady for the 2023 European Race Walking Team Championships - arguably the most significant race walking fixture outside the World Athletics Championships in Budapest this summer - which takes place one month today on 21 May.&nbsp;
The glorious tree-lined boulevards of Podebrady will be familiar to many prospective participants as the Czech town played host to this competition in 2017 as well as the last edition in 2021. And Podebrady has also been assigned the 2025 edition of the European Race Walking Team Championships.&nbsp;
More details on how to follow the European Race Walking Team Championships will be communicated in the upcoming weeks but the event will be streamed live through the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a>.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/723aa4f6-9d7d-4222-8728-dee8fe60efcf?width=1500&amp;height=1000" alt="21 Walk 3033" />
<h2>A record third 20km race walk title for Karlstrom?</h2>
Perseus Karlstrom&rsquo;s run of success at the European Race Walking Team Championships dates back to the 2019 edition in Alytus, Lithuania and the Swede will be in contention to win an unprecedented third successive individual title in the 20km race walk.
As is customary, Karlstrom traded in the bitter Swedish climate this winter for the warmer, sunnier climes of Australia where his preparations clearly went well. The 32-year-old has ownership of the two fastest times in Europe this year in the 20km race walk: 1:19:27 and 1:19:44.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/e37bbbed-8730-4855-b4e4-54bf131fdcc6?width=1500&amp;height=1000" alt="21 Walk 3660" />
Karlstrom will face another strong challenge from the Spaniards who dominated the overall proceedings in Podebrady two years ago, winning five of the 12 titles on offer including the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 20km team titles courtesy of individual second, third and fourth-place finishes in both races.&nbsp;
And the Spaniards will arrive in Podebrady replete with individual and team title prospects across the programme. Described on social media as their Dream Team, their squad includes European 20km race walk champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez although both race walkers will be stepping up in distance to the 35km distance in Podebrady.&nbsp;
Perez, who won the 20km race walk title at the 2018 European Athletics Championships, has been in particularly prolific form this year, smashing her Spanish record in the 20km race walk by over one minute with 1:25:30 - a time which has only been surpassed by Russian race walkers from a European context - and even breaking the Spanish 10km record en route.
If the conditions cooperate and she can keep her form (Perez was disqualified at the World Athletics Championships and European Athletics Championships last year) could Perez even challenge her European record of 2:39:16 in the 35km race walk next month?
And the Spaniards will have excellent individual and team prospects in the men&rsquo;s 35km race walk. Aside from Martin, their team includes former world and European 20km race walk champion Miguel Angel Lopez and Marc Tur, who has the distinction of being the last ever winner of the 50km race walk which was discontinued in 2021.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/6651ce62-3a8d-4df3-b96a-3abddeac422a?width=1500&amp;height=1029" alt="21 Walk 2718" />
<h2>Ntrismpioti to fly the flag for Greece again</h2>
Another European champion who looks set to toe the start-line in Podebrady is Antigoni Ntrismpioti. The Greek veteran was one of the unlikely breakthrough stars at the European Athletics Championships in Munich last summer when she unexpectedly swept the 20km and 35km race walk titles at the age of 38.
But it was at the European Race Walking Team Championships two years ago when Ntrismpioti came to wider prominence, becoming the inaugural winner of the 35km race walk as well as the first ever Greek gold medallist in a championships which dates back to 1996 in terms of antiquity.&nbsp;
Ntrismpioti could seek to extend her continental dominance in the 35km race walk but she also has the option of stepping down in distance to contest the 20km race walk, a distance at which she has shown herself to be just as adept at.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/365b6841-05e1-48c2-87ac-7866d8500688?width=1500&amp;height=1000" alt="21 Walk 2402" />
Like Karlstrom - and many other European race walkers for that matter - Ntrismpioti also spent the winter months training in Canberra. In her last competitive test before flying back to Europe, Ntrismpioti smashed the Greek record in the 20km race walk with 1:28:12. Only Perez has walked faster this year among her European rivals.&nbsp;
The programme also includes individual and team U20 10km races. Jose Luis Hidalgo took a one-two for Spain in the men&rsquo;s race two years ago while Eliska Martinkova marched to gold on home soil in the U20 women&rsquo;s race by 75 seconds - the biggest winning margin of the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Steven Mills for European Athletics

All roads lead to Podebrady! One month until the European Race Walking Team Championships

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European Race Walking Team Championships Features News

After contrasting fortunes in 2022, Perez and Gonzalez to join forces for Spain over 35km in Podebrady

All roads lead to Podebrady! One month until the European Race Walking Team Championships