Running News Daily

In a surprising yet calculated move, the United States has announced it will not field men’s or women’s 4x400m relay teams at the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana. The decision, confirmed by USA Track & Field, reflects a blend of logistical challenges, financial considerations, and a shifting competitive strategy in global athletics.

At the heart of the matter lies the difficulty of assembling top-tier relay squads outside major championship seasons. With elite athletes prioritizing individual events and carefully managing their schedules, securing a truly competitive “A team” has proven increasingly complex. Sending second-tier squads, while an option, carries both financial strain and reputational risk for a nation long synonymous with relay dominance.

The World Relays, scheduled for May 2–3 in Gaborone, serve as a crucial gateway to global championships. They act as the primary qualification pathway for both the 2026 World Ultimate Championships (mixed relays) and the 2027 World Championships, where only the top 12 teams per event advance. Despite their absence, USATF remains confident that its 4x400m teams can still secure qualification through world rankings—a route that rewards consistency across the season rather than a single high-stakes performance.

Beyond qualification implications, the decision alters the narrative of one of track and field’s most compelling rivalries. The anticipated rematch between the United States and Botswana in the men’s 4x400m relay will not materialize on Botswana soil. This comes after the two nations shared dramatic victories at the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Championships, delivering performances that electrified fans and elevated the event’s global profile.

For Botswana, the absence of the American team removes a formidable opponent but also shifts the spotlight. Competing at home, their athletes now carry heightened expectations to capitalize on familiar conditions and passionate local support. For the United States, meanwhile, the move underscores a longer-term vision—prioritizing peak performance at major championships over participation in every qualifying event.

Ultimately, this decision signals more than a withdrawal; it reflects an evolving philosophy in elite athletics. As the sport becomes increasingly strategic, even the most dominant nations are redefining how—and when—they compete. The ripple effects will be felt not only in Gaborone but across the global track and field landscape as the road to 2027 begins to take shape.

At the 2025 Athletics Kenya Trials held at Nairobi’s Ulinzi Sports Complex, Doreen Waka blasted out of the blocks and powered through a stiff -2.0 m/s headwind, crossing the finish line in 12.02 seconds to win the women’s 100m final. The performance not only secured her a gold medal but also earned her a coveted spot on Team Kenya for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo.

She defeated a talented field, including Loice Nyanchoka Morara (12.09), South Sudan’s Lucia William Moris (12.10), and Delisha Atyang (12.14), while veterans like Monica Safania and Eunice Kadogo did not start. But for Waka, the win was about more than medals. It marked a defining moment in a career built on resilience, sacrifice, and an unshakable belief in her sprinting potential.

Running Barefoot, Dreaming Without Limits

When Doreen takes to the track, what you see is explosive speed. What you don’t see are the barefoot years spent training on gravel roads, the financial struggles, or the countless setbacks that nearly derailed her dream.

Born on November 13, 1994, in Kiambu County, Doreen discovered her athletic talent in primary school. She ran the 400m in Standard Four but didn’t qualify for competition—she was too young. A perceptive teacher, however, encouraged her to shift focus to the 100m and 200m, a piece of advice that changed her life.

By Class Five, she had qualified for the national primary school championships in Nyahururu, placing 4th in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m. A year later, she won silver in the 100m at an East African schools meet in Kampala, Uganda.

Despite early success, life at home was difficult. Her family lacked the resources to support her athletics career. After finishing Class Eight, a well-wisher helped her join Brokhurst Senior School in Machakos County, where she again reached the national stage in Form Three. But in Form Four, she was barred from sports in order to focus on final exams—just when she needed exposure the most.

A Coach, a Believer, a Lifeline

In 2017, everything changed. Doreen met sprinter Kalewi Awange, who introduced her to Coach Julius Migwi (often called Coach Julious). At the time, she was living in Githurai, Nairobi, with her mother.

“When I told my mom I wanted to train, she hesitated,” Doreen recalls. “Coach Migwi had to come home and explain everything. Eventually, she gave me her blessing: ‘You’re the one who will help me.’”

Coach Julious remembers their first meeting clearly.

“She had no shoes. No passport. No real support. We took her in like family,” he says. “I’ve been acting as her parent ever since.”

Since then, Coach Julious has supported her with food, rent, transport, and training costs—often from his own pocket. Despite the challenges, Doreen has never wavered. Most days, she trains without proper spikes or access to a gym, using rough murram fields instead of tracks.

“If she had the facilities athletes in Botswana or South Africa have,” Julius says, “she’d already be running 10.9.”

A Boost from KATA—and a Call to Bob Anderson

Though resources remain limited, Doreen has received small but meaningful support from the Kenya Athletics Training Academy (KATA), founded by Bob Anderson, the American entrepreneur and lifelong runner who created Runner’s World magazine.

“KATA has helped in important ways,” says Julius. “Bob understands athlete development. Now we’re appealing to him directly: please consider supporting Doreen with gear, gym access, and small financial support so she can focus fully on her training.”

Doreen echoes the plea:

“I’m not looking for a shortcut. Just a chance. Bob, give me one international race, one opportunity—and I will make you and Kenya proud.”

Denied, But Never Defeated

Doreen’s path has been lined with near-misses and painful exclusions. In 2019, she qualified for the World Relays during trials in Iten—but couldn’t travel. She didn’t have a passport.

Later that year, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, she trained inside the grounds of Kamiti Prison, staying with a friend near the facility. Her perseverance finally paid off in 2021, when she represented Kenya in the 4x200m relay at the World Relays in Poland. She returned home and won the national 100m title.

Yet again in 2023, after qualifying for the African Championships in Ghana, she was left off the final team list.

“It didn’t kill my spirit,” she says. “This year I qualified again. But they didn’t take a women’s 4x100m team.”

A Voice for the Overlooked

Now 29, Doreen Waka is more than just a sprinter—she’s a voice for the many under-supported female sprinters across Kenya.

“Athletics Kenya should not conclude that Kenyan women can’t sprint. We just need the opportunity.”

Coach Julious adds:

“She’s already inspiring others. Hurdler Gladys Ngure, who ran 14.05 at nationals, joined our camp because of Doreen. These girls are training in KSh 50 gyms. Imagine what they could do with real support.”

A Camp Like No Other

In a bold move, Coach Julius recently established a KATA Running Camp and KATA Potato Farm, part of a larger initiative spearheaded by Bob Anderson, who has now launched 25 KATA camps across Kenya since May 25.

“I think my camp is the only running camp that exclusively trains sprinters in all of Kenya,” says Julius.  "Thanks, Bob, for listening and helping Doreen go after her goals.”

This unique camp not only nurtures sprinters like Doreen but also provides food and economic support through potato farming, helping athletes stay focused on training while building a more stable future.

The Goal: Sub-11 and a Global Stage

Doreen Waka’s goal is clear: run 10.8 or 10.9 and place Kenyan women’s sprinting on the global map. With the right shoes, coaching, nutrition, and gym access, she believes it’s within reach.

“I believe in myself. I just need one solid chance.”

And with people like Coach Julius KATA, and Bob Anderson behind her, that chance may finally be coming.

Doreen Waka At a Glance

• Born: November 13, 1994 – Kiambu County, Kenya

• 2024 Trials: 1st in 100m (12.02s, -2.0 m/s headwind)

• International Debut: 2021 World Relays, Poland (4x200m)

• Coach: Julius Migwi 

• Goal: Sub-11 in 100m and a global podium finish

• Camp: KATA Running Camp for Sprinters – the only sprint-exclusive KATA camp in Kenya

Sprint Showdown 2025: Lyles, Knighton, and Tebogo Ignite a New Era of Speed on the Diamond League Stage

The 2025 Diamond League season is heating up fast, and the men’s sprints are once again the center of attention. Three names are defining the early action: Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, and Letsile Tebogo—each with the potential to end the season as the world’s fastest man.

Noah Lyles: The Champion with a Target on His Back

Reigning Olympic and World Champion Noah Lyles is the man to beat. Though he hasn’t yet raced on the Diamond League circuit this year, his resume speaks volumes. He clocked 9.83 in the 100m and 19.47 in the 200m during the 2024 season and claimed double gold in Paris. All eyes are on when—and where—he’ll make his 2025 Diamond League debut. With a long-standing goal of breaking Usain Bolt’s 200m world record, Lyles remains the top contender.

Erriyon Knighton: Poised to Pounce

Still just 21 years old, Erriyon Knighton hasn’t raced yet in 2025, but anticipation is building. The American phenom owns a personal best of 19.49 in the 200m, set in 2022 as a teenager. After earning Olympic silver behind Lyles in Paris, Knighton is expected to return to the track soon and challenge for dominance in both the 100m and 200m this summer.

Leslie Tebogo: The Early Season Leader

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, the reigning Olympic 200m silver medalist and one of Africa’s brightest young stars, is already making headlines in 2025. He opened his season with a 10.20 in Xiamen and followed that with a 10.03 in Shanghai—finishing third in both Diamond League meets. Tebogo is scheduled to run his primary event, the 200m, at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, which could be a statement race as he builds toward the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.

What’s Next: A Collision Course

While all three athletes are on different timelines this season, the Diamond League is setting the stage for dramatic head-to-head clashes. Lyles and Knighton have yet to toe the line, while Tebogo is already building momentum. Their inevitable meeting—possibly at the Prefontaine Classic or in Europe this summer—could define the sprinting landscape in 2025.

The sprint wars are officially on. The only question left: Who will own the title of the world’s fastest man by season’s end?

Letsile Tebogo faced one of the most difficult moment in his life after the loss of his mother Seratiwa who was his biggest fan.

Paris Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo has revealed how her mother's last message before she died made him accept the outcome.

Seratiwa passed away from breast cancer in May 2024, two months before the Paris Games. Her death interrupted Tebogo's season and led him to consider quitting the sport.

The 2021 world U-20 100m champion said it was one of the toughest moments in his life to accept that his mother was no more and that meant added responsibility for the then 20-year-old.

"I’m glad that when my mother saw that it was coming to an end, she told me: ‘I have tried to be strong my son, now it is your turn.’ So I think she was preparing me for what was going to happen," Tebogo told World Athletics.

Seratiwa was a huge influence on Tebogo's life and career. She advised him to switch from football to track and field, which was a move that paid off. Tebogo said that his mother was his greatest fan and that he carries her with him in every step he takes.

The 2022 200m African champion observed that he was left to take care of his little sister who is passionate about swimming. “It was not an easy journey and it was not an easy thing for me to overcome. I had to also be there for my little sister, be there for myself.

"My sister is 12. I don’t think she is going to follow in my footsteps because she is more into swimming, but she is proud of me,” he added.

In 2021, Tebogo became the first Botswana athlete to claim the 100m title at any World Championships level. He broke the 300m world record, running a time of 30.69 seconds on February 17, at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa.

Olympic champions Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo have been announced as World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2024 in Monaco.

Following a vote by fans, Hassan and Tebogo received top honors on an evening that saw six athletes crowned in three categories – track, field and out of stadium – before the overall two winners were revealed.

Tebogo was confirmed as men’s track athlete of the year, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone receiving the women’s honour. Hassan claimed the women’s out of stadium crown and Tamirat Tola the men’s, while Mondo Duplantis and Yaroslava Mahuchikh were named field athletes of the year.

This year’s Rising Stars were also celebrated, with Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani receiving recognition.

World Athletes of the Year for 2024

Women’s World Athlete of the Year: Sifan Hassan (NED)Men’s World Athlete of the Year: Letsile Tebogo (BOT)

Women’s track: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)Women’s field: Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)Women’s out of stadium: Sifan Hassan (NED)Men’s track: Letsile Tebogo (BOT)Men’s field: Mondo Duplantis (SWE)Men’s out of stadium: Tamirat Tola (ETH)

Women’s Rising Star: Sembo Almayew (ETH)Men’s Rising Star: Mattia Furlani (ITA)

“At the end of what has been a stellar year for athletics, we are delighted to reveal our list of World Athletes of the Year – both in their respective disciplines and overall,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This group of athletes represents the very best of our sport and has this year redefined what is possible in terms of athletic performance.

“Our 2024 cohort set new standards in heights, speed and distance, including six world records and a host of Olympic and national records between them.

“I congratulate all our award winners, and all of the athletes nominated for these honors, and I thank them for inspiring us all with their performances this year.”

World Athletes of the Year Hassan and Tebogo both won gold and claimed multiple medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Dutch star Hassan’s medal treble in Paris was capped by her winning the final athletics gold medal of the Games with her triumph in the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:22:55. That performance came just 37 hours after Hassan claimed bronze in the 10,000m, and six days after her first medal in the French capital – also bronze – in the 5000m.

As a result, she became the first woman to win medals in the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon at the same Games, and the first athlete since Emil Zatopek, who won all three men’s titles in Helsinki in 1952.

Tebogo also made history in Paris when he won the 200m, as he claimed a first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana. He ran an African record of 19.46 – a time that moved him to fifth on the world all-time list – and that performance followed his sixth-place finish in the 100m final. He went on to form part of Botswana’s silver medal-winning men’s 4x400m team.

He dipped under 20 seconds for 200m a total of nine times in 2024, with those performances topped by his Olympic title-winning mark which remained the fastest of the year.

His fellow track athlete of the year, McLaughlin-Levrone, improved her own world 400m hurdles record twice, to 50.65 and 50.37, and claimed Olympic gold in that event as well as in the 4x400m. Tola, who joined Hassan in being named out of stadium athlete of the year, won the Olympic marathon title in Paris in an Olympic record.

World records were set by both field athletes of the year. Mahuchikh cleared 2.10m to improve the world high jump record before winning Olympic gold, while Duplantis revised his own world pole vault record three times, eventually taking it to 6.26m, and won the Olympic title.

"Thank you to the fans, to everybody who voted," said Hassan, who was in Monaco to receive her two awards. "I never thought I was going to win this one. This year was crazy. It’s not only me – all the athletes have been amazing. I’m really grateful. What more can I say?"

Standing alongside Hassan on the stage at the Theatre Princesse Grace, Tebogo said: "It feels amazing to know that the fans are always there for us athletes. It was a great year.

"This means a lot," he added. "It’s not just about the team that is around you, there are a lot of fans out there that really want us to win something great for the continent. It was a real surprise to hear my name because I didn’t expect this."

Almayew and Furlani named Rising Stars of 2024

Not only did Sembo Almayew and Mattia Furlani achieve great things as U20 athletes in 2024, they both also secured success on the senior stage.

Almayew finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase final at the Paris Olympics, going close to her own national U20 record with her 9:00.83 performance, before she travelled to Lima where she won the world U20 title, setting a championship record in the process. With that win, the 19-year-old became the first ever Ethiopian world U20 women’s steeplechase champion.

Furlani improved the world U20 long jump record to 8.38m at the European Championships on home soil in Rome to secure silver, and he won two more senior major medals at the World Indoor Championships, where he got another silver, and the Olympic Games, where he claimed bronze.

In Glasgow – at the age of 19 years and 24 days – Furlani became the youngest athlete ever to win a world indoor medal in the horizontal jumps.

Knight wins President’s Award

The winner of the President’s Award was also announced in Monaco on Sunday (1), with Nike co-founder Phil Knight receiving the honour in recognition of his constant inspiring support for athletics and the development of the sport.

The President's Award, first awarded in 2016, recognises and honours exceptional service to athletics. Past winners of the award include the Ukrainian Athletics Association, British journalist Vikki Orvice, Swiss meeting director Andreas Brugger, Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt, the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and 1968 men’s 200m medallists Tommie Smith, Peter Norman and John Carlos for their iconic moment on the podium in Mexico.

“Phil Knight’s passion for athletics is pretty much lifelong,” said Coe. “He developed an almost father-son relationship with his coach, the legendary Bill Bowerman, whose training approach was a departure from the orthodoxies of the day and who not only guided Knight’s career on the track but became a central figure when Phil took his first tentative steps in the running shoe business that became the dominant global force Nike.

“His love of athletics runs through Nike. It is a business created and driven by runners, with Phil never afraid to be the front runner.”

Knight said: “Thank you, Seb Coe, for the ultimate honour of the President’s Award, given by World Athletics. I am in great company, with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and Usain Bolt. Obviously, I didn’t run as fast as those guys, but I am in such high company that I am thrilled by the award. Track and field has always been an important part of Nike – it has always been a central part of who Nike is.

“I do think running will continue to grow. Not only does Seb and his team do a great job promoting the sport, but it is a sport that not only is enjoyable, but it is probably the best fitness activity you can do. So, for me to win this honour, it is very meaningful.”

During the ceremony, a moment was taken to remember last year’s men’s out of stadium athlete of the year Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record-holder who died in a road traffic accident in February, as well as other figures from the sport who have passed away in 2024.

As Season 2 of the Netflix track and field series SPRINT premiered on Wednesday, one of the star athletes featured, Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, has already voiced his disappointment. The 21-year-old sprinter was frustrated with what he saw as an American bias in the docuseries, which follows the world’s top sprinters and their journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Tebogo, who made history for Botswana by winning two medals at the Olympics—one of them being the nation’s first-ever gold—doesn’t appear until 22 minutes into the final episode. The series had promised to feature Tebogo, alongside notable Olympians such as Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas, Fred Kerley, Kishane Thompson, Julien Alfred, Kenny Bednarek, Shericka Jackson and Oblique Seville. However, Tebogo felt the focus skewed heavily toward the four American athletes, particularly Lyles.

Tebogo took to X to share his disappointment, sharing he was excited to watch but felt the show was overly focused on American athletes, with him portrayed more as a supporting character to the American sprinters.

His sentiments echo those of Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, Africa’s 100m record holder from Ivory Coast, who also criticized the Box To Box producers earlier this year after SPRINT Season 1 excluded her from the final cut, despite extensive filming. “I feel really disrespected, because when you say you are going to produce a series about the fastest sprinters in the world, you should show everyone, not only those who win,” Ta Lou-Smith shared with The Inside Lane. She highlighted the need for equal representation, noting, “I am the African record holder; I deserve respect.”

The documentary series is produced by Paul Martin at Box to Box Films, the same production company behind other Netflix successes such as Full Swing and Formula 1: Drive to Survive. On social media, track fans have begun calling on the producers at Box-To-Box Films to consider a more international approach in future seasons, noting that they seemed to have disregarded the American bias from Season 1.

Three months after its debut, Netflix’s popular track and field series SPRINT is set to return with a highly anticipated second season. Premiering on Nov. 13, the new season will give fans an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Paris Olympics, focusing on the four Olympic champions in the 100m and 200m: Noah Lyles, Julien Alfred, Letsile Tebogo and Gabby Thomas.

The first season of SPRINT, which premiered on Netflix in July, took viewers through the build-up to the Paris Olympics and explored the lives of several elite sprinters during the 2023 World Championships. With the Olympic torch now on its way to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games, the second season shifts focus to the dramatic races in Paris, bringing new faces and stories to the forefront.

Fans can look forward to reliving historic moments, such as Tebogo’s gold in the 200m, where he clocked an impressive 19.46 seconds—placing him fifth on the all-time list and earning Botswana its first-ever Olympic gold. The series will also highlight Alfred’s win in the 100m, marking St. Lucia’s first Olympic gold, along with Thomas’s triumph in the women’s 200m. Meanwhile, Lyles’s standout persona, both on and off the track, promises to deliver never-before-seen Olympic moments to the Netflix screen.

After watching the trailer, it appears there is no coverage of the men’s or women’s relay races from the 2024 Olympic Games, meaning no Canadian men’s 4x100m relay triumph featured in the second season of the series.

The documentary series is produced by Paul Martin at Box to Box Films, the same production company behind other Netflix successes such as  Full Swing and Formula 1: Drive to Survive. SPRINT aims to bring track and field closer to fans, offering exclusive access to the sport’s biggest names and their path to superstardom. As viewers get a front-row seat to the athletes’ triumphs and struggles, SPRINT Season 2 will reveal the resilience required to become an Olympic champion.

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has sold out a record 21,000 participants for the 2024 event, thanks to the popularity of the #YouDoCount campaign. This success strengthens the marathon’s position as the foremost marathon on the African continent, as it pursues the renowned Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) classification. The amazing support of both the local and worldwide running communities has been instrumental in reaching this milestone,  Cape {town} Etc reports.

This year’s marathon promises to be one of the most exciting in the event’s history, with the strongest elite field ever assembled on African territory. This exceptional field offers an astonishing amount of awards, including 

2 Gold World Champion Medals

1 Silver World Champion Medal

Olympic Bronze Marathon Medal

1 All African Games Gold Medal

13 Abbott World Marathon Majors Medals, 5 of which are gold

1 World Record Holder

10 World Athletics Gold Label Elites

The stakes are bigger than ever, with a $50,000 prize fund available to the top podium finishers. The men’s and women’s marathon champions will each get $25,000, with the second and third place finishers receiving $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.

Barry Van Blerk, Race Director of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, expressed his excitement:‘This year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is set to showcase the best marathon elite field ever assembled on African soil. With a prize pool to match, we expect an extraordinary level of competition, and, weather permitting, the course records will undoubtedly be challenged.

All eyes will be on South African competitors Glenrose Xaba and Cian Oldknow, who both hope to make history. Xaba, in her marathon debut, has previously established herself by breaking Elana Meyer’s 23-year-old 10 km record and dominating numerous distances, including 5,000m, 10,000m, and 10km. As she progresses to the marathon distance, Xaba’s development will pose a substantial challenge to veteran marathoners.

Cian Oldknow’s marathon PB of 2:25:08, set at the Seville Marathon in February of this year, is the second best time by a South African. At the Durban International Marathon in April, Oldknow finished in 2:29:46, making him the SA Marathon Champion. She is on a mission to break South Africa’s women’s marathon record, which could pit her against Xaba. With both competitors at the height of their abilities, the race will be nothing short of amazing.

Tsige Haileslase (Ethiopia) and Adane Kebede Gebre (Ethiopia), who won the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in 2023, will return to defend their crowns. Haileslase, who ran a personal best of 2:24:17 last year, is back and determined to win consecutive races. Gebre, a force to be reckoned with in the men’s race, will have stiff opposition as he seeks straight victories against this year’s strong field.

‘There’s no doubt that African runners dominate in the sport, and as a proudly Pan-African group, it is only fitting that we ensure the rest of the continent is able to unite in Cape Town to run Africa’s only Abbott World Marathon Majors candidacy race,’ shares Karl Socikwa – Group Executive of Market Development and Sustainability at Sanlam, the event’s title sponsor. ‘We have extended invitations to athletics bodies across our 27 markets in an attempt to identify promising top marathon runners. Our commitment to unlocking Africa’s untapped talent will see 25 athletes from countries such as Mali, Namibia, Botswana and more, compete with confidence on a world stage on African soil.’

In addition to the extraordinary competitive field, race organisers have worked closely with the City of Cape Town to ensure a safe and seamless experience for both runners and spectators. JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, praised the collaboration, stating, ‘The City’s Events Coordination Committee has been working diligently behind the scenes with race management, mapping out all the logistical plans for a safe and secure route for the marathon. All of our safety and security personnel are preparing to provide a smooth and excellent platform for this elite field of athletes to chase their personal bests. We are looking forward to providing the Cape Town experience for an elite field of athletes.’

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic 110m hurdles bronze medalist, Ronald Levy of Jamaica, was dealt a four-year ban after an out-of-competition test for GW1516.

On Friday, Ronald Levy, the Tokyo Olympic 110m hurdles bronze medalist from Jamaica, was handed a four-year ban by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) following a positive test for banned substances.

The substance detected in Levy’s sample, taken during an out-of-competition test in October 2023, was GW1516. This black-market drug is known for enhancing endurance and increasing the body’s ability to burn fat, allowing users to train harder and longer. However, GW1516 has not been approved for human use due to concerns about its potential cancer risks and other severe long-term health effects.

Levy said on social media that he was shocked at the positive test result, maintaining he did not knowingly violate any rules: “I am stunned by this turn of events because I have always conducted myself with the highest level of integrity in the sport, which I love dearly, and would never seek to gain an unfair advantage.”

The 31-year-old hurdler won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics behind American Grant Holloway and Levy’s fellow Jamaican, Hansle Parchment. He also won gold in the 110m hurdles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Levy has not competed since September 2023 and did not qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Levy has the right to appeal the decision and take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). While a successful appeal could overturn the ban, the process could also result in significant financial and physical strain if the appeal is unsuccessful. This is the third high-profile GW1516 case in the past two years, following the positive tests of former Olympic 800m silver medalist Nijel Amos of Botswana and Surinamese sprinter Issam Asinga, the U20 100m record holder. Both men tested positive during out-of-competition tests.

Newly-crowned Olympic champions from Paris 2024 don’t just win bragging rights–national Olympic committees (NOC) or national governments from around the globe reward the achievements of their star athletes with a cash prize.

With the expenses that go into being an elite athlete, these funds can go a long way in supporting their athletic endeavours and encouraging further successes in sport. The prize pot isn’t standardized between countries, so how much they earn is highly dependent on the athlete’s nationality. 

In Canada, an Olympic gold medallist is rewarded CAD 20,000 through the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund. The same achievement pays significantly better across the border–Team USA’s NOC offers CAD 47,100 to their champions from Paris 2024. Other nations present athletes with prizes other than cash, such as livestock, property, services, cars or food.

Nations like Botswana, which saw their first Olympic gold medal in history in Paris, acknowledge the significance of the monumental achievements to the development of sport and accessibility of resources in the country–going as far as giving the entire nation a half-day holiday on Aug. 9 to celebrate their newly-minted 200m Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo. 

For the Paris 2024 Games, World Athletics became the first international governing body to compensate Olympic champions with a cash prize, promising the first-place finishers in each track-and-field event a whopping USD 50,000 (CAD 68,172) to take home alongside their gold medal and nation’s prize pot. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden, offer no reward for their athletes who bring home an Olympic gold medal

Lyles revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 two days before the men's 200m final.

Noah Lyles’s dream of winning four gold medals at the Paris Olympic Games is over. After sprinting to a bronze medal in the men’s 200m final on Thursday night, Lyles revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 just two days prior. As a result, he has decided to end his Olympic Games early and will not compete for Team USA in the relay events.

During the 200m final, Lyles burst out of the call room with energy, taunting his competitors. However, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana dashed his hopes of an Olympic sprint double by setting an African area record of 19.46 seconds to win gold. Kenny Bednarek from Team USA took silver in 19.62 seconds, while Lyles settled for bronze, marking his second consecutive Olympic bronze in this event with a time of 19.70 seconds.

Last Sunday, Lyles had won gold in the men’s 100m in 9.79 seconds. However, four days later, he revealed that he felt winded after the 200m final, collapsing and gesturing for water before leaving the track in a wheelchair. Lyles explained that he woke up feeling terrible at 5 a.m. on Tuesday and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Despite contracting the virus, he remained determined to compete in the final.

Lyles told reporters he had spent the last two days trying to stay hydrated and quarantined in his room.

In a post-race Instagram message, Lyles congratulated Tebogo and Bednarek, acknowledging that this was not the Olympic experience he had envisioned. He came to Paris hoping to become the first men’s sprinter to win four Olympic golds (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay). Unfortunately, Lyles will miss the 4x100m and 4x400m relay finals, leaving Team USA without its fastest sprinter. Lyles concluded the post by saying that he believes the team can still win gold without him

French newspaper Le Monde reported last month that there are no mandatory, preventative COVID-19 measures being implemented at the Summer Games.

Emmanuel Wanyoyi took a comfortable win in the men's 800m first round with Wycliffe Kinyamal finishing third as Koitatoi Kidali struggled to make an impact and he will be out to bid for a semifinal ticket in the repechage round.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Wycliffe Kinyamal and Koitatoi Kidali took to the starting line of the men’s 800m first round and did not fail to impress with their striking runs.

Marco Arop headlined the field and he secured a second position to sail through to the men’s 800m semifinal. He clocked a stunning 1:45.74 to cross the finish line behind Belgium’s Eliott Crestan who won the race in 1:45.51. Australia’s Peyton Craig completed the podium in 1:45.81.

Competing in the second heat, Botswanan sprinter Tshepiso Masalela completed the podium in 1:45.58 as Gabriel Tual won the race in 1:45.13. Mark English of Ireland finished an impressive second in 1:45.15. Kidali finished a distant fifth and will have to contest for the semifinal in the repechage round.

Competing in the third heat, Emmanuel Wanyonyi was flawless as he claimed the win in a time of 1:44.64 ahead of Catalin Tecuceanu who finished second in 1:44.80. Andreas Kramer completed the podium 1:44.93.

Djamel Sedjati led the qualifiers in the fourth heat as he crossed the finish line in a time of 1:45.84 as Great Britain’s Elliot Giles came in second in a time of 1:45.93. America’s Hobbs Kessler completed the podium in a time of 1:44.93.

Kinyamal sealed the podium competing in the fifth heat as he clocked a stunning 1:45.86 to cross the finish line. Great Britain's Ben Pattison won the race as South Africa's Edmund du Plessis finished a close second.

Heat six saw Spain's Mohamed Attaoui win the race as America's Bryce Hoppel came in second. Great Britain's Max Burgin completed the podium in the race.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan trio has been impressive this season, with Wanyonyi being the stand-out times with his impressive times in the build-up to the Olympics.

The world 800m silver medallist clocked the third fastest time since David Rudisha’s retirement at the Kenyan Olympic trials before Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati obliterated his time at the Diamond League Meeting in Paris.

He struck a world record in the men’s mile road to open his season in fashion. Wanyonyi also struck a win at the Kip Keino Classic.

Kinyamal has had impressive podium finishes in events and was looking to make an impact on the Olympic stage in his debut.

On his part, Kidali was a breakout athlete, making his first national team and he hopes to leave a mark on the Olympic stage. He has showcased his tactical run and is certainly a threat to his opponents going into the semifinal.

Lyles was pushed to another personal best by Jamaican Kishane Thompson, who took silver in a photo finish.

The men’s 100m final was a race for the ages on Sunday as the double world champion, Team USA’s Noah Lyles, took the gold medal in a blazing 9.79 seconds, but it was not without a nail-biting photo finish. Lyles was pushed to run the fastest time of his career by Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, the fastest man in the world over 100m this year, who also ran 9.79 and was awarded the silver medal. Fred Kerley of the U.S. took the bronze medal in a season’s best 9.81 seconds.

Akane Simbine of South Africa was fourth with a new national record of 9.82, leaving the defending Olympic champion, Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, languishing in fifth place, with 9.85. Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the two-time Olympic bronze medallist, did not make the final, finishing fifth in his heat of the semi-final earlier on Sunday.

Men’s 100m final results

Noah Lyles (USA) 9.79 PB

Kishane Thompson (Jamaica) 9.79

Fred Kerley (USA) 9.81 SB

Akani Simbine (South Africa) 9.82 NR

Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy) 9.85 SB

Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) 9.86 NR

Kenny Bednarek (USA) 9.88

Oblique Seville (Jamaica) 9.91

Lyles took his personal best down another two hundredths of a second in the race, having just run 9.81 at the London Diamond League on July 20.

Lyles’s coach, Lance Brauman, said he predicted Lyles would run a PB in the final: “I know his fitness level, and I was pretty confident he was going to run a PB, I have for the past three weeks. It was just a matter of, was he going to run a big enough PB to win the race?” 

The American said earlier this summer that his goal is to earn four medals at the Paris Games, i.e., the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay. Time will tell whether he can make good on his goal; the men’s 200m heats are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 6, with the 4x100m relay heats going on Thursday, Aug. 8, and the 4x400m on Friday, Aug. 9.

Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and PUMA Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.

Team USA are big favorites to top the Olympics medal standings in track and field yet again and here are five races where the Americans will likely grab gold in Paris.

US Track and Field finally unveiled its team to the Paris Olympics where they hope to finish top of the medal standings yet again.

Team USA scooped seven gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, taking their total medal tally from track and field to 26.

Heading into Paris 2024, there is optimism that they will increase their tally following the emergence of new runners, added to the star quality in the team.

The US team is comprised of world champions Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Grant Holloway among others while there are some like Kenny Bednarek who look in good form heading to Paris.

Pulse Sports looks at where Team USA is likely to win gold medals from on the track at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Men’s 100m

The USA men’s team has world champion Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and former world champion Fred Kerley.

Of the three, Lyles is hot favorite for gold in Paris and laid down the marker with his dominant performance at the Olympics trials.

He will likely face stiff competition from Jamaicans Kishane Thomas and Oblique Seville as well as Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, Bednarek and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo. However, his experience and form suggest he will bag gold.

Women’s 100m

Another American tipped to win gold is world 100m champion Sha’carri Richardson.

Richardson’s bid for a double failed at the trials when she did not make the 200m team and will have all her focus on the 100m race.

That is not good news for her rivals, who include Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

She is joined by Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry on the US team but with defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah not in Paris, few of the other rivals pose real danger, making Richardson a shoo-in for gold.

Men’s 200m

Winning gold in the men’s 200m will be tough for the Americans but they have two good runners capable of achieving it.

Noah Lyles, who has won three world titles over the distance, appears favorite but Kenny Bednarek could just spoil his party which would still be a good thing for Team USA.

The two are joined by Erriyon Knighton but face a threat from Canadian Andre De Grasse, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Briton Zharnel Hughes.

However, it is America’s race to lose and it will depend on how Lyles and Bednarek execute their strategy.

Men's 110m hurdles

Triple world champion Grant Holloway is joined on the US team by Freddie Crittenden and Daniel Roberts but he is the man likely to win gold at the Olympics.

Holloway does not dominate outdoors as he does indoors but he is in great form as he heads to Paris having won all his races this year, including last week’s Monaco Diamond League.

Jamaican Hansle Parchment will want to defend his title while home favorite Sasha Zhoya will also pose a threat but Holloway is backed to improve on his silver medal of 2020 this time.

Women’s 400m hurdles

World record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will start as favorite despite world champion Femke Bol’s good form that saw her break the European record on Sunday.

She made her intensions clear at the Olympics trials when she broke her own world record again, clocking 50.65. Anna Cockrell and Jasmine Jones finished second and third to join her.

McLaughlin-Levrone is not only in good form but also in great shape to defend her crown and few will get close to her in the present condition.

The last time an African athlete scaled the Olympic podium in the sprints was in Atlanta in 1996 when retired Namibian great Frankie Fredricks won silvers in the men’s 100m and 200m finals.

It was a repeat of his exploits at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games, where he also won the silver double.

Ahead of the forthcoming Paris 2024 Summer Games, there is renewed optimism that a sprinter from the continent will medal either in the short or longer dash events considered to be the cream of track and field competition at the Olympics.

African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, the ninth fastest men’s 100m runner of all time, Botswana breakout starlet Letsile Thebogo and resurgent South African sprint king, Akani Simbine, have all enjoyed a solid start to the season and, more importantly, peaking at the right time.

Omanyala who holds the African record of 9.77 seconds, underlined his credentials when he won the Kenyan Olympic Trial in 9.79 which was until last week, the fastest time of the year.

Kishane Thompson, who won the men’s 100m in 9.77 at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, has supplanted Omanyala from the top of the 2024 world list, but considering the latter did it at Nairobi’s punishing elevation, there are reasons for the Kenyan to be optimistic of a medal in France.

Having burst onto the scene with his blazing time in 2021 at the height of the global pandemic, the 28-year-old, who has since won the Commonwealth and African men’s 100m, has established a reputation as one of the brazen and at times cocky top sprinter.

But that is all set to change as he prepares for his second Olympics after failing to make the final of the delayed Tokyo Summer Games.

Speaking to the media in Nairobi on Monday, Omanyala cut the determined figure of a man who is focused on the ultimate goal— not the showmanship side that has endeared him to millions of fans at home and abroad.

“Our sport humbles you; everybody who is anybody in the sport has lost a race at some point. With that, you understand that it’s not always about you winning; it’s about how humble you are; it’s just that.”

Biggest lesson

“It’s the biggest lesson that I have learned and I understand that there is pressure coming in, especially as we go to the Olympics. There are a lot of expectations,” the two-time African champion emphasised.

And indeed, lessons have been learned. In April, Omanyala had boldly predicted he would not allow American sprint heavyweight Kenny Bednarek, the Olympic 200m silver medallist, to beat him on his home track during the Absa Kip Keino Classic, the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event that went down in Nairobi.

As it turned out, Bednarek stepped down the distance to win in 9.91 as Omanyala (10.03) faded to fifth in front of a passionate home crowd, and later, the American posted a video on social media that threw shade at the Kenyan.

However, behind the scenes, the Commonwealth champion was adjusting to changing coaches, with Geoffrey Kimani, who was part of the Kenya 7s rugby technical bench, taking over at the start of the year.

Retreating quietly to his new training regime and running technique, Omanyala turned up for the Olympic Trials in June a man transformed and humbled.

“This year, I am not giving anybody any target; I am not going to promise anybody anything.”

The 200-meter division is the subject of much discussion as the Olympic season develops further. While many athletes have talked about breaking the world record set by Usain Bolt, Kenny Bednarek is the one who recorded the fastest 200-meter time in 2024. However, he still has a long way to go and will be facing athletes of equal caliber at the Prefontaine Classic 2024.

Track Gazette took to X to post the list of athletes who will compete in the annual 200-meter sprint at the Prefontaine Classic 2024. It begins with Bednarek, who just won the Doha Diamond League, setting a world lead, a meet record, and a personal best. His time of 19.67 seconds has since become the standard, but the track world moves fast, and other athletes will soon be closing the gap.

Erriyon Knighton, a 20-year-old American prodigy, is also scheduled to compete at the tournament while being heavily favored for a spot in the Olympics. Furthermore, the list includes Botswanan sprinter Letsile Tebogo, who broke the 300-meter world record earlier this season. The 20-year-old has been confident since his ASA Grand Prix Tour and has not underperformed in any event.

Even at the World Relays, Tebogo had the fastest time among all of the other teams in the finals and won the gold medal, making Botswana and the entire continent of Africa proud.

Meanwhile, Tebogo’s rival Courtney Lindsey will also compete in the Prefontaine Classic, as he was the first person to defeat the 20-year-old  in the 200 meters at the Kip Keino Classic. On the other hand, Aaron Brown, a Canadian sprint standout, has registered for the tournament and hopes to have a successful 200-meter seasonal debut.

Another standout name on the list is Kyree King who ran an outstanding 20.21 with a +1.7 tailwind on the Qatari circuit and might pose a major threat to other runners, including his fellow Team USA athletes. In addition, Liberian sprinter Joseph Fahnbulleh, who delivered many inspiring words at the World Relays after securing his country’s ticket to the Paris Olympics, has also registered for the 200-meter sprint alongside Jeremiah Curry of the United States and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic.

The event’s lineup of athletes with diverse talents has naturally gotten fans excited. The Prefontaine Classic has never disappointed and from the looks of it, 2024 will definitely take the legacy forward.

At the same time, fans can have varying expectations, and many took to X to make their feelings known.

American athletes Bednarek and Knighton will undoubtedly give their all, but for this fan, the Botswanan athlete appears to be the clear winner.

This season, the entire grid has demonstrated their prowess and this user believes there will be a new world lead.

Track superstar Sha'Carri Richardson will headline the women's 100m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League event on 25 May at Eugene's Hayward Field.

The reigning world champion is set to make her 100m debut in the Olympic season, facing the 60m world indoor champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia and Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Côte d'Ivoire.

Richardson is still on the hunt for her first win of this year's Diamond League season after finishing second over 200m at the Diamond League opener in Xiamen and third seven days later in Suzhou.

Last year's Prefontaine winner, Christian Coleman, is hoping to defend his 100m title. He will face off against Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala and Jamaica's Ackeem Blake.

In the men's 200m, world silver medalist Erriyon Knighton is up against Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala and world indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman of the USA will go head to head at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on May 25.

Omanyala shattered the African 100m record with a lightning-fast time of 9.77 at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic, just narrowly trailing behind USA’s Trayvon Bromell, who clocked 9.76.

His dominance continued with back-to-back victories at the Kip Keino Classic in 2022 and 2023, clocking 9.85 and 9.84 respectively. 

He, however, fell short during this year’s edition placing fifth in 10.03. USA’s Kenneth Bednarek took the title in 9.91.

Coleman claimed the Diamond Trophy over 100m last year in Xiamen, China, by equaling the world lead of 9.83 set by Zharnel Hughes.

Also in the lineup is the World Indoor 60m bronze medallist Ackeem Blake of Jamaica.

In the women’s 100m, USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson will be the one to keep an eye on.

Richardson sped to victory over 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, setting a PB of 10.65 to equal the championship record, and followed it by anchoring the USA to gold in the 4x100m.

She will, however, face fierce competition from World Indoor 60m champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia and African record-holder Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.

The men’s 200m in Eugene will also be highly competitive as USA’s Erriyon Knighton, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Bednarek going head to head.

Knighton – who has a lifetime best of 19.49 – took silver in that discipline at last year’s World Championships, earning his second global medal before even turning 20.

Tebogo won back-to-back world U20 titles over 100m in 2021 and 2022, then claimed world 100m silver and 200m bronze in Budapest last year, just weeks after turning 20. His PB of 19.50 is just 0.01 shy of Knighton’s.

Bednarek claimed Olympic silver in 2021 and followed it with world silver in 2022. Along with Tebogo, Bednarek is one of a small number of men who have broken 10 seconds for 100m, 20 seconds for 200m and 45 seconds for 400m.

Zablon Ekwam is keen to leave his mark in the 400m event at the Paris Olympics after securing his qualification time at the Kip Keino Classic last week. 

Ekwam powered to fourth place in 44.69 seconds, closely trailing Botswana’s Leungo Scotch at 44.54. Bryce Deadmon of the USA took second (44.41), while Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori clinched the title (44.10).

With the 2024 Olympic mark set at 45.00 for men and 50.95 for women, Ekwam’s performance puts him in prime position for the global showdown.

 “The Olympics is the climax of any sporting event and every athlete's dream is to make it to the global showpiece. I look forward to making my mark in Paris,” Ekwam remarked.

Ekwam highlighted the privilege of representing the country in an event where few Kenyan athletes qualify. “Representing the country in an event where there are not as many athletes qualifying is a nice feeling,” he stated.

Kenya has only secured two medals at the Olympics in the 400m, first at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where Julius Sang clocked 44.92 to secure bronze and in 1992 in Barcelona, where the late Samson Kitur also won bronze in 44.24.

The last athlete to represent the country at the Olympics in the 400m was Emmanuel Korir at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he was disqualified for a false start.

 Despite missing out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ekwam remains determined to post impressive results this time around. 

 “I have been fighting for this spot for four years. I missed out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics because I did not make the cut,” he stated.

He pointed out that consistent training was the key to making the Olympic team. “I went back to training consistently for three years to make the 2024 Olympics.”

Ekwam’s dedication paid off, as he recently contributed to shattering two African records with the 4x400m men’s relay team at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in March.

He was in the company of Wiseman Were, Boniface Mweresa and Kelvin Tauta.

Looking ahead, Ekwam is also set to represent Kenya at the World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas as he seeks to showcase his prowess in the 4x400m mixed relay.

He will be joined by Were, Kennedy Kimeu, Mercy Chebet, Mary Moraa and Maureen Thomas as they hunt for a top-14 finish that will secure Olympic qualification for the relay team.

American sprint legend Michael Johnson has told Botswana sensation Letsile Tebogo what to do at the Olympics after he hit the 400m qualifying time for the Paris Games.

American sprint legend Michael Johnson has advised Botswana sensation Letsile Tebogo against signing up for the 400m at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Tebogo hit the Olympic qualifying mark in 400m when he lowered his personal best to post an impressive 44.29 at the ASA Grand Prix in Pretoria, South Africa on Monday.

That has got many wondering if the world 100m silver and 200m bronze medalist will add the 400m onto his Olympics programme but Johnson, a two-time Olympic champion and record holder over the 400m, feels it would be a bad idea to do that this year.

“100/200 or 200/400 double? Already a 100/200 world champs medalist, may be foolish to switch in an Olympic year,” Johnson posted on X.

While Johnson recognizes that the men’s 400m is not as strong now, he thinks 20-year-old Tebogo still has plenty of time to hone his skills over the distance before he makes a competitive attempt.

“Men’s 400 a bit weak recently but his training must change to run even low 44 in a final after rounds. At only 20, plenty of time to move to 400. 100/200 for Paris,” added Johnson, while advising Tebogo to stick to 100m and 200m at the Paris Olympics.

Johnson’s sentiments come days after reports in Botswana also suggested Tebogo does not intend to compete in 400m at the Paris Olympics and was just using the race to test his endurance.

Tebogo has been in fine form, smashing the 300m world record by running 30.69 in Pretoria in February, before the 44.29 in 400m in the same South African city this week.

"My plan is to rest for a week or two. My performance [on Monday] shows that the speed is there,” said Tebogo after Monday’s race.

“Everything is going according to plan. I want to compete in Diamond League Meets so that I get used to other top athletes. That will also assist me to be confident when I meet them at the Olympics.”

World champion Noah Lyles is seen as the favorite to claim gold in both 100m and 200m at the Olympics but 20-year-old Tebogo is among a host of rivals set to give him a run for his money, with the Botswanan not a pushover given his remarkable form and consistency.

Letsile Tebogo ran faster than Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt to set a new world 300m record but that would perhaps not have happened had he not changed his running shoes.

Botswana sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo is currently basking in the glory of his new world record after lowering the 300m mark last weekend.

Tebogo smashed the world 300m record following an incredible run at the Simbine Curro Classic in South Africa, running 30.71, to beat South African Wayde van Niekerk's mark of 30.81 set in Ostrava, Czech Republic in 2017.

In what was a world lead and his personal best over the distance, the 20-year-old obliterated the field to take a giant lead, leaving a big gape between him and the chasing pack as he sprinted to the finish line.

It has now emerged that things would have perhaps been different had he not opted for a change of shoes, having decided to ditch his trainers for spikes ahead of the race.

Since sustaining an injury that locked him out of the Zurich Diamond League 200m finals, Tebogo has not used spikes and wore trainers in his season-opening race in January, but his coach Dose Mosimanyane advised him to use spikes in last Saturday’s race in Pretoria only to yield a world record.

“The world record was not in the plan. But I am not surprised. With his training partner, Bayapo Ndori and other athletes in the mix, I knew he would do something but this is not what we came here for,” Mosimanyane said.

The world 100m silver medallist did not just break the seven-year world record but his time was faster than that of American great Michael Johnson, who clocked 30.85 at the same venue in 2000, and Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt, who timed 30.97 in 2010.

The world 200m bronze medallist had an impressive 2023 season when he became the first African to win a medal at the World Championships in 100m and also the first from his country to achieve such a feat.

He is hoping to go one better this during the Paris 2024 Games in France where he is seeking to make history by winning his country’s first ever Olympics gold.

Vienna Marathon champion Magdalene Masai will battle Azmera Gebru at the Sevilla Marathon on Sunday even as the organizers promise to honor Kelvin Kiptum.

The organizers will observe a 42-second silence in respect to Kiptum, the world marathon record holder who died on Sunday in a road accident alongside his coach, Rwandese Gervais Hakizimana.

“Before the start of the marathon on Sunday, we will pay tribute to Kelvin Kiptum, the world record holder, and his coach, who died in a traffic accident. We will observe 42 seconds of silence, as many as kilometers of the race, in his memory,” the organizers said in a statement.

Masai won the Vienna Marathon in April last year in 2:24:12.

She also won the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada (2:22:16) and was second at the Hasper Marathon in Hamburg, Germany, in 2:26:02.

The 31-year-old is also a 2015 World Challenge gold medallist in 3,000m steeplechase from Dakar, Senegal, where she clocked 9:31.55.

Joining her will be 2018 Paris Half Marathon champion Antonina Kwambai. She clinched the Paris title in 1:08:07.

Gebru, from Ethiopia, won silver during the 2011 World U-20 Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, clocking 18:54.

She is also an African U-20 champion in the 3,000m from the 2011 Africa Junior Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, clocking 9:11.84.

The duo will face stern competition from Spanish champion Meritxell Soler, the Cursa dels Nassos (Barcelona) 10km champion (32:37).

Leading the elite men’s race is defending champion Gadisa Shumie of Ethiopia who won last year’s edition in 2:04:59.

He will be up against 2019 Gran Canaria Marathon champion Julius Kiprono, 2023 Hannover Marathon bronze medallist Fredrick Kibii, Collins Kemboi and 2023 Zurich Marathon San Sebastian champion Benson Tunyo.

Noah Lyles is not playing about winning an Olympic quadruple since he is already back in training.

Triple World champion Noah Lyles is back in training as he seeks an Olympic quadruple at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The 26-year-old shared a video on his X (Twitter) lifting the heaviest weight (125kg) for the first time and he seemed to do it pretty well. He captioned the video saying: “Tried my max (125kg).”

The American has enjoyed a great 2023 season, winning triple gold at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

He started his winning streak by bagging gold in the 100m, beating Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes to second and third place respectively.

He then proceeded to defend his World 200m title before propelling the American 4x100m men’s relay team to victory.

The Olympic Games next year surely promise to be a thrilling showpiece, especially in the men’s sprints where each runner will be going for the top prize.

Lyles has already fired warning shots at his opponents and in an interview with World Athletics, he said: “I’m not different. I’m still the same Noah. If anything, I’m more hungry than before because I’ve proved to myself that I can do it, so now I’m even more eager to do it for next year. It’s almost like another fire has been ignited for next year.

“I was talking to a close friend and he's like: 'I already know you're going to win three golds at the Olympics. I want you to win four. I remember when you were in high school, I watched you at Penn Relays go from second to last to first in the 4x400m, chasing down all those Jamaicans - there's your fourth medal.

“I've never had somebody tell me something that has thrown my out-of-the-box thinking to inside-the-box, but that was like: okay, I'm not going to say no to that. Because after what I did at Budapest and seeing what my body could handle, if I train for it, okay, let's take a shot. If they allow me, if they need me and they are willing - let's go, let's take it,” he said.

Botswana’s wonderkid Letsile Tebogo will be heading to the Diamond League Final Meeting in Eugene, USA under no pressure despite facing off against some of the strongest 100m sprinters in the world.

The 20-year-old made history as Africa’s first man to win a medal in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He beat some of the greatest athletes who will be going to Eugene with revenge written all over their faces.

However, the youngster is not under the pump to deliver since he has achieved most of his goals for the 2023 season.

Speaking to Business Weekly, his coach Kebonyemodisa ‘Dose’ Mosimanyane assured his fans that the youngster will go to the final of the Diamond League Meeting under no pressure.

“We have reached our goals for this season. So, going into the DL finals, there’s no need to burden ourselves with unnecessary pressure," he said.

"Our primary focus is on Tebogo’s well-being for the upcoming Olympics in Paris. That’s why we’re avoiding undue pressure.

"While we’re not suggesting we don’t aim to perform well at the DL finals, we want to ensure that we don’t add unnecessary stress."

The coach insisted that Tebogo’s participation in the finals is primarily for enjoyment and to conclude the season on a high note. After the event, he will return to Botswana to rest before coming back to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

At the Diamond League, he will face off against double World Champion Noah Lyles, who beat him to gold 100m, in Budapest, Hungary.

He will also lock horns with Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala who exited the World Championships empty-handed. Omanyala will be hoping to end his season on a high. The two pose as potential threats to the wonderkid but he remains still.

Sometimes a country’s depth in a particular event doesn’t necessarily translate to a strong relay performance.

But other times – like for tonight’s men’s 4x400m final – it leads to pure domination.

The USA went in as the favourites and duly delivered their fourth relay gold of the championships, winning in a world-leading 2:57.31.

French athletics fans breathed a huge sigh of relief as their quartet came through to take silver – their first and only medal of the championships – in a national record of 2:58.45, holding off Great Britain (2:58.71).

As far as the race went, it was USA all the way. Quincy Hall, the 400m bronze medallist earlier in the week, gave them an early lead, handing over to Vernon Norwood, the fourth-place finisher in the 400m final.

By the half-way point, they already had a comfortable lead over the rest of the field, all of whom were battling for the front of the chasing pack.

Justin Robinson, who was part of the victorious mixed 4x400m quartet on the first day of the championships, maintained USA’s led on leg three. By this point, France had moved into second place from Great Britain with Jamaica and Botswana in close pursuit.

Rai Benjamin, the 400m hurdles bronze medallist, extended USA’s lead on the last leg and went on to cross the line first in 2:57.31, earning USA’s ninth gold medal in the men’s 4x400m from the past 10 editions of the championships.

France’s anchor leg runner Teo Andant ran a strong lap to maintain his country’s standing in the race, taking silver in 2:58.45.

At one point it looked as though Antonio Watson, the individual 400m champion, would move Jamaica into a medal position, but Britain’s Rio Mitcham held on to third place, crossing the line in 2:58.71. Watson brought Jamaica home fourth in 2:59.34.

India, who had challenged USA in the heats, didn’t quite feature in the medal hunt and placed sixth in 2:59.92.

“I felt like I wasn't moving that fast but I'm happy these guys got me in a position to bring it home,” said Benjamin. “After the 400m hurdles, I wanted to come back and anchor this relay. It means a lot that the guys have faith in me and trust me. Quincy had an amazing start and the rest of the boys finished strong. I just had to finish the race. It was team work.”

Here are the top moments at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, and what to watch for this weekendThere’s just three action-packed days of track and field remaining in Budapest, Hungary for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Whether you’ve spent the past six days glued to your streaming service or you’re just catching up, here’s a refresher on the top highlights so far, and what we’re looking forward to most this weekend.Sha’Carri Richardson proved that she is here to stay by winning the 100-meter final with a new championship record of 10.65. To do it, she had to take down her Jamaican rivals Shericka Jackson, the fastest woman in the world this year, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning LLP world champion and 15-time world medalist.

After a poor showing in her semifinal, Richardson failed to achieve one of the auto-qualifiers and was placed in lane nine for the final. None of that mattered on race day, though, as the 23-year-old showcased the best acceleration over the final 30 meters of any runner in the field to claim gold from the outside lane. Jackson took silver in 10.72, while Fraser-Pryce ran a season’s best of 10.77 for bronze.

The victory marks Richardson’s first appearance at a global championship. She won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, but was unable to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo after testing positive for marijuana, a banned substance. In 2023, Richardson said, she’s “not back, [she’s] better.”

Can magic strike twice, and can she earn another medal in the 200 meters? She’ll again face Jackson, the second-fastest woman in world history, as well as American Gabby Thomas, the bronze medalist in Tokyo and the fastest woman in the world this year.

The women’s 200-meter final is on August 25. On Saturday, August 26, Richardson and Thomas will team up to compete against Jackson and Fraser-Pryce in the 4×100-meter relay.The flamboyant American Noah Lyles has made clear his ultimate goal of breaking Usain Bolt’s world record of 19.19 in the 200 meters for nearly a year now, ever since breaking the American record, en route to his second world title last summer in Eugene. But to get there, coach Lance Brauman reveals in NBC docuseries “Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project,” the 200-meter specialist would need to improve his speed by focusing on the 100m.

Despite never making a U.S. team in the 100 meters before, Lyles muscled his way onto the podium at the USATF Track and Field Championships a week after getting COVID, and executed his race plan perfectly in Budapest to claim gold with a world-leading time of 9.83. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana set a national record of 9.88 to earn silver and become the first African to podium at a world championship, while Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain took home his first bronze medal.

“They said I wasn’t the one,” he said immediately after the race, in what is sure to be one of this world championship’s most memorable moments. “But I thank God that I am.”

Now his attention turns to a third world title in the 200 meter—and a potential world record. Only Bolt has won three straight world titles over 200 meters, and the Jamaican world record holder is also the last man to win the 100-meter/200-meter double back in 2015.

In a bizarre turn of events on Thursday, a golf cart transporting athletes including Lyles to the track for the 200-meter semi-finals collided with another cart. Several athletes had to be seen by a doctor before the race, and Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson was automatically advanced to the final after competing with shards of glass in his eye. Lyles was reportedly fine.

Tebogo and Hughes will be back for the 200-meter final, as well as Kenneth Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, who completed the USA sweep with Lyles last year, and Tokyo Olympic champion Andre de Grasse of Canada.

The 200-meter finals are on Friday, and the 4 x 100-meter final is on Saturday.For the second year in a row, the best middle-distance runner in the world was outkicked in the world championship 1,500-meter final by a British athlete. This time, it was Josh Kerr who delivered the kick that broke Jakob Ingebrigtsen, winning his first world title in 3:29.38.

For the fiercely competitive Ingebrigtsen, the second-fastest man in world history in the event, silver is hardly any consolation for losing. Yet he nearly lost that as well — his Norwegian countryman Narve Gilje Nordås (who is coached by Jakob’s father Gjert) nearly beat him to the line, with Ingebrigtsen finishing slightly ahead, 3:29.65 to 3:29.68.Kerr, the Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo, seemed to employ a similar tactic as last year’s upset winner Jake Weightman, who similarly sat and kicked with about 180 meters to go. Kerr and Weightman actually trained together as youth rivals at Scotland’s Edinburgh Athletic Club. Kerr now trains in the United States with the Brooks Beasts.

Ingebrigtsen revealed after the race that he had a slight fever and some throat dryness. He competed in the preliminary round of the 5,000 meters on Thursday, advancing to the final with the third-fastest time of the day. He is the reigning world champion and will race the final on Sunday.

While the path to victory looks difficult, at least one heavy hitter has removed himself from conversation — world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who already won the 10K this week, pulled out of the 5K with a foot injury.On the very first day of competition in Budapest, the Netherlands track and field federation suffered not one but two devastating falls while running within reach of gold.

Femke Bol was leading the anchor leg of the mixed 4×400-meter relay when she fell just meters from the finish line, leaving the Dutch team disqualified while Team USA captured the gold medal.

On the same night, countrywoman Sifan Hassan stumbled to the ground in the final meters of the 10,000 meters, going from first to 11th, while the Ethiopian trio of Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey and Ejgayehu Taye swept the podium positions.

Hassan was the first to get redemption, earning a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters in 3:56.00 behind only world record holder Faith Kipyegon of Kenya (3:54.87) and Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia (3:55.69). She reportedly did a workout immediately following the race, calling it “not a big deal,” and the next morning won her 5,000-meter prelim in a blistering 14:32.29 over Kipyegon, who also owns the world record over 5K (14:05.20). The two will face off in the final on Saturday.

On Thursday, 23-year-old Bol got her redemption run. With the absence of world record holder Sydney McLaughlin in her signature event of the 400-meter hurdles, the gold was Bol’s for the taking and she left no mercy on the field. She stormed to her first World Championships gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles with a dominant effort of 51.70, with the United States’ Shamier Little nearly a full second behind in 52.80. Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton took bronze in 52.81.

Bol will return to the track for the women’s 4 x 400-meter relay final on Sunday. The Dutch was also disqualified in this event last year at Worlds and will seek to record a result at all expense.

Rudisha has already spotted some of his favorite athletes who he believes are the future of the track.

World 800m record holder David Rudisha is currently in Budapest for the World Championships, this time around not as an athlete but as an ambassador.

So far in his stay there, the two-time Olympic 800m champion has already spotted some of his favorite athletes who he believes are the future of the track.

Speaking to Citius Mag, Rudisha disclosed that Botswana’s wonder kid Letsile Tebogo and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville. Tebogo on Sunday night, August 20 made history to become the first African to win a medal in the 100m at the World Championships.

In the men’s 100m final, Seville finished fourth behind Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes. World 200m champion Noah Lyles reigned supreme in the race. Apart from finishing fourth in the final, Seville also equaled his Personal Best time of 9.86 during the Heats of the event.

“We have very strong young athletes who are taking over the stage…every day is full of surprises. Letsile Tebogo was just coming from the junior category and he is doing so well at the moment.

We also have Seville from Jamaica who is very impressive. He has run fast times here and I’m impressed. These ones are now the future of the sport,” Rudisha said.

He added that it is also amazing to see Africa doing well in the sprints and he singled out Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala.

Even though he failed to impress at the World Championships after finishing seventh, Rudisha lauded him for placing Kenya on the world map.

“He is really doing well and these are some of the athletes we admire since they are the future,” Rudisha said.

Suriname’s Issam Asinga, who only two weeks ago stunned the athletics world by shattering the U20 100m world record at the South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for the alleged use or presence of a prohibited substance . The suspension, which went into effect Wednesday and was announced by the AIU on Friday, is for the presence of GW1516, a substance that modifies how the body metabolizes fat, and which can boost endurance.

Provisional suspensions are issued before a hearing to determine whether the charges warrant any official punishment.

Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who won silver in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics in London, received a provisional suspension last year for the presence of the same metabolite ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. He ended up receiving a three-year ban.

GW1516 was originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes, but is not approved for human use, since it was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is banned in and out of competition, and not eligible for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). A USADA bulletin from 2019 says GW1516 is also sometimes known as cardarine or endurobol and has been found in some supplements, even though it is illegal. In 2017, there were 31 sanctions worldwide related to its use.

The 18-year-old Asinga clocked an impressive 9.89 seconds with a tailwind of (-0.8m/s) on July 28 to become the first South American sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m. His blazing run surpassed the previous record of 9.91 seconds set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo at last year’s World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, and also broke the South American area record, bettering the 10.00 mark set by Brazil’s Robson da Silva in 1988.

In addition to claiming a world record in Brazil, Asinga’ also picked up a free PlayStation 5 with his performance. A tweet posted last week shows retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin handing Asinga the video game console with the caption “The special moment when Justin Gatlin promised Issam Asinga a PS5 if he ran a legal 9.8 and he delivered!”

Asinga has made headlines in the 2023 season, running for Montverde Academy near Orlando, Fla. Earlier this year, he beat world champion Noah Lyles in a 100m race to break the U.S. high school record, and a week later, broke Lyles’s 200m high school record in 19.97 seconds.

The provisional suspension appears to have dashed Asinga’s dreams for gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month, where he was set to run the double. The sprinter has plans to head to Texas A&M University in the NCAA on a full track and field scholarship this fall.

In a remarkable debut on the international stage, 18-year-old Issam Asinga of Suriname stunned the athletics world on Friday, shattering the U20 100m world record at the South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Asinga clocked an impressive 9.89 seconds with a tailwind of (-0.8m/s) to become the first South American sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.

Asinga’s blazing run surpassed the previous record of 9.91 seconds set by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo at last year’s World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, and also broke the South American area record, bettering the 10.00 mark set by Brazil’s Robson da Silva in 1988.

To make his record more impressive, his time was run at altitude, as Sao Paulo sits nearly 800m above sea level. Asinga’s new record also sparred other fast times in the field, with Brazil’s Erik Cardoso breaking the Brazilian national record for silver in 9.97. 

The 18-year-old sprint phenom has made headlines in the 2023 season, running for Montverde Academy near Orlando, Fla. Earlier this year, he beat world champion Noah Lyles in a 100m race to break the U.S. high school record, and a week later, broke Lyles’s 200m high school record in 19.97 seconds. 

Asinga’s sights are now on the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest this August, where he will run the sprint double. After worlds, Asinga will head to Texas A&M University in the NCAA on a full track and field scholarship. His exceptional talent runs in the family. His father, Tommy Asinga, holds multiple national records for Suriname and represented the country at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992 and 1996).

Sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki believes Kenya's 4x 400m (men) and 4x400 mixed relay teams can shoot to between positions 10 and 12 in the world rankings when they compete in Gaborone, Botswana, on Thursday.

The Kenyan teams are currently placed 16th on the World Athletics rankings. The mixed relay team has a time of 3:14.64 while the men's 4x400m team boosts of a 3:02.02 mark. Both times were set at Nyayo Stadium on June 24.

The contingent in Gaborone has Wiseman Were, Bonface Mweresa, Kennedy Kimeu and Zablon Ekwam in the 4x400m race while the mixed relays trialists include Ekwam, Kevin Tauta, Mercy Oketch, Maureen Thomas and Millicent Ndoro.

Mwaniki said the individual athletes are the best the country has to offer over the distances and expressed confidence they will deliver in Botswana.

"These are our best athletes and we hope they will do the country proud by cementing their place at the World Championships in Hungary," said Mwaniki.

The Kenya Prisons coach said the window for qualification closes on July 30 and the Botswana event presents a good opportunity for the team.

"We have a very good opportunity to improve our time before the deadline," he said.

The top 16 teams in the world by July 30 will head to Budapest.

He added that Kenya stands a good chance of medaling in the mixed relays.

"We won a bronze medal at the World Relays in Yokohama, Japan, four years ago and I believe our chances are very good in that regard," he said.

Mwaniki added that should Kenya make it to the 4x400m and mixed relay finals in Budapest, they will have qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Paris.

"This is a big incentive for us as a federation and team. They know what's at stake and if we attain better times in Gaberone, we will work very hard to ensure we make it to the final in Budapest," he noted.

Commonwealth Games 800m champion Mary Moraa is a probable member of the mixed relay team if they make it to Budapest.

"She is a strong athlete, especially over 400, and will be an asset to the side if we do qualify," he said.

African 800 meters champion Jarinter Mwasya and World Under-20 3,000m silver medalist Zena Jemutai are among 20 athletes suspended by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) as the crisis in the country deepens.

Top sprinter Samuel Imeta is also among the list after allegedly testing positive for banned anabolic steroids in a meeting at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on February 24.

In that event in the 100m, he had clocked a surprising 9.94sec to finish second behind team-mate and African champion Ferdinand Omanyala.

World Athletics did not ratify the times in the race due to technical problems, but Imeta’s performance seemed to suggest Kenya had found another top sprinter after Omanyala.

It represented a major step up in form for Imeta, an officer in the Kenyan Army, after being knocked out in the semi-finals of the 100m at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

He was a part of the Kenyan 4x100m quartet that clocked a national record of 38.26 at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, which qualified them for this year’s World Championships in Budapest.

That performance will be wiped out if Imeta is found guilty of doping.

The samples of the 26-year-old Mwasya, winner of the 800m at last year's African Championships in Saint Pierre in Mauritius, tested positive for several banned substances, including blood boosting drug erythropoietin.

Mwasya also competed for Kenya at last year's World Athletics Championships in Eugene and the Commonwealth Games, but failed to reach the final at either event.

Jemutai tested positive for the prohibited substance triamcinolone acetonide, a synthetic corticosteroid medication.

The 20-year-old had finished second at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.

In March, she ran 31min 03sec for 10 kilometres to win the Villa de Laredo event in Spain. 

Others facing bans are Hannah Mwangi, winner of the 400m hurdles at the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, and distance runner Agnes Mumbua, who finished first in the 15 kilometres du Puy en Velay in France in February.

The latest revelations again illustrate the depth of the doping problem in Kenya and casts doubts over the performances of other athletes from the country.

Last year, the country narrowly avoided a ban from international athletics after vowing to tackle the problem.

David Howman, chair of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), claimed they are committed to working with Kenya to ensure that happens.

Last month, the AIU held a strategy meeting in Nairobi with ADAK and Athletics Kenya, while also running an online education seminar for athletes from the country.

Athletics Kenya have pledged to being committed to the war against doping and are working with the AIU to launch an operation involving criminal investigators and medical authorities to identify and prosecute anyone involved.

The Kenyan Government has also provided $5 million (£4 million/€4.6 million) worth of funding as part of the country's commitment to cracking down on drug cheats.

Wiseman Were has reaffirmed his intention to lead the country to unparalleled success at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 

Were stated in an exclusive interview on Monday that he had stepped up training to place on the podium in the premier yearly global spectacle scheduled for August.

"August isn't that far away, so I want to keep putting forth my best effort in the meanwhile. I regret not being able to go to Oregon last year," Were said.

However, first things first and must work tirelessly to earn the qualification mark that will secure him a spot on the plane to Budapest.

"The entry standard for the 400m hurdles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships is 48.70s, and I'm still 1.09 seconds off the mark."

Already boasting an impressive personal best of 49.09, Were's best time this season is the 49.23 seconds he posted in Pretoria on April 12 on his way to victory during the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix. 

 He ran 49.29 seconds to wrap up in third place at the Botswana Grand Prix and finished third in Johannesburg with a time of 49.78.

His most recent performance was at the Kip Keino Classic on May 13 where he clocked a meet record of 49.59 seconds to bag the men’s 400m hurdles race in yet another mesmerising on-track show of dexterity.

"That was a sweet victory. Winning at home is such a good thing. I'm happy with the outcome I recorded at the Kip Keino Classic," Were said.

Were stated that he will continue to compete in more races in the coming days to meet the championship threshold.

"I'm still waiting to hear from my manager which races I'll be running in the coming days as I eye the qualification mark for Budapest," Were said.

The 25-year-old effervescent sprinter underlined the necessity of tight collaboration between all parties, stating that achieving the ideal heights in sprints necessitates a concerted effort from everyone associated with the sport.

"It's not just about how hard an athlete works. To lead us to such heights, we need every bit of assistance from our coaches, the physios, the local athletics governing body, government, and supporters," Were stated.

Were believes he has set the platform for a slew of legendary performances after kicking off his season with spectacular victories in South Africa and Kenya.

He believes the results gave him the confidence he needs to advance his career.

"I had a commendable performance; my speed and skill were superb. I intend to replicate my performance and bring about the desired results," Were said.

"The ASA Grand Prix and Kip Keino Classic races offered me some crucial lessons. Competing against some of the best sprinters in the world and winning while posting good times boosted my self-belief."

World Athletics Cross Country mixed relay silver medalist Naomi Korir will be chasing World Championships qualifying time during Saturday's Kip Keino Classic at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani.

Korir, an 800m specialist, said she wants to build on her 2:00.70 display in Botswana two weekends ago as she chases the 1:59.80 qualifying time for Budapest, Hungary.

“This race will be very important for me. I see it as an opportunity to qualify for the World Championships in Budapest. My training has been intense to ensure that I make the results count,” said Korir.

In Botswana, Korir finished fourth in the two-lap race — won by Ethiopian Habitam Alemu (1:59.35) followed by South African Prudence Sekgdiso (2:00.39) and another Ethiopian, Firezewid Tesfaye (2:00.52).

Korir finished third at last year's Kip Keino in 2:0006, behind winner Sekgdiso (1:58.41) and Commonwealth Games 800m champion Mary Moraa (1:59.87).

Also in the mix are defending champion Sekgdiso, Alemu and Botswana’s Oratile Nowe.

Meanwhile, Olympic and world 800m champion Emmanuel Korir will drop to the 400m where he will be up against compatriot Boniface Mweresa, American Vernon Norwood, Muzala Samukonga (Zambia), Gilles Biron (France), Machel Cedenio (Trinidad and Tobago), Kevin Borlee (Belgium) and Dylan Borlee (Belgium).

One week after Botswana’s Nijel Amos was handed a three-year ban for doping, he is now selling the Olympic silver medal he won in the 800m at the London 2012 Olympics.

Amos’ reason for selling his Olympic medal is to support his family. According to the BBC, the 29-year-old met with someone who wants to buy it for 4.5m Botswanan pula (USD $300,000), but Amos believes the value of his medal will double with the release of his upcoming documentary on Netflix, to be released later this year.

He finished second in the 800m behind world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya, making him the first Botswanan to win an Olympic medal in any event. Amos holds the third-fastest 800m time in history (1:41.73), and is one of only five men who have gone under 1:42. 

The 800m runner was initially suspended in July 2022 after an out-of-competition test revealed a banned metabolic modulator, GW1516. Amos faced a four-year ban, but it was reduced to three years after he signed a letter of admission.

However, he is still fighting the case. “It has been a financially draining process,” Amos said in a statement. He has reportedly incurred $67,000 in legal fees and travel expenses.

Amos said it is difficult to survive in Botswana, where athletes are not given pensions or any lump sum insurance payouts.

GW1516 was originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes but is not approved for human use, since it was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is banned in and out of competition, and not eligible for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).

Barely in her 20s, Kenya's track sensation Mary Moraa is already hogging the global limelight and stealing headlines at whim. 

The 2022 Commonwealth Games 800 metres gold medallist has rocked premier global athletics shows in recent years to deservedly cut herself a niche in the Hall of Fame. 

Fondly known as "The Kisii Express" by her dotting fans, Moraa has already claimed her space in the cutthroat world of athletics. Undoubtedly, the decorated track prodigy deserves every ounce of international acclamation.

Only recently, she set a new PB in April after storming to the 400m title at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in an astonishing time of 50.44. 

The sublime performance she pulled off in the blistering contest saw her smash her previous national record by 0.24 seconds, subsequently attaining the World Athletics Championships qualifying standards of 51.0 seconds.

"My previous 400m best was 50.67, which I attained at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels in September."

In Botswana, the two-lap specialists obliterated a stellar field that boasted Olympic and world finalist Candice McLeod of Jamaica, USA’s Kyra Jefferson, and the Botswana duo of Naledi Lopang and Thompang Basele. 

She breezed to victory ahead of South Africa’s Miranda Coetzee and McLeod who crossed the line in 51.13s and 51.17s respectively.

She rallied from behind to take the lead with 30m to go on her way to the winner's podium at the National Stadium, Gaborone.

Moraa smashed the national record when she won the Kenyan trials for World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 50.84 on June 25, last year at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani.

Moraa, 23, has vowed to step into the big shoes of her role model Hellen Obiri, the middle and long-distance track sensation.

 "I've always admired Obiri. I grew up watching her clinch titles and her amazing performances have inspired me a great deal. To an extent, there is a part of her that lives in me. I just want to be exactly like her," Moraa said.

"To date, Obiri still inspires me a great deal and I'm eager to emulate her success on the international stage," she added. 

Indeed, Moraa has every reason to admire Obiri. She is the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track, and cross-country races. 

Notably, Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 meters.

 She is a two-time world champion, having claimed the 5000 m title both in 2017 and 2019 when she set a new championship record. 

Obiri also tucked away a bronze in the 1500 metres during the 2013 World Championships and a silver in the 10,000 m in 2022.

She won the 3000 meters race at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, claimed silver in 2014, and placed fourth in 2018. She romped to the 2019 World Cross Country title and triumphed in the 2023 Boston Marathon.

Moraa said she and Obiri share a lot in common. Besides being compatriots, Moraa is elated they hail from the same county.

 Coached by seasoned National Police athletics team gaffer Alex Sang, Moraa has her eyes firmly trained on a World Championship conquest in Budapest, Hungary later in the year.

She said she intends to run the 800m race at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August, adding that she is determined to breast the tape in under two minutes. 

Born on June 15, 2000, Moraa attended Nyangononi Primary School in Bassi Borabu, Kisii County where she sat for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2014.

Her potential in athletics came to the fore at Nyangononi when she ran away with several titles in the sprints and middle-distance races.

 "I stamped authority in 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m and even shattered the 400m East Africa school games record in 2014," Moraa proudly recounted. 

Upon completing her studies, Moraa proceeded to Ibacho Secondary School in Kisii County but lasted there for only two years before transferring to Mogonga PAG Mixed secondary school where she sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2018.

"While at Ibachi, I experienced difficulties paying my school fees and it was the principal who would chip in most of the time. Unfortunately, he got transferred from the school and I was left stranded. 

"I later joined Mogonga Mixed Secondary School, where I got a lot of support from the principal who also happened to be my coach."

An orphan from a disadvantaged background, Moraa got financial help from her school principal Aron Onchonga who paid all her school fees at Mogonga. Indeed, aside from affording her pertinent financial assistance, Onchong'a played a key role in honing her skills and carving her path to stardom. It was during her years in Mogonga that Moraa started jutting out her talons on the track.

 "I am grateful to the school administration and the Principal for the moral and financial support they gave me while there."

During my years in Mogonga, I wanted to remain a role model to the young girls who shied away from sporting activities. I was determined to train and participate in various activities even after completing school," said Moraa.

Botswana’s Nijel Amos, the joint-third-fastest 800m runner in history, was banned three years for doping.

The case stemmed to last June, when he tested positive for GW1516, an experimental drug which can modify the body’s metabolism but has been considered too dangerous for human use.

The ban was backdated to last July, when Amos was provisionally suspended pending an investigation. His ban now runs to 2025, which means the 29-year-old Amos will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Amos received a one-year reduction of what would otherwise be a four-year ban because he made an early admission and acceptance of the suspension.

That came after he requested a supplement be tested for the presence of the drug. The test did not detect any GW1516 in opened and sealed bottles.

GW1516 was developed to help build endurance and burn fat but was found to cause cancer during tests on rodents. Anti-doping organizations have warned athletes not to use it on safety grounds.

The drug has previously been found in samples given by professional cyclists and by Olympic race walker Elena Lashmanova. The Russian served a two-year ban and was later stripped of the 20km gold medal she won at the 2012 Olympics for another doping offense.

In 2012, Amos, then 18, took silver in the 800m at the London Games in what many called the greatest Olympic race in history. Kenyan David Rudisha lowered his world record. Amos matched Seb Coe as the third-fastest man in history in the event (1:41.73). Every runner’s time was the fastest ever for that finishing placement.

Amos has not won an Olympic or world championships medal since. In July 2019, he ran 1:41.89, the world’s best time since that London Olympic final.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Amos and American Isaiah Jewett got tangled in the final lap of their semifinal. In an act of good sportsmanship, the runners helped each other up and later jogged across the finish line together in the last two places. Amos was granted a place in the final and finished eighth.

March 29 was quite a day for 19-year-old sprinter Bouwahjie Nkrumie of Kingston, Jamaica. Nkrumie stormed to a U20 national record time of 9.99 seconds (+0.3 m/s) at the Jamaica High School Boys and Girls Athletics Championships, becoming only the third runner in the world to break the 10-second barrier before turning 20.

Nkrumie, 19, nicknamed “Dr. Speed,” became the youngest Jamaican sprinter to break the barrier, which is an incredible feat considering the small Caribbean nation’s rich sprinting history (including Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake). The future of the 100m looks bright as Nkrumie joins American Trayvon Bromell and U20 world record holder, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, in the U20 sub-10 club. 

Last year, Tebogo beat Nkrumie in the 100m final at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia. Nkrumie ran his previous best of 10.02 seconds in the final, but was second to Tebogo, who won in a U20 world record of 9.91 seconds.

Nkrumie’s time of 9.99 was also a 2023 world lead for 100m, but it only lasted a few hours until Akani Simbine of South Africa ran a time of 9.98 seconds (+1.0 m/s) in the men’s 100m heats at the South African Championships.

The new Jamaican record holder is in his final year of high school at Kingston College, an all-male sports and academic-focused secondary school in Kingston. We will likely see Nkrumie take on the world’s best later this year at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.

Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 marathon world record, along with world U20 records set last year by 100m sprinter Letsile Tebogo and Jamaica’s 4x100m team, have been ratified.

Double Olympic champion Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon last year, taking 30 seconds off the marathon world record he had set in the same city on 16 September 2018.

The 38-year-old Kenyan went out hard, passing through 5km in 14:14 and 10km in 28:22 – not just comfortably inside world record pace, but also well inside a projected two-hour finish.

He maintained that pace through half way, which was reached in 59:50 – identical to his half-way split when he produced a sub-two-hour run in an unofficial orchestrated race in Vienna three years ago. His pace started to drop slightly from then on, but he was still comfortably inside world record pace.

Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu had been level with Kipchoge up until that point, but the Kenyan superstar then gradually pulled clear and was out on his own. He passed through 30km in 1:25:40, then reached 35km in 1:40:10.

By the time he passed through 40km in 1:54:53, his lead had grown to move than four minutes. Kipchoge went on to cross the line in 2:01:09, making this the eighth consecutive men’s marathon world record to be set in Berlin.

“I am overjoyed to have broken the world record,” said Kipchoge. “I wanted to run the first half so fast. After 38km I knew I would be capable of breaking the world record. The circumstances were great, and so was the organisation.”

Botswana’s Tebogo successfully defended his 100m title at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22. He had broken the championship record in his heat with 10.00, then won his semifinal in 10.14 before going on to dominate the final in 9.91 (0.8m/s).

His winning time took 0.03 off the world U20 record he had set in Eugene on 15 July in the heats of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

“When the gun went off, I had to make sure I made the best start of my life – and it was the best start of my life,” said Tebogo. “As soon as I took my first step, I knew the title was mine. I didn’t worry about the time. I didn’t look.”

Just three days later, another world U20 record fell, this time in the women’s 4x100m. The Jamaican quartet of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tia Clayton teamed up to take the title in 42.59, taking 0.35 off the previous record that the same team had achieved on August 22, 2021 at the previous World U20 Championships in Nairobi.

A similar quartet — but with Brianna Lyston on third leg instead of Hill — had clocked a marginally quicker 42.58 at the Carifta Games earlier in 2022, but it could not be ratified as a record.

Records Ratified

Men’s world marathon record: 2:01:09 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) Berlin, September 25, 2022 

Men’s world U20 100m record: 9.91 (0.8m/s) Letsile Tebogo (BOT) Cali, August 2, 2022

Women’s world U20 4x100m record: 42.59 Jamaica (Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill, Tia Clayton) Cali, August 5, 2022

There are many things to look forward to in the sport of athletics in the upcoming year.

There’ll be three global championships in 2023, with ever-expanding one-day meeting circuits spread throughout the year. Rivalries will be renewed, and record-breakers will continue to push boundaries in their respective disciplines.

Here are just ten of the many reasons to be excited by what’s to come over the next 12 months.

1. World Athletics Championships Budapest 23

More than 2000 athletes from about 200 countries will head to the Hungarian capital to compete in the world’s biggest track and field event of 2023. Taking place just 13 months after the last edition, it will be the shortest ever gap between two World Championships, so fans won’t have long to wait before seeing the best athletes on the planet re-engage in battle for global honours.

2. Pushing boundaries

World Athletes of the Year Mondo Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone have elevated their respective events to new heights in recent years.

Both aged just 23, their progression and record-breaking exploits will most likely continue in 2023. The same applies to other dominant forces within the sport, such as world and Olympic triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas and marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.

3. New eras

The sport, as with everything in life, continues to evolve. Kenya, for example, dominated the steeplechase for years, but now the leading forces in that discipline are from Morocco, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan.

The women’s throws, meanwhile, are now the domain of North America. And Japan is a leading force in men’s race walking.

New faces and countries will likely emerge in 2023, changing the landscape of the sport.

4. Sprint showdowns

Gone are the days where the world’s leading sprinters avoid each other on the circuit. Multiple world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, for example, will often line up against fellow Jamaican stars Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson. And 200m specialists Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton have clashed frequently in recent years. No doubt there will be many more high-octane sprint duels in store in 2023.

5. World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23

The newest global event within the sport, the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 will unite elite and recreational runners in the Latvian capital on September 30 and October 1. The range of distances — mile, 5km and half marathon — means there’s something for all of the world’s best endurance athletes to sink their teeth into. The same applies to the thousands of runners who’ll take to the streets of Riga for the mass races as they race in the footsteps of legends.

6. Crouser vs Kovacs

They provided one of the greatest duels the sport has ever witnessed at the 2019 World Championships, and there’s no sign of the rivalry ending between Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs. The shot put giants have won numerous global titles between them. Crouser has been a dominant force in recent years, but Kovacs also hit an all-time career peak in 2022 with a lifetime best of 23.23m, taking him to No.2 on the world all-time list behind Crouser. No one would be surprised if either man broke the world record in 2023.

7. At the double

When the timetable for the 2023 World Championships was release a few months ago, it became clear that many popular doubles — such as the 100m and 200m, 800m and 1500m, 1500m and 5000m, 5000m and 10,000m, 20km and 35km race walk, women’s long jump & triple jump, and women’s 200m and 400m – would be doable in Budapest. The likes of Yulimar Rojas, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Fred Kerley and Sydney McLaughlin have all hinted at attempting major championship doubles in recent years, so it will be fascinating to see who enters more than one discipline in the Hungarian capital.

8. Continental Tour Gold expands

The global one-day meeting circuit will have 14 Gold level meetings in 2023, taking in new stops in Botswana, Grenada and Melbourne.

It means there are now Gold meetings in five different continental areas. The wider series has also expanded with 165 Continental Tour meetings currently on the calendar for 2023, 13 more than in 2022.

9. Distance duels

Endurance athletes are extra fortunate in 2023 because they will be able to compete at all three global championships, covering a range of surfaces. Letesenbet Gidey and Hellen Obiri provided one of the most thrilling clashes at the World Championships in Oregon, and there’s a good chance they’ll race one another again, either in Bathurst, Budapest or Riga.

World 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, meanwhile, could potentially line up against two-time world 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei in Budapest — or even on the circuit throughout the season.

There are four women active in the marathon — Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich, Amane Beriso and Tigist Assefa — with sub-2:16 PBs, all of whom could push one another to a world record. And in the race walks, the likes of Toshikazu Yamanishi and Massimo Stano could clash at either 20km or 35km — or both.

10. World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23

One of the first big highlights of the year will take place Down Under when Bathurst hosts the World Cross Country Championships.

Recent editions have been highly competitive and engaging, and that will no doubt be the case once more as hundreds of the world’s best distance athletes take to Mount Panorama. And, as is the case with Riga and Budapest, there are opportunities for recreational runners to be a part of the event too.

The presence on the final entry-list of the Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs adds a huge and intriguing element to the sprints at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships from 15-21 August, part of the wider multisport European Championships.

The 27-year-old Italian was a surprise winner at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in a European record of 9.80, although his win over 60m at the European Athletics Indoor Championships earlier in the year indicated his rising potential having started his career primarily as a long jumper. 

In March this year he beat the defending world indoor champion Christian Coleman to the world indoor 60m title in Belgrade but Jacobs’ outdoor season has been undermined so far by illness and muscle problems which forced him to scratch from the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

It will be a huge feature of the Munich 2022 athletics programme if he can toe the line in the 1972 Olympic stadium – and it will be fascinating to see what degree of fitness he has been able to reclaim. 

On the eve of the championships, Jacobs’ coach Paolo Camossi was optimistic about his prospects in the Munich Olympic Stadium next week. "He's running free, he's having fun, the workouts are promising. If we are here in Munich it is because he is fine and can compete…Marcell is the Olympic gold medalist and he is here to win, but it is not a race to be taken lightly," said Camossi as quoted by FIDAL.

Among his prospective rivals include Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes who stands ready to defend the 100m title he won in Berlin four years ago in a championship record of 9.95.

Hughes had an ultimately frustrating time at last summer’s Olympics, false-starting in the individual 100m final and then seeing the 4x100m silver-medal winning performance to which he had contributed annulled because of a positive doping test for team-mate CJ Ujah. 

Last week he indicated he is in fine racing form as he won Commonwealth silver in the 200m in Birmingham and helped England win 4x100m gold. 

While Jacobs won the Olympic title in 9.80, he has only run 10.04 this year although he did open his season with a marginally wind-aided 9.99. Hughes is second fastest this season with 9.97 but top spot goes to his enigmatic fellow Briton Reece Prescod, who ran 9.93 this season at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava – into a significant headwind. 

France’s Meba-Mickael Zeze is the third sub-10 second performer this season with 9.99 and will be in medal contention along with home sprinter Lucas Ansah-Peprah, who has clocked 10.04 this season. 

And it doesn’t do to rule out the experienced French performer Jimmy Vicaut, who has run 10.10 this year but has a best of 9.86 - the former European record which Jacobs surpassed when he blazed to the Olympic title in Tokyo last summer.

A clash of youth and experience in the 200m

Fresh from a medal at the Commonwealth Games Hughes will also fancy his medal chances in the 200m, where his British teammate Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, silver medalist four years ago, is also entered. 

Turkey’s defending champion Ramil Guliyev, who has a best of 19.76 from the 2018 European Athletics Championships where he came within 0.04 of Pietro Mennea’s long-standing European record, has run 20.21 this year. 

Zeze will also double up, and is looking good for a podium place given his 19.97 personal best this season. 

But the most intriguing presence will be that of 18-year-old Israeli Blessing Afrifah, who won the world U20 title in Cali in a European U20 record of 19.96 - to surpass Guliyev’s previous mark of 20.04 - and in so doing beat Botswana’s hugely favoured Letsile Tebogo, who had earlier won the 100m title in a world U20 record of 9.91 despite showboating over the final 30 meters. 

Afrifah was born in Tel Aviv and raised in Israel to parents from Ghana - his father came to Israel as an employee of the Ghanaian consulate – and was granted permanent residence in 2010. 

Will this hugely talented runner be able to adapt to the pressures and rigors of a senior international competition less than two weeks after his record-breaking exploits in Cali? It will be fascinating to see. 

Also in the 200m mix will be a sprinter who brought home the baton for a historic 4x100m victory at last year’s Tokyo 2020 Games - Italy’s Filippo Tortu - who has run a personal best of 20.10 this season and harbors aspirations of broaching the 20 second-barrier for the first time. 

Jacobs and Tortu are also named in an Italian 4x100m relay squad that could produce another historic performance in Munich although a squad - admittedly devoid of Jacobs who was injured - didn’t make it through the heats at the World Athletics Championships.

Reigning champions Great Britain, France, hosts Germany and Turkey will all offer strong opposition along with surprise Tokyo 2020 Olympic finalists Denmark.

World champion Tobi Amusan and world indoor champion Jereem Richards had a successful Sunday (7) on the final day of athletics action at the Commonwealth Games, as they joined Elaine Thompson-Herah and Jacob Kiplimo as double gold medalists in Birmingham.

The Nigerian sprint hurdler started the day by winning her specialist discipline, the 100m hurdles, in a Games record of 12.30 (-0.2m/s) – the second-fastest wind-legal clocking of her career behind the world record of 12.12 she clocked at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

She won by a clear margin from Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas (12.58) and England’s Cindy Sember (12.59), all of whom finished inside the previous Games record.

“I think my first five hurdles were rusty but then I got it together,” said Amusan. “I’m just thankful for the win.”

Later in the morning session, Amusan ran the lead-off leg for Nigeria in the 4x100m. She gave her team a strong start and handed over to 200m silver medalist Favour Ofili, who kept Nigeria level with England’s Imani Lansiquot. Rosemary Chukwuma than ran a storming third leg to give Nigeria a clear lead, then Grace Nwokocha anchored them to victory in 42.10, taking 0.12 off the African record they had set when finishing fourth at the recent World Championships.

England finished second in 42.41 and Jamaica, anchored by double sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, took bronze in 43.08.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, England took victory in the men’s 4x100m just moments before the women’s race. They won in 38.35 from Trinidad & Tobago (38.70) and Nigeria (38.81).

Later in the day, Commonwealth 200m champion Jereem Richards added another gold medal to his collection, anchoring Trinidad & Tobago to victory in the men’s 4x400m. The world indoor 400m champion teamed up with Dwight St Hillaire, Asa Guevara and Machel Cedenio to win in 3:01.29 with Botswana finishing second in 3:01.85. Kenya placed third in 3:02.41.

The women’s race was much closer with hosts England crossing the line in first place 0.01 ahead of Canada. But England was later disqualified for a lane infringement, giving Canada gold in 3:25.84 ahead of Jamaica (3:26.93). Scotland took the bronze medal.

The 2015 African Games 400m silver medalist Boniface Mweresa anchored Kenya’s 4x400m to victory in their heat to storm the final in athletics at the ongoing Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium.

Team Kenya head coach Julius Kirwa was forced to make changes at the last minute when Olympic and world 800m champion Emmanuel Korir, who was to compete, went missing.

Mweresa rallied from three places behind, taking down India Trinidad and Tobago to win heat two in season’s best three minutes and 06.76 seconds.

India settled second in 3:06.97 as Trinidad and Tobago came third in 3:07.22.

Defending champions Botswana won heat one in 3:05.11, beating Jamaica and Zambia to second and third places in 3:05.20 and 3:06.02 respectively.

It’s Wiseman Were who was the first man on the blocks to hand over the baton to William Rayan in third place before he stepped up, handing over the baton to William Mbevi in second place.

Mbevi fell back one place in the last changeover to Mweresa, who injected in some pace to swing to the lead at the last bend before winning.

The quartet of David Kitur, Samson Kitur, Simeon Kipkemboi and Stephen Mwanzia is the last to win the 4x400m title for Kenya during the 1990 Auckland Games in New Zealand.

Kenya had won three 4x400m titles back-to-back starting with the inaugural Edinburgh Games in Scotland before the 1974 Christchurch, New Zealand and 1978 Edmonton, Canada Games.

After the 1990 exploits, Kenya has only claimed one medal from the Games since then, the silver medal from the 2010 Delhi Games, India.

“We took it easy just to put our foot in the final before planning how we shall pitch for a medal. We hope that medal will be gold,” said Rayan. “We are really prepared and ready for the final.”

Rayan said staying focused and having a settled mind will deliver victory for Kenya.

Mbevi, who fell at the exchange was wheeled out of the arena for medical attention.

"I am not in a position to tell you where Korir went. We have been looking for him but couldn't locate him," said Kirwa.

However, Korir, who won his 400m heat but got disqualified for lane infringement, is drawn in the men's 800m final at the Silesia leg of the Diamond League on Saturday in Poland. 

On Tuesday evening, Botswana’s rising sprint star Letsile Tebogo smashed his U20 world record, clocking 9.91 seconds in the 100m final at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia. The 19-year-old could have gone faster but celebrated over the final 30 metres on his way to his second straight U20 gold. 

This is the third time Tebogo has broken the world U20 100m record this season. Tebogo ran a personal best time of 9.94 seconds in the 100m heats at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene to set a Botswanan national record and U20 record. He made it to the semi-finals at his first senior championship but did not qualify for the final in Oregon.

Many have compared Tebogo to the Jamaican track legend Usain Bolt, who celebrated early when he won the first of eight Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he ran a world record time of 9.69 seconds before breaking it the following year in Berlin in 9.58 seconds.

After Tebogo won gold, he addressed his early celebration in the mixed media zone. “The goal was to come out and enjoy the race,” said Tebogo. “If somebody took offence or as disrespect, I’m sorry.”

Track fans online speculated that Tebogo could have posted a time in the 9.70 to 9.80 range if he didn’t celebrate.

The intention of his celebration wanted to remind everyone of what Usain Bolt did back in the day. “He is my idol, the person I look up to,” Tebogo said.

The new world champion and world record-holder in the women’s 100m hurdles only got into hurdling through a quirk of fate.

Tobi Amusan started out as a sprinter and long jumper as a youngster in her native Nigeria.  

At 13, she turned up to compete in a local athletics meet, only to find that just one event remained on the programme: the hurdles.

Amusan’s coach encouraged her to enter. She ended up winning the race and the rest, as they say, is history.

The switch to the sprint hurdles paid off in sensational fashion on Sunday (24) when the 25-year-old Amusan smashed the world record, clocking 12.12 in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. She shaved 0.08 off the previous mark set by Kendra Harrison of the US in 2016.

Less than two hours later, Amusan came back for the final and ran another spectacular race to secure her first global gold medal and the first ever for Nigeria at a World Championships.

Amusan was clocked in 12.06, but the time won’t be recognized as a world record due to a tail wind of +2.5 m/s.

After fourth-place finishes at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and last year’s Tokyo Olympics, Amusan finally made it -- not just onto the podium, but to the top of the medal stand.

“I was the ‘almost girl,’” she said. “I got fourth, fourth, fourth. Now I finally did it.”

And with a world record for good measure.

“The goal was to come out and to win this gold,” Amusan said. “I just did it. Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, the goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time.”

Looking back on how she made it here, Amusan said: “It has been a long journey.”

Born in the town of Ijebu Ode in the western Nigerian state of Ogun, Amusan gradually made the transition to hurdles as a teenager. 

She continued competing in sprints and long jump but managed to squeeze in one hurdles session a week. She put cones and tires on the track to jump over because there were no hurdles in her town. 

When she was replaced as a member of Nigeria’s 4x100m relay squad at the trials for the 2014 African Youth Games, she figured she had nothing to lose and entered the hurdles. She won that and went on to earn silver at the African Youth Games in Botswana.

Then followed a trip to Ethiopia in 2015, where she won African U20 gold, followed by a breakthrough victory at the All-African Games in Brazzaville, Congo.

“It was one of the biggest milestones of my career; winning that championship set me up for who I am today,” she said.

There was no looking back; she was now a full-time hurdler.

In 2016, Amusan received a scholarship to attend the University of Texas, El Paso, where hard training brought her personal best down from 13.10 to 12.83.

At UTEP, she worked with new coach Lacena Golding-Clarke, a three-time Olympian from Jamacia and the 2002 Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles champion. 

There were setbacks along the way, of course. At the U20 world championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 2016, Amusan struggled with her technique and finished in fifth place. She was so devastated that she thought about quitting the sport.

But she regrouped and, after reaching the semi-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Amusan went unbeaten in the 2017 outdoor US collegiate season and won the NCAA title in a PB of 12.57.

She went into the 2017 world championships in London as the season’s fourth-fastest hurdler, but cramped up in the cold conditions and failed to make the final. 

“After London,” she said, “I learned that the fact that I was in the mix, knowing I was capable of doing stuff at this age – I was just 20 – and being ranked in the top eight makes me confident that when I get my technique right, my speed right, and get a bit stronger, I’ll be fine.”

Amusan turned pro at the end of that year and went on to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, at the age of 20. She also triumphed at the African Championships later that year.

In 2019, she finished just 0.02 shy of a bronze in Doha. Last year, she came 0.45 from a medal at the delayed Tokyo Games.

“I don’t think there is a track and field event which can teach humility quite like the sprint hurdles,” Amusan said. “You can be the fastest in the field but one mistake can spell the end for your race. A hurdler should never go into any race with any level of complacency or arrogance. It teaches you to be humble.”

For now, at least, Amusan can afford to be a little less humble.

After all, she’s simply the fastest of all time and the best in the world. 

Not bad for someone who became a hurdler by chance. 

The third fastest 800m runner of all time, Botswana’s Nijel Amos has been provisionally suspended ahead of this week’s World Championships, after the 2012 Olympic silver medallist tested positive for a banned metabolite, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Tuesday.

The drug found in the 28-year-old’s system was GW1516, which modifies how the body metabolizes fat, and which can boost endurance. An AIU press release said that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has also warned that it poses a health risk to athletes.

GW1516 was originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes, but is not approved for human use, since it was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is banned in and out of competition, and not eligible for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). A USADA bulletin from 2019 says GW1516 is also sometimes known as cardarine or endurobol and has been found in some supplements, even though it is illegal. In 2017, there were 31 sanctions worldwide related to its use. 

The AIU collected the sample from Amos during an out-of-competition test on June 4. Amos was notified of the result while he was preparing for the World Championships in Eugene, Ore., where he was scheduled to compete in the heats of the 800m on July 20. He finished eighth in the 800m final at Tokyo 2020. At Rio in 2016, he failed to make it out of the heats.

Amos’s silver in the 800m from the London Olympics was Botswana’s first Olympic medal and ranks as the third-fastest 800m time ever (1:41.73) behind Kenya’s David Rudisha (1:40.91) and Wilson Kipketer (1:41.11).

Amos has spent his last six seasons training with Mark Rowland and the Nike Oregon Track Club. Rowland recently left the club to start a new role as a coach with the Athletics Canada West Hub.

The AIU says the length of his suspension will be determined at a later date.

One month from yesterday,  the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 – the first to be held in the United States – will get under way at the all-new Hayward Field in Eugene.

One week from today, that same venue will stage the fearsome, first-three-home drama of the USATF Championships, where home athletes will seek to earn the right to return to the re-built arena once the global event starts on 15 July.

The perennial jeopardy of that event means that some of the most likely home medallists cannot yet be inked in for the World Championships. But wild card entries for defending champions mean that US athletes such as 200m gold medallist Noah Lyles, who has demonstrated convincing form in recent weeks and days, will count on toeing the line.

Prospective challengers for medals in Eugene, notably from Europe and Africa, have been laying down their markers in earnest over the last fortnight, however, as the meetings have come thick and fast. The level of excitement and anticipation is rising rapidly on the Road to Oregon. 

Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson has her sights firmly set on world 800m gold in Oregon. As does her fellow 20-year-old Athing Mu of the US, who beat her to Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. Something has to give.

Hodgkinson eschewed an almost certain 800m medal at the World Indoor Championships in March as a precaution after feeling a muscle twinge in warm-up for the final – it had to be gold or nothing for her, and she didn’t want to risk what promises to be a richly busy outdoor season.

After an impressive victory in Birmingham she travelled to the Eugene Diamond League keyed up for a pre-World Championships battle with her rival, only to find that Mu was a no-show following the after-effects of having Covid-19.

The Briton did all she could to lay down a big marker on the track where the world golds will be disputed, piling in to win in 1:57.72, the fastest time of the year.

The glove was down. And less than a fortnight later at the Rome Diamond League meeting it was firmly grasped by Mu as she answered the challenge by romping home to win in 1:57.01.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the phenomenal 17-year-old who won the world U20 men’s 800m title on his home track of Nairobi last year, has maintained impressive momentum this season, winning in 1:44.15 in Ostrava and coolly outrunning Botswana’s 2012 Olympic silver medallist Nijel Amos at the Rabat Diamond League meeting to win in 1:45.47.

In the Moroccan capital, local hero Soufiane El Bakkali, whose Tokyo victory in the men’s 3000m steeplechase provided his country with its only medal from the Games, once again defeated his great Ethiopian rival Lamecha Girma in a race that nearly blew the roof off the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

On Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge, La., American Erriyon Knighton, who last year, at age 17, broke Usain Bolt’s junior sprint records, shattered his U20 world record in the 200m at the LSU Invite to become the fourth-fastest man in history over 200m. 

Knighton clocked 19.49 seconds, which is the fastest time recorded since the 2012 Olympics, where Usain Bolt clocked 19.32 at age 25. Knighton now only trails Bolt (19.19s), Yohan Blake (19.26s) and Michael Johnson (19.32s) on the all-time list.

The 18-year-old sprint star lowered his personal best and U20 record from 19.84 seconds, which he set at last year’s U.S.Olympic Trials. He went on to finish fourth in Tokyo, becoming the youngest U.S. male track and field runner to reach an Olympic final.

Knighton turned pro last year as a high school junior, signing a professional contract with Adidas. He is now the second-fastest American 200m runner after Johnson’s then-world record of 19.32 at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He will next have his eyes on the U.S. Outdoor Championships in June and the World Championships in July, which are both in Eugene, Ore., where he ran his previous PB of 19.84 seconds last summer.

Another world U20 record was broken on Saturday at the Gaborone International Meet, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Botswana. U20 world champion Letsile Tebogo became the first man from Botswana to break 10 seconds for 100m. The 18-year-old pulled away from an experienced international field to win in 9.96 seconds (+1.9m/s), taking 0.01 off Trayvon Bromell’s world U20 record of 9.97 set in 2014.

Canadian 800m record holder Brandon McBride has parted ways with his former collegiate coach, Chris Woods, and will be joining Oregon Track Club Elite (OTC) for the 2022 season.

McBride will be joining fellow Canadian middle-distance runner William Paulson and the third-fastest 800m runner of all-time (1:41.73), Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who was second to the great David Rudisha at the 2012 London Olympics. “I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity with OTC,” McBride says. “They have a great middle-distance group.”

The Windsor, Ont. native holds a personal best time of 1:43.20, which is the fastest 800m time ever run by a Canadian. McBride has battled injuries in the last two seasons, which led him to a disappointing finish at the Tokyo Olympics.

Since the Tokyo Olympics, Mcbride has been driven on getting back to 100 per cent “I have my eyes on a return for the outdoor season,” he says.

He will now be coached by Mark Rowland, who has had a lot of success working with middle-distance runners Francine Niyonsaba, Ben Blankenship, Hanna Green and Amos.

For the past five years, McBride was sponsored by Adidas, training under his old collegiate coach at Mississippi State University, with fellow Canadian 800m runner Marco Arop, who came off a career-best season on the Diamond League, with five podium finishes.

McBride is a two-time Olympian (2016 and 2020) and a World Championship finalist (2017).

Athletes from at least 28 countries are expected to compete when the final meeting of this year’s Continental Tour Gold series is held at the Kasarani Stadium, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 18, which recently hosted the World Athletics U20 Championships.

After winning her second Olympic 1500m title and then claiming the series crown at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich, Kenya’s Kipyegon will make her Kip Keino Classic debut. Uganda’s Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Chemutai, meanwhile, returns to the event after her sixth-place finish in the inaugural edition of the meeting last year.

Both Olympic steeplechase champions will be competing, with Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco having already been announced for the men’s race. He is set to be joined on the start line by Kenya's world U20 champion Amos Serem.

Like Kipyegon, USA’s Fred Kerley claimed a Diamond Trophy in Zurich, becoming the first athlete to ever win top series honours in both the 100m and 400m. Three years after his 400m success, Kerley won the 100m in 9.87 in Zurich and the Olympic 100m silver medallist is now set to race in Nairobi.

In men's 100m action will be the USA’s world leader Trayvon Bromell, Kenyan record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala and the USA’s Justin Gatlin, while Botswana’s Isaac Makwala has been announced for the 400m.

Namibia's Christine Mboma improved her world U20 record and African record to 21.78 to win the 200m Diamond Trophy in Zurich and the Olympic silver medallist returns to Nairobi, where the 18-year-old won the world U20 title last month.

The men’s hammer competition will also feature an Olympic champion, with Poland's Wojciech Nowicki among those who will be seeking more success when they compete in Kenya.

Ukraine’s world finalist Iryna Klymets will compete in the women’s event.

Letsile Tebogo, Udodi Onwuzurike, Christine Mboma, Anthony Pasela, Imaobong Nse Uko and Benjamin Richardson are just some of Africa’s rising sprint stars, and their achievements this season could signal a revival for the continent.

When Tebogo opted to compete in the 100m and 200m, despite hailing from a country best known for its quarter-milers, it was with the aim of breaking barriers and inspiring a change in Botswana.

But the 18-year-old surpassed even his own expectations in Nairobi when he gifted his country its first ever global gold medal in the 100m, setting national U20 records of 10.22 and 10.11 in the process. His 10.11 clocking actually broke the senior national record, surpassing Makwala’s former mark of 10.20 set seven years ago.

“The motivation to get into athletics was from watching the big guys like Isaac Makwala, Karabo Sibanda and Nijel Amos,” said Tebogo. “However, I just really wanted some change in the country, so I had to do something different from the big guys, that’s why I opted to compete in the 100m and 200m. I’m really proud of my performance and I know back at home they’re proud of me bringing the first gold medal to Botswana.”

Tebogo led a 1-2 for Africa as Benjamin Richardson of South Africa took silver in 10.28 while Cuba’s Shainer Rengifo earned bronze with 10.32.

For Richardson, who would go on to anchor his country to Africa’s first ever gold in the men’s 4x100m in a world U20 record of 38.51, the podium finishes by Botswana and South Africa in the men’s 100m is the start of something big for the continent.

“We’ve started to become better,” he says. “Two Africans finishing first and second; you can see that there’s something coming. We’re going to dominate soon.”

Tebogo also competed in the 200m, which had been regarded as his stronger event. A sprint double was not to be, though, as he eventually took silver behind Nigeria’s Udodi Onwuzurike, who didn’t appear as a likely medal contender in the build-up to the championship.

Onwuzurike also started in track and field when he was about eight years old, and he grew up watching his brother Chiebuka, who is older by almost six years, compete in the 100m and 200m. The older Onwuzurike went as far as competing for Boston University and holds personal bests of 10.46 and 21.37. For the younger Onwuzurike, the dream was to take things a notch higher: become an NCAA champion, an Olympic champion and a world champion. And so began his quest.

At the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Onwuzurike’s first ever outing for Nigeria, he lowered his personal best from 20.78 to 20.47 in his heat, and then clocked 20.13 in the semifinals which would have been a championship record but for the wind (2.4m/s).

He then stormed to gold with a national U20 record of 20.21 to become the first Nigerian in World U20 Championships history to win 200m gold since 1996 when Francis Obikwelu won the sprint double, and the second fastest Nigerian over the distance in 2021. South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile clocked a season’s best of 20.48 for bronze, completing the African sweep.

Though stung by his loss to Onwuzurike, Tebogo said that the overall 200m result was a good one for Africa. “I’m really proud and excited about this,” he said. “It (an African sweep) was my dream. Even in the call room I told Dambile ‘Bro we have to do this. We have to bring the medals back home’. I felt it should be a 1-2 or 2-3, but maybe the Nigerian overheard us and that’s why he came to beat us,” he added with a chuckle.

For Onwuzurike, who is off to Stanford University soon, making history for Nigeria and Africa is a dream come true.

“I would say it’s surreal, it’s amazing,” he said. “I never thought I would be able to make it to this level of track, I never even knew I would be able to go to college running track. Track was always first like a fun sport because I’ve always been a little quick but it’s amazing. Having this as one of my last high school races before I go to college, it’s an amazing moment.

“I had a very rough year and got injured numerous times and felt my numbers were not really good at showing what I’m capable of, so coming out and being able to show on the global stage that I’m truly the best is amazing. It’s all I ever wanted, all I ever prayed for.”