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Eastler announces race walking retirement

BEIJING — A journey that began 21 years ago when he took up race-walking to follow in his older sister’s footsteps came to an end Saturday morning at the finish line in National Stadium.

Kevin Eastler announced his retirement from the sport after finishing 43rd in the Olympic men’s 20-kilometer race walk in a time of one hour, 10 minutes and 48 seconds — nearly 10 minutes behind gold-medal winner Valeriy Borchin of Russia.

“I wished I could have ended on a better note, but I had so many injury issues coming into the Olympics that I didn’t have any great expectations,” said Eastler, a captain in the Air Force. “I just wanted to do my best and that’s what I did — and I’m happy with that.”

The Farmington, Maine, native and Aurora, Colo., resident underwent surgery for a sports hernia in December, and it took several months to recover. And after he did, he was forced to deal with injuries to his right hamstring and right knee.

“It’s been a difficult season,” the 30-year-old said. “I trained through it the best I could and raced through it as well as I can.”

Eastler, who finished 21st in the 20km at the 2004 Athens Olympics, will retire from the Air Force in October after nine years of service.

“I wouldn’t have accomplished what I have without the Air Force,” said Eastler, who was the Air Force’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2003. “I owe them so much.”

He will go to work for GE in New York, where he hopes to work on renewable energy projects.

“I can’t wait to start that next phase of my life,” he said.

Eastler said he will continue to walk to stay in shape, but he won’t be logging 100 miles a week like he did training for the Olympics.

“I’m going to walk for fun, rather than for competition,” he said.