Australia's Dane Bird-Smith, pictured en route to Commonwealth gold this year in the men's 20km race walk, is seeking a hat-trick of titles in Taihu tomorrow ©Getty Images

Dane Bird-Smith of Australia is aiming to collect his third successive title at the Around Taihu competition in Suzhou, China that forms the last leg of the 2018 IAAF Race Walking Challenge.

The Olympic bronze medallist has had a mixed year.

Having won the 20km race walk at the Commonwealth Games on home soil in Gold Coast with a season’s best of 1:19:34, he picked up an injury at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Taicang 2018 – also in Suzhou – that put him out of action for the next few months.

The 26-year-old will be anxious for a happier Suzhou experience this time around, and his familiarity with the competition and the courses will be an advantage.

But he will have stiff opposition in the form of two local walkers.

Wang Kaihua, the 24-year-old Asian Games champion, is the fastest entrant thanks to his winning mark of 1:17:54 at the 2017 Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix in Huangshan.

Olympic silver medallist Cai Zelin is the second fastest man on paper with a personal best of 1:18:47 set back in 2012.

Cai has been bothered recently by injuries and inconsistent form, failing to finish the race in Taicang, which also served as the Chinese team’s qualification event for Asian Games.

He will be looking to return to his old form in Suzhou.

The other main challenge is likely to come from the Ecuador athlete who currently leads the IAAF Race Walking Challenge standings with 25 points, Andres Chocho.

The men’s field will also include sub-1:20 athletes such as Colombia’s world champion Eider Arevalo, Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden and Germany’s Christopher Linke.


The women’s field will be led by Olympic silver medallist Qieyang Shijie, a 1:25:16 performer who is now leading the IAAF Race Walking Challenge standings with 34 points following victories in Rio Maior and La Coruna, as well as her second-place finish in Taicang.

Olympic silver medallist Qieyang Shijie, pictured with silver at this year's IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Taicang 2018, is one of the favourites in Taihu tomorrow ©Getty Images
Olympic silver medallist Qieyang Shijie, pictured with silver at this year's IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Taicang 2018, is one of the favourites in Taihu tomorrow ©Getty Images

Her winning mark of 1:26:28 in the Spanish city of La Coruna ranks as the second fastest time in 2018.

In the absence of Mexico’s Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez, who is second in the standings with 24 points, Qieyang has already done enough to clinch victory in this year’s Race Walking Challenge.

But in Suzhou she will face stiff challenge from some of the world’s best race walkers, including teammate and world champion Yang Jiayu.

Qieyang narrowly beat Yang on a photo-finish at the national Race Walking Grand Prix in March, while Yang held off Qieyang to win the women’s 20km title at the Asian Games last month.

 In career head-to-heads, the two women are level at 3-3.

The field also include Brazil’s Erica Rocha de Sena, who set a South American record of 1:26:59 to finish fourth at the 2017 World Championships.

As last year’s winner of the Race Walking Challenge, the consistent Brazilian has amassed 23 points in the current season including a second-place finish in Monterrey.