About Albert Fatikhov
Competitive Nordic Walking athlete, World Championship medalist, and President of the Nordic Walking Association of North America.
Albert’s work in Nordic Walking connects two parts of the same sport: competing as an athlete and helping build the structures that allow other athletes to learn, compete, improve and progress.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Albert has competed internationally in Nordic Walking and earned medals at both World Championship and national championship level.
🥈 World Championship Silver
4 × 5K Men’s Relay
Lahti, Finland · 2024
🥉 World Championship Bronze
5K
Lahti, Finland · 2024
He is also a multiple Latvian Championship medalist. Those results established the competitive foundation that continues to shape his work in Nordic Walking today.
STILL COMPETING
Albert remains an active competitor in the United States through the NWANA Open Nordic Walking Series.
During the 2026 season he competed across distances from 1K through 20K, gaining direct experience across speed, middle-distance and endurance events.
His competitive focus is now the 1K, 3K and 5K.
The next stage of his athletic career is centered on becoming faster and improving technique, efficiency and race performance over the shorter distances.
FROM ATHLETE TO BUILDER
In November 2024, Albert was preparing to leave Latvia for the United States.
From Riga Airport, he called the president of the Latvian Nordic Walking federation to say goodbye. During that conversation, he learned that North America did not have the type of Nordic Walking federation structure he had experienced while competing in Latvia.
During the flight to the United States, that idea stayed with him.
Build one.
That decision eventually led to the creation and development of the Nordic Walking Association of North America.
BUILDING NORDIC WALKING IN NORTH AMERICA
Albert serves as President of the Nordic Walking Association of North America (NWANA), a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on the development of Nordic Walking across North America.
The work includes competitive standards, athlete pathways, instructor and coach education, judging development, community structures, sanctioned competition, and the broader infrastructure needed for the sport to grow.
The objective is not simply to promote Nordic Walking as exercise. It is to help build a functioning sport system.
A system in which people can enter the sport, learn correctly, compete, improve, and continue progressing.
A COMPETITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
Albert’s approach to sport leadership is shaped by continuing to compete himself.
Competition creates a practical understanding of what athletes, coaches, judges and organizers actually encounter: rules, preparation, results, event structure, progression and the credibility of the competitive system itself.
That athlete perspective remains part of how NWANA’s sport structure is being developed.
