Running News Daily

The battle for the future of world athletics is already taking shape, but outgoing World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has made one message unmistakably clear: athletics must remain at the heart of the Olympic Games.

Speaking ahead of the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Coe said he remains highly optimistic about the sport’s future and insisted that athletics must protect its position as the leading sport of the Olympic movement.

“There are only two truly global sports, one is football and one is athletics. We must maintain our position as the number one Olympic sport,” Coe said.

The 69-year-old Briton is approaching the final year of his presidency after first taking charge of the global governing body in 2015. He was re-elected for a third term in 2023, which, under World Athletics’ term limits, is his final mandate.

Coe will leave office in 2027, when the next World Athletics president is elected at the Elective Congress in Beijing, immediately before the 2027 World Athletics Championships. The new president will serve a four-year term covering 2027–2031.

And the succession battle is already gathering momentum.

Among the candidates declared eligible so far are prominent figures from within the sport’s leadership, including World Athletics Vice-Presidents Adille Sumariwalla of India, Raul Chapado of Spain and Ximena Restrepo of Colombia. The current list also includes Yuko Arimori of Japan, Hatem Fouda of Egypt, Ivan Garcia of Uruguay, Jean Gracia of France and Kenya’s Jackson Tuwei.

Restrepo brings a particularly distinguished competitive background to the contest. The Colombian won Olympic bronze in the women’s 400 metres at Barcelona 1992 and became the first woman elected as a World Athletics Vice-President in 2019.

For Coe, however, the final chapter of his presidency is not simply about preparing for his departure. He says his priority over the next year is to continue strengthening the sport so that his successor inherits an organisation capable of growing even further.

“I've never been more optimistic about the future of the sport,” Coe said, adding that whoever succeeds him will inherit “a very much stronger sport” than the one he took over in 2015.

His presidency has coincided with significant changes across the sport, including governance reforms, commercial development and efforts to make athletics more innovative and globally engaging. The launch of the new World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this September is another example of the organisation’s attempt to create a shorter, high-stakes competition featuring many of the world’s leading athletes.

But the next president will inherit an enormous responsibility.

Athletics is the foundation of the Olympic Games, producing some of the most iconic moments in Olympic history and bringing together athletes from virtually every corner of the world. The challenge for Coe’s successor will be to preserve that unique position while making the sport more commercially powerful, more accessible to younger audiences and even more compelling in an increasingly competitive global sporting landscape.

Coe believes the opportunity is there.

As he prepares to hand over the presidency in 2027, his challenge to the next generation of World Athletics leadership is clear: protect the sport’s Olympic identity, keep pushing its boundaries and make sure athletics remains the heartbeat of the Games.

The question now is not whether Coe will leave a significant mark on athletics, but who will have the vision, influence and leadership required to carry the sport into its next era.

Who do you think should lead World Athletics after Sebastian Coe?

There are victories that earn medals, and then there are victories that earn the admiration of legends.

On a memorable evening at the London Diamond League, Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson produced another masterclass on home soil, but it was what happened after the finish line that left an even deeper impression.

As the celebrations unfolded, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe delivered one of the most heartfelt tributes an athlete could ever receive. The two-time Olympic 1500m champion bowed before Hodgkinson and declared, "This is my hero."

It was a remarkable gesture from one of Britain's greatest middle-distance runners, a man whose own career inspired generations. Yet, in that moment, Coe made it clear that Hodgkinson's character and achievements had earned his highest respect.

The 24-year-old thrilled the packed London Stadium by winning the women's 800m in a commanding 1:56.21. Despite relentless pressure from Dutch star Femke Bol in the closing stages, Hodgkinson remained composed, powering through the finish to secure a statement victory in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

The performance carried even greater significance because it came after an outdoor season that had been disrupted by injury. Questions surrounded her return, but Hodgkinson answered them in the most convincing way possible—by defeating one of the world's strongest fields with authority and reminding everyone why she remains one of the premier middle-distance runners of her generation.

For Coe, the performance was about far more than the stopwatch.

He has repeatedly praised Hodgkinson's humility, determination and authenticity, previously describing her on the UNTAPPED podcast as one of the most genuine and dedicated athletes in the sport. His emotional honor in London reflected not only admiration for an Olympic champion, but also respect for the resilience, professionalism and character she continues to display on and off the track.

Moments like these transcend medals and records. They remind the sporting world that greatness is measured not only by victories but by the example an athlete sets.

Hodgkinson left London with another Diamond League triumph. More importantly, she left with something few athletes ever receive—the public admiration of a sporting icon who simply bowed his head and acknowledged excellence.

Sometimes, the loudest applause comes without a single word. Sebastian Coe's bow said everything.

Michael Johnson’s ambitious new track and field league, Grand Slam Track, is facing a major financial crisis after a key investor backed out of their funding commitment, leaving the startup owing athletes and vendors over $13 million.

Launched in early 2025 with the goal of transforming the economics of elite track competition, Grand Slam Track promised unprecedented prize money across four high-profile meets. Athletes were told they could earn up to $100,000 per event, far surpassing the standard payouts in the sport.

But just months into its debut season, the reality behind the scenes has shifted dramatically.

“A major investor failed to fulfill their full commitment,” Johnson told Front Office Sports. “That put us in a major, major cash flow issue.”

Millions Owed to Athletes

Only appearance fees from the opening event in Kingston, Jamaica have been paid out. Payments for subsequent events in Miami and Philadelphia are still pending, and no compensation was issued for the Los Angeles event, which was ultimately canceled.

In total, Grand Slam Track now owes at least $13 million to athletes, plus an undisclosed amount to vendors and venues. The startup also defaulted on payments to key partners, including approximately $78,000 owed to the Ansin Sports Complex in Florida.

Athletes have voiced their frustration publicly. Sprinter Gabby Thomas and British star Zharnel Hughes are among those still awaiting payments. The company has informed agents that Kingston prize money will be paid by end of July, with all other dues—including from the canceled LA meet—settled by September.

World Athletics Steps In

The growing controversy has caught the attention of World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who said the organization is “monitoring the situation closely.” In recent interviews, Coe cautioned against “vanity projects” that are heavy on promise but light on execution, adding that athletes and agents have raised formal concerns with the global governing body.

“We have been in discussions with the Association of Athletics Managers,” Coe said, “and we are aware of the growing tension.”

Who Backed Out?

Johnson has so far declined to name the investor who reneged on their funding, but according to sources, the pullout happened days after the Kingston event. The investor allegedly redirected their capital elsewhere due to shifting global financial conditions, including tariff changes.

Can GST Recover?

Despite the turmoil, Johnson says the mission of Grand Slam Track is far from over. A new investor—reportedly Vista Equity’s Robert Smith—joined prior to the Philadelphia event, and Johnson insists the team is working “around the clock” to secure additional capital.

“We’ve got to get this right,” he said. “Our priority is to make sure our athletes and vendors are paid before we even think about next season.”

As of now, all 2025 payments remain outstanding, and the 2026 season hangs in the balance.

The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will mark a historic shift in athletics, with the reintroduction of the mile race, replacing the traditional 1500m event, and the addition of the mixed 4x400m relay. The Games will take place from July 23 to August 2, 2026, featuring a 10-sport programme across four venues, with Scotstoun Stadium hosting the athletics competitions.

The Return of the Commonwealth Mile

For the first time since 1966, the mile race will make its return, paying tribute to the legendary "Miracle Mile" at the 1954 Vancouver Commonwealth Games, where England’s Roger Bannister and Australia’s John Landy—the first two athletes to break the four-minute barrier—battled head-to-head in one of the most iconic races in history.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe welcomed the decision, emphasizing the mile’s significance within the Commonwealth:

"The one mile is the quintessential Commonwealth athletics event whose return to the Games in Glasgow 2026 I very much welcome. The mile is easy to understand—four laps of the track—and remains a standard everyday measurement across the Commonwealth."

He further highlighted the race’s rich legacy:

"From 1930 through to 1966, the mile was the blue-riband event of each Games. Its place in international sports lore was secured when Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier in May 1954. The magic of the mile continues to resonate with sports fans, and a ticket to watch its Commonwealth final will be one of the must-have seats in Glasgow next year."

New Additions: Mixed 4x400m Relay and Expanded Para Athletics Programme

Alongside the return of the mile, the mixed 4x400m relay will be introduced, further enhancing the athletics programme. Additionally, for the first time in Commonwealth Games history, para athletes will compete across all three major disciplines—jumping, throwing, and track events—cementing a new era of inclusivity in the sport.

The full event lineup is available on the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games website, showcasing a programme designed to honor tradition while embracing innovation.

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

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

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

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

World Athletes of the Year for 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Almayew and Furlani named Rising Stars of 2024

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

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

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

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

Knight wins President’s Award

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does home mean to you? Home can be a place, a sense of belonging or a feeling of happiness. For refugees at the Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei, home could easily be a Kids’ Athletics gathering.

On the early morning of 25 April, the Kalobeyei Sports Complex within the refugee settlement came alive, buzzing with athletics activities. A total of 125 young people from five schools took part in the Kids’ Athletics event, held as part of a four-day Kids’ Athletics workshop.

In collaboration with World Athletics, the workshop was held in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlements in north-western Kenya as part of the larger Athletics and Education programme implemented by AHEEN (African Higher Education in Emergencies Network). AHEEN, a network of African institutions, aims to keep young people that are in refugee communities in school and education, informed by principles of physical, social, cognitive and emotional wellbeing and sports science. On board for the workshop were UNHCR and Youth Education and Sports (YES), a refugee-led organisation that supports the development of sport and education for young people in the refugee context. Based in Kakuma, YES is a member of the AHEEN network.

Following the workshop, 23 teachers from four refugee schools and one from the host community applied their learning and delivered a fun event for the children. They were assisted by the U20 Athlete Refugee Team, a team supported by World Athletics as part of the AHEEN Athletics & Education programme.

“As the most universally accessible sport, it is vital that we reach down to the grassroots level to children across the globe to get them inspired about athletics. This is especially true in reaching youth who are displaced or in difficult situations outside of their control. Our Kids’ Athletics programme is the perfect vehicle to enable this by providing the flexibility we need to work with communities like the Kakuma Refugee Camp,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

“Taking Kids’ Athletics to these settings means it becomes much more than a sport programme. With a holistic approach, it combines social, emotional and mental elements to promote a sense of wellbeing, and this is at the heart of our project in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. This is what Kids’ Athletics stands for.

“There can be no doubt as to the importance of Africa to our sport. The depth of athletics talent on the African continent is unparalleled. It is therefore our duty as the global governing body of athletics to implement programmes like Kids’ Athletics to ensure that every child – including those who find themselves in refugee camps such as Kakuma – is offered the same chance to reach the highest echelons of our sport.

“World Athletics will always promote our sport in Africa through grassroots outreach, the development of sporting infrastructure across the region, and the hosting of athletics events.”

Barbara Moser-Mercer is coordinator of AHEEN and designer of its Athletics & Education programme. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Nairobi.

“The community showed up in the stadium and there were many more kids who had wanted to participate. This bodes well for the future expansion of the programme,” she said, reflecting on the workshop and Kids’ Athletics event.

“Both the teachers/coaches and the kids demonstrated incredible engagement and showed us just how crucial sport is for wellbeing, especially in fragile refugee contexts. World Athletics and AHEEN collaborated on the delivery of the Kids’ Athletics workshop and made considerable effort to adapt the programme to the refugee context, ensuring that all the activities fit and met the needs of the local community.”

For Catherine O’Sullivan, Kids’ Athletics Senior Manager at World Athletics, the workshop reinforced the importance of the programme and the work that has been done during the past few years.

“It was heartwarming to see Kids’ Athletics being applied in this setting, bringing positive experiences and smiles to children and young people living in very challenging conditions,” she said.

At the end of the event, food was shared, certificates were awarded, plenty of photos were taken and celebrations were had. The four days impacted heavily on teachers, children and the communities they came from. Athletics brought a positive experience and smiles to children and young people living in extremely challenging conditions. Athletics made them feel at home.

"We want to feature the biggest stars and make it a must-watch global sporting event," said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.

On Monday, World Athletics unveiled plans for a new biennial event to take place during non-world championship/Olympic years, and serving as a lucrative end-of-season finale. The World Ultimate Championships will be a revolutionary global event designed to redefine the athletics calendar and crown the best of the best in athletics. This ultimate championship will bring together world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners and the year’s top-performing athletes to compete for the top prize of USD $150,000.

In Sept. 2026, Budapest will play host to the inaugural World Ultimate Championships, a three-day event boasting a $10 million prize purse. This “best vs. best” competition will feature the top 16 athletes from the 2026 season competing in a track semi-finals and finals format, while the top eight athletes in field events (throwing and jumping) will battle it out in the field finals. Each event winner will pocket USD $150,000—the highest amount of prize money offered at a track and field championship—with additional prize money distributed to the eight finalists. This substantial financial incentive aims to elevate the sport and attract the world’s top athletes.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a press release: “This is about the best of the best; only 400 athletes from about 70 countries. We want this to look different, we want this to feel different (than a World Championships).” Coe’s vision for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship is to deliver high action and excitement for fans. “We want to feature the biggest stars and make it a must-watch global sporting event.”

Designed to captivate millions of television viewers worldwide, the championship will feature a compact three-day athletics schedule, with each evening session lasting under three hours. The format includes semi-finals and finals for track events, and straight finals for field events, ensuring a thrilling and fast-paced competition. According to World Athletics, athletes will not compete for their sponsors, but instead for their national teams, adding an extra layer of pride and excitement to the competition.

The press release reveals that the ultimate event will include the traditional sprint disciplines, middle and long-distance races, relays, jumps and throws. The future hosts beyond the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest have not been announced.

The five gold medals won by one of the greatest Olympic champions in history will return to Paris in March for the first time since they were won in the French capital a century ago.

The press called him “The Flying Finn”, “The Phantom Finn” or “The Finnish Running Marvel”. In the 1920s, Paavo Nurmi, Finland's middle and long distance running ace, was known across the world for his extraordinary human athleticism. Nurmi was a superstar whose fame transcended sports, his name and deeds headlined newspapers and filled out stadiums wherever he traveled.

Nurmi's outstanding Olympic exploits in Paris 1924 established his enduring legend. His five victories there a century ago remain today the most athletic gold medals ever won at a single Games.

Thanks to the kind generosity of the Nurmi family, Nurmi's set of five 1924 gold medals will go on display in the prestigious museum of the Monnaie de Paris on the left bank of the Seine in the heart of the French capital.

Nurmi's Paris golds form part of a larger exhibition of Olympic medals. Gold, silver, bronze. A history of the Olympic medal , organized by the museum of the French mint to mark the Olympic Games of Paris 2024, offers a fascinating exploration of the history of the Olympic medal, highlighting its evolution through the editions of the modern Olympic Games.

The exhibition opens for media preview on 26 March and to the public from 27 March to 22 September 2024.

Mika Nurmi, the grandson of Paavo, and Finland's four-time Olympic champion Lasse Viren will be honored guests at the press preview and public opening ceremony.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “World Athletics is delighted that the family of Paavo Nurmi, the Paavo Nurmi Games, the City of Turku and the museum of the Monnaie de Paris have partnered with our own Museum of World Athletics to return one of the most famous sets of Olympic medals to the French capital for the first time since they were won there a century ago.

“During the year of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, we are celebrating the outstanding achievements of The Flying Finn Paavo Nurmi who in 1924 won a still unsurpassed haul of five Olympic athletics gold medals in a single edition of the Games.

“As famous as the Hollywood stars of his day, lauded by US presidents, Nurmi was the first truly global sports star. Nurmi ended his career with nine golds and three Olympic silver medals and 22 ratified world records but his achievements in Paris 1924, including an outrageous 1500m and 5000m double won with only an hour rest between the two finals, marked the zenith of his career.

“When visiting Paris for this summer's Olympic Games, I look forward to viewing this historic display of Nurmi's golds. These five medals are the athletics centre piece of an impressive six-month exhibition of Olympic medals and coins staged in the neoclassical museum of the Monnaie de Paris, the world's oldest continuously running mint.”

Chairman and CEO of Monnaie de Paris Marc Schwartz commented: “Presenting an extraordinary set of Olympic gold medals at the Monnaie de Paris Museum is truly an honor. Even years later, Paavo Nurmi stands out as one of the most renowned athletes of all time. The celebration of his accomplishments undoubtedly positions this collection as a highlight of our exhibition: 'Gold, Silver, Bronze. A history of the Olympic Medal'. Come to see it in Paris!”

World Athletics Council Member and Chairman of the Paavo Nurmi Games Antti Pihlakoski said: “The Paavo Nurmi Games and Festival organization is grateful to the Museum of the Monnaie de Paris and World Athletics and its Heritage Department for highlighting Paavo Nurmi and his unique career as an Olympic athlete. The display of his Paris 1924 medals serves not only to help a historical understanding of his feats but their continuing impact on society a century later.

“The mission of the Paavo Nurmi Games and Festival organization, with the great support of the City of Turku, is to promote a diverse culture of physical activity in the name of Paavo Nurmi, catering to people of all ages, organizing top-level sporting events, mass sports events for different age groups, and charity events, the proceeds of which are distributed to support physical activities for low-income families.

“We believe that Paavo Nurmi would be pleased that 100 years after his legendary Olympic success in Paris, his legacy continues to be an active part of his hometown City of Turku, Finland, and lives on in the international athletics and sporting community.

“Warm thanks to the Museum of the Monnaie de Paris and World Athletics.”

Marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach died in a car crash in Kenya late Sunday, a fellow athlete who went to the hospital and saw Kiptum's body said.

Kiptum was 24 and on course to be a superstar of long-distance running.

Kiptum and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in the crash at around 11 p.m., said Kenyan runner Milcah Chemos, who was at the hospital where the bodies were taken.

The crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, she said, in the heart of the high-altitude region that's renowned as a training base for long distance runners.

Chemos said she was among a group of athletes who had gone to the hospital in Eldoret after hearing the news of the crash. Family members of Kiptum were also with them to identify his body, Chemos said.

Kenyan media reported that a third person, a woman, was in the car and was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.

Kiptum was the first man to run the marathon in under 2 hours, 1 minute. He set the new world record of 2:00.35 at the Chicago Marathon in October, beating the mark of fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge.

Kiptum's record was ratified by international track federation World Athletics last week.

Kenyan athletics federation president Jackson Tuwei said he had sent a team of officials to the area after being informed of the late-night accident.

Kiptum had immediate success by running the fastest time ever by a marathon debutant at the 2022 Valencia Marathon. He won the London and Chicago races last year, two of the most prestigious marathons in the world.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was one of the first to offer his condolences in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana," Coe wrote. "On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation."

"It was only earlier this week in Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon World Record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time. An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly," Coe wrote.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has disclosed that plans are underway to add World Championships marathons to World Marathon Majors.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says discussions are underway to comprise the World Championships marathons into World Marathon Majors.

As reported by Athletics Weekly, Coe noted that he has been in discussions with the WMM organizers about weaving the world championship road races into their big-city event programmes.

“The issue for us is really about how we can create those opportunities. A lot of athletes are also looking at the world championships and thinking that Chicago or New York is around the corner and asking themselves whether they should be running the worlds when they can earn good money on the roads a few weeks later.

"Maybe we can reduce the marathon to a half-marathon at the world championships which would at least take some of the athlete welfare issues away and would allow them to do it in the build-up to a marathon majors event,” he added.

The president also explained that he finds it difficult to see an end to the global warming crisis any time soon and will be keen to put measures in place that will provide the best outcome for athletes and fans.

“In light of global warming and the inability of governments to use anything other than ‘BS’ in this space then it’s going to be down to the sport to try to figure out how they navigate their way through this.

"We’ve found 76% of our athletes already said that global warming has had a profound impact on their competition and training programmes.

"I think it’s inevitable that sport will globally have to look at rejigging the calendar because there won’t be any immediate respite from this problem and we’re further from the 2030 targets than we’ve ever been, whatever anyone tells us at COP 28!” she said.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus are still banned from athletics events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said on Monday that the situation could change, and that a working group is monitoring it.

Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) at next year’s Olympics.

Athletes holding a Russian or Belarusian passport who have secured their places through existing qualification systems on the field of play will be deemed eligible to compete at Paris 2024, following specific conditions.

World Athletics, however, decided to stick to the blanket ban despite the IOC’s decision.

Athletes from both countries have faced a multitude of sanctions from international competitions since the conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022.

During a media call with agencies including Xinhua on Monday, Coe confirmed “there is no change [to the ban]”, but expressed hope that the sanctions could be lifted.

“The most important thing is that the autonomy and independence of international federations to make these judgements is really important. We made a judgement which we believe was in the best interest of our sport,” he said.

“Do I see anything changing in the foreseeable future? I don’t know. The world changes every five minutes, the situation could change. We do have a working group that is monitoring the situation within the sport, and it will advise and guide the Council on what circumstances might need to exist for any exclusion to be lifted,” Coe added.

Coe also expressed his confidence in the competitiveness of the athletics competitions in Paris, following a “stupendous” season that has seen 23 world records and nine world U20 records broken in 2023.

“The one word I would use [to sum up the 2023 season] is stupendous,” he said. “I can’t remember a season that has delivered more high quality performances across a broader bandwidth of disciplines.”

“Everywhere you look, you have the potential for some extraordinary head-to-heads in the sport, in pretty much every discipline,” added Coe.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has met with members of the Ukrainian team and newly elected World Athletics Council member Nataliya Dobrynska in Budapest to deliver much-needed equipment provided by the Ukraine Fund.

The fund – which was established by World Athletics, together with the International Athletics Foundation (IAF) and Members of the Diamond League Association, last year and renewed in May – was created to support elite athletes affected by the conflict in their home country.

Its primary purpose is to ensure that Ukrainian athletes can continue to train, qualify for and participate in World Championship events, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. A team of 29 Ukrainian athletes is currently competing at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The fund has USD$190,000 available this year to assist the athletes, their immediate family and key support personnel. As well as paying for travel and accommodation for elite athletes at training camps, and for non-quota officials and athletes at World Athletics Series events, support also included purchasing equipment – particularly for the pole vault – to replace items that have been destroyed during missile attacks.

On Thursday (24) Ukraine marks its 32nd anniversary of independence and, meeting with the athletes the day before that anniversary, Coe said: “I am grateful you are here competing at this 40th anniversary of the World Championships.

“I know how hard it has been for you emotionally and physically. I have spoken to many of you since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. And I want you to know that World Athletics will continue to support you as long as you need help.”

The equipment provided includes pole vault poles, as well as mats.

“This year, we have heard your request to provide athletics equipment destroyed by the war, and support for summer camp training and preparation for Budapest,” Coe added. “And this is where we have focused our efforts. We have the poles, and I am delighted they are being used. The mats will follow.

“Thank you, all of you – the athletes, the coaches and the federation – for keeping our sport alive in Ukraine.”

Dobrynska said: “Today, we come together to express our huge gratitude to World Athletics, led by President Sebastian Coe, for being a pillar of support during these challenging times in Ukraine.

“In a world that sometimes feels divided, you remind us of the power of unity. You should know that all of Ukraine appreciates your commitment and involvement in what our athletes are trying to achieve under very difficult circumstances.”

It is expected that up to 100 members of the Ukrainian athletics community may require some financial support this year.

Also on Wednesday, Ukrainian 400m hurdler Anna Ryzhykova, Athlete Refugee Team (ART) member Perina Nakang, ART coach Janeth Jepkosgei and World Athletics ambassador David Rudisha met with refugees families, including those from Ukraine, currently living in Hungary.

The refugee families, who are being assisted by the UN refugee agency UNHCR and Hungarian agency Menedek, were provided with tickets to attend Wednesday morning’s session of the World Athletics Championships before meeting with the athletes.

They came together at the WCH Budapest 23 Green Zone, which is hosting sustainability awareness-raising activities and meet & greets with athletes over the course of the championships.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe was elected for a third term at the 54th World Athletics Congress in Budapest on Thursday (17).

Ximena Restrepo was re-elected as a Vice President and will be joined by newly elected Vice Presidents Raul Chapado, Adille Sumariwalla and Jackson Tuwei.

A total of 192 voting members of Congress voted for Coe and three abstained. Under the World Athletics Constitution, this will be Coe’s final term as President.

In 2019, Restrepo, the 1992 Olympic 400m bronze medallist from Colombia, became the first woman to be elected as a World Athletics Vice President.

As part of the widespread reforms adopted by the World Athletics Congress at the end of 2016, World Athletics added minimum gender targets into its constitution to establish parity at all levels in the sport’s governance.

The reforms detailed a requirement to have 13 members of each gender elected to the World Athletics Council at the 2027 Congress. This target has been met four years earlier than the reform roadmap prescribed.

The remaining requirement to be met at the 2027 Congress is the election of two Vice Presidents of each gender.

"I’m grateful for the support of my colleagues and delighted to see that more of the commitments we made during the governance reform process in 2016 have come to fruition with the election of World Athletics’ first gender equal Council four years ahead of schedule," said Coe. "But the job is not done yet and we need to keep pushing for gender parity throughout our representative bodies. The strength of our sport is in its diversity and that should be reflected in our governance at all levels."

The Ukrainian athletics team will gather in Slovakia this week for a final training camp before travelling to Hungary for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, starting in less than three weeks (August 19).

World Athletics’ Ukraine Fund and the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity Fund have combined to provide training camp accommodation for 40 athletes and officials in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, which will allow Ukraine’s top athletes to complete their final preparations for their most important competition of the year.

World Athletics has provided additional accommodation for three athletes and their families for an extended period in Bankska Bystrica, from 1 June to 30 September.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “We understand how important and inspirational Ukraine’s athletes are to their country at this terrible time and we want to give them every opportunity to compete and excel, despite the great hardship being visited on them and their communities by this horrific war. They have lost so much and the least we can do is help them to keep their athletics dreams alive. I am full of admiration for their fortitude and resilience and I am looking forward to welcoming the Ukrainian team to the National Athletics Centre in Budapest in the coming weeks.”

The general secretary of the Ukrainian Athletic Association Iolanta Khropach offered her “heartfelt thanks” for the “important financial assistance provided during this terrible war in our country”.

“Your unwavering belief in us has made a profound impact on the life of our team and the opportunities to prepare for world-class competitions,” she said. “Thanks to your support, we have been able to provide the best athletes of the Ukrainian team with the necessary conditions on the final stage of the preparation to the World Athletic Championships in Budapest to achieve their sports goals. We are happy to see your willingness to lend a helping hand in difficult times for us during the war.”

World Athletics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee funded a similar programme to help the Ukrainian team prepare for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 last year, where two athletes emerged as medallists. World indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the silver medal in the women’s high jump and Andriy Protsenko won bronze in the men’s high jump.

The IOC contributed an additional US$20,000 to support the Ukrainian team at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali last year.

Through its Ukraine Fund, World Athletics distributed more than US$220,000 last year to support Ukrainian athletes preparing for the World Championships and the World Athletics U20 Championships in response to the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is distributing a further US$190,000 this year to support Ukrainian athletes preparing for Budapest.

This fund was launched by World Athletics, the Member Meetings of Diamond League Association and the International Athletics Foundation in April 2022 with the purpose of assisting professional athletes, immediate family members and their support personnel affected by Russia’s invasion of their home country.

This is in addition to the Solidarity Fund of US$7.5 million established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2022 to support Ukrainian athletes and the Ukrainian Olympic community.

Six-time world champion and former Olympic silver medalist Genzebe Dibaba has confirmed she will take to the starting line for this year’s Antrim Coast Half-Marathon.

The 32-year-old Ethiopian, who finished second in the 1500m at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, is the latest elite name to be added to the field for this year’s event, which takes place on August 25-27.

A former World Junior champion, and a two-time junior race winner at the World Cross Country Championships, Dibaba won her first world title in the 1500m at the 2012 World Indoors in Istanbul.

Her second came two years later in the 3000m at the World Indoors in Sopot, Poland, before she added the 1500m title at the 2013 World Championships in Beijing.

She would add another 1500m World Indoor title in 2016 in Portland before claiming gold in both the 1500m and 3000m at the 2018 World Indoors in Birmingham.

Dibaba, whose best half-marathon time is 1:05.18, will face stern competition from the likes of Amsterdam Marathon winner Degitu Azimeraw and former Great Ethiopian Run winner Zeineba Yimer.

However, Dibaba will enter the event as one of the favorites to cross the line first and race director Ruth McIlroy is thrilled they have added another huge name to the line-up.

"Everyone is delighted we have secured Genzebe, she's been someone we have been working towards getting to the event over the last 12 months,” said McIlroy.

"We feel we have one of the fastest half marathon courses in the world and think she, along with some other stars, will run extremely quick.

"Both the men's and women's elite races have a similar calibre to a global final so we could be looking at something very special in August.”

On the men’s side of the event, Ethiopian great Jemal Yimer is going for his third straight win in the event and is boasting considerable form after winning the Los Angeles Marathon and setting a UK & Ireland All-Comers record with a time of 58.33.

However, Yimer is only one of three runners who have broken the 59-minute mark in the field this year, with Kenya’s Daniel Mateiko having set a time of 58.26 and two-time Tokyo Marathon winner Birhanu Legese also competing.

The local challenge will be spearheaded by Irish Olympian duo Paul Pollock and Kevin Seaward, while Scotland’s Callum Hawkins also runs in a star-studded field.

Meanwhile, world junior champion Ermias Girma has been confirmed for the Condor Executive Street Mile to be run on the Friday night, with the Ethiopian eyeing up the first sub-four-minute mile.

Former Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Winnie Nanyondo is also confirmed for the event as she looks to better her personal best time of four minutes and 18 seconds.

Elsewhere, McIlroy is keen to see the Antrim Coast & Belfast bid given the green light to represent the United Kingdom in its bid to host either the 2025 or 2026 World Road Running Championships.

The bid, which has already been endorsed by Northern Ireland’s five main political parties, is Athletics UK’s preferred choice and will be the last to present to World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.

"With 50,000 runners from over 160 countries, it would be a truly great way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and showcase the beauty of our province and sporting excellence to the rest of the world,” added McIlroy.

The bid will be heard on Tuesday, July 4, with the winning regions revealed on August 18 at the World Track & Field Championships in Budapest.

Athletics fans will have the opportunity to see the world’s best milers, 5km runners and half-marathoners compete in a single day at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 under the revamped schedule announced today.

World Athletics and the Riga Local Organising Committee (LOC) have agreed to introduce a more compact programme, which will see the elite races and mass races held on the same day, October 1, at the championships.

The inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships was originally envisioned as a two-day event, with the new road mile and 5km road championships to be held on Saturday 30 September and the half marathon races on Sunday 1 October, but in a move to create a more exciting build up for fans, all events have been brought together with the mass races on one day.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “As preparations for the World Road Running Championships have evolved, it has become apparent that the event will work better as a single-day event in Riga, both for local organisers and for broadcast. It will also give recreational runners the opportunity to be fully immersed in the day, running before and after our elite runners, and will create the festival atmosphere that we want to see to celebrate road running at every level.”

The new timetable begins on the morning of 1 October with the mass races over 5km and the road mile to be followed by the elite races over the same distances. Then attention will turn to the half marathon distance with the elite races to be followed by the mass race.

This unique global running festival will not only crown the world road mile, 5km and half marathon champions, but is also expected to feature thousands of amateur runners, kids and families from up to 100 countries participating alongside elite runners.

Aigars Nords, Head of the Local Organising Committee, commented: “With three months to go to the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, we have already attracted recreational runners from more than 50 countries all over the world. Saturday 30 September will see thousands of kids and families warm up for the championships during Kids’ Day, while Sunday 1 October will provide a unique opportunity for everyone to earn their mass race medals, not only in the road mile, 5km, and half marathon, but also in the half marathon relay, a new mass race, aimed at recreational runners not yet ready for the challenges of a half marathon.”

Any recreational runner who is ready for a challenge can register for any of the official mass races of the World Championships in Riga and earn a unique medal from the World Athletics Road Running Championships.

WRRC Riga 23 updated schedule

Saturday 30 September 202310:00 – 15:00 Kids’ Day

Sunday 1 October 202310:00 Mass race | 5km11:30 Mass race | Road mile11:50 Women | 5km12:15 Men | 5km13:00 Women | Road mile13:10 Men | Road mile13:30 Women | Half marathon14:15 Men + mass race | Half marathon | Half marathon relay (10.5km + 10.5km)

“With the introduction of the super-fast Mondo track of the National Athletics Center, the stage is set for exhilarating battles and historic performances at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe after running the first lap on the new track, accompanied by local young athletes.

The build up through the one-day meetings of the Wanda Diamond League and the Continental Tour have seen some thrills and spills already.

And you don’t need to wait long for finals. They have been set throughout the Championships from the first day, Saturday 19 August. All athletes are looking for a loud crowd to keep them focused on medals and records.  But a passionate home crowd is super important to Hungarian athletes and their performances.

On day one, the men’s shot put is the first final in the stadium – defending champion Ryan Crouser (USA) broke the world record recently and will duel with two-time world champion Joe Kovacs (who may be in a USA vest but has family ties much closer to here – his grandfather is from the village of Szentpéterfa in Hungary).

For those who want a weekend of watching the strongest men in athletics, Sunday 20 August features the men’s hammer throw.  

“I don’t need to tell the people of Hungary that there is a huge national tradition in this event. Five of Hungary’s 10 Olympic athletics gold medals are for the hammer. And Hungary’s very own Bence Halász, who won the European Athletics silver medal in Munich last year and bronze at the World Championships in Doha in 2019 will be wanting his home crowd to give him a little extra muscle,” added President Coe.

The National Athletics Center in Budapest, a brand new, purpose-built facility, is emerging as the Central European region's athletics stronghold.

“As Budapest and the whole country prepares to welcome athletes from more than 200 countries; for Central European fans this is a unique opportunity to see the world’s best athletes compete in their own region. My message to all of you is don’t miss out. Book your tickets and your place in history now,” – added the World Athletics President

This historic occasion marks the first time in the 40-year history of the World Athletics Championships that a Central European country has been granted the opportunity to host the world's third-largest sporting event.

"We are organizing the biggest sporting event of the year, and the level of interest we have already witnessed is extraordinary. With tens of thousands of international fans and our very own passionate Hungarian supporters, we have already sold over 190,000 tickets.

The World Championships will be broadcast to an estimated one billion viewers worldwide, bringing immeasurable value and pride to Hungary," stated Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of Defence and responsible for Sport and the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 organization.

The Minister encouraged fellow sports enthusiasts to witness the remarkable performances of Hungarian athletes firsthand, cheering them on throughout the thrilling opening weekend and celebrating their potential podium finishes.

On Saturday, the track that witnessed Sebastian Coe's inaugural lap will be open for everyone to experience, ahead of the world's top athletes competing in August. The National Athletics Centre's family opening day on June 17 invites participants to enjoy the track and engage in races, free of charge. Additionally, participants can seize the opportunity to purchase tickets for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, from August 19 to 27, at an exclusive 50% discount. Secure your tickets now at tickets.wabudapest23.com.

World Athletics, together with the International Athletics Foundation and members of the Diamond League Association, has renewed the Ukraine Fund established last year to support professional athletes affected by the conflict in their home country.

The Fund’s purpose is to ensure that elite Ukrainian athletes can continue to train, qualify for and participate in World Championship events this year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The fund currently has $190,000US available to assist athletes, their immediate family and key support personnel, and there will be a particular emphasis on purchasing pole vault equipment after the destruction through missile attacks of a key sporting complex in Bakhmut.

This year’s other priorities will be paying for travel and accommodation for elite athletes at training camps over the summer season, covering travel and accommodation for non-quota officials and athletes to participate at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 from August 19 to 27 and the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 from September 30 to October 1.

The Ukrainian Athletic Federation general secretary, Iolanta Khropach, explained that a large sporting complex in Bakhmut - an athletics stadium, an indoor arena, throwing fields, a medical centre and the Sergey Bubka Olympic Sports College - had been destroyed in the battle for Bakhmut in recent months.

"It was the only centre where athletes could conduct training camps at any time of the year," she wrote in a letter to World Athletics.

"This was very important because in cold winters we do not have enough arenas for training.

"It was also a very important training centre for pole vaulters.

Now there is nothing left in Bakhmut.

"We are grateful for all the help, support and understanding that you give us, but we ask you, if it is in your power, to contact the manufacturers of athletics equipment with a request to provide us with athletics equipment as humanitarian aid."

The federation reports that track and field facilities in Kharkiv and Chernihiv have also been badly damaged during the fighting.

World Athletics intends to work with equipment manufacturers to replace equipment that has been damaged or lost and ship it to training camps near Ukraine’s western border.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe added: "Last year the Ukraine Fund enabled the Ukrainian Federation to send a strong team to the World Athletics Championships Oregon23, where Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Andriy Protsenko won medals, and we want to make sure Ukrainian athletes have the same opportunity to compete and succeed this year.

"They have been put in a terrible situation following the invasion of their country.

"This year’s fund will provide further support to enable them to find stability and security as they prepare to represent their country this year.

"The deliberate destruction of Ukrainian athletics facilities and equipment is also a serious attack on the accessibility of our sport.

"We will do whatever we can to help athletics survive and recover in Ukraine."

The Ukraine Fund will provide financial assistance to the following two groups.

Group One includes athletes who are affiliated to the Ukrainian Athletic Federation and have qualified, or have a credible chance to qualify, to compete at any upcoming World Athletics Championships until Fund closure.

Group Two will cover Ukrainian Federation requests for funding for specific activities, such as the cost of training camps, purchase of athletics equipment, or travel and accommodation of out-of-quota Federation officials and support personnel to World Athletics Championships.

Funding for Group One involves enrolment, subsistence and accommodation, at training camps/temporary housing, welfare support, travel and accommodation to compete at qualifying events for World Championships and travel and accommodation to compete at World Athletics Championships if not otherwise provided.

Funding for Group Two involves enrolment, subsistence and accommodation at training camps to prepare for World Championships, travel and accommodation to accompany Group One athletes at qualifying events for World Championships, athletics equipment to replace lost or damaged equipment (for elite athletes and grassroots), support to general operations of member federations, officials and coaches.

It is expected that up to 100 members of the Ukrainian athletics community may require some financial support this year.

The fund can receive additional contributions from other athletics organisations at any time until its closure which is set for December 31 2023.

Potential beneficiaries can register for consideration by emailing UKRFund@worldathletics.org, while other athletics organisations who would like to contribute to the fund can do so by contacting the same address.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheptegei and Kamworor ready for rematch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hull and Coburn take different routes to Bathurst relay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kenya has revealed plans to bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships after missing out on the 2025 hosting rights last year.

Sports Minister Abadu Namwamba has confirmed Kenya's intent to become the first African nation to stage the event as the country looks to play host in six years' time.

Namwamba's announcement came during World Athletics President Sebastian Coe's visit to Kenyan capital Nairobi this week.

"Having lost the bid for 2025, we will prepare for 2029 and we believe we will be in a very strong position to put in a compelling bid," said Namwamba.

"We will be banking on the goodwill from World Athletics.

"We will come up with a much stronger bid."

Nairobi was among four bidders for the 2025 World Athletics Championships with Japanese capital Tokyo securing the event in July 2022.

Speaking at the time of the decision, Coe cited concerns over the Moi International Stadium as a reason why the Kenyan capital lost out to Tokyo.

The venue in Kasarani hosted the 2020 World Athletics under-20 Championships and has also staged the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in the past two years.

"There were challenges around the stadium which would have needed a great deal of refurbishment and that was concern expressed by the [World Athletics] Council about the timeframe and the quantum of resource that would be needed in order to do that," said Coe in July.

"I have spoken to the Kenyan Athletics Association, and they know that I am fully committed to helping them or any other African country stage a World Championship in the foreseeable future."

Only the United States has won more medals than Kenya at the World Athletics Championships.

Kenya has claimed 62 gold, 55 silver and 44 bronze medals with much of their success coming over the long-distance races.

Coe visited Nairobi where he met Kenyan President William Ruto and Sports Minister Abadu Namwamba as well as representatives from Athletics Kenya and anti-doping authorities and several athletes.

There were fears that Athletics Kenya would be banned by World Athletics following a spate of positive doping cases.

However, the governing body evaded a lengthy ban after the Kenyan Government acted promptly, committing $25 million (£20.5 million/€23.7 million) to fight doping.

According to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), Kenya has 54 athletes serving bans - the third most behind Russia with 92 and India with 65.

Kenya is one of seven "Category A" nations deemed by the AIU to have the highest doping risk and threaten the overall integrity of the sport.

Diana Kipyokei and Lawrence Cherono, both former Boston Marathon winners, are among the high-profile Kenyan athletes currently banned.

Last year's delayed World Athletics Championships was staged in Eugene in the US.

Hungarian capital Budapest is set to host this year's edition before Tokyo stages the event in two years' time.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has said that Kenya will need to work on its infrastructural facilities among other areas if they are to host the World Athletics Championships.

Coe said that the county’s capacity and integration of all different facets that will give athletes the very best, must be attained as Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei disclosed that Kenya is now keen on hosting the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Kenya lost its bid to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships to Tokyo, Japan with the country's poor infrastructure especially the lack of a modern stadium costing the country dearly.

Coe hinted that World Aesthetics is ready to help Kenya build capacity in terms of the technical aspect to bolster their chances of hosting the world event.  

“It’s quite understandable this is a country with a passion for athletics and wanting to stage big events. While the country’s track record is good, other areas still fall short,” said Coe, adding that the country also has to show progress and make coherent steps in resolving doping challenges.

Coe noted that Kenya might have hosted quite successful 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships and 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships but having a strong technical base will be key to hosting major events.

Coe said by-passing the 2027 bid will help Kenya prepare well for 2029 bid.

Tuwei welcomed the move by World Athletics to help them in technical capacity saying Kenya won’t relent on putting up another bid.

Coe, at the same time, said the only way out for Kenya to get out of Category “A” of the countries with most doping cases is the reduction of the cases.

In 2018, World Athletics placed Kenya among four countries in ‘Category A’, the others being Ethiopia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Athletes from these federations selected to compete in major events will have to undergo at least three out-of-competition doping tests in the 10 months before a World Athletics Championships or Olympic Games.

One of the tests must be of blood and the tests should be done two weeks apart.

Kenya is ready to abide by World Athletics guidelines in view of preserving the country’s strong tradition of competing and winning clean, Sports CS Ababu Namwamba has said.

Nawamba Wednesday told the visiting World Athletics President Sebastian Coe that the government will champion for cultural change in sport by inculcating the value of integrity amongst the athletes.

Namwamba said that they will partner with the Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU) and Athletics Kenya to ensure that issues pertaining to athletics sports management and Kenya's battle against doping is achieved.

"I am a strong believer in Abraham Lincoln's philosophy that it is more honorable to lose than to cheat. Our athletes must also live by this," Namwamba told Coe, who paid him a courtesy call at Maktaba Kuu office, Nairobi Wednesday afternoon.

Coe, who arrived in the country on Tuesday, is on a one week private visit and holiday in the country.

The World Athletics boss will  Thursday hold discussions with Athletics Kenya officials, coaches and athletes at the Weston Hotel, Nairobi.

Coe, 66, will also have a session with the media starting at 11m at the same hotel.

Coe’s visit comes five weeks after chairing a World Athletics Council meeting in Italy , which gave the country a great reprieve on matters of doping.

Even though Kenya stayed in Category “A” of countries where doping is prevalent, the country escaped a ban despite the skyrocketing cases of doping cases in the country.

Coe lauded Kenya’s efforts to fight the doping scourge adding that the move by the Kenyan government to increase the funding in the fight against doping to Sh619 million annually for a period of five years, was evident enough.

Coe said that the funding will help increase the number of tests, investigations besides bolstering the already comprehensive education programs by Athletics Kenya and Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

In the last four years, 90 Kenyan athletes have been banned or suspended for varying doping offences with 30 cases coming last year.

World Athletics president confirms east African nation will not receive a global suspension from the sport despite an alarming spate of drugs positives.

Speculation that Athletics Kenya will be barred from international competition was proved unfounded on Wednesday (Nov 30) when World Athletics president Seb Coe said the country has escaped a ban but will continue to sit on an anti-doping ‘watch list’.

Speaking at a World Athletics council press conference in Rome, Coe said the large number of top Kenyan athletes to test positive for drugs was “concerning” but the nation will not receive a Russian-style suspension due to, among other things, a pledge by the Kenyan government to plough $5 million per year into anti-doping efforts over the next five years.

“World Athletics has been concerned,” said Coe. “Kenya has been on the watch list for a few years already. 

“In one year 40% of all the positive tests in global athletics have been in Kenya and this is not a situation that World Athletics was prepared to sit and watch develop.”

Coe added that there has been “a lot of recent reportage, some of which has been correct and some not. But we have made real progress.”

As well as the Kenyan government funding, Coe said the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) will continue to work closely with Kenya to implement the plan. 

He added: “All stakeholders internationally and domestically are now aligned to resolve this situation and I am pleased we have a united response. But my instinct tells me it will be a long journey.

“This has to be collectively driven through all the stakeholders, internationally and domestically, who have a role and responsibility to solve this as quickly as possible.”

Coe said money would be spent on anti-doping education and “a deeper dive into the entourage of some of the people who surround the athletes”. 

This, he said, “allows us more horsepower to challenge some of these issues”.

Kenya aside, an update on the ongoing Russian ban was tackled by Coe and Rune Andersen, head of the World Athletics taskforce on restoring Russia to global competition.

Coe emphasised that two separate sanctions exist – the anti-doping related ban and the sanction relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

With regards anti-doping, good progress and cultural change has been made and Russia’s possible reinstatement into competition will be discussed again in March 2023.

Related to this, the Ukrainian Athletic Association was awarded the ‘president’s award’ as part of the World Athletics awards with Coe presenting Ukrainian AA president Yevhen Pronin with the honor during the press conference.

“I couldn’t think of anyone worthier than this for this year’s award,” said Coe. “What the Ukrainian Athletics Federation president, the coaches, and the athletes have done is just worthy of everyone’s respect and recognition.”

Elsewhere, Coe spoke about 2022 being “an immensely strong year for athletics” with four World Athletics Series events involving more than 4000 competitors from 180 countries with 554 national records and a television audience of more than one billion people.

The World Indoor Championships in Belgrade had an economic impact of $43m with the World Championships in Oregon having an impact of $273m.

The Continental Tour, meanwhile, saw 162 events with 12,000 athletes across 159 nations with 118 national records and 2400 PBs. Diamond League figures, Coe added, were not yet available for 2022.

Further council decisions included awarding the World Relays to Bahamas in 2024 as a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics. The road mile will become an official world record event from January. And the World Road Running Championships will switch from a biennial event to annual from 2025.

It is with regret that the World Athletics Council has decided to postpone the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 2023, scheduled for 17-19 March 2023, until March 2025 (exact dates to be confirmed).

This decision was taken with the agreement of both the Nanjing organizing committee and the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), due to the ongoing pandemic conditions.

Nanjing was originally selected to host the 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships, which were first postponed until March 2021, and then to March 2023, as the pandemic continued.

The next edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships will now be in Glasgow on 1-3 March 2024, and the bid process has already commenced for the 2026 edition of the championships, which is why 2025 has been designated as the year for the Nanjing championships.

“We’re disappointed that we have had to postpone this event again due to circumstances beyond our control, but we have done so to give certainty to athletes and Member Federations preparing for the 2023 competition season,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. “Unfortunately, the time frame will prevent us from relocating the 2023 event, but the indoor championships will return in 2024 in Glasgow.

“We have offered Nanjing the 2025 edition because we are mindful of the substantial preparations the LOC has already done to host the event and we want to avoid potential financial losses for all parties. I want to thank CAA and the LOC for their cooperation in resolving this situation.”

Despite this postponement, athletes will still have substantial competitive opportunities available in the early part of 2023 through the World Athletics Indoor Tour, which will offer a full calendar of events from late January to March (more events to be added) and is organized across four different tiers of competition – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger.

Next year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest will last for nine days - one less than the last five editions of this event - and will favor athletes seeking double bids.

Popular doubles such as the 100m/200m, 800m/1500m, 1500m/5000m, 5000m/10,000m, 20km/35km race walk, women's long jump/triple jump and women's 200m/400m have all been made possible with athletes attempting them not having to contest more than one round in any given session.

The 2023 World Championships schedule - from August 19 to 27 - will involve 49 disciplines including six road events which will be spread across five separate mornings.

All track and field finals will be contested in the evening sessions, with at least four finals scheduled every day, even on the first day.

The final two days will feature eight medal events and both will end with women's relays.

And, as has been the case at recent major championships, the mixed and single-sex 4x400m finals are held either side of the individual one-lap disciplines to allow athletes to partake in both relays and individual disciplines should they so desire.

The first evening session will end with the mixed 4x400m final.

The men's 100m will be in the spotlight on the second day, while the women's 100m takes center stage on day three.

The women's 1500m will be one of four finals held on day four.

The men's 400m hurdles will conclude the action on day five.

Both 35km race walk finals will be held on the morning of day six and there will be no rest on the seventh day, as both 200m finals will conclude the evening session.

The women's marathon starts on the penultimate day, which will later include the men's pole vault and both 4x100m finals.

The men's marathon will be held on the morning of the final day and the championships will end with both 4x400m finals.

"The release of the timetable is a significant milestone for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, now less than a year away," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.

"After seeing the extraordinary crowds that descended on Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games and Munich for the European Championships in the last month, we know the appetite for our sport across Europe is as strong as ever and we're looking forward to taking our premier event to central Europe for the first time.

"Creating the timetable for an outdoor World Championships is a complex balancing act, taking into account the needs of athletes, broadcasters and the host city, as well as our other stakeholders.

"I’m confident that a return to a nine-day programme and evening-only finals in the stadium will be embraced by our athletes and audience in Budapest, and by those watching around the world."

Peter Deutsch, chief executive of the Budapest 2023 local organising committee, added: "We have created a schedule that best serves the interests of the athletes, including Hungarian athletes and the audience.

"There will be a lot of competitions late in the evening because that will be the right weather for the athletes.

"Every night there will be great excitement, there will be finals, and every night there will be Hungarians in the field for the home fans to cheer on.

"Our aim is for the World Championships to strengthen Hungarian athletics, to achieve the best results and to make this wonderful sport as popular as possible."

Tickets are due to go on sale in late 2022.

Runners knocked out in the opening round of track events from 200 to 1500 meters at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will get another opportunity to continue in the competition after World Athletics announced they are to introduce a repechage round.

Under the new format approved by the World Athletics Council, athletes who do not qualify by place in round one heats, including the hurdles, will have a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by participating in repechage heats.

The word repechage comes from the French verb "repêch", which literally means to "fish up again".

Idiomatically, it means "to get a second chance".

The repechage will replace the former system of athletes advancing through fastest times in addition to the top placings in the first-round heats.

These events will now have four rounds - round one, repechage round, semi-finals and the final, with schedules varying according to the specific nature of the event.

The new format means that every athlete competing in the events with a repechage round will have at least two races at Paris 2024.

As the 100m already has preliminary heats, before round one, the repechage will not be introduced in this event.

In addition, the repechage will not be introduced in distance events as the need for proper recovery between rounds makes the format impractical.

A number of sports already use the repechage system, including judo, rowing, taekwondo and wrestling.

But, unlike athletics where a runner could be knocked out in the first round and still go on to win gold thanks to the repechage, a competitor in these sports can win a bronze medal at best.

Cycling and rowing, however, use a similar system to the one athletics is proposing. 

"After consulting with our athletes and broadcasters, we believe this is an innovation which will make progression in these events more straightforward for athletes and will build anticipation for fans and broadcasters," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.

"The repechage rounds will give more exposure to our sport during the peak Olympic period and will be carefully scheduled to ensure that every event on our Olympic programme retains its share of the spotlight."

The final regulations of the format, including the timetable as well as system of advancement in each event, will be announced well in advance of the Olympic Games, World Athletics have promised.

The federation banned Russians from major international events shortly after the country invaded Ukraine in February. At the time, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the unprecedented move appeared “to be the only peaceful way to disrupt and disable Russia’s current intentions and restore peace.”

The world championships begin next Friday and run through July 24.

World Athletics confirmed the ban in a news release announcing it had cleared an additional 18 Russian athletes to compete as neutrals in international competition, but that the approvals would not apply to worlds.

Those athletes were cleared as part of a protocol in the wake of a doping scandal that has left Russia’s athletics federation under suspension since 2015. At last year’s Olympics, 10 Russians were allowed in the track meet; at the world championships in 2019, 29 Russians competed.

There are now 73 Russian athletes who can compete as neutrals, though their status at major international events is in limbo due to the war.

Among those athletes is reigning Olympic and world champion high jumper Maria Lasitskene, who has never lost in an international competition. Last month, she blasted the decision in an open letter to Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, which has recommended the Russian ban.

Lasitskene’s top rivals are from Ukraine and she said “I still don’t know what to say to them or how to look into their eyes.”

“They and their friends and relatives are experiencing what no one human being should ever have to feel,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced another premium event to be canceled in China.

This time, the World Athletics Half Marathon, which was scheduled to be held in Yangzhou in November, has been called off.

The event was originally due to take place on March 27 but was re-scheduled for November 13.

A decision was made after the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) and the local Organizing Committee mutually agreed that the Championships cannot be held this year after a lengthy discussion.

At the same time, the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships was granted to Yangzhou, which is set to be held in March 2027.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe conveyed his thanks to CAA and everyone who was involved in preparations for the World Half Marathon Championships.

"Unfortunately, the championships can’t be held this year, through no fault of the LOC, but our endurance athletes will have the opportunity to compete in Riga next year," Coe said.

"The Council’s decision to award another event to Yangzhou in 2027 indicates its faith in the organizing committee and willingness to return and stage a World Athletics Series road running event there at the first available opportunity."

The first Road Running Championships is scheduled to be held in the Latvian capital of Riga from September 30 to October 1 2023.

Plans to incorporate the Half Marathon Championships as part of the Road Running Championships in the future has been made with the world 5 kilometers championships set to be introduced as well.

China has strict COVID-19 policies with restrictions on international arrivals  and lockdowns.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games was held in February in a "closed-loop management" system with regular tests being carried out.

Recently, the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, initially scheduled to be held from September 10 to September 25, was postponed because of the pandemic.

The first group of Ukrainian athletes and coaches depart today (Thursday) for the USA ahead of next month’s World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

World Athletics is distributing more than US$220,000 to support Ukrainian athletes preparing for the World Championships and the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in response to the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

World Athletics, the Member Meetings of Diamond League Association and the International Athletics Foundation launched a Ukraine Fund in April with the purpose of assisting professional athletes, immediate family members and their support personnel affected by Russia’s invasion of their home country.

This was in addition to a Solidarity Fund established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February, which has already allocated about US$2.5 million to the Ukrainian Olympic Community and sports movement.

Both funds have enabled the Ukrainian Federation to pay a significant portion of the cost of training camps and competition across Europe for athletes preparing for these major events while a number of European National Olympic Committees, in coordination with the IOC, have provided support too.

The Athletics Ukraine Fund is now being used to fund the entire Ukrainian delegation’s attendance in Oregon.

So far 53 athletes, 25 coaches and officials, and 18 family members including children have received assistance from the Fund.

With the support of the IOC, the Fund will also ensure the Ukrainian team’s attendance at the World U20 Championships in Cali in August.

The IOC and European Athletics also assisted with training camps in Europe while the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee is providing additional support for athletes attending a training camp in California leading into the World Championships.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: ”I am grateful and proud of the way the athletics community and the Olympic community have come together to support the Ukrainian Federation as they try to keep as many athletes as they can in training and competition. My thanks go to everyone involved for their support as these athletes prepare to represent their country while the war continues.”

Iolanta Khropach, General Secretary of the Ukrainian Athletic Association, said the federation was extremely grateful for the support of the combined athletics organisations and the IOC who came immediately to their aid after the invasion.

“They help our athletes to train and compete,” she said. “Without this support, it just would not be possible. This is more than just having good facilities and possibility to perform at World Championships and other events. World Athletics and European Athletics have helped to save the lives of our athletes.

“Many Ukrainian athletes now defend our country with weapons in their hands. Our sports infrastructure is destroyed. World Athletics was one of the first sports organisations in the world that banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials. We appreciate it so much and believe in World Athletics' strong position in the future.

“We are grateful to World Athletics and the IOC, as well as to every federation, LOC, other organisations, and individuals supporting us during these challenging times. Now we feel like never before that we are a true athletics family.”

World Athletics would like to thank all those organisations who have made generous contributions to the Ukraine Fund, including Members of the Diamond League Association, the International Athletics Foundation, the IOC, USOPC and PWC France Sport Challenge.

The fund can receive additional contributions at any time until fund closure which is set for 31 December 2023. Funding per beneficiary will be allocated on a needs-basis.

Potential donors to the fund should contact UKRFund@worldathetics.org. 

World Athletics is coordinating with the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity Fund for the Ukrainian Olympic Community to prevent any duplication of efforts.

Some 1900 athletes have qualified to compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 from July 15-24.

The qualification period for individual track and field disciplines closed on June 26, following a busy weekend of national championships action, while the invitation process for relays ended on June 28.

About 63 percent of athletes have qualified by entry standard, 33 percent by world ranking position and four percent by designated finishes in qualifying competitions (such as area championships). 75 countries are expected to enter athletes through universality places.

The Road to Oregon tool on the World Athletics website shows which athletes – subject to being officially selected by their member federation – have qualified to compete at the World Championships, either by entry standard or world ranking position within a discipline’s quota.

The tool identifies the first three qualifiers per nation (in bold) but any athlete who has qualified can be selected within the limit of three per nation. As this is a qualification monitoring tool, not an entry monitoring tool, it won't highlight which athletes have been officially selected by their member federation, but team announcements of many of the leading nations will be published on the World Athletics website in the weeks leading up to the championships.

Member federations have until the entry deadline of July 4 to submit their final selections.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “The end of the qualifying period is an important milestone on the way to our World Championships and the final qualified list is a good indicator of the unparalleled strength of our sport around the world. I’m delighted to see that almost 200 countries have qualified athletes for the pinnacle event in our sport. As we begin the final countdown to the start of the World Championships in just 16 days, I wish every qualified athlete the best of fortune and I hope to see you all at your best in Oregon.”  

Wild card entries are offered to all individual winners from the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, along with the winners of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League and Combined Events Challenge. The acceptance of those wild card entries, however, rests with member federations. Only one wildcard can be used by a member federation in each discipline.

Several places in relay disciplines, meanwhile, were claimed at the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21.

Tachlowini Gabriyesos, 24, made waves one year ago when he finished 16th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo, beating some of the world's best marathoners.

“It makes me so proud to once again wear the Athlete Refugee Team vest at the World Championships,” said Gabriyesos, a native of Eritrea who made his Athlete Refugee Team debut at the 2019 World Championships in Doha where he competed in the 5000m.

“I don’t represent a country, but millions of people without one. I want to be a role model for refugee youth around the world and wish to show the world once again that refugees can be strong, that we are hungry for success and that we deserve equal opportunities.”

Gabriyesos fled conflict and bloodshed in Eritrea at age 12 and journeyed through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt before crossing the Sinai desert on foot to Israel where he's been living since 2010. He began running soon after and eventually found that he was best suited for athletics' longest running event.

At the Hahula Galilee Marathon in Israel in March 2021, Gabriyesos clocked 2:10:55 to become the first refugee athlete to meet an Olympic qualifying standard. He later served as the co-flag bearer for the Olympic Refugee Team at Tokyo’s Opening Ceremonies. After his solid performance in Sapporo's hot and muggy conditions, Gabriyesos improved to 2:10:09 at the Seville Marathon in February.

After its involvement with the inaugural Refugee Olympic Team that competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, World Athletics established the Athlete Refugee Team in 2017 to provide refugees with high level training and competitive opportunities.

It is the world’s only year-round team composed solely of refugee athletes. The team has been represented at almost every World Championship event since, in addition to a growing number of continental and regional events, most recently the European 10,000m Cup in May and the African Championships earlier this month.

"On this World Refugee Day, our Athlete Refugee Team brings a powerful and inspirational message of hope and solidarity to the world, at a time when it's truly needed," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. "They're also showing, through their rapid development and world class performances, that they do belong among the world's best athletes."

Representing a community of 89 million

When the refugee team was introduced at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, that squad of 10 – six competing in athletics – represented 65 million people around the world who had been forcibly displaced from their homes.

That figure soared to more than 82 million by 2020 and, propelled by conflict, the climate crisis and skyrocketing inequality, has grown to 89.3 million at the end of 2021. The six athletes who are set to compete in Eugene next month will represent a community that collectively would be the 17th most populous country on the planet.

Similarly, the number of athletes involved in the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team project continues to grow. More than 40 athletes are now involved in the programme, training at their respective bases in Kenya, Israel, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Portugal.

Gabriyesos will be joined by Jamal Abdalmajid Eisa-Mohammed, a native of Sudan, who will make his second consecutive World Championships appearance in the 5000m. The 28-year-old improved his lifetime best over the distance to 13:42.98 at the Olympic Games last year.

Dorian Keletela, 23, will be making his third ART appearance after outings at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and last summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the Japanese capital, he clocked 10.33 to win his 100m heat in the preliminary round, smashing his previous career best by 0.13. He improved to 10.27 last year and at the moment has a 10.47 season's best.

Fouad Idbafdil, a refugee from Morocco who is based in France, rounds out the men's squad. The 34-year-old steeplechase specialist improved his lifetime best to 8:37.94 nine days ago. He too competed on the ART squad in Doha in 2019.

The women’s team is led by Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, who will bring plenty of experience to the start line of the 1500m. The 27-year-old native of South Sudan, who is based at the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation training camp in Ngong, Kenya, will be making her second World Championships appearance after her debut in 2017.

Nadai is a two-time Olympian and most recently competed at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March and the African Championships in Mauritius 11 days ago. She set her 4:31.65 lifetime best in Tokyo last year.

She'll be joined by Atalena Napule Gaspore, another South Sudanese athlete from the Loroupe camp, who will be making her Athlete Refugee Team debut competing in the 800m.

Athlete refugee team for WCH Oregon22

Women 800m: Atalena Napule Gaspore 1500m: Anjelina Nadai Lohalith

Men 100m: Dorian Keletela 5000m: Jamal Abdalmajid Eisa-Mohammed marathon: Tachlowini Gabriyesos 3000m steeplechase: Fouad Idbafdil

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe ran the first metres on the track at the new National Athletics Centre of Hungary, which will be the venue for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 in just over a year.

Coe, who is in Budapest for the FINA World Championships, met with key members of the local organising committee for the 2023 World Athletics Championships, including CEO Péter Deutsch and Hungarian Athletics Association President Miklós Gyulai. During his time in the Hungarian capital, Coe was shown around the National Athletics Centre by 2017 world 110m hurdles bronze medallist Balázs Baji.

Coe also joined 10 participants from the Hungarian Kids’ Athletics Programme and ran with them on the field of play in the new stadium, which is still under construction. The Hungarian Kids’ Athletics Programme aims to inspire more and more children to choose athletics as their first sport, given it is the foundation of all sports. As a result of the programme, the number of young athletes aged six to 12 has already increased by 30% in Hungary in 2021. The programme is part of World Athletics’ Kids’ Athletics initiative.

“I am impressed with the organisation,” said Coe. “Of course there is still a lot to do, but everything is going to plan. I saw a very focused team and I’m sure we’ll see a fantastic World Championships here in Budapest in 2023. Even with the ongoing construction, the stadium already looks impressive. It was great to meet some of the budding young talent from the Hungarian Kids’ Athletics Programme, and it was a pleasure to join them in their debut at the stadium. I hope they all get an opportunity to compete here in the years to come.”

Deutsch added: “Just over a year from now, in August 2023, the World Athletics Championships – the biggest sporting event in Hungary's history – will begin. Our goal with the World Championships is to strengthen and promote the Hungarian athletics and to get as many children as possible to choose this fantastic sport.”

World Athletics, together with the International Athletics Foundation (IAF) and the Members of the Diamond League Association, has today launched a Ukraine Fund to support professional athletes affected by the conflict in their home country.

The fund’s purpose is to ensure that elite Ukrainian athletes and their key support personnel can continue to train, qualify and participate in World Championship events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Two groups will be eligible for funding: individual athletes (Group One) and key athlete support personnel and immediate family members (Group Two).

Group One includes athletes who are affiliated to the Ukrainian Athletic Association and have qualified, or have a credible chance to qualify, to compete at any upcoming World Athletics Championships until fund closure. Group Two includes those acting as a designated coach or team leader to athletes in Group One, as well as parents, spouses and children living together with athletes in Group One.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe commented: “It’s only right that the athletics community provides whatever support we can to the athletes of Ukraine, who have been put in this terrible situation and need our assistance to continue training and competing. I know several of our Member Federations in Europe are already hosting groups of Ukrainian athletes in training camps and I’m grateful for their humanitarian approach to these tragic circumstances. This fund will provide further support for Ukrainian athletes to enable them to have some stability and security as they prepare to represent their country while the war continues.”

Commenting from Ukraine, President of the Ukrainian Athletic Association YevheniiPronin said: “In dark times you can clearly see bright people. World Athletics, Diamond League, IAF and all the national federations that offered us their help - this is the standard of unity and support!

"Thousands of victims, millions of refugees, destroyed infrastructure, including sports infrastructure, terrified our hearts, but we believe that the worst is over.

"Every day I thank from my heart the entire world community for opening the doors of their homes for our people, for everyone who helps our athletes and their families and for World Athletics, for creating this fund for our athletes and our sport.

"The entire team of the federation is safe and is working to ensure that the athletes of our country and their families are safe and together with you we will save our favorite sport and make it stronger. Thank you from all Ukraine."

The fund will provide financial assistance to the following:

For Group One:

• Enrolment, subsistence and accommodation, at training camps / temporary housing;

• Travel and accommodation to compete at qualifying events for World Championships;

• Travel and accommodation to compete at World Athletics Championships if not otherwise provided;

• Training material and equipment.

For Group Two:

• Coach attendance to training and competition;

• Travel and accommodation to accompany Group One athletes at qualifying events for World Championships;

• Travel and accommodation to accompany Group One athletes at World Athletics Championships.

The fund opens today with a current budget of US$190,000, created with contributions from the IAF, Diamond League members and World Athletics. The Diamond League Association has previously donated US$30,000 directly to the Ukrainian Athletic Association and many of the individual meeting organizers will provide additional travel and accommodation support to athletes wanting to compete in their meetings.

It is expected that up to 100 Ukrainian athletes may require some financial support this year.

The fund can receive additional contributions at any time until fund closure which is set for December 31, 2023. Funding per beneficiary will be allocated on a needs-basis.

Potential beneficiaries can register for consideration by emailing UKRFund@worldathletics.org

Other athletics organizations who would like to contribute to the fund, should also contact UKRFund@worldathletics.org

World Athletics will coordinate with the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity Fund for the Ukrainian Olympic community, through senior vice-president Sergey Bubka, to prevent any duplication of efforts.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the state of women's sports is "very fragile" and sports federations need to get it right when writing rules for transgender female athletes.

Coe's comments come after University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender NCAA champion in Division I history by winning the women's 500-yard freestyle in Atlanta last week.

"The integrity of women's sport – if we don't get this right – and, actually, the future of women's sport, is very fragile," Coe was quoted as saying in British paper The Times on Monday.

"These are sensitive issues, they are societal issues – they go way, way beyond sport. I don't have the luxury to get into endless discussions or the school of moral philosophy."

Thomas competed on the men's team for three years before transitioning and moving to the women's team and setting multiple program records.

Last month, USA Swimming unveiled a new policy to allow transgender athletes to swim in elite events by setting out criteria that aim to mitigate any unfair advantages.

The rules include testing to ensure testosterone is below a certain level – five nanomoles per litre continuously for at least 36 months - in transgender athletes who wish to compete against cisgender female swimmers.

World Athletics requires transgender athletes to have low testosterone levels for at least 12 months before competition.

"We are asking for a greater length of (time) before competition because the residual impact of transitioning like that is more profound," Coe said.

"There is no question that testosterone is the key determinant in performance."

Transgender rights have long been a controversial and politically divisive issue in the United States from sports to serving in the military, and even what bathrooms people are allowed to use.

Coe said he understands the sensitive nature of the issue and said he wants to focus on the science.

Sebastian Coe "It's really difficult to keep the emotion out of this and subjectivity, so we do have to really stick as closely as we can to the science –and that's what we've always tried to do when it's been uncomfortable," he said.

"You can't be oblivious to public sentiment ... but science is important. If I wasn't satisfied with the science that we have and the experts that we have used and the in-house teams that have been working on this for a long time ... if I wasn't comfortable about that, this would be a very different landscape."

Sebastian Coe said he is “philosophically opposed” to boycotts and prefers dialogue as a means to work through issues after the Diamond League announced the addition of a second event in China next year.

The Diamond League said on Tuesday Shenzhen would host the 2022 season’s second meet in China on August 6th, after the July 30th event in Shanghai.

The United States, Britain and Australia are among countries that have announced a diplomatic boycott of the February 4th-20th Beijing Winter Games over China’s human rights record, a stand that China dismissed as “political posturing”.

Sport in China is also under the microscope after tennis player Peng Shuai alleged that a former Chinese vice premier had sexually assaulted her in the past. The Women’s Tennis Association said it would suspend tournaments in China due to concerns over her safety.

Peng, who was absent from public view from nearly three weeks, said on Sunday that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her.

Speaking after the decision to add another event in China, Coe said: “We are concerned for the welfare of all athletes.

“I believe all athletes should be free to voice their concerns and sports should never flinch from making those points.

“But it is still better to have open dialogue and sporting relationships than pulling up the drawbridge.”

Briton Coe won 1,500m gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics when 66 countries, led by the United States, boycotted the event, and again four years later in Los Angeles when Russia, the Eastern bloc and its allies responded in kind.

“I’m philosophically opposed to sporting boycotts,” said Coe. “I experienced them and they tend not to achieve what they set out to achieve.”

Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and Karsten Warholm of Norway have been named the World Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2021, a ceremony held virtually on Wednesday (1).

Thompson-Herah produced one of the finest sprint seasons in history this year, retaining her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo and adding a third gold medal in the 4x100m relay. On top of her Olympic triple, she also clocked world-leading times of 10.54 and 21.53 over 100m and 200m respectively, moving to second on the world all-time lists and coming within touching distance of the long-standing world records.

“I just take it year by year,” said Thompson-Herah. “I went very close to the world record so you know, anything is possible. No spikes hanging up any time soon!

“The World Championships in Oregon is most definitely my next big target,” she added. “It is close to home, I hope friends and family can come out and watch. I hope I get some crowd as well. That couldn’t happen in Tokyo but hopefully in Eugene I can get my friends and family to come and cheer me on.”

Warholm uncorked one of the most remarkable performances in athletics history when he stormed to gold in the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. Having already broken the world record with 46.70 in Oslo in the lead-up to the Games, Warholm exceeded all expectations in the Japanese capital to claim gold in a stunning world record of 45.94. In a race of incredible depth, the top three athletes finished inside the pre-2021 world record.

“I’m so happy for this,” said Warholm. “First when I saw the time (in Tokyo), I was like, ‘This must be a mistake!’ Because I didn’t see that one coming. And I didn’t see the victory coming before crossing the finish line.

“It was a very intense race, I knew the American and the Brazilian and all the other guys were really chasing me. I always go out hard and I never know what is going on behind me. I was just fighting all the way to the finish line. When I realised 45.94 was the reality, I was thinking: ‘This is not too bad. I’ll take it!’"

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe congratulated all of tonight’s winners and finalists on their extraordinary achievements this year.

"We have this year celebrated some jaw-dropping performances in Tokyo, at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi and through our one-day meeting circuits – the Wanda Diamond League and the Continental Tour. So we’re delighted to recognise some of our stars at tonight’s awards.

"As a sport, we are in an incredibly strong position. 2021 has been an excellent year. We cemented our position as the number 1 Olympic sport coming out of Tokyo, we have the most God given talented athletes on the planet and our sport is the most accessible of all sports. Thank you to all our athletes around the world. I am looking forward to watching what you can all do in 2022."

The other award winners were:

Female Rising Star

Athing Mu

The US teenager was undefeated at 800m all year, winning Olympic gold at the distance following a long but successful collegiate season. She broke the senior US 800m record with her triumph in Tokyo and then improved it to 1:55.04 just a few weeks later. She also excelled at 400m, clocking a North American U20 record of 49.57 for the distance.

“It means the world to know that my support goes beyond friends and families and extends worldwide,” said Mu. “This award shows all young girls that your dreams can, indeed, come true."

Male Rising Star

Erriyon Knighton

Throughout 2021 the 17-year-old took down several marks that had belonged to sprint legend Usain Bolt. Knighton first set world U18 bests of 20.11 and 20.04 over 200m, but his rapid rise continued and he broke Bolt’s world U20 record for the distance with 19.88 and 19.84. He went on to finish fourth in the Olympic final with 19.93.

“I’m really thankful for this award,” said Knighton. “One of my most memorable moments of this year was making it to the Olympic final in Tokyo and finishing fourth at the age of 17.”

Member Federations Award

Federacion Costarricense de Atletismo (Costa Rica)

In recognition for their outstanding training, competition and development programme roll-out over the past 12 months, for their consultative work on the World Athletics Kids’ Athletics programme, and for successfully staging a host of international events over the past year.

Inspiration Award

Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi

The shared high jump victory between Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi became one of the biggest talking points of the Olympic Games – not only for everything it represented in their own individual careers, having both battled serious injuries since the last Games, but mainly for the act of respect and sportsmanship between two friends.

“It is just crazy if I think about this story,” said Tamberi. “Thank you very much for this trophy.

“I now call Mutaz like five times a week because I need to speak with him. I feel that now we are not just friends, we are really like blood brothers.”

Barshim added: “I hope to inspire more people to love our sport and maybe share a gold one day!”

President’s Award

Peter Diamond, Executive Vice President of NBC Olympic programming

“Athletics owes Peter a massive debt of gratitude,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “Peter has worked alongside us for effectively 40 years and has been a constant source of great advice and wise counsel, and occasional humour that has softened the edges of any particular situation. And he has made athletics a lot better.”

Coaching Achievement Award

Bobby Kersee

The US coach has guided the careers of many legendary athletes over the years, but this year two of his charges made history. Allyson Felix became the most decorated female track and field Olympian in history after winning her 10th and 11th Olympic gold medals in Tokyo, while training partner Sydney McLaughlin broke two world records in the 400m hurdles and claimed Olympic gold in the discipline.

Woman of the Year Award

Anju Bobby George

The former international long jump star from India is still actively involved in the sport. In 2016 she opened a training academy for young girls, which has already helped to produce a world U20 medallist. A constant voice for gender equality in her role as Senior Vice President of the Indian Athletics Federation, Bobby George also mentors schoolgirls for future leadership positions within the sport.

Jean-Pierre Durand World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Ryan Pierse’s photograph of the women’s high jump qualifying at the Tokyo Olympic Games

This year’s award is dedicated to the memory of Jean-Pierre Durand, one of the sport’s most prolific photographers and photo chief for a number of World Athletics Series events, who died in October.

“This winning image was taken on one of the morning sessions in Tokyo and it was a hot one,” said Pierse, who is from Australia. “I wanted to illustrate the heat and how it was affecting the athletes. It is a picture that I worked on for a while, and it all came together. I am really happy with it.

“I think it’s incredibly fitting that this award is named in memory of Jean-Pierre Durand,” added Pierse. “I had the pleasure of working alongside him, most recently at the Tokyo Olympics.”

World Athletics today (10) launches its Safeguarding Policy, which is designed to ensure that those in positions of authority in athletics adopt practices that actively prevent harassment, abuse and exploitation within the sport.

The new policy aims to create a safe and welcoming environment at all levels of the sport, where everyone involved is respected, valued and protected.

This policy is founded on the principles that everyone has the right to participate and enjoy athletics in a safe inclusive environment, that everyone has the right to have their voice heard in raising welfare and behavioural issues, and that everyone involved in planning and delivering programmes for children is responsible for the care and protection of those children.

It defines the specific roles and responsibilities of Member Federations, Area Associations and World Athletics in protecting athletes and other participants in our sport.

These responsibilities include:

- Implementing and embedding this policy- Raising awareness of harassment, abuse and exploitation- Developing and delivering education and training for all those involved in athletics- Supporting victims of abuse, harassment and exploitation- Vetting and recruiting staff and volunteers in line with ethical practices- Responding to concerns raised- Reporting concerns expeditiously- Establishing partnerships with organisations and institutions in the safeguarding sector

This policy describes the procedures to be followed if harassment, abuse or exploitation occurs and sets out processes for victims to be supported.

World Athletics, its Area Associations and Member Federations will work together to implement the policy, working closely with the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission.

World Athletics will promote best practice throughout the athletics community by providing safeguarding resources and guidance to Area Associations and Member Federations, and will provide its workforce with education and training in safeguarding. Consultation on the development of these resources and guidelines is currently under way with stakeholders across the sport.

World Athletics will also review its reporting and disciplinary procedures for any alleged incidents of abuse, harassment and exploitation that fall within its jurisdiction.

Area Associations and Member Federations are asked to adopt and implement a safeguarding policy which follows both local legislation and the World Athletics policy by 2023. This policy needs to include the procedures to follow when a concern is reported, as well as investigative and disciplinary processes.

These organizations must inform the relevant public authorities, where this is required by legislation. Their workforces should be regularly trained in all aspects of safeguarding to ensure they can provide support and advice to their athletics communities.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said it was important for the sport to have strong safeguarding procedures in place, from grassroots to elite level around the globe, to protect all participants.

"Athletics clubs, schools and community sports environments should be safe and happy places for those in our sport," Coe said.

"A written policy gives our participants confidence that there are consistent structures and processes in place to report safeguarding abuses and that we will listen and we will act. But the policy is just the start. It must be implemented, monitored and developed at all levels in our sport and we will make that a priority as we move forward."

The Safeguarding Policy has been published on the World Athletics website today.

Markus Ryffel has generously donated to the World Athletics Heritage Collection one of the running spikes he wore when earning the 5000m silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.

The Swiss distance runner donated his left shoe to the collection in June and it is now on permanent view in glorious 360Ëš 3D in the Olympic Athletics Collection room of the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA), the world’s first virtual sports museum.

This evening at the Weltklasse Zürich Heritage Night, Ryffel was able to officially hand over the spike in person to his friend and racing contemporary, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who won his second 1500m title in Los Angeles in 1984.

Still the Swiss 5000m record

The final day of the 1984 Olympic athletics programme was hot and damp. The Swiss spectators among the 90,000 crowd in the Memorial Coliseum started to sweat even more as Ryffel geared up for his final sprint, 300 metres from the finish line of the 5000m final.

Portugal’s Antonio Leitao, pre-race favourite Said Aouita of Morocco, and Ryffel were neck and neck in lanes one, two and three. For a moment, even a Swiss Olympic victory seemed possible.

Aouita, however, showed himself unimpressed by Ryffel’s efforts and ran the last 400m in an unheard-of 54.7 seconds. He became the victor of a memorable race: then the third-best time in history for the Moroccan (13:05.59), with fifth place on the world all-time list for Ryffel.

Ryffel’s 13:07.54 still stands as the Swiss record 37 years later. Aouita’s Olympic record was only improved in Beijing in 2008 by Kenenisa Bekele.

Calf injury

While Aouita became the first man to run 5000m within 13 minutes in Rome, 11 months after his triumph in Los Angeles, for Ryffel the silver medal from Los Angeles remained the highlight of an illustrious career.

At the European Championships two years later, he was in a promising position but had to withdraw with an injury, which ended up requiring surgery. His calf muscles – including varicose veins inherited from his father – also thwarted his efforts at his last great aim, the marathon. He made several attempts at completing races, but time and again he had to give up some time after 30 kilometres with calf pain. He never made it to a fourth Olympics and retired from elite sport in late 1991.

New York comes to Uster

Ryffel was by no means bitter; quite the contrary. He had planned ahead during his active years. As a young man he had been a fan of Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon champion. So it was not surprising that, aged 22, he accompanied his older brother Urs, himself a fairly successful cyclist, to the 1977 New York Marathon. He finished 16th, just ahead of four-time Olympic champion Lasse Viren.

Both of them were impressed by the “amazing atmosphere” of this mass event.

“We wanted to start something similar in our home-town Uster,” said Ryffel. And so, they established the race around the idyllic Greifensee near Zürich which has been running since 1980, initially 19km long, and over the half marathon distance since 1992. In 1998, Uster even hosted the World Half Marathon Championships, where Paul Koech and Tegla Loroupe from Kenya were the winners.

Running weeks

By the end of the 1970s, Ryffel began organising running weeks in St Moritz and trips to the New York Marathon, alongside his friends and training partners Dietmar Millonig of Austria and Thomas Wessinghage of West Germany.

The trio of runners still work together. Although the goal of the original ‘running weeks’ was to help participants achieve a 3:30 marathon time, the events have now morphed into more general running and fitness holidays in St Moritz and other alpine destinations.

Around the same time, Ryffel opened his first Ryffel Running Shop in Bern together with his brother Urs and business partner Markus Bill. A second shop in Uster followed shortly after, and the business later employed up to 28 people.

“It started in a cow shed next to my parents’ restaurant,” remembers Ryffel. He has since sold the shops to a larger company, and now organises running events, active holidays, trips to marathon races and private coaching.

‘The bike really shaped me’

Ryffel learned early that it was important to be decisive and work hard towards one’s aims. “My parents had a restaurant and a butcher shop, and we had a delivery service. Without it, I would never have become such a good runner. The kilometres on the bike really shaped me because the heart does not distinguish between cycling and running.

“Even in primary school, I did 20 or 30 km on my bike,” he added. “I had my 17 customers to whom I delivered cordon bleu and other meats.”

Ryffel’s parents, however, were not supportive of their son’s sporting ambitions at first. So it was lucky that Ryffel moved to Bern for an apprenticeship in typesetting, where he could be near his supporter and coach Heinz Schild. There he started running in the uniform of the City of Bern gymnastics club.

Ryffel is now 66. He still runs and has calculated from his paper training log that he jogged his 200,000th kilometre in 2020. That’s five times around the earth.

“I can still run regularly – and, most importantly, without pain,” he said. “And if all goes well, I will be running my 98th marathon in Chicago this year.” Because of Covid, the usual group trip to New York cannot happen, and Ryffel wants to participate in this marathon with a group aiming at a 4:30 finish time.

Times have changed. “Just being there is everything now,” he says.

Jacques Rogge served as the eighth President of the IOC, from 2001 to 2013, and competed for Belgium in sailing at three editions of the Olympic Games, in 1968, 1972 and 1976.

In 2005 he announced the awarding of the 2012 Games to London, with Coe having led the UK capital city’s bid.

Rogge, who was an orthopaedic surgeon with a degree in sports medicine, was married to Anne, and leaves a son, a daughter and two grandchildren.

“I am beyond sad to hear the news of Jacques’ passing,” Coe said. “I wrote to Jacques and Anne two weeks ago to tell them that all of us at World Athletics missed them at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. I said it wasn’t the same being in the Olympic stadium watching athletics without them.

“I have a mountainous gratitude for his part in the seamless delivery of London 2012. No Organising Committee could have asked or received more. He was passionate about sport and all he achieved in sport and beyond was done with common decency, compassion and a level head. We will all miss him.”

After his career as an athlete, which included becoming a Belgian rugby international, Rogge became President of the Belgian and European Olympic Committees, and was elected President of the IOC in 2001. After his IOC Presidency, he also served as a Special Envoy for Youth, Refugees and Sport to the United Nations.

“First and foremost, Jacques loved sport and being with athletes - and he transmitted this passion to everyone who knew him. His joy in sport was infectious,” said Thomas Bach, who succeeded Rogge as IOC President in 2013.

“He was an accomplished President, helping to modernise and transform the IOC. He will be remembered particularly for championing youth sport and for inaugurating the Youth Olympic Games. He was also a fierce proponent of clean sport, and fought tirelessly against the evils of doping.

“The entire Olympic Movement will deeply mourn the loss of a great friend and a passionate fan of sport.”

In a post on Twitter, World Athletics Senior Vice-President Sergey Bubka said: “Deeply mourn the loss of a wonderful personality, true friend and great leader, IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge.

“Dedicating his life to the Olympic Movement, he was very special in his human attitude towards others, incredible love for athletes and understanding of the youth.”

Among others to pay tribute to Rogge was Moroccan middle distance great Hicham El Guerrouj, who wrote: “With a heavy heart, I pray for the eternal repose of Jacques Rogge, the former president of the IOC. RIP.”

The rules on the use of cannabis by athletes should be reviewed, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has said in the wake of the case that meant Sha'Carri Richardson, winner of the women’s 100 meters at the US Olympic trials, missing Tokyo 2020.

Richardson accepted a 30-day ban, and the qualifying results she achieved were annulled, after she tested positive for the banned recreational drug during the trials.

The 21-year-old said she had been under emotional stress after learning of the recent death of her biological mother.

In response to questions on the issue, Coe has said a review is now sensible and "it should be" done, Reuters reports.

Coe added: "I am sorry for her that we have lost an outstanding talent [from the Olympic Games]", but said that existing rules were interpreted correctly.

The World Athletics President said he had asked the independent Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to work with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on reassessing marijuana’s place on the prohibited list.

Coe, who believes the matter is a question for experts at the AIU and the WADA to determine, said Richardson’s absence was "a loss to the competition" but predicted "she will bounce back".

The 2021 World Anti-Doping Code classifies tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, marijuana, and hashish, as a "Substance of Abuse".

Athletes found to use it outside of competition face a three-month ban, although in this case the United States Anti-Doping Agency banned Richardson for 30 days as long as she also undertook a treatment programme.

Discussion on this matter is not expected to take place during the World Athletics Council’s two-day meeting that starts tomorrow before the Olympic track and field programme begins on Friday (July 30) - at least officially.

What will be under consideration is a determination of the hosts for the 2023 World Athletics Relays, held this year in Poland, the newly-established 2023 World Road Running Championships, and next year’s World Race Walking Team Championships, where a replacement is being sought for original host Minsk.

World Athletics cited "uncertainties around diplomatic relations and international travel restrictions with regard to Belarus" when stripping Minsk of hosting rights earlier this year, with protests continuing after the controversial re-election Alexander Lukashenko as the country’s President last August and many nations imposing sanctions on Belarus.

There will also be a report from World Athletics' Russia Taskforce at the Council meeting.

Day two of the meeting is understood to involve commission and working group reports.

World Athletics today announced it was substantially increasing the prize money for athletes at its flagship world championships, starting with the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 next year.

US$2 million has been ringfenced from the fines paid by the Russian Athletics Federation for breaching the sport’s anti-doping rules, to go directly to athletes in the form of prize money at the WCH Oregon22 and at the WCH Budapest 23.

Speaking from the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “The last 18 months have been really tough for thousands of athletes who make their living from competing in events around the world. While we have focused on helping meetings around the world stage as many events as possible over this period – more than 600 events – we know many athletes had a very lean year last year and are still experiencing challenges this year.

“Last year we also set up an athlete fund, supported by some generous donations, to provide some financial relief to those athletes most in need. 193 athletes from 58 countries were granted up to US$3000 to go towards basic living costs such as food, accommodation and training expenses.”

World Athletics will fund the additional $1million per World Championships for the next two editions, with each of the 44 individual events receiving an additional US$23,000 of prize money at each championship.

At the most recent World Championships in Doha in 2019, US$7,530,000 in prize money was distributed to athletes who finished in the top eight of an event.

While the intention is to see the new funds go to as many athletes as possible in leading positions, the Athletes’ Commission and Competition Commission will make a recommendation to the World Athletics Council on how the funds will be allocated. The additional US$1 million in prize money will form part of the host city contract from 2025 onwards.

A tribute to Ron Hill. World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Britain’s Ron Hill, the 1969 European marathon champion, died on Sunday May 23 at the age of 82.

Aside from his major championship medals and four world records, Hill is best known for his dedication to athletics. He laid claim to the longest unbroken streak of running every day, a stretch that lasted 52 years and 39 days, from 1964 to 2017.

Born in Accrington in the north-west of England in September 1938, Hill first came to prominence in the early 1960s and made his international debut at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade. He failed to finish the marathon there, however, and fared only slightly better at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing a distant 18th in the 10,000m and 19th in the marathon.

Hill rebounded one year later, though, and set the first world record of his career. Competing at the Leverhulme Park track in Bolton, Hill broke two of Emil Zatopek’s long-standing world records in one fell swoop, clocking 1:15:22.6 for 25,000m and passing through 15 miles en route in 1:12:48.2.

His championship performances started to improve in the late 1960s as he placed 12th in the marathon at the 1966 European Championships and seventh in the 10,000m at the 1968 Olympics, having been controversially overlooked for a place on the marathon team.

He set two more world records in 1968, both at 10 miles. In April he clocked 47:02.2 in Leicester to break Ron Clark’s record, passing through 10,000m in 29:09.4 and 15,000m in 43:54, an unofficial world best time.

Later that year, one month after his Olympic appearance, Hill attempted to break Gaston Roelants’ one hour world record of 20,784m. He fell slightly short of that target, covering 20,471m, but passed through 10 miles in a world record time of 46:44.0.

Though that was to be the last world record of his career, Hill became a big-time performer from that point onwards, winning big city marathons and landing major medals.

He won the European marathon title in Athens in 1969, then in 1970 he became the first British runner to win the Boston Marathon, smashing the course record by three minutes with 2:10:30. A few months later, at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he came the second man to break the 2:10 barrier for the marathon, winning gold in a European record of 2:09:28, having covered the final 10km in 29:24 (2:04 marathon pace).

He went on to take bronze in the marathon at the 1971 European Championships before making his final Olympic appearance in 1972, placing sixth in the marathon – his highest ever finish at the Games.

Hill continued to produce world-class marathon times through the 1970s, including a 2:12:35 victory at the Debno Marathon in 1975 at the age of 36, ranking him eighth in the world that year. He finished fourth at the 1976 Olympic Trials, but went on to represent Britain at various masters championships.

Hill was ahead of his time with regards to training and he was one of the first elite athletes to use the Saltin-Hermansson diet – better known as the glycogen depletion diet or ‘carb-loading’ – which he credited as playing a big part in his success at the 1969 European Championships. Ever since, it has been adopted by millions of runners as a key part of marathon preparation.

Hill, who had a PhD in textile chemistry, often raced in breathable mesh vests to help keep cool. Towards the end of his elite career, he founded Ron Hill Sports and produced top-of-the-line running clothes. He also created the Ronhill and Hilly brands, both of which are still going strong today.

Hill’s streak of consecutive daily runs – which he defined as completing a distance of at least one mile at any pace – began on 20 December 1964 and lasted for more than 52 years. He even managed workouts after a car crash in 1993 when he broke his sternum, and after bunion surgery.

In December 2013 when his streak entered its 50th year, Hill’s total logged lifetime mileage stood at 158,628 miles. His streak ended on 30 January 2017 when he experienced chest pains during a run.

“I did everything I could to be the best in the world,” he said in 2019 in an interview with Inside The Games. “I couldn't train full-time, couldn't train at altitude, couldn't afford back-up support – I only ever had two massages in my life – and when I was injured I just had to run through it. I never made any money at it, but you can't take away the gold medals.”

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe paid tribute to Hill.

"Ron Hill turned the art of marathon running into a science and wrote the playbook for generations to come," said Coe. "He was a one-off. His contribution to the classic distance is immense."

The World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, says he understands the nervousness in Japan over hosting an Olympics during a pandemic – but believes the Games will go ahead safely after attending a half marathon test event in Sapporo on Wednesday.

Japan is battling a resurgence in coronavirus infections and opinion polls consistently find the majority of the public is opposed to the Games, which are due to open on 23 July.

Those concerns have been exacerbated by a slow vaccine rollout, with much of the country also under a state of emergency, and Coe said he recognised that many Japanese people had concerns.

“We take that nervousness very, very seriously,” he said. “We have Covid protocols that have been tried and tested, and I’ve witnessed them here. We take very seriously the health and wellbeing of local communities.”

“But the challenges are big. I don’t believe any Olympic Games has been delivered under more difficult circumstances. These Games have an overlay of complexity that is beyond most comprehension.”

There was a muted atmosphere during the test event as security guards stood with signs around their necks asking people to “please refrain from watching the race” to prevent infections.

However, a few onlookers ignored their pleas and clapped as Kenya’s Hillary Kipkoech won the men’s race in 1hr 46sec and Japan’s Mao Ichiyama won the women’s race in 1hr 8min 28sec.

Tokyo 2020’s deputy executive director of games operations, Yasuo Mori, said no one had tested positive for Covid-19, with the 69 athletes made to stay in hotels with no contact with the public.

Organizers will decide next month whether fans can attend events, but supporters from abroad have already been banned. However, Coe said that even if there were no crowds in stadiums “the Games will still take place and the competition will still be extremely good”.

Coe, who was head of the 2012 London Olympics, said it was “really important that when the world looks to coming out of Covid that it can see optimism.

“ The Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games will be totemic of that optimism and hope going forward. So it is important that the Games are delivered successfully and they’re delivered safely.”

Tokyo is officially spending £11.1bn to hold the Olympics, but some estimates say it is twice that much. The IOC is pushing on with the Games, partly because 73% of its income is from selling broadcast rights.

Athletes will find tackling two events more straightforward with a spectator-friendly schedule that attempts to tick many boxes

Doubling up at the World Championships will be easier next year after the organisers in Oregon released their competition timetable for the 2022 event at Hayward Field.

The 100m and 200m, 200m and 400m, 800m and 1500m, 1500m and 5000m, 5000m and 10,000m will all now be possible without athletes having to contest more than one discipline on any given day. Other possible doubles include long jump and triple jump, plus the 20km and 35km race walks – although the race walks fraternity is unhappy the 50km distance has gone.

The 10-day schedule from July 15-24 finishes four days before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham begin, whereas the European Championships in Munich start on August 15.

Medals will be decided in all evening sessions and some morning sessions too. Hammer throwers and 10,000m runners, for example, will have to start their warm-up early in the day for their finals.

The first day also ends with a 4x400m mixed relay final but there are heats on the same day a few hours earlier.

Another break with tradition will see 1500m finals during the first half of the championships. The blue riband 100m finals, however, are still on the first weekend.

There are no morning sessions from July 19-22, while July 18 looks like a big day for British interest with the climax of the heptathlon, Laura Muir potentially in the women’s 1500m and Dina Asher-Smith opening her 200m campaign. For Katarina Johnson-Thompson, a heptathlon and high jump or long jump double is also possible.

The final individual event of the entire championships will be the decathlon 1500m, which organisers say is in tribute to Oregon’s home-grown Olympic and world decathlon champion Ashton Eaton.

For the first time, the championships will end with the women’s 4x400m, honouring a pledge to greater gender equality that World Athletics made on International Women’s Day last month.

“The design of our world championships timetable is both an art and a science, with a lot of moving parts to fit together,’’ World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.

“We’ve strived to create every opportunity for our athletes to shine, in the stadium, on the road and on screens around the world, and we’re looking forward to watching them do that in Oregon, as our flagship event is held in the United States for the first time.

“You won’t want to miss it,” added Coe, who frequently tackled the 800m and 1500m double during his competitive days.

World Athletics and World Masters Athletics have reached a historic agreement that will see masters championships held for the first time alongside the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, next year.

The World Athletics Council approved the proposal last week while confirming the competition timetables for both Bathurst and the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022. 

World Athletics, World Masters Athletics and the Bathurst Local Organising Committee will work together to organise the inaugural World Masters Cross Country Championships (short course) on the weekend of 19-20 February 2022.

"We have worked hard over the last few years to develop closer relationships with the various sectors of the global running community, including recreational running, mountain and trail running, and parkrun, because that makes our athletics community stronger, so I’m delighted to announce this new initiative in cooperation with World Masters Athletics," World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. "We look forward to welcoming passionate runners of all ages and abilities to Bathurst next year for what promises to be a unique festival of cross country running."

World Masters Athletics president Margit Jungmann added: "We are excited to offer this new opportunity for masters athletes around the world to come together and celebrate their love of running and competition, and to join with the best cross country runners in the world to test themselves on the scenic Mt Panorama course at Bathurst in Australia. We are pleased to be working with World Athletics to make this a uniquely memorable event for all the masters athletes who attend."

Originally scheduled to take place in March 2021 before the Covid-19 pandemic led to its postponement, the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst will now be held on 19 February 2022. The timetable is as follows:

14:35 U20 women’s 6km15:15 U20 men’s 8km16:25 mixed relay17:05 senior women’s 10km18:05 senior men’s 10km

The World Masters Cross Country Championships will include a mixed 4 x 2km relay, tentatively scheduled before the World Athletics events on Saturday, 19 February, and a series of age group races on Sunday, 20 February.

World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022

The timetable for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, scheduled to take place in Yangzhou, China, on 27 March 2022, is as follows:

9:30 women’s race10:00 men’s race, followed by mass race

As with previous editions, there are no entry standards for the competition. A maximum of seven athletes may be entered by a member federation, but only five can start the race. The top three finishers for each member federation will count towards the team competition.

For the fifth successive edition, the World Half Marathon Championships will feature a mass race, giving thousands of recreational runners the chance to run in the footsteps of the best athletes in the world.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has warned Italy to not be on the "wrong side of history" after a court cleared Olympic race walking champion Alex Schwazer of doping in a criminal case.

An Italian court in Bolzano ruled last month that urine samples belonging to Schwazer, who was given an eight-year ban before the Rio 2016 Olympics, were "highly likely" tampered with.

The criminal court case was dismissed after the court stated it was possible that the sample was tampered with to show up a positive result.

Schwazer was given the lengthy ban as it was his second doping offence, having previously served a three-and-a-half year suspension for testing positive for erythropoietin before the London 2012 Olympics.

The Italian has not disputed results of that first test.

He did claim he was a victim of foul play related to his second ban, which was handed to him following a sample from January 1 2016.

It had initially given negative results, but a new analysis revealed traces of steroids.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) gave the Beijing 2008 50-kilometre race walk champion an eight-year ban for his second offence, but after the Italian court ruling, Coe criticised its decision.

"We do resolutely reject any attempt by the athlete or any individuals associated with the athlete to undermine or seek to annul the final CAS ruling," said Coe in a press conference.

"It was an award based on what can be best described as far-fetched manipulation theories."

The ruling in Bolzano has led to a suggestion that Schwazer could appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

CAS rejected an appeal from Schwazer to overturn his lengthy ban in August 2016 and the Swiss Federal court upheld CAS' ruling when the Italian later appealed to it.

Schwazer was stripped of a World Race Walking Team Championships title won in Rome in 2016 as a result of the second anti-doping violation.

"I don't want Italy to be on the wrong side of history here," added Coe.

"The Athletics Integrity Unit and World Athletics stand absolutely by the position they've taken.

"The issue is clearly one that is exercising Italy and it is important that we remain very firm and very resolute here.

"I don't want Italian track and field to be tainted, I just hope that people recognise that this is an important issue and history will be unkind."

World Athletics Council today agreed to reinstate the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) scheme, suspended since last March, allowing individual Russian competitors to qualify for this summer’s scheduled Tokyo 2020 Games.

The scheme - which allows Russian athletes who meet anti-doping criteria to take part in international competition - was suspended in March last year following the latest scandal involving the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF), which has been banned since November 2015 following the revelations of state-sponsored doping.

Rune Andersen, the World Athletics' Russia Taskforce chairman, said that Russian athletes would be able to apply for ANA status immediately, but there will be a cap of 10 athletes for the next Olympics and at World Athletics Championships.

He added that this was dependent on RusAF continuing to satisfy the requirements agreed for their eventual return.

RusAF faced expulsion from World Athletics last year for obstructing an anti-doping investigation into world indoor high jump champion Danil Lysenko and failing to pay outstanding fines.

After missing its July 1 payment deadline RusAF stood on the brink, but a last-minute intervention by Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, who made an "unconditional" offer to pay the outstanding fine of $6.31 million (£4.52 million/€5.28 million), saved them.

On March 1 this year a final plan for the reinstatement of the RusAF was unanimously approved by the World Athletics Council following the recommendation of Andersen.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe warned at the time that the initial approval was "not the end but the beginning of a long journey, with an incredible amount of work for RusAF to do to rebuild trust."

Reflecting upon the original creation of the ANA scheme earlier this month in a Sports Law Q&A podcast, Coe told British lawyer Jonathan Taylor: "I didn’t for all sorts of reasons want to visit the sins of the parents upon the children in our Russia challenge.

"What in simple terms does that mean?

"If I could identify clean athletes that were untainted but in a tainted system then my responsibility was to try and find a construct that would allow them to compete.

"That’s where we got our Authorised Neutral Athletes from, and many of them have maintained international competition in the last few years.

"They don’t have the panoply of uniforms and national anthems but most of them are just relieved to be competing."

One Russian track and field athlete was able to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics under the recently instituted ANA scheme - long jumper Darya Klishina.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has defended the decision his Federation took over athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), claiming he had sought to keep competitive options open in the female category even though a different alternative may have been open to him.

The World Athletics rules, which went into effect in 2019, cap athlete testosterone levels in women’s events from the 400 metres through the mile for athletes with DSD such as South Africa’s Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya.

World Athletics said that no female athletes would have a level above the cap - five nanomoles per litre - unless they had a DSD or a tumour, and that in the case of athletes in the DSD category testosterone-suppressing medication would need to be taken in order to bring levels into the agreed range.

Semenya has lost appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland against the World Athletics regulations over the past two years.

But earlier this month the South African Government’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture pledged R12 million (£576,600/$803,000/€671,500) to help her appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against her testosterone ruling.

Speaking in a Sports Law Q&A podcast, Coe told British lawyer Jonathan Taylor: "If I’m being hard-nosed about it, if I’d stuck simply to the definitions around biology then I would probably have got support for preventing those athletes from competing at all in a female category,

"I didn’t want to do that."

Coe added: "So finding the right level of controllable testosterone over a period that allowed them to compete at those distances was for me absolutely in alignment with every philosophy, every principle that I went into the sport for.

"But then you get the next challenge about human rights.

"I am very acutely conscious of human rights.

"But the question I then ask is whose human rights are we talking about here?

"Are we talking about the millions of girls that enter athletics and want to feel that they are competing at least on a level footing, do I have a concern about them?

"Yes I do.

"But I also wanted to preserve that in a way that didn’t stigmatise and cause hurt to other athletes.

"It was a difficult decision to make.

"The easier decision would frankly have been to have sat there and done nothing at all, which if I’m being honest is where pretty much the most of sport has gone now.

"We have a similar challenge around transgender and our policy there was in large part driven and in alignment with what we have done around DSD.

"So you don’t come into any sport at the level I chose to get elected at and think you are going to make a lot of friends.

"You do have to do what you think is in the best interests of the sport and possibly that judgement is made way beyond the term that you are serving."

Referring to the decision taken in 2016 to ban Russian athletes competing in the wake of the scandal over organised doping in that country, Coe added: "I know that the approach we took about Russia didn’t leave us in a position of unalloyed joy with other sporting organisations out there.

"When we all went to the Rio Games you could feel the icy blast about what we’d done.

"But I don’t want athletics to ever be on the wrong side of history."

The strong international interest in hosting this new event, which will combine elite and mass races in a unique format, is a ringing endorsement of a festival concept designed to unite the international road running community. 

The creation of the World Athletics Road Running Championships, incorporating the World Half Marathon Championships, was approved by the Council in December, and cities around the world were asked to indicate their interest in hosting the event.

The 2023 event will include elite races over both 5km and the half marathon, accompanying mass races, and a week-long festival of supporting events, including parkrun events across the host city, a global running conference, health and fitness expos and clinics.

Potential hosts will have to submit formal bids by 1 June and the World Athletics Council will select the host city in July.

World Athletics Continental Tour

The World Athletics Council has approved a greatly expanded Continental Tour calendar for 2021, including 85 Gold, Silver and Bronze meetings, after the new international series was launched successfully last year.

Despite the challenges created by the pandemic, 29 Continental Tour meetings were held last year, including seven Gold meetings (of the 10 that were originally scheduled).

This year’s calendar includes 15 Gold meetings, with two in Africa following the addition of a second meeting to join Nairobi, and three Gold meetings to be held in the United States. The venues for the new meetings will be confirmed shortly.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe welcomed the commitment of meeting directors and Member Federations across the six continental Areas to create new competition opportunities for the athletes.  

“We wouldn’t have chosen to launch a new global athletics tour on the eve of a pandemic, but the Continental Tour proved to be such a strong concept that it thrived even in these adverse circumstances,’’ he said.

“The tour has expanded substantially in 2021, and we’re delighted that it has been embraced so enthusiastically across the world. I’m particularly pleased to see that the US has stepped up to stage three Gold meetings as well as at least nine other Silver and Bronze meetings. These will provide new and vital competition opportunities and prize money for athletes and strengthen our sport both in the USA and internationally. We see the expanded US calendar as an early legacy of the decision to take our flagship event, the World Athletics Championships, to Oregon in 2022.

“We will continue to drive innovation and boost the competition opportunities available to our athletes around the world, with our immediate focus on the World Athletics Relays Silesia 2021, to be held in Poland in just six weeks’ time.”  

Competition dates

The Council confirmed the dates for the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships, which will be held in Cali, Colombia from 2-7 August, 2022, and the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Championships, which will be held in Nanjing, China from 17-19 March, 2023. 

Due to the global pandemic, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, have been postponed until 19 February 2022, but the local organisers have launched a Global Challenge event that is open to all runners and will coincide with the original dates in 2021.

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 Global Challenge is open for entries for individuals and teams now. The global virtual event starts on 1 February and runs until 21 March 2021, which will celebrate 1 year to go to the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, in Bathurst on 19 Feb 2022.

The Global Challenge is a public event open to all age groups regardless of ability. It is about celebrating taking part, with categories from 7 to 70+ and rankings that will give participants the chance to see how they compare in their country and internationally.  A World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 Global Challenge medal will also be available to competitors. 

Following completion of the Global Challenge, the top ten participants in their category, across the world, will receive an invitation to compete in the exclusive Global Challenge Final event in April 2021.

This major cross-country event focuses on delivering age-appropriate distances, category champions and provides opportunities for athletes of all fitness levels to compete against each other, on a global scale, using developments in technology to enhance the user experience. 

Participants will ultimately compete to win a VIP trip of a lifetime to Australia, to experience the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, live in 2022 and to receive worldwide recognition of their achievements.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe believes this initiative will grow the sport and inspire people across the world.

‘With a little more than one year to go to the main event in Bathurst, the local organising committee has created an interactive virtual experience for the global running community to celebrate the first World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in Australia,’’ World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.

“I invite everyone to join our running community and experience the power of our sport to unite people around the world.”  

This event encourages runners to complete their individual challenge anywhere at any time with distances for individuals aged 7 to 70+. 

Runners are encouraged to upload their race performance to the results hub, with participants from around the world able to see how they measure up to their peers and other countries.