Tyler Sorensen race walks toward greatness, Olympic Trials

As far as international rankings go, there probably was no bigger name in the 2012 Torrey Pines (San Diego) graduating class than Tyler Sorensen.

Tyler Sorensen?

He'd win the honor in a walk-away. Who else could claim to be the fifth-best in the entire world in his specialty, which just happens to be race walking? That's right, heel-toe with that very unique gait around and around the track or countryside.

Never seen race walking? That's because those events are far less conspicuous than throwing the hammer. Even the competitors admit that save for family and teammates, there isn't a huge following for race walking.



"The Junior Nationals (in Bloomington, Ind.) were held at 7:30 a.m. and only people related to a race walker were there," said Sorensen, who will soon turn 18. "That's because it's boring. A 20K (20-kilometer) race is 50 laps of the track and it takes more than 90 minutes."

In other words, save for someone with severe insomnia or an official who has to be there, race walking is right there at the bottom of the spectator sport list. In fact, it's not even a sport, but an event within the sport of track and field.

Here's a sure bet: NBC will not be showing race walking at the London Olympics and if they were desperate to kill time and show snippets, it would be somewhere in the wee hours of the morning.

That said, there are Olympic medals available in three events (men's and women's 20K and men's 50K) and there will be no shortage of race walkers toeing the line at the United States Olympic Trials, even for the absolutely mind-numbing 50-kilometer men's event. That's an even 31 miles — much farther than a marathon.

Those who take up the sport become as driven and competitive as any runner.

The thing about race-walking is the rules could fit into the corner of a 3x5 card.



- Some part of the foot must be on the ground at all time. No airborne antics.

- The lead leg must be straight when it touches the ground and must remain straight until it's behind the hips.

That's it. And there are judges who will lay flat on the track watching every step to make sure that those two rules are followed. You get two warnings and then are disqualified.

Walkers are a rare breed but Sorensen said just as with runners, there is pacing and sprinting at the end — just with at least one part of the foot on the track at all time. He should know.

"I ran the distance races as an age grouper," explained the Stanford University-bound Sorensen, who just won his second-consecutive Junior National 10-kilometer race walk and will compete in the World Juniors in Barcelona, Spain, in July. He placed fifth in the world in Lille, France, last summer and made the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying time in his only 20-kilometer race ever (1:35:20).

"When I was 11, my sister, Nicolette, decided to try the race walk. In just one year she won the Junior Olympics. That inspired me to do it because it gave me another cool event. I thought it would be fun.



"I felt goofy at the start. It takes time to look smooth."

Goofy. Oh, absolutely. This is not taking a casual walk to burn off a few calories. It takes time to learn how to race walk and not everyone is able to do it at the same level as Sorensen, who has dominated U.S. age group race walking, where he is the No. 1-ranked junior with a 10K best of 45:36.

"Tyler was naturally fast from when he was a young runner," explained his coach, two-time Olympian and world-class race walker Tim Seaman, who is favored to capture one of the Olympic berths in the U.S. Trials. "The only thing he has to work on is his endurance component. The best race walkers don't hit their peak (at least he didn't say stride) until between 28 and 32."

In fact, Seaman said he plans to have a chat with Sorensen before the Trials to map out their plans. He would like the youngster to gain the Olympic Trial experience but both of them are pretty sure he has scant chance to make the U.S. team.

If Sorensen were just to go and walk a little to get a feel for the race and the pace, then drop out to save himself for Barcelona, Seaman would not blame him.

"A 20K race is a challenge for all of the athletes," explained Seaman. "It's not 10 seconds (like the 100 meters) or four minutes (like a mile), it takes a long time for the body to adjust to that distance and Tyler has had just one 20K race.



"But I believe in a year or so he'll be untouchable in this country."

Next year, while at Stanford where he'll major in engineering or computer science, he plans to become more acquainted with the 20K race.

Not this year because in February he suffered a sports hernia and could not train for the walk for about three months. Sorensen himself said he's maybe 90 percent, which will make it difficult to finish even as high as fifth in Barcelona.

That's a sports hernia, by the way, like any other sport.

As for the future, Sorensen expects to continue to improve at a fast pace in part because he is not only coached by a world-class walker, but because his teammate is Trevor Barron, whose records he continues to eclipse as he follows Barron, who is 18 months older.

"A year makes a big difference in race walking and between Tyler and Trevor, the future is very bright," said Seaman. "I wish I had 500 or so walkers (he trains eight) but it's not even an event in college (except at the NAIA level).



"It's frustrating but it's nice to have Trevor breaking every record and then Tyler breaking his records. Right now Tyler is ahead of where Trevor was at his age. It'll be fun to watch them."

For a handful of the faithful, anyway.