Great news for Tom Bosworth (Walking) and Martin Brockman (Decathlon)

Tom Bosworth (coached by Andi Drake/Peter Selby) and Martin Brockman (coached by Chris Bowman) have both been selected to represent Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India in October 2010.

After a series of competitions where they both had to reach the qualifying times and points they had a nervous few weeks waiting to hear if they had been selected for the Commonwealth Games.  Both were successful and it is great news for them.

Historically, athletes like Denise Lewis, Daley Thompson, Dame Kelly Holmes – now President of Commonwealth Games England - and Jessica Ennis have made their name at the Commonwealth Games before moving on to win at the Olympics or world championships so the future looks promising.

 

Both athletes are Kent's Rising Stars and have been supported by Kent County Council.

More about Kent supported talented performers

Something about Racewalking

Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance athletic event. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Stride length is reduced, so to achieve competitive speeds, racewalkers must attain cadence rates comparable to those achieved by Olympic 400-metre runners—and they must do so for hours at a time since the Olympic events are the 20 kilometre race walk and 50-kilometre (31 mi) race walk.

Something about Decathlon

The Decathlon is an athletic event consisting of ten track and field events. Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all events. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The Decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes contest the Heptathlon.