Growing up in Nitra, he tried hurdling and endurance running before getting bitten by the race walk bug. After three months of training under the guidance of Peter Meciar, a local race walking coach and journalist, Toth entered a 2km race in the town of Surany.
“I won in a time of about 10:20,” Toth recalled. “Two days before that race, my parents had bought me new shoes. I’m sure that motivated me to walk that little bit faster.”
By the age of 14, Toth was fast enough to make the international grade. He finished third in the U18 race at the World Race Walking Cup in Podebrady in the Czech Republic in May 1997.
“I remember it was very exciting to the see elite athletes producing top performances,” he said. “It was very motivational.”
Eighth in the 10km race walk at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz in 1999 and 16th at the World U20 Championships in Kingston in 2002, Toth made steady progress after making the step up to senior international level at the 20km distance.
He was 32nd at the Athens Olympics in 2004, 21st at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki and 14th at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, before slipping back to 26th at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Change to 50km – ‘great motivation for the future’
“That was the first major disappointment on my career,” said Toth, referring to his second Olympic experience. “I prepared very hard and expected a top-10 finish but ended up 26th.
“I asked myself some hard questions after the race and wondered if it was time to retire.
However, after a discussion with my coach, we decided to change my event from the 20km to the 50km.
“This provided a great motivation for the future and I was determined to prove I could compete with the top race walkers. I trained hard, enjoyed a great winter’s preparation, and in the first 50km race I completed, I set a national record.”
Under the direction of coach Matej Spisiak in Basnka Bytrica, Toth emerged as a major force at 50km in March 2009, clocking 3:41:32 in Dudince. Five months later, he finished ninth at the distance at the World Championships in Berlin, also placing eighth at 20km.
Then, in 2010, came victory over 50km at the World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua. “That was my first big medal,” Toth reflected. “It was a big surprise, not only for my opponents but also for me.
“It was great to stand on the highest podium and sing the Slovak national anthem. That was the day I realised I could win other major events – one day possibly Olympic gold.”
Rio 2016 – ‘only in the last 500m that I knew I would win’
Fifth at the London Olympics in 2012, and at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Toth proceeded to follow up his golden breakthrough at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing with Olympic 50km success in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
In scorching hot conditions, the Slovak kept his cool as Diniz set off at a punishing pace. At halfway the Frenchman was almost two minutes clear but Toth kept his powder dry, eventually overhauling Australia’s Jared Tallent with 2km remaining to claim his country’s first ever Olympic gold in an athletics event.
“It was one of the hardest races of my career,” said Toth. “The weather was even worse than in Beijing. It was only in the last 500m that I knew I would win.”
Toth could not quite replicate his Midas touch at continental level, taking a second silver medal at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin in 2018.
After injury and the Covid lockdown, he mustered himself for one final shot at international glory at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
At the age of 38, Toth finished 14th in the 50km race in Sapporo – a battling finale for the great Slovakian foot-soldier of race walking.
Story: Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage