AMA Race Walking Rule

AMA RACE WALKING RULE  

AMA Race Walking Rule 2022
          For nationally sanctioned Race Walking events, the No Advantage concept is to be applied as a modification to World Athletics rule 54.2 for athletes aged 65 and older.
Where older athletes are unable to fully comply with the required “straightened” leg, but are not gaining any speed advantage because of a soft knee, then judges shall apply the No Advantage concept and not issue a yellow or red card.
         The ‘No Advantage’ is there to allow for a slight bending of the knee, particularly in older walkers where a perfectly straight leg cannot be achieved but where these walkers are seriously trying to Race Walk correctly.
It is not there to condone a distinct leg creep (which invariably occurs when trying to go too fast). While still open to interpretation, as for all walk judging, it is expected that judges will show leniency towards older walkers. Older walkers should still look like race walkers with a largely straight leg and high toe in contact.
         All race-walking athletes must notify the competition officials before the commencement of a race walking event of their intention to attempt to achieve a world record in that race-walking event.
Walks officials must judge an athlete’s race walking world record attempt using World Masters Athletics (WMA) racewalking rules.
         For each race-walking event involving athletes aged 65 and over, competition officials, at their discretion, may require athletes attempting to achieve a world record to compete in a racewalking event of the same distance required under WMA race-walking rules other than the event being run for that athlete’s respective gender and age group.
         Should an athlete aged 65 and over, attempting to achieve a world record in a race other than the event being run for that athlete’s respective gender and age group, then the placings and medals for that gender and age group shall be determined using the performance of each athlete.