One of the most maligned sporting events has to be race walking.
Nobody doubts the prowess of the athletes, nor that they train just as hard as other sports professionals, for just as many years. Few would dispute that they make the same sacrifices, and then compete for far lower rewards, given the relative lack of interest in their discipline (and most probably the resulting lower levels of sponsorship).
But while we can all name sprinters, football players, hockey players, and, in most countries, a few top darts players, in all seriousness, who can name any race walkers – even Olympic gold medal-winning ones?
Frankly speaking, not many people watch race walking. It doesn’t do it for many sports fans; it’s just not that pleasing on the eye.
That is, until Yasmina Toxanbayeva came along.
The style of the Kazakh super-walker has injected a much-needed dose of image into the sport, and, just as with the monumental Luke Littler effect which made darts a global sporting sensation overnight, having Yasmina turn the roads into a 42-kilometre-long catwalk is precisely what they need, and exactly who they should be seeking to showcase their sport through.
Whether or not they handled her disqualification fairly is another matter, and nobody thinks she should be allowed to compete in footwear that gives her an unfair advantage, if this was even the case.
It’s just that a sport that few want to watch can easily become a sport that millions want to watch with the charismatic Kazakh pacing to medals in major events.
Race walking chiefs need to recognise the opportunity that this competitor offers, get the rules sorted out so everybody sets out in the right kit instead of toiling to wins that then get cancelled, and market their odd sporting spectacle so it starts to appeal to more people.
Yasmina Toxanbayeva could be the Cristiano Ronaldo of race walking, the Dimash Qudaibergen, the Vittoria Ceretti. The face of the sport, the one people log on to see.
Or, they’ll find out what they’ve got when it’s already too late.
