Running News Daily

Sifan Hassan and Ruth Chepngetich headline nominations for Female Athlete of the Year

Who do you think deserves top honors—the Olympic champion or the new women's world record holder?

Two of the world’s most dominant marathoners, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and newly-minted world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, are among the nominees for the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year (Out of Stadium) award.

Hassan’s distance running triple at the Paris Olympic Games made her a guaranteed candidate, where she won two bronze medals on the track (5,000m/10,000m) and capped off her historic run with a gold medal in the women’s marathon, setting a new Olympic record. Chepngetich made history of her own, becoming the first woman to break 2:10 in the marathon with her stunning 2:09:56 performance at the 2024 Chicago Marathon earlier this month.

The other nominees for the women’s out-of-stadium award include Kenyan distance star Agnes Jebet Ngetich, who set world records in the 5K and 10K on the roads, and who ran the second-fastest half-marathon in history at the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday (63:04, a Kenyan national record); Ethiopian Sutume Kebede, the Tokyo Marathon champion, and second-place in Chicago; and Tigist Ketema of Ethiopia, who took wins at the 2024 Berlin Marathon and in Dubai.

Men’s nominees

On the men’s side, the nominees feature a similarly competitive field. Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, who set a new Games record on the tough Paris course, and his compatriot Yomif Kejelcha, who just broke the men’s world record in the half-marathon by one second at the 2024 Valencia Half. Other nominees for the award include Kenya’s Benson Kipruto, the Tokyo Marathon champion and Olympic bronze medalist; Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, the world cross-country champion; and Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado, who won Olympic gold in the men’s 20km race walk.

A World Athletics panel compiled the list of nominees. The two finalists for each award will be determined through a three-way voting process that runs until Nov. 3. The World Athletics Council vote accounts for 50 per cent of the decision, while the World Athletics Family (including athletes, coaches and officials) vote accounts for 25 per cent, and the remaining 25 per cent comes from a public vote on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Fans can cast their votes by liking posts on Facebook and Instagram or by retweeting on X.

In 2023, the out-of-stadium award went to Kenyan marathoner Kelvin Kiptum on the men’s side, following his remarkable 2:00:35 performance at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Ethiopian marathoner Tigist Assefa won the women’s award with her marathon record-breaking run in Berlin.

World Athletics revamped the awards system for 2024, introducing overall World Athlete of the Year titles for both women and men, alongside three specialized awards for track events, field events, and out-of-stadium events. This new approach allows for a more recognition of the diverse athletic accomplishments throughout the year.

New men’s world record set in the Valencia Half Marathon

The Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha set a new men’s world record today in the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich after clocking 57:30 after an epic race in the rain in which he dominated from the start.

The Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich now occupies the top of the podium as the fastest 21,097 metres for both men and women. It already had the women’s world record set by Letesenbet oGidey in 2021 (1:02:52) and it now regains the men’s title it last held in 2020. Lisbon took the record from Valencia in 2021 by just one second (Jacob Kiplimo, 57:31), but that time has now been bettered by one second.

After Kejelcha, in second place was Daniel Mateiko, with a time of 58:17, and in third position,  Isaia Kipkoech, in  58:21. 

In the women’s race, the winner was Agnes Ngetich, who crossed the finish line with an excellent time of 1:03:04, which turned it into the second best time in history and the best of the year. Second place went to Fotyen Tesfay, in 1:03:21 and third place to Lilian Kasait, in 1:03:32.

Spanish women’s record

There has also been greatest joys for the Spaniards today, Kaoutar Boulaid has broken the Spanish women’s record with a time of 1:08:47, almost a minute below the previous record achieved in Valencia Half Marathon by Laura Luengo (1:09: 41) a year ago. Luengo was the second Spaniard to cross the finish line with 1:08:50, also improving her previous time. In third place has arrived the debutant Irene Sánchez-Escribano with 1:09:10.

In the men’s field, Thierry Ndikumwenayo was the first national with a time of 59:42, followed by Ibrahim Chakir, with 1:01:40, second, and Jorge Blanco, with 1:01:45.

Kenyan duo of Daniel Mateiko and Agnes Ngetich lead Kenyan charge at the Valencia half marathon

Daniel Mateiko leads the men's field, while Agnes Jebet Ngetich makes her half marathon debut, promising an exciting race in one of the world’s fastest half marathons.

Kenya’s elite athletes are set to make waves at the highly anticipated Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich on October 27, 2024.

Among them, Daniel Mateiko leads the men's field, while Agnes Jebet Ngetich makes her half marathon debut, promising an exciting race in one of the world’s fastest half marathons.

Mateiko, who has clocked an impressive personal best of 58:26, is aiming for a record-breaking time in Valencia.

However, he faces fierce competition from Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha and Selemon Barega, two of the fastest athletes over the half-marathon distance, with personal bests of 57:41 and 57:50 respectively.

The showdown among these top-tier runners is expected to push the pace and could see new records set.

Joining Mateiko are his compatriots Isaia Kipkoech (58:55), Edward Cheserek (59:11), Bravin Kiprop (59:21), and Weldon Langat (59:22), strengthening Kenya’s presence in the men’s race and adding depth to the country’s bid for top finishes.

In the women’s field, all eyes are on Agnes Jebet Ngetich, who is making her half-marathon debut with high expectations.

Ngetich has already captured the world’s attention this year by breaking the 10K world record in Valencia with a time of 28:46.

This achievement not only demonstrated her speed and resilience but also established her as a formidable contender for her first half marathon.

She will be up against Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama and fellow Kenyan Lilian Kasait Rengeruk, both of whom bring strength and experience to the competition.

With Valencia's history of producing fast times and world records, the race promises a thrilling spectacle.

The presence of top athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia underscores the high caliber of competition, and the event has the potential to be a milestone in the global running calendar.

The Valencia Half Marathon, as star-studded as always

Once upon a time there was an athlete who didn’t know what it was like to take over an hour to run a half marathon, his legs were simply faster than that; he has tried five times, but his worst time, if that’s what you can call it, is 59:25. Three of those occasions have been in Valencia, where he won in 2019 and where he took second place in both 2022 and last year, when he clocked a personal best of 57:41, just 10 seconds off the world record and the third fastest time in history. Yomif Kejelcha arrives in Valencia hungry for glory, after an Olympic year in which he has performed at the highest level, with spectacular times and personal bests over 5000m (12:38.95) and 10,000m (26:31.01), but without the cherry on the cake of Olympic glory, having to settle for sixth place in the 25 laps of the track in Paris, an impressive achievement for 99% of athletes, a disappointment for him, who has hardly amassed any major medals.

It is doubtful that the Ethiopian team will be unable to secure victory considering that Selemon Barega, Olympic 10,000m champion in Tokyo, will also be in action, as he has had a similar season to Kejelcha in 2024, coming in just after him in Paris. Less experienced than his compatriot, Barega faces his third adventure over 21,097 m with the confidence of having run 57:50 here just a year ago in last year’s race, a performance that puts him sixth fastest of all time. It will surely depend on the collaboration between these two Ethiopian stars, once the pacers finish their work, as to how close to Kiplimo’s 57:31 they can fly through the crowded Valencian streets. The athletes in charge of pushing the tempo from the start will be the young Ethiopian Kekeba Bejiga, who will have to set a pace of 2:44/km and the Kenyan Mathew Kiplimo Langat, who will try to stay with the pace until the tenth kilometre to reach it ideally between 27:15 and 27:20. From then on, the stars will vie with each other for victory and the big question is whether they will form an alliance to beat the clock or whether each will keep an eye on the other in pursuit of victory.

The Kenyan squad will do everything they can to ensure that last year’s victory by Kibiwott Kandie, the man who broke the world record here, running 57.32 in 2020, will continue this year. Their two best assets should be Daniel Mateiko and Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi; the former has already run nine half marathons and knows the Valencian avenues like the back of his hand, coming third in both 2021 and 2022, with 58:26 as his personal best, which he will have to improve on if he wants to stand up to the Ethiopian duo. Mateiko improved his 10,000m time at the Paris Olympics, although his 26:50.81 was only good enough to place him in eleventh position. Lasoi, who is in great form after finishing third in Copenhagen six weeks ago, with a personal best of 58:10 in his fourth (!!) half of 2024, is sure to be in great shape.

Theory tells us that this quartet should be the ones to take the podium places on 27 October, but the magic of the half marathon, which is never as tight as the 42,195m, often brings wonderful surprises. One of them could well be Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who amazed in the Olympic 10,000m by smashing the Spanish record at this distance with a time of 26:49.49. After the rest required following the Games, Thierry may not have had enough time to realise his unlimited potential at this distance, but his performances over shorter distances give him sufficient room for manoeuvre to break the Spanish record, set just a year ago by Carlos Mayo with 59:39 after the previous record had remained unbroken for 22 years. Thierry will have the 59:13 held by Switzerland’s Julien Wanders as the European record in his sights and perhaps the biggest danger for him will be if he remains caught in no man’s land, as joining the leading group, who will be aiming for a sub-58 finish as always, does not seem the most sensible strategy in this his first foray over the distance. This hypothetical record would serve as a well-deserved tribute to Pepe Ortuño, who will retire as his trainer when Thierry crosses the finish line. Tadese Worku, Gemechu Dida, Edward Cheserek and Bravin Kiprop are all well under the one-hour mark and will be looking for their day of glory in Valencia. Among the Europeans, the Portuguese Samuel Barata (national record last year with 59:40), the Italian runner-up at the Europeans Pietro Riva (59:41) and the British runner Emile Cairess (60:01), fourth at the Paris Olympics in the marathon, will be competing with Ndikumwenayo.

Ngetich wants to make her debut in style

The possibility of a women’s world record will also glimmer over the Valencian asphalt on Sunday, courtesy of Agnes Ngetich, who smashed the 10K world record in Valencia on 13 January with a stratospheric time of 28.46. After that explosion, the Kenyan lost some steam, if we can refer to her 5th place in the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade as such. During the track season she suffered from physical problems that made her give up the chance to compete in the Kenyan trials in Eugene at the last minute, thus saying goodbye to her Olympic dreams. Since then, her plan has been to make her début in Valencia over 21,097 m and, despite her status as a newcomer, it is not out of the question that she could make a serious attempt at the world record currently held by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who clocked an impressive 1:02:52 in Valencia in 2021. The pacemaking duties will fall to Japhet Kosgei and Vincent Nyageo, who will travel at a tempo of just under 3:00/km, to ensure a challenge to the WR if Ngetich still has some strength in her legs in the final stretch.

Following them will be a large group comprising Tsige Gebreselama, Llilian Rengeruk and Ejgayehu Taye. Gebreselama returns to the scene of her debut two years ago (1:05:46), a time she improved on this February by winning the prestigious Ras Al Khaimah Half in 1:05:14. Although, Ngetich’s biggest threat could be fellow debutant and compatriot Lilian Rengeruk, 5th in the Olympic 10,000m and with a 10K time of 29:32 set in Valencia in January, she is projected to be a strong performer over double the distance. While Taye, also making her debut at this distance, is an accomplished 5K specialist, although she also dipped below 30 minutes (29:50.53) in the 10,000 at the Ethiopian trials in Nerja. The main European hopefuls should be Great Britain’s Samantha Harrison, who improved to 1:07:10 in Valencia last year, and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, a brilliant winner on her début two years ago with 1:05:41, although she does not seem to be in her best form at present.

Spain’s record is looking wobbly

If there is a record that has every chance of crumbling on Sunday, it is the Spanish women’s record, not because it is outdated, as Laura Luengo became the record holder just a year ago with her 1:09:41, but because her own form heralds a not inconsiderable improvement on that mark. The On Athletics team athlete will set off at a devilish pace of 3:16/3:17 per kilometre under the guidance of duathlon world champion Javier Martin to seriously threaten the 1:09 barrier. It could well be that she manages to beat that and yet not hold the record as both Irene Sanchez-Escribano and Boulaid Kaoutar are planning to run at the same pace, which could make for an exciting three-way duel. The Toledo athlete shone at the Olympic Games in Paris over her favourite 3,000m steeplechase and is facing a very exciting duel over the distance with confidence; she already ran at a Spanish record pace in the 10K in Laredo (31:35) in March and her good adaptation to asphalt is more than promising. On the other hand, the new Spanish champion Kaoutar (1:10:44 on 6 October in Albacete) already knows what it means to run under the 1:09 mark, as she clocked 1:08:57 in Gijón a year and a half ago when she was still competing under the Moroccan flag. Place your bets.

Kejelcha, Barega and Mateiko set to fly the fastest in the Valencia Half Marathon

Elite athletes hope for top performances at race famous for record times.

The Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich has confirmed the names of the international elite athletes who will fly through the streets of the “ciudad del running” on October 27.

The race, organized by SD Correcaminos and Valencia City Council, still holds the women’s world record (Gidey, 1:02:52 in 2021) and the second fastest time in the world (Kandie, 57:32 in 2020), and will be looking to continue improving on these records this year in a half marathon in which eight of the top ten fastest times over the distance have been achieved.

In the men’s category, Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha (57:41) and Selemon Barega (57:50) will compete with Kenya’s Daniel Mateiko (58:26) to be the fastest over the distance. The level of European runners is also high, with the presence in Valencia of athletes such as Samuel Barata (Portugal), Pietro Riva (Italy), Amanal Petros (Germany) and Emile Cairess (Great Britain), who will be joined by the Spanish elite soon to be confirmed.

And in the women’s category, the Valencia Half Marathon (which has the two fastest times in history) will focus on Kenyan runner Agnes Jebet Ngetich, who will make her debut over the distance in Valencia, the city where last January she broke the world record in the 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun (28:46, also setting the world record for 5K with her 14:13). Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama and Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Catherine Amanang’ole will be her main rivals vying for victory.

Marc Roig, coach of the event’s international elite athletes, assessed this list as “the best half marathon this year, with high level duels that aim, once again, to achieve 57-minute performances by several athletes. And a clear challenge to the stopwatch in the women’s race. Never before has a debutant taken to the start line who has run a 10K in under 29 minutes. We are really looking forward to seeing how fast the race will be on October 27th”.

Ngetich to attempt world record on Valencia Half Marathon debut

World 10Km record holder Agnes Ngetich will lead an attempt on the 21km world record when she debuts at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich on October 27.

Ngetich returns to the city where she achieved her 10km world record of 28:46 (and 5km — 14:13) at the Valencia Ibercaja in January.

It's the city where Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey set the women’s half marathon record of 1:02.52 in 2021 and Kibiwott Kandie set the second fastest time in the world, 57:32, in 2020. 

Ngetich will lead the attempt on Gidey's mark in a race which has produced eight of the top 10-fastest times over the distance.

She faces tough competition from compatriots Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Catherine Amanang'ole and Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama.

In the men's category, Kenya's Daniel Mateiko (58:26) will challenge the Ethiopian duo of Yomif Kejelcha (57:41) and Selemon Barega (57:50).

The European battalion is led by Samuel Barata (Portugal), Pietro Riva (Italy), Amanal Petros (Germany) and Emile Cairess (Great Britain).

Marc Roig, coach of the event's international elite athletes, assessed this start list as: “the best half marathon this year, with high-level duels that aim, once again, to achieve 57-minute performances by several athletes.

"And a clear challenge to the stopwatch in the women's race. Never before has a debutant who has run a 10K in under 29 minutes taken to the start line. We are looking forward to seeing how fast the race will be on October 27.” 

Out of this world!

Jakob Ingebrigtsen obliterates the 3000m world record at the Memoriał Kamili Skolimowskiej with 7:17.55.  

He goes more than 3 seconds faster than the previous world record!

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen shattered the world 3000m record in the Silesia Diamond League on Sunday (25) afternoon with 7:17.55 to become the first athlete in history to break the 7:20-barrier for the seven-and-a-half lap distance. 

The Olympic 5000m champion slashed more than three seconds off the previous mark of 7:20.67 which had stood to Kenya’s Daniel Komen since 1996, the longest standing world record in an individual men’s track event.

But the 23-year-old Norwegian took the record into uncharted territory, churning out the last two laps in 57.46 and 55.47 respectively - 1:52.93 for the last 800 metres - to break away from Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi and take a significant chunk of 3.12 seconds off Komen’s enduring record.

“It feels special, amazing. I was hoping to challenge the world record here but based on my training, I can never predict exactly what kind of time I am capable of. I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though,” said Ingebrigtsen.

. “I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though. At the beginning the pace felt really fast, but then I started to feel my way into the race and found a good rhythm.

“[The] 3,000 is a tough distance,” continued Ingebrigtsen. “After four-five laps you feel the lactic acid, but you need to get going. The conditions were difficult with the heat today, but it is the same for everyone. Now I want to challenge world records at all distances, but it is one step at a time.”

He finished ahead of a trio of Ethiopians, with the Paris Olympics 10,000m silver medallist, Berihu Aregawi. second in a personal best and the third-fastest time in history (7:21.28). Yomif Kejelcha was third.

Three days ago, the Norwegian had exacted a small measure of revenge over the American Cole Hocker by winning the men’s 1500m in Lausanne in 3:27.83, two weeks after Hocker shocked the Olympic field to win gold in Paris.

He won $50,000 for setting the record.  

Kenya's hopes rest on Daniel Mateiko, Nicholas Kimeli & Bernard Kibet to win 10,000m gold since 1968

Daniel Mateiko, Nicholas Kimeli, and Bernard Kibet will have the pressure to deliver Kenya's gold medal since Naftali Temu's exploits at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

The trio of Daniel Mateiko, Nicholas Kimeli and Bernard Kibet are tasked with a daunting task to reclaim Kenya’s 10,000m title once they toe the line at the Stade de France on Friday, August 2.

The men’s race starts at 10:20 p.m. East African Time with the trio taking on one of the strongest fields in history with the main aim to reclaim Naftali Temu’s title won at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Kenyans have had a rough time of winning the gold medal following the emergence of Ethiopians and Ugandans who have dominated the race. Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Joshua Cheptegei have dominated the global stage with Bekele and Farah winning two titles each.

Selemon Barega won the title at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo taking second and third place respectively.

Mateiko made headlines, winning the Prefontaine Classic to secure his slot to the Olympic Games with Kimeli and Kibet finishing second and third respectively. The trio has the much-needed confidence to impress following their training sessions that have been extensive so far.

Mateiko and Kimeli train with Eliud Kipchoge and they certainly draw inspiration from the two-time Olympic champion who will also be chasing his third Olympic title.

However, they will not have an easy task in title reclamation as they go up against very strong opponents. Defending champion Barega will be out to defend his Olympic gold with Cheptegei also in the mix.

Being the world record holder and a three-time world champion, Cheptegei will going for the only title missing in his decorated CV. The Ethiopians have fielded their best, with world leader Yomif Kejelcha and Berihu Aregawi also in the mix. Paris marks the first Olympics for Kejelcha who will have the pressure on him after the world lead.

Cheptegei has raced sparingly, making it difficult to gauge his shape. He will be competing for the first time since end of May when he finished ninth in the 5000m at the Diamond League Meeting in Oslo.

The American duo Grant Fisher and Nico Young have also been entered and they will also be chasing history for the US. Young will b debuting at the Olympics and the race will just be his third 10,000m race on a track.

On his part, Fisher has great experience racing on the global stage and after finishing fifth at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he will be out to improve on that.

Gudaf Tsegay, Lamecha Girma head Ethiopia's 43-athlete squad to battle Kenya in Paris Olympics

In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Kenya bested Ethiopia as the top African nation, finishing 19th overall with 10 athletics medals.

World record-holders Gudaf Tsegay and Lamecha Girma are set to lead a formidable Ethiopian squad of 43 athletes at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

The robust team comprising top-tier talent across various track and field events promises to offer fierce competition to their long-time rivals Kenya in the race for Olympic medals.

Tsegay will be competing in the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, and 1,500 meters events.

The 27-year-old athlete's standout performance at the Prefontaine Classic, where she shattered the world record in the 5,000 meters with an astounding time of 14:00.21, means she will be challenging rival Kenya's Faith Kipyegon who will chase two gold medals after winning the 1500m and 5000m.

The women's team also boasts an impressive lineup in the 800 meters, featuring Tsige Duguma, Habitam Alemu, and Werknesh Mesele, with Nigist Getachew as the reserve.

In the 1,500 meters, Tsegay will be joined by Birke Haylom and Diribe Wolteji, with Hirut Meshesha on standby. Medina Eisa and Ejgayehu Taye will support Tsegay in the 5,000 meters, with Freweyni Hailu as reserve, while Fotyen Tesfay, Tsigie Gebreselama, and Aynadis Mebratu will compete in the 10,000 meters.

The 3,000 meters steeplechase will see Sembo Almayew and Lomi Muleta in action, and the marathon team includes Tigst Assefa, Amane Beriso, and Megertu Alemu, with Gotytom Gebreslase as reserve.

On the men's side, the team is equally impressive as Abdisa Fayisa, Samuel Tefera, and Ermias Girma will compete in the 1,500 meters.

The 5,000 meters team includes Hagos Gebrhiwet, Yomif Kejelcha, and Addisu Yihune, with Selemon Barega as reserve.

Kejelcha will also contest the 10,000 meters alongside Berihu Aregawi and Biniam Mehari, with Barega again as a reserve.

Lamecha Girma, alongside Samuel Firewu and Getnet Wale, will vie for victory in the men's 3,000 meters steeplechase, with Abrham Sime as reserve.

Ethiopia team to Paris

Women

800 meters: Tsige Duguma, Habitam Alemu, Werknesh Mesele, Nigist Getachew (Reserve)

1500 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Birke Haylom, Diribe Wolteji, Hirut Meshesha (Reserve)

5000 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Medina Eisa, Ejgayehu Taye, Freweyni Hailu (Reserve)

10,000 meters: Gudaf Tsegay, Fotyen Tesfay, Tsigie Gebreselama, Aynadis Mebratu (Reserve)

3000 meters Steeplechase: Sembo Almayew, Lomi Muleta

Marathon:Tigst Assefa, Amane Beriso, Megertu Alemu, Gotytom Gebreslase (Reserve)

Men

1500 meters: Abdisa Fayisa, Samuel Tefera, Ermias Girma, Teddese Lemi (Reserve)

5000 meters: Hagos Gebrhiwet, Yomif Kejelcha, Addisu Yihune, Selemon Barega (Reserve)

10,000 meters: Yomif Kejelcha, Berihu Aregawi, Selemon Barega, Biniam Mehari (Reserve)

Men's 3000 meters steeplechase: Lamecha Girma, Samuel Firewu, Getnet Wale, Abrham Sime (Reserve)

Marathon: Sisay Lemma, Deresa Geleta, Kenenisa Bekele, Tamirat Tola (Reserve)

20 km Race walk: Misgana Wakuma

An amazing fast 5k in Oslo

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters of all time in winning at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Thursday.

Gebrhiwet ran a final lap of 54.99 to finish in 12 minutes, 36.73 seconds — 1.37 seconds off the world record set by Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei.

 Gebrhiwet's time is not only the second fastest time ever it was also a new national record for Ethiopia. New personal bests for the top eight finishers and new National records for Guatemala, Switzerland, Sweden, France and South Africa!

Also at the Bislett Games, home favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen dived for the line to win the men's 1,500 just ahead of Timothy Cheruiyot in a world-leading 3 minutes, 29.74 seconds.

More details: Hagos Gebrhiwet produced the standout performance of the Bislett Games – and one of the biggest surprises of the year so far – when winning the men’s 5000m in 12:36.73 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Thursday (30).

It was one of three meeting records and five world leads set on an enthralling night of athletics action in the Norwegian capital, just two months away from the Paris Olympic Games.

Going into the men’s 5000m, many eyes were on world record-holder and Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei, two-time world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo and last year’s Bislett Games winner Yomif Kejelcha. But Gebrhiwet – who produced the first sub-13-minute run of his career on this track as a teenager back in 2012 – ensured his name won’t be forgotten in the lead-up to the Olympics.

The early pace was strong but not spectacular as the field was paced through the first 1000m in 2:33.13 and 2000m in 5:07.05. Addisu Yihune maintained that tempo through 3000m, reached in 7:41.05, with all the big contenders still in contention.

Kejelcha took control soon after and started to wind up the pace. Gebrhiwet stayed close to his fellow Ethiopian with Ugandan duo Kiplimo and Cheptegei close behind as 4000m was reached in 10:11.86, the previous kilometre being covered in 2:30.

Cheptegei was unable to hold on for much longer and started to drift back. Kejelcha continued to drive the pace but the challenge from Gebrhiwet and Kiplimo wasn’t fading, despite the increase in pace. Gebrhiwet struck as the bell sounded and moved into the lead, kicking past his compatriot and pulling away with each stride.

With a final lap of 54.99, Gebrhiwet charged through the line in 12:36.73 to win by more than two seconds from Kejelcha (12.38.95) – the first time in history that two men have broken 12:40 in the same race.

Gebrhiwet’s winning time is just 1.37 seconds shy of the world record Cheptegei set in 2020 and moves him to second on the world all-time list, one place ahead of Kenenisa Bekele, whose Ethiopian record Gebrhiwet broke.

Kiplimo held on for third, setting a PB of 12:40.96, while Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo (12:48.10) and Yihune (12:49.65) also finished inside 12:50.

It was just the second time in history that 13 men have broken 13 minutes. Along with Gebrhiwet, there were national records for Guatemala’s Luis Grijalva (12:50.58), Switzerland’s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu (12:50.90), Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (12:50.94), France’s Jimmy Gressier (12:54.97) and South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt (12:56.67).

“I’m really happy with my time,” said Gebrhiwet, the world road 5km champion. “I set a PB when I first ran in Oslo, and now it’s even better. The conditions and the crowd were great. It was a very fast race and it wasn’t easy for me, but it went very well. I’ll now try to qualify for the Olympics in the 10,000m too.”

There were notable performances in two other endurance events in Oslo.

Australia’s Georgia Griffith continued her breakthrough to win the 3000m in an Oceanian record of 8:24.20. The field had been paced through 1000m in 2:50.34, then that pace was maintained through 2000m in 5:40.73.

The field became more strung out over the final kilometre as the pace increased. Griffith made a break in the closing stages and Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw tried to come back, but her challenge was in vain as the Australian won in a meeting record of 8:24.20, 0.09 ahead of Amebaw in a race where the top six women finished inside 8:30.

In the closing event of the night, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen was made to dive for the line to ensure a home victory for the Norwegian fans.

He controlled the pace in the second half, but still had 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot for company on the final lap. The Kenyan challenged the Norwegian down the home straight and appeared to have timed his kick to perfection, but Ingebrigtsen collapsed over the line to get the verdict in a world-leading 3:29.74, 0.03 ahead of Cheruiyot. The first 11 finishers all set either season’s or personal bests.

Kejelcha goes No.3 all time with 26:37 10km in Laredo

World indoor mile record-holder Yomif Kejelcha stormed to a 26:37 10km win in the northern Spanish town of Laredo on Saturday (16). 

With that performance at the World Athletics Label event, the Ethiopian 26-year-old achieved the third-fastest men's 10km of all time. Only Rhonex Kipruto with his world record of 26:24 set in Valencia four years ago and Berihu Aregawi with his 26:33 run in Laredo last year have gone faster.

Racing under ideal weather conditions on a 15ºC windless afternoon, Kejelcha was perfectly paced by his fellow Ethiopian Addisu Yihune, himself the reigning world U20 5000m champion. They went through the opening kilometres at a steady 2:38 pace, the tempo needed to attack the world best.

Meanwhile, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei travelled a few metres behind in the company of his own pacemaker, his compatriot Naman Kipyeko, but the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder began to lose ground some six minutes into the race. By the third kilometre, Kejelcha became a virtual victor as he had built a seven-second gap on the Ugandan, with 7:54 and 8:01 their respective times at that point.

Despite being well on schedule to challenge the world record, Kejelcha overtook Yihune before reaching the fourth kilometre and from then on it was a solo run by the two-time world indoor 3000m champion, who went through halfway in a promising 13:10. Cheptegei ran nine seconds in arrears in the company of Yihune. 

Over the second half, Kejelcha maintained a frantic rhythm in the 2:38/2:40 per kilometre range to increase his advantage on Cheptegei.

Over the closing two kilometres, Kejelcha could not maintain the pace on his own and despite his huge effort he romped home 13 seconds shy of the coveted mark and four seconds off the Ethiopian record. As for Cheptegei, the 27-year-old finished in 26:53, his third-quickest time and 15 seconds slower than the then world record of 26:38 he set in Valencia in December 2019. 

Surprisingly, the 20-year-old pacemaker Yihune completed the race in a massive lifetime best of 27:28.

“I came to Laredo to break the world record but it was not possible,” said Kejelcha. “I felt some discomfort in my hip around the eighth kilometre and could not maintain my speed.”

As for Cheptegei, the Olympic 5000m champion confirmed his main goal was to get the Olympic 10,000m standard of 27:00 and he expressed his happiness at having reached that target two weeks before he competes at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade.

Klosterhalfen prevails 

Held alongside the men’s race, the women’s event featured Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen as the favourite. The European 5000m champion dropped out during her last race, the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, three weeks ago and was trying to bounce back in Laredo with the main target of getting the qualifying time for the 10,000m at the Paris Olympics (30:40). 

Running in a group alongside male athletes, the 27-year-old started at a brisk pace and covered the opening kilometres at a tempo of around 3:00 per kilometre to go through halfway in 15:07, well on schedule for her target. Kenya’s Purity Gitonga travelled in second, five seconds back, and Spanish 3000m steeplechase record-holder Irene Sanchez-Escribano was third in 15:32.

Over the second half of the race all the main contenders slowed down their speed as Klosterhalfen began to falter dramatically inside the closing kilometre. That saw her lose any chance of achieving the entry standard for Paris but she still achieved a PB of 31:07.

Gitonga finished runner-up in 31:24 and Sanchez-Escribano ran a massive lifetime best of 31:35 for third.

Cheptegei and Kejelcha will seek the 10k World Record in Laredo

One more year, the Laredo 10k will once again bring together some of the fastest distance runners in the world looking to continue flying. The circuit of this Cantabrian town is among the flattest on the planet, a true 'oasis' for participating athletes to seek to beat their records.

In this 2024 edition, which will be held on March 16, the holder of the World Record of 5,000 and 10,000 meters will participate, it will be the main attraction for the race that will be held this coming Saturday.

The town usually goes all out with the race and creates a spectacular atmosphere to carry the runners along. Joshua Cheptegei, who has a personal best of 26:38 (Ugandan National Record), will have to deal with another 'beast' of the track and asphalt like Yomif Kejelcha, with a mark of 12.41 in 5,000 and 26.49 in 10,000. The Ethiopian has a very good time to beat his 10k PB, which is from 2013 (28:13). But he will not be satisfied with that alone and will try to battle Joshua for victory.

Klosterhalfen, in females

Former athlete Juan Carlos Higuero has reported that in the women's race there will be another reference from the world background such as the German Konstance Klosterhalfen. She has 31:01 in the 10,000 (German National Record) and 32:24 in the 10k. She also has a National Record in the 5,000.

Kerr delights Glasgow crowd with world indoor 3000m win

Just before the bell sounded in the men’s 3000m final, Josh Kerr made his move, sweeping through to join Selemon Barega at the front of the field with one lap of the track remaining.

Could the Scot who brought down Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian prince of the middle distances, in the last 200m of the stunning men’s 1500m final at the outdoor World Championships in Budapest last August do the same to the defending 3000m champion back on home ground at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24?

Indeed, he could. And then some.

The noise threatened to raise the roof in the Glasgow Arena as the pride of Glasgow kicked again halfway down the back straight. Barega, the Olympic champion at 10,000m, was unable to respond.

As Kerr rounded into the home straight, the gold medal was in the bag. He still dipped for the line but with 0.61 to spare.

The time, 7:42.98, was a statistical irrelevance as the double world champion savoured his victory ahead of his US rival Yared Nuguse, who came through to snatch silver in 7:43.59, Barega fading to third in 7:43.64.

Kerr had become the first British man to win the world indoor 3000m title and only the third Scottish athlete to strike world indoor gold in any event.

He wasn’t even born when the Bellshill Bullet Tom McKean hit the bullseye in the men’s 800m and his training partner Yvonne Murray did likewise in the women’s 3000m in Toronto back in the mists of 1993.

Fittingly, McKean and Murray were both in the house to join in the celebrations as Kerr soaked up the applause wrapped in a Scottish Saltire flag.

“For Scotland and for the UK, this is a huge championships,” said the Tokyo Olympic 1500m bronze medallist, who has been based in the United States in Albuquerque since the age of 17.

“I needed to be at my best. It was a hard-fought race.”

It was indeed and Kerr fought the smartest, judging his effort to absolute perfection, as he had in that wonderful world outdoor 1500m final seven months ago.

He was happy to sit back in the pack as Barega and his Ethiopian teammate Getnet Wale toyed with the pace at the front, injecting fleeting surges.

The field remained bunched with 800m remaining, at which point Kerr coolly drifted up into second, behind Wale. It was the perfect position to react to any major move.

That came with 500m remaining, Barega making his way past into the lead. Nuguse’s US teammate Olin Hocker entered the equation too before Kerr closed down Barega at the bell – and proceeded to break not just the Ethiopian runner but the Ethiopian stranglehold on the event.

After wins by Yomif Kejelcha in Portland in 2016 and in Birmingham in 2018, and Barega’s success in Belgrade two years ago, Kerr became the first European winner since Italy’s Gennaro Di Napoli retained the title in Toronto in 1993.

“I just didn't want to short change anyone because I knew I had the support of all Scotland and the UK tonight,” added Kerr, who has raced sparingly on the boards but set a brilliant world indoor two mile best of 8:00.67 in New York on 6 February.

Behind the three medal winners, Wale finished fourth in 7:44.77 and Hacker fifth in 7:45.40.

Kandie is ready to fight off competition to make Kenya's team to Paris

With the Valencia Half Marathon title safely tucked away in the bag, Kenyan course sensation Kibiwott Kandie now has his sights firmly trained on the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In an interview on Wednesday, Kandie vowed to burn the midnight oil until he cracks a spot on the Kenyan marathon team for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Although his last race at the Valencia Marathon on December 4 saw him fizzle out to a disappointing sixth after clocking 2:04:48, Kandie said he is ready to rise from the ashes of the heart-wrenching debacle to curve a niche for himself in the Olympic Hall of Fame.

“All my focus is on the Paris Olympic Games and I’m ready to give my best shot in marathon. The marathon has never been my specialty but I believe I have gathered adequate experience from the half marathon that will help me navigate the new waters effectively,” Kandie remarked.

“I have now decided to graduate to the marathon and I hope to seal a slot in the Kenyan team that will be participating in next year’s Olympics in Paris. I will be aiming for a podium finish with clinching the gold medal as my main goal,” he added.

Indeed, Kandie is likely to face formidable competition in the race for a Kenyan ticket, including multiple Berlin Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge.

“I’m aware securing a place on the Kenyan team to Paris won’t be a walk in the park. We have some great Kenyan marathoners who are also eyeing the ticket. It’s all about competition and I’m ready to put my best foot forward,” Kandie stated.

If he manages to punch a ticket on the plane to the French capital, Kandie hopes to replicate his performance at the Valencia Half Marathon on October 22, where he obliterated a rich field of competitors to defend his title.

The 2023 Valencia Half Marathon feat was the third major decoration in his glittering career, having previously sauntered to victory in 2020 and 2022.

The Valencia race recorded the fastest half marathon of 2023, with three runners locked in a photo finish.

Kandie breezed to triumph in an impressive 57:40, ahead of Yomif Kejelcha who wrapped up second in a time of 57:41, followed closely by Hagost Gebrhiwet, also at 57:41.

Kandie’s time not only made it the fastest of 2023 but also ranked as the fourth-fastest in the history of the event.

Nevertheless, his performance, albeit sterling, was nowhere near the master class act he exhibited at the 2020 Elite Edition of the Valencia Half Marathon, where he set a new world record time of 57:32. In 2021, he set a course record at the Istanbul Half Marathon and won The Giants Geneva 10k.

Yared Nuguse will run 2024 Millrose Games and says mile World Record is a very real possibility

U.S. outdoor mile record holder Yared Nuguse will return to the Armory Track and Field Center in New York City for the 116th Millrose Games as he looks to defend his men’s Wanamaker Mile title.

Here’s what you need to know:

– The Wanamaker Mile has been contested at the Millrose Games since 1926.

– Last year, Nuguse made his Millrose Games debut and won and set a U.S. indoor mile record of 3:47.38. He barely missed the world record of 3:47.01 set by Yomif Kejelcha in 2019.

– Nuguse put together a career year in 2023 with: a 7:28.23 for 3000m indoors (American record); a personal best of 3:29.02 for 1500m (the fastest performance by an American-born runner); 3:43.97 outdoor mile (an American record and the fourth-fastest performance in history; a victory at the London Diamond League 1500m and a fifth place finish in the 1500m final at the World Championships. Most recently, he ran 3:56.58 at the Merrie Mile in Honolulu to come just .45 seconds shy of breaking the road mile world record.

– Nuguse was the first American to win since Eric Jenkins’ 2017 victory. Nuguse will look to become the first man to win back-to-back Wanamaker Mile titles since Matthew Centrowitz’s 2016 and 2015 victories.

The Millrose Games is the sixth stop on the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold calendar.

Livestream and television broadcast details will be announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more Millrose Games athlete announcements as the pro fields come together.

Tickets to the 116th Millrose Games can be purchased online at millrosegames.org. For more information on all Armory Track events, visit armorytrack.com.

Kandie now eyes a slot in Team Kenya for the Paris Olympic Games

Newly crowned Valencia Half Marathon champion  Kibiwott Kandie has said he intends to vie for a spot on the Kenyan marathon team for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Kandie made the remarks after obliterating a rich field of competitors on his way to a successful title defence on Sunday.

The seasoned course sensation revealed plans to gauge his potential for a new challenge at the Olympics in the upcoming Valencia Marathon later in the year.

"I have now decided to graduate to the marathon and I hope to seal a slot in the Kenyan team that will be participating in next year's Olympics in Paris," Kandie said.

"I intend to run one more race this year at the Valencia Marathon where I will be aiming to post a good time that might assure me a slot in the Kenyan marathon team," he added.

Kandie said he felt thrilled after storming a back-to-back title on Sunday. This was his third title, having previously blazed to victory in 2020 and 2022.

"My pre-race target was to run a 57 and I'm glad I managed a 57:40 which was close to the mark," Kandie said.

He dismissed being under the pump despite the rich field of competitors who dared him to a thrilling duel.

"I didn't feel any sort of pressure because I wasn't competing with anyone in mind. I just decided to run my race," Kandie said.

Kandie said he would take adequate time away from training to recover before embarking on fresh preparations.

"I'll be returning home on Tuesday, take a few days to recover before I resume training," Kandie remarked.

Sunday's race recorded the fastest half marathon of 2023, with three runners locked in a photo finish.

Kandie breezed to triumph in an impressive 57:40, ahead of Yomif Kejelcha who wrapped up second in a time of 57:41, followed closely by Hagost Gebrhiwet, also at 57:41.

Kandie's time not only made it the fastest of 2023 but also ranked as the fourth-fastest in the history of the event.

Nevertheless, Kandie's performance was nowhere near the masterclass act he exhibited at the 2020 Elite Edition of the Valencia Half Marathon where he set a new world record time of 57:32.

In 2021, he set a course record at the Istanbul Half Marathon and won The Giants Geneva 10k.In the women's race, Margaret Chelimo led a Kenyan podium sweep on her way to glory.

Chelimo breasted the tape in an impressive time of 1:04:46 to tuck away the top spot.  Compatriot Cheptai Irine emerged second in 1:04:53, ahead of another Kenyan Chepng'etich Janet who wrapped up the top three in  1:05:15.    

Kandie and Chelimo victorious in Valencia

Kibiwott Kandie ran the fourth-fastest time in history to win a close men’s race while Margaret Chelimo moved into the all-time top 10 to claim the women’s title and secure a Kenyan double at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (22).

Held under ideal weather conditions with a temperature of 15°C at the start and no wind, the men's event saw four athletes break 58 minutes, led by Kandie's 57:40. Making his first appearance over the distance this year, the former world record-holder achieved his third win in Valencia to deny some top-class competition. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha was second in a national record of 57:41 and he was followed over the finish line by his compatriots Hagos Gebrhiwet, who matched Kejelcha’s time, and Selemon Barega, who ran 57:50 in the second half marathon of his career.

In the women's race, Chelimo dipped under 1:05 for the first time to win in a PB of 1:04:46 ahead of her compatriots Irine Cheptai, who clocked 1:04:53, and Janet Chepngetich, who ran 1:05:15.

Hat-trick for Kandie

The pacemakers went out at a steady 2:45/km pace to target a finish time of around 58 minutes as agreed at the pre-race technical meeting. But Kandie clearly had other ideas and just before the 5km checkpoint the defending champion overtook the pacemakers after unleashing a devastating change of speed which saw him cover that kilometre in a frantic 2:39 to reach 5km in 13:43.

Only two athletes could live with that pace: the gold and silver 5km medallists at the recent World Road Running Championships in Riga, Gebrhiwet and Kejelcha. Surprisingly, world half marathon champion Sebastian Sawe remained in the chasing group, while Olympic 10,000m champion Barega managed to rejoin the leading group one kilometre later.

Kandie pushed hard to cover the next 3km split in a blistering 8:08, always with the threatening Ethiopian trio on his shoulder. They went through the 10km mark in 27:15, a time that predicted a 57:29 finish to indicate that the world record of 57:31 set by Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in 2021 was feasible. Kandie was just one second slower than Kiplimo’s mark when he broke the world record to win in Valencia in 2020.

Some 31 minutes into the race, Barega moved to the front for the first time. The fast pace maintained, with several kilometre splits of 2:42, but after a 13th kilometre covered in 2:50, Kandie regained the lead as he tried to leave his rivals behind before the closing stages.

The lead quartet cruised through the 15km point in 41:01 following a slower three kilometre split of 8:24 to forecast a 57:39 final time, but the possibility of a world record and a thrilling finish was still there as four top athletes remained in contention.Barega was the first to drop as he began to lose ground just before the 19th kilometre and shortly afterwards Kejelcha – the world indoor record-holder for the mile – took the lead to go through that 19th kilometre in 51:52, just three seconds outside of the required world record pace. From there, the race turned into a tactical affair as victory became the priority of the leading trio.

At that point, the race looked like it might be between Kejelcha and Gebrhiwet, given their track credentials, but it was Kandie who found another gear with some 380m left to run and his Ethiopian opponents could not replicate his sudden burst of speed.

Kandie crossed the finish line in 57:40, the second-fastest time of his career behind his former world record of 57:32. He now has two of the four fastest half marathon times in history and the performance is a world lead of almost one minute.

Kejelcha kept Gebrhiwet at bay to get some revenge following his defeat in Riga as he shattered his own Ethiopian record by 51 seconds. Gebrhiwet and Barega completed a classy top four, while the world champion Sawe was never a threat and finished fifth in 58:29.

“Honestly, I was not aiming for the world record today but I felt strong throughout and pushed hard for most of the race,” said Kandie. “I promise to return to Valencia and regain the world record anyway. I'll next focus on my build-up for the Valencia Marathon on 3 December.”

Spain's Carlos Mayo erased Fabian Roncero's 22-year-old national record thanks to a 59:39 time that placed him 13th, while Portugal's Samuel Barata smashed the 26-year-old Portuguese record with 59:40 in 14th. Italy's Pietro Riva also dipped under the one hour barrier for the first time with 59:41.

Chelimo proves strongest

The women's contest kicked off at an even 3:06/km pace with six athletes at the helm: Kenya's Chelimo, Cheptai and Chepngetich, plus Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase and Tigist Gezahagn, and Germany's Melat Kejeta.

The world's fastest half marathon will once again feature big international names such as Kandie, Kejelcha and Kejeta in the hunt for big records

The Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich, organized by SD Correcaminos, is still the world’s fastest race over this distance thanks to Letesenbet Gidey’s world record (1:02:52, 2021) and it is the second fastest for men, with a time set by Kibiwott Kandie (57:32, 2020).

With this high-quality list, the Valencia Half Marathon will count this year with major international elite names who will travel to the city of running on October 22, to fly through its streets.

With the aim of getting as close as possible to the world record achieved in 2021 and to be the world’s best in 2023, the women’s elite will be led by four athletes with sub 1h06 times, among them Melat Kejeta (GER, 1:05:18), current European record holder over the distance, together with Margaret Chelimo (KEN, 1:05:26), Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH, 1:05:36) and Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH, 1:05:46). In addition, ten other runners with 21.0795-kilometer times under 1h10 complete the initial list of names confirmed to run on October 22.

In the men’s race, familiar faces to the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich such as former winners Kibiwott Kandie (KEN, 57:32) and Yomif Kejelcha (ETH, 58:32) are among the favorites, together with other runners with times under 59 minutes including Matthew Kimeli (KEN, 58:43), Tadese Worku (ETH, 58:47), Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH, 58:55) and Sebastian Sawe (KEN, 58:58).

“Valencia proves that it is, once again, the race chosen by the world elite to beat their records”, says Marc Roig, coach of the international elite for the Valencia Half Marathon, who adds that “the return of last year’s winners in the men’s category is a sign that this race is well liked. We expect some great records, as well as national records and to finish the year with the fastest world record of the year for both men and women”.

The revamped route of the Valencian course will continue to offer the opportunity for outstanding performances in a race long established at the top level worldwide, and that continues to be committed to experienced athletes, as well as to young hopefuls and debutants at the distance to maintain the sporting successes, both of international elite and leading national runners, who will be announced in the next few days.

Kandie faces stiff opposition as he seeks to defend Valencia title

Former Valencia Half Marathon winner Kibiwott Kandie is among 14 Kenyans set to battle it out at the Valencia Half Marathon on October 22 in Spain.

Kandie, who holds the half marathon's best time of 57:32, will face tough competition from Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha who holds a time of 58:32 (second best time in the marathon).

Kandie, the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon silver medalist, will be hoping to cement his name in Valencia and replicate his amazing performance back in 2020 when he set the record time in the race. 

The two will be joined by runners, who have clocked under 59 minutes in the race,  including Matthew Kimeli, winner of the 15th annual UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in 2019 in Central Park, New York, who holds a time of 58:43. 

Sebastian Sawe, who holds a half marathon best of 58:58 from his win at the 2022 Bahrain Royal Night Half Marathon,  will be gunning to take the title from Kandie.

The 2022 Standard Chartered Marathon 10km bronze medalist, Bravin Kiprop, who has a time of 59:22 in the half marathon, will also be among the challengers alongside Josephat Kiprotich who won the 38th edition of the Maratona da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June.

Other Kenyan athletes in the race include Brian Kwemoi (59:37), Hillary Kipkoech (59:41), Erick Sang (59:50), Weldon Langat (59:55), Laban Kiplimo (1:00.13) and Kelvin Kibiwott (1:00.14).

Ethiopian’s Tadese Worku, 3,000m medalist at the 2021 World Athletics U20, and 5,000m world 3,000m junior record holder,  Hagos Gebrhiwet will give the Kenyans a competitive race.

Great Britain's all-time number three, Callum Robert Hawkins (1:00:00), will be looking to pull an upset for the group.

The women's challenge will be led by the 2019 world 5,000m silver medallist, Margaret Chelimo who holds a time of 1:05:26 in the marathon and she will be joined by Janet Chepngetich.

The 2020 World Half Marathon silver medalist and current European record holder over the distance, Melat Kejeta from Germany together with Ethiopia’s  2023 world cross country silver medalist, Tsigie Gebreselama will give the Kenyan ladies a tough race.

10 Reasons to Start Following Track and Field This Year

The 2023 season should be full of record-breaking performances from the sport’s biggest stars. Here are the most important things to know. 

Track is back, and if the results from the indoor season and early outdoor meets are any indication, it should be another year of eye-popping results around 400-meter ovals this summer.

Why is track and field relevant to the average recreational runner?

Perhaps you’re running some of the same distances in your training and racing. Or maybe you have a connection to some of the events from your youth, days in gym class or on the playground. From a human performance perspective, no sport showcases the all-out speed, red-line endurance, max power, dynamic agility, and meticulous bodily control as track and field does.

Here’s a primer on the most awe-inspiring athletes and events of this summer’s track season. Because, come on: with a sport that includes events as multifaceted as the pole vault, as primal as the shot put, and as wild as the 3,000-meter steeplechase—a 1.8-mile race with 28 fixed barriers to hurdle and seven water pits to jump—what’s not to like?

One of the many things that makes track and field so special is that it’s one of the most diverse sports on the planet, both culturally and athletically.

Last summer, athletes from a record 29 different countries earned medals in the 25 different running, jumping, and throwing events at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

At the highest level, there are athletes of all shapes and sizes from every culture and socioeconomic background. While there certainly are racial and cultural stereotypes that need dissolving and vast inequality among competing countries, from a performance point of view the sport is largely meritocratic, based on the time or distance achieved in a given competition.

Watching American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone masterfully win the 400-meter hurdles in a world-record time last summer in front of a deafening crowd at Hayward Field in Eugene was a riveting experience. It was vastly different than watching Grenada’s Anderson Peters win the javelin world title with a career-best throw of 90.54 meters on his final attempt to beat India’s Neeraj Chopra, but both had edge-of-your-seat excitement, athletic excellence, and cultural significance.

One of the knocks against track and field in recent years is that it hasn’t done enough to attract casual fans the way professional football, basketball, hockey, and soccer have. Following the On Track Fest, the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 26-27 in Los Angeles is trying to up the ante by combining a mix of elite-level competition, an interactive fan festival, and top-tier musical performances.

Billed as the one of the deepest track meets ever held on U.S. soil, it will feature a star-studded 400-meter face-off featuring Americans Michael Norman, the reigning world champion, and Kirani James, a three-time Olympic medalist from Grenada, and a women’s 100-meter hurdles clash with world champion Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, Olympic silver medalist Keni Harrison of the U.S., and Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.

Saturday’s action will be broadcast live on NBC Sports from 4:30 P.M. to 6 P.M. ET and be followed by a concert event called the Legends Jam, which will include appearances from some legendary athletes and be headlined by Grammy-winning singer Judith Hill.

American sprint sensation Sha’Carri Richardson will be racing the 100-meter dash at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix. You probably remember her for her perceived failures more than the astounding times she’s actually achieved on the track.

Two years ago, the sprinter from Dallas blew away the field in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a 10.86 effort, but then she was famously suspended after testing positive for cannabis (which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances) and missed the Tokyo Olympics as a result. (She admitted using the drug to cope with the pressure of qualifying for the Olympics while also mourning the recent death of her biological mother.)

Then last year, despite strong early season performances, Richardson failed to make the finals of the 100-meter or 200-meter at the U.S. championships, so she missed out on running in the first world championships held on American soil.

This year, the 23-year-old sprinter appears to be locked in and better than ever, posting a world-leading 10.76 100-meter time on May 5 in Doha (she also ran an eye-popping 10.57 with an over-the-limit tailwind on April 9 in Florida) and posted the second-fastest time in the 200-meter (22.07) on May 13 at a meet in Kenya.

If she keeps it all together, expect Richardson to finally contend with elite Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100 and 4×100-meter relay in August at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

A few years ago, American sprinter Fred Kerley was on his way to becoming one of the world’s best 400-meter runners. But he wanted more than that. What he really had his heart set on was becoming the world’s fastest man, a moniker that goes with the most dominant sprinter in the 100-meter dash.

Ignoring doubters, Kerley retooled his training and earned the silver medal in the 100-meter at the Tokyo Olympics (.04 seconds behind Italy’s Marcell Jacobs) and then continued his ascent last year by winning the U.S. championships (in 9.76, the sixth-fastest time in history) and world championships (9.86).

The 28-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, also became one of just two other runners (along with American Michael Norman and South African Wayde van Niekerk) to ever run sub-10 seconds in the 100-meter, sub-20 seconds in the 200-meter, and sub-44 seconds in the 400-meter. So far this year, Kerley has two of the four fastest 100-meter times of the season, including a speedy 9.88 on May 21 in Japan.

After trading barbs on social media this spring, Kerley and Jacobs are expected to face off in an epic 100-meter showdown on May 28 at a Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco, marking the first time the Olympic gold medalist and the world champion in the men’s 100m face off since the 2012 Olympic final, when Jamaican Usain Bolt beat countryman Yohan Blake. American Trayvon Bromell, the silver medalist at last year’s world championships, is also in the field, so it should be an extraordinary tilt.

If you’re a gambler, bet on Kerley to win that one and eventually get close to Bolt’s 9.58 world record. (To do so, he’ll be running faster than 26 miles per hour!) But don’t count out Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, the early world leader (9.84), or fellow American sub-9.9 guys Bromell, Norman, Christian Coleman, and Noah Lyles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships on August 20, in Budapest. Depending on which three Americans join Kerley (who has an automatic qualifier) at the world championships, it’s actually quite likely the U.S. could sweep the top four spots in the 100 in Budapest.

If you’ve ever wanted to see the world’s top track and field stars competing live in the U.S., this is the year to do it. The May 26-27 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix meet and June 3-4 Portland Track Festival are part of what might be the mosst compelling outdoor track season ever held on U.S. soil.

If you’re looking for an athlete to marvel at, start with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics in 2021 and World Athletics Championships last summer. She’s been one of the sport’s rising stars since she was a teenager and yet she’s only 23. Her trajectory is still rising—especially since she moved to Los Angeles to train under coach Bob Kersee. Driven by her strong faith, McLaughlin-Levrone is the personification of hard work, grace and competitiveness.

This year she’ll temporarily step away from her primary event to show off her pure sprinting prowess when she opens her season in a “flat” 400-meter race at the Diamond League meet in Paris on June 9. Her personal best in the 400-meter is 50.07 seconds, set when she was a freshman at the University of Kentucky, but she clocked a speedy 50.68 while running over hurdles, en route to a world-record setting win at last summer’s world championships.

Her best 400-meter split as part of a 4×400-meter relay is 47.91, so it’s within reason to think she could be one of several runners to challenge the long-standing world record of 47.60 set in 1985 by East German Marita Koch. Because McLaughlin-Levrone has an automatic qualifier to the world championships in the 400-meter hurdles, she will likely run the open 400-meter at the U.S. championships and decide after the meet which one she’ll focus on.

American 800-meter ace Athing Mu has looked unbeatable for the past several years as she won Olympic gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s world championships. In fact, she has been unbeatable, having won 13 straight races since she dropped out of a mile race at the Millrose Games in January 2022. Going back to 2020 (when she was a senior in high school) and 2021 (during her one season at Texas A&M), she’s finished first in 51 of her past 53 races (relays included), with her only loss being a narrow runner-up finish to Kaelin Roberts in the 400-meter at the 2021 NCAA indoor championships.

Mu, who is also coached by Kersee and trains with McLaughlin-Levrone, seems to be the most likely athlete to challenge the women’s 800-meter world record of 1:53.28, set in 1983 by the Czech Republic’s Jarmila Kratochvílová. It’s the longest standing record in track and field, and only two runners have come within a second of it in the past 15 years. Her personal best of 1:55.04 is an American record and the eighth-fastest time in history. She’s still only 20 years old, so she has many years to keep improving and other historic opportunities ahead of her.

Mu said earlier this year she’d like to try a 400-800-meter double at an Olympics or world championships if the schedule permits—it’s only been done once successfully by Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena at the 1976 Games—but her coach has said she might attempt a 800-1,500-meter double next year at the Paris Olympics.

This year, Mu will run the 1,500 meters at the USATF Championships in July, but will likely defend her 800-meter title at the world championships in Budapest, as well as potentially running on the U.S. women’s 4×400-meter relay and the mixed-gender 4×400-meter relay (with McLaughlin-Levrone) for an opportunity to win three gold medals in a single championships.

With apologies to quarterback extraordinaire Patrick Mahomes, gymnastics all-arounder Simone Biles, and skiing superstar Mikela Shiffrin, pole vaulter Armand Duplantis just might be the most dynamically talented athlete in the world. That’s because he’s the world’s most dominant athlete (and has set six world records) in arguably the most demanding discipline, not only in track and field but quite possibly in any sport. No sport discipline involves such a dynamic combination of speed, power, precision and agility, and Duplantis, who is only 23, is already the greatest of all-time.

Prove me wrong or watch him set his latest world record (6.22 meters or 20 feet, 5 inches) at an indoor meet on February 25 in Clermont-Ferrand, France. That’s the equivalent of vaulting onto the roof of a two-story building, and in his case, often with room to spare.

Duplantis, who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, to athletic parents with Swedish and Finnish heritage, represents Sweden in international competitions. He started pole vaulting at age three, set his first of 11 age-group world-best marks at age seven, and won an NCAA title in 2019 as a freshman competing for LSU before turning pro.

All indications are that North Carolina State junior Katelyn Tuohy could become the next American running star. All she has done since she was young is win races and break records.

After winning the NCAA outdoor 5,000-meter a year ago, she won the NCAA cross country title in November. During the indoor track season this past winter, she set a new collegiate mile record (4:24.26) and won both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter title at the NCAA indoor championships in March. On May 7, the 21-year-old from Thiells, New York, broke the NCAA outdoor 5,000-meter record by 17 seconds, clocking 15:03.12 at the Sound Running On Track Fest.

Tuohy will be running both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter at the NCAA East Regional May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Florida, with the hopes of eventually advancing to the finals of both events at the June 7-10 NCAA Division I championship meet in Austin, Texas.

University of Arkansas junior Britton Wilson is a top collegiate star who is ready for prime time at the pro level. She won the 400-meter in a world-leading and collegiate record time of 49.13 in mid-May at the SEC Championships, where she also won the 400-meter hurdles (53.23) in a world-leading time. The 22-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, was the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles at last year’s U.S. championships and fifth in the world championships, and could contend for a spot on Team USA in either event at the July 6-9 U.S. championships.

Kerley and Lyles are expected to square off in a 200-meter race at the USATF New York Grand Prix meet on June 24 at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York City. There are also two high-level Puma American Track League meets in Tennessee—the Music City Track Carnival June 2 in Nashville and the Ed Murphey Classic August 4-5 in Memphis—and two Under Armour Sunset Tour meets organized by Sound Running on July 22 in Los Angeles and July 29 in Baltimore.

The best U.S. meet of the year, though, will be the USATF Outdoor Championships held July 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon, where American athletes will be vying for top-three finishes to earn a chance to compete for Team USA at the 2023 World Athletics Championships August 19-27 in Budapest.

The U.S. season will culminate with the September 16-17 Pre Classic in Eugene, Oregon, a two two-day meet that will double as the finals of the international Diamond League circuit and should include many of the top athletes who will be representing their countries in next summer’s Paris Olympics. (And if you want to see the country’s top high school athletes run unfathomable times for teenagers, check out the Brooks PR Invitational on June 14 in Seattle, Washington.)

At the June 2 Diamond League meet in Rome, Italy, the men’s field in the 5,000-meter run will have what might be the fastest field ever assembled, with 13 runners who have personal best times of 12:59 or faster.

The field will be headlined by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who lowered the world record to 12:35.36 in Monaco three years ago. (That’s a pace of 4:03 per mile!). But it will also include Kenya’s Jacob Krop (12:45.71) and Nicholas Kipkorir (12:46.33), Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (12:46.79), American Grant Fisher (12:46.79), Canadian Mohammed Ahmed (12:47.20), and Guatemalan-American Luis Grijalva (13:02.94), among others. With a big prize purse at stake and pacesetters ramping up the speed from the start, it should be a race for the ages.

Rhonex Kipruto, 10K world record holder, suspended on doping allegations

On Wednesday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced the provisional suspension of 10K world record holder Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya. The 23-year-old was charged with the use of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method related to his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).

Kipruto is the fastest man in history over 10 kilometres, clocking an impressive 26:24 on the roads at the Valencia 10K in January 2020. He is also the third-fastest half marathoner in history with a personal best of 57:49. Kipruto won a global medal at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha in the 10,000m, finishing third behind Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha.

Kipruto has been informed by the AIU of alleged inconsistencies in his ABP blood values, dating back to 2018. The AIU has not directly accused him of using prohibited substances, but he is provisionally suspended and asked to provide an explanation.

What is an ABP suspension?

The purpose of an Athlete Biological Passport is to track their blood values over a long period to monitor for possible signs of doping, even if they never fail a drug test.

The AIU will analyze an athlete’s ABP data to monitor select biological parameters over time that may indirectly reveal the effects of doping. This approach allows the AIU to generate profiles for each athlete and to look for any fluctuations that may indicate that the athlete has been using performance-enhancing drugs.

The profile for each athlete is generated based on statistics that utilize data from previous (given) samples to predict the individual’s performance limits or range for future samples. According to the AIU, if any data from a test sample falls outside of the athlete’s range, it could be an indication of doping.

In Kipruto’s case, he has been sentenced to a provisional suspension while the AIU investigates further and schedules a hearing, meaning he is unable to compete or train with his training group until the case is closed. If Kipruto is found guilty at the hearing, he could face a four-year plus suspension. 

Kipruto denies the charges

Kipruto’s agency, Ikaika Sports, released a 4,000-word press release acknowledging the provisional suspension, denying the charges. “I don’t cheat or dope!” said Kipruto after the announcement. “The truth is on my side. This is all I can say.”

His agency included expert opinions suggesting that there may be other factors, such as training load, health status, hydration, travel, and alcohol consumption, that could explain Kipruto’s ABP values.

Kipruto is coached by the famous Irish athletics coach Colm O’Connell, who is nicknamed the “Godfather of  Kenyan running”. O’Connell has coached the likes of two-time Olympic 800m champion and world record holder David Rudisha and two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat. According to the press release, O’Connell has not had a single doping case in his 50-year coaching career.

His agency expresses concerns about the presumption of guilt and the lack of transparency in the ABP process, emphasizing Kipruto’s clean record, regular testing, and willingness to undergo further study to clear his name.

Yomif Kejelcha very close to the 5 km world record in Lille

The Ethiopian, world record holder for the Indoor Mile, won this Sunday on the 5 km road to Lille, failing to one second (12'50 '') of the world record for the specialty (12'49 '' ).

Jean-Pierre Watelle is a world record hunter. He made it a specialty at the Liévin meeting which he organizes with the Hauts-de-France Athletics League, and which has become the best on the planet indoors. He seeks to do the same on the road. This Sunday, it happened very close.

On the 5 km international of Lille, the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha came to fail at a second of the world record of the specialty (12'49'' by Berihu Aregawi) by completing his effort in 12'50'' (2nd world performance history) ahead of Kenyan Reynold Kipkorir (13'04'') and Ethiopian Telahun Bekele (13'07''). Already the world record holder for the Indoor Mile (3'47''01), the double world champion in the 3,000m indoors almost added a line to his list.

In the same race, French international Djilali Bedrani, second in the French Cross Court Championships last week, took 11th place in 13'42'' just ahead of his compatriot Valentin Gondouin (13'43'').

Very fast, the course also made it possible to run quickly on the half-marathon and the 10 km. Over the 21.1 km, the Kenyan Patrick Mosin won in 59'31'' ahead of his compatriots Alfred Chelal Barkach (59'32'') and Somomom Kipchogue (59'37), while the Frenchman Étienne Daguinos took 5th place in 1h1'39''.

Among the women, three-time French cross country champion Manon Trapp took third place in 1h11'26'', behind Kenyan Emily Chebet (1st in 1h07'52'') and Ethiopian Addisie Andualem (2nd in 1h07'). 59'').

Finally, in the 10 km, the Kenyan Dorcas Kimeli (30'48) won, as did the (Ethiopian Gemechu Dida for men (27'12'').

Nuguse breaks North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games

Yared Nuguse ran the second-fastest indoor mile in history as three national records fell or were equalled in a thrilling men’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. Alicia Monson also set an area record in the 3000m, while Abby Steiner claimed a US record in the 300m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Saturday (11).

In the infield, Ryan Crouser demonstrated his effective new shot put technique and Katie Moon returned to her winning ways in the pole vault before a roaring crowd that also cheered runners in competitions from U8 through high school and college.

As always, the men’s Wanamaker mile culminated the meeting, and Nuguse ran away with the race in a world-leading 3:47.38 to claim his second area record of the season to go along with the 3000m.

Pace setter Erik Sowinski brought the runners through half way in 1:52.99 – just as he had been asked – with Nuguse and training mates Mario Garcia Romo and Olli Hoare in the lead group. But Nuguse turned on the jets and covered the final quarter of the race in 54.23, breaking the meeting record, facility record, and crushing Bernard Lagat’s 15-year-old US indoor record of 3:49.98.

“Running that race the way we did,” Nuguse said, “all three of us right there up for the first half of the race, I felt good knowing I had my closest guys having my back. And then that last part was give it everything I had and I was able to close with something crazy and get it.”

Great Britain’s Neil Gourley ran a PB of 3:49.46 to move to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, and Hoare equalled the Oceanian record with 3:50.83. New Zealand’s Sam Tanner ran a PB of 3:51.70, while Romo’s 3:51.79 was a Spanish record.

Yuguse has now eclipsed Hicham El Guerrouj on the all-time list; only Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha has run faster, clocking 3:47.01 in 2019.

“I’m always excited to see what else I can do next,” Nuguse said. “There was definitely a nice confidence boost. After that 3000m (where he broke the US record), I was feeling pretty confident already, but to do this in the event that I love the most and the one that I feel like I’m going for at the world championships, that makes me feel even better.”

Laura Muir won the women’s Wanamaker Mile in 4:20.15, followed by Josette Andrews in 4.20.88. Muir, the Olympic silver medallist, led for most of the race, then Andrews hit the front with two laps to go. But the Briton kicked again on the final lap and went on to win comfortably.

Sprint sensations

World record-holder Christian Coleman took a bow after winning the men’s 60m in a season’s best of 6.47. “I feel like this is what I do best and I came to put on a show,” he said.

Noah Lyles was charged with a false start and ran the race under protest, clocking 6.53, although the time would not count. Lyles, the US record-holder in the 200m outdoors, admitted a little bit of movement, but said his feet never left the pad. “I got a time that I’m very happy to see,” Lyles said. “Everybody knows I’m just here to play around. I’m not a 60-metre runner, but if I can take some heads, I’m going to do it.”

Jamaica’s Travis Williams was awarded second place with a PB of 6.59, followed by Josephus Lyles, Noah’s younger brother, also with a PB of 6.59. Williams edged Lyles by .003.

Aleia Hobbs set an Armory record of 7.04 to win her fourth straight competition, having clocked a world-leading 6.98 at the end of January. Teenager Tamari Davis was second in a PB of 7.08, followed by Marybeth Sant-Price in 7.11, Mikiah Brisco at 7.13 and 17-year-old Shawnti Jackson in 7.16.

“I don’t think my start was as good as it’s been, but I was patient,” Hobbs said.

In only her second 300m, Steiner broke the US record, clocking 35.54 to easily go under Quanera Hayes’ time of 35.71 from 2017. Steiner held off a spirited challenge from Brittany Brown, who ran 36.13.

“It’s definitely one of those races I think you learn a little bit about every time you run it,” said Steiner, who set the collegiate record in her first race.

Although this 300m is her last of the season, she still wants the world record of 35.45, shared by Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Irina Privalova. “I clean up my start a little bit,” Steiner said, “and I think it’s there.”

World indoor champion Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago ran a season’s best of 45.84 to avenge the previous week’s loss to  Noah Williams, who clocked 46.20. In Boston, they were separated by only .004 as both ran 45.88.

Devynne Charlton won the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.91, while Tonea Marshall ran a season’s best of 7.94 and Sharika Nelvis clocked 7.96 to edge Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali in 7.97.

Ben Flanagan snags Canadian record at Valencia Half Marathon

Two Canadians ran to national records and personal bests at the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday morning. Ben Flanagan, 27, continued his winning ways on the roads, setting a new Canadian record in the half-marathon in 61 minutes flat. Fellow Canadian and national record holder in the marathon, Cam Levins, 33, finished right on Flanagan’s heels in a new personal best of 61:05.

Levins’s time was the second fastest in Canadian history, and the two athletes finished in 18th and 19th places, respectively. The previous Canadian half-marathon record of 61:08 was set by Rory Linkletter in January, besting a national record that had held for 22 years. Valencia’s record-breaking run was also a 38-second personal best for Flanagan, who became the 2022 Canadian 10K champion in May and 5K champion in September.

The Valencia Half Marathon is known for its fast course and deep elite fields, and heading into the race, speculation abounded about a possible new world record. The men’s race kicked off slightly slower than expected, with unseasonably high temperatures (17 C) and humidity.

Kenyan’s Kibiwott Kandie and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen captured the overall victories in the half-marathon. Kandie, who broke the world record here two years ago, broke away from the lead pack to finish in 58:10, followed by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in 58:32 and last year’s third-place finisher, Daniel Mateiko in 58:40.

Klosterhalfen finished with a kick in the last kilometer, winning her half-marathon debut in 65:41.The European champion and 2019 world bronze medalist over 5000m told World Athletics: “I chose Valencia because of the fast times set over the previous years and my decision proved to be right today.” She was followed by Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama in 65:45 and Hawi Feysa (also from Ethiopia) in 66:00.

Hot and humid slowed Kandie and Klosterhalfen in Valencia

Kenyan's world half marathon silver medallist Kibiwott Kandie and Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen captured the victories at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP – a World Athletics Elite Label road race – on Sunday (23).

Kandie, who broke the world record here two years ago, effectively ended the race in the 14th kilometre to finish like a train in 58:10, while half marathon debutante Klosterhalfen made her move in the last kilometre, winning in 1:05:41.

Likely due to the unseasonably high temperature (17C) and 75% humidity, the men’s race kicked off slower than expected. Led by pacemakers, the leading group went through the opening 5km in 13:56, right on schedule for a 58:40 finishing time with all the main favourites such as Kandie, Sabastian Sawe, last year's third-placed Daniel Mateiko, Rodgers Kwemoi, Ethiopia's two-time world indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha and his compatriot Tadese Worku, who was making his debut over the distance.

Ten men remained in the lead group by the 10km checkpoint, which was reached in 27:51 to virtually rule out a sub-58-minute final clocking.

The key movement came shortly after the 13th kilometre when Kandie broke away with incredible ease to gradually open a sizeable gap over Mateiko, Kejelcha and Worku. After a swift 14th kilometre of 2:39, the 26-year-old Kenyan maintained his speed to reach 15km  in 41:17, having covered the previous 5km segment in 13:26. By then he had built a ten-second margin over the chasing trio.

Despite a decrease in pace in the closing stages, Kandie continued to increase his lead and he had a 23-second margin by 20km. He romped home unopposed in a season’s best of 58:10, the third fastest time in the world this year. Taking advantage of his track pedigree and speed, Kejelcha managed to finish ahead of Mateiko to grab the runner-up spot in 58:32 and fulfil his pre-race target of breaking the Ethiopian record. Mateiko completed the podium eight seconds behind Kejelcha while debutant Worku finished in 58:47.

“I have been preparing so hard for this race over the last two months and that effort has paid off today,” said Kandie. “Despite the humidity, I felt great throughout and decided to increase the pace after midway, I'm quite satisfied with my performance.”

The women’s race was of a similar high standard with the first three athletes finishing in 66 minutes or quicker.

Perfectly paced by Kenya's Jeremiah Cheserek, the main group went through the opening 5km and 10km checkpoints in 15:29 and 31:08 respectively, slightly inside 1:05 finishing pace. The eight-woman lead pack included Klosterhalfen, Kenya's world 10,000m bronze medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi, Vicoty Chepngeno, Agnes Ngolo and Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa and Tsigie Gebreselama.

There were no major changes over the following 5km section, which was covered in 15:35, but with two kilometres remaining, only Klosterhalfen, Feysa and Gebreselama were left at the front. In the closing stages, the 25-year-old German managed to open up a gap on her rivals to win in 1:05:41 while Gebreselama set a PB four seconds in arrears and Feysa came third in 1:06:00.

“I'm both surprised and delighted with what I've managed today and definitely I'll try to improve on my time next time and hopefully break the German record,” said Klosterhalfen, the European champion and 2019 world bronze medallist over 5000m. “I chose Valencia because of the fast times set over the previous years and my decision proved to be right today.”

Leading results

Women1 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER) 1:05:412 Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) 1:05:453 Hawi Feysa (ETH) 1:06:004 Agnes Ngolo (KEN) 1:06:385 Margaret Chelimo (KEN) 1:06:506 Magdalena Sahuri (KEN) 1:07:077 Irine Kimais (KEN) 1:07:108 Purity Komen (KEN) 1:07:279 Yasemin Can (TUR) 1:07:4510 Vicoty Chepngeno (KEN) 1:07:54

Men1 Kibiwott Kandie (KEN) 58:102 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 58:323 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 58:404 Tadese Worku (ETH) 58:475 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 59:046 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 59:237 Ronald Kirui (KEN) 1:00:108 Isaac Kipkemboi (KEN) 1:00:119 Edward Cheserek (KEN) 1:00:1310 Weldon Langat (KEN) 1:00:28

Kibiwott Kandie wins the Valencia Half Marathon in 58:11

Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie is the new Valencia Half Marathon champion.

Kandie on Sunday reclaimed the title he lost last year after crossing the finish line in 58:11 ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha.

Kibiwott missed his earlier personal best of 57:32 which was a world record time he set in 2020 before Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo lowered it by one second at the 2021 Lisbon Half Marathon.

Kejelcha clocked 58:32, while another Kenyan Daniel Mateiko was third in 58:40.

Kennedy Kimutai (59:04), Sebastian Kimaru (59:23), Ronald Kiprotich (1:00:10) Isaac Kipkemboi (1:00:12), Edward Kimutai (1:00:14), and Weldon Kirui (1:00:28) were in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10 positions respectively.

The women’s race was won by European 5000m champion, German Konstanze Klosterhalfen who clocked 65:41 on her debut.

Kenyans missed the podium positions with Kapsabet-based Margaret Chelimo finishing fourth in 1:06:50.

Irene Kimais (1:07:12), Purity Komen (1:07:29), Vicoty Chepngeno (1:07:55) and Dorcas Kimeli (1:08:17) were sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th.

Ethiopians Tsigie Gebreselama (1:05:46) and Hawi Feysa Gejia (1:06:00) placed second and third respectively.

Grant Fisher sets new America 5000m record

In the latest installment in one of the greatest seasons ever by an American distance runner, Grant Fisher ran 12:46.96 at the Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meet in Brussels on Friday to smash Bernard Lagat’s 11-year-old American 5,000-meter record of 12:53.60. Fisher was also in contention for his first Diamond League victory with 150 meters to go but had to settle for second as Kenya’s Jacob Krop, the Worlds silver medallist, pulled away to win in a world leading 12:45.71 (#6 all-time).

Fisher had near-perfect conditions to break the record. The temperature (low-70s) and wind (6 mph) were fine and wavelight technology was in play, but the most important ingredient was a trio of opponents committed to pushing the pace once the pacemakers dropped: Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha and Kenyans Krop and Daniel Ebenyo.

Kejelcha hit 3k in the lead at 7:41.74 (12:49 pace), by which point the four leaders had begun to separate. The gap between those four and the rest of the pack would only continue to grow as Krop took the lead with 1700 meters to go and kept his foot on the gas. Fisher, seeing Krop’s eagerness, was content to sit at the back of the group of four and get towed along to a fast time.

Just before three laps to go, Fisher went past a fading Kejelcha (who would end up dropping out) and moved into third. With a little bit more than 500 to go, a gap started to open up between Krop and Ebenyo and Fisher showed he had more in him as he went past Ebenyo and latched on to Krop. It was now a two-man affair.

Krop was keeping the pace scorching hot as the 4th to last lap was 61.43, the 3rd to last was 61.52 and the penultimate lap was 61.37. At the bell (11:47.9), it was clear Lagat’s American record was history. How fast could they go and who was going to emerge as the winner?

Fisher was ready to put up a fight but he was looking like a car with its engine maxxed out while Krop still looked incredibly smooth. Ultimately Krop broke Fisher with 100m to go to cap a 57.75 final lap (unofficially we had it 29.68, 28.06).

Fisher sprinted it in to finish just behind and break Bowerman Track Club Moh Ahmed’s 12:47.20 North American record in addition to obliterating Lagat’s AR. After running 12:53.73 for 5,000 indoors in February, 26:33.84 for 10,000 in March, and 7:28.48 for 3,000 in August, Fisher’s 12:46.96 tonight gives him four American records in a 2022 season that will go down as a year for the ages in the annals of American distance running.

Ethiopia Has Changed Its Team Again for the 2022 Worlds

On Tuesday, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation announced its team for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Ethiopia already named its team on June 13…and then updated it four days later to sub in Dawit Seyaum after she ran 14:25 to win the Oslo Diamond League.

Tuesday’s list — which the federation says is the final roster (it pretty much has to be, since entries were due to World Athletics on Monday) — features even more changes, which will have a major impact on Worlds, which begin on July 15 at Hayward Field. Remember, at World Indoor Championships earlier this year in Belgrade, Ethiopian athletes won eight of the 12 available medals across the 1500 and 3000 meters — including all four golds and a 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s 1500. The country is a distance powerhouse.

Here is the full roster, with changes, followed by some analysis on what it all means.

Men’s 800 (no changes)Ermiyas GirmaTolosa Bodena

Women’s 800Habitam AlemuDiribe WeltejiHirut Meshesha (1:58.54 sb) replacing Freweyni Hailu (1:59.39 sb)

Men’s 1500Samuel TeferaTaddese Lemi (3:37.06 sb) replacing Melese Nberet (no races this year)Samuel Abate

Women’s 1500Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.21 sb) replacing Axumawit Embaye (3:58.80 sb)Freweyni Hailu (3:58.18 sb, 4th in Olympics) replacing Ayal Dagnachew (3:59.87 sb)Hirut Meshesha

Men’s 3000 steeple (no changes)Lamecha GirmaHailemariyam AmareGetnet Wale

Women’s 3000 steepleMekides AbebeWorkua GetachewSimbo Alemayehu (9:09.17 sb at age 18) replacing Zerfe Wondemagegn (9:27.75 sb)

Men’s 5,000Muktar EdrisBerihu AregawiYomif KejelchaSelemon Barega replacing Telahun Bekele

Women’s 5,000Ejgayehu TayeLetesenbet Gidey (14:24.59 sb) replacing Gudaf Tsegay (14:26.69 sb)Dawit Seyaum (14:25.84 sb) replacing Fantu Worku (14:47.37 sb)

Men’s 10,000Selemon BaregaTadese WorkuBerihu Aregawi (26:46.13 sb) replacing Milkesa Mengesha (27:00.24 sb)

Women’s 10,000Letesenbet GideyEjgayehu Taye (30:44.68 sb) replacing Girmawit Gebrzihair (30:47.72 sb)Bosena Mulate

Men’s marathonLelisa DesisaTamirat TolaMosinet GeremewSeifu Tura

Women’s marathonGotytom GebreslaseAbabel YeshanehAshete Bekere

Quick Takes

1) Ethiopia’s team just got A LOT stronger and Ethiopia went from no one doubling to a lot of doublers

In recent years, Ethiopia has been reluctant to allow its stars to double at global championships. Last year in Tokyo, Ethiopia had two huge 5,000m medal threats in Selemon Barega (Olympic 10,000 champ) and Berihu Aregawi (the 10,000 4th placer who would go on to win the Diamond League 5,000 title) but neglected to enter either in the 5,000 meters. Of the three men Ethiopia did enter, two failed to even make the final and the third, Milkesa Mengesha, wound up 10th.

The federation took criticism after that misstep and it looked as if it would double down in 2022 as the initial team named in June featured no doublers. But the final squad features five athletes double-entered: World Indoor bronze medalist Hirut Meshesha (800/1500) and Ejgayehu Taye (14:12 pb, #5 woman all-time), Letesenbet Gidey (women’s 5k/10k world record holder), Barega and Aregawi, all of whom are running the 5,000 and 10,000.

2) The meet is more interesting with the Ethiopians doubling; the men’s 5,000 final is now totally stacked

The World Championships are meant to be about the best against the best. When a world final is over, we don’t want to be asking ourselves, “What would have happened if Athlete X was in the race?” But that’s absolutely what we were thinking after the 2021 Olympic 5000 final without Barega. And it’s been an issue for a lot longer than that. Only once in his career did Haile Gebrselassie attempt the 5,000/10,000 double at a global champs (1993), in part because there were still prelims in the 10,000 in those days and in part because he didn’t want to tire himself for the lucrative post-championship meets in Europe.

That shouldn’t be an issue in 2022 (and if it is, it won’t have been the fault of the Ethiopian federation) as the distance finals are much stronger with Taye, Gidey, Barega, and Aregawi doubling up. The men’s 5,000 could be an all-timer. Not only do you have Olympic 5,000 champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, but now we have Olympic 10,000 champ Barega stepping down and Olympic 1500 champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen stepping up. It’s reminiscent of one of the most famous races in track history, the 2003 World Championship 5,000 final in Paris which featured Hicham El Guerrouj stepping up from the 1500 and Kenenisa Bekele stepping down from the 10,000 only for both of them to be defeated by an 18-year-old Eliud Kipchoge.

Having Aregawi in the 10,000 makes for a stronger race as well as he was 3rd at the Ethiopian trials in that event and set a Diamond League record for margin for victory when he ran 12:50 to win the Pre Classic 5,000 by 16 seconds.

3) Gudaf Tsegay’s medal odds went up but her gold medal odds went down

Tsegay is pretty clearly the #2 women’s 1500 runner in the world. She won World Indoors by 5+ seconds and is 3+ seconds faster than the #3 1500 woman in the world right now. But she’s also not close to double Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon, who beat her convincingly at Pre, 3:52.59 to 3:54.21.

Initially, Tsegay was entered in the 5,000 at Worlds (she ran the 5,000 only at the Olympics last year, earning the bronze medal) and while there’s no overwhelming favorite in that event like Kipyegon (well at least until we see how Sifan Hassan looks this weekend), Tsegay is not as good at the 5,000 as the 1500 (as evidenced by her defeat to countrywoman Dawit Seyaum in the 5,000 in Oslo). By running the 1500, Tsegay has a better shot at a medal but her odds at gold are worse.

4) It just got a WHOLE LOT harder for the Americans to medal

An American medal in the women’s 5,000 or 10,000 was already unlikely, so the Ethiopian roster changes didn’t make a huge impact on the chances of Karissa Schweizer or Elise Cranny. But the medal odds of Grant Fisher, who finished 5th in the Olympic 10,000 last year, are way lower today than they were a week ago (a statement also true for his US teammates Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker).

Last Wednesday, two of the four men who finished ahead of Fisher in the 10,000 in Tokyo were major question marks. Bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo hadn’t raced on the track all year, while Aregawi, the 4th placer, was named to Ethiopia’s team in the 5,000 only. Since then, Kiplimo ran 7:29 for 3,000 in Stockholm to show he’s very fit right now and Aregawi was added to Ethiopia’s 10,000 squad. Plus Barega was added to the 5,000.

Those developments will make it significantly harder for Fisher (or any American man in the 5,000 or 10,000) to earn a medal. That said, if an American can somehow medal, it will go down as a monumental achievement since no one can accuse these fields of being watered down.

Sinclaire Johnson‘s medal hopes in the 1500 also took a BIG hit. With Tsegay now in the 1500, two medals seem to be spoken for and new addition Freweyni Hailu, who was 4th in the Olympics last year at age 20, is better than Ayal Dagnachew (who is no slouch herself, world junior 800 champ last year and 3:59 this year).

5) Ethiopia needs to figure out a better way to do this

One of the most important jobs an athletics federation has is selecting national teams. And for countries that don’t use a “top 3 at the trials” model — which is to say, every country except for the US — things can get prickly as someone, inevitably, is going to be upset they’re missing out on the team.

There are ways to limit the outrage. The simplest solution is the one USATF has already discovered: hold a trials and just pick the top three finishers. Ethiopia actually did this ahead of the Olympics last year. The problem was, they held all the races on the same day, making it impossible for athletes to try out for both the 5,000 and 10,000 teams.

But even if you don’t want to stage a trials, a federation can avoid much of the backlash by announcing a clear criteria ahead of time and sticking to it. You want to pick the team based off season’s bests? Fine. Just let everyone know before the season starts and let them plan their races accordingly. Transparency and consistency are the keys.

Heck, even if you want to be subjective and use a selection panel, you can at least cut down on some of the drama by letting the athletes know in advance that they’ll have to run a few performances to impress the selectors.

What you don’t want to do is announce a team well before the entry deadline (and three days before two key Diamond League meets featuring most of your athletes) only to drastically change it three weeks later. Which is exactly what happened in Ethiopia, leaving athletes like Telahun Bekele (winner of the 5,000 in Oslo) to think they’re on the team only to yank it away less than a month later.

In the end, Ethiopia ended up picking the team by season’s best except in the 10,000, where it staged a trial race (and the top 3 there were the fastest 3 on the year). If it had just used that criteria throughout the year and stuck to it, there would be fewer angry people right now. The athletes deserve better.

The Rome Diamond League did not disappoint, with several meet records shattered

The Rome Diamond League did not disappoint on Thursday afternoon. Several meet records were smashed, including Eliud Kipchoge’s 5,000m meet record of 12:46.53–by his compatriot, Nicholas Kimeli,who clocked a world-leading time of 12:46.33.

Kimeli’s time was the seventh-fastest ever over 5,000m, and only six seconds behind the Kenyan national record held by Daniel Komen  at 12:39.74.

The 23-year-old Kenyan came into the race in great form, winning the TCS World 10K in Bengaluru, India, in mid-May in course record time and setting a Kenyan national record over 5K on the roads in April (12:55).

The men’s 5,000m was speedy from the start, with the pace set for 2:35/km at the front. Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia led the race until one lap to go, when Kimeli and his Kenyan compatriot, Jacob Krop, took over the race with 300m to go. Krop and Kimeli battled over the final 200m until Kimeli put a gap on Krop with less than 100m to go, setting a new personal best, meet record and world lead over 5,000m. Krop finished second in a personal best time of 12:46.79, while Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed (second photo) ran a season’s best time of 12:55.88 to finish fifth.

In the women’s 800m, Athing Mu made a statement, winning the race in a world-leading time of 1:57.01. Mu sat on the heels of the pacer for the first 400m, coming around in 56-high. Once the pacer fell off, the 20-year-old American phenom took over, winning the race by almost two seconds.

Barega upgrades to 3000m gold in Belgrade in one-two for Ethiopia

The Ethiopian domination of the men’s 3000m continued with an eighth gold and a second successive 1-2 in the event, Selemon Barega emerging victorious from a last-lap sprint with compatriot Lamecha Girma in the final morning session at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22.

Four years ago in Birmingham in 2018, Barega had to settle for silver behind Yomif Kejelcha but that was when he was an 18-year-old junior still learning his craft.

Four years on, with an Olympic 10,000m gold and world 5000m silver back home, the 22-year-old had too much strength and speed when Girma attempted to launch an attack on the back straight of the final lap, crossing the line 0.25 clear in 7:41.38.

As in the Olympic steeplechase final in Tokyo last year, and over the barriers in the 2019 world final in Doha, Girma finished in the silver position again, clocking 7:41.63, with Marc Scott timing his effort to perfection to claim Britain’s first medal in Belgrade – and their first in the event since Rob Denmark’s bronze in Seville in 1991.

It was a slow burner of a contest, Barega moving to the front after the opening lap and leading the field to 800m in 2:04.20. At that point, however, he was content to drift back as Kenyans Daniel Ebenyo and Jacob Krop assumed the lead but without ever threatening to make a decisive break.

At the bell Barega was back in front with six others still in the hunt but none of them could match him – even Girma, who had got the better of him earlier in the season in Lievin and Torun.

“We came to Belgrade aiming to make history for Ethiopia,” said Barega. “I have had a good season, so I was ready both physically and mentally to fight for gold. With Girma we discussed the possibility of helping each other make the podium. Our tactic has paid off.

“It was a tough race in which we were focused mostly on the Kenyan guys,” he added. “I decided to lead the race from the beginning because many runners in this final are 1500m specialists. I just wanted to make the pace fast and comfortable. Then I slowed down to save some energy for the finishing kick. It was a good plan and another great experience for me.”

And so the Ethiopian with the awesome range found himself emulating his celebrated compatriots Haile Gebreslassie and Kenenisa Bekele as an Olympic champion at 10,000m and a world indoor winner at 3000m

Gebrselassie, of course, also struck world indoor gold as a 1500m runner in Maebashi in 1999 – as well as taking the 3000m crown in 1997, 1999 and 2003.

The other Ethiopian 3000m golds came from Bekele in 2006, Tariku Bekele in 2008, and Kejelcha in 2016 and 2018.

Scott took the bronze in 7:42.02, 0.95 ahead of Ebenyo in fourth, with Krop in fifth, Zouhair Talbi of Morocco in sixth and Spain’s Adel Mechaal seventh.

Josh Kerr smashes Peter Elliott’s UK indoor mile record

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist clocks 3:48.87 in Boston to go No.3 on the world all-time rankings

After finishing third in the Olympic 1500m final last year behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Timothy Cheruiyot, Josh Kerr boldly stated this month that he is going for gold at the World Championships in Eugene in July.

On Sunday (Feb 27) in Boston he showed why he carries such confidence when he ran 3:48.87 for the mile at the Boston University Last Chance Meet.

The time puts him No.3 on the world all-time rankings behind Yomif Kejelcha’s world record of 3:47.01 and Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:48.45.

It also smashes the long-standing British record of 3:52.02 held by Peter Elliott – a mark which was set at East Rutherford in 1990.

Elliott incidentally also holds the British 1500m indoor record with 3:34.20 but it is thought Kerr may have run quicker en route during his mile.

In addition, Kerr’s time is a European record, as it breaks Eamonn Coghlan’s 3:49.78, which was also set in East Rutherford back in 1983. At the time Coghlan was the first man to run a sub-3:50 mile indoors and even now, 39 years later, Kerr has become only the seventh athlete to achieve the feat.

Kerr’s splits saw him pass the first lap in 58.15 and halfway in 1:56.75 before he ran a trademark strong second half of the race to go through three laps in 2:52.04 (55.3) before finishing with a 56.8 final lap.

Athletics Kenya (AK) have named World 2019 bronze medalist Rhonex Kipruto as Geoffrey Kamworor's replacement in Kenya's 10,000 meters team for the Tokyo

Geoffrey Kamworor, who sustained an ankle injury in training this week, was a big medal prospect in the team that also has national cross country champion Rodgers Kwemoi and Weldon Kipkirui. 

The two left the country last Friday and will be competing in the final on July 30 where Kenya is expected to bag its first medal in athletics.

Kipruto, World Under-20 10,000m champion, withdrew from the Kenyan trials with five laps to go.

General Team Manager for the Tokyo Olympic Games Barnaba Korir said Kipruto has officially joined the team after clearance from World Athletics and necessary paperwork is ongoing.

“We are pleased to announce that Rhonex Kipruto is the latest inclusion to our athletics team for the Tokyo Olympics. He has already reported at Kasarani Stadium where the remaining part of team Kenya are in residential training in a bubble camp.

"The decision was arrived at after AK sought clearance from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on his anti-doping testing status, which I am pleased to say he has been given the green light,” Korir said via his official Facebook page.

Kipruto told Nation Sport that he is happy to get a chance to represent Kenya in what will be his first appearance at the Olympics. 

“I’m really sorry for my good friend Kamworor and I want to wish him quick recovery so that he can continue with his career. On my part I’m delighted becaue I will be able to represent my country once again and we will work hard to win something good for our country,” said Kipruto.

He also revealed to Nation Sport that his first Covid-19 test came out negative and he was going to be tested for the second time, a requirement before jetting out for the Games in Tokyo.

“I got the results and they are negative. We are doing another test just to be sure because this is now a requirement before travelling,” said Kipruto. 

Kipruto is currently the fastest man in 10km on the road having clocked world record time of 26:24 after lowering Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei’s time of 26:38 in Valencia, Spain in 2020.

The two will clash again when they line up for the 10,000m final on Friday after Cheptegei floored Kipruto during the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar winning gold ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha who took silver with KIpruto settling for bronze.

“We shall be battling out again with Cheptegei whom we have met in various races. He is a good athlete but I don’t want to say much for now but just to give my best, teamwork will be paramount,” he added.

Kenyan´s Timothy Cheruiyot bounces back in Sweden after missing out on Tokyo Olympics

World 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot put behind the disappointment of missing a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics when he clocked 3:32.30 his speciality at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday evening. 

Cheruiyot crossed the finish line ahead of Spaniard Ignacio Fontes (3:33.27) and countryman Ronald Kwemoi (3:33.53) in second and third respectively. 

The win in the Swedish capital continues the rich vein of form for the Bomet-born runner whose disappointing fourth-place finish at the national trials for the Tokyo Olympics remains the only blot to a sensational season so far.

In late-May, he set a world lead of 3:30.48 at the Doha Diamond League during the men's 1500m. 

Another Kenyan, Ferguson Rotich, lay down a marker for the Olympics when he set a season lead of 1:43:84 in the men's 800m to finish first ahead of Canadian Marco Arop (1:44:00) and Briton Elliot Gilles (1:44:05) in second and third. 

The world 800m bronze medalist recovered from a slow start to stamp his authority on the race and carry on from his impressive performance at the Doha Diamond League where he timed 1:44.45 to finish second behind compatriot, Commonwealth 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal. 

In the women's 3000m steeplechase, former world champion Hyvin Kiyeng added momentum to her bid for an Olympic gold when she clocked  9:04.34 to finish first ahead of German Gesa Felicitas Krause (9:09.13) and countrywoman — and record holder — Beatrice Chepkoech (9:10.52) in second and third. 

Other Kenyans, Purity Kirui (9:16.91) and Rosefline Chepngetich (9:22.30) finished in fourth and sixth respectively. 

The exploits on Sunday followed those of Nicholas Kimeli, Jacop Krop and world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri who posted excellent results at the Oslo Diamond League on Friday. 

Krop and Kimeli timed 7:30.07 and 7:31.33 respectively to finish second and third behind winner Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia who timed 7:26.25. 

Another Kenyan — and Olympics debutant — Charles Simotwo finished fourth in the men's 1500m, clocking 3:49.40. 

World record-holders Letesenbet Gidey and Gudaf Tsegay are among the 34 athletes named on Ethiopia’s team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Gidey and Tsegay – like all other members of the team – will focus on just one event each. Gidey will contest the 10,000m, the event at which she set a world record of 29:01.03 last month, while Tsegay will line up for the 5000m, having clocked a world-leading 14:13.32 in Hengelo on 8 June.

The team also includes world indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera and world silver medallists Selemon Barega and Yomif Kejelcha.

Ethiopian team for Tokyo

WOMEN 800m: 

Habitam Alemu, Workwuha Getachew, Worknesh Mesele1500m: Freweyni Hailu, Lemlem Hailu, Diribe Welteji5000m: Ejigayehu Taye, Senbere Teferi, Gudaf Tsegay10,000m: Tsigie Gebreselama, Tsehay Gemechu, Letesenbet GideyMarathon: Roza Dereje, Birhane Dibaba, Tigist Girma3000m steeplechase: Mekides Abebe, Lomi Muleta, Zerfe Wondimagegn

MEN 800m: 

Melese Nibret1500m: Samuel Abate, Tadesse Lemi, Samuel Tefera5000m: Milkesa Mengesha, Nibret Melak, Getnet Wale10,000m: Berihu Aregawi, Selemon Barega, Yomif KejelchaMarathon: Leslisa Desisa, Shura Kitata, Sisay Lema3000m steeplechase: Hailemariam Amare, Abrham Sime, Tadesse Takele

Joshua Cheptegei aims for 'amazing' Tokyo double

Joshua Cheptegei has said his focus is on becoming just the eighth man to successfully complete the 5,000m-10,000m double at an Olympic Games.

The Ugandan, 24, set world records over bothdistances last year, adding to the 5,000m world gold he won at Doha 2019.

"It would be a mountain to climb, but the challenge is up to me," he told BBC World Service Sport.

"It is demanding a lot, in terms of racing and mindset but I want to give myself a try to win both gold medals."

Seven men have won both 5,000m and 10,000m golds at the same Olympics, with Britain's Mo Farah doing the double at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

As a teenager, Cheptegei finished eighth and sixth in the 5,000m and 10,000m finals respectively in Rio.

"It would be really amazing to win the double, but if I win gold in the 10,000m I would still be grateful," Cheptegei added.

Uganda have won only two Olympic gold medals in their history, with John Akii-Bua winning the 400m hurdles in 1972 and Stephen Kiprotich winning the marathon 40 years later in London.

Cheptegei wears Nike's ZoomX Dragonfly spikes, which transplant the sportswear giant's controversial combination of highly resilient foam and carbon plates to the track.

However Cheptegei believes that, with the same technology available to all athletes if they want it, he doesn't have any unfair advantage.

"The shoes really do help," he said.

"But in this case the shoes are not only available to Mr Cheptegei.

"They are available for everyone who wants to attack the world record.

"You have seen the likes of Yomif Kejelcha, Selemon Barega...it is not about shoes only, but athletes having this period concentrating more on training and not travelling.

"I was focused on just this one thing. And that was breaking the world record."

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei has said his focus is on becoming just the eighth man to successfully complete the 5,000m-10,000m double at an Olympic Games

The Ugandan, 24, set world records over both distances last year, adding to the 5,000m world gold he won at Doha 2019.

"It would be a mountain to climb, but the challenge is up to me," he told BBC World Service Sport.

"It is demanding a lot, in terms of racing and mindset but I want to give myself a try to win both gold medals."

Seven men have won both 5,000m and 10,000m golds at the same Olympics, with Britain's Mo Farah doing the double at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

As a teenager, Cheptegei finished eighth and sixth in the 5,000m and 10,000m finals respectively in Rio.

"It would be really amazing to win the double, but if I win gold in the 10,000m I would still be grateful," Cheptegei added.

Uganda have won only two Olympic gold medals in their history, with John Akii-Bua winning the 400m hurdles in 1972 and Stephen Kiprotich winning the marathon 40 years later in London.

Cheptegei wears Nike's ZoomX Dragonfly spikes, which transplant the sportswear giant's controversial combination of highly resilient foam and carbon plates to the track.

However Cheptegei believes that, with the same technology available to all athletes if they want it, he doesn't have any unfair advantage.

"The shoes really do help," he said.

"But in this case the shoes are not only available to Mr Cheptegei.

"They are available for everyone who wants to attack the world record.

"You have seen the likes of Yomif Kejelcha, Selemon Barega...it is not about shoes only, but athletes having this period concentrating more on training and not traveling.

"I was focused on just this one thing. And that was breaking the world record."

Sifan Hassan Runs 29:36 To Shatter Paula Radcliffe’s 30:01 European Record

The first FBK After Summer Competition track and field / atheltics meeting was held tonight in Hengelo. On a cool (high 40s) and rainy night, Faith Kipyegon came up well short of her goal in of the women’s 1000 world record of 2:28.98 as she ran just 2:32.82. Yomif Kejelcha (13:12.84) and Stewart McSweyn (13:16.05) were also nowhere near their goals of a pb in the 5000.

The story of the night belonged to reigning world 1,500 and 10,000 champ Sifan Hassan. She attacked Almaz Ayana’s 29:17.45 world record as she went out in 14:37 before fading to a European record time of 29:36.67, as Paula Radcliffe‘s European record of 30:01.09 which had stood since 2002 was destroyed. Outdoors, she is now the 6th fastest women in history at 1500, 9th fastest ever at 5000, 4th fastest ever at 10,000, and 10th fastest ever at the half marathon.

Sifan Hassan, Faith Kipyegon and Yomif Kejelcha are among the stars signed up for a middle and long distance meeting set for 10 October at FBK Stadium in the Dutch city of Hengelo

Organized by Global Sports Communication (GSC), the meeting will provide a select group of world class athletes with an opportunity to compete once more at the end of a season that was heavily restricted by the global Covid-19 pandemic. The programme will feature three events: 1000m and 10,000m races for women and a 5000m race for men.

Hasan, the reigning world 1500m and 10,000m champion, will contest the longer the distance, taking on Ethiopian rising star Tsehay Gemechu. Hassan, who broke the world record for the one-hour run in Brussels in August, is looking for one last track outing before her attempt to add another world title to her collection at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on 17 October.

The women’s 1000m features Olympic 1500m Champion Faith Kipyegon who will mount another assault on world record which barely eluded her in Monaco earlier this summer.

The Kenyan’s sparkling 2:29.15 run at the Stade Louis II in Monaco put her second on the all-time list, just 0.17 seconds shy Svetlana Masterkova’s world record which has stood for 24 years.

In the men's 5000m the focus will fall on Ethiopia’s world 10,000m silver medalist Yomif Kejelcha who'll face in-form Australian Stewart McSweyn.

"Our athletes were not done with the season yet," said GSC event manager Ellen van Langen. "They were super motivated for running another race. That’s why we had the idea to organize a race ourselves. Where else than Hengelo?” 

Hans Kloosterman, meeting director for the FBK Games, added: “Next year we celebrate the 40th edition of the FBK Games. We expect Covid-19 will still play a role by then. It is great to have the opportunity to organize a professional race within Covid-19 restrictions."

The Wavelight electronic pace-setter will be used to help guide the athletes. Current pandemic restrictions will prohibit spectators, but a broadcast of the meeting will be available via livestream. The link will be announced in the lead-in to the race.

Moh Ahmed Amazes with 12:47 5K (3:58 Final 1600) as Lopez Lomong Becomes 9th American Under 13:00

2019 World Championship bronze medalist Moh Ahmed is truly among elite company now. Running in the Bowerman Track Club Portland Intrasquad II meet, just minutes after Shelby Houlihan lowered her American record (14:23.92) at 5,000m, Ahmed clocked 12:47.20 to smash his Canadian record (12:58.16) on Friday night. He became the 17th man to run under 12:50 for 5,000 meters and moved to #10 on the world all-time list. As impressive as the time was, it was the way he did it — an incredible 3:58.59 final 1600, with each lap faster than the previous one (61.34-60.31-59.48-57.45) — that truly resonated.

So great was Ahmed’s run that he made Lopez Lomong’s 12:58.78 runner-up effort look downright ordinary by comparison — despite Lomong, the reigning US champion, becoming just the ninth American to join the sub-13:00 club.

Afterwards, Ahmed said he really wanted to dip into the 12:40s, saying he saw the split with two laps to go (10:50.26) and thought “You can run 2:00.” Ahmed, who broke 13:00 for the first time last year, knew there was a big time gap between him and some of the other top guys in the world. Two years ago in Brussels, Selemon Barega ran 12:43, Hagos Gebrhiwet 12:45, and Yomif Kejelcha 12:46. Ahmed? He ran 13:03, which was then a PR.

“I saw those guys run 12:43 and how easy they made it look,” Ahmed said on the USATF+ broadcast.

Ahmed said he was “super nervous” before the race and despite running so fast said it’s been a “super challenging year.” “Right now I’m speaking to you, but I don’t know where the hell I am,” he told Paul Swangard.

Both Ahmed and Lomong benefited from some world-class pacemakers, with Bowerman Track club teammates Ryan Hill, Grant Fisher, and Evan Jager helping them through 1600 in 4:09 and 3200 in 8:18. Once the final pacer, Jager, stepped off at 3600, however, it was all Ahmed. This wasn’t exactly unfamiliar territory — Ahmed ran almost all of the way in last year’s fast Bowerman 5,000 in Beaverton that saw Woody Kincaid run 12:58. The question on many people’s minds that night was how fast Ahmed could have run had he stayed in the race. Tonight’s effort provided an answer of sorts.

Senbere Teferi breaks Ethiopian half marathon record in Valencia clocking 1:05:32

Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi and world indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha were victorious at the Medio Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP on Sunday (27), winning in 1:05:32 and 59:05 respectively at the IAAF Gold Label road race.

At yesterday’s technical meeting, pre-race favourite Sifan Hassan was cautious on her chances of breaking the world record. “I don’t know how my body has recovered from the Doha efforts,” said Hassan, who won the 1500m and 10,000m at the recent World Championships.

But right from the start, perfectly paced by compatriot Roy Hoornweg and Morocco’s Yakoub Labquira, Hassan seemed determined to chase the record as she went through the opening 5km in 15:19 with only Teferi and Kenya’s Joan Chelimo for company as the women-only record holder and world half marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta ran eight seconds in arrears.

With exactly 22:15 on the clock, Hassan tripped and fell hard, losing ground on the leaders. Even though the pacemakers didn’t seem to notice her fall, the European record-holder soon re-joined the lead group.

The lead trio reached 10km in 30:43 – still inside world record pace – with Teferi and Chelimo heading the race while Hassan trailed by four seconds, likely hampered by her fall.

Although Hoornweg remained pacing Hassan throughout, Teferi and Chelimo’s leading margin increased to 16 seconds by the 15km checkpoint, which the lead duo reached in 46:16.

Chelimo began to fade shortly afterwards and Teferi went on to win by a clear margin. The 24-year-old reached the finish in 1:05:32, taking 13 seconds off the Ethiopian record she had set in Ras Al Khaimah earlier this year. Hassan, who overtook Chelimo just before 20km, finished second in 1:05:53 with Chelimo finishing third in 1:06:09.

“I’m really satisfied with my performance,” said Teferi, the 2015 world 5000m silver medallist. “In addition to winning the race, I managed to improve my PB so I can’t ask for more.”

On a perfect day for road running (a slight wind and 12C), the men’s race opened according to plan with the main pack passing the opening 5km in 13:55. By the 10th kilometre, the pace had dropped slightly as the leading pack went through that checkpoint in 27:56. By then, only the Ethiopian duo of Jemal Yimer and Kejelcha plus the Kenyan quartet of Benard Ngeno, Albert Kangogo, Leonard Barsoton and Geoffrey Koech remained with winning chances.

Once the pacemakers had dropped out, the leading quintet of Ngeno, Kejelcha, Yimer, Barsoton and Koech passed 15km in 42:09, indicating the course record of 58:18 would remain intact.

Once Koech lost ground, Kejelcha, Yimer, Ngeno and Barsoton fought hard for the victory in the closing stages after passing 20km in 56:15. Kejelcha unleashed a significant change of pace with about 700 metres to go and went on to cross the finish line in 59:05.

Ngeno was runner-up in a lifetime best of 59:07 while Yimer completed the podium after a thrilling sprint finish with Barsoton, both being credited in 59:09, a PB for the Kenyan.

Five Nike Oregon Project athletes will be without their coach, Alberto Salazar for the remainder of the World Championships

Donovan Brazier (800m), Clayton Murphy (800m), Yomif Kejelcha (10,000m), Konstanze Klosterhalfen (1,500m and 5,000m) and Sifan Hassan (5,000m and 10,000m) all have races to run at the World Championships and will all be without their coach heading into those events.

The Nike Oregon Project athletes are all in medal contention, with Hassan claiming the 10,000m title on Saturday.

The US Anti-Doping Agency has banned Alberto Salazar, head coach of the Nike Oregon Project, for four years following a years-long investigation and secret arbitration case.

The details appear in a BBC report by journalist Mark Daly and a statement by USADA outlining the specific charges, which include trafficking in testosterone (a banned substance), illegal methods and evidence-tampering at the NOP’s Beaverton, Oregon headquarters.

Salazar is former coach to Mo Farah and Kara Goucher and current coach of marathoner Galen Rupp and the newly-crowned 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan, among others. The ban went into effect yesterday, September 30.

All five NOP athletes have had great seasons. Hassan (outdoor) and Kejelcha (indoor) both set mile world records, Murphy and Brazier have been Diamond League standouts and Klosterhalfen is currently ranked eighth in the world for the women’s 1,500m.

The IAAF has confirmed that Salazar’s World Championship accreditation has been deactivated. He’s not allowed in the Khalifa International Stadium or to have access to any of his athletes.

Both Brazier and Murphy run the 800m final this evening. The NOP athletes will now likely defer to their federations coaching staff for assistance before their races.

Six runners clocked a sub 27 minute 10000 with Hagos Gebrhiwet leading the way with 26:48.95

Twelve days after his lap-counting error in the 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Hagos Gebrhiwet made no mistakes in Hengelo on Wednesday (17), winning the men’s 10,000m in a world-leading 26:48.95.

The races doubled as the official Ethiopian trial races for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. And, based on tonight's results, Ethiopia will field two strong trios for the men's and women's 10,000m in Doha.

In a race of staggering quality – the best ever in terms of depth for one nation – the top six men finished inside 27 minutes with the first three finishing inside 26:50.

The women’s 10,000m, won by Letesenbet Gidey, was of a similarly high standard with the first 10 women – nine of whom are from Ethiopia – finishing inside 31:00.

On a still night with temperatures around 19C (66F), the men’s race set off at a steady pace with the first 2000m covered in 5:25 and 3000m reached in 8:07. The large lead pack of about 14 men was strung out but all appeared to be running comfortably.

After passing through half way in 13:31 – just outside 27-minute pace for the full distance – Kenya’s Vincent Kiprotich Kibet moved into the lead, tracked by Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu, Guye Adola and Abadi Hadis.

Belihu and Kiprotich were still at the front through 6000m while Yomif Kejelcha was positioned near the back of the lead pack. Hadis then took a turn at the front and, followed by Jemal Yimer Mekonnen, pushed the pace.

Eight men remained in the leading pack with 2000m remaining as Hadis still led while Kejelcha was still ominously biding his time. Selemon Barega and Gebrhiwet moved closer to Hadis with three laps to go, then Belihu hit the front of the pack – now down to six men – with 800 metres remaining.

Kejelcha finally made his move at the bell and started his 400-metre kick for home. Barega and Gebrhiwet went with him and moved past him with half a lap remaining. Barega and Gebrhiwet kicked hard down the final straight but Gebrhiwet proved to be the stronger in the closing stages, winning in 26:48.95.

Barega, competing in just his second 10,000m race, finished second in 26:49.46, moving to second on the world U20 all-time list. Kejelcha was third in 26:49.99, the second-fastest debut 10,000m in history behind Eliud Kipchoge’s 26:49.02.

Belihu (26:53.15), Mekonnen (26:54.39) and Hadis (26:56.46) were next to finish. In ninth place, Julien Wanders broke his own Swiss record with 27:17.29, moving to seventh on the European all-time list.

Like the top finishers in the men’s race, Gidey bided her time in the women’s contest before making a move in the final kilometre.

World half marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta and 2015 world 5000m silver medallist Senbere Teferi did most of the leading, taking the field through 3000m in 9:18 before reaching half way in 15:30.69.

Twelve women were still in the lead pack at that point. It was only with 10 laps to go that Commonwealth champion Stella Chesang of Uganda drifted off the back of the pack, leaving 11 women to contend for top honours.

Gudeta still led with four laps remaining but Gidey was starting to make her way through the field, which was now operating at sub-31-minute pace.

Gidey then struck with 1000 metres remaining, immediately breaking up the pack. Gudeta was the only woman capable of sticking with the two-time world U20 cross-country champion and within the space of a lap they had opened up a gap of about 15 metres on the rest of the field.

Still together at the bell, Gidey’s superior speed enabled her to pull away from her compatriot over the final 300 metres and she went on to win in a lifetime best of 30:37.89. Gudeta followed three seconds later in 30:40.85.

Teferi was third in 30:45.14 with Zeineba Yimer taking fourth place in 30:46.24. World cross-country silver medallist Dera Dida (30:51.86) and Tsehay Gemechu (30:53.11), the 10km world leader on the roads, followed in fifth and sixth respectively.

In eighth place, Girmawit Gebrzihair broke the Ethiopian U20 record with 30:53.53. Tsigie Gebreselama, ninth in 30:57.54, also finished inside the previous Ethiopian U20 record which had stood since 2000.

In other events, the previously unheralded Lemecha Girma made a huge breakthrough to win the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 8:08.18, winning by six seconds and moving to fourth on the Ethiopian all-time list. World U20 champion Diribe Welteji won the women’s 800m in 2:00.51.

Hagos Gebrhiwet thought he had won the Lausanne 5,000m and stops running one lap too early

Hagos Gebrhiwet, a former world champion, is proof that even the best runners make crucial mistakes. On Friday evening at the Lausanne Diamond League, Gebrhiwet crossed the line with 400m to go and pulled off the track, raising his hands.

The runner was under the impression that he’d won, but he’d miscounted his laps.

Indoor mile world record holder Yomif Kejelcha saw this mistake and continued, taking the win in 13:00.56. Gebrhiwet finished 10th in 13:09.59 — still very impressive considering his temporary celebration.

Brandon McBride got the Canadians started on the track on Friday. The Canadian record holder ran just off his season’s best of 1:43.90 and finishing in 1:44.14.

McBride was fourth, running smooth through the finish and narrowly missing out on a top three finish. First place when to Wyclife Kinyamal in 1:43.78 and second to Ferguson Rotich in 1:43.93.

Aaron Brown was doubling and started the night with a third place finish in the 100m and a season’s best of 10.07. He followed up his 100m with a fourth place finish in the 200m in a new personal best of 19.95.

Your guide to this year's Prefontaine Classic

The Prefontaine Classic relocated, temporarily, and it brought the best fields of the Diamond League season with it to Stanford, California on Sunday June 30.

That includes the world’s fastest man and woman this year (Christian Coleman and Elaine Thompson), the athlete who has made the most worldwide headlines this season (Caster Semenya) and a bevy of other reigning Olympic and world champions.

Notably, Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will compete for the first time since 2017. World 100m champions Justin Gatlin and Tori Bowie are in their first Diamond League meets in more than one year. It’s the first Diamond League in two years for 2008 Olympic 400m champ LaShawn Merritt. It’s also the first race of 2019 for Olympic 1500m champion Matthew Centrowitz.

NBC and NBC Sports Gold air live coverage Sunday from 1-3 p.m. Pacific.

The Pre Classic has been held annually since 1975 in Eugene, Ore. But Hayward Field’s reconstruction ahead of the 2020 Olympic Trials forced a move to Cobb Track and Angell Field at Stanford.

Here are the Pre Classic entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Pacific):

Here are 10 events to watch:

Men’s Pole Vault — 12:43 p.m.The Big Three of the event meet for the first time this season: 2012 Olympic champion and world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France, 2017 World champion Sam Kendricksand 2018 and 2019 world leader Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, who just turned pro after his freshman year at LSU. Lavillenie has competed just once this season due to injury. Duplantis was beaten at NCAAs by Chris Nilsen (also in the Pre field). But Kendricks has been hot, winning the first three Diamond League pole vaults this season (though Lavillenie and Nilsen weren’t in any of those fields and Duplantis just one).

Women’s High Jump — 1:08 p.m.U.S. champion Vashti Cunningham takes another crack at Russian Mariya Lasitskene, who has just two losses in the last three years. Cunningham is 0-7 versus Lasitskene but has this spring already bettered her top clearance of 2018. Lasitskene, though, appears in top form after taking three attempts at a world record 2.10 meters in Ostrava last week.

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase — 1:11 p.m.Six of the eight fastest in history, headlined by world gold and silver medalists Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs. The only time either Coburn or Frerichs won a steeple that included any of the four fastest Kenyans in history was at those 2017 Worlds. Another chance Sunday.

Women’s 100m — 1:27 p.m.NCAA champion Sha’Carri Richardson would have been the favorite here in her pro debut if not for what happened Friday. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic 100m champion, clocked her fastest time in six years (10.73 seconds) to become the fastest mom in history and No. 2 in the world this year behind Rio gold medalist Elaine Thompson. Also watch reigning world champ Tori Bowie, who is coming back from a quad tear and coaching change.

Women’s 800m — 1:47 p.m.Caster Semenya races her trademark event for the first time since a Swiss Supreme Court ruled her eligible while it deliberates on her appeal against a Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to uphold an IAAF rule capping testosterone in women’s events from the 400m through the mile. The Swiss court ruling applies only to Semenya and not the other Rio Olympic medalists, Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui, who are also affected by the new rule. So Semenya’s closest threat at Pre is American record holder Ajeé Wilson, but Semenya has won 30 straight 800m races dating to 2015.

Men’s Shot Put — 2:01 p.m.Olympic champion Ryan Crouser had a sterling record at Hayward Field, taking NCAA, Pre Classic and Olympic Trials titles. He’s pretty strong in California, too, recording his personal best (22.74 meters) in Long Beach in April. Nobody has been within a foot and a half of that this season, but the last two world champions (New Zealand’s Tom Walsh and American Joe Kovacs) will try to snap his undefeated 2019 on Sunday.

Men’s 400m — 2:19 p.m.Lost some sizzle with the withdrawal of 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James, who has missed time with Graves’ disease and, more recently, his mother’s death. Instead, the three fastest Americans of the last decade line up — 2018 and 2019 world leader Michael Norman (43.45 from April 20), 2017 world No. 2 Fred Kerley and 2008 Olympic championLaShawn Merritt.

Women’s 200m — 2:25 p.m.Strongest sprint field of the meet: 2016 Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, 2015 and 2017 World champion Dafne Schippers and 2018 world leader Dina Asher-Smith. Should produce the fastest time in the world this year, which is currently 22.16, and the favorite for world champs.

Men’s 100m — 2:39 p.m.Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman go head-to-head for the first time since the 2017 Worlds, where Gatlin took gold, Usain Bolt silver and Coleman bronze. Coleman is the world’s fastest man this Olympic cycle (9.79) and this year (9.85). Gatlin, 37, hasn’t broken 10 seconds since beating Bolt but has a bye to defend his title in Doha in September.

Men’s Mile — 2:51 p.m.Olympic 1500m champ Matthew Centrowitz races on the track for the first time since July 22, eyeing his first win in the Pre mile in his sixth try. The foes are formidable, including the top two milers since Rio — Kenyans Timothy Cheruiyot and Elijah Manangoi — Norwegian brothers Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who on March 3 broke the 22-year-old indoor mile world record. Nobody has been within four seconds of the outdoor mile word record (Hicham El Guerrouj‘s 3:43.13 in 1999) since 2007.

Selemon Barega is going to defend his two-mile title at the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford and Yomif added to mile field

Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega will return to the Prefontaine Classic to defend his two-mile title at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stanford on 30 June.

Barega, the 2016 world U20 champion, won the 2018 Diamond League 5000m title in 12:43.02, a time bettered only by the last three world record setters – two of whom ran before he was born.

Already this year, the 19-year-old has finished fifth at the World Cross Country Championships, first over 10,000m at the Ethiopian Championships and has recorded a season’s best of 12:53.04 for 5000m.

Olympic silver medallist Paul Chelimo finished second to Barega in the two-mile race at last year’s Prefontaine Classic. He may have one eye on the North American best of 8:07.07 set by Matt Tegenkamp in 2007.

Asian champion Birhanu Balew was the only athlete to beat Barega on the IAAF Diamond League circuit last year. The Bahraini runner, who finished third in this event at last year’s Pre Classic, will be looking to get the better of Barega once again.

Abadi Hadis, the 2017 world cross-country bronze medallist, recently came close to his 5000m PB with 12:56.48 in Rome. The versatile Ethiopian also equalled his half marathon PB of 58:44 earlier this year.

Olympic bronze medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet will be contesting the distance for the first time. The Ethiopian has finished third over 5000m in Shanghai and Rome so far this year and second over 10,000m in Stockholm.

World cross-country champion Joshua Cheptegei and fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo are also in the field. Kiplimo finished 11th in this race last year, setting a national record of 8:25.17 – a time that should be within range for both men this time round.

Mo Ahmed, who last week lowered the Canadian 5000m record to 12:58.16, was also in last year’s Pre Classic two-mile race, finishing fourth.

Getaneh Molla made headlines earlier this year when he won the Dubai Marathon in 2:03:34, the fastest debut marathon in history. The Ethiopian will be moving down in distance in Stanford.

While younger brothers Filip and Jakob will line up for the mile in Stanford, older brother Henrik Ingebrigtsen will contest the two-mile event and will look to improve upon his 8:22.31 fifth-place finish from last year.

Others in the field include world U20 1500m record-holder Ronald Kwemoi, Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Paul Tanui, 2018 world 10,000m leader Richard Yator, world U20 cross-country champion Milkesa Mengesha, Australia’s Stewart McSweyn and Canada’s Justyn Knight.

In other Stanford-related news, world indoor record-holder Yomif Kejelcha has been added to the Bowerman Mile field.

Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha won the 5,000 easily at Payton Jordan invitational last night clocking 13:10 along with other top performances

The big names at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford's Cobb Track and Field stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. all got wins last night. 

Clayton Murphy won the 1500 (3:37.59) comfortably, Jessica Hull won the 1500 (4:12.08).

 Allie Ostrander the steeple, Jenny Simpson got the win (15:21) over Rachel Schneider in the 5,000.

Yomif Kejelcha won the 5,000 easily (13:10 for him, 13:17 for 2nd) and Sifan Hassan’s 10,000m debut (31:18) was a success.

Ben True won the 10k (27:52) but no one got the Worlds standard.

New Balance professional Jenny Simpson won the women's 5,000 meters in her outdoor season opener in 15:21.12.

Simpson, who last ran an outdoor 5,000 in August of 2013 in Switzerland in a personal-best 14:56.26 after capturing the USATF title that year, was competing at Payton Jordan for the first time since winning the 1,500 in 2010 in 4:08.11.

Simpson ascended to No. 3 in the world this year in the 5,000, also achieving the IAAF World Championships standard.

Yomif Kejelcha smashed the Indoor Mile World Record clocking 3:47.01 in Boston Sunday

Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia broke the world indoor mile record when he clocked three minutes 47.01 seconds during an invitational meet in Boston on Sunday.

The 21-year-old smashed the 22-year-old record of 3:48.45 set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.

Kejelcha had come within one hundredth of a second of the record when he clocked 3:48.46 at the Millrose Games in New York last month.

The twice world indoor 3,000 meters champion was also targeting the indoor 1,500m record but narrowly missed it with a 3:31.25.

This makes Kejelcha, who is coached by Alberto Salazar, the third-fastest in the 1500m behind compatriot Samuel Tefera's February world record of 3:31.04 and El Guerrouj's 3:31.18

Eariler in the week Oregon live reported, “As promised, Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar has declared the NOP’s Yomif Kejelcha will be running for a world indoor record in the 1,500 meters -- and, possibly, the mile -- in the Bruce Lehane Invitational Mile Sunday at Boston University.

Salazar said making a world-record assault public puts pressure on the runner making the attempt, but also causes the runner to focus. And, he thinks, world-record attempts create the kind of publicity and attention the sport needs.

"If we’re going for a record in Boston, people are going to know," Salazar said then. “If we say we’re going for it, we’ll go for it.”

He told DyeStat’s Doug Binder on Wednesday that Kejeclha is fit and ready.

“He likes the 1,500 (meters), but I think the mile is more prestigious,” Salazar told Binder. “He’s going for the 1,500 record, and afterwards just hopes to maintain so he can get the mile as well.”

This is how the race in Boston unfolded as described by the IAAF. 

Kejelcha followed three different pacemakers for the opening laps and passed through 809m in 1:52. Worried the pace wasn't quick enough, he moved past the final pacemaker about two minutes into the race and was then out in front alone.

He was inside 2:51 with two laps remaining and kept up his swift pace for the last 400 metres. The clock had already ticked over to 3:31 by the time he passed the 1500m checkpoint, but he – and the eager fans – would have to wait until after the race to find out his official split. His immediate concern was reaching the finish line of the mile.

Kejelcha dug in deep and crossed the line in 3:47.01, taking 1.44 seconds off the previous world indoor record set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997. Moments later, his 1500m split was confirmed at 3:31.25, making him the third-fastest indoor performer in history behind Tefera and El Guerrouj.

Kejelcha's mile time is also an outright Ethiopian record, bettering the outdoor mark of 3:48.60 set by Aman Wote.

America's Johnny Gregorek (second photo)  finished second in 3:49.98, moving to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, just 0.09 shy of Bernard Lagat's North American indoor record.  This is the seventh best time by an American Indoor or outdoors according to LetsRun.  

Samuel Tefera faces Norway’s brothers at Düsseldorf Indoor meet

Nine of this season's 11 IAAF World Indoor Tour titles will be up for grabs when the six-meeting series concludes with the PSD Bank Meeting in Dusseldorf on Wednesday (20) night, but none will be as eagerly anticipated and as closely watched as the battle for the men's 1500m when Samuel Tefera returns to the track just four days after his sensational world record-breaking run in Birmingham.

The Ethiopian teenager shocked the world when he prevailed in a tactical race to win the world indoor title one year ago, but when he returned to the same Arena Birmingham track last Saturday, few expected the 19-year-old to take down a record set in 1997 - more than two years before he was born - by the all-time great Hicham El Guerrouj. But he did, clocking 3:31.04 to clip 0.14 from the Moroccan’s mark with a convincing victory over pre-meet favourite Yomif Kejelcha.

Here in Dusseldorf, Tefera will be running for another fast time as well as series honours. He trails Kenyan Bethwell Birgen by one point in the standings with 23; so long as he finishes ahead of the Kenyan, he'll take home the US$20,000 prize bonus and a wildcard entry for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Nanjing 2020.

The field also includes all three of Norway's Ingebrigtsen brothers, Filip, Hendrik and Jakob, setting up an intriguing head-to-head with the latter, another teenager, who famously cruised to the European 1500 and 5000m titles last August.

The 18-year-old has raced once this season, clocking a 3:36.21 national record eight days ago. Given the largely solo nature of that run, it's clear he can run faster. 

Samuel Tefera breaks long standing world indoor 1500m Record in Birmingham, Yomif was second

Samuel Tefera from Ethiopia upstaged compatriot Yomif Kejelcha to break the indoor 1500m record at the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting in Birmingham England on Saturday Feb 16.  The record has stood for over twenty years.  

Kejelcha, who last week came within 0.01 of the world indoor mile record, had announced his intentions to break the 1500m mark ahead of his race in Birmingham. The pacemakers hit their required target times, taking Kejelcha through 800m in 1:52.70 and 2:49.28 at 1200m.

But Tefera, the world indoor champion at the distance, was tucked right behind Kejelcha and looked ominously comfortable with the pace. The clock ticked through 3:03 as the bell sounded for the final lap and Tefera made his move, kicking past Kejelcha to take the lead.

Tefera charged towards the line and stopped the clock at 3:31.04, taking 0.14 off the previous record set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.

Kejelcha finished second in a personal best of 3:31.58.

Top photo by Mark Shearman 

Laura Muir is set for the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham as well as more than 50 global medallists on Saturday

Britain’s Laura Muir will compete in the women’s mile with an eye on Kirsty Wade’s 31-year-old British record of 4:23.86. Following her victory at the SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships over 3000m and her Scottish indoor record over 800m in Torun, Muir’s race will be one of the highlights of the meet.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha’s next race on the track will be greatly anticipated as he will run the 1500m with Hicham El Guerrouj’s 22-year world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.18 under threat.

Among the Olympic champions in action are Rio 2016 double gold medallist Elaine Thompson and Katerina Stefanidi who will feature in highly competitive women’s 60m and women’s pole vault fields respectively.

Furthermore, five 2018 world indoor champions return to the venue including Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera over 1500m, in addition to Kejelcha and Stefanidi, and men’s and women’s long jump champions Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba and Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic.

World number two in 2019 following his 6.53 clocking in Berlin two weeks ago, Reece Prescod goes in the men’s 60m, taking on world indoor silver medallist Su Bingtian of China. Newly-crowned British champion Dominic Ashwell and second-place Adam Thomas will have a last chance to chase European Indoor championship qualifying times.