Running News Daily

Mary Moraa confirms next assignment in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympics

Commonwealth Games 800m champion Mary Moraa has confirmed her next destination as she builds up steadily for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Reigning World 800m champion Mary Moraa has disclosed her next stop after a fruitful outing at the African Games where she bagged a gold medal in the 400m and propelled Team Kenya to a bronze medal in the 4x400m mixed relay.

Moraa will be eyeing her maiden appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris, France and also looking for a podium finish in the event which has very strong opponents waiting for her to descend on the starting line.

The Commonwealth Games champion has confirmed participation at the Kip Keino Classic, where she intends to showcase fireworks just like last year. This year’s event will be held at the Nyayo National Stadium and the likes of Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala and world leader Letsile Tebogo have already confirmed participation.

In a post on her Facebook page, Kisii Express said: “From African Games, I shift my gears to Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour.”

Moraa has been off to a good start to the season and she will hope to enjoy 2024 just like she did in 2023. The Kenyan was only beaten once in the 800m, at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting final, where she finished fourth.

In the race, Athing Mu won the trophy as Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule completed the podium.

This season, she has competed in the 400m unbeaten and her speed seems to be in perfect condition. At the Kip Keino Classic, Moraa will compete in her specialty, the two-lap race.

Michael Johnson gives Letsile Tebogo 400m advise after hitting Olympics qualifying time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The possibility is there- Usain Bolt discusses chances of Noah Lyles breaking his 200m world record

The world's fastest man Usain Bolt has opened up on the possibility of Noah Lyles breaking the 200m world record this season.

The world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, has for the first time opened up about the possibility of three-time World champion Noah Lyles breaking his 200m world record.

Bolt set the 200m world record of 19.19 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany where he also set the 100m world record of 9.58, with both records yet to be broken.

However, Lyles, the third-fastest man over the half-lap race wants to shatter the world record and make history this year. Lyles has become very vocal about going after the record and Bolt believes that the American is capable of breaking the record if he works on some things.

In an interview, the multiple Olympic champion admitted that there is a lot of competition in the 200m with the rise of other sprinters like wunderkind Letsile Tebogo and Erriyon Knighton, who are also forces to reckon with.

However, he admitted that it takes a lot of work to break a world record and if Lyles has to do it, he needs to put in more effort.

“I think the guys are really doing well and it’s intense…it’s not going to be easy because I think Noah feels like it was easy running two events but it wasn’t.

“I’ve said it before and I’m going to repeat that it’s never easy running back-to-back events and then going to break a world record because the body runs out of energy.

“I think the possibility is there because he came close to the world record at the World Championships.

“I feel like if he corrects a few things that I won’t say, he could get better because the possibility is there. I won’t tell you how to break the world record,” he said in an interview.

Lyles’s Personal Best time at the moment stands at 19.31 and he explained how he has been thinking about the 19.19 set by Bolt.

In a recent interview with CNN, Lyles said: “He was the fastest man ever to do it and soon, it’ll be me. When it was time to show up, he showed up, he got it done. I’m kind of more the guy who likes to assert his dominance throughout the whole year.”

How change of shoes helped youngster Letsile Tebogo smash world record

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noah Lyles returns to training with plans for explosive start to 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Letsile Tebogo is unfazed going to the Prefontaine Classic despite facing tough opposition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Stunning Moments at the World Track and Field Championships

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Rudisha reveals his favorite track athletes in Budapest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

100m world junior record holder suspended for doping

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18-year-old sprinter Issam Asinga breaks world junior 100m record

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

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

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

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

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

Jamaican sprinter Bouwahjie Nkrumie, 19, runs 100m in 9.99, setting U20 national record

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

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

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

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

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

World Athletics ratify Kipchoge’s marathon world record

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Records Ratified

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

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

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

Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs given the green light to chase the European 100m title in Munich 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A clash of youth and experience in the 200m

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo could be the next Usain Bolt

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

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

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

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

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

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

18-year-old U.S. sprint star Erriyon Knighton becomes fourth fastest man over 200m

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letsile Tebogo and Udodi Onwuzurike set the pace for Africa’s new generation of sprinters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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