Plätzer wins IAAF Race Walking Challenge

Kjersti Plätzer wins again in Sesto San Giovanni. Photo: Lorenzo Sampaolo.

Norway’s Olympic silver medallist Kjersti Plätzer won the 20 km walking race which celebrated the 30th  anniversary of the women’s walking race at the Coppa Città di Sesto San Giovanni (Italy).

Plätzer scored her third win in Sesto adding it to her previous victories in 2002 and 2008. It was the eighth time the Norwegian went to the podium in this race. She backed up her lead in the IAAF Walking Challenge with her third win which followed Chihuahua and Rio Major.

Plätzer crossed the finish-line in 1:28:50, her seasonal best. Sabine Zimmer Krantz from Germany finished second thirteen seconds behind in 1:29:03 holding off Italian Olympic bronze medallist Elisa Rigaudo by just one second in a close finish in the final straight on the track of the Pino Dordoni Stadium, named after the legendary 1952 Olympic champion Pino Dordoni.

Plätzer was delighted with her second win in a row in Sesto. “I was tired but I tried to remain focused on my technique,” said Plätzer, who will retire at the end of this year.

“Sesto is a special race for me. It celebrates the 30th anniversary of women’s walking race and this marks my 30th anniversary as a race walker as well,” said the happy winner. She started “walking” at the age of eight, in 1980. Her international career started with the European Junior Championships in Cottbus in Germany. Her first European Championships as a senior were in Stuttgart in 1986. “I made my debut at the World Championships in 1993 in Stuttgart,” said Kjersti, who will end her career in Germany at the World Championships in Berlin. “It’s time to end my career, and focus on my two children and my job at Adecco,” Kjersti told Diego Sampaolo reporting for the IAAF.

Kjersti’s brother, Erik Tysse placed second in the men’s 20km race.

Source: Iaaf.org