Running News Daily

Olympic rematch between medalists Jessica Hull and Georgia Bell headlines 2025 NYRR Wanamaker Mile

In January 2024, if Georgia Bell wanted to run in an indoor meet, she had to go to the World Athletics website, look up the meet director’s email address, and beg. Bell and her coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, would have to explain why a 30-year-old with a 4:06 personal best at 1500 meters and no accomplishments to speak of at the senior level deserved a spot on the start line.

In January 2025, meet directors are the ones begging Bell to run in their races. An Olympic bronze medal will do that.

On February 8, Olympic silver medalist Jessica Hull of Australia and Bell will headline the women’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile at the 2025 Millrose Games in New York alongside World Indoor medalists Nikki Hiltz and Emily Mackay of the United States. One year ago, the idea of Bell headlining any race — let alone one of the most glamorous events on the indoor circuit — would have seemed laughable, mainly because most of the running world did not know Bell existed.

“A lot has changed in this past year,” says Bell in an interview with LetsRun.com. “Being invited to be at such a prestigious event like Millrose, I’m just really appreciative and really excited to step on the start line and race there.”

A new year brings a new reality for Bell

Being in-demand by race organizers is just one of many aspects of Bell’s new reality as an Olympic medalist. A year ago, she was working an office job in cybersecurity, waking up at 6 a.m. to cycle before work and heading to the track for a session at 7 p.m. once she had finished. Now Bell is a full-time professional runner. Her shoe contract with Nike offers many benefits, not least of which is the freedom to sleep in until 9 a.m. if she so desires.

Bell’s goals have also evolved significantly over the past 12 months. This time last year, her biggest goal for the year was to make the British team for World Indoors.

“That was kind of my Olympics,” Bell says. “I was like, maybe if I really try, [I could make the team because] I thought a lot of people would be skipping indoors because they’re focusing on Paris in the summer.”

Bell did make the team and finished fourth in the 1500m final in Glasgow, one of many surprises in a breakout season that saw her drop her personal bests from 2:03 in the 800 and 4:06 in the 1500 to 1:56 and 3:52.

In 2025, Bell is thinking much bigger. Once again, she is targeting World Indoors, which will be held in Nanjing, China, from March 21-23, and this time, she wants a medal. Bell also plans on running at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands (March 6-9), as well as the outdoor World Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21).

 ”I want to come away with as much hardware as possible,” Bell says. “So that means competing at all of the major championships.”

But first is a trip to the United States, where Bell plans on racing at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 2 before heading down to Millrose six days later for a race that will look very similar to last year’s Olympics. While Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will be absent — she has not run a single indoor race during her decorated career — four of the top seven from the women’s 1500m final in Paris will be at Millrose.

Olympic 800m champion refuses to sign with Grand Slam Track

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson has expressed her lack of interest in signing with Grand Slam Track (GST), the new, lucrative rival to the Diamond League, according to The Standard. The British athlete plans to focus on running fast times and winning medals in 2025, choosing to forgo the chance to compete for the enormous US$400,000 prize purse awarded for winning all four GST meetings.

Hodgkinson still hopes to participate in the circuit as one of the four Challengers invited to compete. (Signed athletes are referred to as Racers). Michael Johnson, the creator of GST, plans to select these athletes based on their speed and popularity, while aiming to fuel existing rivalries. Challengers have one shot at the US$100,000 prize offered at each Slam, whereas Racers, who are already guaranteed base compensation upon signing, compete for the generous purse four times.

“I think it’s great what [Johnson’s] doing, I just don’t feel like it’s for me next year,” Hodgkinson said. “I guess we’ll see where the league goes after that. But I look forward to hopefully doing one.”

Hodgkinson would be slated to race against her frequent rival, 2023 world champion and 600m world record holder Mary Moraa. She would also face Olympic 1,500m silver medalist Jessica Hull and American mile record holder Nikki Hiltz, who round out the short-distance event roster.

Required to (almost) double her distance

The league requires each athlete to participate in two events at each Slam; falling into the short distance category, Hodgkinson would race the 800m and 1,500m. While the Brit is less familiar with the latter, she would need to race the three-and-three-quarter-lap event four times during GST’s inaugural season.

An obligation to race eight times over four weekends and splitting her focus between two events doesn’t line up with Hodgkinson’s stated 2025 season goals. Although she called her season early due to an injury after winning gold in Paris, Hodgkinson already has her eyes on beating her personal best and earning more gold hardware from next year’s indoor European championships, and indoor and outdoor world championships

“It takes a special race”

“I do think the 1:53 is possible,” Hodgkinson, who holds a personal best of 1:54.61, told The Standard. “I think we’re so close to getting down there, but obviously it takes a special race. You’ve got to be in perfect shape, perfect conditions, the right race for all that to come together. I will definitely put myself in the best position to do so.”

Other major names missing from the GST roster include Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson. Currently, 43 of 48 athletes have signed with the league as Racers.

Nike Continues Shuffle of Pro Coaches

Pete Julian’s Union Athletics Club will move to Colorado. 

In the latest move by Nike to reconfigure its pro running teams, Pete Julian’s Union Athletics Club will move from Oregon to Colorado, sources tell Runner’s World. 

This move comes two weeks after it was announced that Mike Smith would leave his post at Northern Arizona University in June 2025 to start a Nike pro group. 

Julian, reached by text by Runner’s World, did not deny the team was making the move but said he was unable to comment. Media relations representatives at Nike acknowledged questions from Runner’s World on July 19 and again on August 12, but they did not reply with any further information about the group’s move. 

UAC’s 10 current athletes compete at a range of events. They include Raevyn Rogers, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist in the 800 meters, and Sinclaire Johnson, the 2022 U.S. champion in the 1500 meters. Suguro Osako, a marathoner from Japan, is also listed on the roster; he finished 13th at the Olympics in Paris in 2:09:25. 

It is unclear if all the athletes will go to Colorado with Julian. A message to Rogers via social media was not immediately returned. Rogers has strong ties to Oregon; she went to the University of Oregon and won five individual NCAA titles there. Her image graces the tower at Hayward Field in Eugene, and she is not known to have spent much time training at altitude, if any. 

Depending on where in Colorado the group lands, athletes could be training at at least 5,200 feet of elevation. Altitude training is increasingly seen as essential for elite distance runners. Boulder, Colorado, which has long been a mecca for distance athletes, is already crowded with pros: On Athletics Club has a sizable pro group there, as does Team Boss, a group of elite distance runners anchored by steeplechaser Emma Coburn, who runs for New Balance. 

Coaching and athlete turnover is common after the Olympic Games. Most pro athletes have contracts that take them through the end of the Olympic year, and some have an option in their contracts that allows a sponsor to sign them for an additional year. 

Several high profile athletes have left the UAC in recent years. Jessica Hull returned to her native Australia and trains under her father; she won a silver medal in Paris. Donavan Brazier had great success under Julian in 2019, but LetsRun reported he left the UAC in 2024 after undergoing a fourth surgery on his left foot and lower leg. Fan favorite Craig Engels is now living in California and training under his college coach, Ryan Vanhoy. 

Julian’s wife, Colleen Glyde Julian, is a professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Colorado’s medical school in Aurora, Colorado. He has long commuted to Portland, Oregon, from Denver several times each week for athlete workouts in Beaverton. 

FAITH KIPYEGON CLAIMS THIRD WOMEN’S 1500M TITLE IN OLYMPIC RECORD TIME

Faith Kipyegon blazed to victory in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 women’s 1500m, finishing in 3:51.29 to claim a brilliant gold and Olympic record on the final night of track action at the Stade de France. She is the first athlete - male or female - to win gold in the event at three different Games.

“It’s a big, big achievement,” said an elated Kipyegon after her victory. “I was really looking forward to defending my title (from the last two Olympic Games), and I had a dream. It’s amazing to me, I completed it. I’m so, so happy.

“This is history. I managed to make history. I’ve done it. This is an amazing honour, to win the gold medal in the 1500. It was my key target.”

Jessica Hull of Australia won silver in 3:52.56, with Great Britain’s Georgia Bell running the race of her life to take bronze in a national record time of 3:52.61.

“It’s all a bit of a blur,” said bronze medallist Bell. “I think it’ll hit me a little bit later. On the start (line) I really had the feeling that if I just stuck in there I’d be able to do something special, so I’m over the moon to get a medal.”

Kipyegon is the world record holder in the 1500m, having posted a time of 3:49.04 in Paris earlier this year. She came into the race having already won Olympic silver in the 5,000m behind compatriot Beatrice Chebet.

However, over a distance she had made her own, the Kenyan sprinted to the finish line to take her third Olympic title and break the Olympic record she herself had set at Tokyo 2020.

History was made across the entire podium, with the British record falling into the hands of bronze-winning Bell and Hull becoming the first-ever Australian medallist in the event.

But the day belonged to World Athlete of the Year Kipyegon, who has become close to unbeatable over the metric mile and stands victorious once again after a scintillating performance at Paris 2024.

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.

The Dutch distance specialist has decided to drop the 1,500m to focus on the marathon

After the Dutch Olympic team announced that distance phenom Sifan Hassan was set to become the first athlete in history to attempt four Olympic athletics events, Hassan has decided to drop down to a triple. In 2023, she became the first athlete to medal in the 1,500m, 5,000m, and 10,000m at a single Games, bringing home a bronze (in the 1,500m) and two golds. This year, she will swap out the 1,500 for her newest discipline, the marathon.

Hassan’s third-place finish in the 1,500m at Tokyo 2020, behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Team GB’s Laura Muir, was the weakest of her three performances. Now, the deep field in the women’s 1,500m in Paris threatens her chances to bring home another medal in the event. Kipyegon (the defending world champion and world record holder) and Australia’s Jessica Hull (the newly crowned 2,000m world record holder), ran the world’s best times in the discipline earlier this month. Muir (the Olympic silver medallist) and Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (5,000m world record holder) are also medal contenders in the event, adding to the challenge.

Hassan only made her marathon debut in 2023, and followed up her win at the London Marathon by clocking a 2:13:44 (the second-fastest women’s marathon time in history) to win the 2023 Chicago Marathon. With world record holder Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia the sole competitor ranked ahead of her, Hassan stands a much better chance of bringing home a medal in the marathon. (Additionally, the women’s 1,500m final is scheduled for Saturday evening, Aug. 10, which is the night before the marathon–obviously not ideal timing for a strong marathon.)

With three races removed from her Olympic itinerary, Hassan’s new schedule is somewhat less demanding, with her races spaced out by a couple of days each.

Aug. 2: 5,000m, Round 1 – 6:10 p.m. local timeAug. 5: 5,000m, Final – 9:10 p.m.Aug. 9: 10,000m Final – 8:55 p.m.Aug. 11: Marathon – 8:00 a.m.

Paris 2024: Favorites and best value picks on the track

We are just four days away from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics and a little over a week from the start of the athletics events at the Stade de France. If you’re looking to place your bets for gold or want to know the favorites for each event (according to Vegas sportsbooks), we’ve got you covered with insights and odds to help you get the best value out of your picks.

Men’s 100m

Favorite: Kishane Thompson (JAM) -105 [world leader]

Best value: Oblique Seville (JAM) +900 

Men’s 200m

Favorite: Noah Lyles (USA) -290 [3x world champion]

Best value: Erriyon Knighton (USA) +1000 [2x world championship medallist]

Men’s 400m

Favorite: Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) +120 [world silver medalist]

Best value: Steven Gardiner (BAH) +350 [reigning Olympic champion]

Men’s 800m

Favorite: Djamel Sedjati (ALG) -250 [world leader]

Best value: Marco Arop (CAN) +1500 [reigning world champion]

Men’s 1,500m

Favorite: Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) -225 [reigning Olympic champion]

Best value: Josh Kerr (GBR) +175 [reigning world champion]

Men’s 5,000m

Favorite: Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) -290 [reigning world champion]

Best value: George Mills (GBR) +4000 

Men’s 10,000m

Favorite: Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) +120 [world record holder]

Best value: Berihu Aregawi (ETH) +600 

Men’s 110m hurdles

Favorite: Grant Holloway (USA) -500 [world leader and world champion]

Best value: Hansle Parchment (JAM) +1000 [reigning Olympic champion]

Men’s 400m hurdles

Favorite: Rai Benjamin (USA) +100 [world leader]

Best value: Alison Dos Santos (BRA) +300 [2022 world champion]

Men’s 3,000m steeplechase

Favorite: Lamecha Girma (ETH) -120

Best value: Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR) +190

Men’s marathon

Favorite: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) -190 [reigning Olympic champion]

Best value: Benson Kipruto (KEN) +900 [2024 Tokyo Marathon champion]

Women’s 100m

Favorite: Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) -225 [reigning world champion]

Best value: Julien Alfred (LCA) +700 

Women’s 200m

Favorite: Gabby Thomas (USA) +105 [2020 Olympic bronze medalist]

Best value: Shericka Jackson (JAM) +180 [reigning world champion

Women’s 400m

Favorite: Marileidy Paulino (DOM) -135 [2020 Olympic silver medalist]

Best value: Rhasidat Adeleke (IRL) +700 

Women’s 800m

Favorite: Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) -290 [Olympic silver medallist]

Best value: Nia Atkins (USA) +1500

Women’s 1,500m

Favorite: Faith Kipyegon (KEN) -285 [world record holder]

Best value: Jessica Hull (AUS) +1000

Women’s 5,000m

Favorite: Faith Kipyegon (KEN) -285 [world champion]

Best value: Beatrice Chebet (KEN) +750 [world XC champion]

Women’s 10,000m

Favorite: Sifan Hassan (NED) +120 [reigning Olympic champion]

Best value: Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) +250 [reigning world champion]

Women’s 100m hurdles

Favorite: Cyrena Samba-Mayela (FRA) +250 [European champion]

Best value: Tobi Amusan (NGR) +1500 [world record holder]

Women’s 400m hurdles

Favorite: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) -700 [world record holder and reigning Olympic champion]

Best value: Femke Bol (NED) +300 [reigning world champion]

Women’s 3,000m steeplechase

Favorite: Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) n/a [world record holder]

Best value: Sembo Almayew (ETH) n/a

Women’s marathon

Favorite: Tigst Assefa (ETH) +250 [world record holder]

Best value: Hellen Obiri (KEN) +400 [2023 & 2024 Boston Marathon champion] 

Sifan Hassan to race four events at Paris 2024 Olympics

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Dutch distance runner Sifan Hassan made history by winning three individual medals across three different athletics disciplines, two golds and one bronze. She won golds in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m events, and bronze in the women’s 1,500m behind Faith Kipyegon and Laura Muir. Well apparently three events didn’t keep Hassan busy enough, raising the stakes for Paris 2024 by competing in the 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon—an unprecedented Olympic quadruple.

According to an announcement from the Dutch Olympic team, Hassan is entered in all four disciplines and will race a total of seven times over 10 days. Her most challenging stretch will be from Aug. 8-11, when she is scheduled to race the 1,500m semi-finals and finals, the women’s 10,000m final, and the women’s marathon on the final day of Paris 2024 (Aug. 11); all on consecutive days.

Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to have medaled in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m events at a single Games. She is also the first to qualify for and attempt this quadruple-distance feat.

Last year, Hassan expanded her repertoire by adding the marathon to her list of racing disciplines. She won her marathon debut at the 2023 London Marathon and went on to clock the second-fastest women’s marathon time in history (2:13:44) to win the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

Hassan’s Paris 2024 schedule is ambitious. Although she is one of the greatest distance runners in history, replicating her Tokyo success will be incredibly challenging. The women’s 1,500m and 5,000m are two of the deepest events right now, featuring formidable competitors like defending world champion Faith Kipyegon, Laura Muir (Olympic silver medallist), Australia’s Jessica Hull (2,000m world record holder), Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (5,000m world record holder), and Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet (world XC champion). Hassan’s best chances for a medal lie in the women’s 10,000m final and the marathon, which come at the end of the Olympic schedule.

Here’s a look at Hassan’s Olympic schedule:

August 2: 5,000m, Round 1 – 6:10 p.m.

August 5: 5,000m, Final – 9:10 p.m.

August 6: 1,500m, Round 1 – 10:05 a.m.

August 8: 1,500m, Semifinal – 7:35 p.m.

August 9: 10,000m Final – 8:55 p.m.

August 10: 1,500m, Final – 8:25 p.m.

August 11: Marathon – 8:00 a.m.

Only two athletes have won four medals at a single Olympic Games: U.S. sprint icon Florence Griffith-Joyner, who won three golds and one silver (in the 4x400m relay) at Seoul in 1988, and Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands, who won four golds at the 1948 Olympics in London in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and 80m hurdles.

Lucia Stafford demolishes 30-year-old Canadian record in 2,000m

At her very first Diamond League in Monaco on Friday, Canada’s Lucia Stafford obliterated the 30-year-old Canadian record over the 2,000m distance. Her time of 5:31.18 beat Angela Chalmers’ previous record of 5:34.49 by almost three seconds.

The 2,000m isn’t commonly run, so many of the elite athletes in the field jumped at the chance to set new records, including Australia’s Jessica Hull. The race was set up for Hull to challenge the world record of 5:21.56 set by Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi at the World Continental meet in Zagreb, Croatia in 2021. With the help of three different athletes who shared the job of pace-setting, Hull finished with a time 5:19.70–the fastest 2,000m in history–with exactly two seconds to spare.

In the same race, Cory Ann McGee‘s time of 5:28.78 betters the former North American record of 5:32.70, which Stafford also snuck under.

This sixth-place finish at her very first Diamond League marks Stafford’s first outdoor national record. She already holds the North American indoor 1,000m record of 2:33.75.

Arop runs season’s best

After getting passed in the final 100m stretch of his race, Marco Arop, the reigning world champion in the men’s 800m, finished sixth with a time of 1:42.93–also bettering his season’s best.

Making his Diamond League debut, 19-year-old Christopher Morales-Williams also took sixth place in his 400m race. Although his time of 45.11 is not nearly his fastest of the season, he’ll have the chance to compete against these world-class athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris next month.

Two-time Olympic pole-vaulter Alysha Newman took fourth place in her event earlier in the day, jumping a season’s best of 4.76m. She jumped her previous season’s best of 4.75m to take the win at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Montreal earlier this month.

Faith Kipyegon shares two reasons behind her record-breaking 1500m display at Paris Diamond League

Kipyegon reveals two reasons behind her record-breaking display at the Paris Diamond League, despite it only being her second race of the season which has been hindered by injuries.

Faith Kipyegon has offered an insight into the factors that have been fueling her seemingly nonchalant ability to dominate races.

Kipyegon, who launched her Diamond League season in Paris on Sunday, took the world by surprise as she shattered her own record in the 1500m, running 3.49.04, some seven microseconds faster than when she broke the record again in Monaco a year ago.

 Kipyegon showcased why she is a force to be reckoned with as she eyes a historic third consecutive Olympic gold in the 1500m. 

Speaking to Citius Mag, Kipyegon revealed the two crucial factors fueling her dominant display: belief in her training and the competitive push from fellow athletes.

1. Unwavering Belief in Training

Kipyegon attributed her record-breaking performance to her confidence in the rigorous training she underwent. Despite the long absence from the track, her belief in the hard work and preparation was unwavering.

 “I think it is all about believing in the training I have done so far. After I asked my coach what was possible in Paris, he told me, ‘Yeah, everything is possible, you never know, the training you have done (could reap reward),” Kipyegon explained. 

This confidence propelled her to execute her race strategy flawlessly, leading to her remarkable finish. “I came here and just believed in myself, executed it just to see what was possible. I came here and ran a world record in my first Diamond League classic of the season,” she added.

2. Competitive Push from Jessica Hull

Another significant factor in Kipyegon’s stellar performance was the intense competition from Australian runner Jessica Hull. Hull’s relentless pressure throughout the race kept Kipyegon on her toes, ultimately pushing her to new heights.

 Hull's impressive time of 3:50.83 not only set a new Australian record but also became the fifth quickest ever run by a female athlete. Reflecting on the race, Kipyegon expressed her admiration for Hull’s performance.

 “I was like, who is following me? But I turned back and saw Jessica Hull behind me. It was really feeling great to push each other towards the finish line. I am really really happy for her,” Kipyegon said. 

Hull’s presence and competitiveness provided Kipyegon with the energy and drive needed to break her own world record.

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.

Elle St. Pierre Upsets World Record-Holder to Win First World Championship Title

A year after giving birth, St. Pierre won gold in the 3,000 meters at the World Indoor Championships.

On Saturday, March 2, Elle St. Pierre threw down an electrifying kick to beat two-time world champion Gudaf Tsegay for gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. Running for Team USA, St. Pierre won the women’s 3,000 meters in 8:20.87, breaking the American record and championship record. Ethiopia’s Tsegay finished second in 8:21.13, and Beatrice Chepkoech ran a Kenyan national record when she placed third in 8:22.68, rounding out the podium of a thrilling race at Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.

The event began with Tsegay setting an aggressive early pace. With the 5,000-meter world record-holder out in front, Chepkoech, St. Pierre, and Jessica Hull of Australia followed. Running patiently, St. Pierre maintained contact in fourth place for much of the race. Together, the pack passed through the first 1600 meters in 4:29.

By 2,000 meters, the top four created a gap between the rest of the field. With two laps remaining, Tsegay attempted to break away from her rivals but she couldn’t shake Chepkoech and St. Pierre, who looked ready to strike at any moment.

At the bell, St. Pierre began to make her move to the front. To the cheers of a roaring crowd, the 29-year-old passed the Olympic bronze medalist on the homestretch. St. Pierre is the first American in history to win gold in the event. She is now No. 3 on the world all-time list two years after earning silver at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.

“It’s a dream come true,” St. Pierre told reporters after the race. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in quite yet, but it feels amazing to be here with my family and my teammate, Emily [Mackay], and my coach in Scotland.”

In the mixed zone, St. Pierre said she expected a fast race but knew she could use her miler speed to close well if she put herself in position with the leaders, and that’s exactly what she did.

The victory took place two days before her son, Ivan, celebrates his first birthday. St. Pierre said not racing much last summer allowed her to build up mileage, resulting in a stunning postpartum comeback. “Having a baby has only made me stronger,” she said.

St. Pierre’s increased strength was evident three weeks prior to the World Championships. At the 2024 Millrose Games on February 11, the two-time world indoor medalist broke her own American record when she won the women’s Wanamaker mile in 4:16.41.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics fast approaching, St. Pierre looks poised to make a major leap from her 10th-place finish in the 1500 meters at the Tokyo Games.

ST. PIERRE'S MILE RECORD EARNS HER USATF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering her own American record* in the women's mile, Elle St. Pierre (Enosburg, Vermont/USATF New England) earned recognition as the 5th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.In only her second track race since giving birth to a son last March, St. Pierre clipped almost a half-second off her own AR in the mile to win the Millrose Games in 4:16.41. She became the third fastest woman ever and her en route 1500 time of 4:00.34 puts her second on the all-time U.S. indoor performer list.St. Pierre, the 2022 World Indoor Championships silver medalist in the 3000 and an Olympian at Tokyo in the 1500, beat a star-studded field at Millrose, making a strong move with 300 to go to pass Australia's Jessica Hull and take the lead. Her final quarter-mile of 61.33 put away a group of women who behind her set four national records and eight lifetime bests. Other top performances from last week:

Grant Fisher lowered the American best in the men's 2 mile with an 8:03.62 to place second at the Millrose Games. He is now the No. 3 all-time world performer. En route, his 7:30.88 for 3000 moved him to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. performer list.

Alicia Monson lowered the American best in the women's 2 mile at the Millrose Games, placing third in 9:09.70. She is now the No. 5 all-time world performer.

Yared Nuguse won the men's mile at the Millrose Games in 3:47.83, the third fastest time ever indoors, and the second fastest by an American. His en route 3:33.43 for 1500 was the third fastest ever by an American.

Brandon Miller won the men's 600 at the Kirby Elite meet in Albuquerque in 1:14.03, making him the No. 2 all-time world performer.

Nia Akins won the women's 600 at the Kirby Elite meet in Albuquerque in a world-leading 1:24.32 to move to No. 8 on the all-time world performer list.

Grant Holloway continued his 10-year winning streak in the men's 60H with a 7.32 at the Liévin World Indoor Tour - Gold meet in France. He tied the fourth-fastest time ever and only one man besides him has ever run faster.

*All records subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee. Now in its 23nd year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.2024 Winners: January 17, Weini Kelati; January 24, Cooper Teare; January 31, Nico Young; February 7, Fiona O'Keeffe; February 14, Elle St. Pierre.

World record holder Christian Coleman going for third victory at Millrose Games

World record holder Christian Coleman will be aiming for his third straight victory at the Millrose Games after bagging wins in 2022 and 2023.

World record-holder Christian Coleman will be seeking his third straight 60m victory at the Millrose Games, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Sunday, February 11.

Coleman will be opening his season at the event after a mixed 2023 season where he lost some races and emerged victorious in others.

He completed his season at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League final meeting where he stunned triple World Champion Noah Lyles.

At the Millrose Games, he will be up against Canada’s Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, who has not run the 60m at Millrose since 2016.

Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, who set a PB of 6.45 in his first-ever indoor 60m race last weekend in Boston, should also prove to be a nightmare for the American.

Meanwhile, Tia Jones turned heads in Boston last week when she sped to victory in the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.72 – just 0.04 shy of the world indoor record.

At the Millrose Games, Jones will take on the likes of two-time world champion Danielle Williams, two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali, defending Millrose champion Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas, and NCAA champion Ackera Nugent of Jamaica.

Sprint sensation Julien Alfred is opening her season after an incredible 2023 campaign. The Saint Lucian star, who was undefeated last year in the 60m and 100m until placing fifth in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest, will line up against Jamaicans Shashalee Forbes and Briana Williams and US contenders Tamara Clark and English Gardner.

In the men’s 60m hurdles, 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham of the US, who is second on the world list, will take on a strong slate that includes 2023 world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts.

On her part, Alicia Monson broke the North American record in the 3000m last year at Millrose and is on a mission to win her third straight title on this track – with a record perhaps in a different event.

The two-mile distance is one more lap than 3000m and her ultimate goal is the continental record of 9:10.28. Monson will be in fast company with Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain, US mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz, and world U20 5000m champion Medina Eisa of Ethiopia.

World indoor silver medalist Elle St Pierre will vie for her third title in the women’s Wanamaker Mile with the race being a rematch between herself, and Jessica Hull of Australia, who won their showdown in the 3000m last week with an Oceanian indoor record.

Olympic 800m bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers, who contested the 400m last week in Boston, returns to her specialty at Millrose and will face Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin.

Noah Kibet and Bryce Hoppel, the world indoor silver and bronze medalists respectively, will clash in the men’s 800m.

Elle St Pierre will toe the line again at the Millrose Games

World indoor silver medalist Elle St Pierre set a meeting and North American record of 4:16.85 to win the Wanamaker Mile in 2020. The 2024 indoor season marks St Pierre’s return to the track following the birth of her first child.

Two-time world indoor silver medalist Axumawit Embaye is also in the line-up, alongside 2022 US 1500m champion Sinclaire Johnson, British 1500m champion Katie Snowden, 2023 Wanamaker Mile runner-up Josette Andrews, Australian record-holder Jessica Hull, Olympic finalist Marta Perez, and two-time NCAA champion Sage Hurta-Klecker.

Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir made her Wanamaker Mile debut last year, winning in 4:20.15. The 2022 world bronze medalist holds the British record for the distance outdoors with the 4:15.24 she clocked last year.

Other top athletes already confirmed to compete include Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Danielle Williams, Nia Ali, Andre De Grasse, Josh Kerr, Keni Harrison, Chris Nilsen, KC Lightfoot, Yared Nuguse, Alicia Monson, Grant Fisher and Christian Coleman.

Laura Muir returns to defend wanamaker mile title at 2024 Millrose Games

Great Britain’s Laura Muir, the Olympic 1500m silver medalist and three-time 1500m world championship medalist, will return to the 116th Millrose Games at The Armory on Feb. 11 to defend her NYRR Wanamaker Mile title.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Last year, Muir closed the race with a 30.99s final lap to win in 4:20.15 over Josette Andrews, who will also be returning after back-to-back runner-up finishes. Muir made her Millrose Games debut last year after a stunning 4:14.8 victory at the 2022 Fifth Avenue Mile. Muir is keeping a tight indoor schedule as she gets ready for the 3000m at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She just ran 8:34.39 for 3000m at the Cardiff Metropolitan University Christmas Classic on Dec. 19.

– The Wanamaker Mile event record is the 4:16.85 American record set by Elinor Purrier St. Pierre in the 2020 edition of the meet. She will return to The Armory after missing last year’s indoor season while being pregnant with her son, Ivan. She gave birth in March and then returned to racing at the 5th Avenue Mile in September with a 4:23 for seventh place. Purrier -St. Pierre also won the 2019 2022 edition of the Wanamaker Mile with a 4:19.30 victory.

– The field will also include 2023 World Championship 1500m finalists: Jessica Hull (7th in Budapest) and Katie Snowden (8th in Budapest).

– Ethiopia’s Axumawit Embaye, a two-time World Indoor silver medalist in the 1500m, will make her Millrose Games debut. Last year, she ran season’s bests of 4:00.98 for 1500m and 4:24.01 for the mile. She notched a personal best of 15:04.41 for 5000m at the Stockholm Diamond League.

Josh Kerr, Elle St. Pierre, and Nikki Hiltz to Headline Professional Athlete Field at New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

World champion Josh Kerr, U.S. Olympian Elle St. Pierre, and American mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz will headline a world-class professional athlete field that spans 14 different countries at the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile on Sunday, September 10. The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile – the world’s most iconic road mile race since 1981 – stretches 20 blocks down Manhattan’s most famous thoroughfare.

Great Britain’s Kerr will arrive in New York fresh off winning a world title in the 1,500 meters in Budapest; he is in search of his first victory on 5th Avenue in his second appearance in the event. Kerr also owns an Olympic bronze medal in the 1,500 meters from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“Winning the World Championships was the culmination of every step of running I’ve ever taken,” Kerr said. “Now, my confidence is higher than it’s ever been, and I have some unfinished business to take care of on 5th Avenue.”

Lining up against Kerr will be New Zealand’s 5,000-meter record-holder George Beamish, and an American contingent led by 2023 Falmouth Mile champion Johnny Gregorek, last year’s 1,500-meter national champion Cooper Teare, two-time 5th Avenue Mile podium finisher Sam Prakel, and U.S. Olympian Woody Kincaid.

In the women’s race, U.S. Olympian St. Pierre will make her return to New York for the first time since finishing as runner-up at the event in 2019. It will also be her first race back since giving birth in March.

“My preparation for the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile this time has been different, as I fit training around feedings, nap time, and playing with Ivan,” St. Pierre said. “But my body feels good, and the workouts have been solid. I’m excited to be back on 5th Avenue this weekend.”

She will be joined at the start line by Hiltz, Great Britain’s 2021 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile champion Jemma Reekie, Great Britain’s reigning 1,500-meter champion Katie Snowden, Mexican record-holder Laura Galvan, Australian record-holder Jessica Hull, Japanese record-holder Nozomi Tanaka, and Jamaican record-holder Adelle Tracey. Olympian Courtney Frerichs and four-time NCAA champion Dani Jones will also toe the line for the U.S.

In addition to professional athlete and age-group heats, this year’s New Balance 5th Avenue Mile will feature Back to School Mile heats for youth, a New Balance Run Your Way Mile for first-time marathoners using NYRR Coaching Lab, a George Sheehan Memorial Mile for seniors, an NYPD and FDNY heat for service members, and NYRR Road Mile Championship races.

In partnership with NYRR and USA Track & Field, NBC will broadcast the event nationally from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast will feature live coverage of the professional athlete races as well as a recap of the day’s earlier heats. Live coverage of the event will be available internationally on USATF.TV.

Former University of Oregon runner wins World Series of Poker event

Former University of Oregon track and field runner Chris Brewer has hit the jackpot, winning over $5 million and a prestigious golden bracelet at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). From the track to the poker table, Brewer won a high-roller No-Limit Hold’em event with a substantial $250,000 buy-in, with some luck on the river (final card).

Brewer had his back against the wall when his opponent, Russia’s Artur Martirosyan, raised him with ace-king. Brewer re-raised, pushing his chips all-in, which set up a bad beat for the ages that worked out in Brewer’s favour, netting $5.2 million for the win. Watch below.

Brewer, 30, ran for the University of Oregon Ducks cross-country and track and field program for five years and was a teammate to renowned athletes like Australian Olympian Jessica Hull, 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek and American 25 km record holder Parker Stinson. During his collegiate career, Brewer held bests of 3:43.97 over 1,500m and 4:06 for the mile. When he graduated from Oregon with a degree in mathematics in 2016, he took a break from running and found success playing online poker.

In a 2021 interview with Pokernews, Brewer was asked if he credits his card-playing success to his running background, resulting in an all-time quote:

“Running is much harder than poker. You have to put in way more effort. Anything I’ve accomplished in poker is easy compared to waking up in the morning and running 15 miles,” replied Brewer. “When you’re a runner, you have to be mindful of your diet and sleep. Poker is a different ballgame—I sacrificed many years to pursue running. So if I have to fold a hand, it’s no big deal. I never felt anxious playing poker. Running races, on the other hand, gave me plenty of anxiety.”

Although Brewer may not see many similarities between the two, it is evident that the discipline and dedication he acquired from running have translated into his poker success.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen to chase his national record at Oslo Diamond League

At the Paris Diamond League last week, the incredible Norwegian athlete and Olympic 1,500m champion  Jakob Ingebrigtsen achieved a remarkable two-mile world best. On Thursday evening (afternoon for viewers in North America), the 22-year-old superstar will be competing in his home country, aiming to challenge his national record of 3:28.32 at the Oslo Diamond League.

Jakob’s WR bid

Ingebrigtsen headlines a deep men’s 1,500m field, featuring the silver and bronze medallists from Tokyo 2020, Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot and Josh Kerr of Great Britain. Other notable athletes are American Yared Nuguse and Mohamed Katir, who came off a Spanish national record performance over 5,000m in Florence two weeks ago, taking the win in 12:50.79. 

During the pre-race press conference, Ingebrigtsen put his confidence on display and said he’s eager to chase a personal best and even take a shot at Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1,500m world record of 3:26.00 “If I break the world record Thursday, I deserve a statue,” said Ingebrigtsen. The Bislett Games meet director responded: “If you do it, I’ll personally set up a statue outside Bislett [Stadium].”

Although there has been a lot of world record talk from Ingebrigtsen and the media, the Wavelight pace in the 1,500m will be set to the meeting record of 3:29.12, going through 800m in 1:52 and the first kilometre in 2:19. Ingebrigtsen will have to close the final 500m in 66 seconds and a sub-53-second final lap if he hopes to take down the world record. 

Canadians in Oslo

Two prominent Canadian athletes are competing at Oslo Diamond League Thursday. Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse looks to get his season back on track in the men’s 200m. The last year hasn’t been easy for De Grasse, changing coaches, battling injury and a slow start to the 2023 season. In his first three 200m race of the season, he has struggled to dip under the world championship standard mark of 20.24 seconds, a time he has frequently sailed under over the last two seasons. In his first Diamond League race in Doha on May 5, his turnover in the final 70 metres wasn’t there, and he faded to sixth in 20.35. It’s been three weeks since his last race, and he will come into Oslo as one of the favourites on paper, having the second-fastest personal best in the field after the young American, Erriyon Knighton.

Canadian mile and 1,500m record holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford had a successful outing in her Diamond League return in Florence two weeks ago. After a full year off due to injury, the 27-year-old Olympic finalist ran to a season’s best 4:03.64 over 1,500m. She will come into the Oslo Diamond League as the top-ranked woman in the mile event. This race in Oslo should be more tactical and better suited for DeBues-Stafford’s racing style than the 1,500m in Florence, which resulted in a new world record for Faith Kipyegon. 

Two other athletes who will be a tough test for DeBues-Stafford are Jessica Hull, who recently set an Australian record of 3:57.29 in Florence, and Ethiopian rising star Birke Haylom, who ran a giant personal best of 3:57.66 for third place at the Rabat Diamond League. DeBues-Stafford’s mile best is 4:17.87 from Monaco Diamond League in 2019, but any result under 4:23 for her would be a step in the right direction as she continues to prepare for the 2023 World Athletics Championships later this summer. 

Bathurst ready to welcome the world on ‘toughest ever’ championship course

Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. But in the case of World Athletics Cross Country Championships, it also seemingly makes the courses tougher.

Four years have passed since the memorable 2019 edition in the Danish city of Aarhus, where athletes had to run up a museum roof, trudge through a mud pit, and dash through a Viking zone. It was widely regarded as one of the most unique and challenging courses ever at a World Cross.

Now, on the eve of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23, many people are convinced that the course for this year’s edition is even tougher.

“In recent years we’ve talked about reinvigorating cross country, and we adjusted the course in Aarhus to create a more challenging one,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “I’m delighted that the team here in Bathurst have picked up that torch and done an outstanding job. I’d say this is certainly one of the toughest courses ever for a World Cross.

“We are really pleased to be here,” he added. “In the 50-year history of the World Cross, this is just the second time it has been held in Oceania, and it’s the first time it has been held in Australia.

“Bathurst has one of the most iconic motor racing tracks in the world, but now, in the same breath, people will think of Bathurst staging the World Cross Country Championships.”

Local Organizing Committee Co-Chair Matt Whitbread expressed his pleasure at welcoming the world to Australia for a global athletics event.

“We’re delighted to have everyone here in Bathurst,” he said. “After the last edition in Denmark, there was plenty of inspiration. We got the brief that the course needed to be hard, and hopefully we’ve achieved that.

“We were originally scheduled for 2021, then 2022, and we’re finally here now,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be here and we welcome you all.”

Coe also used the opportunity to underline the importance of cross country.

“World Athletics takes cross country very seriously, and the importance of cross country goes beyond a great World Championships like this,” he said.

Championships ambassador Paul Tergat is living proof of someone who benefitted from cross-country running. A five-time world champion at cross country, the Kenyan legend also set world records on the track and roads during his long career.

“Cross country is part of my DNA,” said Tergat. “This is where my career started. Being here, especially in Australia where I have such fond memories, makes it more special.

“With cross country, not only do you have to think about the athletes you’re racing against, you also have to think about the terrain and the course,” he added. “I believe that makes you tougher. Each course is different, which makes cross country unique.”

Cheptegei and Kamworor ready for rematch

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor – who, between them, have won the past three senior men’s titles – will once again go head to head on Saturday.

Cheptegei’s compatriot Jacob Kiplimo, who took silver in 2019, is also in Bathurst, meaning the full podium will be reunited.

“It’s exciting that the people who shared the podium in 2019 are all back here,” said Cheptegei, the 5000m and 10,000m world record-holder. “I know it’s going to be mind-blowing and will be something that will stay in our hearts and minds for a long time.”

Memories of the 2017 World Cross Country Championships have certainly stayed with Cheptegei over the past six years. On that occasion, with the World Cross taking place on home soil, Cheptegei had built up a huge lead but fatigue eventually got the better of him and he faded to 30th, as Kamworor successfully defended his title.

“Sometimes you have to accept what life throws at you and then learn from it,” said Cheptegei. “I can proudly say that I am a better athlete because of the incident in 2017. It taught me a lot of lessons about my life and my career. When you want something in life, it’s important to chase your goals, but you also have to be patient and make certain judgements.”

For Kamworor, it was the 2011 edition of the World Cross that holds most significance.

“The first major title I won was the U20 title at the 2011 World Cross Country Championships,” he said. “That motivated me so much, and ever since then I have loved cross country.”

Despite winning two individual senior titles and one U20 title, Kamworor is yet to win a senior team gold at the World Cross. He hopes that will change on Saturday, though.

“We had great training with the team and we hope to do our best tomorrow and hopefully win the team title,” he said.

Hull and Coburn take different routes to Bathurst relay

Dramatically contrasting paths have led accidental contender Emma Coburn and child prodigy Jessica Hull to the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst where they are both in contention for medals.

Colorado-based Coburn, 32, is looking forward to leading USA in the mixed relay, despite being an athlete who spurned cross country at school and college in favour of volleyball and track.

Coburn instead went on to become a steeplechase specialist, winning the 2017 world title at that discipline, as well as the 2019 world silver and 2016 Olympic bronze.

Coburn said the longer cross country courses were the reasons she never got into the discipline.

“I was never that mentally into it (cross country) because I played volleyball during the same season in high school,” Coburn said. “In college I tried it, but I wasn’t that great. I always loved the steeplechase and the track.”

Being able to compete in a mixed relay – the ninth time Coburn has represented the USA at a global championship – where each runner completes a 2km loop has changed her attitude about cross country.

“This 2km distance I think is really fun,” she said. “The muscular strength in my legs will be beneficial on some of the technically challenging parts of the race, like the mud pit.

“As a steeplechaser, I like the challenge of this course. We’ll be going for it, trying our hardest to conquer the course and come out with some hardware.

“This is a fun opportunity and something different for me. I’m eager to try new things and mix it up and this is an opportunity to challenge my mind and body.”

Coburn will be supported in the mixed relay by US teammates Heather MacLean, a 2021 Tokyo Olympic 1500m semi-finalist, steeplechase expert Alec Basten, and 2019 mixed relay runner Jordan Mann.

The USA will be vying for the medals alongside Australia, whose team boasts a cross country child enthusiast in Hull.

Twenty years ago Hull kicked off her athletics career doing 2km primary school cross country carnivals across the road from her home in New South Wales, Australia.

“It’s kind of scary,” Hull said. “It was part of my school sports days and it was 2km. Now I’ll do a 2km hot lap of the Bathurst course. So it’s kind of a full circle moment.

“If we were to get the win out there, it would be pretty special,” she added. “It is incredible that we can talk about the Aussie team even having a win. It would be quite a remarkable day if we got to hear the national anthem while we are out there.”

Athletics has taken Hull, 26, from school cross country carnivals to the world stage where she’s been a 1500m finalist at three majors – the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (11th), the 2022 World Championships in Oregon (7th) and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (8th).

Hull will be joined on the tough Bathurst course by three other Australian 1500m specialists: Commonwealth champion Oliver Hoare, Commonwealth bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell, and Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn.

The mixed relay is the first medal event on the championship programme on Saturday (18). 15 teams will compete for the medals, running in a 4x2km man-woman-man-woman format with each athlete having a wristband which they transfer to their teammate in the takeover zone.

“Cross country is an absolutely essential part of the development of young athletes. Any athlete who can master cross country and can do so from a young age is going to be well placed to pursue an endurance career on the track.”

Sinclaire Johnson confident heading into USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships

As Sinclaire Johnson made her way to the starting line for the women’s 1,500 meters at the Prefontaine Classic last month in Eugene, she took a moment to take in her competitors.

Eight of them ran in the 1,500 final at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo last year. Now, she had the opportunity to show she belongs among them.

 No thoughts about Johnson’s final time crossed her mind throughout the race. They never do. She’s too focused on her pace and beating those around her, and she rode that mindset to a fourth-place finish, beating six of those Tokyo Olympians.

“I felt like I had finally stepped into that pool of competing on that world-class level,” Johnson said this week.

Running a sub four-minute race was always Johnson’s goal heading into the meet. When she had the time to think about her official time, she saw it read 3 minutes, 58.85 seconds, a new personal record. It’s a far cry from where she was nine months ago, when she could train only in pools or the gym while dreaming of getting back to running.

Johnson joined Bowerman Track Club following her college career at Oklahoma State University, where she won a national title in the 1,500 as a junior in 2019. She made the switch to coach Pete Julian’s Portland-based Union Athletics Club last August.

That’s when the pain started.

It began as persistent pain in her hip following a workout early in the week. She couldn’t walk by Saturday, and an ensuing MRI showed a small tear in her labrum. Such tears typically can be corrected only through surgery, but this tear was small enough to not require an operation.

Johnson resumed training with caution, but she was still in pain that wasn’t getting better. Another MRI a month later showed something new: a stress fracture. So Johnson’s time with Union Athletics Club began in earnest while she was in recovery.

Running wasn’t an option, so Johnson instead spent time in the gym strengthening the muscles surrounding her hip and pool exercises to reduce the stress on her body. The process of getting Johnson back into competitive shape was slow and cautious, Julian said, but she was finally able to start running again in November.

“Every week just kept getting better and better,” Johnson said. “I just kept shocking myself with what I could do.”

Julian and Dave McHenry, Union Athletics Club’s strength coach, were with her every step of the way, Johnson said. This included daily check-ins on Johnson’s physical and mental health, scheduling appointments with doctors and breaking down how to get her back to training.

“She’s been able to just continue to progress honestly, just with more training load,” Julian said.

When it wasn’t her coaches reaching out with support, it was her new teammates. Jessica Hull, a former track athlete at the University of Oregon, met Johnson as a competitor when the two were running in college.

Hull was right behind Johnson when the latter won the NCAA title in 2019. It was a flip of the preliminary round earlier that day, when Hull took first and Johnson claimed second.

“We both knew at that point, we couldn’t have done it without each other, pushing each other,” Hull said.

Not only has Hull been training alongside Johnson at Union Athletics Club, she was also one of the eight Olympians running with her at the Prefontaine Classic. The two aren’t competitive with each other now that they’re on a team, Hull said.

Heading into the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships this week, Hull said she’s looking forward to seeing Johnson’s training pay off.

“Watching her race at USA is gonna feel like my heart is out there with her,” said Hull, who competes for Australia.

Messages from coaches and teammates were important, but Johnson’s ultimate confidence boost came from herself. Slowly, but surely, she worked through the outdoor season to go from hanging on in races to competing to win.

That top-four finish in the Prefontaine Classic against some of the same competition she’ll see in the 1,500 this week proved to Johnson that she can earn a spot on Team USA for the World Athletics Championships next month.

“Not only do I want to make a team,” Johnson said, “I believe that I can make a team.”

Athing Mu switching to women´s wanamaker mile at Millrose Games

Olympic 800 meters champion Athing Mu will test her range further in elite mile field.

Of all the storylines coming together for this weekend's 114th Millrose Games at The Armory, the one making waves Monday is the switch by Athing Mu from the 800 meters to the WHOOP Women's Wanamaker Mile. 

On the schedule of Saturday's events, that's only a nine-minute difference in start time. Those two events precede the traditional Millrose closer, the men's Wanamaker Mile. 

But with Mu making her first New York City appearance in a race since she was a senior in high school in 2020, she stands to be one of the most compelling athletes in the meet. 

Instead of racing in the 800 meters against Ajee' Wilson, Natoya Goule and high school stars Roisin Willis and Sophia Gorriaran, Mu will take on a bigger challenge in the mile against a field that includes Elle Purrier-St. Pierre, the reigning champion, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Nikki Hiltz and Jessica Hull. 

Mu opened her 2022 campaign with a 4:37.99 mile at the Ted Nelson Invitational at College Station, Texas, on Jan. 15, which is a personal best. 

The recent Bowerman Award winner may just be scratching the surface in the longer event, and demonstrating the full spectrum of her range from 400 meters to the mile. She'll have to run much faster to compete for the win on Saturday. She already owns the American record in the 800 meters outdoors with 1:55.04.

Purrier ran a meet and Armory record 4:16.85 to win the 2020 race. 

Klosterhalfen and Purrier St Pierre lead Millrose mile field

The past two winners of the women's Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile – Elle Purrier St Pierre and Konstanze Klosterhalfen – will race for further success when the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting returns in New York on 29 January.

World 5000m bronze medallist Klosterhalfen is the 2019 Wanamaker Mile champion and the multiple German record-holder went on to chase Purrier St Pierre all the way to the line in the 2020 race, setting her personal best of 4:17.26. Last year she placed eighth in the Olympic 10,000m final, going close to her national record with 31:01.97.

Purrier St Pierre, meanwhile, set her US indoor mile record of 4:16.85 at that 2020 Millrose Games meeting, a time which places her second on the world indoor all-time list. Since that breakout performance, she has set a North American indoor record of 9:10.28 for two miles, taking her to third on the world indoor all-time list, and then won at the US Trials in a meeting record of 3:58.05. She went on to place 10th in a high-quality Olympic final in Tokyo.

"I am really looking forward to racing the Wanamaker Mile this year," Purrier St Pierre said.

"This race has always been a special one for me and I certainly missed it last year. It's one of the most prestigious and historic races, it's always fun and always competitive, just the way I like it."

Joining them in the WHOOP Women’s Wanamaker Mile field are two other athletes who represented the USA in the Tokyo Olympic Games 1500m.

Cory McGee and Heather MacLean placed second and third respectively in last year’s Olympic Trials behind Purrier St Pierre, with McGee going on to finish 12th in the Olympic final and MacLean reaching the semifinals.

Josette Norris also joins the mix after a season in which she broke four minutes in the 1500m and placed third in the Zurich Wanda Diamond League final. 

Other major threats will be Jessica Hull, the Australian record-holder and four-time NCAA champion, along with world finalist Nikki Hiltz, British Olympian Katie Snowden and Spanish Olympian Esther Guerrero.

Rounding out the field is Olympic Trials fourth-place finisher Shannon Osika and both the 2021 NCAA mile and 1500m champions in Sage Hurta and Anna Camp Bennett, respectively.

Other athletes so far announced for the Millrose Games include world 100m hurdles record-holder Kendra Harrison, 2016 world indoor 60m champion Trayvon Bromell, Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, world shot put champion Joe Kovacs, Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu, Olympic pole vault champion Katie Nageotte and world indoor pole vault champion Sandi Morris.

The former Nike Oregon Project changes team name to Union Athletic Club

One of the world’s best-known professional running clubs has found a new name after the Nike Oregon Project was abolished, coincident with the four-year ban of ex-head coach Alberto Salazar. The new name, Union Athletic Club, was announced on the Elevation Om YouTube page and confirmed by Chris Chavez on Twitter on Thursday.

After Salazar’s dismissal, the group remained intact through the past three years under coach Pete Julian.

Julian is currently the coach of many of the world’s top athletes, such as Suguru Osako, Shannon Rowbury, Raevyn Rogers, Jessica Hull, Donovan Brazier and Craig Engels.

He spent three years coaching at Washington State University before moving to the Oregon Project in 2012, where he was the assistant coach to Galen Rupp, Matt Centrowitz, Mo Farah and Canadian record holder Cam Levins.

The 2021 NCAA indoor 800m champion and Australian Olympian Charlie Hunter will be the newest member of the group.

Union Athletic Club is based out of Oregon and sponsored by Nike Running.

Australia selects 64 squad for Tokyo Olympics

Australia has named a team of 64 athletes for the Tokyo Games, which will be the nation’s biggest ever athletics squad for an overseas Olympics.

Further to those athletes already announced, the second wave of selections includes Jeff Riseley making his fourth Olympics and Kathryn Mitchell, Dave McNeill and Henry Frayne returning for their third Games.

Riseley joins previously selected Tokyo 2020 teammates Dani Stevens and Lisa Weightman in equalling the most Olympics by Australian athletics representatives.

Dane Bird-Smith is joined by Kyle Swan and Declan Tingay in the 20km race walk, five years after he claimed bronze in Rio.

Nicola McDermott, who improved her Oceania record to 2.01m in Stockholm, is joined in the high jump by Eleanor Patterson, while Linden Hall, Jessica Hull, Ollie Hoare and Stewart McSweyn are among the 1500m team members.

Patrick Tiernan is set to double in the 5000m and 10,000m.

Australian team for Tokyo

WOMEN

100m: Hana Basic200m: Riley Day400m: Bendere Oboya800m: Catriona Bisset, Morgan Mitchell1500m: Georgia Griffith, Linden Hall, Jessica Hull5000m: Isobel Batt-Doyle, Jenny Blundell, Rose DaviesMarathon: Sinead Diver, Ellie Pashley, Lisa Weightman3000m steeplechase: Amy Cashin, Genevieve Gregson, Georgia Winkcup

100m hurdles: Liz Clay400m hurdles: Sarah CarliHigh jump: Nicola McDermott, Eleanor PattersonPole vault: Nina Kennedy, Elizaveta ParnovaLong jump: Brooke StrattonDiscus: Dani StevensJavelin: Kelsey-Lee Barber, Mackenzie Little, Kathryn Mitchell20km race walk: Katie Hayward, Bec Henderson, Jemima Montag4x400m: Ellie Beer, Angeline Blackburn, Kendra Hubbard, Bendere Oboya, Anneliese Rubie-Renshaw 

MEN

100m: Rohan Browning400m: Alex Beck, Steven Solomon800m: Peter Bol, Charlie Hunter, Jeff Riseley1500m: Jye Edwards, Ollie Hoare, Stewart McSweyn5000m: Morgan McDonald, Dave McNeill, Patrick Tiernan10,000m: Patrick TiernanMarathon: Liam Adams, Jack Rayner, Brett Robinson3000m steeplechase: Ben Buckingham, Matthew Clarke, Edward Trippas

110m hurdles: Nick HoughHigh jump: Brandon StarcPole vault: Kurtis MarschallLong jump: Henry FrayneDiscus: Matthew Denny20km race walk: Dane Bird-Smith, Kyle Swan, Declan Tingay50km race walk: Rhydian Cowley

Decathlon: Cedric Dubler, Ashley Moloney

Irish former track and field athlete Sonia O’Sullivan will take Nike coaching role based in Portland, Oregon

Sonia O’Sullivan has agreed to take up a new assistant coaching role with a Nike training group based in Portland, Oregon beginning this week, initially in the run up to and including the Tokyo Olympics.

It will see O’Sullivan move from her current home in Melbourne to the US on Thursday, her new role as assistant coach to Pete Julian affording her the chance to work with some of the best distance runners in the world.

Describing the role as “exciting and challenging”, O’Sullivan is also looking forward to the chance to “have some purpose again in big time athletics”.

The move, only confirmed in recent weeks, will also bring O’Sullivan closer to her daughter Sophie, currently in her first year at the University of Washington on scholarship.

“It all evolved quite quickly, and once we started talking, it felt like an instinctual decision for me, something I felt I’d like to do,” says O’Sullivan. “I won’t know what it’s fully about until I’m out there, but to be a part of a fully professional set-up, with a good budget behind them, to get the best possible out of the athletes, is something I’m excited about.

“There are currently 10 athletes in the group, Pete Julian as head coach, they also have a strength and conditioning coach, and his athletes range from 800m up to the marathon, so there’s a lot of diversity there, they don’t all train together, on different days and in different places, so he can’t always be there. And this was the perfect opportunity to go and do something that I’ve not really had a chance to do, ever.

“It’s a way for me to travel again in an Olympic year, even though it’s very nice here in Melbourne with no Covid restrictions, it feels very far from the action. Every year I’ve had events in Ireland that I work with and the main athletics championships to look forward to, this past year has been so unpredictable my normal schedule has been put on hold.

“It also definitely helped that it’s pretty close to where Sophie is going to college, two and a half hours away, so that swayed things a bit too, because of the times we’re in, it’s so difficult to get back in or out of Australia, and it’s still unknown when she can next get back to Australia.”

Julian was previously an assistant coach with the Nike Oregon Project, run out of the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon but which was disbanded in 2019 in the immediate aftermath of a four-year ban handed down to then head coach Alberto Salazar for doping offences. With that Julian, in no way implicated in any of those offences, started up his own training group with some of the athletes already under his guidance, including top US 800m runner and Tokyo gold medal favourite Donavan Brazier.

For O’Sullivan, the 2000 Olympic silver medallist over 5,000 metres who won 13 major championships medals in all, the initial three-month agreement would see her through to the Tokyo Olympics. Also in the group are two international women athletes from Australia in Jessica Hull, and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Japanese Tokyo Olympic athlete Suguru Osaka, the remaining seven being American.

“The main target for the American athletes will be the US Olympic Trials, and then after that there is a small circuit of American meetings, so that they don’t have to travel to Europe. ”

O’Sullivan’s first chance to see some of the athletes in action will likely come this weekend at the USATF Grand Prix from Hayward Field in Eugene, the newly renovated venue for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, and the first stop on the 2021 World Athletics Continental Tour (which is also being broadcast on TG4).

After dealing with a plantar fasciitis problem in Europe, Donavan Brazier ends his season

Donavan Brazier’s 2020 outdoor season is over.

The reigning outdoor champion and U.S. record-holder in the 800 meters has been dealing with nagging plantar fasciitis problem in his right foot according to Pete Julian, Brazier’s coach.

Not that anybody could tell from his performances. Brazier won his 10th consecutive race -- a streak that dates to 2019 -- Sunday in the Stockholm Diamond League meet, taking the 800 in 1 minute 43.76 seconds with a late charge on the home straight.

And, for Brazier, that was that.

In a text message, Julian said Brazier’s has been dealing with “one of those types of injuries that most runners can relate to. Not bad enough to stop but not good enough to bring fuzzy happiness. It’s all always about finding the right combination of what you can and cannot do.

“As long as he was getting through the training and making a little bit of progress from week to week, and with the support of his doctor, I welcomed the adversity as a teaching tool. He did a great job keeping his head straight and focusing on winning stead of whining. By Stockholm, his foot was feeling better and you could tell in the way he raced.”

Just the same, Brazier and Julian decided enough was enough.

“He was fishing on the banks of Stockholm the next day,” Julian said.

Julian said the runners in his training group will go different directions soon. Craig Engels, Jessica Hull, Raevyn Rogers and Shannon Rowbury are entered in a meet in Goteborg, Sweden on Saturday. After that, Julian and some of his athletes will head home.

Engels is penciled into the 1,500 at the Diamond League in Brussels on Sept. 4. Hull and Rowbury are scheduled for the 1,500 in Berlin on Sept. 13.

“Shann and Jessica want to stay in Europe and keep racing any willing participants,” Julian said.

After coronavirus forces postponement of 2020 Tokyo Olympics, elite athletes share their sorrow

Former University of Oregon sprinter English Gardner was looking at the big picture when the news broke Tuesday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were being postponed for a year because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Gardner has a 2016 Olympic gold medal from the Team USA women’s 4x100 relay and big hopes for Tokyo.

But she fully supports the decision by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers to postpone.

“I’m bigger than track and field,” Gardner said. “I’m part of the community. I’m a human being. I’m a sister. I’m a mother. I’m a girlfriend. I’m a godmother. As a whole world, we’re kind of going through it right now. It’s OK that the Games got postponed because this problem, this illness, this sickness is way bigger than Tokyo.”

Gardner is among the Olympic-level athletes and coaches who spoke to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Tuesday about the postponement. They shared varying mixtures of relief, resignation, disappointment and hope for the future.

Shortly after the decision about the Olympics became public, the TrackTown USA local organizing committee announced the U.S. Olympic trials for track and field scheduled for June at Hayward Field in Eugene also had been postponed.

In most of the country, athletes are living in various degrees of social isolation as state, regional and municipal governments try to slow the spread of the virus. In many cases it has affected their ability to train.

Maybe worse has been the uncertainty of not knowing what the future holds and watching major sporting events be canceled or postponed, one after another. It seemed only a matter of time before the Olympics became the next domino to fall.

“I wasn’t super surprised,” said Shelby Houlihan of the Portland-based Bowerman Track Club and reigning USA Track & Field outdoor women’s champion in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters. “I figured it was probably going to happen. But it still kind of sucks.

“Obviously, it was probably for the best because of the situation we’re in. Safety should definitely be the No. 1 priority. But it does suck because I was ready for this year.”

Pete Julian coaches a Nike-sponsored, Portland-based team of elite distance runners who have been gearing up for the Olympics.

Julian’s group includes, among others, U.S. mid-distance stars Donavan Brazier, the 2019 world outdoor champion in the 800 meters, and Craig Engels, German star Konstanze Klosterhalfen and former University of Oregon runner Jessica Hull of Australia.

“I don’t think any of them are happy about the Olympics getting moved,” Julian said. “I think a lot of them feel they’re ready to go and believe they can win medals. They’re sort of kicking the post. They want to race.”

But Julian agrees with the decision to postpone. His message to his runners is they can be better in 2021 than they are now. He believes the Olympics can be too.

“I think Tokyo is one of the few cities in the world that could pull this off without a hitch,” he said. “I don’t think most of us can even imagine the logistical nightmare that this is going to create, and what the IOC and Tokyo will have to work through. But they will be able to do it, and it will be amazing.”

Evan Jager of the Bowerman Track Club is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the men’s steeplechase. He said he had a strong winter of training and liked his positioning heading into the outdoor season. But he believes this step back can turn to be a bigger step forward.

“Postponing it a year and having the Olympics as that light at the end of the tunnel is going to be a very positive thing to look forward to,” Jager said. “We can come out of this crisis a year from now, and hopefully be healthy. The Olympics can be a celebration of getting out of these dark times.”

Marathoner Galen Rupp said he planned to keep training and keep perspective.

The former University of Oregon star won an Olympic silver medal in the men’s 10,000 meters in 2012 and a bronze in the marathon in 2016. He already had made the 2020 U.S. Olympic team by winning the marathon trials on Feb. 29 in Atlanta.

“The health, safety and well-being of the global population are of the utmost importance and beyond any sporting event,” Rupp said. “Already so many people have gotten sick or died and so many more have been greatly impacted by the coronavirus. We need to listen to the advice of health experts.”

Even if that means going dark in 2020 and waiting a year so the coronavirus can be contained.

Gardner, the former UO sprinter who lives in New Jersey, said training has become difficult because of quarantine containment regulations. She joked she has to get creative to do track workouts because of padlocked facilities.

“I’ve been hopping a lot of fences,” she said. “I’ve been working on my long jump and high jump approaches.”

But turning serious, she said she endorsed the quarantines and social-distancing rules as a way to keep vulnerable family members safe. She said the Olympic postponement would protect athletes and fans.

“I was mostly concerned that we would calm the virus down, we all would go to Tokyo and spur it back up again,” Gardner said.

She said it could hit athlete housing in Tokyo the way an outbreak of the norovirus struck at the 2017 World Outdoor Championships in London.

“We share common eating rooms,” she said. “We all share the same tracks, the same weight rooms, the same hotels. It would just be a matter of time before it spurred back up again.“

Middle-distance stars Jessica Hull and Stewart McSweyn have guaranteed their spots on the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics

Middle-distance star Jessica Hull has guaranteed herself a spot on the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics with a commanding victory in the women’s 5000 meters at the Melbourne Track Classic.

Hull, 23, surged to the front with 600 meters to go and powered away from Japan’s Hitomi Niiya to win in 15 minutes 06.12 seconds and claim her first national title.

As Hull had previously bettered the automatic qualifying mark, Thursday night’s victory saw her cement a spot in the Olympic squad.

“It is pretty surreal,” said Hull, who graduated last year from the University of Oregon and is now based in Phoenix.

“It’s been a long time, it’s been a dream and when you are a kid you think it is going to happen sooner.

“So in 2016 I was like ‘yeah, I’m going to Rio’ but obviously I was still young.

“But now in 2020 it is a reality and it is so exciting.”

Equally commanding was Stewart McSweyn, who became the first man in five years to complete the Australian 5000m/10,000m double.

Racing in a black armband in honor of his mentor and world athletics identity Maurie Plant, who died last month, McSweyn overcame some nervous moments before stamping his authority on Thursday night’s race.

He broke clear with five laps to go and powered away to win in 13 minutes 38.77 seconds.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I had to bring the A-game,” said the Tasmanian, who smashed the 10,000m record late last year at the Zatopek meet.

Brazier and Ali kick off World Athletics Indoor Tour with dominant victories in Boston

The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Tour began with national records and fantastic performances in Boston, as world champions Donavan Brazier and Nia Ali kicked off their Olympic campaigns with victories at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Saturday night (25).

Brazier, the world champion in the 800m, dominated the men’s 600m. In the final event of the evening, Brazier came through 400m in 49.62, and obliterated the field to win in a meeting record of 1:14.39. Brazier, who owns the world indoor best for the 600m with his 1:13.77 from last year’s US Indoor Championships, won by nearly six seconds from Michael Stigler.

“It feels great,” said Brazier, who was contesting his first race since the World Championships. “This is my tradition so far while being a professional. I’ve run at the Reggie Lewis Center four years straight now and I’ve come out with four wins in a row – so I might as well just keep coming back.”

Ali started her indoor season right where she left off, winning the 60m hurdles in 7.94. The world 100m hurdles champion pulled away over the final barrier to beat world indoor silver medallist Christina Clemons, who finished in 7.98.

“It means a lot to start off the season here,” said Ali after running her fastest 60m hurdles time since winning the 2016 world indoor title. “My family is able to get down and see me and I appreciate that. Especially being from the East coast. I know the crowd is always good to me, so I love it.”

In the women’s 1500m, Jessica Hull of Australia sat on the shoulder of Konstanze Klosterhalfen for 1450m before bursting to the front in the final straight to win in 4:04.14, taking more than two seconds off the Oceanian indoor record.

Klosterhalfen, the German athlete coming off a bronze medal in the 5000m at the World Championship in Doha, finished second in 4:04.38. Ciara Mageean finished third in 4:06.42 to break her own Irish indoor record.

In his first indoor race as a professional, Bryce Hoppel, who did not lose a race collegiately last year, nipped Jake Wightman at the line to win the 1000m in 2:17.41. Wightman, who set a British indoor record of 2:17.51, led going into the final lap, but Hoppel clocked a 27.1 final circuit pick up the win.

World indoor bronze medallist Bethwell Birgen of Kenya won a duel over Edward Cheserek, who announced this week he would be competing internationally for Kenya, in the 3000m. After the pacemaker stepped off the track with just over 1000m to go, Cheserek and Birgen traded the lead before Birgen unleashed a stunning final 300m, closing his last lap in 26.33 to take the win over Cheserek, 7:44.21 to 7:46.74.

In the women’s two miles, Elinor Purrier buried the competition over the final lap to win in 9:29.19 as 2017 world steeplechase champion, Emma Coburn, finished third.

Gabby Thomas blitzed a 36.52 to win the 300m. Thomas, a graduate of Harvard University, won the first heat by a wide margin and held on for the win after Shamier Little beat out Kendall Ellis in the second heat, 37.07 to 37.36.

“It was really great to compete at home, here in Boston,” Thomas said. “Especially this being my first year out of college and having that energy around me, it’s a really an amazing feeling.”

Chris O’Hare of Great Britain held off a hard-charging Nick Willis in the men’s mile, winning 3:59.62 to 3:59.89.

Demek Kemp won the 60m in 6.50, taking 0.05 off his personal best. Trayvon Bromell, running the 60m for the first time since winning the 2016 world indoor title at the distance, finished seventh in 6.84. Obi Igbokwe, a senior at the University of Houston, won the men’s 400m in 46.50.

In the field events, Pablo Torrijos of Spain kept his cool after four successive fouls in the men’s triple jump, eventually sailing out to 16.75m in the fifth round to seal the victory. Amina Smith of the US cleared 1.89m to win the women’s high jump.

The World Athletics Indoor Tour will next head to Karlsruhe, Germany, on 31 January, when athletes will continue to chase tour ranking points as well as wildcards for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 2020.

New team in town: Under Armour runs into Flagstaff

Living here, up where the air is rare and trails snake through mountains and traverse verdant valleys, means that you are as liable to see as many elite runners donning corporate-logoed singlets and compression socks around town as you are to spot locals wearing fleece and Birkenstock's.

Yeah, ho-hum, that’s Mo Farah doing squats at your gym. And isn’t that Sara Hall pounding out miles of the FUTS, and Edward Cheserek reeling off sub-50-second 400s at the end of a workout on NAU’s track? Then there’s that thundering herd of Hoka NAZ Elite runners, always striding down Lake Mary Road like so many sleek big cats roaming the savanna.

Flagstaff’s stable of professional runners, some full-time residents but many parachuting in for elevation training, now has grown even more robust — and not just because it soon will be an Olympic year. There’s a new team in town, a corporate-sponsored training group that is fast filling its ranks with numbers challenging NAZ Elite’s civic running hegemony.

The as-yet unnamed group — expect an official "branding" sometime soon — is funded and sponsored by the apparel and shoe company Under Armour. It is headed not by interlopers, but by two track and field veterans who have histories in Flagstaff.

Noted running agent Stephen Haas, who also coaches the likes of 17-time NCAA champ Cheserek, is the driving force behind the team’s formation. He’s been a Flagstaff regular for nearly a decade, first as a distance runner who came here to train, then as a sort of Sherpa for athletes represented by his agency, Total Sports US, and later for several years as executive director of Team Run Flagstaff.

Now Haas has ascended to running his own training group, under Under Armour’s auspices, while still looking after the approximately 45 athletes he represents worldwide, some of whom swoop in here for high-altitude camps and some, like Cheserek, who make Flagstaff home.

Haas is aided in this new venture by former UC Berkeley cross country and track coach Shayla Houlihan, who left Cal after seven seasons last spring. Houlihan, too, has a Flagstaff connection, having trained here earlier in the decade as a pro steeplechaser and then working for two years as a Team Run Flagstaff coach.

So, it’s something of a homecoming for the pair, though you will see a few new faces on the roads, trails and track no doubt wearing the UA logo. They include 2018 NCAA 10,000-meter champion Sharon Lokedi, 5,000-meter elite Rachael Schneider, miler Patrick Casey, 800-meter runner Baylee Mires, Irish marathoner Stephen Scullion and two promising middle-distance recruits fresh out of college, Blake Haney (Oregon) and Taryn Rawlings (Portland).

This new team, perhaps not yet boasting the championship pedigree of NAZ Elite, raises two questions: Is this town big enough for two year-round sponsored training groups, and, is Flagstaff reaching a saturation point when it comes to infrastructure for so many elite runners hitting town to train?

Haas doesn’t hesitate in answering.

“No,” he said. “The five minutes that we cross over in the gym with NAZ Elite is the only time we see NAZ Elite. We’re more track-based, so we’re on the track more than them. They’re on the road more than us. For whatever reason, we have different schedules.

“People ask me this all the time. Yes, there’s a lot of athletes who come to Flag, but if you’re not making the effort to connect with people, well, this is a place where you can be lost in the woods every day. You need to make connections.”

As a former elite runner and now agent, Haas is all about networking and building relationships. His career as an agent soared after being named Total Sports US’s client services coordinator. His stable of athletes include notable pros such as Cheserek, Olympians Shelby Houlihan (Shayla’s younger sister) and Hassan Mead, Olympic silver medalist Sally Kipyego and Rachel Cliff, Canada’s marathon and half-marathon record holder. Just recently, he has signed four-time NCAA champ Morgan McDonald and three-time NCAA titlist Jessica Hull, both Aussies, in addition to two-time NCAA 1,500-meter runner-up Justine Kiprotich, who runs for Hoka (though not NAZ Elite) and trains in Flagstaff.

Perhaps more important, at least to the success of the new team sponsored by Under Armour, is Haas’ connections in Flagstaff.

In his days as a distance runner, Haas shared a house with NAU cross country and track coach Michael Smith and the two remain friends. His tenure as executive director of Team Run Flagstaff, in Haas’ words, “gave me a community of people, friends, right away, a social circle.” His duties with TRF dealt with a lot of financial issues, such as gaining sponsorship, but he left the organization because his career as an agent and burgeoning coach was ascending.

“Team Run Flagstaff was great, but it wasn’t a great fit for me,” he said. “I liked more of the elite side of the running world.”

Even before heading TRF, Haas was spending enough time in Flagstaff to be considered a regular in the running community. Total Sports US eventually tasked him to make Flagstaff his home base, because “it seemed a lot of the work we were doing was helping athletes get settled in Flagstaff, get housing, get track access and physio (therapy).

Now that his role has widened, Haas finds himself in a potentially conflicting position. Unlike other top agents in the U.S. — say, Ray Flynn, Hawi Keflezighi or Josh Cox — who solely represent athletes, Haas is negotiating deals for clients with companies sponsoring teams that are direct competitors to the newly-formed Under Armour group.

“Now I’m dual recruiting for the agency, obviously, but also for the group, too,” he said. “It’s a unique situation. We could be interested in a (graduating college) kid who signs with another agency and that’s OK, too. It’s nice to have Shayla here because we can kind of separate a little bit. She can focus on recruiting for the group, and I can focus on recruiting for the agency. That gives the athlete a little more clarity as well. But I’m not closed off …I can work alongside as a coach (with) another agent that represents a kid that I want to recruit. I guess it could be counter-intuitive for the group, but my first and foremost job for any athlete we sign to Total Sports is to try to get them the best contract as possible. Justine is a perfect example.”

Kiprotich, who lost the NCAA 1,500-meter title last year by one one-thousands of a second, is a Haas client. Haas was negotiating an endorsement deal with Under Armour, the sponsor of the new Flagstaff team, for Kiprotich. But Hoka came in with a better offer and he signed with that brand. But instead of joining NAZ Elite or other Hoka teams, Kiprotich was allowed to move to Flagstaff and train under Haas.

“We’re lucky enough that Under Armour still allowed him to come here and train with us,” Haas said.

There’s a similar situation concerning Cheserek, who signed with Skechers. He trains in Flagstaff and jumps in occasionally to work out with the Under Armour athletes as well as other elites who hit town.

Houlihan’s role with the new training group is essential, Haas said, especially since he travels more than 200 days a year. Though a veteran Division 1 coach of both men and women, Houlihan is trying something new coaching pros. Then again, many of the athletes signed by Under Armour are in the early stages of their professional careers.

Jessica Hull’s decision to turn professional and leave Oregon with a collegiate season of outdoor track eligibility remaining was thoughtful and ultimately bittersweet, she said

The times she was running, the way she was progressing in her training, and the big meets on the calendar over the coming year — including the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo — all indicated the time was right for the redshirt junior from Australia to move on.

“You don’t want the opportunity to slip free,” Hull said. “You want to make the most of all that there is out there. Hopefully, the transition will be with eyes wide open and I learn as much as I can the next 12 months leading to Tokyo.”

The 22-year-old middle distance runner, who signed with an agent last week but not yet a shoe sponsor, leaves the Ducks as a four-time NCAA champion, seven-time all-American and two-time record-holder who is coming off the most impressive year of her career.

She opened her indoor season by resetting her school record in the mile in 4 minutes, 32.03 seconds. In her second race, she broke Jordan Hasay’s school record in the 3,000 meters with an 8:53.91 at the Husky Classic.

She went on to win NCAA Indoor titles in the 3,000 and distance medley relay.

During the outdoor season, she was the national leader in the 1,500 during the regular season at 4:12.08 and then topped that with a 4:09.90 at the NCAA West Preliminary meet.

She also became the fourth-fastest performer in Oregon history in the 5,000 with her 15:34.93 at the Stanford Invitational and a two-time Pac-12 champion in the 1,500.

She went into the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the defending champion but finished in second place despite running a personal-record and World Outdoor Championship qualifying time of 4:06.27 — more than two seconds faster than what she ran in 2018 to win the title.

It was also that performance that gave Hull the last bit evidence she needed to turn pro.

“It kind of solidified it,” said Hull, who is entered in summer school at Oregon to finish the last class she needs to complete her degree. “It definitely showed I was ready to mix it up with that level of competition. It was a bit of a confidence booster to see that I could do it. The way training was going, we knew those kinds of marks were there, I just hadn’t really been in a race to see that I could do it.”

Hull will get tested right away in her first race as a professional when she takes on a star-studded field in the 1,500 during the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday at Stanford’s Cobb Track & Angell Field.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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