Members of Kansas City’s Heartland Racewalkers club clean up at recent USATF meeting
The news about Kansas City’s racewalkers keeps getting better.
Members of KC’s Heartland Racewalkers club were recognized by USA Track and Field at its recent meeting in Orlando. The governing body for track and field in the U.S. annually honors winners in a variety of competitive events for “masters” athletes in different age groups.
David Eisenberg, current Heartland Racewalkers club president, was not only chosen as the Racewalker of the Year in the 70-74 division, he also was selected as the third-place Grand Prix Winner in the overall Masters.
The award is based on cumulative excellent performance. Eisenberg was a member of the bronze medal-winning team of American 10K racewalkers at the World Masters Indoor Championships, an event held in Poland in March.
The annual USA Race Walking Grand Prix is managed by the USATF Race Walk Committee. It’s a year-long series of Olympic development competitions through which USATF crowns an overall champion for each competitive year.
Karen Swisher, a current Heartland Racewalkers member and former club president who is now living in Wisconsin, was chosen as Racewalker of the Year in the 70-74 division.
Like Eisenberg, she excelled at the World Indoor Championships in Poland, taking silver with an exceptionally fast time and being part of the gold medal team in the 10K.
Alan Poisner, past president emeritus of the KC club and a veteran racewalker, won Racewalker of the Year in the 85-89 division. He had previously won this award in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 in various age divisions, along with gold medals at three International Masters Outdoor Championships.
