Running News Daily

Faith Kipyegon confirms next stop as she gears up for tough test in Brussels

Faith Kipyegon has revealed her next spot as she gears up for title defence at the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.

Three-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon headlines a stacked field in the women’s 1500m at the Diamond League Meeting in Rome scheduled for Friday, August 30.

Kipyegon will be racing for the first time after a quite dramatic Paris Olympic Games that saw her almost lose her silver in the women’s 5000m. Kipyegon was shortly disqualified for obstruction and her medal was stripped but Athletics Kenya officials filed an appeal and it was later reinstated.

Going into the women’s 5000m, Kipyegon knew she had her work cut out and put in the work to ensure she defended her title for the third time. She first won the title at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games before winning the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

She now heads to Rome with a lot of confidence in winning the race as she gears up for the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels. She enters the race with a ton of experience as she claimed two gold medals at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, winning the 1500m and 5000m.

Kipyegon, widely regarded as one of the greatest 1500m runners of all time, will face off against a strong Ethiopian cast but the Kenyan never disappoints when it comes to showing up on the global stage.

The race in Rome will be her second Diamond League of the season after she improved her previous world record in a blistering time of 3:49.04 to win the Diamond League Meeting in Paris.

She goes up against home talent Nadia Battocletti, the Olympic 10,000m silver medalist and a two-time European champion. Battocletti also placed fourth in Paris, in the 5000m. Sintayehu Vissa and Ludovica Cavalli will also be in the mix.

In the line-up, Ethiopians Diribe Welteji, Birke Haylom, Worknesh Mesele, and Nigist Getachew will be out to showcase their prowess.

(08/27/2024) Views: 231 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wafula

Faith Kipyegon ready for historic 1,500m Olympics hat-trick

Two-time 1,500 Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will be seeking to become the first woman to win three titles in the same individual track event at the Olympics, when she lines up in the semifinals of the race on Thursday at the Stade de France.

The defending champion clocked (4:00.74) to finish fourth in heat two, behind winner Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (3:59.73), Britain’s Georgia Bell (4:00.290 and USA’s Nikki Hiltz (4:00.42) yesterday.

The heats came barely 12 hours after Kipyegon successfully appealed to overturn her disqualification from the 5,000m after a mid-race altercation with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in which both narrowly missed crashing onto the track.

Kipyegon grabbed silver in 14:29.60, finishing ahead of the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan (14:30.61) as compatriot Beatrice Chebet grabbed gold in (14:28.56).

However, the track queen will have to be mentally fit in Thursday’s semis, to reach Saturday’s finals, following a drama packed Monday night 5,000m race finals.

“I feel fresh and ready for the semis, I am Faith and I participate in a good way and I believe in myself. It was a good race a lot of pushing up and down but all in all, it is finished and I focus on the 1,500m semis,” Kipyegon said.

Kipyegon who didn’t manage to talk to journalists after Monday’s drama didn’t want to dwell much on the matter.

“I just went to the village and took a nap knowing that I had another race the next morning. I was not disappointed but this is another distance altogether, I really thank Kenyans for the support and prayers as we continue pushing in the 1,500m,” Kipyegon said.

Having put Monday’s drama behind her, she goes to the semis not having lost in the 1,500m since 2021, with the historical third Olympic title beckoning.

The world champion must beat three of the five fastest 1,500m runners in history, including her Ethiopian rival Tsegay and Austraila’s Jessica Hull, to reach her dreams.

She will fly the Kenyan flag alongside compatriots Susan Ejore and Nelly Jepchirchir who also qualified for the semis.

The Kenyan star ended her 2023 track campaign with a 1,500m win at the Wanda Diamond League final in Eugene on 26 Aug 2023.

She ran 3:53.98 in the 1,500m and 14:46.28 for 5,000m in Nairobi, during the Kenyan Olympic trials.

Faith warmed up for the Olympics by breaking the world 1,500m record again at the Paris Diamond League meeting on July 7, 2024 after clocking 3:49.04

Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk is the only woman in the history of the games to ever claim a threepeat, as well as possessing the two fastest performances of all time in the hammer throw.

(08/07/2024) Views: 254 ⚡AMP
by George Ajwala

Mile clash the big attraction in Eugene

Going strictly by time, the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday (25) is one of the fastest races in the meeting’s 49-year history.

Add in the storylines, and it’s one of the most anticipated, too.

Featuring seven men with lifetime bests faster than 3:50, Olympic and world championship gold medallists, world record-holders and rivals whose banter has preceded the matchup for months, the mile caps a Wanda Diamond League meeting at Hayward Field whose potential for world-leading marks extends far beyond its final event.

Consider, for one, the women’s 800m, and the early window it will open into this summer’s Olympics. The field includes six of the eight competitors from last year’s World Championships final in Budapest, including gold medallist Mary Moraa and silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson. Notably absent will be bronze medallist Athing Mu, the Olympic champion, who was initially scheduled to race but has been withdrawn out of precaution because of a sore hamstring.

Raevyn Rogers, the 2019 world silver medallist whose image adorns a tower standing high above Hayward Field, also is entered, along with Jemma Reekie, Nia Akins and Halimah Nakaayi, who is coming off a victory at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

World champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah headline the women’s 100m, along with world indoor 60m champion Julien Alfred and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, while world indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman and Ackeem Blake are among the fastest entered in the men's 100m.

Perhaps the most dominant athlete entering the meeting is Grant Holloway, the world 110m hurdles champion who has won all 10 races he has contested this year, including the indoor season and heats. That also includes running a world-leading 13.07 into a headwind to win in Atlanta last weekend.

The three-time world champion's last loss came on the very same Hayward Field track, at last September’s Prefontaine Classic. The only remaining gap on Holloway’s resume is an Olympic gold medal, and Saturday’s race could be an early preview of Paris, as the field includes five who raced in last summer’s World Championships final in Budapest, including silver medallist Hansle Parchment and Daniel Roberts, who earned bronze.

Shot put world record-holder and multiple world and Olympic champion Ryan Crouser will open his outdoor season in his home state and at the stadium where he owns the facility record, while trying to best Leonardo Fabbri’s world-leading mark of 22.95m.

Since 2023, Crouser has lost in just one final – and it was at September’s Prefontaine Classic to Joe Kovacs, who won in Los Angeles last weekend with 22.93m, and is entered again. Payton Otterdahl, who owns the world No.3 mark this year, also is in the field.

Those events offer no shortage of global medallists. Few, however, carry the prospect for as much drama as the mile.

Over the past year, Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr, who outkicked Ingebrigtsen for last year’s world title in Budapest, have carried on a battle of words through the press about who could prevail in Paris.

Commonwealth champion Olli Hoare, who is part of the field following his 1500m win in Los Angeles last week, said the sport was better for the attention drawn by the back-and-forth between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr – but added that other racers wanted to strike the appropriate level of respect for their competitors, such as Yared Nuguse, whose PB of 3:43.97 was set battling Ingebrigtsen (4:43.73) down to the line at September’s Pre Classic.

“This is a big one. This is going to be a big one for a lot of egos,” Hoare said in Los Angeles. “But I think it’s going to be a big one for me because it’ll be the first race where I’ll have an inkling of where I am with the world’s best. There’s a bit of tossing and turning with the banter but you can’t disrespect that field. If you do, you’ll get eaten alive.”

That list of seven men under 3:50, which includes Hoare, notably doesn’t include Jake Wightman, who will be racing Ingebrigtsen for the first time since their duel at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, when Wightman won gold; Abel Kipsang, who was fourth at the Tokyo Olympics; Geordie Beamish, less than three months after he stormed to the world indoor title; or Lamecha Girma, the steeplechase world record-holder who is making his mile debut.

“Jake Wightman’s back, he’s a world champion,” Hoare said. “Yared Nuguse, 3:43 mile – these guys are keeping quiet and they’re going to wait for their opportunity to strike. And when they do strike, I guarantee they will make a comment.”

They are not the only accomplished names entered in the distances.

Athletics Kenya will determine its men's and women's Olympic 10,000m qualifiers at Hayward Field, with Kenya's two-time world cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet, the world leader at 5000m this season, part of a women's race that will include world champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, eight months after Tsegay set the world 5000m record on the same track.

World record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech will attempt to retain her controlling hold over the steeplechase when she races top challenger Faith Cherotich. The Kenyan duo produced the two fastest times in the world this year at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, which Chepkoech won in 8:55.40 to Cherotich’s 9:05.91. Olympic silver medallist Courtney Frerichs will no longer run after injuring the ACL and meniscus in her right knee.

One week after winning in Los Angeles, Diribe Welteji leads the 1500m field that includes 13 women who have run under four minutes. World indoor 3000m champion Elle St Pierre, who won the 5000m in Los Angeles, is running her first 1500m of the season, with Laura Muir, Nikki Hiltz, Jessica Hull, Hirut Meshesha and Cory McGee also entered.

Multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan, as well as world No.2 Ejgayehu Taye, will feature in the 5000m.

In the field, world and Olympic pole vault champion Katie Moon opens her outdoor season against Sandi Morris, and in the triple jump four of the top five women this season are entered, led by Thea LaFond, whose 15.01m jump to win the world indoor title in Glasgow still stands as the mark to beat.

Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman has not lost in Eugene in two years, a run that includes claiming September’s Diamond League final. That could change on Saturday because of the presence of world leader Yaime Perez, who finished second to Allman in Xiamen last month.

In the men’s 200m, top US sprinters who will duel at the Olympic trials only weeks later will face off. Kenny Bednarek, fresh off a world-leading 19.67 in Doha, is scheduled to race against world No.2 Courtney Lindsey (19.71), with world silver medallist Erriyon Knighton making his season debut. Joe Fahnbulleh and Kyree King, winner of the Los Angeles Grand Prix 100m, are also entered.

Another winner in Los Angeles, Rai Benjamin, headlines the men’s 400m hurdles, and he enters with considerable confidence after running 46.64, the ninth-fastest performance of all time.

“I think I’m the fastest guy in the field, honestly,” Benjamin said of potential Olympic chances.

The women’s 100m hurdles and women’s hammer will not count towards Diamond League points totals, but will be more potential previews for global championships.

Women who account for five of the year’s six fastest times, all of whom are separated by fractions of a second, will face off in the hurdles. Tonea Marshall, fresh off her victory in Los Angeles in 12.42, leads 2019 world champion Nia Ali, Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, two-time world champion Danielle Williams and world indoor champion Devynne Charlton.

Brooke Andersen’s 79.92m throw from earlier this month remains the world-leading hammer mark this season but she will be challenged by world champion Camryn Rogers, 2019 world champion DeAnna Price and world silver medallist Janee’ Kassanavoid, who own the next three farthest throws this season.

(05/24/2024) Views: 558 ⚡AMP
by Andrew Greif for World Athletics

Faith Kipyegon donates history-making spikes to the Museum of World Athletics

Double world record holder Faith Kipyegon has donated her history-making bright pink running spikes to the Museum of World Athletics.

Three-time World 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon has donated the spikes that she competed in at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary to the Museum of World Athletics.

The reigning World 5000m champion wore those bright pink running spikes while making history during last year’s global bonanza.

Kipyegon has now graciously chosen to donate to MOWA in recognition of the historic double accomplished by the Kenyan phenomenon with her formidable finish in the gripping 12-and-a-half lap final.

Kipyegon was in a class of her own during last year’s event, bagging both the 1500m and 5000m titles. In the 1500m final in Budapest, she controlled the race all the way, gradually winding up the pace before kicking hard at the bell and opening up a wide gap with 200m remaining.

She crossed the line in 3:54.87, comfortably clear of the young Ethiopian Diribe Welteji, who took second in 3:55.69. The fast-finishing Sifan Hassan claimed bronze in 3:56.00.

As would be the case in the 5000m, Kipyegon with the smooth, perfectly balanced high temp running style secured a historic achievement with her 1500m success.

No woman had ever completed a hat-trick of World Championships titles at the distance. Algeria’s Hassiba Boulmerka, Tatyana Tomashova of Russia, and Bahraini Maryam Jamal all won twice at the distance.

Kipyegon's first 1500m title came in London back in 2017 and her second in Oregon in 2022. In between, in Doha in 2019, on the comeback trail after the birth of her daughter, Alyn, she took the silver medal behind Hassan.

She now has focus on the Olympic Games where she intends to make history one more time by bagging her third Olympic title.

“That’s the big fish. If I win three times, back-to-back Olympic titles at 1500m, it will be a motivation to the next generation. And it will be a big motivation for me to try to achieve it. It would be a big legacy to leave behind. It would be something else,” she said as per World Athletics.

(02/07/2024) Views: 463 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula

Beatrice Chepkoech to open her indoor track season against two Ethiopian youngsters

Beatrice Chepkoech will be pitted against two Ethiopian youngsters in the women's 1500m at the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting.

Ethiopian youngsters Diribe Welteji, and Freweyni Hailu will be up against Beatrice Chepkoech in the women’s 1500m field at the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, in Torun, Poland, on February 6.

21-year-old Welteji set a world record when winning the mile at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga in October, as she clocked 4:20.98 as her compatriot Hailu finished second with Faith Kipyegon completing the podium.

Welteji and Hailu will team up again in Torun where they will be up against the world 3000m steeplechase record-holder Chepkoech. Other strong opponents in the field include Ethiopia’s world indoor 1500m bronze medallist Hirut Meshesha and Uganda’s 2019 world 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi.

Welteji has proven to be a master in the 1500m and she also doubles up as the World 1500m silver medallist, having finished runner-up to Kipyegon in Budapest in August. She will surely be the one to watch when the race begins.

Meshesha has the quickest short track PB of the quintet, having clocked 4:02.01 in Lievin last year, finishing second and one place ahead of Hailu who set a PB of 4:02.47. Chepkoech ran her national record of 4:02.09 in 2020.

Meanwhile, multiple US record-holder Grant Fisher will take on the already announced world champion Josh Kerr in the two-mile race at the Millrose Games, also a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event.

The race on February 11 is set to be paced with the world indoor two-mile best of 8:03.40 as the target. Joining them on the start line will be USA’s Joe Klecker, Cooper Teare, and Dylan Jacobs. New Zealand’s George Beamish, Australia’s Morgan McDonald, and Ky Robinson will also be in the mix and will be joined by Britain’s Matthew Stonier, Japan’s Keita Satoh, Ethiopia’s Samuel Firewu and Addisu Yihune, and Sam Parsons of Germany.

(01/15/2024) Views: 524 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula
Beatrice Chepkoech

4 Stunning Moments at the World Track and Field Championships

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.

(08/26/2023) Views: 1,258 ⚡AMP
by Outside Online

Sifan Hassan did workout immediately after her 1,500m final

If competing in three distance events in nine days at the 2023 World Athletics Championships wasn’t hard enough, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan completed 400m repeats after Tuesday night’s 1,500m final, where she won bronze in 3:56.00.

Hassan told the media in Budapest after her 5,000m heat on Wednesday evening that she did a speed workout of five 400m reps in around 65 seconds with 40 seconds of rest, even though she had the 5,000m heats less than 24 hours later.

“I was just doing some easy making kilometers, some 400s,” says Hassan. “It’s not really a big deal. They (the media) make it a big deal.”

The 30-year-old reigning London marathon champion said her reasoning behind the workout was to continue to prepare for the 2023 Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8. “In six weeks, I have to run the Chicago Marathon,” says Hassan. “I am trying to prepare for that.”

Her triple at worlds got off to a rough start, falling in the final 50 meters of the women’s 10,000m on Day 1, finishing 11th. She won her first medal of the championships on Tuesday evening in the 1,500m, but faltered in the final 50 meters, conceding silver to Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, while Faith Kipyegon defended her world title.

On Wednesday night, she squared up against Kipyegon again in the heats of the women’s 5,000m. Hassan won the heat in 14:32.29 over Kipyegon, both qualifying for Saturday’s final, which will be Hassan’s last race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

(08/24/2023) Views: 628 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Faith Kipyegon storms to her second straight 1,500m world championship victory

It was her race to lose–Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who is indisputably the greatest 1,500m runner the world has ever seen, would have had to make a serious mistake (or suffer a freak injury) to avoid winning the women’s 1,500m in Budapest on Tuesday. Neither happened, and the double Olympic champion and now three-time world champion and world record holder takes home another gold medal, with a finishing time of 3:54.87.

Former world junior champion Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia ran a smart race, positioning herself just behind Kipyegon near the start, and took home silver, in 3:55.69. And Olympic bronze medalist Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, after a disastrous 10,000m race on Sunday in which she fell in the final meters of the race she was leading, came from behind with her trademark finishing kick to take home bronze in 3:56.00.

Ciara Mageean of Ireland, the 2022 European silver medalist, ran an excellent race also, finishing fourth with a national record in 3:56.61. Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya, who finished fifth, ran a personal best (3:57.90).

2022 bronze medalist Laura Muir of Team Great Britain ran 3:56 in the semi-final and was in the race for the first couple of laps, but ultimately faded to sixth (3:58.58).

After a fast first 100m, the race became very slow and tactical, but surprisingly, no one attempted to challenge Kipyegon’s lead, and allowed her to control the pace; the leaders went through 800m in 2:11 and were at 2:58 at the bell. And of course she closed lightning fast, with a 56.5-second final lap, completely unchallenged.

It was also Kenya’s first gold medal of the games. When asked in a post-race interview how it felt to bring home her country’s first gold medal of the games, the humble Kipyegon responded, “I’m so grateful,” and she repeated this when asked whether she felt that this third world title cemented her legacy as the greatest-ever 1,500m runner, adding that nothing in particular had changed in her training with coach Patrick Sang (who is coach also to marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge) to get her the extraordinary results she has seen so far this year.

Kipyegon set the world record at the distance at the Florence Diamond League earlier this season, becoming the first woman in the world to go sub-3:50. She, along with Hassan, will also race the 5,000m, which has been rescheduled from Wednesday morning to Wednesday evening, due to the extreme heat and humidity in Budapest. 

You can watch the World Athletics Championships live in Budapest at cbcsports.ca. For full results, click here. 

The 2023 World Athletics Championships are taking place from August 19-27 at the National Stadium in Budapest, Hungary. All the action will be brought to you by Canadian Running and Asics Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.

(08/23/2023) Views: 636 ⚡AMP
by Anne Francis

Ethiopia Has Changed Its Team Again for the 2022 Worlds

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

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

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

Men’s 800 (no changes)Ermiyas GirmaTolosa Bodena

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Men’s marathonLelisa DesisaTamirat TolaMosinet GeremewSeifu Tura

Women’s marathonGotytom GebreslaseAbabel YeshanehAshete Bekere

Quick Takes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(07/08/2022) Views: 1,336 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault

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

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

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

Ethiopian team for Tokyo

WOMEN 800m: 

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

MEN 800m: 

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

(07/02/2021) Views: 1,461 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(07/20/2019) Views: 1,788 ⚡AMP