Road to Paris: Callum Wilkinson

Tomorrow, Callum Wilkinson will toe the line for his second Olympics. Injury and uncertainty have featured since that race in Sapporo, but he heads to Paris full on confidence. Callum spoke to James Rhodes ahead of one of the biggest races of his career.

No journey to the top of a sport is easy. Sacrifice, dedication, but also injury and bumps on the road. The usual stories, but ones that Callum Wilkinson has had his fair share of, particularly over the past eighteen months.

Problems began after walking a World Lead over 3000m indoors last February. An undiagnosed ankle pain on the top of my shoe developed after that race. Different scans, different opinions. Early fears of a likely-career-ending fracture in one of the bones in Callum’s ankle were thankfully ruled out. Rather, a bone stress reaction which meant some time spent in a boot.

Damage around – but not to – a tendon was subsequently diagnosed, with a series of painkilling injections lasting between two and six weeks providing relief. However, in August, it was decided that surgery was required.

Uncertainty

Callum noted a period of uncertainty followed. Six months with no race walking followed, although attempts to cross train were more successful. He got a job in Cork, simply to give himself something to do. Rather than on the streets of Budapest, last year’s World Championships were experienced from home.

At long last, the first week of full training came in January. It didn’t long though, as Callum tore his calf in two places wearing a new pair of shoes for the first time. Back on the back foot, his season opener came in April in the Czech Republic. 1:24:57, the slowest 20k race walk of his career.

It did not take long for things to turn around, however. Six weeks later, Callum headed to La Coruna in Spain, where he walked 1:20:23, inside the UKA standard needed to be considered for Olympic selection.

Last Chance

Having run the UKA standard, Callum needed a World Ranking position to secure his spot in Paris.

To maximise his chances of securing the necessary ranking points, UK Athletics added a 10000m race walk to the schedule of the British Championships. A career-defining performance was required, likely a British Record. One and only one opportunity.

With considerable crowd support behind him, Callum walked 38:43.91. A British Record. A spot at the Olympics all-but-guaranteed. The celebration from a visibly overjoyed Callum was one of the highlights of the weekend.

“I think it was a release of emotion. When I race, so much of it is about staying clinical, the concentration, with the technique. You have to be so refined that you don’t often have too much time where you get a cathartic release.

The pressure was as big as anything I’ve ever done. To go into a last weekend, last day, and need a British Record performance and a win [to qualify for the Olympics]. It was special. Special.

I dreamt about it beforehand, what I’d do, and I always said to myself, ‘don’t think about that, you’ve got to do the race first!’. I’ve watched it back a few times, I really enjoyed it!”.

Incidentally, the shoes in which Callum tore his calf were the ones he wore at the British Championships. He says he has “made up with them”.

Race Day Ready

Callum is as ready as can be for what lies ahead in Paris. He benefits from a near-dream set up. He is coached by Rob Heffernan and trains alongside Perseus Karlstrom. The pair have had their fair share of success in the sport. Rob was World Champion over 50km in 2013, and won Olympic bronze in 2012. Perseus, meanwhile, is the reigning European Champion and four-time World Championship medallist.

The weather conditions, particularly for the longer distance events, have been a cause for concern in the run up to the Olympics. However, with the race starting at 07:30, it is not something Callum is overly concerned by.

“I think we might be alright as race walkers. We are competing very early in the morning, 7:30. For a race, that doesn’t seem particularly early, but that will be a 2 or 3am wake up. That is very early in order to compete for the race of your life.

I’ve always competed really well in the heat. I think my performance in Sapporo showed that. At the moment, I’m thinking more about adjusting to a different time zone for me waking up.

The Olympic Games isn’t all about times. We don’t need records and fast races in order to show who is the best athlete”.

Callum finished tenth in Sapporo in 2021. The course takes in some of Paris’s main sights and might be one of the most scenic of the Olympics. However, it is not something that Callum will be taking in mid-race.

“What will be remembered for me is how the race goes. If it’s a nice profile picture for afterwards that will be a second thought”.

Framing the Sport

Despite its history, including British success at Olympic and World level, commentary generated by race walking is often mixed. That might be putting it kindly. The views and opinions of strangers on his sport are something that Callum chooses to stay away from.

“I choose to leave the negative comments that surround the sport alone. It’s very hard to explain to someone the level of training, the commitment, required. You’re training as hard as anyone else in the athletics community, and have to add in the technique and concentration. For one hour and twenty minutes, you need to be dialled in and focused.

I think it is about how race walking is framed. For me, it’s closer to an art form. It maybe should have comparisons to dressage. Generally, what the judges are looking for is a flow across the ground, an effortlessness. It’s a sport of blending in with the pack as much as possible”.

Belief

In amongst the sport’s perception, the injuries, the uncertainty of the past eighteen months, there is a clear need for belief. It is what Callum will take with him to the start line:

“It gets very emotional to me. When you’ve gone through the battles I have in order to get back into position to go to an Olympic Games with a chance of a medal, you’ve really got to fight for that and believe in yourself”.

Blending in, but seeking to deliver a performance that stands out. The 20km race walk starts at 07:30 local time on Thursday 1 August.