After thinking his career could be over, Briton delights in being able to hone his craft on the Olympic stage once again

Callum Wilkinson recently described race walking as “an art form”, so where better for him to demonstrate the intricacies of his craft than on a stunning Olympic course in a city renowned for its creativity and in front of a number of the people who have helped to keep him in elite sport?

In what was his second Games, the Briton followed up 10^th in Tokyo three years ago with 16^th in Paris in a time of 80:31 that was just outside of his personal best for the 20km discipline.

It might not have been the national record he had been eyeing, and Ken Matthews’ win in 1964 remains the last time a Briton struck Olympic gold, but Wilkinson was a happy man as he chatted to AW in the increasingly hot morning in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

He openly admitted that “by rights, I shouldn’t be here” following injury struggles that looked likely to cut his sporting career short.

“The surgeon said: ‘This could be it’ and that’s a tough conversation to have,” said the 27-year-old, referring to the work required to address a shin problem last year that subsequently led to calf issues at the beginning of 2024.

Yet, after having to adjust to the 30-minute delay caused by a massive thunderstorm in Paris, a strong second half made sure of a top 20 place of which he was immensely proud.

Wilkinson is proud of his sport, too. Race walking is not short of detractors and is having to fight for its place at the athletics table. Wilkinson insists it is deserving of far greater respect than it receives but he views the best way of countering that is to put on the perfect show.

“That’s really important to me and sometimes I even frame it in my training sessions as trying to put on a masterclass of walking,” he says. “If someone was watching my training sessions, they would see the huge dedication and commitment.

“Walking is incredibly hard and it doesn't get the respect it deserves. The technical element that comes with it is part of the event and the jeopardy and disqualifications is something we need to play into. It shouldn't be as taboo as I think sometimes the outside athletics community sees it and the wider sporting community definitely sees it.

“Sport’s entertainment and as much as it's a passion and a privilege for me to compete and something that I get immense joy from. To have people here watching me perform my craft, which I do think is an art form, was really special for me.”

Rather than the isolation of Sapporo three years ago, Wilkinson was instead able to revel in the crowds that lined the Olympic race walk route in the French capital. That the throng contained so many people he knew made the occasion all the sweeter.

“I could hear friends from uni chanting ‘there’s only one Callum Wilky’ and it just made me smile,” says the British 10,000m race walk record-holder. “It's probably the most I've enjoyed a race that I haven’t won. I’m really, really proud to be here and proud to have been able to put on a show for the people that have supported me along the way.

“I came 10th in Tokyo and it took me – without exaggeration – three years to realise what an achievement that was. I came away, and perhaps because Tokyo was the Games it was, and we were in Sapporo without crowds, that it hit me hard that tenth didn’t really make me feel like I thought it would do.

“But a lot of soul-searching and a lot of work has been done by really good people in my team who believed in me. And every day I’ve had to work really hard to believe in myself and to fight to get to a point I feel I really belong.

“It is something I’ve lacked for a few years in training when it’s come to really hurting myself in sessions that I knew were really going to hurt. It has been really difficult, but since I tore my calf in January we have nailed every single training session

“There have been various points in the last few years where I didn't think I would, I'd be playing competitive sport, let alone here at the Olympic Games.I knew getting here and standing on the start line was a success for me.”

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