For the first time since the introduction of the IAAF Top Performer of the Month tables, an American athlete has turned in the best performance in the Race Walking category.
2004 Olympian Kevin Eastler – a 28-year-old Air Force athlete – won the USA 30 km Race Walk Championship on January 15 in Chula Vista, California, in a new American record time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 53 seconds (1,135 points). Eastler’s performance bettered the previous American record of 2:14:23 set in 2002 by Curt Clausen.