Walking. It sounds straightforward enough. Race walking on the other hand? It's mesmerising. A foot race where one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times and Great Britain has a genuinely world-class talent to call their own.
Tom Bosworth is a machine. The 28-year-old has been smashing records for some time now and he set a world record for the one-mile race walk when he stormed to a stunning time of 5:31.00 in London last July.
However, Bosworth was then hit by a disqualification from the 20km race walk at the World Championships in August and there were bound to be nerves ahead of his first competitive start since then, with the British No.1 the star attraction in the 5000m race walk at the British Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham on Sunday.
There was nothing for Bosworth to worry about though as he broke his own British record for the 5000m walk with a sensational effort of 18:28.70, beating the 18:39.47 he set at the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield just over twelve months ago.
"The bends were tricky for walking on today but I managed to find some rhythm," said Bosworth in the wake of his latest record-breaking win. "I set off on PB pace and realised quite early on that I could hold it which was very encouraging."
Locked in a battle with the fast-starting Callum Wilkinson during the formative stages of the race, Bosworth gradually took control and he it was clear from an early stage that he was setting a pace that was going to threaten his British record. He lapped up the roars of the crowd at Arena Birmingham and a broad smile stretched across his face as he entered the final straight with the record well within his sight.
His finishing time was also the fastest time in the world for the indoor 5000m race since 2014 and was the 16th-fastest of all-time in the world indoor list.
A truly wonderful performance in a mesmerising sport that will surely only grow in popularity, much like the British champion.
