Looking through the photo news at Pravda, I came across the following photograph of the Russian Gold Medal winner of the Barcelona 20km walk :

Speed Walking is rather a peculiar sport (in my opinion) with two simple rules :

There are two rules that govern racewalking. The first dictates that the athlete’s back toe cannot leave the ground until the heel of the front foot has touched. Violation of this rule is known as loss of contact. The second rule requires that the supporting leg must straighten from the point of contact with the ground and remain straightened until the body passes directly over it. These rules are judged by the human eye, which creates controversy at today’s high speeds. Athletes may sometimes lose contact for a few milliseconds per stride which can be caught on high-speed film, but such a short flight phase is undetectable to the human eye.

Straightforward stuff and also the reason the photograph caught my eye. Look closely at the shadows cast by his legs and you will notice that neither foot is in contact with the ground.

Naughty boy!