
A small group of athletes lead by Jaan Roos got together in 1984 to learn all they could about racewalking. This small group continued to grow and the club became incorporated as the Ontario Racewalkers Association in 1992 and has been going strong ever since. The club trains year round at various locations including indoor in the winter.
How The Club Expanded
In December 2004, Jaan Roos retired from the club but remains active as a Walks Judge. In January 2005, Stafford Whalen was elected President of the Ontario Racewalkers and remains the president today. Stafford is also the Head Coach of the club. As of 2016, Lily Whalen was added as the Assistant Head Coach. Lily has a 40 year background as a national and international Racewalker and brings considerable skills to the position.
In 2009, we designed a new logo for the club
Past Successes
Our greatest success is the ability to assist every one of our athletes in achieving their personal goals, be it to lose weight, get fit, or improve performances, all the way up to making Olympic teams.
Our two most famous athletes are Arturo Huerta and Rachel Seaman, both two time Olympians and holders of many national records.
We are the strongest Masters Racewalking club in Canada with many masters athletes winning National and International medals. At the 2018 World Championships in Spain we Won 7 gold medals. Our oldest athlete, Jean Horne won 2 gold medals and she was only 86 years old…awesome!
Mission Statement
The Ontario Racewalkers are a group of dedicated and committed coaches and administrative specialists working as a team to create a total environment conducive to the development of dedicated and committed athletes of all ages and abilities.
We exist to contribute to athletes’ personal growth and to assist them in attaining their potential with ultimate performance up to and including medals at premier international events, which will, in turn, assist Athletics Canada, Athletics Ontario and the Ontario Masters Assoc. to enhance their profile and the profile of our sport.