WORLD RACE WALK CHAMPION TOP DRAW AT MILLROSE GAMES
Robert Heffernan, the World Champion in race walking, will headline the Susan Rudin 1 Mile USA Race Walk Championship for men at the 107th Annual Millrose Games, Saturday, February 15th, in New York City. Heffernan, Ireland’s 2013 Athlete of the Year, was the Gold Medalist in the 50 kilometer race walk last August in Moscow at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships. The Irish walking hero, a veteran of three Olympic Games and four World Championships, will be making his first appearance at the Millrose Games.
“I am extremely excited to be coming to the most famous indoor games of them all”, said Heffernan. “To walk in the mile in the shadows of the great Irish athletes who have gone before me is a thrill. And certainly none bigger than former world champion and Millrose Games great Eamon Coughlin.”
Heffernan, from Cork, Ireland, is looking to put on a great show! Not just for his fellow countrymen, but especially for the hundreds of high school athletes who race walk in the greater New York City area. He hopes a great race and the ability to see the technical aspects of race walking up close will provide massive exposure for the sport here in the USA, as it did to develop race walking in his own country.
“I am very passionate about promoting race walking and firmly believe when you are a great athlete in any event you will attract others to try the event.”
The 35 year old is coached by his wife, Marian Andrews, an Irish 400m champion. They have three children. The family is fully supportive of his race walking and the time and effort required to train for a 50 kilometer race. The event, the longest distance event in athletics, is 5 miles longer than the marathon, thus the workouts can be massive. Think elite New York City marathoner commitment and mileage.
“It is definitely a team effort”, Hefferen said. “ It makes me proud that I can make them proud”.
Even though he walked Moscow’s 50 kilometer World Championship race (31 miles) with a time of 3:37:56 - a pace of 7:02 per mile – the Gold Medalist has never raced at the one mile distance for which the Millrose Games is famous. Even so, the Irishman has impressive times over the shorter distances. His personal bests at 3,000 meters of 11:10, and the ability to walk a 5k in 18:51, will make him a favorite in the race.
Heffernan, in fact, may be able to challenge the world indoor record for the mile of 5:33.53 held by the legendary Tim Lewis. It was set in the Millrose Games back in 1988 on the old, slower, 4 lane, 160 yard wooden oval of Madison Square Gardens.
But the World Champ won’t be the only walker looking to take advantage of the new, ultra-fast, 200 meter surface in The Armory. Sweden’s Andreas Gustafsson will also be in the stacked field that includes Americans Tim Seaman and Jonathan Hallman. Gustafsson is fresh off a new Swedish record for 3,000 meters established 2 weeks ago. Seaman, a six time winner at Millrose, is fired up for one more go at the elusive mark. And then there is Johnathan Hallman, the defending Millrose and USA national mile champ. At 20 years of age, he is a very speedy youngster who is looking forward to this year’s race.
“This is going to be a great experience”, said Hallman, who hails from Liberty, South Carolina. “Last year’s Millrose Games was my first National Championship win ever, and I am definitely excited about coming back to defend.”
The women’s race will have North America’s two fastest females in it. Three-time Millrose Games Champion Rachel Seaman is back just nine months after the birth of her first child. Already this season the 2012 Olympian from Canada has established new records at 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Facing her will be New York’s own Olympian from 2012, Maria Michta. A doctoral candidate in Microbiology at Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York City, Michta trains in Central Park. She also holds the Millrose Games mile record of 6:40.06.
There you have it walk fans, a quick preview of this year’s miles at the Millrose Games. And since there are millions of Americans out there who walk every day don’t be late in arriving to catch the action. Both walks are early in the championship program at 1pm (women’s mile) and 1:30pm (mens mile). Tickets for seats in the stands are nearly sold out, but standing room only is still available. Hurry on over to http://www.nyrrmillrosegames.org/#about to obtain yours.
