The historical spa town of Podebrady in the Czech Republic which boasts a rich tradition of race walking, will host the 2017 edition of the biennial European Race Walking Cup on 21 May.
The European Athletics Council awarded the event to the Czech town during its spring meeting in Amsterdam ahead of the 2016 European Athletics Championships.
The previous edition of the European Race Walking Cup was held in 2015 in Murcia, Spain, and it was local hero Miguel Angel Lopez who triumphed in the 20km as a prelude to his victory at the Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships later in the season.
[VIDEO src='1276107' align='right']
Podebrady also hosts the famous annual ‘Podebrady Walking Race’, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting as part of the Czech and Slovak Championships being held next year on 9 April 2017.
It will serve as a general rehearsal for the European Race Walking Cup where all of the continent’s best race walkers and teams will be present to test themselves ahead of the London 2017 IAAF World Championships.