Running News Daily

World mile record holder Josh Kerr has sparked an interesting conversation among runners after questioning the growing popularity of hydration vests, suggesting that many athletes may be carrying more equipment than they actually need for their everyday training sessions.

The British distance-running star shared his thoughts during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session hosted by BBC Sport on Monday, where he responded to questions from fans about training, competition, rivalries and some of the lighter aspects of his life as an elite athlete.

Among the most relatable topics was the increasing use of hydration vests, a piece of equipment that has become increasingly common among recreational runners, particularly those who head out for regular training sessions.

Kerr offered a straightforward perspective, suggesting that runners covering distances of less than 12 miles (approximately 19 kilometres) generally do not need to carry water with them. He believes that some running trends are driven more by marketing than genuine necessity, using hydration vests as an example of equipment that has perhaps become more popular than it needs to be.

He further pointed out that runners training in urban environments can usually find somewhere to purchase a drink if they need one, rather than carrying additional equipment throughout their entire run.

However, his comments were not intended as a universal rule for every athlete. Hydration requirements differ depending on individual needs, weather conditions, training intensity and the distance being covered. Runners tackling longer distances, particularly in hot conditions or on remote trails, may still benefit considerably from carrying their own fluids.

Away from the equipment debate, Kerr also addressed questions about his relationship with Norwegian distance-running superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Keeping his response brief and humorous, the Briton remarked, "I wouldn't say we're buddies!" However, he acknowledged that rivalries are an important part of athletics and can help make the sport more exciting for competitors and spectators alike.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games also featured prominently in the discussion, particularly the men's 1500m final, where Kerr secured the silver medal in a British record of 3:27.79 behind American Cole Hocker.

Despite narrowly missing out on Olympic gold, Kerr insisted that he had no regrets about how he approached the race, reflecting the confidence and competitive mentality that have helped establish him among the leading middle-distance runners in the world.

The Scottish star also offered fans a glimpse into the demanding training sessions behind his remarkable mile world record, providing insight into the preparation required to compete at the highest level. He additionally touched on the possibility of eventually moving up to the marathon, a prospect that will undoubtedly attract considerable interest given his credentials over shorter distances.

Not every question, however, was about world records, Olympic medals or gruelling workouts. In one particularly amusing moment, Kerr was asked how far he thought he could run on just a single square sausage and a can of Irn-Bru, bringing a distinctly Scottish flavour to the conversation.

The exchange offered a refreshing look at the personality behind one of Britain's biggest athletics stars, showing that even athletes operating at the very highest level have plenty of opinions about everyday running habits.

For recreational runners, Kerr's message about hydration vests is certainly worth considering, although individual circumstances should always determine what equipment is necessary. His broader point was simple: runners should understand their actual training needs rather than automatically following every new trend in the running industry.

Josh Kerr is heading into the World Athletics Ultimate Championship with confidence at an extraordinary level—and his latest comments suggest his rivals have every reason to take notice.

The Scottish middle-distance star, who recently made history by breaking the mile world record in London with a remarkable 3:42.66, believes he may now be in even better shape than he was on the day of that historic performance.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Kerr delivered a statement that perfectly captures his current mindset:

“I wouldn’t want to race me right now.”

It is a bold declaration, but Kerr has given himself plenty of reasons to believe it.

Following his ambitious Project 222 challenge and his Commonwealth gold medal success, the focus now shifts back to his specialist event—the 1500 metres. And this time, there will be no opportunity to ease into the competition.

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship presents a completely different challenge: one race, no heats and no second chances. Everything will be decided in a single, high-pressure showdown against what could be the strongest 1500m field Kerr has faced this year.

For an athlete who has already conquered major championships, broken one of the sport's most prestigious world records and continued to push the boundaries of middle-distance running, Kerr appears to be arriving at exactly the right moment.

Perhaps the most worrying sign for his rivals is not simply his recent success—but his belief that his form has continued to improve.

If Kerr truly is stronger now than when he ran 3:42.66 in London, the Ultimate Championship could produce something very special.

The confidence is unmistakable. The form appears to be there. And with only one race standing between Kerr and another major statement, the rest of the field has been put on notice.

Josh Kerr likes exactly where he is right now—and judging by his words, he is ready to make sure everyone else knows it. 

(Posted at 3:30am London Time) With just hours to go before the 2025 London Marathon kicks off on Sunday, April 27, elite runners are preparing for a race day marked by warm and sunny conditions. The elite women’s race is set to start at 9:05 AM BST, followed by the elite men’s race at 9:35 AM BST .

Weather Forecast:

• Start Time (9:00 AM BST): Approximately 12°C (54°F), mostly sunny with light winds.

• Mid-Race (11:00 AM BST): Temperatures rising to around 14°C (57°F).

• Afternoon Peak: Expected highs of 21°C (70°F), which is notably warmer than last year’s maximum of 12.6°C (54.7°F) .

These conditions are favorable for spectators but may pose challenges for runners, especially those unaccustomed to warmer temperatures. The Met Office advises participants to stay hydrated and adjust their pacing strategies accordingly .

Viewing Information: 

Live coverage of the marathon will be available on BBC One and BBC Two, with streaming options on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

As the city braces for a day of athletic excellence and community spirit, runners and spectators alike are encouraged to prepare for the warm weather to ensure a safe and enjoyable marathon experience.

Launching your own track meet and naming it after yourself is one thing–but Great Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson didn’t stop there. On Wednesday, British Athletics revealed that the inaugural Keely Klassic track meet, set for Feb. 15 in Birmingham, will conclude with Hodgkinson trying to break the 800m world record, which has stood for 41 years.

The record of 1:53.28, set by Czechoslovak athlete Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983, is the longest-standing world record in athletics. Hodgkinson would need to run more than a second faster than her personal best (1:54.61) to even come close to taking it down. The run will mark Hodgkinson’s season opener and first race back from an injury that cut her 2024 season short.

At the Keely Klassic, Hodgkinson promises “a unique, immersive experience that will combine elite competition with an electrifying atmosphere” and extends the meeting invitation to Great Britain’s world-class track and field athletes.

The unveiling comes less than a day after Tuesday’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) ceremony, where Hodgkinson took centre stage. The 22-year-old is the first track athlete to win since Mo Farah won in 2017, and the first female track athlete to win since 2004. Her win also marks the fourth consecutive year that a woman has won the award–the longest streak in history.

“I’m actually in a bit of shock,” Hodgkinson said upon accepting the trophy. “I’m actually more excited for my coach, to be honest, because I wouldn’t be where I am without his guidance, [which] I’ve had since I was 17.”

“This year has been absolutely incredible for me,” she continued. “I achieved everything I set out to do on the outdoor track, which is kind of rare, so I’m grateful to be in this position.”

Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee was also a contender for the award.

Hodgkinson’s coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, were awarded Coach(es) of the Year. Along with the Olympic 800m champion, the pair coaches Olympic 1,500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell.

Mondo Duplantis wins Sport Star of the Year

Pole vaulting legend Mondo Duplantis was also acknowledged at the event, winning World Sport Star of the Year. The Swedish-American world record holder was pitted against fellow sports icons, including gymnast Simone Biles, WNBA player Caitlin Clark and Olympic marathon champion Sifan Hassan.

“So sorry that I can’t be in attendance tonight–I’m back here in the States right now, training for the up and coming season. I know I’m in great company–the biggest legends of all time in sports have won this award. This really means a lot to me.”

Two months ago, Dominic Lobalu thought he would not be able to compete at Paris 2024, but now he has the chance to make history.

The 25-year-old was ruled out of the Tokyo 2020 Games after claiming asylum in Switzerland, making him ineligible to compete for refugee teams.

After being given clearance by World Athletics to represent his adopted nation in May - despite not holding Swiss citizenship - Lobalu won two medals at the the European Championships the following month.

His gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m persuaded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to invite Lobalu to join its Refugee Olympic Team, and the South Sudanese-born runner will compete over the shorter distance in the French capital. “This is what I was dreaming for,” Lobalu told BBC Sport Africa.

“When I started my training, the goal was to go to the Olympics one day. And now I have it I'm so happy.”

Boxer Cindy Ngamba has already assured the Refugee Olympic Team of its first ever medal, but Lobalu could upgrade her guaranteed bronze.

The first round of the 5,000m begins on Wednesday, but it has been a long journey for Lobalu to reach the start line. It is one that began in Sudan and has taken detours via Kenya and Switzerland. In 1998, Lobalu was born into a country in the middle of a long-running civil war.

He grew up in Chukudum, a small village in south-east Sudan which would become part of South Sudan when it gained independence in 2011.

The conflict, which ended in 2005, is estimated to have killed two million people. But two years after the war Lobalu's home village was raided by soldiers. The family fled but he was separated from his parents.

He wound up in an orphanage and then, at the age of nine, made it across the border to Kenya with the help of an Italian NGO.

The Kakuma Refugee Camp, a sprawling settlement in north-west Kenya run by the UNHCR, became his new home.

Now living in Switzerland, Lobalu is reluctant to talk in depth about his past before a competition, preferring to focus on the future.

However, he admits his experiences at the camp motivate him on the track.

Three runners seemed to allow Chinese runner He Jie to finish ahead of them at the Beijing Half Marathon. All four have now been disqualified.

In video footage of the Beijing Half Marathon finish line, three runners abreast who are in the lead subtly slow their pace and one motions with his hand for He Jie of China to pass them and win the race. The video has gone somewhat viral as many running fans found issue with Jie being essentially given the win. 

Jie ran together with the other men, Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya and Ethiopian runner Dejene Hailu Bikila for the entire race, and Mnangat told BBC Sport that they were working as Jie’s pacers. “I was not there to compete,” Mnangat said. “It was not a competitive race for me.” 

Mnangat said the three African runners, as well as a fourth who dropped out before the finish, were hired to help Jie, the 25-year-old Chinese national champion and record holder (2:06:57) for the marathon, to a Chinese half marathon record. 

“I don’t know why they put my name on my bib/chest number instead of labeling it as a pacemaker,” Mnangat told the BBC. “My job was to set the pace and help the guy win but unfortunately, he did not achieve the target, which was to break the national record.”

He won in 1:03.44, missing the record by a little over a minute, while Mnangat, Keter, and Bikila tied for second place. 

However, after the Beijing Sports Bureau launched an investigation into the circumstances around Jie’s half marathon finish, all four runners were disqualified and required to return their medals and award money. The special committee investigating the situation found that the main organizers of the race had not been made aware before the race that Jie would be running with pacers.

“We deeply and sincerely apologize to the world and to every part of society, that we did not discover and correct the mistakes in time at this race,” the committee said in a statement. As punishment, Zhong’ao Lupao Sports Management Co., the main organizer of the race is losing its right to host the Beijing Half Marathon.

On Sunday at the 2023 Valencia Marathon, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who holds the world record in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, will make his long-awaited marathon debut. Ahead of his debut, Cheptegei has garnered high praise from perhaps the greatest marathoner in history, Eliud Kipchoge. 

In an interview with BBC Sport Africa, Kipchoge said he believes Cheptegei could break the marathon world record: “He is already a record holder in other fields, and has a huge chance to break a world record in the marathon,” Kipchoge said. The double Olympic marathon champion further complimented Cheptegei’s willingness to learn and succeed, acknowledging the discipline that has led Cheptegei to Olympic gold, world records and multiple world championship titles.

According to NN Running Team, despite Cheptegei’s previous success on the track and Valencia’s course (which is known to be fast), he says he’s not specifically aiming for the marathon world record, but hopes to run a fast time under 2:04. “What would make a perfect race for me in Valencia is to learn and experience the marathon,” Cheptegei said on his debut. “I am not looking to run a fast time, because it is a new distance for me, and I want to learn. The best for me would be seeing myself on the podium.”

The 27-year-old has fond memories of Valencia, which is where he set the 10K world record of 26:38 in 2019 and the 10,000m world record of 26:11.00 the following year.

The former marathon world record holder, Kipchoge, has always been an idol for Cheptegei, inspiring him when he began his professional career in 2015. “Kipchoge’s kind words have always been able to shape me,” Cheptegei told BBC Africa. “Eliud is always keeping an eye on me—always guiding the youth in a good way.” The two distance-running titans met when Cheptegei was training with Kipchoge’s group in Kaptagat, Kenya, in 2015.

Watch the Valencia Marathon

The hype and uncertainty surrounding Cheptegei’s potential over 42.2K will be thrilling to watch on Sunday at the 2023 Valencia Marathon. Cheptegei headlines an exciting field featuring former Olympic champions and world record holders.

Sir Mo Farah bade farewell to racing in London after finishing fourth in his penultimate race at the Big Half on Sunday.

Farah’s last results saw him finish eighth in the Great Manchester Run 10K in May and ninth in the London Marathon the previous month.

The Big Half was Farah’s last race in London, with the final race of his career taking place at the Great North Run on Tyneside next weekend.

Jack Rowe came first in the elite men’s race with a time of 01:01:08, narrowly edging out fellow Briton Mahamed Mahamed who finished in 01:01:16.

Andrew Butchart was next to cross the line before Farah finished with a time of 01:02:43.

Calli Thackery finished first in the women’s elite race, with David Weir earning the top spot in the wheelchair race.

Farah reflected on an “emotional” day as his career approaches its end next Sunday.

He told BBC Sport: “It was quite emotional today because I haven’t been feeling well this week, I’ve got a bit of a cold.

“I didn’t know if I could do the race, then I was thinking about all the people coming out here and I’m not going to get another chance.

“I came out today, gave it my best but you can’t take anything away from Jack, he’s been working hard for the last three years and he’s deserved that win.

“It’s just nice to see youngsters coming along, grabbing that chance and believing in themselves.

“As I said, when you’ve achieved everything it must come to an end at some point. I’m getting on a bit and I’m kind of just looking forward to taking a break and hopefully being involved in sports, but just spending time with my family.

“Honestly, without the crowd and support I’ve had over the years it wouldn’t be the same.”

South African sprinter Luxolo Adams has said he will be leaning on the 'overwhelming' experience at last year's World Championships in Oregon ahead of this year's showpiece in Budapest.

Adams has been working on his 'mental fitness' after making a maiden appearance at the global show in 2022 where he reached the semifinals of the 200m.

Speaking to the BBC Sports The Warm-Up Track podcast, the 26-year-old said: "Now I know how the world class meet operates."

"I know how to execute my races. Now, when I'm standing in the lane with with a Noah Lyles, I know how to manage my stress levels, I know how to manage all the influences around me. I've got enough experience in store," Adams said.

Adams was the fifth fastest man in the world last year after winning the Paris Diamond League meet. The sprinter has already qualified for Paris Olympic Games.

"Mentally, it was challenging, because it was my first World Champs," he said. "Two or three weeks before, there was a visa issue. Days went by and then we got closer to the meet and we [still] don't have visas.

"We managed to get waivers but when I got there, it was a different type of environment for me. I couldn't know how to interact, I didn't know how to, to move around, and also how to behave because now it's a different type of meet. It's a world class.

"It was overwhelming. I don't know what I was going through but one thing was in my mind: God is not going to place me in a sport whereby I don't have the power or the strength to go through.

Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah finished eighth at the Great Manchester Run, the penultimate race of his career.

The 40-year-old Briton completed the 10km course in 29 minutes 11 seconds - 44 seconds behind winner Eyob Faniel of Italy.

Kenya's Hellen Obiri defended the women's title in 31 minutes 14 seconds.

Farah's final competitive race will be the Great North Run in Newcastle on 10 September.

"I'm so proud of what I've achieved throughout my career," he told BBC Sport.

"I was a bit nervous at the start, but this city has some great history and the support I got was amazing."

Farah won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

He has also won six world and five European golds, and was knighted in 2017.

Faniel, who was born in Eritrea but moved to Italy as a child, beat Briton Marc Scott by four seconds, with Australia's Stewart McSweyn a further four seconds back. Britain's Jonny Mellor was 10th.

Obiri, who won the Boston Marathon last month, finished 45 seconds ahead of compatriot Peres Jepchirchir in second.

Calli Thackery was third - 1min 37secs behind Obiri - one of five Britons in the top 10.

Stephanie Twell was fourth, Rose Harvey fifth, Natasha Cockram seventh and Rachael Franklin 10th.

Britain's Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan was absent as she recovers from a knee injury.

As Hellen Obiri crossed the finish line to win this year's Boston Marathon, a few metres ahead was her daughter, Tania.

The double world champion was soon locked in an embrace with both her husband, Tom, and Tania as the family celebrated the surprise win in what was only her second marathon.

Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Obiri found it all hard to describe.

"That was one good moment for me, at the finish line seeing my daughter. I cannot even explain what I felt."

The rush of emotion, which left Obiri in tears, is understandable when placed in the context of her decision to uproot her family and move them from Kenya to the United States after she quit track running to target the marathon.

"When switching to the road, I felt I needed a coach on the ground with me in training," the 33-year-old explained.

"On track you can train without a coach present and do well, but with the marathon sometimes you need a coach to watch what you are doing."

The Obiris' new home is in the city of Boulder, Colorado. But her husband and daughter only arrived a few weeks before the race in Boston. For months before that Obiri had been on her own.

'Why am I here?'

Previously a 5000m specialist who claimed world titles over the distance in 2017 and 2019, the 2018 Commonwealth title and Olympic silver medals in 2016 and 2020, Obiri made her marathon debut in New York last November.

Two months prior she had moved to the US to join her coach, retired American athlete Dathan Ritzenhein.

At the time, it meant leaving Tania and Tom back in Kenya waiting on their visas.

"It was a challenge because you don't have a family in the US. Sometimes the time difference (for) calling is not good. Maybe when you call the child is sleeping," she said.

"The most important thing is the family understands what you are going there to do, because it's a short career. The family give me a lot of time, support and a lot of encouragement."

But the pain of separation sometimes led Obiri to question her decision.

"She (Tania) was always telling me 'Mommy, I want you to come now'. When she tells you, you feel like crying, you feel you don't have morale.

"Why am I here and my baby's crying there?"

Despite her best efforts to remain focussed, New York did not go as planned as poor race tactics saw her finish sixth on her marathon debut.

"I used to run from the front in track races. I thought even in a marathon I can run in front. That cost me a lot because in marathon you can't do all the work for 42 kilometres," she admitted.

"What I learned from New York is patience, just wait for the right time so you can make a move."

Obiri proved to be a fast learner. With her family now watching on, she won her second marathon, taking more than four minutes off her time in New York.

"When you have your family around you, that means you don't have stress.

"You don't need to think about anything else. You are thinking about your family and the race and when your family is there to watch you, they give you a lot of encouragement."

Rocking life in Boulder

With the family now settled in their Colorado home, Tom has enrolled as a student. But Obiri worries about how a seven-year-old Kenyan girl will adjust to life in a different country.

"The first week was terrible for her because she didn't have friends here, it's a new environment," she said, fretting as any mother would.

"(But) Tania is so friendly. So after one week and a half, she was coming and telling mum 'I have some friends, this one and this one...'"

Obiri also had concerns when it came to Tania enrolling in school.

"I was so worried. I wondered, how will the teachers treat her as she's from Africa?

"Maybe some schoolmates will think 'You are from Africa, we don't want to be your friends.'

"I used to ask after school, 'Who wasn't nice to you? Do they treat you well?' and she said 'No, I'm okay with my friends and my teachers'."

Olympic agenda

The 2019 world cross country champion says not all of her friends understood her decision to uproot her family, but Obiri blocks out the "negative talk" to focus on her athletic ambitions and is also now at peace with her family situation.

Her next big mission, away from the six World Marathon Majors - which are Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo - is to try to complete her list of global titles, filling the one very obvious hole in her list of achievements.

"I will work hard to be in the Kenya (marathon) team for Paris 2024."

"I have won gold medals in World Championships so I'm looking for Olympic gold. It is the only medal missing in my career."

 

Usain Bolt was delighted to join a stellar list of sporting greats after being chosen as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award winner for 2022.

The 36-year-old Jamaican retired from athletics five years ago but he has left an indelible and so far unbeatable mark on his sport.

Bolt became a global superstar at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, lowering his own world record mark to win the 100m gold and then breaking Michael Johnson’s 200m record to also win gold in that event.

A year later he again broke his 100m world record in winning the world title in Berlin – and his time of 9.58 seconds still stands today. Four days later he lowered his 200m mark to 19.19secs which has also not been beaten.

He went on to retain his 100m and 200m Olympic titles at the next two Games in London and Rio de Janeiro.

Bolt retired in 2017 after the World Championships in London, where he won a bronze in the 100m.

“For me it’s an honour to be amongst the greats who have received this before like Pele, Muhammad Ali,” Bolt said in a message to the awards ceremony from Jamaica.

“For me these guys are some of my favourite athletes and I look up to them.

“Also, I want to thank my family, my friends and the fans for everything throughout the years. I’ve worked hard and to get this award means a lot.”

World Athletics has been urged not to ban Kenya from the sport for violations of doping rules by a government minister from the East African country.

The nation is reportedly at risk of a sanction following a string of cases, with 55 of its athletes serving suspensions issued by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

Kenya's situation will be discussed at the World athletics council meeting in Rome next week, BBC Sport Africa understands.

Ababu Namwamba, the cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts, has written to World Athletics president Lord Coe to assure him that Kenya's government is taking firm measures to uphold the integrity of athletics.

"We cannot allow our nation to be banned because of the actions of some greedy unethical individuals," Namwamba said.

"We will target and deal decisively with the criminals and their syndicates. We must work together to eradicate doping and cheating from athletics and sports in general."

Kenya is among seven countries deemed a 'Category A' federation - the highest doping risk - by the AIU, meaning athletes from the countries have to undergo at least three tests in the 10 months prior to a major event to be able to compete there.

Its total of 55 athletes serving bans is the third most of any nationality behind Russia (102) and India (61).

Russia has been banned by World Athletics from competing as a nation in athletics since 2015 but untainted athletes were still able to compete under a neutral flag until the country's invasion of Ukraine in February, when all athletes, support personnel and officials from the country were banned.

Seventeen Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned by the AIU this year for a range of violations, with a further eight provisionally suspended and awaiting the outcomes of their cases.

An overarching ban by World Athletics and the AIU would be a huge blow to the reputation of the East African country, which has won 34 of its 35 Olympic gold medals in track and field events.

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) welcomed the government's intervention and said it would continue supporting "all efforts and actions as a partner in dismantling all systems and avenues perpetuating the vice of doping in athletics".

A statement from the body said the country had built an "illustrious history" in the sport and that "it is not ready to sacrifice this reputation due to the greed of a few actors".

"We join our voice in pleading with World Athletics and other parties to withhold any punitive measures such as a ban and consider the multifaceted efforts of the Kenyan community, led by the government, as a positive sign and contribution towards a zero-doping environment in Kenya," NOC-K president Paul Tergat added.

Two-time Olympic champion and marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge has said the increasing number of doping cases is "worrying" and "clean sport is the way to go".

The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts said Kenya has a zero tolerance to doping and is "fully committed to ending the doping menace".

"We must defeat doping and its perpetrators. This is a serious concern and that is why the government is giving total undivided attention," Namwamba added.

"We are treating it as a matter of top strategic national interest."

Sir Mo Farah enjoyed a timely return to form ahead of next month’s London Marathon with a third victory in the Big Half.

The four-time Olympic champion suffered a shock loss to club runner Ellis Cross at the Vitality 10k in London in May to spark further talk of retirement.

Farah helped silence some of the external noise with an impressive run on this occasion in the capital and crossed the finish line in Greenwich with a time of 61 minutes and 49 seconds after storming clear of his nearest rivals during the last three miles of the 13.1-mile course.

It was only the 39-year-old’s third-fastest run in the Big Half but still enough to edge out Jack Rowe and defending champion Jake Smith, who finished second and third respectively.

Eilish McColgan won the women’s elite race in record time.

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Eilish McColgan claimed victory in the elite women’s race with a record time of 67.34 minutes but unlike Farah she will not be competing in the London Marathon after it was announced on Friday.  

Eilish posted, "67:34. Course Record

"An atmosphere running the streets of London! Happy to take the win and knock over 2mins off the course record.

"Tough running solo over the last half of the race but it was more of a challenge not to smile with everyone cheering us along." 

Farah told BBC sport, “Today wasn’t easy but most important is the win and it is nice to be back."

“It is really nice to see my family here and so many people come out. It is family-friendly but most importantly for me, it is the streets of London and just the support and atmosphere, it is brilliant and makes you want to come back every year again and again.

“The key thing for me today was to try and win, no matter what happened.

“It was to play around with things, pick up my drink and all practice ahead of the London Marathon.

“I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it. The last seven weeks it has been good, I’ve got consistent training going, so I’m happy with where I am. The next step is this afternoon I’ll fly out and get ready for the next four weeks, get my head down and see what I can do.

Farah was competing for just the second time in 2022 and eager to bounce back from his disappointment in May.

After being part of a five-man group for the first half of the London event, the multiple gold-medal winner used his experience to pull away after refuelling at the 11-mile mark.

His winning margin was slower than his 2018 and 2019 victories but provided the British athlete with a confidence booster ahead of taking on next month’s London Marathon.

Fellow Olympian McColgan will not be competing in October’s 26.2-mile race having been hit by a reaction to taking on fuel during long practice runs.

The issue has been identified as rebound hypoglycemia, a common occurrence among endurance athletes which leads to reduced blood sugar levels and means there is not enough glucose in the blood to meet the body’s demands.

But McColgan stuck to water on Sunday and bettered Charlotte Purdue’s time of 69.51 minutes last year to show she will be a force to be reckoned with if she can compete as planned in the 2023 London Marathon.

The Big Half – London’s community half marathon – returns on Sunday (September 4) with an exciting mix of world-class racing, fundraising and community celebrations.

Leading the elite fields will be recently crowned Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan, multiple Olympic and World Championships gold medalist Sir Mo Farah, and Paralympic star David Weir.

Strong domestic fields

McColgan will be up against the reigning The Big Half champion Charlotte Purdue in the elite women’s race. A exciting domestic field also includes European Championship and Commonwealth Games performers Samantha Harrison and Calli Thackery with Olympian Steph Twell and Welsh star Clara Evans expected to make it a very competitive race.

In the men’s race while two former winners, Jake Smith and Chris Thompson, will be among those challenging Farah in the elite men’s race. They will be joined by the winner of the 2022 Vitality 10000m, Jack Rowe, 2016 Rio Olympian Ross Millington and straight off the back of a 17th place finish at the European Champs mararthon Phil Sesemann.

Commonwealth Games marathon champion JohnBoy Smith will renew rivalries with Weir in the elite men’s wheelchair race, while Commonwealth Games marathon silver medalist Eden Rainbow-Cooper is the one to watch in the elite women’s wheelchair race.

The wheelchair races will start at 08:25 and the elite men and women plus the masses will get under way at 08:30. The action will be shown live across the BBC from 08:10 to 10:30 on BBC iPlayer, the Red Button and BBC Sport website, and on The Big Half Facebook page.

Festival of running

In addition to the elite races, there will be more than 16,000 The Big Half participants, including more than 3,000 people from community groups across London. Also included in The Big Half is the New Balance Big Relay, where teams of four can take on four legs of the 13.1-mile distance, and The Big Mile, a family-friendly event over the final mile of the route.

Britain's Laura Muir began the defence of her European 1500m title in style as she breezed into Friday's final on a sweltering morning in Munich.

The 28-year-old, defending the title she won in Berlin in 2018, finished in four minutes 6.41 seconds to win her heat as temperatures neared 30C.

"It has been a busy, busy season, but I am lucky I have got a big gap to the final," Muir told BBC Sport.

Team-mate Matthew Hudson-Smith qualified fastest for the 400m final.

The world bronze medallist was the class of his semi-final, coasting down the home straight and clocking 44.98 seconds.

Like Muir, Hudson-Smith will be defending a title he won four years ago when he runs in Wednesday evening's final.

Fellow Briton Alex Haydock-Wilson will join Hudson-Smith in the final after clocking 45.45 - the fourth fastest time across the three semi-finals.

"It felt good," said Hudson-Smith. "I will go for the medal, the gold one I hope."

Muir and Hudson-Smith are aiming to secure more medals after finishing on the podium in both the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in the past five weeks.

Team-mates Katie Snowden and Ellie Baker joined Muir in the 1500m final via their times in a swift second heat.

Ireland's Ciara Mageean, who won silver behind Muir at the Commonwealth Games while representing Northern Ireland, also qualified.

Victoria Ohuruogu's excellent season continued as she set a new personal best of 50.50 seconds en route to the 400m final.

It is the sixth time this season that the 29-year-old Commonwealth silver medallist has broken her 400m personal best.

Fellow Britons Laviai Nielsen and Nicole Yeargin both missed out on Wednesday's final, but the Netherlands' Femke Bol, who is taking on the 400m flat as well as her specialist hurdles event, qualified as fifth fastest.

Elsewhere, Jazmin Sawyers' leap of 6.60m was enough to earn the Briton a place in the long jump final.

The back straight was the most densely populated stand in the 69,250-capacity Olympic Stadium as local fans watched Olympic, world and European champion Malaika Mihambo go furthest with a best of 6.99m.

Eilish McColgan, 31, won her first major title as she triumphed in the event at the Commonwealth Games 12 days ago.

Having also finished second in the 5,000m at Birmingham 2022, the Scot earned another silver as she ran clear of Israel's Lonah Chemtai Salpeter.

Can kicked clear with seven laps to go to win in 30:32.57. 

"I'm pleased. I'm obviously disappointed, I would have loved to become European champion tonight - but tired, tired legs," McColgan told BBC Sport.

A fortnight of soaring glories continued for Eilish McColgan as she fought off her extreme post Commonwealth Games fatigue, and the attentions of a high-class field, to claim a brilliant European 10,000m silver in Munich. The 31-year-old had been so weary before this race that she had spent the day in a deep slumber. Yet fuelled by caffeine and a desire for her third medal in 12 days, she produced another performance of immense grit and steel.

In blustery conditions, McColgan applied the template that had served her so well in Birmingham, pushing to the front early and applying a cobra-like squeeze for lap after painful lap. But this time the Kenyan-born Turkish athlete Yasemin Can proved to have a powerful antidote.

With seven laps remaining Can made a decisive move, breaking away before coming home the winner. But McColgan had enough in the tank to beat Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter for silver.

 “I felt very tired all this week,” McColgan admitted afterwards. “I hadn’t slept for several nights after the 10,000m in Birmingham and then I had to do it again in the 5,000m. And then all the media the following day when you’re up at the crack of dawn and on your feet all day – I’m not used to that.

“All I did today was sleep. My roommate just thought I was dead. And even though the housekeeper came in, I didn’t even hear it. I was just totally knocked out.”

However McColgan still packed a punch when it mattered. After a sedate opening kilometre, she decided enough was enough and kicked on. Soon the field was strung out and screaming. With 18 of the 25 laps remaining, only four athletes were left in contention. And while gold ultimately proved beyond her, this was another impressive performance.

“I didn’t want a last kilometre burn-up,” McColgan said. “But when the pace went up, I just didn’t quite have that zip. But it was probably to be expected. I’m not a superhuman and I have to respect that my legs were going to be tired.

“And I knew it was going to be tough with Can. I knew she was the one to beat tonight and she just was super strong. I couldn’t stay with her.”

Fellow Britons Samantha Harrison and Jessica Judd finished sixth and 10th respectively.

McColgan followed in the footsteps of her mother Liz - Commonwealth 10,000m champion in both 1986 and 1990 - as she recorded the biggest win of her career on 4 August.

In a hugely impressive season, McColgan also broke the European 10km, British half-marathon and Scottish 10,000m records earlier this year.

Though illness and injury hindered her World Championships medal aspirations in July, the 2018 European 5,000m silver medallist has returned to form emphatically - delivering one of the key moments of Birmingham 2022 as she out-kicked Kenyan Irene Cheptai in front of a packed Alexander Stadium.

In Munich's Olympia stadion, McColgan took it upon herself to increase the pace after a relaxed opening kilometre and by halfway only Can, defending champion Salpeter and Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen were able to remain in touch.

But Can, champion in 2016, made her stunning bid for gold with over a quarter of the race remaining, surging away from the competition to leave McColgan and Salpeter to chase.

While they could not close the gap, McColgan was able to move clear of Salpeter on the final lap, finishing in 30:41.05.

Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali believes he is the "king of steeplechase" after adding the world title to his Olympic Games gold.

The 26-year-old put on a tactical masterclass over the 3,000m course in Eugene to end Kenya's 15-year reign in the discipline at the World Athletics Championships.

In a repeat performance of his Olympic success in Tokyo last year, he stayed near the back of the leading pack for much of the race before making the decisive move in the last 200m to claim gold in a time of eight minutes 25.13 seconds.

"I am the king of steeplechase because I have gained confidence on the track. That's why I am the Olympic champion and now the world champion," El Bakkali told BBC Sport Africa.

Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma had to settle for silver once again, having finished second in Tokyo and in Doha three years ago, while Kenya's Conseslus Kipruto, the 2019 champion, ended with bronze.

Kenyan runners had won men's steeplechase gold in every edition of the World Championships since Brimin Kipruto's success in Osaka in 2007 and El Bakkali said his finishing speed had been the key to victory in Oregon.

"The course was very tactical, slow. We had very good runners like defending champion Kipruto," said El Bakkali, who beamed as he waved the Moroccan flag over his head.

"I positioned well in the last lap. I am very strong in the 400m and it worked out for me.

"After the semi-final I had a good look at the strategy of the Kenyan athletes. I was on my own, the only Moroccan in the race, but I did not limit myself to winning silver nor bronze. Instead I managed to come first in two world league meetings and now the World Championship."

Kenya's Kipruto upbeat despite bronze

Girma, after another second-placed finish, intends to reassess his training with an eye toward next year's World Championships in Budapest.

"The pace was very slow today, my tactic did not work and that [cost] me the gold," he said.

"I was trying to change the tactic but the pace limited me very much. I will go for gold next year and my training is starting from now on."

Dethroned world champion Kipruto, meanwhile, said he "did not execute the race as planned".

"I was running against athletes who have two years of consistent running when I was struggling," he added.

"It was never going to be easy. But I take the bronze positively."

Kipyegon now the greatest 1500m runner?

Meanwhile two-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya took 1500m gold in an astonishing time of 3:52.96 to regain her world title.

Kipyegon first took the crown in London in 2017 and becomes the first woman to win four global 1500m titles, with Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay second and Britain's Laura Muir in third.

Winning silver in Doha in 2019, having spent 12 months out of competitive running the year before when her daughter was born, meant crossing the line first in Eugene was even more fulfilling for the Kenyan.

"I knew it was going to be fast so I was really expecting that tight race," she told BBC Sport.

"I was not scared. I was like 'everything is possible' and I had to calm down, enjoy the race and I won.

"It feels very good to get back the world title that I lost in 2019 when I was coming back from giving birth to my daughter, who means the world to me."

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has stated that the global athletics governing body will look at their rules concerning the inclusion of transgender athletes in female events at a Council meeting toward the end of this year.

This statement comes days after the International Swimming Federation (FINA), swimming’s governing body, voted to stop trans female athletes from competing in women’s elite races if they have gone through any part of the gender transformation process after puberty or age 12. FINA also stated that they will establish an open category in some events for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their birth sex.

(Photo - Caster Semenya is a woman and a man. The South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports.)

Transgender rights have become a major talking point in sports in an effort to balance inclusivity with ensuring they do not have an unfair advantage arising from the residual effects of puberty.

The debate intensified this year after University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender NCAA champion in history, winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Coe, a two-time Olympic 800m champion, outlined his support for the recent measures taken by FINA.

“The integrity of women’s sport is really, really important here, and we can’t have a generation of young girls thinking there is not a future for them in the sport. So we have a responsibility…maintaining the primacy and the integrity of female competition is absolutely vital, and that’s why we were at the forefront of tabling those regulations that allow as close as you can get to a level playing field,” says Coe.

Coe on FINA’s ruling:

“This is as it should be. We have always believed that biology trumps gender and we will continue to review our regulations in line with this. We will follow the science.”

FINA’s new guideline means that Thomas, who has expressed a desire to compete for Team U.S.A. at the Paris Olympics, is now blocked from participating in the women’s category at the Games. There have been talks to establish an “open” category at world championships for athletes whose gender identity is different than their assigned gender at birth.

The current World Athletics guideline from 2018 states that transgender women can compete in the women’s category if they reduce their testosterone levels to below five nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months before competing.

“We continue to study, research and contribute to the growing body of evidence that testosterone is a key determinant in performance, and have scheduled a discussion on our regulations with our council at the end of the year,” says Coe.

International sports federations may set their own policies but will be subject to World Athletics and IOC rules when it comes to sending athletes to the World Championships and Olympic Games.

More than 16,500 people will take part in the Vitality London 10,000 on Bank Holiday Monday May 2, headed by elite races that will see Sir Mo Farah returning to racing for the first time since June 2021 and the event debut of in-form Eilish McColgan, who could threaten Paula Radcliffe’s 19-year-old British and European 10K record.

Sir Mo is the most successful athlete in the history of the Vitality London 10,000, with seven victories to his name, and the multiple world and Olympic champion will use this year’s event as his first race back since picking up an injury last year while trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 39-year-old will face his long-time friend and adversary Chris Thompson, as well as Phil Sesemann, the first British finisher at last year’s London Marathon. Andy Butchart, however, has had to withdraw from the race.

McColgan comes into the elite women’s race in red-hot form having smashed the British 5K record in Malaga, Spain, last Sunday (April 24). The Scottish star is already the owner of the women’s only British 10K record (30:52), which she set at the Great Manchester Run last year.

Only two British women have ever run faster over 10K than McColgan: Radcliffe, whose European and British record stands at 30:21, and McColgan’s mum, Liz Nuttall (formerly McColgan) who is the Scottish record holder with her personal best of 30:39 set in Orlando in 1989.

McColgan said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my 2022 season than to set a new British 5K record in my first race. Now I’m really looking forward to coming back to the UK and running the Vitality London 10,000 and seeing what shape I am in over 10K.”

Joining McColgan in the elite women’s field is two-time Vitality London 10,000 champion Steph Twell and Jess Piasecki, the sixth fastest British woman of all time over 10K. Charlotte Purdue, who was ninth at The Boston Marathon earlier this month and was due to race, has had to withdraw due to illness.

A record 18 wheelchair athletes will take part this year, with the field led by Paralympic stars David Weir and Shelly Woods.

There will be 10 start waves at the Vitality London 10,000, including a Run for Ukraine wave, where the 2,000 entrants are encouraged to wearing blue and yellow and fundraise for the Ukraine relief effort. One hundred per cent of the discounted £15 entry fees for this wave will be donated by organisers London Marathon Events to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Anthony Seddon, 40, from Brighton, is one of those who will be joining the Run for Ukraine wave, as part of a 1,569-mile fundraising challenge to raise money for a cause that means so much to him.

Anthony’s wife Anna is Ukrainian and he is running 10 kilometres for as long as it takes to complete 1,569 miles – the distance between the football grounds of Brighton and Hove Albion, the club he supports, and Anna’s favourite football team in her home town of Dnipro.

Anna’s mother has fled Ukraine to live with the couple in Brighton, but the remainder of her family remain in the war-torn country.

Anthony said: “Anna has many friends and family still in Dnipro, some unable to leave but most wanting to stay in their homes.

I met Anna while watching England play football at the Euro 2012 tournament. As it was football that brought us together, I have committed to run those 1,569 miles, the distance from Brighton’s Amex Stadium to the Dnipro Arena by way of running events like the Vitality London 10,000 and other half and full marathons until I complete the distance.

“Between our fundraising page and money donated by friends and family beforehand we have managed to send more than £16,000 of aid so far and we hope we can send so much more. Every penny we raise is spent solely on medical aid.”

After a successful first edition in 2019, the Celebrate You wave returns to this year’s Vitality London 10,000 to promote the mental health benefits that regular exercise delivers.

The wave of 1,000 participants will be led by Celebrate You co-founder, journalist and author Bryony Gordon who will be running her 10th consecutive 10K as part of her ‘10 days of 10Ks’ challenge to promote the importance of activity for mental health and the peer support group Mental Health Mates that she founded in 2016.

Also running in the Celebrate You wave are theatre star Carrie Hope Fletcher, body positivity influencers and models Shareefa J and Jade Seabrook and Helen Thorn, one half of the comedy duo Scummy Mummies.

The Vitality Westminster Mile, staged in partnership with Westminster City Council, takes place on Sunday 1 May, with thousands of participants taking on a series of mile events throughout the day from 10:00 to 14:30.

Among the 15 waves on the day are the #RunforRuth wave for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, led by Sir Andrew Strauss, and a Special Olympics GB Unified Mile. There are also nine family waves, a parkrun wave and a junior wheelchair athletes wave. Parents or guardians have been able to register children under-12 for free.

The free Vitality Wellness Festival takes place in Green Park on both days, featuring exciting free activities for children on the Sunday and the chance to run on the Vitality Tumbleator, a giant treadmill, on both days.

The events share one of the most stunning Start and Finish Lines in sport, with The Mall providing the setting for an iconic start and Buckingham Palace as the backdrop for a stunning finish.

The Vitality London 10,000 will be broadcast live on BBC Sport Online, iPlayer and Red Button, as well as the Vitality London 10,000 Facebook page, from 09:45 to 11:45.

The 33-year-old won the 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and also took the African title over the same distance in Marrakech that year.

Chepkirui has been provisionally suspended since June 2019, after an expert panel studied anomalies in blood samples collected by World Athletics between 2016 and 2017.

The panel concluded the "likelihood of the abnormalities in results being due to blood manipulation" - the artificial increase of red blood cells using a stimulant - was "high".

Chepkirui explained the results by saying she suffered from hormone imbalance and vaginal bleeding, which was caused by a contraceptive injected every three months, had an iron-rich diet and took three drugs to treat these conditions.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) decided to ban Chepkirui after upholding an appeal filed by the Athletics Integrity Unit, and her four-year period of ineligibility has been backdated to the start of her provisional suspension.

Chepkirui's results between 6 April 2016 and 4 August 2017 - which include a third-placed finish in the Boston Marathon in April 2016 - will be disqualified and she will be required to forfeit any medals, prizes and appearance fees gained in that time.

Meanwhile, Cas have ruled the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya should pay 2,000 Swiss Francs (US$2,140) to World Athletics as a contribution towards its legal costs and other expenses.

Kenya is still listed as a category A nation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), meaning the country remains a high risk for doping.

As a result, Kenyan athletes still need to undergo three out of competition tests in a 10-month period before a World Championships or Olympic Games.

BBC Sport Africa understands Athletics Kenya had been hoping to be removed from the category A classification.

Former 100m sprinter makes history after bobsleigh selection for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing

 Montell Douglas has become the first woman to compete for Great Britain at both the summer and winter Olympics after she was chosen as a member of the upcoming bobsleigh squad for next month’s Games in Beijing.

The 35-year-old was a reserve four years ago in Pyeongchang but this time has been selected for the squad and will serve as Mica McNeill’s brakewoman.

McNeill has a wealth of experience in the sport having competed herself in Pyeongchang while she also won a silver medal at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.

This will be the first time Douglas has competed on the ice at such a significant event but has steadily progressed alongside McNeil since the former British sprinter took up bobsleigh six years ago.

Since then the pair came fourth in the 2020–21 Bobsleigh World Cup two-women event in Innsbruck while Douglas also finished in the top ten on her Bobsleigh World Cup debut in 2017.

“It’s such a strange feeling. Beforehand, I had thoughts of how it would feel, but I think it’s more of a relief,” Douglas told BBC Sport.

“I’m over the moon to be representing women. There have been many male summer and winter Olympians, so I’m more thrilled about leaving a legacy like that behind than anything else.

“To come full circle, after 14 years and at the end of my career, that blows my mind. You’re never too old, it’s never too late, you should always dream and dream big.”

Douglas represented Great Britain on the track in Beijing 2008 and was the former British record holder over 100m with 11.05 after she ended what was then a 37-year-old record from Kathy Cook. Only Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita have run faster than Douglas.

While it was joy for Douglas in being selected for next month’s Winter Olympics, the same could not be said for Greg Rutherford who missed out on selection in the men’s bobsleigh squad.

Rutherford, who famously won Olympic long jump gold on Super Saturday at London 2012, made his bobsleigh debut earlier this month.

 

 

One day, Annet Negesa was pushing her body to endure and make her the champion she believed she was born to be. On another day, her Olympics dreams were crushed because she was faster, stronger.

Annet Negesa reportedly still harbours intentions to run for her country. She runs every day, with the hope of returning to international competitions one day. 

Hers is a case of unfinished business, a dream that was cut short in June 2012 when she received a call from a doctor from track and field’s world governing body telling her, according to the New York Times newspaper - that “she would no longer be competing in the London Olympics because her testosterone levels were too high for competition,” thereby giving her an unfair advantage over other female athletes.

Negesa, 20 then, was one of Uganda’s top athletes. On the back of her London preparations, she set a national record for 800 metres earlier that year at a meet in Netherlands.

She was a three-time national champion and brought home a gold medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games.

She identifies as female and was born with external female genitalia but also with internal male genitalia that produce levels of testosterone that men do.

Most women, including elite female athletes, have natural testosterone levels of 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per litre, according to World Athletics. The typical male range after puberty is reportedly much higher, at 7.7 to 29.4 nanomoles per litre.

After years of litigation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2019 upheld World Athletics’ testosterone restrictions for female athletes in races with distances from 400 meters to the mile after renowned athlete Caster Semenya (we shall get to her later in the article), filed an appeal.

The court ruled by a 2-to-1 vote that the restrictions were indeed discriminatory but also a “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” means of achieving the World Athletics goal of preserving a level playing field in women’s track events.

Therefore intersex athletes (these are said to be roughly one in every 2,000 births), who want to participate in middle-distance women’s track events must take hormone-suppressing drugs and reduce testosterone levels to below five nanomoles per litre (5 nmol/L) for six months before competing, then maintain those lowered levels.

Unfortunately, the intervention seems to have come seven years late for Negesa, who claims World Athletics physician Dr Stéphane Bermon gave her surgery as her first option to reduce testosterone levels in 2012. 

But Negesa has since battled persistent headaches and achy joints that have not allowed her to pursue her career. Her postoperative care, which according to documents seen at the Kampala Hospital by the New York Times should have been recommended in further discussions with Dr Bermon, did not include the kind of hormone treatment that might have helped her body adjust to the change.

After Negesa appeared in a ‘break the silence’ documentary on German television’s ARD network in October 2019, World Athletics issued a statement denying that it participated in or recommended a specific treatment to Negesa.

Third category

Nine years after Negesa’s predicament, another recommendation to World Athletics; to introduce a third category of events in order to allow competitors with high testosterone levels to compete in their preferred disciplines, seems to be gathering steam after Kenyan 800m runner Margaret Wambui was ruled out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“It would be good if a third category for athletes with high testosterone was introduced; because it is wrong to stop people from using their talents,” Wambui told BBC Sport Africa.

The sport’s governing body, World Athletics, says it has no plans to introduce such a category and will stick to its current classifications of men’s and women’s events.

The idea of a third category in athletics has been floated before, but Wambui is the first athlete to express outright support for the suggestion.

“We would be the first people to compete in that category - so we can motivate others who are hiding their condition,” she said.

Since World Athletics introduced its latest rules governing DSD (disorders of sex development) athletes in 2018, not one of the three athletes who stood on the 800m podium in Rio has contested the distance at a global international championship.

At the 2016 Games, Wambui was beaten to gold by Semenya and silver by Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba.

“It is sad to see that the whole podium won’t be there.”  “They cut short our careers, because that wasn’t our plan. I feel bad that I won’t be in the Olympics because of World Athletics rules,” says Wambui.

Kenyan 10,000 meters runner and 2019 New York Marathon winner Geoffrey Kamworor has pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to an ankle injury, he told BBC Sport Africa on Thursday.

The 28-year-old is a three times world Half Marathon champion, and previous world record holder, and had hopes of a medal in the 10,000m after winning the national trials.

He won silver at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, behind Britain's Mo Farah.

The injury comes after he was hit by a motorcycle while training near his home in June last year, suffering a fractured tibia.

"These are obstacles which can come on your way when you come back from a tough injury earlier on. It's only now extremely bad timing," the BBC quoted his manager Valentijn Trouw as saying.

The impact of climate change will likely lead to "impaired" performances at the Tokyo Olympics, according to a report backed by leading athletes.

In the report, titled Rings of Fire, it is argued that summer heatwaves in Tokyo during the past three years indicate that conditions will be tough.

Concerns over heat have caused the marathon to be moved from Tokyo.

Professor Mike Tipton said he expects Tokyo to be the most "thermally stressful Olympics" of recent times.

The University of Portsmouth professor helped to produce the report, which was backed by athletes, the British Association for Sustainability in Sport (Basis) and scientists from the Priestley International Centre for Climate at Leeds University.

He told BBC Sport: "The take-home message is you've probably got to move the Olympics to a different time of the year rather than a different geographical location or time of the day and I think that's something, going forward, the International Olympic Committee will have to start considering.

"I would be fairly confident to say that performances will be impaired across a lot of sports. The sport as a spectacle will be impaired in terms of the performance level of the people who are doing it."

Mara Yamauchi, who competed in the marathon for Britain at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, backed the report.

A coalition of athletes, celebrities and health bodies have written to the prime minister asking for the "fullest possible support" to help sports and exercise facilities survive the pandemic.

In a letter seen by the BBC, they said they were "deeply concerned" thousands of shut pools, gyms and leisure centres were at risk of permanent closure.

Colin Jackson, David Weir, Jonnie Peacock, Beth Tweddle and Keri-Anne Payne are among the Olympians and Paralympians to have signed.

Davina McCall, David Walliams, Mel Chisholm and Zoe Ball have also put their names to the letter.

Referring to a "deep drop in activity across all ages and backgrounds", the group says "facilities…are a cradle for developing our national sporting heroes.

More than 200 athletes call for abusive coaches to get lifetime bans

"The threat of losing these places has brought us together as a collective voice, to hope that everything is done to ensure these essential facilities are available to support our recovery, and enhance the health of the nation.."

Tens of thousands of sports clubs, swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms have been forced to shut in recent months as a result of coronavirus restrictions and the winter national lockdown with 100,000 jobs thought to be at risk.

"We know that for every pound the government spends on sport and physical activity, it gets almost four pounds in return", the group tells Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"Savings into the billions on serious physical and mental health conditions, social care, and preventing an estimated 30 million GP visits a year."

"It's a hard time, we're all over-eating," signatory and fitness enthusiast McCall told BBC Sport.

"Obesity and being overweight - Covid loves that. This is what we're trying to avoid, we've got to get this nation fit. We're going to do it through fitness and through people going to team sports, it's so important."

Activity levels taken a "significant hit"

Last month Sport England announced an extra £50m was being directed towards grassroots sport after a "significant hit" to activity levels. It has already invested £220m since the start of the crisis.

The government announced a £100m recovery fund for public leisure facilities last year, but estimated losses across the sector far exceed that amount.

"This is a clear warning from our nation's health and medical experts, academics, athletes and other champions of our sector, of the grave risk facing the mental and physical health of our communities" said Huw Edwards, the chief executive of Ukactive, which represents the physical activity industry and is calling for tax cuts and additional financial support.

The government said that sport and physical activity was at the heart of its coronavirus recovery plan, and that the return of community sport remained a priority as lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

 

Rudisha, who turned 32 on Thursday, has struggled with injuries since defending his title in Rio in 2016 and has missed the last two World Championships.

Ankle surgery meant that the world record holder would not have been able to compete if the Tokyo games had gone ahead this year, instead of being delayed until 2021 by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

"Because of this difficult time with Covid and I have been up and down with injuries, I have been off, I have not been training," he admitted to BBC Sport Africa.

"I am hoping maybe next year I will make my decision whether I will come back and see the level of my physical fitness.

"That's when I will be able to assess my level and my standard and that will gauge if I will come back or I will make another decision but I love sports.

"Once an athlete, I will always be an athlete - so I will always be running at some level even if it is professional, or not professional or for fun but I love the sport and I enjoy running," he insisted.

David Rudisha: Olympic 800m champion on personal struggles, and Tokyo comeback

He insisted he will not be rushing to make a comeback from his latest injury.

"I had a bad injury in the beginning of the year and it is taking quite sometime and coming back you need to prepare yourself very well," he explained.

"I know that time is everything, if you do not have enough time I don't think it will be possible because running is not easy.

"It is a process and if I cannot have the period good enough for training I don't think I will be able to be there and to be at that level of professionalism, so I am just trying my best.

"Even if I come the year after next year all well and good and I will be happy because running is all about fun and would love to come back and it will depend on so many aspects."

Two-time world 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya recently spoke out about Wavelight technology and its use in track races, voicing her displeasure with the electronic pacing system. In an interview with BBC Sport Africa, the Olympic silver medallist said Wavelight technology gives athletes an unfair advantage, and she likened using it to doping.

“To me [Wavelight and doping] are the same,” she said. Obiri’s criticism of the innovative technology comes two months after Joshua Cheptegei and Letesenbet Gidey ran to 10,000m and 5,000m world records with the aid of the light pacing system on a track in Valencia. 

In the past, athletes running record attempts were paced by other runners for a portion of the race, and this is still a common practice. Cheptegei and Gidey used pacers as well, but when those runners stepped off the track, the pace lights were still there, representing the pace they had to match. This is one of the reasons Obiri doesn’t like the technology. 

“You can just watch [and know], ‘I am inside the world record or outside [the] world record,'” Obiri told the BBC.  “But when you are running alone, you can’t know whether you are inside or outside [the] world record.” Obiri notes that pacers can only take a runner so far before they themselves need to drop out of a race, but Wavelight technology “can take you … up to the finish.” Obiri isn’t the first to criticize this technology, but she could be the most prominent athlete to speak out about it so far. 

Obiri also takes issue with the lack of opportunities in Wavelight racing, adding that, if this technology is here to stay, it should at least be available to all athletes. “I think it can be fair if all athletes are there, not one or two,” she said. “More like 12 athletes where anybody can break the world record.” When Cheptegei and Gidey ran in Valencia, they were the only runners on the track working toward the world records. “For me, it is better [to include multiple athletes] than to put one athlete in a race. If it’s available, let it be available to all.”

While she doesn’t agree with the use of Wavelight technology, Obiri said she understands that it is another part of development and innovation in track. “It is good to see the new things coming, but sometimes we need to work extra hard and not depend on other things. The way we used to do before.”

The 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon will not feature a mass race and will be an elite-only event, with Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele set to be among those racing on an enclosed looped course in St James’s Park on October 4.

Meanwhile, organisers have also confirmed that next year’s edition will not take place in April but will be moved to October 3 “to give the best chance for the mass race to return in 2021”.

The 2020 event will see elite racing take place within a “secure biosphere”, which organisers describe as a contained safe environment like that of Formula 1 and football, and as recently announced by World Athletics the times recorded in London will be eligible for Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification.

While the men’s race is set to host the highly-anticipated clash between distance running greats Kipchoge and Bekele, world record-holder Brigid Kosgei has been announced for the women’s event, with David Weir and Manuela Schär set to lead the wheelchair fields.

Organisers are yet to announce the elite field sizes and how the races will be set off, including whether it will be by waves, but it has been confirmed that athletes will cross the same traditional finish line on The Mall after completing 19.8 laps of the St James’s Park course.

There will be no spectator access in order to maintain the biosphere, but BBC Sport plans to broadcast eight hours of coverage during the day.

UK Athletics had previously announced that next April’s London Marathon would be the GB Olympic trial race for the postponed Olympics in Tokyo but the national governing body will now work on new qualification plans following confirmation that the 2021 race has been moved from spring to autumn. Selection will still take place in 2021.

“It is a very fast course,” said event director Hugh Brasher, with London Marathon Events having experience of looped course racing as they were part of the organising team for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge event in Vienna last October, when Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier.

“The course is faster than the current London Marathon course. It is not the fastest course, it is not as fast as Vienna, but it is a quick course. What we want to do is provide an environment that really excites the athletes. There is a lot of technology out there at the moment with which to do that, and how we can invite people in, in virtual reality, how we can create an atmosphere.

“It is important that we try and show that the sport can still take place. Sport plays such an incredible part in British psychology and the London Marathon reflects that in a way that very few, in fact no other, sports do. What we talk about is that it is the only event where you are taking part at the same time as the gods of the sport.

“At least here the elite athletes will be in London, they will be going head-to-head, and they will be able to celebrate the competition together. To be able to say that those athletes are coming to London is enormously exciting for the sport, for them, and we hope it adds to the inspiration and the feeling that we really want people to have on October 4, people who are on their own journey of that 26.2 miles.”

Organizer Run 4 Wales says holding it in just four months' time "really isn't feasible" and the event will instead take place on 28 March next year.

Since its foundation in 2003, the event has become the UK's third biggest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.

Last year 27,500 runners and 100,000 spectators attended the race.

The 2019 Cardiff Half Marathon saw men's winner Leonard Langat from Kenya finish the 13.1 mile course in a new record time of 59 minutes 29 seconds.

"There's still uncertainty about what the autumn looks like," Run 4 Wales chief executive Matt Newman told BBC Sport Wales.

"The prognosis is not very good at the moment and it looks like [mass] events are going to be one of the last things to come back when the world starts to settle down.

"Whilst we could have left this for 12 months and come back in the autumn of 2021, we wanted to give participants an option to come in March which we feel is long enough away for the world to start to come back to some sort of normality."

The Cardiff Half had been due to take place on the same day as the rearranged London Marathon. As it stands that event is still due to go ahead.

The Newport Wales Marathon - already postponed from April to October - has been pushed back again to a new date of 18 April 2021.

Newman is hopeful that postponing the Cardiff Half will allow organisers to hold an event "virtually as normal" next spring, but admits Run 4 Wales is preparing for some restrictions to still be in place.

"We're getting lots of information about how the running community across Europe is looking to stage events," he said.

"There's a lot of creativity going on about different waves, different start times, putting in place all sorts of safe practices.

"But right now it's a little bit early to explain all the options, as we're still hopeful that by the spring of 2021 some of the restrictions we have at the moment are relaxed."

The Cardiff Half Marathon typically sees more than £4m raised for charities and the hope is that only delaying the event will mean these good causes will not miss out on vital fundraising.

Next year will see two half marathons take place in the Welsh capital, with the autumn event still scheduled for 3 October 2021.

As coronavirus lockdown restrictions continue to be enforced, Bolton Wanderers' head of marketing and communications - and keen runner - Paul Holliday had to think on his feet after his plan to raise money for charity by running a series of marathons had to be abandoned.

His solution? Running a full 26-mile marathon in his own living room.

Holliday, who has been furloughed during the crisis, streamed his efforts on social media on Wednesday as he ran 4,500 laps of his front room.

"I must confess that after the first couple of laps, the size of the task in front of me made me feel a bit daunted," he admitted to BBC Sport.

"But once I got into my groove I had no further doubts or issues.

"I had done a trial mile in my living room just over a week ago to see what it would be like and I felt dizzy after that.

"But I prepared well over the past couple of days by eating and hydrating well so I knew I'd have the energy to get this done."

Holliday, whose daughter Isabella has Down's Syndrome and ADHD, had planned to run three marathons this year in order to raise money for High Five, a Lancashire-based charity his wife and a friend set up to support the families of children with disabilities.

When the pandemic led to his outdoor runs being cancelled, however, Holliday pressed on with his aim to continue fundraising and streamed his indoor marathon to thousands via his Twitter account.

So far, he has raised over £2,000 - double his original target.

"I've been overwhelmed by the support of everyone; family, friends, colleagues and especially people who I've never met," he said.

"To be so generous during these uncertain times shows how kind-hearted people can be and I'm truly grateful."

Having finished in a time of four hours 38 minutes, how was he physically and what was the state of the living room?

"The carpet, quite miraculously, is unscathed. There aren't any signs of wear and tear but we've been wanting to replace it for years. I plan to do a couple more indoor marathons before the outdoor marathons resume so we will wait until after I've done them," he said.

Irish marathon runner Kevin Seaward feels there is "every likelihood" this year's Olympics will not take place because of the coronavirus crisis.

Seaward ran the distance for Ireland at the Rio Games and set a new Northern Ireland marathon record of 2:10.09 last month to seemingly book his Tokyo spot.

"The Olympics symbolize something more than a Games at the moment," he said.

"It would be a beacon of hope for people. But I honestly don't think they are going to happen."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is continuing to insist the Games could still begin on 24 July despite the pandemic but several high profile athletes including British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson have criticized this stance.

World champion Johnson-Thompson says training has become "impossible" because of the restrictions around coronavirus and has had to move back home from her normal base in France after the country was put on lockdown.

As a distance runner who does most of his workouts alone and rarely uses a track, Seaward says his training is not being hindered to the same extent as the Englishwoman, but nevertheless feels the IOC will have to at least move the Games to a later date if not cancel altogether.

Seaward, 36, is an assistant head teacher at a Leicestershire secondary school and has been working flat out with his colleagues to make arrangements for the children of key workers who will remain in school in the coming weeks after the British Government's school closures announcement on Wednesday.

"It's challenging times. School has been pretty crazy the last three or four days but we've got a little bit of clarity now," the Northern Irishman told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

"You don't know that the Olympics are going to happen. I've come to the conclusion that there's every likelihood of them not happening. We've certainly got bigger things to worry about globally at the minute."

Seaward believes the postponement and cancellation of numerous Olympic qualifiers and other events which would have offered the opportunity to book Tokyo berths is another reason why the Games are unlikely to happen - certainly in the summer.

"I read an article today where Seb Coe said it was too early to make a decision (on the Games) and I kind of agree it's too early to definitively say yes or no.

"Aside from the fact that what we're experiencing now may not have cleared by then, people still have to qualify. There's a lot of thought that would have to go into making the process fair for everyone.

"From a marathoner's perspective, we have three Irish qualifiers (Seaward, Paul Pollock and Stephen Scullion) but we also know there are multiple other guys (Sean Tobin, Hugh Armstrong and Mick Clohisey) who were training hard and who were determined to give it a go to qualify but their marathons were cancelled."

Eliud Kipchoge believes he could break his own world record when he bids to become the first able-bodied athlete to win the Virgin Money London Marathon for a fifth time next April. 

The Kenyan superstar, who created history with his groundbreaking run of 1:59:41 in October, has announced he will race in the UK capital once again in 2020 for the 40th edition of an event he has won four times in four appearances. 

Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour run in Vienna was not eligible to be considered for world record purposes, given the controlled conditions in which it was achieved, but he can see the two-hour barrier being broken in a big city marathon in the not-too-distant future. 

For now, the official world record stands as the 2:01:39 which the Olympic champion ran in Berlin last year and, though he insists there is plenty of training to do between now and the London race day of April 26, he won’t rule out going quicker come springtime.  

“Absolutely,” was Kipchoge’s answer when asked if he could create yet more history in London, where he won in a time of 2:02:37 earlier this year which broke his own course record. “It is possible.”

Has what he achieved in Vienna in fact given him the confidence that anything is possible?

“Absolutely, yes.”

Kipchoge is undoubtedly the dominant force in world marathon and his achievements have gained recognition across the globe, with the 35-year-old currently in Britain to attend the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, where he will receive the World Sport Star of the Year award.

He is feted as a hero, too, in his native country, where he received a very different kind of medal. 

“Everyone in Kenya is recognising me,” he said. “I can say it is a crazy time. There was no need for a big procession because the president honoured me with the national certificate. I was given the honour – the golden heart – the highest recognition by the Head of State.”

British Olympic bronze medallist Anyika Onuora has said she wasn't mentally there, to challenge at Tokyo 2020 after retiring from athletics.

Onuora, 35, won 4x400m bronze at Rio 2016 having won the same medal at the World Championships the previous year.

She is also won European gold in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays and finishes her career as a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist.

"It was a tough decision, there were a couple of tears," said Onuora.

"But I'm walking away healthy - I didn't have my career taken away from me."

Speaking to BBC Sport, Onuora, who first competed for Great Britain 18 years ago, added: "Physically, I can do any workout. But mentally, I'm not where I want to be so I just want to move onto the next chapter of my life.

"Tokyo was always the plan, especially having a successful Rio Olympics, but unfortunately I wasn't mentally there."

Onuora contracted malaria while on a family in Nigeria in October 2015 which threatened her Olympic dream.

But just 10 months later the Liverpudlian won bronze at Rio 2016.

"I never thought I could walk away from not only recovering from malaria, but also being physically back to my best, but then also winning an Olympic medal," she added.

"Among the many other medals I won, being one of only a handful of British athletes to complete 'the full set' - becoming a European, Commonwealth, world and Olympic medallist - makes me immensely proud.

"I'm forever grateful for all the people who allowed me to fulfil a big dream that a young black girl from Liverpool was able to achieve.

"Every setback and low I experienced was worth it to get to those special moments that will always hold dear to me."

Heard the one about the woman who got kicked by a horse and four days later broke the Welsh marathon record?

Natasha Cockram set a new national women's record of 2hr 30min 50sec, finishing fifth in the Dublin Marathon.

Remarkably, she completed the feat just two years after her first race, four days after being kicked in the leg by a horse and despite working full time.

"I didn't have the best week before the race," Cockram told BBC Sport Wales. "I was in panic mode after the kick!"

'I didn't think I would even make my flight'

Cockram's rise in Welsh athletics has been extremely fast, having fallen off the radar because of injuries after a promising junior career.

She had not even run the marathon distance until 2017, but she ran so well in Dublin (running 2:49:37) that she decided to try and take athletics more seriously.

On Sunday at the same venue the Cwmbran runner beat the previous Welsh best of 2:31:33 set by Susan Tooby at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and did it despite having a big bruise on her knee.

Cockram rescued a horse and when she went to visit it last Wednesday, got an unpleasant surprise.

"I didn't have the best week. On Wednesday I went to check on my horse and I got kicked by another horse in the field," she said.

"So I had a bit of panic mode and didn't think I'd even make my flight to Dublin, let alone the race.

"It did cross my mind when it happened I might not be able to race. I was straight on to the phone to the Welsh athletics physio, but he assured me it was just a bruise.

"It didn't hurt during the race, my leg went numb in mile 18... but I pushed through.

"It didn't really register right away that I had broken the record, I knew I had the time, but I think I was more disappointed I didn't get the Olympic standard, as I was on course to hit it."

Full time work and told she would never run again

Cockram is now targeting a place at the Tokyo Olympics after finishing 80 seconds short of the Team GB marathon qualifying time.

She says she will run the Houston Marathon in January and the London Marathon as she looks to hit the Olympic mark of 2:29:30, having just failed to do so in breaking the Welsh record.

Her success is all the more amazing considering she is not a full time athlete and has suffered with severe injury issues.

"I always liked the idea of doing a marathon. Dublin in 2017 was my first one so it's a good place for me. I have always liked the distance and I have always looked up to people like Paula Radcliffe, I would watch her race as a child," she explained.

"I did Dublin in 2017 more for fun but I ran two hours 49 seconds and thought that was a pretty amazing time and I should do it more seriously again."

At that point Cockram, who went to university in the USA, had all but given up on running professionally.

"I headed out to university as quite a high achieving junior, but university didn't go my way, I think I was over-training and then I got quite a serious injury and was told I would never run again," she added.

"Just to be running again is a blessing. I tore the tendon in my knee and had my patella bone scraped, it is just a serious surgery. Quite a few doctors here said it would be a career ending injury, so I headed back out to the USA to talk to doctors until one said he would give it a go.

"I went into surgery and came out and it took me about two years to get back running."

All eyes now on Tokyo 2020

Cockram works full time for the Welsh Government and admits it is only after breaking the Welsh record that is has dawned on her that Olympic qualification is a realistic aim, having previously mixed training with a 'normal' career.

"Most days I am out of bed at 4, 4.30am to train then and I do a full day's work before training in the evening until about 9.30pm," she said.

"A normal Monday would be a ten mile run in the morning, followed by working all day and then heading straight over to Sport Wales to do strength and conditioning training and then head out for another run and then home and to bed. Repeat it again for the rest of the week!

"I have not run any major championships yet, which is weird to say when I am talking about Tokyo, but I don't see why I can't give it a go.

"I think knocking off 80 seconds is something I can do, especially as things didn't really go my way in Dublin, even leading into the week before.

"Before the race the Olympics didn't seem realistic at all, I was thinking more about 2024, but as the race went on, I was close and now I've definitely got to go for Tokyo 2020.

"My consistency of training, working with my coach and Welsh athletics, it has all contributed to my times getting better and better."

Cockram knows she may have to make sacrifices at work to turn her Olympic dream into a reality.

"I do value my work and life outside of running, but I think to improve and go to the Olympics I will need to be thinking about sponsorship and at least dropping some of my hours in work," she said.

"I don't really sleep enough for an athlete or have the right recovery time, so I would like to give it a go as a full time athlete.

"The motivation is the fact I love it. Even when it hurts I enjoy it and now the Olympics being on the cards is the goal to keep me going."

Sir Mo Farah, 36, quit in 2017 to concentrate on road races, and will compete in Sunday's London Marathon.

He won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

Farah told BBC Sport: "If I was capable of getting an Olympic medal no matter what color it is, would you turn it down? If I am capable then why not?"

In an interview with Steve Cram, he said: "It would be nice to have another one.  I have no regrets with what I have done but I don't want to look back one day and think, 'that year, I was fit, perhaps I should have gone to the Olympics, maybe I could have won a medal'."

Farah hinted in March that he may return to the track for September's World Championships in Qatar.

He said on Wednesday: "If everything goes well for me, why not?"  Six-time world champion Farah, who finished third in the London Marathon last year, has yet to compete at a major championships over the 26.2-mile distance.

He ran two hours five minutes 11 seconds to win the Chicago Marathon in October, a victory he says gave him "massive confidence" for London.

Great Britain's officials will meet early next week to discuss selections for the World Championships in Doha.

The marathon takes place on September 29 and the Chicago Marathon on 13 October.  Asked if he will be part of conversations for the marathon in Doha, Farah said: "Yes, my name will be discussed. I think I have hinted enough. If I am good and capable of getting a medal why not? It suits me and I'm in good shape."

Farah said he has "missed" the frequent racing provided by track competition, compared to the less regular marathons.

"You always start a 1500m at the start of the season, then a 10k, a 5k, a 3k, and I have missed all of that," he added.  "In the marathon you can't afford to do all that and a lot of it is kind of done in training."

Scot Laura Muir smashed Kirsty Wade's 31-year-old British record to win the women's indoor mile in Birmingham.

The 25-year-old finished in four minutes 18.75 seconds, breaking Wade's mark of 4:23.86.

Muir told BBC Sport: "I knew I was in great shape. It was about winning the race, but also about running fast.

"I'm so chuffed to get the record on home soil. I knew the spilt halfway and knew I was there and thereabouts. The crowd were fantastic."

Her time was the third fastest indoors in history, behind Ethiopian great Genzebe Dibaba (4:13.31) and Romania Doina Melinte (4:17.14).

Muir will be hoping to defend her 1500m and 3,000m European indoor titles in Glasgow in March.

British runner Jo Pavey is targeting a record-equalling sixth Olympic Games next year, when she will be 46.

That would match javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson's six Olympic appearances by a British track and field athlete.

Pavey was the oldest woman to win a European Championships gold when claiming the 10,000m title in 2014 aged 40, just 11 months after giving birth.

"I forget how old I am. I'm not complacent but I will attempt to make my sixth Olympics," she told BBC Sport.

Pavey made her first Olympic appearance at Sydney in 2000, has qualified for the British team at every Games since, and now wants to earn a place on the British team for Tokyo 2020.

"I need to get a good qualifying time this year, and really want to start racing in early spring, but I enjoy the challenge," she said.

"It's a difficult task, I'm totally aware of that, but something that's fun to try. I love the ups and downs of the journey."

The mother-of-two hopes to win a place in the 10,000m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha in September en route to going for the Games in Japan.

She entered the 2017 London Marathon with a view to qualifying for the marathon at that year's World Championships in London but had to drop out at 16 miles and then saw her bid to qualify at 10,000m ended by injury.

In 2018, she finished third at the Vitality London 10,000 behind fellow Briton Steph Twell.

Britain's Olympic and world 10,000m champion Mo Farah said he felt "tired" after his first victory in the 10km Great Manchester Run. Farah, who finished third at the London Marathon last month, raced past Ugandan Moses Kipsiro with 100 metres left to win in 28 minutes 27 seconds. Abel Kirui of Kenya finished third, 25 seconds behind Farah. Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba won her third straight women's race, well ahead of Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei.  

Farah, who was appearing in the race for the first time since 2007, took part in a minute's silence before the race in tribute to the 22 people who died in last year's Manchester Arena bombing. For most of the race, the 35-year-old looked comfortable in warm conditions as he kicked past Kipsiro with 100 metres to go. But he said he was still recovering from breaking the British record at last month's marathon - his first event over the distance since switching his focus to road racing.

"I've got great speed and I know that at the end of the races I can use it if the guys haven't hurt me enough, so today was a matter of hanging in there," he told BBC Sport. "I was pretty tired. Having competed in the marathon not so long ago, today was hard work."

Callum Hawkins has been taken to the hospital for medical review following his collapse in the Commonwealth Games Marathon as is standard procedure. He is being supported by Team Scotland medical staff and there are no major concerns at this stage. Here is what happened Sunday morning in Australia. Scotland's Callum Hawkins collapsed just over one mile from the end of the marathon at the Commonwealth Games when leading by almost two minutes. In hot conditions (83 degrees) in the Gold Coast, Hawkins looked set for gold but he began weaving across the road before falling over the curb. He continued for another couple of hundred meters before collapsing again, hitting his head on a roadside barrier this time. Hawkins was conscious, sitting up and talking when helped into an ambulance. Peter Jardine of Scottish Athletics told BBC Scotland that Callum Hawkins "initially refused medical treatment after collapsing" because he "feared he would be disqualified.” It had taken a couple of minutes for any medical staff to attend to the Scotsman, who was lying on the road in clear distress with spectators looking on. BBC Sport commentator Steve Cram said it was "a disgrace" that it took so long for any paramedics to attend to Hawkins. When asked to explain why it took so long for paramedics to attend to Hawkins, Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters said: "We need to check the facts out. You can't have medical people on every kilometer of the road. Australia's Mike Shelley won the race(2:16:46), defending the title he won in Glasgow in 2014. He ran past the stricken Hawkins just as help arrived and the Gold Coast-born athlete went on to claim the victory with Uganda's Munyo Solomon Mutai in second (2:19:02) , with Robbie Simpson of Scotland claiming the bronze.

(Keith Burge on Twitter)...On the 6th of May 1954 Sir Roger Bannister did a shift at St Mary's Hospital in London, then sharpened his running spikes in the hospital lab, took the train to Oxford, grabbed some lunch, walked to the track and then ran a mile in under 4 minutes...(from NY Times) Paced by Chataway and Brasher and powered by an explosive kick, his signature, Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes — 3:59.4, to be exact — becoming the first man ever to do so, breaking through a mystical barrier and creating a seminal moment in sports history. (BBC Sports) IAAF president, Seb Coe, two-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist for Great Britain and three-time mile world record holder says, "His achievement transcended sport, let alone athletics. It was a moment in history that lifted the heart of a nation and boosted morale in a world that was still at a low ebb after the war. We have all lost a giant and, for many of us, a deep and close friendship.” Sir Roger Bannister passed away March 3, 2018 in Oxford, England. R.I.P.

It was the biggest shock in the 63-year history of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards. But as Sir Mo Farah’s name was read out, and the crowd rose to its feet in stunned appreciation, it was clear no one was more dumbstruck than the man himself. First his eyes widened. Then he covered his mouth in joyous exhilaration. No wonder he was happy. King of the track, knight of the realm, one-man medal factory – and now, for this night at least, Britain’s most popular sports star.

MRB BEST 100: Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge says he will take Mo Farah's challenge at the London Marathon "very seriously". Kipchoge, 33, won the event in 2015 and 2016, and will compete again in 2018. Farah has run two London Marathons but April's race will be his first since switching focus from a track career in which he won four Olympic and six world titles over 5,000m and 10,000m. "He's a tough and respectable athlete," Kipchoge told BBC Sport. "I think he will be successful immediately."