After finishing third in the 20km walk in 2015, Yohann Diniz has confirmed he will revert back to his specialist event at the European Race Walking Cup in Podebrady on 21 May.
The Frenchman is one of the all-time greats of the discipline with three European titles to his name. Diniz set the only world record of the 2014 European Championships in Zurich where he splashed through the puddles to achieve a still-standing mark of 3:32:33.
Diniz still hasn’t claimed a global title in the 50km walk and he will race in Podebrady as part of his build-up to the IAAF World Championships in London this August. He suffered a small setback at the French Championships earlier this month where he failed to finish the 20km due to injury but Diniz has already resumed light training and will travel to Portugal next month with the rest of the national team to continue his preparations.
The world record-holder told L’Equipe he is looking to post a time between 3:40-3:45 in Podebrady which will almost certainly put him in contention for the victory in May. For posterity, Mikhail Ryzhov won the title in Murcia two years ago in 3:43:32 while Diniz won the previous edition in Dudince in 2013 in 3:41:07.
Diniz is fast approaching veteran status but he is still capable of challenging for major honours. He finished last year with the world-leading time of 3:37:48 and while his Olympic campaign last summer was derailed by illness, Diniz should remain a factor in the 50km walk at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin where a fourth gold medal beckons - and even beyond.