LINKE Christopher

Date of Birth: 24 Oct 1988

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Place of birth: POTSDAM

Birth Country:

Germany

Place of residence : WERDER/HAVEL

Residence Country:

Germany

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's 20km Race Walk	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sapporo Odori Park	Men's 20km Race Walk Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Year	Location	20km Race Walk	50km Race Walk
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	5th (1:20:00)	-
2012	London, GBR	-	21st (3:49:19)

World Athletics Championships

Year	Location	20km Race Walk	50km Race Walk
2019	Doha, QAT	4th (1:27:19)	-
2017	London, GBR	5th (1:19:21)	-
2015	Beijing, CHN	38th (1:26:10)	-
2013	Moscow, RUS	8th (1:22:36)	-
2011	Daegu, KOR	17th (1:24:17)	DNS

European Championships

Year	Location	20km Race Walk
2018	Berlin, GER	13th (1:22:33)

World Race Walking Challenge - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
1	2017	20km Race Walk	European Race Walking Team Championships	Podebrady, CZE	1:19:28
4	2019	20km Race Walk	World Athletics Championships	Doha, QAT	1:27:19
5	2017	20km Race Walk	World Athletics Championships	London, GBR	1:19:21
6	2019	20km Race Walk	World Race Walking Challenge	A Corunya, ESP	1:18:42
11	2021	20km Race Walk	World Race Walking Challenge	A Corunya, ESP	1:20:51
12	2019	20km Race Walk	European Race Walking Team Championships	Alytus, LTU	1:23:21
13	2018	20km Race Walk	European Championships	Berlin, GER	1:22:33
25	2018	20km Race Walk	World Race Walking Team Championships	Taicang, CHN	1:24:59
47	2018	20km Race Walk	Suzhou	Suzhou, CHN	1:32:55

Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final

Chris (lawm.sportschau.de, 05 Oct 2019)

Spending time with friends, watching handball, watching television. (Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020)

Occupation:

Armed Forces, Athlete

Languages spoken:

English, German

SC Potsdam [Germany]

Ronald Weigel [national], GER

He took up running at age 12 in Potsdam, Germany, and began race walking at age 15. (lawm.sportschau.de, 27 Sep 2019; meinpodcast.de, Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020)

"I was very lucky as two race walking athletes came to my class and I tried it. My coach saw that I had talent and asked me if I wanted to try properly. I did and eight months later I was German youth champion." (lawm.sportschau.de, 27 Sep 2019; meinpodcast.de, Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020)

To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (sueddeutsche.de, 28 Nov 2019)

He covers between 200 and 220 kilometres per week when he is at a training camp. At home, he walks between 100 and 120 kilometres per week. (Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020)

Competing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "Many people from my hometown came to London to watch me. After 35 kilometres it became incredibly hard and every second I thought of stopping. But I could not, because I did not want to disappoint them. Since then, I have never entered another 50km race again. But I did learn that, with a fighting spirit, you can overcome anything." (Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020)

Philosophy:

"What you give, you get back. What you don't give, you can't get back." (community.larasch.de, 13 Jun 2018)

General Interest

General
OLYMPIC VENUE MOVE
He was critical of the announcement to move the race walk venue for the 2020 Olympic Games from Tokyo to Sapporo, more than 800 kilometres away, over concerns of heat. "That was not a good decision. I am denied an opportunity to feel the Olympic spirit [in Tokyo]. The competition becomes just like a World Cup for me. It is a shame that it is all about TV ratings, fun and entertainment, it is not about two or three degrees less heat." (sueddeutsche.de, 28 Nov 2019)

PERCEPTION OF RACE WALKING
He believes race walking is a misunderstood discipline, and that it should be held as part of the main schedule at the German athletics championships instead of in a different venue. "We are very unhappy about it. The German championships are the only opportunity for us to present race walking to the masses and to attract youngsters. We need young people to develop our discipline. This stage is taken from us. We bring world-class performances year after year, but we do not participate at the German championships. When people aske what I do and I say I am a race walker, people smile or laugh out loud. The way we perform our sport seems strange. But it is actually an endurance sport that is extremely exhausting and needs a lot of will power. There is nothing funny about it. Race walking has a very bad reputation, I don't know why. People don't know that we can go incredibly fast because it isn't shown. They should just watch a race walking competition. It should be a part of the German championships." (Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020; blog.gehsportnetzwerk.de, 14 Feb 2018; deutschland-im-internet.de, 01 Jun 2013; community.larasch.de, 13 Jun 2018)

TATTOO
He has a tattoo depicting the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, 'I have a dream', on his right arm. (Mainathlet podcast, 27 Jan 2020; worldathletics.org, 28 Jul 2017)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos