This question is often the first thing I hear from youth and high school athletes who compete in the race walk. As they’re often ignored by the coaching staff, treated poorly by other athletes, and marginalized by the sport as a whole, they have little confidence and almost no knowledge of what it takes performance-wise to compete at the collegiate level.
The simple answer for the vast majority of the 500-600 athletes competing in the 15-18 age range annually, is a resounding YES!
The intention of this site, and it’s social media accounts, is to continually get that word out to every single athlete in the US.
Does this mean that you’re a scholarship level athlete? No, in many cases you aren’t. That should not be an impediment to joining your college team, or seeking out admission to a college that will support your desire to compete. Walk-ons make up the vast majority of Track & Field athletes in college. Scholarships are generally reserved for athletes who score at Conference Champs and higher. Competing in college is one of the greatest experiences you will ever have.
To give you an idea of the level of performance needed to be ranked in the top 50 Collegiate Race Walkers, we’ve added a page to the site with those time for every season since 2008. This will also be linked in the College Info menu permanently for easy access.
For reference, if you have ever competed in a HS level Conference Championship or USATF/AAU Junior Olympic meet that was judged by certified Race Walk officials to assure compliance with the rules AND you finished the race with legal technique, you have the skill level to compete in college. As demonstrated by the times listed on the page linked above, there a wide range of talents competing at this level.
YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH!
