The Olympics put a spotlight on sports that don't garner mainstream attention. Racewalking is no different. Racewalking differs from running by requiring athletes to have one foot on the ground at all times.
And as the Olympic Committee would put it, rather than requiring bursts of energy and speed like in track and field, race walking requires precision and discipline. Robyn Stevens knows what it takes to compete in race walking at a global level. She competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
"It's a really good opportunity, especially for Americans, to get familiar with what race walk done right looks like," Stevens said. "It's actually very beautiful." Stevens was a distance runner but trained under a coach who wanted to train athletes in all of the Olympic sports.
She was just 12 years old when she found that spark for racewalking. Even though the United States didn't have a team competing in the event in Paris, Stevens was glad to support her fellow international athletes. "I'm coached by a Spanish coach, and so my Spanish teammate Maria Perez and her partner took gold," Stevens said.
"Which is really fun to watch and see her celebrate." Watch the full interview in the video player above. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter.