Objective. Improvement of technico-tactical preparation of highly skilled athletes specialized in race walking, based on the study of competitive activity with account for tactical variants of distance covering and kinematic characteristics of their technique.
Methods. The protocols of competitions on tactics of distance covering by world champions and winners of the major world forums of recent years in race walking (n = 233) at distances of 20 and 50 km and technique of 49 leading athletes of Ukraine (number of results 88) have been analyzed.
Results. The world best athletes are characterized by the option of the distance covering with a relatively low pace at the beginning gradually increasing (maintaining for a distance of 50 km) speed in the last quarter. Improving sports result in race walking to a high world level mainly occurs due to the increase in stride length at statistically signifi cant diff erences from the indices of athletes with lower sports results. Stride length increase occurs at the expense of the rear stride phase and the length of the flight, due to the more eff ective take-off , which is characterized by a reduction in the duration of the single support phase, mainly at the expense of decreases absorption time.
Conclusions. The most common tactics used by the winners and prize-winners of the Olympics and World Championships have been identified. The kinematic characteristics of the technique of the world and national-level athletes have been analyzed, methodological approaches to improving their training process have been determined.