Fink, a freshman at Aledo High School, recently finished second in the one-mile racewalk at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston. He posted a time of 7 minutes and 4 seconds.
It was his first time ever to compete on an indoor track.
“I really enjoyed competing at an indoor race, especially at the track at New Balance. The facility was amazing, and even though it was my first time ever being on an indoor track, everyone treated me like I belonged,” Fink said.
That tends to happen when you have the kind of success Fink has had in the sport.
Competing for Mach I Track Club in Weatherford, he has won three consecutive national championships in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics.
“The high-profile setting actually made me feel that the experience was like a dream until I hit the track, where I met other racewalkers, and the idea that I was actually doing this hit me,” Fink said.
In fact, his success is filtering down to his younger sister, Jenna. She won an AAU national championship in the 10-year-old girls division this past summer.
Fink began race walking in 2018. He got the idea while at a meet for Mach I.
“My team was at a morning practice meet for the 3,000-meter run. The racewalk is the event before the 3,000, so I watched the racewalkers go around the track,” Fink said. “I said, ‘What is that, I want to do that,’ and one of my coaches said, ‘Go do that.’
“From that moment on, I began racing because I enjoy pushing myself to see how good I can become at something.”
Fink said when he originally started, he didn’t know how to racewalk, so the form was challenging. Now, racewalking is natural, so there is no conscious change from running to racewalking.
He noted there are two major rules when it comes to racewalking: The leading leg remains straight from contact until it passes under the body, and one foot must always be in contact with the ground at all times.
Fink also runs distance events and said he does not have a preference between those and racewalking. He just loves competing, though he said one does help the other.
“To be competitive in racewalking, one needs to run because it will build endurance and speed. Ultimately, this makes racewalking a competitive sport,” he said.
Fink chose not to compete with Aledo High School this track season as he is focusing on robotics. He does plan to run with Mach I again this summer.
He’d also love to see racewalking become a part of University Interscholastic League track and field.
“It would allow more people to see if they would like to racewalk,” he said.
He would also like to compete in college in both running and race walking. However, no NCAA schools offer racewalking as a sport, only colleges on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics level.
“Most people do not know about racewalking in the United States because here it is a niche, often misunderstood sport,” Fink said. “But in the rest of the world, racewalking is significantly more popular and well-known.
“I would like to open people’s eyes to racewalking to help them understand this amazing event.”
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