The Memorial Mario Albisetti, also known as the Lugano Trophy and GP Città di Lugano, is an annual racewalking competition over 20 kilometres that is held in March on the streets of Lugano, Switzerland. It was first held in 2003.

Memorial Mario Albisetti
The fountain near the start and end point of the course in Lugano
DateMarch
LocationLugano
Event typeRoad
DistanceRacewalking
Primary sponsorBanca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino
Established2003
Official siteOfficial website

It is one of highest profile annual international racewalking meetings, having both permit status from European Athletics and forming part of the annual IAAF World Race Walking Challenge circuit. It attracts top level racewalkers from across the world. Past winners include Olympic medallists Wang Zhen, Alex Schwazer and world champion Michele Didoni.[1][2][3] Schwazer broke Maurizio Damilano's long-standing Italian national record in the 20 km walk en route to his 2010 win.[4]

The course for the race follows the banks of Lake Lugano. It begins and ends at the fountain on Piazza Manzoni – a square near the city's town hall. The straight-looped course of two kilometres is entirely flat. It follows the lakeside roads of Giacondo Albertolli and Vincenzo Vela and has turning points at the end of Vincenzo Vela road and near the Museo Civico di Belle Arti (Civic Museum of Fine Art).[5]

The race director is Daniele Albisetti, a relative of Mario Albisetti. The race is organised by the Societa Atletica Lugano under the patronage of the Lugano City council and Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino.[6]

The city of Lugano has a long tradition in racewalking competitions and was host to the first ever IAAF World Race Walking Cup in 1961 and again in 1973.

Past winners

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Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 2003   Roberto Defendenti (ITA) 1:29:55   Natalia Bruniko (ITA) 47:25[nb]
2nd 2004   Roberto Defendenti (ITA) 1:29:28   Marie Polli (SUI) 1:38:44
3rd 2005   Michele Didoni (ITA) 1:28:32   Laura Polli (SUI) 1:39:09
4th 2006   Viktor Ginko (BLR) 1:28:10   Laura Polli (SUI) 1:37:46
5th 2007   Mário dos Santos (BRA) 1:27:40   Elisa Rigaudo (ITA) 1:32:25
6th 2008   Daniele Paris (ITA) 1:24:32   Zuzana Schindlerová (CZE) 1:33:15
7th 2009   Aleksandr Yargunkin (RUS) 1:21:40   Johanna Jackson (GBR) 1:31:16
8th 2010   Alex Schwazer (ITA) 1:18:24   Li Yanfei (CHN) 1:31:27
9th 2011   Wang Zhen (CHN) 1:18:37   Liu Hong (CHN) 1:29:29
10th 2012   Alex Schwazer (ITA) 1:17:30   Tatyana Sibileva (RUS) 1:28:03
11th 2013   Wang Zhen (CHN) 1:19:08   Liu Hong (CHN) 1:27:06
12th 2014   Ruslan Dmytrenko (UKR) 1:20:08   Liu Hong (CHN) 1:27:25
13th 2015   Yohann Diniz (FRA) 1:17:24   Anežka Drahotová (CZE) 1:28:52
2016 Did not held
14th 2017   Alex Wright (IRE) 1:21:19   Brigita Virbalytė-Dimšienė (LTU) 1:32:17
15th 2018   Kouki Ikeda (JPN) 1:21:26   Eleonora Giorgi (ITA) 1:30:31
  • nb The first women's race in 2003 was held over 10 kilometres.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2011-03-21). Chinese dominate in Lugano. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  2. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2012-03-19). Schwazer clocks sensational 1:17:30 in Lugano Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  3. ^ Chinese walkers stroll off with two victories in Lugano. IAAF (2013-03-17). Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  4. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-03-14). Schwazer sets national 20km record in Lugano. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  5. ^ Race Circuit. Lugano Racewalking. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  6. ^ Comitato d:organizzazione. Lugano Racewalking. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
List of winners
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