13.03.2009

Rutter on the rise

The eyes of the race walking world will this weekend turn to Chihuahua, Mexico for the first stop of the 2009 IAAF Race Walking Challenge and for Adam Rutter, the oddly named town is just one more destination on the road to the top.

The event will launch a big few months for the 22-year-old, who enters the European season intent on seeing an end to unfinished business and this weekend lines up alongside Jared Tallent and Luke Adams in the men’s 20km field.

“50km is probably my preferred distance but I’m focusing a lot on the 20km this year, mainly because I think there’s a lot of unfinished business in that event,” Rutter said.

“My personal best (1:21.49) isn’t fantastic and I’d really like to bring that down to a respectable international level.

“I’ve been working a lot on my speed in the last couple of months and that’s coming along well. To consistently go under A-qualifying time is probably one of my biggest aims at the moment.”

Rutter was quick to put that goal to practice last weekend, crossing the line inside the A-qualifying standard to finish second behind Tallent in the 20km national championships.

While the domestic season has been somewhat of a rollercoaster for Rutter, the Target 2012 athlete will take the confidence of a 2009 win over his in-form training partner into the European summer.

“It’s been four years since I beat (Jared) and personally, it meant a fair bit,” he said.

“You’re training day in, day out with these people so to finally get one over your training partner is a good feeling.

“Beating him gives you a bit of confidence but I’ll just go out there and give it my best shot, I mean if I beat him I beat him but if not, we’ll just look to the next race.”

It’s a big turnaround for Rutter, who after a disappointing Olympic campaign found his motivation waning.

After failing to finish the men’s 50km event in Beijing through illness, Rutter is now intent on making this his breakthrough year.   

“It was probably one of the worst sorts of experiences I’ve had, to make it to the Games and then not have the full chance to perform to my best,” he said.

“The next couple of weeks were really hard but after a couple of weeks I realised I wanted to give it another crack and that probably helped motivate me.

“To see Jared’s success, you can see those guys that train with you every day have done it and you know you’re not far from that sort of level.

“It’s a bit of a low year now for a lot of the internationals, after the Olympics a lot of athletes have time off, so it’s a year you can really make a breakthrough and that’s my aim at the moment.”

And the ACT resident couldn’t have chosen a better time to hit his stride, with Tallent’s silver-bronze double in Beijing capturing the attention of Australians nationwide and throwing new light on the oft-forgotten event.

“It’s been really good, walking isn’t something that’s got that much recognition over the years; I mean, we’ve had Deakesy (Nathan Deakes) but to win two Olympic medals has really shot us up in the eyes of athletics and also the general public so it’s been really good for us having that attention and it’s been a lot easier to be a walker,” he said.

Following the weekend's event Rutter will jet to Flagstaff for three weeks of altitude training before competing in Wuxi, China on April 18. It’s a rigorous schedule but Rutter has the hard work under his belt to ensure it’s a walk in the park.

“It’s going to be a big challenge to step up and race twice in that week but I’ve worked hard in the off-time, I didn’t have much time off after the Olympics so I’ve got a better base up than I’ve had most years and hopefully that gives me a chance to be more consistent.”

Fellow Australian Claire Tallent will contest the women's 20km event.