Race-walk start list posted

World Athletics has posted the men’s marathon race walk start list for the Brasília team championships, putting the full field and bib assignments in public view. (worldathletics.org) The men’s marathon is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, April 12, in Brasília, and it opens the day’s program alongside the women’s marathon. (worldathletics.org) World Athletics said 50 athletes from 18 federations were entered in the men’s marathon race walk, part of a championships roster totaling 333 athletes from 40 countries. (worldathletics.org, worldathletics.org) Race walking is judged on technique as well as time: athletes must keep visible contact with the ground and straighten the advancing leg from first contact until it passes under the body. (worldathletics.org) That makes a start list more than a roll call. Coaches use it to map team scoring possibilities, and fans use it to track bib numbers across a field where packs can form and break over 42.195 kilometers. (worldathletics.org, worldathletics.org) This edition in Brasília is the first time the championships have been staged in South America and the first in the Southern Hemisphere. World Athletics also made Brasília 2026 the first World Athletics Series event to use the new senior half marathon and marathon race-walk distances. (worldathletics.org, worldathletics.org) The published previews pointed to a tight men’s marathon team contest, with several countries entering balanced squads rather than a single standout favorite. World Athletics highlighted global medalists in the field before the race. (worldathletics.org) By Sunday, the start list had turned into results: Japan’s Hayato Katsuki won the inaugural men’s marathon race walk title in 3:04:58, and Japan also took the team crown. (worldathletics.org) So the list posted before the gun now doubles as a record of a format change. In Brasília, the men’s marathon start sheet marked the first championship field for a new distance in World Athletics competition. (worldathletics.org, worldathletics.org)