World Record Stripped from Peruvian Racewalker Kimberly García Due to Incorrect Course Measurement
Peruvian racewalker Kimberly García's awe-inspiring world record in the 20km racewalk event at the 2023 Pan American Games was unjustly nullified due to an error in course measurement
Kimberly GarcÃa from Team Peru seemed to have broken the world record in the 20km racewalk event at the 2023 Pan American games, but it was later discovered that the course had been inaccurately measured.
Glenda Morejón from Ecuador and her countrywoman Evelyn Inga won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Nonetheless, doubts emerged regarding the swift times achieved in the race. The game organizers, currently taking place in Santiago, Chile, ultimately acknowledged that the course had been inaccurately measured. According to reports, the athletes believed it to be approximately 3km (roughly 1.86 miles) shorter than expected.
The Santiago 2023 Corporation issued a statement later that day, confirming the cancellation of the results and placing blame on the Association of Pan American Athletics. "In relation to the women's race walk event hosted at Parque OHiggins today, we would like to inform that, as a result of a measurement error solely attributed to the Association of Pan American Athletics (APA), the outcomes of this race have been nullified," stated the press release.
The reason for this was that Mr. Marcelo Ithurralde, the expert hired by APA, did not accurately measure the routes that the athletes were supposed to take.
As per international regulations, APA is the sole authorized organization responsible for measuring and determining the official distance of the competition.
The race took place in cold and wet conditions.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The corporation acknowledged that it hired Mr. Ithurralde, but only after he was appointed for duty by the APA.
The Organizing Committee extends sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused to the athletes, coaches, the public, and the attending press. It is important to note that the situation falls outside the control of the Organizing Committee.
The final classification of the results remains unchanged, ensuring that García and her fellow competitors are entitled to retain their medals. Nonetheless, the nullification of the results will have significant repercussions for the athletes.
Ranking points for qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics are distributed according to race times and finishing positions, which the athletes who took part in Sunday's race will now not receive. "I have never witnessed anything of this nature before," said Evan Dunfee of Canada, a participant in the men's race, in an interview with Reuters. "We had some suspicions in the past about races potentially being inaccurate, but in this case, it was evident that the cones were incorrectly positioned."
It is truly unfortunate as the ideal conditions were in place and there were valuable ranking points at stake. This is a disappointment for the women who were hoping to qualify for Paris, as it signifies a missed opportunity. I feel a deep sense of sorrow for them. According to Reuters, the men's event experienced a delay of more than an hour due to officials reassessing the course and rectifying the error.
