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Why Noah Lyles prefers having gold medals to a world record

Noah Lyles has opened up on why he prefers winning many gold medals as compared to breaking world records.

Triple World champion Noah Lyles has admitted that he prefers having gold medals to world records despite being vocal about going for Usain Bolt’s 200m world record.

Lyles noted that having medals is a lifetime thing and they will be your forever unless one gets banned but world records usually come and go.

The two-time World champion explained that times are always shattered from time to time and they are not something he would prefer.

“I would rather have a gold medal because medals last forever as long as you don’t get banned but records will always be broken,” Lyles told the Letsrun.com podcast.

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Meanwhile, Lyles’ coach Lance Brauman also noted that he prefers gold medals to world records and explained that he also hopes Lyles thinks the same way.

“Once you’re an Olympic champion, you’re always an Olympic champion. World records are great, but it’s not what this sport should be about. The sport is a competition, the sport’s running against the other guys in the race,” said Brauman.

Concerning breaking the world record, Brauman believes that his 60m exploits in the indoor season open up the possibility of breaking Usain Bolt’s 19.19 world record in the 200m.

“Maybe he can run the world record, 19.15, 19.12, somewhere in that range, based on the same math, if I’m using it correctly.

“Will he do that? That’s hard to say. When you start talking that fast, there’s a lot of intangibles that you can’t control.

“Weather, time of year, environment, how tired are you from running three races before you get to that, which is five when you get to the final one,” the tactician noted.

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.”

Former NFL player offers world champion Christian Coleman $100,000 to run a 40-yard dash

The newly crowned world 60m champion, Christian Coleman, has been offered USD $100,000 to run a 40-yard dash at full speed. The challenge comes after a University of Texas Longhorns football player Xavier Worthy broke the NFL’s 40-yard dash record (36 metres) at the 2024 NFL Draft Combine on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Worthy, a wide receiver prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, ran a time of 4.21 seconds on his second of two attempts, breaking the record of 4.22 seconds set by former NFL wide receiver John Ross in 2017. Worthy’s time was instantly compared to the speed of the world’s fastest sprinters, and to prove a point, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III said he would give Coleman $100,000 to prove a point.

Coleman previously ran a 40-yard dash during his collegiate track career at the University of Tennessee in 2018, recording a mark of 4.12 seconds. Seven years later, Coleman now has three world sprint titles on his resume, and is widely considered one of the best starters in the world. The argument for Griffin III is that Coleman’s 40-yard dash would show the difference between NFL receivers and world-class sprinters.

On Friday, Coleman reclaimed his world 60m indoor title at the 2024 World Indoor Championships, beating Noah Lyles in the final in a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds. His winning time equates to an average speed of 21 mph (33 km/h) over 60m. When that speed is calculated for the 40-yard dash (36m), it equals a time of 3.90 seconds, well below Worthy’s mark.

Coleman has not come out and said whether he will take up Griffin III’s challenge, but considering it would be an easy way for him to make $100,000, I don’t see why he wouldn’t. Plus, he would settle the debate once and for all.

Noah Lyles denied world indoor sprint title in Glasgow

Noah Lyles’s bid to win the indoor/outdoor sprint triple came up short on Friday evening in Glasgow as he finished three-hundredths of a second behind his Team USA rival Christian Coleman in the men’s 60m final at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.

Coleman ran a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds to win the gold. Lyles finished second with a time of 6.44 seconds. Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake came third, running 6.46.

This is Coleman’s second career world indoor 60m title, and also redemption after losing to Lyles at last month’s U.S. Indoor Championships. Coleman got out to an explosive start and never looked back, holding off a charging Lyles in the final 10 meters.

This is Coleman’s second career world indoor 60m title, and also redemption after losing to Lyles at last month’s U.S. Indoor Championships. Coleman got out to an explosive start and never looked back, holding off a charging Lyles in the final 10 meters.

Despite losing to Coleman, Lyles was proud of his 60m world indoor silver medal. “I ran a PR and improved my 60m time; I am OK with this 6.44,” Lyles told Canadian Running. “This is the second-fastest time I’ve ever run, and people were saying I wasn’t a 60m guy–look at me now.”

Despite losing to Coleman, Lyles was proud of his 60m world indoor silver medal. “I ran a PR and improved my 60m time; I am OK with this 6.44,” Lyles told Canadian Running. “This is the second-fastest time I’ve ever run, and people were saying I wasn’t a 60m guy–look at me now.”

Coleman and Lyles will likely be the favourites to win the men’s 100m title in Paris, but Lyles wants more. “I want to win everything and break world records while doing it,” says Lyles. “That’s the goal.”

Noah Lyles, Ferdinand Omanyala cruise to 60m semifinal at World Indoor Championships

Noah Lyles and Ferdinand Omanyala have started their World Indoor campaign on a high, recording impressive times to proceed to the semifinal of the 60m race.

Triple World champion Noah Lyles and Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala have started their campaign at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, United Kingdom on a high.

Omanyala, competing in Heat 4, was in a class of his own as he clocked 6.52 to win ahead of Japan’s Shuhei Tada and Singapore’s Marc Louis who clocked national record times of 6.52 and 6.69 to finish second and third respectively.

On his part, two-time World Champion Lyles was also breathing fire as he led in his heat. The American, competing in Heat One, started off on a high and sprinted to the finish line, cutting the tape in 6.57.

Second-place finisher Jeff Erius of France clocked 6.63 to cross the finish line as Germany’s Alexander Askovic completed the podium in 6.66.

Heat Two was won by Sweden’s Henrik Larsson as Canada’s Malachi Murray finished second in 6.64. Turkey’s Kayhan Ozer sealed the podium.

Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme clocked a national record time of 6.54 in Heat Five with Denmark’s Simon Hansen finishing second in 6.61. Slovenia’s Anej Čurin Prapotnik finished third in 6.68.

60m world record Christian Coleman also led in his heat, clocking 6.49 to win the race ahead of the duo of Mario Burke and Akihiro Higashida.

Noah Lyles signs record-setting contract with Adidas

The world 100m and 200m champion, Noah Lyles, has signed a record-setting deal with Adidas that will run through the L.A. 2028 Olympics. The exact dollar figures have not been disclosed, but it has been dubbed the richest contract in track and field since the retirement of Usain Bolt.

Bolt’s contract with Puma in 2013 was estimated at around $10 million a year, and the deal took him to the end of his career, in 2017. Lyles’s new contract is likely in the ballpark.

Adidas has been Lyles’s sponsor since the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, when he finished fourth in the men’s 200m as a high school senior. Lyles has since become the world’s most dominant sprinter, winning three consecutive World Championships titles over 200m, breaking the 26-year-old American record in 2022 (19.31 seconds) and winning all three sprint gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He is only the fifth man to accomplish that feat, and the first since Bolt at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

“When I first signed with Adidas in 2016 along with my brother, Josephus, it was like a dream come true for us,” Lyles said in a press release. “Today is just a continuation of that childhood dream.” Lyles shared his vision of achieving all he can on and off the track, and his goal to make a change for future generations. “This is what drives me,” he said.

Lyles has had a fast start to the 2024 season, clocking a new personal best of 6.45 at the New Balance Grand Prix earlier this month, then following up his performance with a 60m win at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships in a world-leading 6.43 seconds, beating his compatriot and former 100m world champion Christian Coleman.

The 26-year-old is the favourite to win gold in the 100m and 200m at this summer’s Paris Olympics. (He has yet to win an Olympic gold medal.) He won bronze in the men’s 200m in Tokyo, losing to Canada’s Andre De Grasse and American Kenny Bednarek.

Along with Adidas, Lyles also has partnerships with Omega Watches, Celsius Fitness Drinks, Comcast and Visa.

Global champions Holloway, Moon and Lyles feature on USA's team for WIC Glasgow 24

The United States has named a team of 57 athletes for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 on March 1-3.

World and Olympic champions Ryan Crouser and Katie Moon head the men’s and women’s entries respectively. They will be joined by world champions Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway and Chase Jackson (nee Ealey).

Sandi Morris will defend her world indoor pole vault title, while world leaders Tara Davis-Woodhall, Yared Nuguse and Shelby McEwen also feature on the team.

US team for Glasgow

Women

60m: Celera Barnes, Mikiah Brisco, Aleia Hobbs

400m: Talitha Diggs, Alexis Holmes

800m: Addison Wiley, Allie Wilson

1500: Nikki Hiltz, Emily Mackay

3000m: Josette Andrews, Elle St Pierre

60m hurdles: Christina Clemons, Masai Russell

High jump: Vashti Cunningham

Pole vault: Katie Moon, Sandi Morris

Long jump: Tara Davis-Woodhall, Monae' Nichols

Triple jump: Jasmine Moore, Keturah Orji

Shot put: Maggie Ewen, Chase Jackson

Pentathlon: Chari Hawkins

4x400m: Quanera Hayes, Bailey Lear, Na'Asha Robinson, Maya Singletary, Jessica Wright

Men

60m: Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles

400m: Brian Faust, Jacory Patterson

800m: Isaiah Harris, Bryce Hoppel

1500m: Cole Hocker, Hobbs Kessler

300m: Olin Hacker, Yared Nuguse

60m hurdles: Trey Cunningham, Grant Holloway, Cameron Murray

High jump: Shelby McEwen, Vernon Turner

Pole vault: Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen

Long jump: Jarrion Lawson, Will Williams

Triple jump: Chris Benard, Donald Scott

Shot put: Ryan Crouser, Roger Steen

Heptathlon: Harrison Williams

4x400m: Chris Bailey, Trevor Bassitt, Matthew Boling, Paul Dedewo, Wil London

The amount Noah Lyles will pocket for beating Christian Coleman at US Indoor Championships

After his dominant exploits at the US Indoor Championships, Noah Lyles will not only debut at the World Indoor Championships but he will also bag some money from his exploits.

Two-time World 200m champion Noah Lyles will reap a good amount of money from his hard work at the just concluded US Indoor Championships.

Lyles beat world record holder Christian Coleman in the 60m to automatically qualify for the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland and he will be joined by the latter at the global showpiece.

He clocked an impressive world-leading time of 6.43 seconds, a personal best time, for his first win in four career 60m finals against Coleman.

After the race, Lyles said: “World domination. We the best in the world. I’m hyped, I’m beyond excited. It’s one thing to run fast but it’s another thing to run fast against the greatest in the world and that’s truly what happened here today. You know, everyone was excited about this matchup and I was excited about this matchup.”

The triple world champion will not only make his debut at the World Indoor Championships but will also receive a token of appreciation from the USA Track and Field. According to the organisers of the US Indoor Championships, winners of the final races will pocket approximately Ksh 850,000.

The second and third-place finishers will walk away with around Ksh 566,000 and Ksh 353,000 respectively while the athletes who finish fourth will pocket Ksh 212,000.

The athletes who finish fifth will walk away with around Ksh 141, 500. This means that Lyles will walk away with about Ksh 850,000 ($5842US)  while Coleman will pocket Ksh 566,000 ($3890US).

Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman set for major showdown at US Track & Field Indoor Championships

Noah Lyles and former world 100m champion Christian Coleman are set for an epic clash will at the US Track and Field Indoor Championships in New Mexico this weekend.

Multiple world champion Noah Lyles is set for a thrilling battle with former world 100m champion Christian Coleman at the US Track and Field Indoor Championships taking place in New Mexico this weekend.

Lyles, Coleman and 2020 World Indoor tour winner Ronnie Baker will be the star attractions in the 60m sprint showdown that also has the likes of Demek Kemp, Ray Wells with, Kendal Williams, Brandon Carnes, Coby Hilton, Pjai Austin, Lawrence Johnson, Zachaeus Beard and Kasaun James.

The three-time world 200m champion is fresh from winning the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, where he clocked a personal best of 6.44 seconds, and will line up as the athlete with the best time over 60m from the lot.

Lyles clocked 6.34 seconds, a world record in the event at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2018 while Baker managed a personal best time of 6.40 seconds, finishing behind Coleman and the three are set for an epic clash once more.

The 27-year-old claimed he is in good shape after winning in Boston while revealing his lofty ambitions for the World Indoor Championships set to take place in Glasgow, Scotland next month.

“World lead, meet record. Now let’s go out there and get a world indoor medal in Glasgow. Last year I went out there and won three gold medals. This year I want to get four. And if I don’t get four, I am going after three world records," he told the Guardian after the race.

Lyles is seeking to stay in great shape as he gears up for the Paris 2024 Olympics where he has declared his intentions to win up to four gold medals while also eyeing Usain Bolt’s 200m world record.

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.

Usain Bolt "not worried" about his world records being broken

Although it feels like just a few years ago that Usain Bolt won his third consecutive Olympic double in the 100m and 200m at the 2016 Olympics, it’s been almost seven years since he last competed professionally. Bolt retired as the biggest star in athletics, and still considers himself a fan of the sport.

In a recent interview with World Athletics, the eight-time Olympic champion was asked if he thinks his 100m and 200m world records will fall anytime soon. Bolt replied that he is “not worried” about that possibility.Bolt’s world record marks of 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 seconds in the 200m were both set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

“I’m not worried about any of them,” Bolt said regarding the times. “I think the hundred will be harder (to break) because it’s quicker. If you make a mistake during the race, you’re not going to get it. It’s a lot more technical.” The Jamaican sprinting icon told World Athletics that he knew he was going to break the world record in Berlin, because he was in excellent shape at the time.The 2022 100m world champion Fred Kerley and the current world champion Noah Lyles have been vocal about trying to chase Bolt’s records, but neither has come close.

Lyles, who was named as the 2023 World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year after winning three gold medals in Budapest, came within a tenth of a second of the 200m world record at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., running 19.31 seconds to win gold and set the American 200m record.

His time made him the third-fastest 200m runner in history behind the two Jamaicans: Bolt’s 19.19 and Yohan Blake’s 19.26.“Jamaica’s Yohan Blake to retire after Paris Olympics” — Canadian Running Magazine

Bolt’s 100m record of 9.58 has gone untouched for 14 years and 4 months, and on May 8, 2024, he will surpass U.S. sprinter Jim Hines to become the athlete who has held the 100m world record the longest. Hines was the first sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in 1968 and held the 100m world record for 14 years, 8 months and 19 days, until another American sprinter, Calvin Smith, lowered his mark by two-hundredths of a second in 1983.

No sprinter has run under 9.75 seconds since 2015. The 37-year-old said he enjoys still being referred to as the fastest man ever, and it’s something he will never get tired of hearing. “It’s a great title to have. It’s something that I enjoy hearing and I enjoy knowing,” said Bolt.

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.

Usain Bolt remains undaunted about his world records being broken

The world's fastest man Usain Bolt remains unfazed about any athlete breaking his two world records.

Double (100m and 200m) world record holder Usain Bolt remains unfazed about anyone breaking his world records.

The fastest man in the whole world set the 100m world record of 9.58 and the 200m world record of 19.19 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany and they are yet to be shattered.

Many sprinters have been bullish about breaking the world records but Bolt believes it will be difficult to break his records. Some of the athletes targeting the world records include triple world champion Noah Lyles, Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, and former World champion Fred Kerley.

Kerley has a Personal Best time of 9.76 while Omanyala, the reigning Commonwealth Games Champion has a Personal Best of 9.77. On his part, Lyles ran his Personal Best of 9.83 in the semifinal of the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

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“I knew I was going to break the world record because I was in such good shape at the time and I was running great throughout the season. Not worried about any of them. 

"I think the hundred is going to be harder because it’s quicker and if you make a mistake during the race you’re not going to get it. It’s a lot more technical so I think maybe the hundred is going to go last,” Bolt said in an interview with World Athletics.

The multiple Olympic champion also commented on still being known as the fastest man ever as well as his relationship with the fans over the years.

“It’s a great title to have. It’s something that I enjoy hearing and I enjoy knowing. It’s always been so beautiful for me. They give me so much energy.

"I remember even through the World Championships in the pandemic I was like I could not compete in this. By myself in the stadium, I could not because I live so much for the energy and the vibes,” he said.

Ferdinand Omanyala shares secret on how to achieve top-three finish in a race

The African record-holder has shared a tip on how an athlete can make it to the podium.

Reigning Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala has explained what it takes to get on the podium of any assignment as an athlete.

The 27-year-old has been the epitome of hard work, sharing snippets of his training as he gears up for the World Indoor Championships and the Olympic Games among other events.

Sharing a training video on his X (Twitter) handle, the African record holder captioned it saying: “Consistency to performance is what pressure is to diamond....it takes lots of work across many training variables to finally step on that podium!

"The most important thing is getting back up after a fall. If it does not kill you it will make you stronger.”

Meanwhile, the African champion has enjoyed a great 2023 season, with the only major setback being the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

At the global showpiece, Omanyala was off to a good start in the heats and semifinal but faltered in the final where he ended up finishing seventh.

However, he recorded big wins including becoming the first Kenyan to win the Diamond League Meeting in the 100m in Monaco. Omanyala also finished third at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting final.

He also ended the season as the fourth-fastest sprinter in the world behind triple World champion Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman, and Zharnel Hughes.

American legend Michael Johnson left puzzled by World Athletics’ Awards decision

Johnson is puzzled by the decision to name six different individuals as World Athletes of the Year for the first time in history.

American sprint legend Michael Johnson has criticised World Athletics’ decision to hand the Athlete of the Year award to six different individuals terming it “a bad idea”.

The organisation made an odd decision to have six different categories, rather than the usual holistic award given to the best athlete of the year in both the male and female categories regardless of specialty.

The adaptation of the World Athlete of the Year honours awarded this year follows feedback received during the voting process. 

When it came to compiling the votes, athletes, fans and World Athletics Family members commented that it was incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete, because of the various disciplines and the vast differences in skill sets required.

As a result, the 2023 World Athlete of the Year awards have been divided into three event categories: track, field, and out of stadia.

This has generated plenty of debate and division of opinions among many track and field runners, and Johnson, a four-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion, remains puzzled by the decision.

“Am I the only person who thinks having six athletes of the year is a bad idea? Am I missing something?” Johnson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The 56-year-old has however admitted that there is some sense behind the decision having seen that the award recognises different categories.

“Just saw it is track, field, and out of stadia categories. So maybe it makes sense.”

Tigist Assefa, Mondo Duplantis, Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon, Noah Lyles and Yulimar Rojas were the six individuals announced as World Athletes of the Year for 2023.

Assefa, Duplantis, Kiptum and Kipyegon set world records in their respective events in 2023, while all six World Athletes of the Year secured world titles or major marathon wins.

World Athletics faces backlash for last-minute change to Athlete of the Year Awards

After months of discussion and voting on World Athletics’ social media pages for their prestigious World Athlete of the Year Award, the governing body of running/track and field did something no one could have predicted at the awards night on Monday in Monaco. For the first time in 35 years, the award was given to three men and three women, and fans across the sport are outraged.

Instead of giving out a men’s and women’s World Athlete of the Year award, as they’ve done in the past, they divided it into three categories: Track Athlete of the Year, Field Athlete of the Year, and Non-Stadia Athlete of the Year. Faith Kipyegon and Noah Lyles won the Track award, while pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and triple jumper Yulimar Rojas won the Field award. Non-Stadia accolades went to the men’s and women’s new world record holders, Kelvin Kiptum and Tigist Assefa.

Online comments

The Internet was not impressed with World Athletics changing the format at the last minute (after the voting). Many thought deserving athletes like Kipyegon, Lyles and Kiptum were robbed of their glory and success. “What is the point of having finalists if everybody wins some category that wasn’t announced prior? It should have been clear you have categories from the start, not on the final day,” a fan tweeted.

“Such a useless ceremony,” tweeted another fan. Track and field sprint legend Michael Johnson even tweeted, “Am I the only person who thinks having six athletes of the year is a bad idea? Am I missing something?”

World Athletics’ reasoning

World Athletics said its decision to divide the award into three categories came from fans and council members, who commented that it was “incredibly hard” to limit the vote to just one athlete. That is what people say when they have a tough decision to make, meaning that World Athletics chose highly deserving finalists–not that they want to split the award. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe took it differently: “The depth of talent and the outstanding performances in our sport this year more than justify the expansion of the World Athletics Awards to recognize the accomplishments of these six athletes across a range of disciplines. It is only fitting that they be recognized as the athletes of the year in their respective fields,” Coe said in a press release.

Poor communication from World Athletics

When World Athletics named the 10 nominees for the award in late October, they did not indicate they were planning to divide the award three ways. Even when they narrowed it down to five finalists, there was no indication it would be split. Most fans would have been OK with three AOTY awards if they had known during the voting process that that would be the case.

In a sport that is always looking to grow and garner more attention, going against the grain of the community and fan votes is not a way to attract new people to the sport, especially heading into an Olympic year. Although it’s easy to understand World Athletics’ reasoning for splitting the award–it’s hard to compare athletes of different disciplines, especially since a pole vaulter like world champion Duplantis can only win accolades in one discipline, whereas Lyles or Kipyegon could win medals in two or three events. Still, World Athletics had three opportunities to inform the public they would be splitting the awards this year, and I am sure fewer fans would be disappointed in the outcome.

Imagine watching the Super Bowl and seeing them hand out an offensive, defensive and special teams MVP. It would make the award meaningless.

Britain’s world 1500m champion Josh Kerr returns to New York targeting fast two miles

Britain’s world 1500m champion Josh Kerr will headline the men’s two mile field when he returns to the Millrose Games, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event, for the fifth time on February 11.

Kerr, the Olympic bronze medallist, ran 3:48.87 for the mile in Boston in 2022 and sits fourth on the world indoor all-time list for the discipline. He will look to make a similar statement in the two-mile event when he races at The Armory in New York in February.

He won the 3000m at this year’s Millrose Games, his season opener, in 7:33.47 and went on to take the world 1500m title in Budapest. Kerr was second in the Millrose Games mile in 2022, while he was also second and fourth in that discipline in New York in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The world indoor two-mile best is 8:03.40, set by Britain’s Mo Farah in Birmingham in 2015.

“There's going to be a fantastic field and it will be paced at the two-mile world record,” Kerr told CitiusMag. “Currently, I'm in fantastic shape. I'm having an amazing fall and dealing with everything new and everything that's exciting, amazing and also terrible about being a world champion. I'm very excited for it.”

More than 50 meetings feature on the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour calendar, including seven Gold level events, in a season that culminates with the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.

Other athletes already confirmed for next year’s Tour include world gold medallists Noah Lyles, Jake Wightman and Gabby Thomas, who will all compete at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on February 4.

Shericka Jackson opens up on mental health struggles and depression

Jackson has admitted to being ‘depressed’ growing up as she did not experience much love growing up.

Jamaican sprint sensation Shericka Jackson has opened up on her dark past as she spoke about her mental health experiences that took all of her admirers and the track world by surprise.

Jackson expressed how her childhood was typically not normal, admitting she did not witness much love while growing up, which has made it difficult for her to express her love.

Speaking in the trailer of an upcoming exclusive interview with Track Spice, she admitted she was “depressed” on several occasions while growing up which led to her aggressive behavior as a coping mechanism.

 “I was struggling mentally. I was depressed. I never grew up in a lot of love,” Jackson said.

“I am very aggressive but still protective. A Lot of people do not understand me.”

Jackson has admitted that forging a relationship with God has helped her to be happier.

“Having a relationship with God, it helps me to be happier.”

It is not the first time Jackson has openly revealed how her faith has helped her overcome mental challenges like stress.

Recently, she revealed a list of ways in which she handles stress when a fan asked her ‘How do you manage stress?’ during her Instagram Q&A (question and answer) session. 

“So many ways but I keep God in the center of it all. Pray a lot, BAWL a lot, I also go to therapy so that helps me a lot. I document how I feel most days so when I'm under a little stress I know what to do. Plus my friends are my free therapy” Shericka Jackson wrote along with a red heart emoji.

Despite all these, she did not fail to achieve massive milestones on and off the track. Her recent accolade from her alma mater is a testament to that.

The Jamaican sprinting sensation concluded her 2023 season with a token of respect from the University of Technology in Jamaica.

The 29-year-old was conferred with an honorary doctorate from the university. The 200m World Champion was praised in front of all her admirers who roared in cheers after she received her prize at the podium.

She has found a close-knit circle of friends that also includes Noah Lyles’ girlfriend Junelle Bromfield. Garnered with all their love Shericka Jackson is achieving volumes, getting past her dark days. 

Noah Lyles reveals what he would have become if not for athletics

Noah Lyles' sponsor Adidas have appreciated him over a recent clip where he revealed that if he had not been an athlete he would have been an artist.

Triple world champion Noah Lyles has disclosed that if he would not have carved out a career in athletics, he would be an artist.

During a ‘Never Have I Ever’ game with Meta endurance news, Lyles disclosed that he has done many different types of art and he would definitely be somewhere painting or singing if he would not be an athlete.

“I was going to be an artist before being an athlete…I’ve done many different types of art. Actually, I went to a school for the arts when I was in middle school. I was really going to be an artist,” Lyles said.

In the video posted on Instagram, Adidas commented saying: “Lucky for us all, he turned out to be a world champion.”

Meanwhile, Lyles has made headlines this season where he was unbeaten in the 200m. Lyles also bagged double gold, in the 100m and 200m, at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The American also propelled the 4x100m relay team to victory at the Hungarian capital.

He finished second behind compatriot Christian Coleman in the 100m at the Diamond League Meeting final, Prefontaine Classic.

Aside from showcasing his talent on the track, Lyles has also modeled for top brands including Hugo Boss, and has managed to earn millions from his stunning sense of fashion.

World champion Noah Lyles wins award for best U.S. track and field athlete for third time

The world 100m and 200m champion is only the second U.S. athlete to win the Jesse Owens Award three times.

The 2023 season has been one to remember for double sprint world champion, Noah Lyles, who became the first sprinter since the renowned Usain Bolt in 2015 to win both the 100m and 200m events at a World Athletics Championships. On Wednesday, he added one more award to his impressive list of accolades, winning the 2023 Jesse Owens Award for the best U.S. male track and field athlete.

This is Lyles’s third time winning the prestigious award given annually by the U.S.A. Track and Field (USATF), putting him in elite company with only Michael Johnson as the only other athlete to win the award three times.

Lyles was the most dominant sprinter in the world this year, winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay this past summer at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The three world titles were added to the previous three he won at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 200m and in 2019 in the 200m and 4x100m relay.

“It’s an honor to receive my third Jesse Owens Award and to be associated with such a legendary athlete,” said Lyles in his acceptance speech. “I want to thank USATF for this award, as well as my coach, Lance Brauman, my family and everyone who supported me on this historic season. I couldn’t have done this alone and I can’t wait to pick up right where we left off for 2024.”

The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award was also awarded by the USATF to the top female athlete of the year, which went to newly-crowned world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson is the first female 100m sprinter to win the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award since Carmelita Jeter in 2011.

Richardson and Lyles were both nominees for World Athletics’ Athlete of the Year. Lyles was announced as one of the five finalists for the award earlier this week. 

World Athletics unveils finalists for 2023 World Athlete of the Year

On Tuesday, the finalists for the 2023 World Athlete of the Year award were unveiled on World Athletics’ social media pages. This award showcases the remarkable performances of the 2023 season that captivated the track and field audience.

The 10 finalists, representing eight countries, have left their mark on the world of athletics. Their stellar accomplishments spanned various disciplines, from triumphs at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest to setting world records at one-day meeting circuits, road races and other prestigious events across the globe.

Here are the five male and five female finalists.

Male finalists:

Neeraj Chopra (IND) – Javelin

World champion

Asian Games champion

Ryan Crouser (USA) – Shot Put

World champion

World record holder (23.56 meters)

Mondo Duplantis (SWE) – Pole Vault

World champion

Diamond League champion with a world record (6.23 meters)

Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) – Marathon

London and Chicago Marathon winner

Men’s marathon world record (2:00:35)

Noah Lyles (USA) – 100m/200m

World 100m and 200m champion (first man to win the double at worlds since 2015)

Undefeated in six finals at 200m

Female finalists:

Tigist Assefa (ETH) – Marathon

Berlin Marathon winner

Women’s marathon world record holder (2:11:53)

Femke Bol (NED) – 400m/400m hurdles

World 400m hurdles champion

World indoor 400m record holder (49.26 seconds)

Shericka Jackson (JAM) – 100m/200m

World 200m champion and 100m silver medalist

Diamond League 100m and 200m champion

Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 1,500m/Mile/5,000m

World 1,500m and 5,000m champion

Set world records over 1,500m, mile and 5,000m (3:49.11/4:07.64/14:05.20)

Yulimar Rojas (VEN) – Triple Jump

World champion

Diamond League champion

The finalists were chosen through a three-way voting process involving the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family and track and field fans online. Fans had the opportunity to cast their votes online through World Athletics’ social media platforms, contributing to a record-breaking two million votes.

Canadian decathlon world champion Pierce LePage was one of the 11 nominees for the award but did not advance from the voting process. Voting concluded on October 28.

The World Athletes of the Year award will be named on Dec. 11, as part of the 2023 World Athletics Awards in Monaco.

Kelvin Kiptum, Noah Lyles among 11 men shortlisted for World Athlete of the Year Award

World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum will battle it out for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year Award with 10 other athletes, including world 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles

World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum has been shortlisted for the World Athletics’ Men’s World Athlete of the Year Award.

Kiptum, who ran an astonishing 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, is among 11 male athletes who had an outstanding 2023 season who have made the shortlist.

The 23-year-old has made the list after winning in Chicago and breaking Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by 34 seconds as well as claiming victory at the London Marathon in April, when he clocked 2:01:25, the second fastest time in history at the time.

Kiptum will battle it out for the prestigious award with American Noah Lyles, the world 100m and 200m champion who was undefeated in six finals at 200m.

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the world 5,000m champion and 1,500m silver medalist, who is also the European record holder in 1,500m, mile and 3,000m, is also among those shortlisted as well as Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the world 3,000m steeplechase champion, who was undefeated in six finals in 2023.

World javelin and Asian champion Neeraj Chopra from India, American Ryan Crouser, the world shot put champion and record holder, American-born Swede Mondo Duplantis, who is the world pole vault champion, and Decathlete Pierce LePage from Canada are also on the list.

World walking race champion Alvaro Martin from Spain, Miltiadis Tentoglou, the world long jump champion, and 400m hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm complete the 11-man shortlist.

A three-way voting process will determine the finalist wit the World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family casting their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.

Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube this week; a 'like' on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on X will count as one vote.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50 per cent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25 per cent of the final result.

Voting for the World Athletes of the Year will close on October 28. At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics on 13-14 November. The winners will be revealed on World Athletics’ social media platforms on 11 December.

Kiptum will be seeking to join Kipchoge and David Rudisha as the Kenyan men to have won the prestigious award while multiple world champion Faith Kipyegon seeks to become the first woman from the country to be feted.

He Qualified for Team USA. Then Came the Bill.

Even as trail and ultrarunning explode, the spoils of professionalization aren’t spread equally across the sport. Athletes on this year’s U.S. 24-hour team are looking to change that

Scott Traer qualified for his first U.S. national team more than a decade ago in 2012. He was new to the sport and naive about what it took to compete at the international level—even after being selected as one of the country’s best athletes in the 24-hour discipline, a niche tributary of trail and ultrarunning where athletes complete as many laps around a track as possible within 24 hours.

While the 24-hour race format may seem eccentric, well-known names like Courtney Dauwalter, Kilian Jornet, and Camille Heron have dabbled in the ultra-track scene. International governing bodies regulate the discipline with USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, cross country, road running, race walking, and mountain-ultra-trail (MUT) disciplines, overseeing the American contingent. 

Traer, then 31, was working odd construction jobs in and around Boston to make ends meet while training when he got the call from USATF that he had been selected for Team USA.

“I was really excited,” says Traer. “Then, I found out that I had to pay for everything. So I was like, ‘Forget about it.’” 

That financial reality took the wind out of Traer’s sails. He didn’t have the disposable income to foot the bill for international travel and didn’t have paid time off from his jobs. While he was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to represent his country in 2012, he was still determined to pursue his dream of chasing a career in coaching and racing. 

Now, Traer, 42, is a full-time coach living near Phoenix and working with the Arizona-based event organization Aravaipa Running as an assistant race director. He has earned top accolades in the sport, including a course record at the Javelina 100K and a Golden Ticket to Western States at the Black Canyons 100K, eventually leading to a top-ten finish at the Western States Endurance Run. 

True to his blue-collar roots, he is known for racing in unbranded gear, typically a long-sleeve, white SPF shirt unbuttoned and flapping in time with his stride. Ten years after making his first 24-hour team, he re-qualified for the opportunity to compete for the U.S. again, this time for the 2023 IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Taiwan (which international sports federating bodies officially refer to as Chinese Taipei), on December 2. 

The catch: USATF is only providing a stipend of $600 to Team USA athletes.

Oregon ultrarunner Pam Smith has competed on Team USA seven times in the 24-hour and 100K world championship events. Now, she’s serving as the Team USA manager to help steward the next generation of ultra athletes. But that passion has come at a cost. 

“I estimate I’ve spent around $10,000 in personal funds to be able to compete at the world championships and to represent the USA at these events,” says Smith, 49, who finished fourth at the 2019 IAU World Championships in France. “USATF does pay for the manager’s travel expenses, but there is no other compensation; in fact, the managers have to use their own funds to cover some fees, like membership dues and background checks.”

It might surprise fans of the sport that many of their favorite athletes are paying significant money to sport the red, white, and blue uniform—and that many can’t compete because they cannot shoulder the cost. The U.S. is known for strong 24-hour runners, and the men’s and women’s teams both won gold at the previous IAU 24-Hour World Championships in 2019 in Albi, France, with two individual podium spots. 

“The U.S. has many of the best 24-hour runners in the world,” says Smith. “It’s a shame that these athletes don’t even get their airfare covered.”

While Smith’s airfare is covered, her work and that of her colleagues is presumed to be done on a volunteer basis. (A quick online search shows a flight to Chinese Taipei from most U.S. cities costs in the $1,500-$2,400 price range.)

Trail running, particularly the elite side of the sport, is at an inflection point. While some races dole out prize money, and a select few athletes at the top of the sport command respectable salaries, most runners at the elite level rely on a scattershot combination of brand partnerships and personal funding to float their racing. While the sport’s very best athletes are well compensated professionals, most “sponsored” trail runners earn between $10,000 and $30,000 per year. Between travel, gear, nutrition, and other expenses, many runners at the elite level are fronting their own cash to compete. 

When Chad Lasater qualified for Team USA after a strong run at the Desert Solstice 24-Hour Race, he hadn’t planned on making the team. But, when he found out he’d qualified, he started looking into the logistics and was shocked to discover he’d be responsible for paying his way to Taipei. 

“The cost of airfare, lodging, food, and time away from work can be significant, especially when traveling to somewhere like Taipei,” says Lasater, 51, from Sugar Land, Texas. “I feel that everyone should have an equal opportunity to be on the U.S. team, and the cost of traveling to the world championships should not preclude anyone from accepting a spot on the team. We should really be sending our best 24-hour athletes to the world championships, not the best athletes who can afford to travel.”

Teams that rely on individual brands or athletes to foot the bill will prefer runners with sponsorships or disposable income and can afford to take time off work and pay for childcare. 

At the top of the sport, like the world championships, it’s routine to see completely unsponsored runners competing with no brand affiliation, especially in the eccentric realm of 24-hour track events. Even some sponsored runners don’t always get their travel expenses covered. 

While a world championship event is certainly a big deal, it doesn’t command the same fanfare and media attention as other marquee events, like the Western States Endurance Run or Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, where many brands prefer to focus their resources. 

Jeff Colt, a 32-year-old professional ultrarunner for On who lives in Carbondale, Colorado, publicly debated the merits of returning to Western States in California this year or competing in the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria in early June. (The trail running world championships and 24-hour world championships are different events, but the Team USA athletes who compete in each one face similar challenges when it comes to funding and market value to brands.) He ultimately decided to claim his Golden Ticket and compete at States. More eyeballs on the event mean a higher return on the investment for running brands, which in turn elevates athletes’ value to their sponsors 

“My sponsor, On, was clear that they supported my decision either way, but they were more interested in me running Western States,” says Colt. “And rightfully so. There’s a lot of media attention at races like States and UTMB, which allow brands to activate and get visibility for their logo. That support feels good as an athlete, too. It’s not just better for the brand.”

Nike has an exclusive partnership with USATF; all athletes competing at any world championship event in the mountain-ultra-trail disciplines (as well as the Olympics and World Athletics Championships for track and field and the marathon) must wear Nike-issued Team USA uniforms that are provided to the athletes free of charge, with the exception of shoes. Any photos or videos of professional runners at these events are less valuable to competing running brands because their athletes will appear bedecked in another company’s logo. This disincentivizes many brands from investing in unsponsored athletes’ travel expenses and limits athletes’ ability to get financial support, most of which currently comes from shoe and apparel brands in the trail running industry. And if athletes cannot compete because of illness or injury, they must return parts of the kit. Even if they keep the kit, many sponsored runners’ contracts prohibit them from training and racing in the gear, so it gathers dust at the back of their closets. 

Arizona runner Nick Coury, preparing to compete on his third U.S. 24-hour team, says this contract limits the economic opportunities of unsponsored athletes—partially because it disallows an athlete to place another sponsor’s logo on the Nike gear. 

“This is especially upsetting to many because Nike provides large sums of money to USATF for this arrangement, yet neither passes through significant support to national teams despite USATF being a nonprofit aimed at ‘driving competitive excellence and popular engagement in our sport,’” says Coury, 35, from Scottsdale, Arizona. “USATF is taking money from Nike, restricting elite athletes to fund themselves through sponsorship, and doing little to nothing to encourage a competitive national team.”

One athlete, sharing anonymously, reported selling parts of their Nike kit to help offset travel expenses. “It’s the same kit [100-meter and 200-meter track and field superstar] Noah Lyles wears, so it’s super valuable.”

Traer thinks it’s unfair that athletes are forced to wear Nike gear and render free labor supporting a huge company, especially when the 24-hour team isn’t fully funded. Lyles, an Adidas athlete who won the 100-meter dash at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, had to wear Nike gear while warming up and racing, too. But his travel and expenses were paid in full by USATF, and his Adidas relationship benefits because track and field stars get considerably more exposure than ultrarunners. Furthermore, in track and field, the world championships serve as a prelude to the biggest running event on the calendar, the Olympics, which take place every four years and attract an expansive viewership that reaches far beyond hardcore running fans.

“It bothers me because Nike is making a huge amount of money,” Traer says. “I don’t want to hear that there isn’t enough money to support athletes because I see smaller brands in our sport that have less money doing a much better job supporting athletes.” 

Nancy Hobbs is the chairperson of the USATF Mountain and Ultra Trail Running Council, the division of USATF that oversees the U.S. 24-Hour Team. Her executive committee has been discussing more equitable distribution of funds. Initially, funding was based on the number of years the championships had been held and how many athletes were attending. 

Ultimately though, it comes down to the relatively small amount of Nike money that USATF allocates to the USATF MUT Running Council.

“With a certain amount of money in the budget, we could choose to send fewer athletes (i.e., just a scoring team with no spares in case of injury, etc.), but the council discussion has been on the importance of fielding a full team with some additional athletes for attrition and providing more athletes an opportunity to compete internationally (provided they qualify for the team based on selection criteria),” says Hobbs. 

Though the compensation for mountain-ultra-trail athletes may feel low, it is significantly higher than in the past. In 1999, a mere $250 was distributed to each MUT subcommittee, totaling $750 for all 1999 expenses. In 2013, MUT teams received $25,000 in funding for travel. This year, $83,000 was distributed across all of the teams it sends to international championships for MUT disciplines. 

“We’ve come a long way with MUT since 1998,” says Hobbs. “We have more work to do. This is a volunteer-driven group which is passionate about our sport and trying to provide athletes opportunities through championships, teams, and programs within the structure of USATF.”

Coury qualified for his third U.S. 24-hour team in 2021 and broke the American 24-hour record. He’s had to fund his travel out of pocket for all three international appearances. He says the lack of funding limits the team’s ability to compete on the world stage. 

“I’ve found it extremely challenging to train for a 24-hour event while holding a full-time job, as have others, and I know I haven’t and won’t hit my personal potential as a result,” says Coury. “We’ve seen an explosion in the competitiveness and interest in trail races, and part of that is the ability for ultrarunners to make a living as professional athletes. We see very few runners in the 24-hour space who can go professional, which reflects in our team’s competitiveness.”

While Team USA won both gold medals in 2019, international competition is escalating. Coury says opening up additional funding would help draw elites and strong amateurs alike to try their hand at the 24-hour format, which would help Team USA’s standing on the world stage. 

“Athletes like Courtney Dauwalter and Camille Herron have represented Team USA multiple times and been key to our results,” says Coury. “Yet I am certain they must weigh training, qualifying, and representing Team USA against the sponsorship opportunities in trail ultrarunning, where financial support is much greater. I imagine there would be more interest from some of our most capable athletes if we had a better financial story around the team, providing a path for it to fund an athlete’s career instead of costing out of pocket. Given the prospects of making a living at a trail race versus paying to represent Team USA, I’m positive we’re discouraging some of our best athletes from even wanting to try.”

In previous years, Team USA has resorted to raising money through bake sales and selling T-shirts to raise funds for the team’s travel expenses. Past team captain Howard Nippert made and sold ice bandanas to support the team. This year’s captain Smith is hosting fundraising dinners. Coury says that the ultrarunning community has stepped up to support the team where traditional funding has failed. 

“It reminds me in some ways of the amateur athlete situation back in the 1970s, where representing your country came at a significant financial burden and really made athletes reconsider it,” says Coury. “Why isn’t USATF making it desirable to train and compete for Team USA? Why is it seemingly doing the opposite?”

The 24-hour team is at a crossroads: either it will receive adequate funding and support to send the best team possible to the world championships, or it will maintain this status quo while Team USA falls further and further behind on the international stage. Traer has launched a petition on Change.org to draw attention to the funding issue and is determined to sound the alarm about how a lack of funding holds athletes and all of Team USA back. 

“No one should have to decide that they made Team USA but can’t afford to pay to wear their country’s flag,” says Traer. “If an athlete earns their spot on the team, they should get the support they need to compete. End of story.”

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.

Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles ready to blaze track at 2023 Prefontaine Classic

The 2023 Prefontaine Classic will feature star sprinters Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles competing in the 100-meter races.

Two sprinters who have been setting the world of athletics ablaze in 2023, Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles, are poised to ignite the track in their respective 100m  races at this year's highly anticipated Prefontaine Classic. 

This electrifying event, which doubles as the Wanda Eugene Diamond League Final, will take place on Saturday, September 16, in the iconic city of Eugene, Oregon. 

Sha’Carri Richardson, fresh off her remarkable triumph at the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships where she secured the 100m  title, declared confidently, "I’m not back. I’m better." 

Richardson, who has been making waves both on and off the track, continued to showcase her undeniable talent by clinching gold in the 100m  and 4x100m relay, as well as a bronze in the 200m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

 With two World Championship titles under her belt, Richardson is now poised to extend her reign of success at the upcoming Prefontaine Classic.

On the other side of the sprinting spectrum, Noah Lyles is a force to be reckoned with. Fresh from a sensational performance at the World Athletics Championships, where he clinched gold medals in the 100m , 200m, and 4x100m relay events, Lyles is now setting his sights on a new accolade. 

While he has already amassed four Wanda Diamond League Champion trophies in the 200m category, spanning the years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022, Lyles is hungry for his first-ever 100m title at the Diamond League Final.

 His wind-legal personal best of 9.83 seconds this season has earned him the coveted top spot in the global rankings for the event, making him a formidable contender in the world of sprinting.

Fans can expect an evening of high-speed drama, record-breaking potential, and nail-biting competition as Richardson and Lyles go head to head in the 100-meter races.

The Prefontaine Classic is scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM East Africa time on Saturday September 16.

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.

The Big Money Behind This Year’s World Athletics Championships

From prize money to ticket prices to betting lines—there’s a lot of cash at stake.

The World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 are set to kick off on August 19, with more than 2,000 athletes from 200 countries vying for the top spots and the prize money that comes with them. Those cash prizes aren’t the only money at stake throughout the competition, though, as ticket prices and betting lines for the nine-day event will also command a lot of attention.

Tickets can be purchased from the meet’s official website, and they are available for 14 sessions, including five morning sessions and nine evening sessions. Six events will take place outside the stadium in Budapest’s city center, including race walking and marathon events, which are free of charge.

Prices for the morning session tickets for Categories One to Four are 3,000 HUF (about $8.50), while premium and premium finish line tickets for the morning sessions are 6,900 HUF ($20). For the evening tickets, the prices will differ between days and categories. Ticket packages are also available; the most expensive will run you 1,958,000 HUF (or just under $5,600) for all nine days. The stadium seats 36,000 spectators.

A lot of money is sure to be made off betting, which continues to gain steam in the U.S., with many now-legal sportsbooks having set odds for the 200-meter race. Unibet Sportsbook has given Noah Lyles the most favored odds at -286, making him their clear favorite to win. Bettors hoping for a longshot should place their bets on Italian Filippo Tortu, who has the longest odds at +25000.

As for the athletes themselves, they’ll be hoping to win a part of the $8,498,000 total prize money being offered this year, in addition to a special prize of $100,000 to be awarded to an athlete should they also set a world record at the event. For individual events, the prize money starts at $5,000 for eighth place and up to $70,000 for the gold. Meanwhile, relay teams will earn between $4,000 and $80,000 per team.

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).

Netflix to release track and field documentary on world-class sprinters

Netflix is set to launch a new documentary series focused on 100m and 200m sprinters on the Diamond League circuit, featuring some of the world’s most renowned sprinters. According to The Daily Mail, the show will follow the journey of several elite sprinters like world champions Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley and Dina Asher-Smith, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their world of track and field.

The report says the filming for the documentary series is underway, with a camera crew capturing the thrilling moments of the Diamond League and Continental Tour season. The crew was present during the recently concluded London Diamond League, where Lyles ran a 200m world lead of 19.47, adding to the anticipation surrounding the upcoming series.

The concept of sports-themed documentaries has gained a lot of popularity, as seen with Netflix’s previous success with Drive To Survive, a captivating series centred around Formula One racing, the golf series Full Swing following golfers on the PGA and Break Point, a doc series that followed the top male and female players in professional tennis. The shows have resonated with existing fans and attracted new audiences to watch the sport. World Athletics has the same hope–that the upcoming series will spark more interest in the sport, outside of the Olympics and World Championships. 

Although the title and release date of the docu-series are yet to be unveiled, World Athletics has confirmed the existence of the project. In a statement to Daily Mail Sport, the organization acknowledged the presence of documentary film crews following the sport and its athletes, but keeping the project under wraps for the time being.

Kerley, in particular, has been an advocate for the idea of a Netflix-style series for athletics. In an interview with BBC in May, he expressed his belief that the sport deserves more recognition and attention. Drawing parallels with F1, he emphasized that athletics, too, has events beyond the Olympic Games that could captivate audiences worldwide.

South African sprinter Luxolo Adams:I want to use Oregon experience in Budapest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2023 US Outdoor Track and Field Championships preview from Chris Chavez

Last night was the deadline for athletes to declare their event for the 2023 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place in Eugene from July 6-9. At USAs, athletes are allowed to enter multiple events and then make a decision about which event(s) they wish to contest once entries are in, which allows those who’ve achieved multiple qualifiers to be strategic about where they want to concentrate their efforts. The top three in each event who meet the qualifying standards for the World Athletics Championships will go on to represent the United States in Budapest in August.

Reigning World champions have a “bye” to the next year’s Worlds, which means the country they represent gets to send four athletes, not three. Similarly, reigning Diamond League and World Athletics Continental Tour champs earn a bye, but if there is both a World and other champion in the same event, their country still only gets to send one extra athlete.

These complex rules lead many American World champions to make interesting choices about what events they wish to contest at USAs and how hard they want to push while still in the middle of the championship season.

MEN’S SPRINTS

– 100m world champion Fred Kerley has the bye to the world championships and will only run the 200m. Last year, he qualified for the World Championships in the 200m with a third place finish behind Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton. He injured his quad in the semifinal of the 200m and was unable to run the 4x100m relay for Team USA. Kerley has a season’s best of 19.92 from his win at the Doha Diamond League.

– 200m world champion Noah Lyles has the bye to the world championships and will only run the 100m. He ran a season's best of 9.95 in his outdoor opener in April. The last time he ran the 100m at a U.S. Championship, he finished seventh at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials final.

– 400m world champion Michael Norman is declared for the 100m and 200m at the U.S. Championships. He ran a wind-aided 10.02 (+3.0m/s wind) at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. He has not raced since a last place finish in the 200m at the Doha Diamond League in 20.65 on May 5.

WOMEN’S SPRINTS

– Sha’Carri Richardson is running the 100m and 200m. She is looking to qualify for her first World championship team. Her season’s best of 10.76 from her victory at the Doha Diamond League is the second-fastest performance in the world this year. Her season’s best of 22.07 from the Kip Keino Classic at altitude in Nairobi is No. 4 on the world list.

Only Gabby Thomas’ 22.05 from the Paris Diamond League is faster this year by an American woman. Richardson, the 2019 NCAA champion, attempted the double at USAs in both 2019 and 2022, where her highest finish was 8th in the 100m in 2019. She has yet to make a U.S. final in the 200m.

– Reigning U.S. champion Abby Steiner is only running the 200m despite qualifying in both the 100m and the 400m as well. She just ran her season’s best of 22.19 to win the NYC Grand Prix.

– As previously announced, 400m hurdles Olympic champion, World champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is running the flat 400m. She plans to make a decision after the U.S. Championships whether she will run the flat 400m (if she qualifies) or defend her 400m hurdles title in Budapest.

– NCAA record holder Britton Wilson, who ran 49.14 to become No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list, will only run the 400m and not the 400m hurdles. She hurdled at last year’s World championships and participated in the 4x400m relay.

MEN’S DISTANCE

– This year’s men’s steeplechase team should have a new look. 2016 Olympic silver medalist Evan Jager is not entered in the steeplechase. He has raced just once this outdoor season. Hillary Bor, the reigning U.S. champion who also owns the fastest steeplechase time by an American this year in 8:11.28, broke his foot earlier this spring and will miss the U.S. Championships. This is the first U.S. team he has missed since 2015. The top returner is Benard Keter, who made the Olympic team in 2021 and the World team in 2022, but he is only the fifth-fastest entrant by seed time.

– For the first time, 2021 U.S. 5000m champPaul Chelimo is entered in both the 5000m and the 10,000m. Chelimo, the 3x global medalist at 5000m, has typically only focused on the shorter event, but after his 27:12.73 performance at the Night of the 10,000m PBs in the U.K. earlier this season, he has decided to contest both events. He’s seeded No. 4 by qualifying time in both events behind Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, and Joe Klecker (all also double-entered).

WOMEN’S DISTANCE

– 800m Olympic and world champion Athing Mu entered the 1500m, as previously announced with coach Bobby Kersee. She has the bye to the world championships in the 800m. Her personal best of 4:16.06 is well outside the automatic standard of 4:05.00 and was achieved outside the qualifying window for the championships, but USATF rules allow for significant discretion in accepting entries from the Sports Committee chair.

– Josette Norris and On Athletics Club coach Dathan Ritzenhein have decided to focus solely on the 5000m. Norris ran 14:43.36 at Sound Running’s Track Fest in early May. That’s the second-fastest time by an American woman on the year behind her teammate and training partner Alicia Monson’s 14:34.88 at the Paris Diamond League. Monson is entered in both the 5000m and 10,000m after choosing to only contest the 10,000m last year.

– NC State’s NCAA record holder Katelyn Tuohy will only run the 5000m. Tuohy qualified for NCAAs in both the 1500m and the 5000m but ended up only running the 1500m after an uncharacteristically disappointing performance in the final.

– The Bowerman Track Club’s Elise Cranny has declared for the 1500m, 5000m and the 10,000m. The first round of the women’s 1500m is 19 minutes before the final of the 10,000m on Day 1 of the competition, so Cranny will likely scratch one or more events at a later point.

The Olympic and world 800m champion Athing Mu will make her season debut at the USATF NYC Grand Prix Meet on June 24

Athing Mu, the Olympic and world 800m champion, will make her season debut at the USATF NYC Grand Prix.  This meet is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series, the USATF NYC Grand Prix takes place at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island June 24.

It will be Mu's first competition in exactly 11 months, as she returns to action for the first time since the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, where she added world 800m gold to the Olympic title she claimed in Tokyo.

Mu made herself known as one of the world’s top track athletes in 2021 when she won the NCAA title in the 400m, and then gold medals in the 800m and 4x400m relay at the Olympic Games. The 21-year-old followed up her Olympic success with gold in the 800m in Oregon, running 1:56.30. Her US record of 1:55.04 was set in Eugene in August 2021.

Athing Mu was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, and is the second youngest of seven siblings.  Her parents immigrated to the United States from South Sudan, and her family is of South Sudanese heritage.  She began competing in track at the age of 6. Mu did not join her high school track team, choosing to compete instead for Trenton Track Club. She graduated from Trenton Central High School in 2020

Challenging her in New York will be her fellow New Jersey native and the world indoor 800m champion Ajee’ Wilson, and the US indoor 1500m champion Heather MacLean.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, 2015 world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica joins a field that includes Keni Harrison of the United States, the former world record-holder, and Jamaica’s Megan Tapper, the Olympic bronze medallist.

Those top athletes join the previously-announced Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas, Zharnel Hughes, Ackeem Blake, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Aleia Hobbs, Melissa Jefferson, Devon Allen, Trey Cunningham, Robert Dunning, Bryce Hoppel, Will Sumner, Chase Ealey and Maggie Ewen.

Usain Bolt wants to return to track and field

The fastest man in history, Usain Bolt, who dominated men’s sprinting for nearly a decade, has expressed interest in reviving the sport that brought him worldwide fame.

In an interview with Reuters, the 36-year-old Jamaican sprinter revealed he has aspirations to make a significant impact in track and field, highlighting a need for charismatic personalities to inspire and bring back the sport’s glory. He disclosed he has reached out to World Athletics on multiple occasions, expressing his willingness to make a larger impact in the sport if given the opportunity. Bolt said the discussions are ongoing, but he eagerly awaits a position where he can actively contribute to the growth and development of the sport.

Bolt acknowledged that the sport experienced a slight decline after his departure. However, he sees promising signs in young athletes like U.S. sprinter and 200m world champion Noah Lyles. “Lyles has the charisma and big personality required to engage and captivate audiences,” said Bolt to Reuters. He believes emerging personalities (like Lyles) will help fill the charisma gap, leading to a resurgence of interest in track and field.

The eight-time Olympic gold medallist also reflected on the lack of popularity of the sport in the U.S. and on the disappointing crowd turnouts at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore. “Sometimes it’s all about where it is, America is not the biggest track and field place,” he said. But he anticipates that the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics will be a significant moment for the sport, citing its accessibility, historical presence and talented athletes as contributing factors.

While Jamaica’s men’s team has struggled to replicate its success since Bolt’s departure, the 100m world record holder also sees a resurgence in the nation’s sprinting program in young sprinters Oblique Seville, who finished fourth in the 100m at the 2022 World Championships last year, and Ackeem Blake, who ran a personal best of 9.89 seconds at the L.A. Grand Prix last weekend.

“Hopefully, these two will motivate other youngsters to step up and want to train harder and dedicate themselves,” Bolt said.

10 Reasons to Start Following Track and Field This Year

The 2023 season should be full of record-breaking performances from the sport’s biggest stars. Here are the most important things to know. 

Track is back, and if the results from the indoor season and early outdoor meets are any indication, it should be another year of eye-popping results around 400-meter ovals this summer.

Why is track and field relevant to the average recreational runner?

Perhaps you’re running some of the same distances in your training and racing. Or maybe you have a connection to some of the events from your youth, days in gym class or on the playground. From a human performance perspective, no sport showcases the all-out speed, red-line endurance, max power, dynamic agility, and meticulous bodily control as track and field does.

Here’s a primer on the most awe-inspiring athletes and events of this summer’s track season. Because, come on: with a sport that includes events as multifaceted as the pole vault, as primal as the shot put, and as wild as the 3,000-meter steeplechase—a 1.8-mile race with 28 fixed barriers to hurdle and seven water pits to jump—what’s not to like?

One of the many things that makes track and field so special is that it’s one of the most diverse sports on the planet, both culturally and athletically.

Last summer, athletes from a record 29 different countries earned medals in the 25 different running, jumping, and throwing events at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

At the highest level, there are athletes of all shapes and sizes from every culture and socioeconomic background. While there certainly are racial and cultural stereotypes that need dissolving and vast inequality among competing countries, from a performance point of view the sport is largely meritocratic, based on the time or distance achieved in a given competition.

Watching American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone masterfully win the 400-meter hurdles in a world-record time last summer in front of a deafening crowd at Hayward Field in Eugene was a riveting experience. It was vastly different than watching Grenada’s Anderson Peters win the javelin world title with a career-best throw of 90.54 meters on his final attempt to beat India’s Neeraj Chopra, but both had edge-of-your-seat excitement, athletic excellence, and cultural significance.

One of the knocks against track and field in recent years is that it hasn’t done enough to attract casual fans the way professional football, basketball, hockey, and soccer have. Following the On Track Fest, the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 26-27 in Los Angeles is trying to up the ante by combining a mix of elite-level competition, an interactive fan festival, and top-tier musical performances.

Billed as the one of the deepest track meets ever held on U.S. soil, it will feature a star-studded 400-meter face-off featuring Americans Michael Norman, the reigning world champion, and Kirani James, a three-time Olympic medalist from Grenada, and a women’s 100-meter hurdles clash with world champion Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, Olympic silver medalist Keni Harrison of the U.S., and Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.

Saturday’s action will be broadcast live on NBC Sports from 4:30 P.M. to 6 P.M. ET and be followed by a concert event called the Legends Jam, which will include appearances from some legendary athletes and be headlined by Grammy-winning singer Judith Hill.

American sprint sensation Sha’Carri Richardson will be racing the 100-meter dash at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix. You probably remember her for her perceived failures more than the astounding times she’s actually achieved on the track.

Two years ago, the sprinter from Dallas blew away the field in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a 10.86 effort, but then she was famously suspended after testing positive for cannabis (which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances) and missed the Tokyo Olympics as a result. (She admitted using the drug to cope with the pressure of qualifying for the Olympics while also mourning the recent death of her biological mother.)

Then last year, despite strong early season performances, Richardson failed to make the finals of the 100-meter or 200-meter at the U.S. championships, so she missed out on running in the first world championships held on American soil.

This year, the 23-year-old sprinter appears to be locked in and better than ever, posting a world-leading 10.76 100-meter time on May 5 in Doha (she also ran an eye-popping 10.57 with an over-the-limit tailwind on April 9 in Florida) and posted the second-fastest time in the 200-meter (22.07) on May 13 at a meet in Kenya.

If she keeps it all together, expect Richardson to finally contend with elite Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100 and 4×100-meter relay in August at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

A few years ago, American sprinter Fred Kerley was on his way to becoming one of the world’s best 400-meter runners. But he wanted more than that. What he really had his heart set on was becoming the world’s fastest man, a moniker that goes with the most dominant sprinter in the 100-meter dash.

Ignoring doubters, Kerley retooled his training and earned the silver medal in the 100-meter at the Tokyo Olympics (.04 seconds behind Italy’s Marcell Jacobs) and then continued his ascent last year by winning the U.S. championships (in 9.76, the sixth-fastest time in history) and world championships (9.86).

The 28-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, also became one of just two other runners (along with American Michael Norman and South African Wayde van Niekerk) to ever run sub-10 seconds in the 100-meter, sub-20 seconds in the 200-meter, and sub-44 seconds in the 400-meter. So far this year, Kerley has two of the four fastest 100-meter times of the season, including a speedy 9.88 on May 21 in Japan.

After trading barbs on social media this spring, Kerley and Jacobs are expected to face off in an epic 100-meter showdown on May 28 at a Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco, marking the first time the Olympic gold medalist and the world champion in the men’s 100m face off since the 2012 Olympic final, when Jamaican Usain Bolt beat countryman Yohan Blake. American Trayvon Bromell, the silver medalist at last year’s world championships, is also in the field, so it should be an extraordinary tilt.

If you’re a gambler, bet on Kerley to win that one and eventually get close to Bolt’s 9.58 world record. (To do so, he’ll be running faster than 26 miles per hour!) But don’t count out Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, the early world leader (9.84), or fellow American sub-9.9 guys Bromell, Norman, Christian Coleman, and Noah Lyles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships on August 20, in Budapest. Depending on which three Americans join Kerley (who has an automatic qualifier) at the world championships, it’s actually quite likely the U.S. could sweep the top four spots in the 100 in Budapest.

If you’ve ever wanted to see the world’s top track and field stars competing live in the U.S., this is the year to do it. The May 26-27 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix meet and June 3-4 Portland Track Festival are part of what might be the mosst compelling outdoor track season ever held on U.S. soil.

If you’re looking for an athlete to marvel at, start with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympics in 2021 and World Athletics Championships last summer. She’s been one of the sport’s rising stars since she was a teenager and yet she’s only 23. Her trajectory is still rising—especially since she moved to Los Angeles to train under coach Bob Kersee. Driven by her strong faith, McLaughlin-Levrone is the personification of hard work, grace and competitiveness.

This year she’ll temporarily step away from her primary event to show off her pure sprinting prowess when she opens her season in a “flat” 400-meter race at the Diamond League meet in Paris on June 9. Her personal best in the 400-meter is 50.07 seconds, set when she was a freshman at the University of Kentucky, but she clocked a speedy 50.68 while running over hurdles, en route to a world-record setting win at last summer’s world championships.

Her best 400-meter split as part of a 4×400-meter relay is 47.91, so it’s within reason to think she could be one of several runners to challenge the long-standing world record of 47.60 set in 1985 by East German Marita Koch. Because McLaughlin-Levrone has an automatic qualifier to the world championships in the 400-meter hurdles, she will likely run the open 400-meter at the U.S. championships and decide after the meet which one she’ll focus on.

American 800-meter ace Athing Mu has looked unbeatable for the past several years as she won Olympic gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s world championships. In fact, she has been unbeatable, having won 13 straight races since she dropped out of a mile race at the Millrose Games in January 2022. Going back to 2020 (when she was a senior in high school) and 2021 (during her one season at Texas A&M), she’s finished first in 51 of her past 53 races (relays included), with her only loss being a narrow runner-up finish to Kaelin Roberts in the 400-meter at the 2021 NCAA indoor championships.

Mu, who is also coached by Kersee and trains with McLaughlin-Levrone, seems to be the most likely athlete to challenge the women’s 800-meter world record of 1:53.28, set in 1983 by the Czech Republic’s Jarmila Kratochvílová. It’s the longest standing record in track and field, and only two runners have come within a second of it in the past 15 years. Her personal best of 1:55.04 is an American record and the eighth-fastest time in history. She’s still only 20 years old, so she has many years to keep improving and other historic opportunities ahead of her.

Mu said earlier this year she’d like to try a 400-800-meter double at an Olympics or world championships if the schedule permits—it’s only been done once successfully by Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena at the 1976 Games—but her coach has said she might attempt a 800-1,500-meter double next year at the Paris Olympics.

This year, Mu will run the 1,500 meters at the USATF Championships in July, but will likely defend her 800-meter title at the world championships in Budapest, as well as potentially running on the U.S. women’s 4×400-meter relay and the mixed-gender 4×400-meter relay (with McLaughlin-Levrone) for an opportunity to win three gold medals in a single championships.

With apologies to quarterback extraordinaire Patrick Mahomes, gymnastics all-arounder Simone Biles, and skiing superstar Mikela Shiffrin, pole vaulter Armand Duplantis just might be the most dynamically talented athlete in the world. That’s because he’s the world’s most dominant athlete (and has set six world records) in arguably the most demanding discipline, not only in track and field but quite possibly in any sport. No sport discipline involves such a dynamic combination of speed, power, precision and agility, and Duplantis, who is only 23, is already the greatest of all-time.

Prove me wrong or watch him set his latest world record (6.22 meters or 20 feet, 5 inches) at an indoor meet on February 25 in Clermont-Ferrand, France. That’s the equivalent of vaulting onto the roof of a two-story building, and in his case, often with room to spare.

Duplantis, who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, to athletic parents with Swedish and Finnish heritage, represents Sweden in international competitions. He started pole vaulting at age three, set his first of 11 age-group world-best marks at age seven, and won an NCAA title in 2019 as a freshman competing for LSU before turning pro.

All indications are that North Carolina State junior Katelyn Tuohy could become the next American running star. All she has done since she was young is win races and break records.

After winning the NCAA outdoor 5,000-meter a year ago, she won the NCAA cross country title in November. During the indoor track season this past winter, she set a new collegiate mile record (4:24.26) and won both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter title at the NCAA indoor championships in March. On May 7, the 21-year-old from Thiells, New York, broke the NCAA outdoor 5,000-meter record by 17 seconds, clocking 15:03.12 at the Sound Running On Track Fest.

Tuohy will be running both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter at the NCAA East Regional May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Florida, with the hopes of eventually advancing to the finals of both events at the June 7-10 NCAA Division I championship meet in Austin, Texas.

University of Arkansas junior Britton Wilson is a top collegiate star who is ready for prime time at the pro level. She won the 400-meter in a world-leading and collegiate record time of 49.13 in mid-May at the SEC Championships, where she also won the 400-meter hurdles (53.23) in a world-leading time. The 22-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, was the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles at last year’s U.S. championships and fifth in the world championships, and could contend for a spot on Team USA in either event at the July 6-9 U.S. championships.

Kerley and Lyles are expected to square off in a 200-meter race at the USATF New York Grand Prix meet on June 24 at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York City. There are also two high-level Puma American Track League meets in Tennessee—the Music City Track Carnival June 2 in Nashville and the Ed Murphey Classic August 4-5 in Memphis—and two Under Armour Sunset Tour meets organized by Sound Running on July 22 in Los Angeles and July 29 in Baltimore.

The best U.S. meet of the year, though, will be the USATF Outdoor Championships held July 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon, where American athletes will be vying for top-three finishes to earn a chance to compete for Team USA at the 2023 World Athletics Championships August 19-27 in Budapest.

The U.S. season will culminate with the September 16-17 Pre Classic in Eugene, Oregon, a two two-day meet that will double as the finals of the international Diamond League circuit and should include many of the top athletes who will be representing their countries in next summer’s Paris Olympics. (And if you want to see the country’s top high school athletes run unfathomable times for teenagers, check out the Brooks PR Invitational on June 14 in Seattle, Washington.)

At the June 2 Diamond League meet in Rome, Italy, the men’s field in the 5,000-meter run will have what might be the fastest field ever assembled, with 13 runners who have personal best times of 12:59 or faster.

The field will be headlined by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who lowered the world record to 12:35.36 in Monaco three years ago. (That’s a pace of 4:03 per mile!). But it will also include Kenya’s Jacob Krop (12:45.71) and Nicholas Kipkorir (12:46.33), Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (12:46.79), American Grant Fisher (12:46.79), Canadian Mohammed Ahmed (12:47.20), and Guatemalan-American Luis Grijalva (13:02.94), among others. With a big prize purse at stake and pacesetters ramping up the speed from the start, it should be a race for the ages.

High school sprinter beats world champion Noah Lyles in 100m race

American high schooler Issam Asinga ran an incredible 9.83-second 100m race on Sunday, winning the race and beating 200m world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles in the process. The 18-year-old Asinga’s time is the fastest ever recorded by an American high school athlete under any conditions, although it was wind-aided at 2.6 meters per second (the limit for wind is 2.0 meters per second). Wind-legal or not, Asinga’s run was phenomenal, and he is certainly someone to follow in the coming years.

Sunday’s run was not Asinga’s first time storming into the record books. In March at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet, he tied the American high school 60m record with a 6.59-second run, and broke the national high school 200m record in 20.48 seconds. His 100m result in Florida is undoubtedly his most impressive feat yet, as he took down Lyles to do it. 

The official American high school boys record stands at 10 seconds flat—a time Trentavis Friday ran in 2014. That is as close as any high schooler has come to breaking 10 seconds in legal conditions. Before Asinga’s run on Sunday, Matt Boling had the fastest all-conditions run in American high school history, posting a 9.98-second 100m back in 2019. That race saw winds of 4.2 meters per second.

Despite running in far slower winds than Boling felt during his race, Asinga obliterated that record, flying to the finish line. A wind conversion calculator shows that his result is equal to a 9.85 run in 2.0m/s wind and a 9.93 in still conditions. In either case, Asinga’s time would smash all previous American high school records. 

After the race, Lyles took to Twitter to congratulate the young sprinter. “Shout out to Issam Asinga,” he wrote. “I can definitely see us racing on the big stages if you keep improving and you can definitely get that HS record man!” There’s no word on when Asinga’s next race will come, but it will be an exciting one to watch as he chases a wind-legal result. 

Alfred, Wilson and Lyles secure double success in Florida

Julien Alfred, Britton Wilson and Noah Lyles each started their seasons with winning doubles at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.

Commonwealth 100m silver medallist Alfred improved to a 21.91 (1.8m/s) Saint Lucian 200m record, while two-time world 200m champion Lyles ran 20.16 (-1.2m/s) on Friday (14). They also won their 100m races the following day, Alfred clocking a wind-assisted 10.72 (2.4m/s) and Lyles running 9.95 (1.6m/s) ahead of Joseph Fahnbulleh (9.98).

Alfred picked up from where she left off following an indoor season that included PBs of 6.94 for the 60m and 22.01 in the 200m set at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the best ever one-day indoor sprints double. That 6.94 places her joint second on the world indoor 60m all-time list.

After some relay performances to open her outdoor campaign, the 21-year-old improved her previous 200m PB of 22.46 set last May, taking it to 21.91 in her first individual race of the season.

Finishing second in that collegiate race was McKenzie Long in a PB of 22.31, while Alfred’s Texas teammate Rhasidat Adeleke improved her Irish record to 22.34 in third.

In another race, world finalist Melissa Jefferson ran 23.02 (1.8m/s) to win ahead of five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah (23.23). Kiara Grant won the pro 100m race, clocking 10.99 (1.6m/s).

Also getting his outdoor season under way, Lyles ran 20.16 into a headwind (-1.2m/s) to dominate his 200m race. In one of the collegiate races, Alabama’s Tarsis Orogot ran a wind-assisted 19.60 (2.9m/s), while Terrence Jones went quickest in the collegiate 100m races, clocking 9.91 (1.0m/s) to match the Bahamian record.

Like Alfred, Wilson also threatened a world record at the NCAA Indoor Championships when she ran 49.48 to win the 400m. She achieved another fast time on Saturday (15), running a collegiate record of 49.51 to win her 400m race, the day after she claimed a 400m hurdles win in 53.23 when making her individual season debut. Anna Hall finished second in that hurdles race in 54.48 and Masai Russell was third in 55.39. Adeleke ran another Irish record to finish second behind Wilson in the 400m, clocking 49.90.

In the sprint hurdles, two-time world champion Grant Holloway won his 110m hurdles heat in 13.03 (1.1m/s) ahead of Rasheed Broadbell (13.12). Holloway then won the final in 13.05 (0.5m/s). After a wind-assisted 100m hurdles heat win of 12.55 (2.8m/s), 2019 world champion Nia Ali won the pro final in 12.53 (1.4m/s) ahead of world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan (12.59), who won her heat in 12.74 (1.1m/s). World indoor 60m hurdles silver medallist Devynne Charlton was third in the final in 12.64.

World indoor champion Jereem Richards got things off to a fast start as he won his first 400m race of the season in a PB of 44.68. Alonzo Russell also ran a PB of 44.73 for the runner-up spot.

Will Claye and Christian Taylor were separated by a single centimetre in the men's triple jump, respectively leaping 16.90m and 16.89m. Thea LaFond recorded 14.13m to win the women's contest.

At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, on Saturday (15), Olympic and world silver medallist Rai Benjamin made his 400m hurdles season debut and clocked 47.74 for a dominant victory. 

Cravont Charleston won the elite men’s 100m race in a wind-assisted 9.87 (3.0m/s) ahead of Kyree King (9.98) and world 400m champion Michael Norman (10.02).

Juliette Whittaker topped the 1500m in 4:12.49 on Friday and the following day won the 800m in 2:01.79 ahead of her Stanford teammate Roisin Willis in 2:01.97.

Talie Bonds improved her PB to 12.65 (1.2m/s) to win the 100m hurdles.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, Nikki Hiltz pipped Michaela Rose in a close 800m race, 1:59.03 to 1:59.08, as both athletes dipped under two minutes for the first time on Friday (14). Claire Seymour (2:00.04), Elise Cranny (2:00.25) and Valery Tobias (2:00.31) also went sub-2:01.

On Saturday (15), Cooper Teare opened his season with a near 1500m PB of 3:34.96 ahead of Fouad Messaoudi (3:35.16).

Australian 15-year-old Gout Gout made a statement on the third day of the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane on Saturday (15), clocking 20.87 (-0.1m/s) to win the 200m by almost half a second.

“It means a lot because I’ve been training so much for this. I was really nervous. The gun went, and I was good and I just kept pushing," he told Athletics Australia.

Nuguse breaks North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games

Yared Nuguse ran the second-fastest indoor mile in history as three national records fell or were equalled in a thrilling men’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. Alicia Monson also set an area record in the 3000m, while Abby Steiner claimed a US record in the 300m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Saturday (11).

In the infield, Ryan Crouser demonstrated his effective new shot put technique and Katie Moon returned to her winning ways in the pole vault before a roaring crowd that also cheered runners in competitions from U8 through high school and college.

As always, the men’s Wanamaker mile culminated the meeting, and Nuguse ran away with the race in a world-leading 3:47.38 to claim his second area record of the season to go along with the 3000m.

Pace setter Erik Sowinski brought the runners through half way in 1:52.99 – just as he had been asked – with Nuguse and training mates Mario Garcia Romo and Olli Hoare in the lead group. But Nuguse turned on the jets and covered the final quarter of the race in 54.23, breaking the meeting record, facility record, and crushing Bernard Lagat’s 15-year-old US indoor record of 3:49.98.

“Running that race the way we did,” Nuguse said, “all three of us right there up for the first half of the race, I felt good knowing I had my closest guys having my back. And then that last part was give it everything I had and I was able to close with something crazy and get it.”

Great Britain’s Neil Gourley ran a PB of 3:49.46 to move to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, and Hoare equalled the Oceanian record with 3:50.83. New Zealand’s Sam Tanner ran a PB of 3:51.70, while Romo’s 3:51.79 was a Spanish record.

Yuguse has now eclipsed Hicham El Guerrouj on the all-time list; only Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha has run faster, clocking 3:47.01 in 2019.

“I’m always excited to see what else I can do next,” Nuguse said. “There was definitely a nice confidence boost. After that 3000m (where he broke the US record), I was feeling pretty confident already, but to do this in the event that I love the most and the one that I feel like I’m going for at the world championships, that makes me feel even better.”

Laura Muir won the women’s Wanamaker Mile in 4:20.15, followed by Josette Andrews in 4.20.88. Muir, the Olympic silver medallist, led for most of the race, then Andrews hit the front with two laps to go. But the Briton kicked again on the final lap and went on to win comfortably.

Sprint sensations

World record-holder Christian Coleman took a bow after winning the men’s 60m in a season’s best of 6.47. “I feel like this is what I do best and I came to put on a show,” he said.

Noah Lyles was charged with a false start and ran the race under protest, clocking 6.53, although the time would not count. Lyles, the US record-holder in the 200m outdoors, admitted a little bit of movement, but said his feet never left the pad. “I got a time that I’m very happy to see,” Lyles said. “Everybody knows I’m just here to play around. I’m not a 60-metre runner, but if I can take some heads, I’m going to do it.”

Jamaica’s Travis Williams was awarded second place with a PB of 6.59, followed by Josephus Lyles, Noah’s younger brother, also with a PB of 6.59. Williams edged Lyles by .003.

Aleia Hobbs set an Armory record of 7.04 to win her fourth straight competition, having clocked a world-leading 6.98 at the end of January. Teenager Tamari Davis was second in a PB of 7.08, followed by Marybeth Sant-Price in 7.11, Mikiah Brisco at 7.13 and 17-year-old Shawnti Jackson in 7.16.

“I don’t think my start was as good as it’s been, but I was patient,” Hobbs said.

In only her second 300m, Steiner broke the US record, clocking 35.54 to easily go under Quanera Hayes’ time of 35.71 from 2017. Steiner held off a spirited challenge from Brittany Brown, who ran 36.13.

“It’s definitely one of those races I think you learn a little bit about every time you run it,” said Steiner, who set the collegiate record in her first race.

Although this 300m is her last of the season, she still wants the world record of 35.45, shared by Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Irina Privalova. “I clean up my start a little bit,” Steiner said, “and I think it’s there.”

World indoor champion Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago ran a season’s best of 45.84 to avenge the previous week’s loss to  Noah Williams, who clocked 46.20. In Boston, they were separated by only .004 as both ran 45.88.

Devynne Charlton won the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.91, while Tonea Marshall ran a season’s best of 7.94 and Sharika Nelvis clocked 7.96 to edge Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali in 7.97.

Giants of track and field prepare for battle at Millrose Games

print showdowns, the world’s greatest shot putters and magnificent mile fields highlight the Millrose Games, this season’s fourth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, in New York on Saturday (11).

Fresh off a PB and 60m win in Boston, world 200m champion Noah Lyles takes on 60m world record holder and defending Millrose champion Christian Coleman at The Armory, which boasts the nickname ‘The Fastest Track in the World’.

Shot putters Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs open their 2023 campaigns by resuming their fierce rivalry, essentially picking up where they left off last September in Switzerland. As the women’s shot returns to Millrose for the first time since 2003, the event couldn’t ask for a better field led by Chase Ealey, the world champion and world indoor silver medallist.

According to tradition, the Rudin Wanamaker Miles cap the storied meeting, which was founded in 1908. A national record might be needed to win the men’s race, but which country will take the honours? Defending champion Ollie Hoare of Australia, USA’s Yared Nuguse, Sam Tanner of New Zealand and Mario Garcia Romo of Spain are top contenders. Great Britain’s Olympic and world medallist Laura Muir is the favourite in the women’s mile, having already claimed a New York record on the road.

Straight down the middle

Although The Armory is far from the neon lights of Times Square, it’s still a hop, step and a jump from Broadway – and perhaps no athlete enjoys putting on a show more than Lyles.

At the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Boston, he posted a PB of 6.51, edging Trayvon Bromell by .002. Coleman clocked 6.71 in Fayetteville two weeks ago to open his season, well off his world record of 6.34 set in 2018 when he was also world indoor champion. Lyles, the Olympic 200m bronze medallist, has been working on his start in a bid to double in the 100m and 200m at the World Athletics Championships later this year in Budapest.

Lyles will also attempt to avenge an early season loss to his younger brother Josephus in Florida. Ronnie Baker, the third-fastest 60m runner in history and 2018 world indoor bronze medallist, won this event in 2018 and 2020. Ackeem Blake of Jamaica, Miles Lewis, the Puerto Rican record-holder, and Kendal Williams, who defeated Lyles in Florida but lost to him in Boston, are also in the field.

Aleia Hobbs is seeking her second straight win in the women’s 60m after exploding to a meeting record 7.02 in Boston. She also owns the world-leading time of 6.98, run in Fayetteville in late January. In Boston, Hobbs held off world indoor silver medallist Mikiah Brisco and Celera Barnes, who get another chance to defeat her at Millrose.

Melissa Jefferson, who edged Hobbs in the 100m at last year’s USA Championships; world indoor bronze medallist Marybeth Sant-Price, and English Gardner are also in the field. Shawnti Jackson was third at Millrose last year, setting a national high school record of 7.18, and will look to improve both her placement and her time.

Olympic silver medallist Keni Harrison, the Millrose 60m hurdles winner in 2020, will take on 2019 world champion Nia Ali, heptathlete Anna Hall, and Olympians Anna Cockrell, Devynne Charlton and Cindy Sember.

Ring rivalry renewed

The road to Budapest begins for the top shot putters on the planet. World and Olympic champion Crouser will face Kovacs, a double outdoor world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist.

While Crouser has won at Millrose three years in a row and holds both the indoor and outdoor world records, he knows his compatriot is always in the hunt to topple him. Kovacs set the world-leading mark in 2022 while moving to second on the all-time list and winning the Diamond league final in Zurich. At the season-ending meeting for both, Kovacs won at Bellinzona with a toss of 22.19m, with Crouser next at 22.00m. Tripp Piperi and Nick Ponzio of Italy round out the field.

Ealey had a dream season in 2022, building on her world indoor silver to take the world title in Oregon and then capture the Diamond League title. Compatriots Maggie Ewen, the 2021 Diamond League champion, and Jessica Woodard will challenge Ealey for the first Millrose crown in 20 years, along with Canada’s Commonwealth champion Sarah Mitton.

The women’s pole vault features Katie Moon (formerly Nageotte) and Katerina Stefanidi, the last two Olympic gold medallists. However, in their previous meeting, the Greek vaulter was third and the Tokyo champion placed fourth in Boston, with Bridget Williams and Gabriela Leon going 1-2. All four athletes will be on the runway at Millrose.

Steiner seeks another record

The rarely run 300m has become something of a specialty for USA’s Abby Steiner. She already holds the NCAA record and is targeting the national record of 35.71 in her first indoor season as a professional. Two weekends ago, Steiner raced to a 400m victory in Fayetteville in 50.59. The world record of 35.45 is shared by Irina Privalova and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, with the Bahamian clocking her winning time in 2018 at Millrose. Jenna Prandini, Steiner’s teammate on the victorious 4x100m relay in Oregon, and 2019 world 200m silver medallist Brittany Brown offer strong competition.

The men’s 400m could be another duel between USA’s Noah Williams and Trinidad & Tobago’s world indoor champion Jereem Richards. In Boston, both clocked 45.88, but Williams surged on the inside to win by .004. Michael Cherry, fourth in the 400m in Tokyo and an Olympic and world gold medallist at 4x400m, opens his season at Millrose, along with the fourth man in the field, Bryce Deadmon, another Olympic and world gold medallist on relays.

Going the distance

The great Paavo Nurmi raced at the Millrose Games nearly 100 years ago and the distance races never disappoint. Of course, the signature event is the Rudin Wanamaker Mile.

After recently setting a North American indoor record over 3000m, Yared Nuguse is in a New York state of mind to break another continental record: Bernard Lagat’s 3:49.89 in the indoor mile. Nuguse and training partners Hoare and Romo are hoping for a fast pace to propel them into the record books. Hoare set an Oceanian record of 3:50.83 in winning the 2022 Wanamaker Mile and is the Commonwealth 1500m champion. Other contenders include Tanner, a three-time New Zealand champion; Great Britain’s Neil Gourley, whose home straight sprint led to a world-leading 3:52.84 in Boston; 2022 US indoor 1500m champion Cole Hocker, Johnny Gregorek, Sam Prakel and Kenya’s Eliud Kipsang.

Muir had a US indoor race debut in Boston, clocking 8:40.34 in the 3000m, and now is dropping back down to more familiar territory. The world and Olympic medallist in the 1500m set a course record of 4:14.8 on the road in the Fifth Avenue Mile in 2022. At Millrose, the record is 4:16.85, set by Elle Purrier St Pierre in 2020, which is the third-fastest indoor mile in history after Gudaf Tsegay’s 4:16.16 in Torun. In a deep field, Muir will be challenged by training partner and Olympic 800m finalist Jemma Reekie, and US champion Sinclaire Johnson.

In the men’s 3000m, Geordie Beamish and Cooper Teare, who went 1-2 last year, return to the Armory track where they will try to fend off Josh Kerr, the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist; Joe Klecker, Guatemala’s Luis Grijalva and Nico Young.

Alicia Monson, defending Millrose champion in the women’s 3000m, faces national indoor 5000m record-holder Elise Cranny with Karissa Schweizer’s national indoor 3000m record of 8:25.70 in their sights. Monson set a Millrose Games and Armory record last year of 8:31.62 en route to a stellar outdoor season. Katelyn Tuohy recently set an NCAA mile record of 4:24.26 in a race won by Monson; she’s primed for another test against the pros. European champion and 2019 world bronze medallist Konstanze Klosterhalfen won the Wanamaker mile in 2019 and has the fastest 3000m time in the field, clocking 8:20.07 outdoors.

Streaks at stake for Wilson

In the 600m, world indoor 800m champion Ajee’ Wilson will attempt to extend some impressive winning streaks.

Since losing to Alysia Montano in the 600m at the 2013 Millrose Games, she has won 17 straight races at The Armory, including seven at Millrose. She also has won 15 straight races indoors, most recently the 800m in Boston with a time of 2:00.45. Wilson is the second-fastest woman in history in the 600m outdoors and could threaten Keely Hodgkinson’s newly minted world indoor best of 1:23.41. The fastest performer in the field this season Shamier Little, the 2015 world silver medallist in the 400m hurdles, who clocked 1:24.65. 

The men’s 800m will be a rematch between world indoor silver medallist Noah Kibet, still just 18 years of age, and world indoor bronze medallist Bryce Hoppel, the defending Millrose champion. The loaded field includes his compatriots Clayton Murphy, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, world indoor finalist Isaiah Harris, Great Britain’s Kyle Langford, Mexico’s Tonatiu Lopez and Irish record-holder Mark English. Cade Flatt, the second-fastest US high school runner at this distance, is also in the field.

Two-time Olympian Natoya Goule set to compete at Millrose Games

Two-time  Olympian  Natoya Goule has  joined  the  list  of  athletes   down  to  compete  at  the Millrose Games   set  to  take  place  in  three  weeks  time  on  February  11  at  the   Nike Track & Field Center at the Armory  in  New  York.

The  national  800  meters  record  holder  Goule  will  join  several  Olympians and national champions   at  the  meet  including  world  and  Olympic  800  meters  champion  Athing  Mu  of the USA to  contest  the  women’s  600  meters  event.

World  Championships  semi-finalist  Ackeem  Blake   is  also  listed  to  compete at  the World Athletics Indoor Tour gold meet  where  he   will    compete  against Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, and Ronnie Baker, three of the best sprinters in the world, ……………….in the  men’s  60  meters  dash

Olympic  sprint  relay  gold  medalist  Briana  Williams   will  line up  against   the U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and sprint sensation Gabby Thomas in the women’s 60 meters  and  Olympic  finalist  Christopher  Taylor  will  take  on  800  meters  World  Champion  Donavan Brazier  in  the  men’s  400  meters.

2024 Olympic Track & Field Schedule Is Out

On Monday, World Athletics announced the schedule for the 2024 Olympic Games, to be held in Paris on August 1-11, 2024 (only 570 days to go!). There were a few key changes from three years earlier in Tokyo.

First, all track & field finals will be held during the evening sessions (some finals had been held in the morning during the 2016 and 2020 Olympics). The marathons will remain in the morning, though the men’s marathon will no longer be held on the final day of the Games, as had been tradition. That honor for the first time will go to the women’s marathon, which will be held on August 11. Giving women the honor makes sense given that, per Reuters, the “marathon route was modelled on the path of the October 1789 Women’s March on Versailles – when thousands, mainly female market traders furious over the price of bread, marched to the lavish palace of King Louis XVI.” In 2024, the men’s marathon will come on the penultimate day, August 10.

The other major change is the introduction of a repechage round, which will replace time qualifiers in five events: the 200, 400, 800, 1500, and 400 hurdles. Under the new format, any athlete who does not advance automatically from the first round will compete in an extra race –the repechage round — to earn their spot in the semifinals. Qualification from semifinals to the final will remain the same.

While every evening session has at least one final, you may want to circle August 8, 2024, on your calendar right now. That night is set to feature the finals of the women’s 400 hurdles (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone), men’s 200 (Noah Lyles vs. Erriyon Knighton), and men’s 110 hurdles (Grant Holloway), plus the semis of the women’s 1500 meters.

A number of doubles — 100/200, 800/1500, 1500/5,000, 5,000/10,000 — are very feasible under the current schedule. But what about the 400/400 hurdles, 400/800, and 1500/5,000/10,000 — the doubles (and triple) that would appeal to superstars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Athing Mu, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen? None of them are impossible.

Possible doubles/triples

Men’s 1500/5,000/10,000 (Jakob Ingebrigtsen)

We’ve got great news for Jakob Ingebrgitsen fans. You’ll likely see him running in two — maybe three — events at Paris.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Ingebrigtsen would have liked to have done the 1500/5000 double like he did at the 2019 and 2022 Worlds but he only ran the 1500 as the two events overlapped a ton. In Tokyo, the 1500 was held on August 3 (a.m.), August 5 (p.m.), and August 7 (p.m.) and the 5000 was held on August 3 (p.m.) and August 6 (p.m). In Paris, 1500/5000 double is eminently more doable as the 1500 finishes before the 5000 even starts.

And there is even more good news. Last year, Ingebrigtsen made headlines by saying he wanted to do what Sifan Hassan did in 2021 and triple at the 2023 Worlds and 2024 Olympics: 1500, 5,000, and 10,000. The triple is basically impossible at the 2023 Worlds. At the 2024 Olympics, it’s tough but doable: it would require two races on August 2 (1500 first round in the morning, 10,000 final 10 hours later), and it would require running the 1500 final at 9:00 p.m. on August 6 and the 5,000 first round 14 hours later on the morning of August 7.

In Tokyo, Hassan had to run two races on the same day (1500 prelims in morning, 5,000 final in evening) and also had to run finals on consecutive days (1500 followed by 10,000). In Paris, Ingebrigtsen would get four days between the 10,000 and 1500 finals and another four days between the 1500 and 5,000 finals.

August 2, 11:05 a.m.: 1500 first round

August 2, 9:20 p.m.: 10,000 final

August 4, 9:10 p.m.: 1500 semis

August 6, 9:00 p.m.: 1500 final

August 7, 11:00 a.m.: 5,000 first round

August 10, 8:00 p.m.: 5,000 final

Women’s 1500/5,000/10,000 (Sifan Hassan)

Given Sifan Hassan already did the 1500/5,000/10,000 triple in Tokyo about as well as anyone could (bronze-gold-gold) and given it took her close to a year to return to racing in 2022, it would be a surprise to see her attempt the triple again in Paris. But if someone else — perhaps World Indoor 1500/World Outdoor 5,000 champ Gudaf Tsegay — is so inclined, it’s possible to triple. The toughest part would be running the 1500 first round the morning after the 5,000 final and running the 10,000 and 1500 final on back-to-back nights (the latter was also the case for Hassan in 2021, though the order of the 10,000 and 1500 finals were flipped). But unlike in 2021, all the races are on different days.

August 2, 6:10 p.m.: 5,000 first round

August 5, 9:20 p.m.: 5,000 final

August 6, 10:05 a.m.: 1500 first round

August 8, 8:05 p.m.: 1500 semis

August 9, 8:55 p.m.: 10,000 final

August 10, 8:25 p.m.: 1500 final

Women’s 400/400 hurdles (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Femke Bol)

No woman has ever won the 400/400 hurdles double at the Olympics, but superstars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol could attempt it in Paris. It would require racing six days in a row (seven including the 4×400 relay final) but never more than once in a day. That’s about as good as you can ask for.

August 4, 12:35 p.m.: 400 hurdles first round

August 5, 11:55 a.m.: 400 first round

August 6, 7:45 p.m.: 400 hurdles semis

August 7, 8:45 p.m.: 400 semis

August 8, 9:05 p.m.: 400 hurdles final

August 9, 8:00 p.m.: 400 final

August 10, 9:20 p.m.: 4×400 relay final

Women’s 400/800 (Athing Mu)

Athing Mu won the women’s 800 at the 2020 Olympics and 2022 Worlds and is the NCAA record holder in the 400 meters at 49.57. After winning gold in Tokyo, she said one of her next goals is to double up in the 400/800. The double is possible in Paris but not perfect as it would require her to race three sessions in a row — the night of August 4 in the 800 semis, the morning of August 5 in the 400 first round, and the night of August 5 in the 800 final. The good news is Mu has will have some time to recover as there is a rest day between the 800 final and 400 semis and another rest day between the 400 semis and 400 final.

In a perfect world the 800 semis and 400 first round would both be shifted forward by a day but that’s not going to happen because it would require running the repechage and semifinal round of the 800 on the same day.

August 2, 7:45 p.m.: 800 first round

August 4, 8:35 p.m.: 800 semis

August 5, 11:55 a.m.: 400 first round

August 5, 9:50 p.m.: 800 final

August 7, 8:45 p.m.: 400 semis

August 9, 8:00 p.m.: 400 final

August 10, 9:20 p.m.: 4×400 relay final

Women’s 200/400 (Shaunae Miller-Uibo)

Two-time Olympic 400 champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas attempted the 200/400 double in Tokyo and made the finals of each event. But she wound up going through the motions of the 200 final, finishing last in 24.00 (after running the first round of the 400 that morning), before running a personal best of 48.36 to win the 400 three days later. The 200/400 double is once again possible in 2024, but Miller-Uibo’s weaker event, the 200, would once again come first. It would also require running twice in one day, though neither of the races would be finals (400 first round on the morning of August 5, followed by the 200 semis that evening).

August 4, 10:55 a.m.: 200 first round

August 5, 11:55 a.m.: 400 first round

August 5, 8:55 p.m.: 200 semis

August 6, 9:50 p.m.: 200 final

August 7, 8:45 p.m.: 400 semis

August 9, 8:00 p.m.: 400 final

Men’s 200/400

In Tokyo, it was possible to attempt the men’s 200/400 double as all of the races were on different days (save for the 200 first round and semis — a necessary same-day double for all athletes). In Tokyo, it’s virtually impossible as the 200 semis will be held just 73 minutes before the 400 final on the night of August 7.

August 4, 7:05 p.m.: 400 first round

August 5, 8:05 p.m.: 200 first round

August 6, 8:30 p.m.: 400 semis

August 7, 8:07 p.m.: 200 semis

August 7, 9:20 p.m.: 400 final

August 8, 9:25 p.m.: 200 final

How will the repechage round work?

In almost every case, the repechage round will take place the day after the first round of each event. The only exception is the men’s 110 hurdles, where the first round is on August 4 and the repechage on August 6. And in almost every case, the repechage athletes won’t have to race twice in the same day. The only exception is the women’s 200, where the first round will be held on the morning of August 4, the repechage on the afternoon of August 5, and the semis on the evening of August 5.

Should any repechage athlete in the 800 advance to the final, they will have raced on four consecutive days. For any 1500 athlete to advance to the final, they will have had to have raced three straight days followed by a one-day break before the final. The repechage round is mostly a chance for lesser athletes to get a longer Olympic experience instead of running one race and going home, but it’s not impossible to suggest that a repechage athlete could be a factor in the final. At the 2020 Olympics, Great Britain’s Josh Kerr needed a time qualifier to advance from the first round of the men’s 1500 and wound up earning the bronze medal. Such a feat will be harder in 2024 since an athlete such as Kerr would now have to run an extra race.

Here’s how the schedule works for the men’s and women’s 800 and 1500:

Men’s 800

Prelims: August 7, 11:45 a.m.

Repechage: August 8, 12:00 p.m.

Semis: August 9, 11:30 a.m.

Final: August 10, 7:30 p.m.

Women’s 800

Prelims: August 2, 7:45 p.m.

Repechage: August 3, 11:10 a.m.

Semis: August 4, 8:35 p.m.

Final: August 5, 9:50 p.m.

Women’s 1500

Prelims: August 6, 10:05 a.m.

Repechage: August 7, 12:35 p.m.

Semis: August 8, 8:05 p.m.

Final: August 10, 8:25 p.m.

Men’s 1500

Prelims: August 2, 11:05 a.m.

Repechage: August 3, 8:25 p.m.

Semis: August 4, 9:10 p.m.

Final: August 6, 9:00 p.m.

Bryce Hoppel and Noah Kibet head Millrose Games 800m

Bryce Hoppel and Noah Kibet will renew their rivalry at the Millrose Games, the fourth Gold level meeting in this season’s World Athletics Indoor Tour, in New York on February 11.

Hoppel is back to defend his Millrose Games 800m title, now as a world indoor bronze medallist. The 25-year-old, who won US titles indoors and outdoors in 2022, claimed the first global medal of his career in Belgrade, where he clocked 1:46.51 to finish third in a race won by Spain’s Mariano Garcia.

Second in that Belgrade final was Kibet, who at the age of 17 became the youngest ever track medallist in World Indoor Championships history. Now aged 18, the Kenyan seeks further indoor success in New York. Kibet ran 1:46.35 to win his world indoor medal and also claimed bronze at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi in 2021.

Looking to challenge them both will be Clayton Murphy, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and fourth-fastest US athlete in the history of the event. Murphy made a second Olympic final in Tokyo and is also a six-time national champion.

Lining up alongside them will be Isaiah Harris, who finished runner-up behind Hoppel at last year’s US Indoor Championships, and Kyle Langford, Britain’s 2018 Commonwealth silver medallist.

Also in the field are Mexican record-holder Jesus Tonatiu Lopez, Irish record-holder Mark English and USA’s Cade Flatt.

Already announced for the meeting are showdowns in the pole vault between Katie Moon, Sandi Morris and Katerina Stefanidi, and in the shot put between Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs. The women's 300m will feature Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini and Brittany Brown, while the women’s 3000m will star Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Alicia Monson. Two-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles will race for more sprint success in the 60m and Laura Muir will race the Rudin Women’s Wanamaker Mile.

Laura Muir headlines Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile

Laura Muir will race the Rudin Women’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games when she makes her debut at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on February 11.

Muir won her long-awaited Olympic silver medal in Tokyo, then backed it up with a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. The 29-year-old is a six-time European gold medallist, two-time Diamond League champion and the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion in the 1500m. In total, she holds six British records indoors and outdoors.

Muir blasted a 4:14.8 road mile last September at her most recent race in New York City, setting the course record for the 5th Avenue Mile. The Wanamaker Mile event record of 4:16.85 was set by Elinor Purrier St. Pierre in 2020, that mark also being the US record and second-fastest indoor mile in history.

“This will be my first time racing at the Millrose Games, so I am really excited as it has been a competition that I have wanted to do for a long time,” said Muir, who will also compete at the World Indoor Tour Gold meetings in Boston and Birmingham. “I have very fond memories of racing in the city, and I cannot wait to return and tackle the same distance indoors.”

As always, the Wanamaker Mile will feature a deep field of talented runners hungry for an upset victory. Athletes to watch include US 1500m champion Sinclaire Johnson, British indoor mile record-holder Jemma Reekie, Josette Norris, Sage Hurta-Klecker, Nikki Hiltz, Medina Eisa, Allie Wilson, Lucia Stafford, Sintayehu Vissa, Marta Pen Freitas and Helen Schlachtenhaufen.

These are the latest stars announced for the Millrose Games, joining the showdowns in the pole vault between Katie Moon, Sandi Morris and Katerina Stefanidi, and in the shot put, featuring Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs. The women's 300m will feature Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini and Brittany Brown, and the women’s 3000m will star Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Alicia Monson. In the men’s 60m, two-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles will race for more sprint success.

Ten reasons to be excited for the 2023 Athletics season

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

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

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

1. World Athletics Championships Budapest 23

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

2. Pushing boundaries

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

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

3. New eras

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

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

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

4. Sprint showdowns

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

5. World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23

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

6. Crouser vs Kovacs

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

7. At the double

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

8. Continental Tour Gold expands

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

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

9. Distance duels

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

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

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

10. World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23

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

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

Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles and Ronnie Baker to Clash in Epic 60m at 2023 Millrose Games

The 115th Millrose Games, the world’s most historic indoor track & field event is only six weeks away. The Men’s 60m will surely be one of the most anticipated races of the entire meet, as Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, and Ronnie Baker, three of the best sprinters in the world, will be taking their talents to the infield straightaway at the iconic New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory.

The 115th Millrose Games is scheduled for Saturday, February 11th.

Coleman is the defending Millrose Games champion, World Record holder, and 2018 World Indoor Champion in the 60m. His lightning-quick starting ability makes him nearly unstoppable over this short distance, and he set the current world record of 6.34 seconds in 2018. Outdoors, he has two World Championship gold medals and three silver medals in the 100m and 4x100m relay.

Lyles is the reigning back-to-back World Champion, American Record holder, and the third-fastest man ever in the 200m. He also claimed the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo. Lyles, the 2022 USATF Male Athlete of the Year, has been open about his pursuit of the world records held by Usain Bolt, and by dropping down in distance to challenge the short-sprint specialists, he hopes to continue improving his start and putting the pieces together for another year of dominance.

Baker is the third-fastest 60m runner in history, and one of the most consistent sprinters competing on the circuit. He is an Olympic finalist, World Indoor bronze medalist, and two-time NCAA champion. Baker is no stranger to the Millrose Games stage, winning the 60m in both 2018 and 2020.

Other athletes in the field include:

–Josephus Lyles, Noah’s younger brother. Lyles is a former World Junior Champion, and he placed fifth in the 200m final at this year’s USATF Outdoor Championships.

–Ackeem Blake of Jamaica, NACAC 100m Champion, and semifinalist at the World Championships.

–Miles Lewis, the 60m national record holder for Puerto Rico.

As always, the Millrose Games will feature the absolute best athletes in the sport, including dozens of Olympians and world champions. Some of the big names already announced include Alicia Monson, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, Geordie Beamish, Cooper Teare, Josh Kerr, Katie Nageotte, Sandi Morris, Katerina Stefanidi, Ryan Crouser, and Joe Kovacs, with many more still to come.

The Millrose Games is a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet. With the highest-level competition at the youth, high school, collegiate, club, and professional levels, there is truly something for everyone at the Millrose Games.

American track superstar Sydney McLaughlin named World Athlete of the Year

U.S. sprinter and hurdler Sydney McLaughlin was named World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics on Monday evening, alongside men’s winner and Swedish pole vault world champion Mondo Duplantis.

McLaughlin, 23, has had not only a stunning year on the track but an already remarkable career in athletics. She is the world 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion. In 2022 she broke the world 400m hurdles record with 51.41 at the U.S. championships, and then broke her own record by almost three-quarters of a second, running 50.68 at the world championships in Oregon to win the world title.

Setting four world records over 13 months, McLaughlin was the first woman to break the 52-second (June 2021) and 51-second (July 2022) barriers in the 400m hurdles.

The award “means absolutely everything,” McLaughlin said at the ceremonies, held at the Prince of Monaco’s palace. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity, first and foremost, all the glory to God. For my team, my coach, my trainers, my husband, my family, everybody,” she added. “It has been an unreal season and I’m really grateful that it has culminated in this to cap it all off.”

McLaughlin, who was born in New Jersey and is married to former NFL player Andre Levrone Jr., called the awards ceremony “an unreal experience that I will never forget.”

The track phenom was the 2015 world youth champion, and in 2016 became the youngest athlete since 1980 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track team, after running to third place at the U.S. Olympic trials with the current world under-18 best of 54.15 seconds.

McLaughlin beat 100m hurdle world champ Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, Jamaica’s world 100m sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia (world 20K race walk champion) and Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, world indoor and outdoor triple jump champion, to win the award.

Men’s World Athlete of the Year

On the men’s side, Swedish pole vault world champ Mondo Duplantis was named World Athlete of the Year, after winning the world pole vault indoor and outdoor double in 2022. Duplantis improved his own world record to 6.21m and claimed the Diamond League and European crowns.

Duplantis, 23, also won the award in 2020. “Going into the year, I had really high expectations of myself and I had some really big goals,” said Duplantis. “I wanted to win the world indoors, the world outdoors, the Europeans, the Diamond League final, and I wanted to break the world record a few times,” he added.

“I was able to do that and it was a bonus–the cherry on top–to do be able to do it [break the world record] at the right times, to do it at world indoors and do it at world outdoors. I can’t complain.”

The other finalists for the men’s award were Kenyan world champion marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, American sprinter and world 200m champ Noah Lyles, Morocco’s steeple champ Soufiane El Bakkali and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, world 5,000m champ.

Finalists announced for Men's World Athlete of the Year 2022

The names of the five finalists for Men’s World Athlete of the Year have been confirmed, as the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2022 continues.

The five athletes, who represent five countries from three area associations, have achieved sensational performances across a range of athletics disciplines in 2022, at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.

The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Mondo Duplantis, SWE- World pole vault champion indoors and outdoors- Diamond League and European pole vault champion- Improved his world record to 6.19m and 6.20m indoors, and then 6.21m outdoors

Soufiane El Bakkali, MAR- World 3000m steeplechase champion- Diamond League 3000m steeplechase champion- Unbeaten in 2022, running a world-leading 7:58.28 in Rabat

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, NOR- World 5000m champion, world 1500m silver medallist indoors and outdoors- European 1500m and 5000m champion- Ran a world indoor 1500m record of 3:30.60 and won the Diamond League title in a world-leading 3:29.02

Eliud Kipchoge, KEN- Improved his world marathon record to 2:01:09- Berlin Marathon champion- Tokyo Marathon champion

Noah Lyles, USA- World 200m champion- Diamond League 200m champion- Ran a world-leading national record of 19.31 to move to third on the world all-time list

Voting procedure for 2022 World Athletes of the Year

A three-way voting process determined the finalists.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family cast their votes by email, while fans logged their decisions online via the World Athletics social media platforms where a record 1.3 million votes were registered.

The World Athletics Council’s vote counted for 50% of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes each counted for 25% of the final result.

Voting closed on 31 October.

The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.

Eliud Kipchoge battles nine world champs for Athlete of the Year Award

Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will battle nine world champions for the men's 2022 World Athlete of the Year Award. The 37-year-old Kipchoge, who is fresh from breaking his own marathon world record, won the 2018 and 2019 awards but also made the final list for the 2020 and 2021 awards.

The winner of the prestigious award in world athletics will be revealed on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December.

The announcement on Thursday marked the opening of the voting process for the 2022 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the 2022 World Athletics Awards in December.

Olympics 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm last year became the first Norwegian to win the Male Athlete of the Year Award, beating four other finalists who included Kipchoge and Olympic 5,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda  for the award.

Kipchoge will face world champions Ceh Kristjan (discus) from Slovakia, Brazilian Alison Dos Santos (400m hurdles), the 2020 winner, Swede Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali (3,000m steeplechase) and American Grant Holloway (110m hurdles).

Others are Norwegian Jakob Ingerbrigtsen (5,000m), Noah Lyles (200m) from United States, Grenada’s Anderson Peters (javelin) and Pedro Pichardo (triple jump) from Portugal.

The athletes were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.

“It has been another memorable year for the sport and the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world,” said a statement from World Athletics.

Kipchoge recaptured the Berlin Marathon title, smashing his own world record by 30 seconds on September 25 in the German capital.

The 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion clocked 2:01:09 to win, beating his previous world record time of 2:01:39 set when winning in Berlin in 2018.

Kipchoge had on March 6 this year won the Tokyo Marathon in a course record time of 2:02:40, beating the newly crowned London Marathon champion Amos Kipruto to second place in 2:03:13.

Kenya's Olympic and world 1,500m champion Faith Chepng'etich was on Wednesday named among the 10 nominees for the female 2022 World Athlete of the Year award.

Kipchoge is the only other Kenyan male to win the award besides 800m world record holder David Rudisha, who claimed it in 2010.

No Kenyan woman has won the award.

A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.

The voting process closes on October 31.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.

Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube this week; a 'like' on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50 percent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25 per cent of the final result.

Voting for the World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on October 31. At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics.

Nominees

Kristjan Ceh (Slovakia)

- World discus champion

- Diamond League discus champion, throwing a national record 71.27m on the circuit in Birmingham

- European discus silver medalist

Alison dos Santos (Brazil)

- World 400m hurdles champion

- Diamond League 400m hurdles champion

- Ran a world-leading South American record of 46.29

Mondo Duplantis (Sweden)

- World pole vault champion indoors and outdoors

- Diamond League and European pole vault champion

- Improved his world record to 6.19m and 6.20m indoors, and then 6.21m outdoors

Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco)

- World 3000m steeplechase champion

- Diamond League 3000m steeplechase champion

- Unbeaten in 2022, running a world-leading 7:58.28 in Rabat

Grant Holloway (USA)

- World 110m hurdles champion

- World indoor 60m hurdles champion

- Diamond League 110m hurdles champion

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway)

- World 5000m champion, world 1500m silver medalist indoors and outdoors

- European 1500m and 5000m champion

- Diamond League 1500m champion in a world-leading 3:29.02

Eliud Kipchoge, (Kenya)

- Improved his world marathon record to 2:01:09

- Berlin Marathon champion

- Tokyo Marathon champion

Noah Lyles (USA)

- World 200m champion

- Diamond League 200m champion

- Ran a world-leading national record of 19.31 to move to third on the world all-time list

Anderson Peters (Grenada)

- World javelin champion

- Commonwealth javelin silver medalist

- Threw a world-leading NACAC record of 93.07m, moving to fifth on the world all-time list

Pedro Pichardo (Portugal)

- World triple jump champion with a world-leading leap of 17.95m

- World indoor triple jump silver medalist

- European triple jump champion.