Nanaimo's Olivia Lundman will compete in the Paris Olympic games in race walk. (James Veale)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Paris Bound

Nanaimo race walker Olivia Lundman qualifies for Paris Olympic Games

Apr 24, 2024 | 11:46 AM

NANAIMO — At the age of just 21-years-old, a local track and field star is realizing her dream.

With continued top performances nationally for several years, Nanaimo race walker Olivia Lundman will be a member of Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the new sport of mixed marathon race walking.

Lundman said it’s an honour to have the opportunity to compete at the highest level possible.

“I’m feeling a whole mix of emotions right now. Of course I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics in Paris, but at the moment it all seems a bit hard to believe. I am still struggling to process this new reality and I think it’s going to take some time for it to fully sink in.”

Lundman and her Richmond-born teammate Evan Dunfee, qualified via a race on Sunday, April 21 in Turkiye.

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The pair were one of 67 teams from 37 countries participating in the event, where each team member walks different legs in a relay-style format.

Dunfee began the four-legged race, with Lundman handling the second and final stages, each over 10 kilometres long.

“It was a tough second leg for me, but I was hanging on until about 400 metres to go. I had to stop twice, vomiting, but willed myself to get to the finish line as fast as I could, not knowing what position we were in. I was worried my struggles in the last kilometer might have cost us our qualification.

Lundman made it with little room to spare, as she and Dunfee finished 21st out of the 22 teams which automatically qualified for the games.

Three more teams will compete in Paris based on their overall times in other competitions.

Lundman said the experience was a blur, and she’s immeasurably grateful to friends, family and supporters who helped her along the way.

“It is such a surreal feeling to become an Olympian at the age of 21 and I still find it strange to say aloud. I am so excited to see what Evan and I can achieve in Paris and I hope that along the way we can encourage and inspire youth across the country to chase their dreams.”

Lundman’s preparations for the games continue at the Canadian 10,000 metre Race Walk Championships on May 11 in Coquitlam. She’ll then travel to the United States with the UBC track team for a national meet in Indiana.

Immediately prior to the games, Lundman and Dunfee will be in Europe for some specialized training.

“I will be heading to St. Moritz in Switzerland later in June to get in some training at high altitude. From there, I will be attending a heat training holding camp in Barcelona, Spain, before heading to Paris.”

Race walking is an extremely technical sport where competitors are frequently given time penalties or outright disqualified for improper technique.

A main fundamental of the sport is ensuring one foot is in contact with the ground at all times.

Lundman will not be the only Nanaimo athlete to compete, as men’s hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg secured his qualifications with world and continental championships in 2023.

At a competition last weekend, Katzberg set a new Canadian record of 84.38 metres which was the longest throw recorded in competition in over a decade.

It’s just shy of the world record, set back in 1986, of 86.74 metres.

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