Montag on the Move at 2024 Australian 20km Race Walking Championships

World Championships silver medallist Jemima Montag will chase her sixth consecutive title at the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Australian 20km Race Walking Championship this Sunday, leading a charge of the world’s fiercest competitors in Adelaide and marking an important step in her bid for Olympic gold in Paris.

Setting an Australian record of 1:27:16 when walking to her first global medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Montag (Brent Vallance) returned to Australian soil with a dominant display over 10,000m at last month’s Supernova – now turning her attention to Sunday’s World Athletics Race Walking Tour Silver label event over 20km.

Training at altitude in the Perisher Valley alongside four-time world champion and the third fastest woman in history Liu Hong (1:24:27, CHN), along with Olympic silver medallist Lorena Arenas (1:28:02, COL), Montag is preparing for a fast race against the world’s best on Adelaide’s War Memorial Drive.

“I’ve got four qualifiers on the board, so I’m calmly confident about the weekend and through to Paris. From now on, everything is about gaining race experience and being against my international competitors as much as possible – even training with them,” Montag said.

“I’m happy that it’s back in Adelaide, it’s always a fun weekend! I really love going to the track [Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational] the night before my race and cheering on teammates, when you watch other people compete it always gets you fired up.”

One of three Australian women in the field to have already nailed the Olympic standard alongside Tokyo Olympian Rebecca Henderson (1:28:43, Simon Baker) and World Championships representative Olivia Sandery (1:28:52, Jared Tallent), the 26-year-old is enjoying leading from the front as race walking continues to boom down under.

“When we are asking ourselves what it is going to take to push that boundary one step higher, whether that’s an Australian record or converting silver to gold, it helps to look beyond what’s occurring just in Australia and learn from what the rest of the world are doing,” Montag said.

“I love the concept of balancing feeling content and proud of previous experiences, but also having the fire burning of mastery and continuous improvement.”

Montag will look to emulate the finishing kick that saw her tear away from the world-class field at January’s Supernova 10,000m, having banked the training to race with supreme confidence in the international affair which includes Priyanka Goswami (1:28:45, IND) and Clemence Beretta (1:30:20, FRA).

“I just have to get into a good mindset and know that it’s not going to take an extraordinary lift or performance on the day. I need to execute an ordinary performance and do what I always do, not panic – I feel like that’s what endurance sport is about,” Montag said.

The Men’s 20km shapes up as a battle between the Olympic duo of Kyle Swan (1:19:24, Jared Tallent) and Rhydian Cowley (1:19:30, Brent Vallance) for the Australian title, but Evan Dunfee (1:18:03, CAN) will be out to spoil the party after racing to a new Canadian 10,000m race walk record at Supernova.

Both Swan and Cowley have Olympic qualifiers under their belt and present in sharp form after racing to a pair of significant personal bests over the shorter distance, while Will Thompson (1:21:56, Brent Vallance) and Timothy Fraser (1:23:35, Jared Tallent) shape up as improvers on the day.

Australia’s best junior race walkers will also be on display in Adelaide as the 2024 World Race Walking Team Championships and World Under 20 Championships present international opportunities this year, with Australian Under 18 record holders Isaac Beacroft (David Beacroft) and Bailey Housden (Shane Pearson) set to pave the way in the Under 20 events over 10km. 

For full entry lists at the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Australian and Oceania 20km Race Walking Championships on Sunday February 11, CLICK HERE.

The event will be preceded by the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational on Saturday February 10, with more information to be found HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia