Running News Daily

Lots of fast times in Monaco including a new 5000m world record

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei broke a 16-year-old world record in the 5000m by nearly two seconds, clocking 12:35.36 in Monaco on Friday.

Cheptegei, the 2019 World 10,000m champion who reportedly needed 80 hours to travel from Uganda for the Diamond League meet, took 1.99 seconds off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele‘s world record from 2004. Bekele is also the 10,000m world-record holder and the second-fastest marathoner in history.

“It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home, but you have to stay motivated,” Cheptegei said, according to organizers. “I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach.”

Cheptegei, 23, came into Monaco as the 73rd-fastest man in history with a personal best of 12:57.41. But he declared before the meet that the world record was his goal, given he had no Olympics or world championships to peak for this year.

“It is very difficult to run any world record,” was posted on the Instagram of Bekele, who is part of the NN Running Team with Cheptegei. “Congratulations to my teammate [Cheptegei].”

The Diamond League next moves to Stockholm on Aug. 23.

In other events Friday, Noah Lyles easily won a 200m after raising a black-gloved first before the start. More on Lyles’ gesture and victory here.

Donavan Brazier extended a year-plus 800m win streak, clocking 1:43.15 and holding off countryman Bryce Hoppel by .08. Brazier won his last seven meets, including national, world and Diamond League titles in 2019, when he broke a 34-year-old American record.

Olympic silver medalist Orlando Ortega of Spain won the 110m hurdles in 13.11 seconds, overtaking world champion Grant Holloway. Holloway, who won worlds in 13.10 last autumn, finished fourth in 13.19.

Timothy Cheruiyot followed his 2019 World title by clocking his second-fastest 1500m ever. The Kenyan recorded 3:28.45, holding off Norwegian 19-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who set a European record of 3:28.68.

Sifan Hassan, the world’s top female distance runner, dropped out of the 5000m with two and a half laps left while in the lead pack. Two-time world champion Hellen Obiri won in 14:22.12, surging past Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey on the final lap.

Karsten Warholm ran the joint eighth-fastest 400m hurdles in history, a 47.10 against a field that lacked rivals Rai Benjamin and Abderrahman Samba. Warholm, the two-time world champion, ranks second in history with a personal best of 46.92, trailing only American Kevin Young‘s 46.78 from the 1992 Olympics.

American Lynna Irby won her Diamond League debut with a 50.50 in the 400m. Irby, the second-fastest American in 2018, failed to make the 2019 World team. On Friday, she beat Wadeline Jonathas, the top American in 2019.

Joshua Cheptegei smashes 5000m world record in Monaco Diamond league

Joshua Cheptege is the new 5000m world record in a time of 12:35:36.He broke kenenisa Bekele record that stood out for 16 years with 2 seconds.He was followed in adistance by Kimeli from kenya 12:51:78 and Krop 13:11:32.

The 5km world record holder of 12:51 was pace by two pacekars making him crossed the first lap 60.00 inside world record.The pacers were lead by 24 years Uganda Kissa who helped him crossed 1000m in 2:31:7 which was almost world record tempo compared to Bekele's 2:33:2.

He looked comfortable maintaining every km in 2:31:3-9.The world record was in severe threat when he maintain every 400m under 61 seconds as he look calm and relaxed.His super running made him run every mile faster than Bekele when he broke world record.

The fastest lap that he ran was 59 seconds making him one of the tactical athlete in the world. .He looked full of energy when crossed the finish  smiling  while stopping the watch.Kimeli managed to run his pb of 12:51.

Africa Cross Country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli to chase best time in Monaco Diamond League

Africa Cross Country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli will be chasing a new personal best over 5,000m when he parades at this weekend's  Monaco Diamond League meeting.

Kimeli, who will be marshalling forces with Africa junior 5,000m silver medalist Jacob Krop, will also be chasing his maiden win in the series since he made his debut in 2018.

The two-time Maria Soti cross country winner, who has a personal best of time 12:57.20 set in 2019 at the Helglo Track, said the series will be part of his training ahead of the postponed Olympic Games.

“This pandemic has taken us  off our expectations for the season. However, I will do my best to ensure that I get good results in Monaco, hoping to register my maiden win,” said the Ndalat Gaa cross country winner.

He said he is still not sure what to expect after training alone for long in adherence to government protocols in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

“Since there were no open stadia for speed work, I used to do long runs and fartlek under coach Patrick Sang,” he said.

“My running system will also be determined by weather conditions, which is very crucial for any athlete. I hope it will favour Kenyan runners in Europe.”

Kimeli was part of the World Athletics Championships, held in Doha, Qatar, competing in 5,000m where he finished fifth in the final.

2020 Mainova Frankfurt Marathon scrapped over coronavirus concerns

The Frankfurt Marathon on Tuesday became the latest sports event to succumb to the coronavirus pandemic with organizers announcing this year's race, scheduled for October 25, has been cancelled.

"Set against the hardship which this worldwide pandemic has inflicted, the cancellation of a sports event is of minor significance," said race director Jo Schindler.

"We have not taken this step lightly and have done our utmost to find solutions.

"Now we have to face the cold reality that cancellation is inevitable."

The Frankfurt event, held annually since 1981, is the second-biggest in Germany behind the Berlin Marathon. Some 27,000 runners took part in 2019.

This year's Berlin Marathon, traditionally held in September, has already been cancelled.

Kenya's Wilson Kipsang holds the Frankfurt course record of two hours, 03:42 in 2011.

The 2019 men's race was won by Ethiopia's Fikre Tefera, while Kenya's Valary Aiyabei set a new course record of 2:19:10 in the women's event.

Joshua Cheptegei will be eyeing the 5000 meters winner's prize in Monaco when he returns to the Diamond League this weekend

Unlike previous years, the Diamond League 2020 will not be a structured series of events leading to a final. Due to the coronavirus upheaval, only 11 instead of the planned 15 athletics meetings will take place this season.

There are all signs that Lady Luck will again smile at Cheptegei in the same European city-state where he broke 5km road world record early this year.Cheptegei, together with fellow world champion Halima Nakayi (1000m), Winnie Nannyondo (1000m), and Samuel Kisa (5000m) were flagged off by First Lady and Sports Minister Janet Museveni Saturday.

"Please take care to protect yourselves from COVID-19, remember that self-discipline is a big factor in the fight against this virus. God be with you," said Janet Museveni as she handed the athletes the national flag.

The Ugandans were, according to Monaco procedure, first subjected to a mandatory COVID-19 test.

Steeplechase star Conseslus Kipruto from Kenya failed the test and will accordingly miss the Monaco Diamond League event.The Ugandans left on a Uganda Airlines chartered flight to Nairobi on Saturday, then another to Monaco ahead of the August 14 event.

The race organizers of the Monaco event chartered the flights for the 10 Kenyan and four Ugandan athletes.The men's events in Monaco include 200m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 110m hurdles, 3,000m steeplechase, and pole vault, while women will compete in 100m, 400 m, 1,000m, 5,000m, triple jump and high jump.

Organizers also confirmed that top athletes including women's world record holder, triple jumper Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela, Dutch 1,500m world champion Sifan Hassan, 10,000m world champion Joshua Cheptegei and French hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will partake of in the events.

On June 26th, the Diamond League canceled its meets in Paris, France, and Eugene, in the United States because of the current restrictions on mass gatherings and international travel due to the coronavirus menace the world over.

Due to the global outbreak of the fatal respiratory disease, the Diamond League season could not start as planned in Doha on April 17.

Meetings have since been canceled in London, Rabat (in Morocco), and Zürich (in Switzerland) which was originally scheduled to host the season finale in September - while other events on the calendar were postponed due to the pandemic.

World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge wants Usain Bolt to visit Kenya

World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has invited the fastest man on earth, Jamaican Usain Bolt to visit Kenya and witness the wildebeest migration, one of the wonders of the world.

“It’s good to invite my good friend Bolt to come and visit to see what is currently happening in Kenya now," Kipchoge said on Sunday during his tour of the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

“He is an all round guy, charming, a great sports ambassador to the world.”

Kipchoge said Bolt, who visited Kenya 11 years ago, is welcomed to come and find out how the baby cheetah he adopted in 2009 is doing. 

“We have the big five- Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, elephants and buffaloes, which are some of the fastest animals in the world then we have the cheetah that is the fastest animal,” said Kipchoge.

“Bolt is the fastest and I will be glad to host him in Nairobi to witness over 2.5 million wildebeest migrating.”

While Bolt holds the 100m and 200m world records of  9.58 and 19.19 seconds, Kipchoge holds the world marathon record of 2:01.39.

Kipchoge, who has been named Kenya tourism ambassador, on Sunday ran with Kenya's game rangers and Masai Morans at the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Narok County.

Kipchoge, who raced over 10km in the wild said he used the race to pay tribute to the game rangers for their efforts in safeguarding the wildlife besides their conservation efforts.

The world Marathon record holder also commended the Morans and their Masai community for being on the forefront not only to preserve their culture that has been a major world attraction, but also the wildlife and environment.

Kipchoge, who has a passion for environment conservation and wildlife said,  “I should have been in Japan to defend my Olympic title and I was ready for it, but Covid-19 happened.”

 “It was a good run that I also wanted to use to bring hope to 47 million Kenyans. I want to tell them that we can’t go down completely and that we can still rise and go up together as a country through running,” said Kipchoge, who will be defending his London Marathon.

World and Olympic steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto tests Covid-19 positive

World and Olympic steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto’s bid to kick-start his season has suffered a major blow after he was ruled out of next week’s Monaco leg of the Diamond League after testing positive for Covid-19.

Kipruto revealed the setback to Nation Sport on Saturday, a day after completing his preparations for 3,000 metres steeplechase race at Monaco’s Stade Louis II where he had promised a sub eight-minute run.

Kipruto, 25, was among 15 Kenyan athletes who had been cleared to compete in the Monaco leg after getting special dispensation visas to travel to the Schengen area.

Kenya is among countries whose nationals have not been cleared to travel into European Union nations owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The athletes were, however, cleared to travel after Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei intervened on their behalf at the Embassy of France in Nairobi.

The athletes travelling to Monaco are, however, still required to undergo a Covid-19 test 72 hours before the trip.

The rest of the contingent is expected to travel to the principality on Monday.

Kipruto disclosed that he was tested on Thursday at Eldoret’s Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the results turned out out positive.

"It's indeed sad that the test came back positive. I don't know where I got it because I have been following the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health," Kipruto told Nation Sport on Saturday.

He said that he was waiting for the officials from the hospital to give him the way forward on management of the condition.

"I am in contact with officials from the hospital and I'm waiting for them to give me the way forward. I don't feel anything (symptoms) for now," said Kipruto.

Kipruto was expected to line up in the steeplechase on Friday alongside compatriots Abraham Kibiwott and Vincent Kipchumba, a pacesetter.

He had told Nation Sport on Thursday that he was keen on building up speed with the world record in his specialty his ultimate goal.

“I have had enough time to train since March when all the races were cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic. I am happy I was invited for the Monaco race. I’m looking forward to the race which I want to run under eight minutes,” Kipruto had said on Thursday.

The world record is held by Kenya-born Qatari Saif Saaeed Shaheen (formerly known as Stephen Cherono) at seven minutes, 53.63 seconds.

“I will be using the race to gauge my performance as I prepare to lower the world record time which has been out of the country for a long time. If I’m the Olympic and World champion, what makes it hard for me to break the world record?” posed Kipruto on Thursday.

Taking all safety precautions, Turku and Monaco are ready to kickstart the international season

After a delay of more than three months, the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting series kicks off on Tuesday (11) with the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. Three days later, the Herculis EBS Meeting in Monaco will signal the start of the scaled down 2020 Wanda Diamond League season.

As recently as two months ago, with event postponements and cancellations becoming the norm, it began to seem more and more unlikely that any season would emerge from the havoc that the coronavirus pandemic has left in its wake. But Jean-Pierre Schoebel and Jari Salonen, respectively the directors of the Monaco and Turku meetings, saw things differently.

From the beginning of the pandemic, both have continued their work under the assumption that their events would go ahead. Instead of waiting until next year, Salonen pushed his meet back two months, hoping the situation would improve. Schoebel too, bided his time. Lockdown restrictions in the Principality eventually eased, paving the way for his meet, like Turku’s, to go on after all, albeit under strict conditions.

“Life is beginning to start again,” Schoebel said. “The Herculis EBS meeting in Monaco gives the possibility to show that, yes we have been confined, but now life is starting again and that we can live again.” 

But in order to do that, Schoebel added, “We have changed everything,” from the athletes’ travel and accommodation logistics to the way the competition will be staged and conducted. “We studied everything to ensure we'd provide the maximum security to everyone involved in the meeting.”

‘We've never worked as hard as this year’

Staging an international competition has its challenges under the best of times. Throw in a slew of unprecedented public health and safety concerns, global travel restrictions and painful budget cuts, and you find yourself facing a near impossible chore.

“We’ve never worked as hard as this year,” Schoebel said. “I can't tell you how difficult the situation has been.”

Especially with bringing athletes from the United States, Kenya and Uganda, for example, countries that are not yet on the European Union’s Schengen Area “safe” list, therefore limiting non-essential entry.

For months Schoebel and his team have worked closely with French and Monegasque authorities investigating ways to secure entry visas and formulate transport options for athletes arriving from outside of the European Union.

Mandatory testing in Monaco, selective in Turku

But the athletes, who include world and Olympic steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto, women’s steeplechase world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri, will have to adhere to strict health protocols prior to and upon arrival in Monaco. All will be tested for Covid-19 prior to departure and will be required to take another test upon arrival in Monaco before they’re cleared to compete.

Schoebel said he’ll require all athletes, even those arriving from within the European Union, to follow a strict testing protocol.

For Salonen and his team in Turku, the regimen won’t be quite as demanding since very few athletes will be arriving from outside of the Schengen zone.

“We made a decision quite early that we would concentrate on athletes coming only from Europe or within the Schengen area, to minimise the risk.”

Athletes arriving from countries not on Europe's current list of “safe” countries will be tested, he said.

“We will also be ready to test on-site. Finland is considered a very safe country, from our authorities’ point of view, so we are very careful with those coming from the other countries.”

Cooperation

The testing in Turku is also being organised with the Herculis meeting in mind.

"We have also agreed to help Monaco with some athletes, to test them in Turku in order for Monaco to know that healthy athletes are coming from Finland,” Salonen said. “I think this is very important, that meetings work together in order to make sure that athletes are healthy during the tour, and therefore the meet organisers can be more safe. 

Both are expecting a similar number of athletes, Turku about 150 athletes across 12 disciplines, including 50 to 80 from outside of Finland, and Monaco between 140 and 150 across its 14 events. All will be more or less secured in the meeting bubble from arrival until departure.

Confined to the bubble

To help maintain that bubble, Monaco organisers switched hotels this year, choosing to accommodate the athletes at the Riviera Marriott located across the street from the Stade Louis II, keeping everything and everyone within walking distance.

“And from the hotel they will have direct access to the warm up track. It's very convenient, they won't see or interact with anyone.”

Similarly in Turku. 

While there will be some doubling up in rooms, mostly among athletes who train or travel together, there will be more single accommodations than in other years, Salonen said.

“The main idea is to try to isolate the athletes from all the other personnel who are not involved with them, as well as the public and media. That is the main idea in our programme. From the transport to the hotel and from the hotel to the stadium area, we will maximise the isolation, therefore secure the social distancing.”

That also means that any pre- and post-meet press conferences and media interviews at both competitions will be held virtually or individually with strict distancing protocols.

Social distancing on the programme 

Social distancing regulations have also forced logistical changes within the stadium, particularly in Monaco, for both athletes and spectators. The call room area, where athletes gather just prior to their race, is too small to meet current social distancing guidelines, so it was moved to the stadium’s infield. That move forced the long throw events off of the programme this year.

Schoebel said his team worked closely with Salonen's when formulating their respective programmes, which ensured that a strong slate of throws events would be available in the Finnish meet that week.

Salonen said that as of 1 August, Finland will no longer mandate limits on outdoor gatherings. But to play it safe, and to serve as an example, Turku will voluntarily cap attendance at between six and seven thousand, roughly half of the sell-out crowds the meeting typically attracts.

Monaco, on the other hand, will allow a maximum of 5000 spectators who will be directed towards their seat through seven of the stadium’s gates. They will be seated in every other row and will be obliged to wear masks. Concession stands will be closed but spectators will be allowed to bring bottled water.

Budget cuts

Another factor shared by both meetings are vastly reduced operating budgets this year. Salonen said his was cut by about 25%, while Schoebel said his was slashed nearly in half. But both say that they’re glad they will be able to provide athletes with a paycheck.

“Of course we want to help them as much as we can,” Schoebel said. “And we're pleased that we can give prize money and some appearance money.”

Albeit less than in the past. But Salonen is quick to add that managers and athletes have been very understanding of the financial situation the pandemic has sown. “We’ve had no problem with our negotiations this year. Athletes are craving competition.”

Minimising the risk

Yet for all the precautions, risks do remain. That’s part of the game right now, one that both are confident they’re going to win.

“I think that all we can do is to minimise the risk,” Salonen said. “With the (good) situation that we have in Finland at the moment, the possibility of the virus coming to us is very, very, very low if we use the protocol we have built - to bring healthy athletes to Turku, so that they can leave healthy. The existence of corona in Turku at the moment is almost zero. And we need to make sure we can keep it that way.”

“We're making a big effort as we know the athletes want to get back into competition,” Schoebel said. “And I hope we will succeed.”

Donavan Brazier believes he has a chance at legendary record

On the night of the biggest race of his life, Donavan Brazier met the man whom he is trying to succeed and, perhaps, supplant.

David Rudisha, the two-time Olympic 800m champion and world-record holder, told Brazier before the Oct. 1 world championships 800m final that he believed in the 22-year-old American more than any other man in that night’s event.

Later that evening in Doha, Brazier proved the sidelined Kenyan prophetic, winning in a national record 1:42.34 and becoming the first American to win a world title in the event.

Brazier, in his first global championship final, also ran the fastest time by somebody that young since Rudisha’s 2012 Olympic title and world-record epic pulled that field to personal bests.

Rudisha’s mark of 1:40.91 — from a race Brazier has watched dozens of times — is still significantly faster. That hasn’t stopped followers from wondering if Rudisha’s days as world-record holder may be numbered.

Sounds like Brazier may be wondering, too.

“I think I definitely have the opportunity,” Brazier told NBC Sports’ Leigh Diffey in a watchback of his 2019 Diamond League and world titles. “If we’re looking at guys that are currently racing right now, I think I might have the best opportunity to do it.”

Brazier exercised caution. He was by no means predicting such a feat.

“David Rudisha, when he first broke it, he was a once-in-a-century athlete,” Brazier said. “For someone to break it so quick and just to say it so nonchalantly, I think it’s not really giving David Rudisha the respect that he deserves. A 1:40.91 is a really dangerous record to break.”

World 3,000 meters steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech is the latest entrant in the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on August 14

The world record holder over the distance, who has been training in Kericho, will compete in the 5,000m race which she will use to improve her endurance and speed.

The last race she participated in before sports activities were suspended owing to Covid-19 pandemic was the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany in February. She set a national indoor record after clocking 4 minutes 03.09 seconds in 1,500m.

The athlete told Nation Sport that she is looking forward to a good performance even though she has not trained as well as she had wanted to.

BROKE RECORD

Chepkoech has fond memories of Monaco because it is the venue where she broke the 3,000m steeplechase record two years ago after clocking  8:44.32.

"I'm delighted that I will be racing once again after a long break due to the virus which has disrupted the sporting world. I'm looking forward to running well since we are starting another season,” she said.

"I will be competing in the 5,000m race because I want to improve my speed and enhance endurance. Competition is changing and we need to change with the times,” she added.

Chepkoech said training has been good despite being alone because of the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health on social distancing to help prevent the spread of the virus.

"When you train as a group other athletes push you to a certain limits and that sharpens your skills. Training alone has been good but I can't say that I'm in perfect shape," she said.

TRAINED ALONE

The Monaco race will kick start a series of events across the world.

"The whole season went by without competition. Most athletes  stayed at home and trained alone while some  did farming. For  my part,  I have been helping my parents with picking tea on the farm and at the same time training to stay fit.  I'm happy we are now slowly going back to competitions,” she said.

Chepkoech will be joining other Kenyans who have been enlisted for the Monaco meet include 1,500m Olympic champion Faith Chepn’getich and Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus  Kipruto.

Paul Chelimo says that he is willing to die in a race

United States Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo was the guest on last week’s LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast and he had a lot of interesting things to say about his career, running fast, his goals, doping in Kenya, racism in America, his daughter, his rivalry with Lopez Lomong, and a lot more.

As a teenager in Kenya, Chelimo ran a tryout race in the hopes of earning a scholarship to come to the United States. Though Chelimo ran poorly, he still made it to the States, and the rest is history. He arrived at NAIA Shorter (Ga.) University with $450 to his name. He’d move on to UNC Greensboro and become a two-time NCAA runner-up, but then joined the Army thinking his running career may be over. Fortunately for Chelimo, he was accepted into the Army World Class Athlete Program and in 2016 he burst onto the professional scene in the biggest way possible, ending up with an Olympic silver in the 5,000m in Rio.

Chelimo revealed two factual things of note we had not heard before. First, he said his ultimate goal is to run the Los Angeles Olympic marathon in 2028.

And he revealed that he missed two out-of-competition drug tests when he was first put into the anti-doping pool after bursting onto the scene in 2016. He said he was unfamiliar with the whereabouts system and how it worked so he missed two tests. “Since then I was so strict, because I knew if I just missed the last one, the third one, it’s gonna be a huge mess,” he said, explaining that a lack of familiarity with the system may be why runners in Kenya are now getting whereabouts failures of their own.

More highlights from Chelimo’s comments below. You can click on the timestamps to listen to them.

[60:06] On what he thinks of Moh Ahmed running 12:47 for 5,000m and Lopez Lomong going sub-13:00 and whether that makes him scared or confident:

“I never get scared. As long as we start from the same starting line in a race, and we finish at the same finishing line in a race [it] really, really doesn’t scare me…

“Usually they say it’s the lion that is smart that strikes the meat. My goal is, it’s towards the Olympics…

“If you’re going to show up and run really fast, and try to frustrate me or frustrate anyone else, I really don’t care. I have a strong mind…. I know they can run fast now. They can pace me. I don’t have to pace them anymore… So it’s good. It’s good for the sport, actually.”

On whether his rivalry with Lomong is overstated:

[62:37] “You know, it gets to a point like when someone is becoming dominant. It’s time someone else tries to break that dominance and I see Lopez Lomong try[ing] break the dominance that I’ve had in the 5K and I like it. I like challenges and Lopez Lomong is very competitive. We’re going to show up and we’re going to race and whoever wins is a champion that day.”

Chelimo says his ultimate goal is running the Olympic marathon in LA 2028, so that makes it easy to avoid taking the shortcut of doping.

[63:41] “Eventually the big goal is to get to LA 2028 in the marathon, think about me being in the LA 2028 marathon. It’s gonna be big. So I just want to keep going and keep going to when I get there.  I just want to have a long career. That’s that’s what my big goal is and I just don’t want to be greedy and that’s why I don’t support the drug cheats because I know the more patient you are, the more you get. I know like if I cheat today, yeah, I’ll make a lot of money. But what happens if I get busted? I stay out of running for four years…. And it’s so easy in track and field to be so greedy. It’s so easy to be greedy, especially when people are smoking you in races. It’s so easy to be greedy and try take the shortcuts but let them… I’m happy with what the anti-doping [authorities] are doing and everything because people are getting busted. Which shows it’s working.”

On being willing to die in a race:

[89:19] “Really, it’s all about life. I just have to put food on my table. I just have to hustle hard and I just have to make a living. People hate, they don’t know what I’ve been through…  I ran a 5k on a dirt track in Kenya. I ran like eight laps. And I got kicked out of the track because I got lapped in a 5k, running barefoot. And I remember I ran a cross country race in Kenya. I was third to last. I was like, second or third to be last….So, coming from that, and now Nike [is] sponsoring me, I have the best shoes in the world and you want to put me in a race against someone who has had shoes the whole time? You’re gonna think that guy is gonna beat me? I mean I’m just gonna do my best, just to do all I can win the race because I know where I’ve come from…. And I really, really want it. So am I guy, I’m willing to die in a race. And trust me if I die in a race one day, that’s the best way I could die man. I could be happy because I know I was hustling and I know I was digging deep. So that’s pretty much it. That’s pretty much me.”

New dates set for World Athletics Series events postponed due to the global Covid-19 pandemic

The World Athletics Council has approved new dates for the World U20 Championships Nairobi 2020 and the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Minsk 2020.

The World U20 Championships will now be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 17 to 22 August, 2021, one week after the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Under the competition’s rules, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on 31 December, 2021 will be eligible to compete.

The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships have been rescheduled for 23-24 April, 2022 in Minsk, Belarus.

The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Yangzhou 2022 have also had a small date change, moving back one week, from 20 March, 2022, to 27 March 2022.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: “The disruption caused by the global pandemic has made it more difficult to schedule international events over the next two years but we want to give as much certainty as we can to our athletes, Member Federations, host cities and partners. We have done our best to choose dates that we believe are achievable and offer the best chance for our athletes and event hosts to shine on the international stage.”

Bathurst World Cross Country organisers request alternative dates

World Athletics has also updated the Council on conversations with organisers of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 to explore alternative dates for the event.

This is due to ongoing travel and gathering restrictions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic and the measures currently implemented within Australia to contain it. This includes the closure of Australia’s international borders.

The Board of the Local Organising Committee, World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021, the Athletics Australia board and the New South Wales Government have reinforced their strong desire to host this World Championship and have asked World Athletics to postpone the event to a future date to be determined.

World Athletics will work closely with all stakeholders in Australia to explore the feasibility of other dates. At this time the event remains in the calendar for 20 March 2021.

National championships windows, 2021-2024

In an effort to assist long-term planning for the athletes and Member Federations and in line with the Global Calendar Hierarchy, the Global Calendar Unit has agreed on the following national championships protected windows from 2021-2024.

2021

Protected national championships window 1 - 5-6 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 26-27 June

2022

Protected national championships window - 25-26 June

2023

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 July

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 July

2024

Protected national championships window 1 - 8-9 June

Protected national championships window 2 - 29-30 June

Organizers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions, Brazier, Chepkoech, Holloway and Thompson-Herah

Organizers of the Herculis meeting have confirmed the participation of four more global champions for the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on August 14.

World 800m champion and 2019 Diamond League winner Donavan Brazier will make his Herculis debut. The 23-year-old US middle-distance runner set a North American record of 1:42.34 to win the world title in Doha last year. His form this year is promising too, having clocked a North American indoor 800m record of 1:44.22 back in February and a 1500m PB of 3:35.85 in Portland earlier this month.

World steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech will return to the scene of her world record clocking of 8:44.32 from two years ago. The Kenyan’s last race was a victory at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Dusseldorf in February, where she clocked a Kenyan indoor 1500m record of 4:02.09.

Like Brazier, world 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway will be competing in Monaco for the first time. Following a string of record-breaking feats on the US collegiate scene, the 22-year-old turned professional last year and went on to win the world title in Doha.

Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has also been confirmed for Monaco. Having finished third over 100m in 2018 and second in the 200m last year, the Jamaican sprinter will move back down to the shorter distance and she’ll be keen to achieve her first victory at the Stade Louis II.

European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic of Poland is another addition to the Herculis line-up. Along with her four continental titles, the 27-year-old owns four global medals in the 4x400m.

First american trio Cory McGee, Dani Jones and Emma Coburn, to run sub 4:24 in the same race at Indiana Mile

Cory McGee, Dani Jones and Emma Coburn took advantage of racing at sea level for the first time outdoors this year and achieved history by becoming the first American trio to all run under 4 minutes, 24 seconds in the same race Saturday at the Team Boss Indiana Mile at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.

McGee, a New Balance professional, surged with 250 meters remaining and never relinquished control, clocking a lifetime-best 4:21.81 to elevate to the No. 8 all-time American outdoor performer.

Jones (4:23.33), a first-year professional, and Coburn (4:23.65), also a New Balance athlete, achieved significant personal bests to ascend to the Nos. 10 and 11 outdoor performers in U.S. history.

Tripp Hurt won the men’s mile in a world-leading 3:56.18, just off his 3:56.02 lifetime best, with Nick Harris running a personal-best 3:57.11 and Mason Ferlic achieving a sub-4 clocking for the first time in his career to place third in 3:58.87.

McGee also achieved a 1,500-meter personal best en route of 4:03.82 to run the fastest female mile time ever on Indiana soil. Jones also ran 4:05 to lower her 1,500 personal best as well.

Canadian talent Nicole Sifuentes clocked 4:30.50 in the mile on the oversized indoor track at Notre Dame in 2016, to move just ahead of Suzy Favor Hamilton’s 4:30.64 on a standard 200-meter indoor banked track from 1989 in Indianapolis.

But thanks to the aggressive pacing of South African Dom Scott Efurd, an adidas professional who brought the group through 440 yards at 1:03.2 and the midway point in 2:10.08, all of her teammates benefited to post the top three outdoor marks in the world this year.

Coburn, who ran 4:32.72 at 4,583 feet elevation June 27 to win the Team Boss Colorado Mile at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, held the advantage with one lap remaining Saturday at 3:16.30, followed closely by McGee (3:16.56) and Jones (3:16.85).

On four previous occasions, a pair of Americans had both run under 4:24 in the same mile race, but never a trio of athletes. The most recent occurrence came at the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games, the annual London Diamond League Meeting, with Jenny Simpson placing fourth in 4:17.30 and Kate Grace taking eighth in 4:20.70 behind winner and Dutch star Sifan Hassan in 4:14.71.

Grace and Shannon Rowbury were the only tandem to achieve the feat indoors at the 2017 Wanamaker Mile at the NYRR Millrose Games, finishing second and third behind World 1,500-meter gold medalist Hassan.

The other two races where two Americans have run under 4:24 outdoors occurred at the 2015 Diamond League final in Belgium – with Rowbury and Simpson taking third and fourth behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Hassan – along with the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, where Regina Jacobs and Favor Hamilton took second and third behind Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan.

The last country to achieve the feat of three athletes running sub-4:24 in the same mile race was Ethiopia, which had Gudaf Tsegay (4:18.31), Axumawit Embaye (4:18.58) and Alemaz Samuel (4:23.35) at last year’s Diamond League Meeting in Monaco.

Russia at the 1993 Golden Gala in Rome and Great Britain at the 2017 Muller Anniversary Games in London are the only other countries to accomplish the sub-4:24 trifecta in the same race.

Australian talent Morgan McDonald paced the men’s race through 440 yards in 58.9 and the midway point in 1:58.87. He brought his teammates through 1,000 meters at 2:28, before moving out wide to give way to Hurt just before the bell lap at 2:57.25.

Harris surged with 300 meters remaining to take a brief lead, but Hurt responded to regain the advantage with 200 left, as the athletes achieved the top two outdoor times in the world this year, with Ferlic elevating to the No. 4 global performer.

The fastest men’s mile time on Indiana soil remains a 3:54.48 from Irish star Marcus O’Sullivan in Indianapolis in 1993.

After injuries and quarantine, Argentina’s Belén Casetta once again inspired to push for Olympic qualification

Successful and versatile throughout her youth, Argentina’s Belén Casetta pushed her own limits and found extraordinary inspiration at the 2017 World Championships.

Then, in the heats of the 3000m steeplechase at London’s Olympic Stadium, the Mar del Plata-born Casetta improved her personal best to 9:35.78 and became the second Argentine athlete – and first woman from the country – to reach a World Championships final. Argentina’s only other World Championships finalist was Antonio Silio, who finished eighth in the men’s 10,000m in Stuttgart in 1993.

In the final in London, Casetta was even more inspired. After cutting her personal best by seven seconds to reach it, she improved further, to 9:25.99, to finish 11th.

After that decisive moment, all kinds of obstacles seem to be at her path. But her no-quitting attitude has always prevailed, even during these challenging times when the Covid-19 pandemic has put her up to an even bigger test.

“I started 2018 very well, but after that I had an awful series of injuries (fibula, femur, two problems at the L2 vertebrae, stress fracture at the second metatarsal, tear of the femoral biceps),” explains Casetta from her training base in Tafí del Valle in the province of Tucumán. “I was able to return to form late in 2018.”

In 2019, after her latest injury, Casetta started the year quietly, with a silver medal at the South American Championships (10:04.54). Later she was second at the World University Games in Napoli and third at the Pan-American Games. Her season ended with a best performance of 9:40.05 (at Naimette-Xhovémont) and a ninth-place finish in the heats of the World Championships in Doha, this time unable to advance to the final.

After what she had been through in 2018, though, Casetta was happy to complete a full season and to be operating near her best as she started to turn her attention towards the Olympic year in a bid to qualify for her second Games.

Unforgettable trip to Kenya

As part of her preparations for 2020, Casetta and her coach, Leonard Malgor, headed to Iten in Kenya in February this year for a training stint. They planned on staying there until the end of March before returning to Argentina to take part in the South American Grand Prix.

Lockdown in Argentina was very strict, which made life difficult for Casetta, who, naturally as a world-class athlete, is a very active person.

“I was getting really desperate because as the days were passing, I felt I was losing all form I had gained while in Kenya,” she says. “Then, once I started to train, adapting to the circumstances of the small apartment, I started to lose motivation too, because I was getting bored of doing the same routines. I was finally able to run at home once a gym lent me a treadmill, but the machine broke down after two weeks.

“Once I couldn’t run anymore, I had to go back to jumping the rope and doing circuit training, which is far from ideal for me,” she adds. “I was almost going crazy.”

But Casetta has managed to find some positives in these difficult circumstances.

“Thankfully my family has always been by my side to support me,” she says. “The positive side of all this is that I have been able to share most of my time with them. As I am always away, training or competing, this confinement gave me the opportunity to spend more moments with my loved ones.

“Initially I saw the postponement of the Olympic Games as something positive, since I was recovering from an injury and trying to find my best shape. But as the days went by and I saw that my fellow competitors were training and I wasn’t, I started to get desperate again. Now that I have started to run, I see that I don’t have that much time to waste; I have to qualify and get ready for Tokyo.”

1972 Olympic silver medalist Ben Jipcho, a pioneering Kenyan middle distance runner, died on Friday

World Athletics is deeply saddened by the news that Ben Jipcho, a pioneering Kenyan middle distance runner, died on Friday (24). Jipcho, the 1972 Olympic silver medallist in the 3000m steeplechase and former world record holder in the event, was 77.

Jipcho died of multiple organ failur at the Fountain Hospital in Eldoret where he had been hospitalised since Wednesday (23).

"We are saddened by the loss of Jipcho, a pioneer of athletics in Kenya. My heartfelt condolences to his family and Kenyans at large," said Paul Tergat, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.

Jipcho, who began his running career in the mid 1960s, rose to prominence in the 1968 Olympic 1500m final in Mexico City where he sacrificed his own ambitions to figure in the medal battle by acting as a pacesetter for Kipchoge Keino, who went on to win the title over Jim Ryun. Jipcho set out on a world record pace, covering the first lap in 56 seconds and bringing Keino through 800m in 1:55.3. Keino won in 3:34.91, an astounding performance given Mexico City's high altitude, an Olympic record that stood for 16 years while Jipcho eventually crossed the line tenth.

He returned to the Olympic stage four years later, and again in the same race with Keino, this time the 3000m steeplechase. Keino won again in Olympic record time by Jipcho caught Finn Tapio Kantanen at the line to take silver by a scant 0.02 in 8:24.62.

His finest championship performances came at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he raced race to victory in the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase and taking bronze in the 1500m.

He also won the 5000m title at the 1973 All-Arica Games and silver in the steeplechase at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Jipcho broke the world record in the 3000m steeplechase twice over the course of eight days in 1973, first clocking 8:19.8 on 19 June then smashing that performance with an 8:14.0 run on 27 June, both times in Helsinki.

Jipcho was later among the key stars of the International Track Association (ITA), a short-lived professional tour in the United States in the early 1970s.

In a post on the government's Facebook page, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogised Kipcho "as a pioneer athlete who helped cement Kenya's profile on the international stage as a top athletics nation".

Wesley Korir, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion and a former Kenyan MP, told The Standard, "Jipcho gave us a foundation which we used to build our running career. We have lost a pillar that will be hard to replace."

Mile runner Jim Ryun Receives the Medal of Freedom at the White House

Jim Ryun, the first U.S. high schooler to break four minutes in the mile and an Olympic silver medalist, receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Oval Office, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on Friday.

President Donald Trump on Friday presented one of the nation’s highest civilian honors to Jim Ryun, a former Republican congressman and the first U.S. high schooler to break the 4-minute barrier in running the mile.

Ryun was the 1968 Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500-meter run and is a three-time Olympian. Trump presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House, calling him a “Legendary athlete and legendary runner."

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented to those who make especially meritorious contributions to the nation.

He joins a long line of Olympians to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali and Pat Summitt.

In a news release Tuesday, the White House said it is awarded “to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

“I’m very humble that I was even considered,” Ryun said by phone on Monday. “One of the things that’s really special about it, too, is that I’m getting it while I’m alive. Sometimes these are awarded after you’re dead.”

Ryun, 73, followed his running career, which included an eight-year span as mile world-record holder, by serving two terms as a U.S. Congressman for Kansas from 1996-2007. Last Friday marked the 54th anniversary of his mile world record performance of 3:51.3 at age 19.

Ryun competed in the Olympic 1500m in 1964 (at age 17), 1968 and 1972. He reached the final in 1968 and earned silver behind Kenyan Kip Keino. He remains the 11th-fastest miler in U.S. history and the oldest in the top 75.

Ryun reflected Monday about failing to make any of his junior high school’s sports teams. He was even cut from his church baseball squad. But within two years of starting cross-country in high school, he broke the four-minute barrier and made the Olympics.

When LeBron James was getting national TV coverage as a high school phenom, ESPN published a list of the greatest prep athletes in history. James was No. 3. Tiger Woods was No. 2. Ryun was No. 1.

Ryun said he still runs two or three days a week.

“But you can’t really call it running anymore. It’s so slow,” he said. “It’s certainly not very fast. It used to be four-minute miles. I’m not even sure I could do a four-minute half-mile now.”

Elijah Manangoi, the 2017 World 1500m champ, provisionally suspended

Elijah Manangoi, became the latest Kenyan to be suspended over anti-doping violations.

Manangoi has been provisionally suspended in a case of whereabouts failures, the Athletics Integrity Unit, track and field’s doping watchdog organization, announced Thursday. Athletes must provide doping officials with their whereabouts, or locations to be available for out-of-competition testing.

Three missed tests in a 12-month span can lead to a suspension, even if an athlete has never tested positive.

The Athletics Integrity Unit did not disclose details about Manangoi’s case, such as if or when he has a hearing to determine anything beyond the provisional ban.

Manangoi was unable to defend his world title in 2019 due to injury. Since July 2017, he is the only man to defeat Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot in the 1500m, doing so five times. Cheruiyot won the 2019 World title and is the Olympic favorite.

Other Kenyan distance-running stars have been banned in recent years for failing drug tests.

Rita Jeptoo had Boston and Chicago Marathon titles stripped, and Jemima Sumgong was banned after winning the Rio Olympic marathon after both tested positive for EPO. Asbel Kiprop, a 2008 Olympic 1500m champion and a three-time world champ, was banned four years after testing positive for EPO in November 2017. 

Wilson Kipsang, a former marathon world-record holder, was earlier in July banned four years for whereabouts failures.

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei will target 5000m WR in Monaco

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to next July because of the coronavirus pandemic shattered plans for many sports stars including Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei.

After a perfect 2019 which included a World Cross-country title, the 5000m Diamond League trophy, 10000m world gold and the 10km World Record (WR), Cheptegei was staring at more glory this year.

He even intensified his credentials for the 10000m Olympic gold medal by taking 27 seconds off the previous mark to rewrite the 5km WR to 12:51 minutes at the Monaco Run in France on February 16.

Regardless, the coronavirus disruptions haven’t shifted Cheptegei’s eyes off the prize. “We have set strong targets which motivate him a lot,” his manager Jurrie van der Velden of Global Sports Communication (GSC) told Daily Monitor this week. The 23-year-old is set to return to Monaco for the 5000m race during the third leg of the Wanda Diamond League (DL) series at French Ligue 1 club AC Monaco’s home Stade Louis II on August 14.

This was agreed after the 5km WR five months ago. “We felt like Monaco DL in July would be a perfect moment to run 5000m as a last test for Olympics and we spoke with the organiser about it and he was supporting the idea,” says Jurrie.

But it is not just about Cheptegei gracing the Monaco track. “We are shooting for the WR. Monaco usually has very good weather conditions and a great track.”The postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to next July because of the coronavirus pandemic shattered plans for many sports stars including Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei.

After a perfect 2019 which included a World Cross-country title, the 5000m Diamond League trophy, 10000m world gold and the 10km World Record (WR), Cheptegei was staring at more glory this year.

He even intensified his credentials for the 10000m Olympic gold medal by taking 27 seconds off the previous mark to rewrite the 5km WR to 12:51 minutes at the Monaco Run in France on February 16.

Regardless, the coronavirus disruptions haven’t shifted Cheptegei’s eyes off the prize. “We have set strong targets which motivate him a lot,” his manager Jurrie van der Velden of Global Sports Communication (GSC) told Daily Monitor this week. The 23-year-old is set to return to Monaco for the 5000m race during the third leg of the Wanda Diamond League (DL) series at French Ligue 1 club AC Monaco’s home Stade Louis II on August 14.

This was agreed after the 5km WR five months ago. “We felt like Monaco DL in July would be a perfect moment to run 5000m as a last test for Olympics and we spoke with the organiser about it and he was supporting the idea,” says Jurrie.

But it is not just about Cheptegei gracing the Monaco track. “We are shooting for the WR. Monaco usually has very good weather conditions and a great track.”

The WR over the 12-and-a-half-lap race is at 12:37.45 set by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele on May 31, 2004 in Hengelo, Netherlands.

Since that feat last 16 years ago, his country mate Selemon Barega is the one who has come closest to that WR with 12:43.02 in Brussels, Belgium two years ago.

Going by his personal best of 12:57.41 which he set while winning the DL trophy in Zurich, Switzerland last August, Cheptegei is 20 seconds from the target but Jurrie believes the lockdown only got his act better.

“He’s doing well, even better than ever,” the Dutchman notes. However, Uganda still has travel restrictions in place with Entebbe Airport still closed because of Covd-19. GSC is planning on ways of taking Cheptegei to Monaco. “We’re working on that from various angles. Yeah it’s not easy, but if things were easy anyone would be successful,” added Jurrie. And WRs have fallen before at the Monaco DL. Last year, Dutch girl Sifan Hassan obliterated the mile WR to 4:12.33.

In 2018, Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech posted the 3000m steeplechase WR of 8:44.32, so did Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba deliver the 1500m best time ever in 2015.

Kenyans Brigid Kosgei and Lawrence Cherono, disappointed after Chicago Marathon cancelled

The cancellation of this year’s Chicago Marathon has left a number of Kenyan athletes disappointed.

This is the fourth Abbot Major Marathon race to be cancelled after Boston, Berlin and New York Marathon races were moved to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The race was primed for October 11 with an estimated field of around 45,000 runners and wheelchair athletes.

Chicago Marathon has good memories for the Kenyan athletes with Brigid Kosgei shattering the world record by clocking 2:14:04 lowering Paula Radcliffe’s time of 2:15:25 in last year’s women’s edition of the race.

Kosgei broke the world record a day after Eliud Kipchoge made history by becoming the first man to run under two-hours in a race dubbed INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria leaving no doubt that Kenya is an athletics powerhouse.

The Kapsait-based athlete zoomed to victory after beating Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh (2:20:51) by six minutes, while her compatriot Gelete Burka was third in 2:20:55.

Kosgei is hopeful that she will able to defend her London Marathon in October 4.

“I had two options, but with the Chicago Marathon race cancelled, I’m left to train for the London Marathon race, which we are still crossing fingers will be able to proceed,” said Kosgei.

Lawrence Cherono, who won the men’s race last year in a sprint finish against Ethiopians, has also been left disappointed by the cancellation.

Cherono clocked 2:05:45 beating Dejene Debela, who timed 2:05:46 ahead of fellow countryman Asefa Mengistu who came in third in 2:05:48.

“It’s really demoralising because all the races I was to compete in this year have since been cancelled and that has left me to just do my work as we focus on next year and hope the virus will be contained,” said Cherono.

Cherono was to race in the Boston Marathon as well as the now postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games.

“I have been working on my farm because there is no race I can participate in this year, but at the same time I’m waiting for the management to communicate if there will be any other small race that I can do as we wait for next year,” said a disappointed Cherono.

So far Tokyo Marathon remains the only successful major marathon that was held back in March. Toronto Marathon, which was scheduled for October 18,  has also been cancelled.

Recovered Michael Kibet is focusing on the Olympic Games

Ndalat Gaa cross country champion Michael Kibet has set his sights on a ticket to the postponed 2020 Olympic Games after missing out on the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar despite winning the 5,000m race during the national trials.

Kibet and second place finisher Daniel Simiu failed to meet the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) anti-doping threshold for the world show thus derailing their debut at the international stage.

They were replaced by third place finisher Africa cross country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli and and another junior runner Africa 5,000m silver medalist Jacob Krop.

Kibet says the disappoint from last now over and has his eyes set on ensuring that he does everything right to make the national team to Japan.

Kenya last won the 5,000m men's Olympic title in 1988 through John Ngugi and Kibet, who was not born then, feels he has what it takes to deliver.

Born on 3rd September 3, 1999, Kibet wants to become the only Kenyan to win the title since the country debuted at the Games in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia.

“Right now my focus is to run and bring the elusive Olympic Games 5,000m title," said Kibet, following an individual training session in Kericho County.

"It hurt so much to miss the World Championships and especially flying out of the country for the first time in Kenyan colours but that is behind me now."

Last year, he won the Palio Della Quercia 5,000m race, edging out Ethiopia's Mukta Idris in a 1-2 Kenyan podium finish alongside Erick Kiptanui in a meet record of 13:11.08 to better Hayle Ibrahimov's 13:11.34 set in 2012.

“I want to bring the title to Kenya by breaking the jinx. I am sure 2021 will be a great year for me in athletics,” he said.  

With the government directive in gathering, the two times Tuskys cross country champion trains in split groups that also has Geoffrey Koech, Sheila Chelang’at, national cross country champion Faith Koech and Naomi Chepkirui.   

He observes that the disappointments of last year were only bettered by the support he got from family, friends and training mates and has now ensured that he is tested whenever Doping Control Officers visit him. He has so far been tested six times and expects more when the world opens up for sports.

Kenyan Rodgers Kwemoi Chumo says that Coronavirus paused his marathon debut

Trouble has come in doubles for Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist Rodgers Kwemoi, who, in addition to failing to make his marathon debut, is locked up in Kenya away from his place of work in Japan.

Kwemoi, who runs for Aisan Kyobio, whom he signed for in 2015, has had a time time due to the coronavirus pandemic that has made a return to the island nation impossible due to travel restrictions.

“ I was to return to my work station in Japan on March 25, the date that all international flights were canceled,” said Kwemoi.

However, to keep himself fit as he waits on what's next, he does long runs and takes his free to tend to his cattle.

The former world junior 10,000m champion said also revealed his plans for the future, despite the uncertainties surrounding the world of sports.

His focus, he said, is to deliver a world and Olympics 10,000m title, which has been elusive for decades with his immediate focus being the 2020 Olympic Games set for Tokyo, Japan next year.

Naftali Temu was the last Olympics 10,000m winner at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games while Charles Kamathi was the last to win the world title at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada — the third after Paul Koech (1983) and Moses Tanui (1991).

“I want to run several 10,000m, 5,000m and road races but now am focusing on the Olympics. I want to bring the 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic titles,” said Kwemoi.

Despite his current struggles, Kwemoi can count himself lucky after he was considered for the Sh100,000-a-month scholarship programme by the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) courtesy of Association of National Olympics Committees of Africa (Anoca).

He is joined by Commonwealth Games 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, 800m Africa Games bronze medalist Emily Cherotich, world 800m silver medalist Ferguson Rotich, world champion 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto and world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot.

“I thank God and NOCK for selecting me. I will use the scholarship well as I prepare for the Olympic Games,” said Chumo.

He said that the scholarship will use it well as he prepares for Olympic Games, utilize it well.

“I don’t want to let those who chose me down. I will work to the best of my knowledge,” he said.

He joined Japan through former Africa cross country champion Leonard Barsoton after the world cross country in China.

“Going to Japan was my dream and all my prayers were answered because I had wanted to work in Japan like my friends,” he said.

He also hailed his employer for ensuring that, despite being away from work, he still gets his wages.

Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru scorches to convincing 10,000m victory in Abashiri

Ten days after opening her 2020 track campaign with a 5000m win in Fukagawa, Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru was once again victorious, this time over 10,000m, on Wednesday (15) in Abashiri at the third meeting in the Hokuren Distance Challenge series.

The 25-year-old finished 45 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Japan’s Mao Ichiyama, to win in 30:38.18, just three seconds shy of the PB she set when finishing fourth over the distance at last year’s World Championships in Doha.

Wanjiru led from the outset and after just a couple of laps had only two other women for company: Japan’s Mao Ichiyama and Mizuki Matsuda. After covering the first kilometer in 3:08, Wanjiru started to gradually increase the pace.

Ichiyama, who earned selection for Japan’s Olympic team after winning this year’s Nagoya Marathon in 2:20:29, started to lose contact with Wanjiru about 10-and-a-half minutes into the race. Wanjiru, meanwhile, was locked into 3:04-3:05 kilometer pace, reaching the half-way point in 15:24.

She covered the second half even quicker and, increasing her winning margin with each lap, crossed the finish line in 30:38.18. Needless to say, in a year with very few competitions, Wanjiru’s time is a world-leading mark. Although it was close to her track PB, Wanjiru has clocked 29:50 – the third-fastest time in history – on the roads.

Running alone for the final six kilometers, Ichiyama held on to second place and was rewarded with a PB of 31:23.30.

Jonathan Ndiku, best known for his steeplechase exploits, won the men’s 10,000m ‘A’ race in 27:23.47. The two-time world U20 steeplechase champion finished comfortably ahead of fellow Kenyans Alexander Mutiso (27:44.37) and Richard Kimunyan Yator (27:49.35). Yuma Hattori, who has also been named on Japan’s Olympic marathon team, was fourth in 27:56.32, taking 13 seconds off his PB from five years ago.

Elsewhere in Abashiri, world U20 champion Nozomi Tanaka – who last week set a Japanese 3000m record of 8:41.35 – won the women’s 5000m in 15:02.62, beating Kenya’s Hellen Ekarare (15:03.09). Benard Kibet Koech, meanwhile, won the men’s 5000m in 13:11.77.

Former world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang's athletics career could be as good as over

The decorated 38-year-old policeman has basically achieved what any budding athlete can dream about: A world marathon record, an Olympic marathon medal, one World Marathon Majors (WMM) Series title and five victories to his credit in the WMM series, just to mention but a few.

However, his athletics career, stretching back over 15 years, could end in disgrace after he was on Friday handed a four-year ban for anti-doping rules violation.

The World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal disclosed that it has banned the long-distance runner with effect from January 10 this year for his whereabouts failures and “tampering by providing false evidence and witness testimony.”

World record.- Kipsang had on January 10 this year been flagged and provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for whereabouts failures.

Kipsang claimed the world record when clocking two hours, three minutes and 23 seconds at the 2013 Berlin Marathon.

He won the London Marathon in 2012 and 2014, when he also won in New York, and also claimed bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

His exploits saw him win the 2013/2014 WMM Series.

Kipsang joins the 2016 Rio Olympic Games marathon champion Jemimah Sumgong on the list of prominent Kenyans suspended.

Sumgong was suspended in 2017 for four years for doping but the ban was later doubled to eight years in 2019 after she lied and fabricated her medical records.

Three-time Boston marathon champion Rita Jeptoo is also another top Kenyan banned for using prohibited substances.

Organizers of the Herculis EBS Meeting have confirmed five more world champions who are set to compete at the Wanda Diamond League fixture in Monaco on 14 August

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the world champion in the heptathlon, will compete in the high jump, her best individual discipline. Hellen Obiri, the world champion in the 5000m, will race over that distance in the Principality.

Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya, the world and Olympic champion in the the 3000m steeplechase, will headline that event, always a popular fixture in Monaco. Another middle distance star announced is HalimahNakaayi of Uganda, the surprise 800m champion in Doha last year.

Organizers also announced the Noah Lyles, the world 200m champion, will headline his favorite event.

Others on the slate include world pole vault record-holder Armand Duplantis; Laura Muir of Great Britain, who will race over 1000m; and Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen, the European indoor 5000m record-holder.

All three of Norway's Ingebrigtsen brothers, Henrik, Filip and Jakob, are also on the slate. It wasn't immediately announced which distance they would race. The men's programme includes both the 1500m and 5000m.

The 2020 Chicago Marathon has been canceled

For the second time in its history, the Chicago Marathon has been canceled before runners cross the starting line.  Organizers on Monday announced the 43rd running of the race, scheduled for Oct. 11, will not proceed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon typically draws about 45,000 runners and wheelchair athletes to the city, with a record 45,786 finishers in 2019 from 50 states and more than 100 countries. Organizers estimate about 1.7 million spectators annually line the 26.2-mile course that starts and ends near Grant Park and travels as far north as Wrigleyville and as far south as Bridgeport.

Registered participants can receive a refund for their race entry or defer their place and entry fee to the 2021, 2022 or 2023 race. Registered runners for the International Chicago 5K will have the same options.

“The Chicago Marathon is our city’s beloved annual celebration of more than 45,000 runners, as well as tens of thousands of volunteers, spectators and city residents, all of whom come together race weekend as one community here in our city,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. “Like all Chicagoans, I’m personally disappointed that this year’s event won’t take place as originally planned; however, we look forward to welcoming all runners and their cheering squads once again when the Chicago Marathon returns to our city in full force for another very exciting race.”

Organizers are developing plans for a virtual race experience.

“Our highest priority has always been the safety of our participants and our volunteers,” race director Carey Pinkowski said in a statement. “We understand the disappointment, but when we return to the streets of Chicago, it will be a celebratory moment and an uncompromising statement about the collective spirit of who we are as a running community: We are powerful, we are persistent, and we will reach the finish line again.”

The Chicago Marathon is one of six Abbott World Major Marathons, along with Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, and New York. Only elite marathoners and wheelchair athletes were allowed to compete in the March 1 Tokyo Marathon.

Boston, originally scheduled for April 20 and rescheduled for Sept. 14, was canceled for the first time in its 124-year history on May 28. Organizers instead will make it a virtual race, giving finisher’s medals to participants who prove they ran 26.2 miles.

London was postponed from April 26 to Oct. 4. Berlin, slated to run Sept. 27, was canceled in April. New York, originally scheduled for Nov. 11, was canceled on June 24.

The Chicago race is a major fall tourist event. Organizers estimated in 2019 that the race has a $338 million economic impact annually on the city.

The only other time the Chicago Marathon didn’t start was in 1987, when sponsor Beatrice Foods withdrew its support. Organizers held a low-budget half-marathon with about 3,000 runners instead.

The first Chicago Marathon took place Sept. 25, 1977, as the Mayor Daley Marathon and had more than 4,200 runners.

In the 42nd running in 2019, Lawrence Cherono and Brigid Kosgei, both of Kenya, won the men’s and women’s races. Cherono finished in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 45 seconds. Kosgei broke the women’s world record by finishing in 2:14:04.

Kenya's Alex Korio handed two-year doping ban

Kenya's Alex Korio will have to refund the prize money he won at the Beach to Beacon 10km road race in Cape Elizabeth in the U.S. after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) found him guilty of a doping offense.

The 30-year-old Korio, who had finished eighth during the Jianzhen International Half Marathon in Yangzhou, China, had been slapped with a provisional suspension in May after he failed three whereabouts cases and missed planned anti-doping tests.

He was allowed to defend himself before the AIU, but his submission failed to convince the officials.

"The athlete failed to respond and to provide any explanation concerning the apparent three missed tests," said the AIU in a statement on Friday.

He has since been handed a two-year ban from all sports competition effective July 19, 2019. The ban will end on July 19, 2021.

However, the AIU ruled that Korio will face the bane of forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points, prizes and appearance money which he may have earned starting July last year.

Korio becomes the 55th athlete from Kenya to be banned in five years, joining a ballooning list that includes former World Marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang, Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong, Rita Jeptoo, the Boston and Chicago marathon champion and Asbel Kiprop, the former World 1,500m champion.

Korio had missed scheduled tests on Jan. 20, April 11 and July 19, 2019. This year alone, Kenya has also seen former world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang, Kenneth Kipkemoi, Mercy Jerotich, James Kibet and former world junior 800m champion Alfred Kipketer suspended and charged for whereabouts failures by the AIU.

"In short, athletes violate the anti-doping rules when they have any combination of three missed tests or filing failures within any 12-month period. That period beginning on the day of the first relevant missed test or filing failure," the AIU said.

A missed test means a failure by the athlete to be available for testing at the location and time specified in the 60-minute time slot identified in his whereabouts filing for the day in question. A filing failure is to make an accurate and complete whereabouts filing that enables the athlete to be located for testing at the times and locations set out in the whereabouts filing.

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge dreams of fast time at London marathon

 World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge says training on the track is crucial as he guns for a fast time at the London marathon in October if the race is allowed to be staged.

Kipchoge, in a webinar interview with local media outlets, said he is fully immersed in training and eagerly awaiting the government to confirm when training camps will be open and athletes allowed to train normally.

"I hope for something special in London. It will be fast," Kipchoge said in t interview on Friday from his hometown of Eldoret located in Kenya's North Rift region.

The Olympic marathon champion said that he will do everything possible to be ready for the London Marathon on October 4 with organizers aiming to stage an elite-only race due to COVID-19 challenges.

"Save for Geoffrey Kamworor, who was injured in an accident, my entire team is ready to return to training camp for the preparations ahead of the season reopening. But I am waiting for the government and hope the Cabinet Secretary for Sports (Amina Mohamed) will allow us all back in camp," said Kipchoge.

He is currently working on his speed and alternates from road training to track sessions.

"Track sessions are for me and my team really crucial. It helps us to make our body maintain a high pace and it actually opens the body to feel how hard training is. To other marathoners, it's not important and they see it as not beneficial," said Kipchoge.

His coach Patrick Sang, said it is important for athletes to focus on endurance training.

"In running, there are three things that you need as an athlete. You need strength, endurance and of course, you need speed," Sang said.

Huge blow for Kenyan athletes as European Union travel ban continues

After a dark season that has seen them lose massive earnings from the international circuit due to cancellation of global sporting events owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Kenyan athletes face another blow.

Kenya is among the nations yet to be cleared to travel into Schengen states when the European Union (EU) opens its borders on July 1.

The Kenya athletes will be hit hard should the country continue to remain on the Covid-19 compliace “blacklist” when the 2020 Diamond League circuit resumes in August.

Kenya is not among 54 world countries that will benefit from the reopening of the EU borders from July 1.

Things haven’t been made any easier as Kenya’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the country with 6,190 cases having been reported with 144 deaths and 2,013 recoveries by Monday.

However, athletes from Kenyan neighbors Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda are among the African countries who will be allowed to enter the Schengen states from July 1.

Should the ban be sustained, then Kenya’s world 1,500 meters champion Timothy Cheruiyot will not be able to defend his title alongside former champion Elijah Manang’ oi, among others, during the Monaco leg of the Diamond League on August 14.

Monaco will signal the resumption of Diamond League action.

More Kenyan athletes are likely to miss the Stockholm meet on August 23 in Sweden and if EU doesn’t clear Kenya then the athletes will also miss Brussels leg on September 4 in Belgium since the Lausanne meet on September 2 will be an exhibition event.

Nationals of the following countries are listed in this draft list of nations allowed into the EU from July 1:

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Australia, Bahamas, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia.

Marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang alleges doping authorities conspired against him

Race-news-service.com quotes an article by Michael Reinsch in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in which former Marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang alleges doping authorities conspired against him and plans an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Kipsang accused the Integrity Unit of World Athletics of racism and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) of feeding “wrong information” to the AIU in attempt to undermine Kipsang’s position as founder of a professional body for Kenyan runners (PAAK). “Everyone knows that we have a bad relationship with Athletics Kenya, which in turn led to this ban,” he alleged.

AIU commissioned the Swedish judge Conny Jörneklint with the case who justified the ban over three missed tests and supplying an incorrect address within one year. Kipsang’s excuses for missing tests included in one instance a landslide and on another occasion an overturned truck blocking the road. The court noted that it was “unable to confirm either incident.

There were no records of bad weather at the specified location at the specified time, nor had the police recorded a truck accident and any resulting traffic disruption on the day in question. A photo submitted for evidence, according to research, was taken three months after the alleged accident. The athlete has acted fraudulently by intentionally providing the AIU with incorrect and misleading information,” read the AIU judgement.

“People have doped for years and have been banned for four years,” said Kipsang. “I had an accident, had to go to the hospital, and was then banned for four years. That’s not fair.”

AIU had given a proportionately lengthy sentence in June 2020 to the Ethiopian distance runner Etaferahu Temesgen after she tested positive at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon for EPO and testosterone in October 2019. On appealing the original four-year ban Temesgen submitted a forged medical certificate and had the ban extended to 12 years.

On August 13, Kenyan marathon runner Florence Jepkosgei Kosgei is due to appear at a criminal court in Eldoret charged with presenting forged documentation to the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya. If found guilty she could face imprisonment.

The virtually 2020 Lewa Safari marathon powered by Huawei raises over $200,000 for wildlife conservation

The virtually Lewa Safari marathon powered by Chinese technology firm Huawei has raised over 20 million Kenyan shillings (about 200,000 U.S. dollars) for wildlife conservation. This year, Huawei has marked 12th anniversary on supporting the Lewa Marathon to boost the protection of iconic species at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy located in northern Kenya, executives said on Sunday.

Shen Lei, Huawei Key Accounts Director, said more than one decade of financial support towards the annual Lewa Marathon, has enhanced conservation of wildlife amid natural and human-induced threats.

“Over the years we have donated significant amounts of funding and in doing so we know that every shilling is making a difference inside and outside Lewa’s boundaries,” Shen said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The 2020 edition of Lewa Marathon was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic on June 27, registering about 1000 participants from 70 cities that were represented by 20 countries and regions.

“Both Lewa and Huawei continue to forge tirelessly ahead with enhancing conservation and telecommunication efforts respectively despite the pandemic so that Kenya can be prepared for tomorrow,” he added.

Mike Watson, chief executive officer of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, said since 2008, when Huawei Kenya first got involved they have been able to inject an additional 100 million Kenyan shilling into the 800 million Kenyan shilling marathon kitty. “What this has done has allowed us to invest heavily in more than 80 projects across Kenya.”

He said that investing in wildlife conservation will unleash multiple benefits including job creation. Huawei’s financial support to the annual marathon has transformed the conservation of iconic species and rural livelihoods.

Kenyan Distance Runner Florence Jepkosgei Chepsoi Facing Criminal Charge After Allegedly Falsifying Medical Records

A Kenyan long-distance runner is facing a criminal charge, accused of presenting false documentation to the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

Florence Jepkosgei Chepsoi appeared in a court in Eldorat charged under Kenya's Anti-Doping Act on June 29, per an ADAK statement, and plead not guilty.

The case is due to be heard on August 13.

Chepsoi was charged with an anti-doping violation in 2017 after testing positive for banned steroid prednisolone at a race in China.

Appearing before a Sports Disputes Tribunal, Chepsoi presented documentation she claimed was from the Uasin Gishu District Hospital as part of her defence.

ADAK's Investigations and Intelligence Gathering Unit looked into the matter and determined, having consulted with the hospital, that the documents were forgeries and Chepsoi had never received treatment there.

Criminal charges therefore followed.

Chepsoi, 36, placed second at the Jakarta Marathon in 2019.

According to the World Athletics database, the Kenyan's personal best in the event is 2 hours 29min 25sec, recorded in 2011 in Italy.

Ethiopian long-distance runner Etaferahu Temesgen Wodaj was last month given a 12-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), majority of which stemmed from tampering with evidence.

Wodaj received a four-year suspension for failing a drugs test and an additional eight-year ban for presenting false medical documents and non-compliance.

Kenya is one of seven countries classed in Category A by the AIU in relation to their doping risk to the sport.

Category A nations are both successful at international level but present a "high absolute doping risk".

Fifty-five Kenyan athletes are currently serving suspensions, according to the AIU database.

Former marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang, has been banned for four years for whereabouts failures and tampering by providing false evidence and witness testimony.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said the Kenyan’s ban is effective from January 10 2020, the date when he was provisionally suspended.

Under anti-doping regulations, athletes have to inform testing authorities of their whereabouts for a one-hour window of every day and three failures — not being present at the said time — within 12 months leads to an automatic ban.

The AIU found that Kipsang had committed a total of four missed Tests and/or filing failures including a missed test on 27 April 2018, a filing failure related to the Athlete’s whereabouts information provided for 18 January 2019.

He also missed a test on 12 April 2019 followed another missed test a month later.

“However, by application of Article 10.7.4(a) of the 2019 IAAF Rules, the anti- doping rule violations committed by the Athlete shall be treated together as one single anti-doping rule violation and the sanction imposed shall be based on that which carries the more severe sanction,” the AIU said in a statement.

Despite triple hurdles, Michael Kibet still has eye on the big prize

They say when it rains, it pours.

Late compliance with anti-doping protocols ahead of last year’s World Athletics Championships in Doha meant that some already-qualified Kenyan athletes missed out on the action in the Qatari capital as they hadn’t gone through the required pre-championship rituals.

Not a fault of their own, but certainly a deflating situation for them, having trained for probably the biggest break of their careers.

Among them was Michael Kibet, whose career plans were dealt another major blow by the cancellation of the most of this year’s season due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the Tokyo Olympic Games which were pushed to next year from their initial date this month.

Kibet then shifted his focus to the Diamond League whose events resume next month with the Monaco leg scheduled for August 14, followed by Stockholm (August 23), Lausanne (September 2) and Brussels (September 4).

But he’s again hoping for the best after the European Union on Tuesday named the countries whose nationals will be allowed into their territory from Wednesday when the borders opened, with Rwanda, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria the only African nations offered the clearance.

Kenya has been blacklisted.

Kibet, who trains in Kericho County and specializes in the 5,000 meters, will keep one eye on the global developments and another on his training regime, waiting for competition, and normalcy, to resume.

He badly wants to succeed where no Kenyan has succeeded since John Ngugi won the Olympic Gold at the 1988 Seoul Games.

“The virus has disrupted my plans after I was dropped last year from Team Kenya to the World Championships.

“I was waiting to showcase my talent at the Olympic Games but everything has stopped, and I just have to wait for things to normalize,” Kibet told Nation Sport in Kericho.

With all athletics camps still camps closed, Kibet decided to shift his training to Kericho where he loves the altitude that averages 2,180 meters above sea level, slightly lower than the 2,400 meters in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

New York marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei dreams to rule the roost in marathon despite cancellations

 New York marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei had not planned to venture into the ultimate distance late in 2019.

For her, the graduation from road races to the marathon was penciled for 2018 after meticulous planning.

However, illness, poor form and injury delayed her promotion to the new challenge until late in 2019.

Jepkosgei had plans to answer her critics by running at the Honolulu marathon and later in the London marathon in 2018 but failed to get the chance due to injury and sickness.

However in 2019, after a lot of self-evaluation, she took a leap of faith and ventured into the marathon and was handsomely rewarded with a win in New York on first asking, powering to cut the tape in 2:22:38, which was seven seconds off the course record of Margaret Okayo (2:22:31) set in 2003.

"I was not expecting to win in New York, based on the high profile athletes that I was running against, especially my village mate Mary Keitany," Jepkosgei told Xinhua on Monday from Iten, her training base.

However, the 26-year-old never anticipated her development in the marathon would be stalled by COVID-19. She had planned to compete at the Africa Cross Country Championships in Lome, Togo in March as part of her preparations for the London marathon in April. But the event was postponed to 2021.

Earlier Jepkosgei had let the chance to compete at the World Half Marathon in Gdynia, Poland slip past her to focus on running in London.

However, the sports calendar was wrecked by the global pandemic and all the three events were either postponed or canceled.

"At first, I thought it was going to be a short time and we would return to action by June. Then we saw governments closing down, movement within and outside the country was restricted and all hope was dashed and we had to isolate even in training at home. Our training camps were shut down and we had to retreat back to our homes to avoid catching the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jepkosgei.

While all this was happening, Jepkosgei, who is also the world marathon record holder (64:51) hinged her hopes on defending her title in New York in November.

However, even that has been taken away from her, throwing the season into uncertainty.

That cancellation of the 2020 New York City marathon was no surprise to Jepkosgei.

"I was preparing for another good run to defend my title in New York. I had turned down my chance to compete at the World Half Marathon so as to focus on London and New York marathons, but both will not be held as planned in 2020," Jepkosgei added.

She, however, has not given up on her hope and dreams to lead Kenya to one day win the Olympic gold in the 2024 Paris Games.

"For me, I take the cancellations of marathon races positively knowing that there will always be another chance to excel, to showcase my talent and to work on my career performances. A chance will always come when we will return to competition post-COVID-19 and that is why I keep on training. To be ready when called upon to compete again," she said.

Jepkosgei, however, believes though 2019 was her best season, so far, better performances are in cue for her starting in 2021.

"Past records are just that, they lay in the past. I look forward to the future and want to do well," she said.

Indeed last year, Jepkosgei excelled better than predicted. For an athlete who held world records in the half marathon and road 10K, the year saw her clinch the New York City Half Marathon in March and go on to overcome her fears and compete in her first full marathon.

In addition, Jepkosgei is the youngest women's marathon champion in New York since 2001. She is the first woman to win in her debut since Tegla Loroupe of Kenya in 1994 and posted the fastest debut finish by a woman in New York City Marathon history.

"I have scaled down my training because I love running. I always want to be in my best shape. For now, there is no inspiration to train hard for a competition venture, but for the love of sport, I have to continue doing what I love, running," Jepkosgei added.

For now, she is at peace with organizers' projection to host the next New York City Marathon in 2021 with a set date being Nov. 7.

Hopefully, for Jepkosgei, she prays to remain injury-free and fit to defend her title. Time will tell.

Geoffrey Kamworor discharged, to recuperate at home

Three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor was discharged Saturday from the St Lukes Hospital in Eldoret after being treated following an accident on Thursday.

Kamworor, who was hit by a speeding motorcycle during his morning run just after 6am on Thursday, sustained injuries on his head and ankle in the accident on the Kaptagat-Eldoret road.

The injury could take some time to heal and the champion will almost certainly not be able to defend his World Half Marathon Championships title in Gydnia, Poland, on October 17.

Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei Saturday described Kamworor as among Kenya’s top talents and regretted the fact that the athlete will be sidelined for a while.

“As a federation we want to wish Kamworor quick recovery. He missed the first season due to the coronavirus and the next season has also been affected by the injury,” Tuwei said.

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya operated on in Eldoret after freak road accident

Multiple world cross country and half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor is recovering in an Eldoret hospital after he was injured in a freak accident while on his Thursday morning run.

The world half marathon record holder was hit from behind by a speeding motorcycle, sustaining injuries on his head and ankle.

Kamworor told Nation Sport from his hospital bed that he sustained injuries above the ankle and on his head

It was double tragedy for Kamworor, 28, after organizers on Thursday cancelled November’s New York City marathon where he would have defended his title.

Kamworor was also lined up to defend his World Half Marathon Championships title at this year’s rescheduled race in Gdynia, Poland, on October 17.

According to Dr Victor Bargoria, who treated Kamworor Friday, diagnosis was to open incomplete right tibia shaft fracture, knee bruises and scalp laceration.

“The procedure was debridement of contused contaminated soft tissue and loose bone fragments followed by irrigation and wound closure,” he explained after attending to the star at the St Luke's Hospital in Eldoret.

The surgery took place one month after another successful surgery on world 800 meters record holder and Olympic champion David Rudisha who twisted his ankle at his home in Kilgoris, Narok County.

The motorcyclist stopped and helped the injured champion to the hospital where he was admitted.

“I was one kilometer away from my home during my morning run when a speeding motorcycle hit me from behind and I fell down injuring my leg,” Kamworor explained.

“I also got injuries in my head and he helped me up and took me to the hospital where I was admitted.”

He said that he expects to be discharged today after the surgery went on successfully.

"The doctor has advised me to rest and I will be discharged maybe today but I will be waiting for him to give me clean bill of health,” said the champion.

Bargoria confirmed the champion could be released Friday.

“I received the patient on Thursday morning and we managed to do a surgery which was to open incomplete right tibia shaft fracture on his right leg and bruises on his head. He is doing well and he should be leaving for home anytime," said Bargoria.

He said the planned follow up will be leg CT scan, IV antibiotics, analgesics, wound care and rehabilitation for recovery.

Virus puts 2016 World Under-20 10,000 meters champion Rodgers Kwemoi’s debut over 21km on hold, for now

Kenyan athletes have been going abroad to look for greener pastures, and many have landed in Asian countries, mostly in Japan.

A number of them have been contracted by Japanese firms. They work and participate in various events while representing these companies.

But that is not to say that these athletes miss out on representing their home countries in either Commonwealth Games, World Championships, World Half Marathon Championships or the Olympics.

Covid-19 pandemic has led to cancellation of races globally. Others such as the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to next year.

Still, travel plans by many athletes have been thrown into disarray.

One such athlete is 2016 World Under-20 10,000 metres champion Rodgers Kwemoi.

Nation Sport caught up with him at his home in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County after he failed to travel back to Japan when the Kenyan airspace was closed in March. 

Kwemoi has been working with Asian Kogyo Corporate team since 2015, and his athletics career has grown steadily. He arrived back home in January to prepare for Lisbon Half Marathon, where he was to make his debut over the distance but that was not to be as the race was cancelled. 

Came back home to train.- “I came back home to train here for endurance because I was going to run the 21km race for the first time and I was just working on endurance. I had prepared well and I knew I was going to do well but the virus stalled my dreams,” Kwemoi, who is under Global Sports Communication stable, said.

The virus spread so fast Kwemoi couldn’t catch a flight back to Japan, his second home, because the Kenyan air space was closed in an effort to contain the spread of the global pandemic.

He hopes that things will return to normal again for competitions to resume because he is missing the sport.

The soft-spoken athlete was in the Kenyan team for 2019 World Championships in Doha, narrowly missing out on the medal bracket as he finished fourth.

He blames that performance on inadequate training occasioned by a lot of traveling.“I would have done better in the championships but my training was disrupted. I traveled to Japan and back and I had few weeks to prepare,” Kwemoi, who is also the Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist, said.

But back in Japan, life is slowly returning to normal.

Stephen Mayaka, the head coach at Oberlin University Tokyo, says although the deadly virus has disrupted sports globally, but he is happy that competitions will resume next month in Tokyo.

“Things are getting back to normal here and we are even getting back to competitions next month where athletes will be competing in Hokuren challenge meet in Hokkaido on 4th,8th,15th and 18th July,” Mayaka told Nation Sport on phone from Japan.

He also said that athletes in Japan are in good shape and are looking forward to competing.Mayaka also said that he was looking forward to the Olympics Games but it was unfortunate because it had to be shifted to next year.

The postponed Haspa Marathon Hamburg will be allowed to take place with 10,000 runners, both elite and mass races

In a surprising turn of events, the postponed Haspa Marathon Hamburg will be allowed to take place with both elite and mass races on Sunday, September 13.  The event, which was originally scheduled for April 19, has been granted an exemption by German authorities –who had implemented a ban on all large events through October 24– because organizers have agreed to implement a rigorous anti-COVID hygiene plan.  The event is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.

“We are optimistic that the Haspa Marathon Hamburg will be started on 13 September,” said chief organizer Frank Thaleiser through a statement.  “We have the plans and the infrastructure required.  We will now make detailed plans together with the city to realize the race.”

Organizers are expecting 10,000 runners for the marathon, plus an additional 4,000 in a companion half-marathon (last year’s marathon had 10,079 finishers).  The marathon and half-marathon will have different start and finish areas.  Runners in the half-marathon will start in several groups between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., while the marathon runners will begin racing at 9:30 a.m. with a starting time window of just under two hours. The athletes will be sent on the course in “batches” of 1,000 per starting group in roughly ten-minute intervals.

To ensure physical distancing before the race, runners will assemble in predetermined groups in different halls of the Expo building.  There, and also in the finish areas, a total of 120,000 square meters of space will be available to the organizers and under their control; spectators will not be allowed to enter.  Disinfection stations will be set up both in the event areas and along the course.

Moreover, all participants will be given a tubular scarf with a breathing filter.  These must be worn over the nose and mouth in the event area including the start and finish areas.  During the race runners must have these with them and put them over mouth and nose after they cross the finish line.  No open drinks or individual food offerings will be available in the finish area; instead all participants will receive a refueling package.  Other facilities which are usually on offer, such as massage and showers, will not be available.

“The organizational and hygiene policy should demonstrate that a running event with up to 14,000 participants within a city environment can be carried out responsibly while respecting the restrictions on contact and current hygiene guidelines since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Thaleiser added.

The elite field will be scaled down to about 30 athletes, organizers said.  These will be the only athletes standing together on the starting line. These athletes will have to undergo testing for the novel corona virus before the race, and will only be drawn from certain countries given travel restrictions.  Participation by athletes from countries where the novel corona virus poses a higher risk will not be allowed, either in the elite or the mass field.

The detailed hygiene policy was developed with the help of Manchester Metropolitan University in England which offers a masters degree in Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis.

The Haspa Marathon Hamburg was founded in 1986.  Ethiopians Tadu Abate (2:08:26) and Dibaba Kuma (2:24:42) were the race champions in 2019.  The course records are 2:05:30 by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge in 2013, and 2:21:54 by Ethiopia’s Meselech Melkamu in 2016.

Separately, the massive BMW Berlin Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, September 27, has yet to announce how their event will be staged this year, if at all.  Their most recent statement, dated May 27, said that officials were continuing “to put all our energy into considering various options” for the race.  An announcement is expected, soon.

How Eliud Kipchoge has been handling things during the COVID-19 crisis

Ever since he won the marathon Olympic gold at the Rio Games in 2016, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya has been smashing records with authority. He planned to crack a few more this year before the pandemic struck and halted his progress.

“The postponement of the Tokyo Games [to 2021] has turned everything, from preparation to planning, upside down for me,” he told Sportstar  from Kenya on Friday.

The World record holder, who has won 11 of the 12 official marathons he has taken part in, said he is tackling the tough days by staying positive and setting safety as his priority.

Isolation training

“I have never been in a hard situation like this. This one is completely different and has hampered my training in a big way,” he said. “It has not only affected my training but my fitness too. Training in isolation is not easy and, without your teammates around, it is hard to gauge your fitness as well. Consistency and setting your goal is another recipe.”

But Kipchoge was quick to point out that the pandemic has taught him life’s big lesson: “To treat the uncertainties and accept the change as it happens.”

Having run 3.2kms to school on a daily basis, the Kenyan has moulded himself into a tough nut to crack. “Yes, I was born tough and have also gone through some tough situations in life but the pandemic is tougher still,” he said.

Patiently waiting

How about defending the marathon title at the Tokyo Games? “It’s not easy to clinch the gold as it needs total dedication and patience and, above all, consistency,” said the 35-year-old, who won at Rio with the biggest margin of victory (70 seconds) in the Olympics since 1972. The Kenyan had bagged a silver at Beijing (2008) and bronze at Athens (2004), both over 5000m.

Despite his advancing years, Kipchoge, who ran the world’s first ever sub-two-hour marathon by clocking 1:59:40 at a special event in Vienna last year, is determined to run many a mile. Besides the Olympics, he is eyeing a fifth London Marathon title.

He may have to wait for things to settle down before getting back on the road.

The Norwegian Ingebrigtsen brothers are quite an exciting trio of track athletes not only in Europe but the whole world

With the altitude and good form expected to play a critical role for “Team Ingebrigtsen” in their mission at the virtual Maurie Plant Memorial Race, their rivals, “Team Cheruiyot”, will have a dig deep to stop the Norwegians.

The two teams that have arguably the best metric race athletes in the world, go head-on in the 2,000m race that is part of the “Impossible Games” on Thursday at 9.40pm (Kenyan time).

The “Impossible Games” have been made possible by the Norwegian National Athletics Association and World Athletics to replace the Diamond League leg of Oslo that has been put off due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Team Ingebrigtsen” comprising the Norwegian Ingebrigtsen brothers, will run at the Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway while “Team Cheruiyot” will be at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

Jakob, the European 1,500m and 5,000m champion, Henrik and Filip will be joined by fellow Norwegians Narve Gilje Nordås and Per Svela in “Team Ingebrigtsen.”

Three Norwegian brothers have shown pedigree, going on to become European champions in the 1,500m even though they have fallen short of victory in global events like the World Championships, Olympic Games or the Continental Cup.

It’s no wonder the brothers who are trained by their father, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, have been christened, the “Machine Team.” Gjert has already published a book entitled “How to raise a world champion”, talking about his son’s performances.

The elder of the brothers, Henrik, 29, won the European title in 2012 before getting bronze at the 2018 Continental Cup in Ostrava.

Perhaps Filip is the most successful, having won the European title in 2016 before claiming bronze at the 2017 London World Championships. Filip, 27, holds the Norwegian 1,500 record with time 3:30.01, set at a Diamond League meet in Monaco on July 20, 2018.

The youngest, Jacob has been phenomenal since the year 2018, from winning the European Under-20 Championships in 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase to winning silver in 1,500m and bronze in 5,000m at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Then in 2018, Jakob would claim victory in 1,500m and 5,000m at the European Championships in Berlin, making him the most successful at the event among the brothers. It’s that year that he settled for bronze at the Continental Cup, losing the battle to Kenya’s Elijah Manang’oi and Marcin Lewandowski from Poland.

After bagging gold in 3,000m and silver in 1,500m at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow and gold in Under-20 at the European Cross Country Championships, Jakob would settle fourth in 1,500m and fifth in 5,000m at the World Championships all in 2019.

Sigowet Athletics Training Camp at Kiptere falls silent as virus bites

At this time of the year, Sigowet Athletics Training Camp at Kiptere Boys Secondary School, some 32 kilometers away from Kericho town, would be busy with budding athletes training hard.

But thanks to coronavirus, the training camp now looks like a ghost town.

The running track in the camp sandwiched between lush green tea farms is now overgrown with grass thanks to heavy rains pounding the region.

In Kalenjin dialect, Sigowet is a herbal tree which is medicinal, but its efficacy has failed to tame the deadly virus as athletes stay away. 

The camp has for years been a big attraction to scouts from Kenya Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Kenya Prisons among others lining up the running track to monitor future stars aged between 15 to 20 years as they push their nimble, little bodies to improve their fitness ahead of major races. 

Sigowet Training Camp was founded in 2001 by veteran athletics coach, Japheth Kemei and hosts between 60-100 athletes when it is in top gear.

“At this time of the year the camp hosts between 60 -100 youth and senior athletes training for various competitions, but since covid-19, it now resembles a ghost camp,” said Kemei, who is also chairperson of Athletics Kenya in Kericho County.

Before Sigowet Camp was launched, the only athletic training camp in South Rift Valley was based at Keringet in Nakuru County and was launched by the former Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association chairman, the late Livingstone Kimutai Ng’etich.

In a span of 10 years, it has become a permanent breeding ground of youthful athletes who have represented Kenya in World Junior and Youth championships.

The first athlete to hit headlines from the camp was Emily Cherotich, who won the World Youth 800m championship title in Debrecen, Hungary in 2001 while running barefoot. 

Cherotich now turns out for Kenya Police team. 

Since Cherotich burst into the international scene, Sigowet camp has been producing runners in Under-18 and Under-20 competitions.

The camp has provided national youth teams with at least three or five athletes in every major international competition.And when they return back home with their glittering medals, they receive a rousing reception bringing the tea land to a standstill.

At last year’s Africa Under-20 and Under-18 Championships in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, some of the athletes from the camp clinched gold medals including Fancy Cherono (2,000m Steeplechase), Collins Kipkorir (Triple Jump) and Peter Itanao Leshan (Javelin). Ronald Kipngetich (2,000m Steeplechase) and Kenneth Kirui (800m) won bronze medals. 

The Oslo’s Impossible Games will be the biggest meet of the track season so far

The first big track meet of the summer is Oslo’s Impossible Games on June 11—an event which replaced the Oslo Diamond League, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The meet will have a limited lineup of events (just 13 in all) and very few athletes competing (not even 50), but there will be many exciting races and competitions, including solo runs, shots at European records and world record attempts. This is not an event that track fans will want to miss, but if you can’t watch it all, here are some highlights you might want to try to catch.

At 8:35 p.m. local time (2:35 p.m. ET), Norway’s Karsten Warholm will run a solo race as he shoots for the 300mH world record. Warholm is the two-time defending world champion in the 400mH, and he has a PB of 34.26 in the 300mH, which is actually faster than the current world record, although he ran it indoors. On June 11, he’ll run outdoors in Oslo’s Bislett Stadium to try and break the current record of 34.48.

Henrik, Filip, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen will run in a 2,000m team event at 8:50 Oslo time (2:50 ET) along with fellow Norwegians Narve Gilje Nordås and Per Svela. The all-Norwegian team will run in Oslo and face-off against a team of Kenyans who will run in Nairobi. The Kenyan team (dubbed Team Cheruiyot) will include 2017 and 2019 1,500m world champions Timothy Cheruiyot and Elijah Manangoi.

All 10 runners will go at once (the race will be broadcast live on a split screen), and three athletes must finish from each team. The team with the fastest cumulative time from their top-three runners wins.

This will be a fun event to watch as it is, but there will also be a couple of record attempts in this race as well to add to the excitement. Team Ingebrigtsen will be chasing the European 2,000m record of 4:51.39, and Team Cheruiyot will look to capture the 2,000m world record of 4:44.79.

Later on in the evening at 9:30 p.m. (3:30 ET), Norwegian cross-country skiing star Therese Johaug will run a solo 10,000m race. As a skier, Johaug has three Olympic medals and multiple world championship golds to her name, but in 2019 she surprised the world by adding a track and field win to her resume when she won the Norwegian 10,000m national championships in 32:20.86.

This was the fifth-fastest time ever run by a Norwegian woman, and to make it more impressive, she won the race in regular running shoes rather than spikes. Hopefully she’ll wear some faster footwear at the Impossible Games so we can see just how fast she’s capable of running.

Eliud Kipchoge said that he was incredibly happy to see the world running as one at the Run as One virtual team marathon

Imagine running on the same team as Olympic icons Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele, Geoffrey Kamworor...

Well that's exactly what happened this weekend as normal people across the world ran with Olympic champions in the 'Run as One' worldwide virtual relay marathon.

Teams of four completed a marathon by running 10.5k each, and just by entering you were in with a chance to run alongside some of the biggest names in sport.

But it wasn't just running superstars who stepped up, Tottenham Hotspur football club, Olympic triathlon gold medallist from Germany Jan Frodeno and Spanish sky runner/ultramarathon/daredevil Kilian Jornet also got involved.

The event was organised by NN Running Team, an international team of elite long-distance runners managed by a company in the Netherlands.

Kipchoge, whose historic sub-two hour run in Vienna last October broke new ground, teamed up with amateur runners from Brazil.

The Kenyan ran 10.5k in 31:28 seconds, not the fastest time on the leaderboard, but this event was about much more than running fastest or coming first.

"It makes me incredibly happy to see the world running as one this weekend," said Kipchoge the day before his run.

"Today I ran for my Brazilian team," he posted on Instagram after his 10.5km run, "but together we have all run as one. Runners from all over the world have joined us and showed how ours is a running world."

"Good luck everybody who is taking part today," said Kipchoge as he signed off on Sunday with many more runners still to come.

Another world-record holder and three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele ran with Joris, Stephen, Andy and Tharkun from the Netherlands.

The Ethiopian ran his 10.5km in 32:57 on his own track that he built in Sululta, 25 minutes outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The 5000m and 10,000m World record-holder built a six-lane all-weather track which is home to many athletes training and dreaming of Olympic glory.

They call it Bekele's ‘field of dreams’.

"It was a great pleasure to run my 10.5k as part of the MA RA TH ON challenge on my own track in Sululta," he posted.

It was hardly any surprise that half-marathon world record holder Geoffrey Kamworor put in the fastest time, going 10.6 km in 30:08s.

This time Eliud Kipchoge wasn't there to greet him at the finish line like he did at the 2019 New York marathon, but Kamworor was pleased with the run.

The Kenyan ran with a team from the USA.

Kilian Jornet does many things - like ultramarathons and literally running up and down mountains.

He is said to hold the fastest known time for the ascent and descent of Mount Everest for example.

For most of us, running 10.5km is a struggle, but when Jornet's Strava App told him that he had only run 10.49km making his entry invalid, he said ok:

I'll start again.

"It’s been actually pretty fun this MA RA TH ON!" Jornet posted, despite having to do it twice.

"Today I did my relay to join my teammates @davidnilssons@mustafamohamed79 and @fra_puppinho to finish this challenge among more than 100.000 runners worldwide. Thanks guys!"

I was overcome with sadness - Kenyan Kipchoge said after the London Marathon postponement

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge took two weeks to get over the news of the London Marathon postponement, it was revealed on Wednesday.

The race was scheduled for April, with Kipchoge the defending champion, before it was postponed and rescheduled for October due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“It was painful for me when London was postponed,” Kipchoge told Runner’s World.

“I was at peak fitness before that race. I took two weeks to be sad, and then I went back to training. This is life.”

Kipchoge set the men’s marathon record of 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon in 2018, and in October last year became the first man to break two-hours for the 42.2km distance in an unofficial challenge run in Vienna.

Known as the Ineos159 Challenge, Kipchoge with a series of different pacemakers clocked 1:59:40 to become the first person to break two hours for the marathon distance.

This weekend, Kipchoge will be taking part in a virtual 42km relay event called “M A R A T H O N”.

Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor will also be participating.

That high-powered quartet will take part in a the team event on Saturday and Sunday which invites runners from around the world to join teams of four to complete a full marathon together, alone.

Athletics Kenya say Olympic marathon team not cast in stone

Athletics Kenya could make changes to its marathon teams to the Tokyo Olympic Games basing on form.

The federation’s senior deputy president in charge of competitions, Paul Mutwii, disclosed that a lot could happen between now and the Olympic Games in 2021 after the action was deferred by one year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mutwii was speaking on Thursday in reaction to the new Olympic qualification guidelines issued by World Athletics for July 23 to August 8, 2021.

The Games were postponed from July 24 to August 9 this year to the same period next year owing to concerns over the coronavirus spread.

The qualifying period for track and field events for the Olympic will now end on June 29, 2021, just 23 days before the start of the world’s biggest sporting bonanza.

In its four-year strategic plan and Olympic qualifying process, World Athletics says the marathon and race walk entry period will elapse on May 31, 2021.

World marathon record holders Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei were on January 31 this year picked lead “Team Kenya” over the 42-kilometre race at the Tokyo Olympics.

The men's team also has World Championships marathon bronze medallist Amos Kipruto and Boston and Chicago Marathon champion Lawrence Cherono.

Bedan Karoki and Titus Ekiru are reserves.

Besides Kosgei, the women’s team has 2018 London Marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot, world champion Ruth Chepng'etich with Valary Aiyabei and Sally Chepyego the reserves.

World marathon record holder, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge to race in Tottenham's virtual marathon

World marathon record holder, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has welcomed the challenge by English Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspurs’ fans ahead of the virtual 42km run due Saturday and Sunday.

The race dubbed, MA RA TH ON and is free to enter, is a virtual team relay where runners can register either in teams of four or as an individual and be placed in another group of three.

During the relay, each runner will run 10.5km sometime between Saturday and Sunday at a location that suits them, to make up a collective marathon distance.

Cumulative Time.- Logged on a running app, your team’s cumulative time will be placed on a virtual leaderboard to show how you compare with some of the world’s best.

“A football club is a family, players and fans together. On the weekend we will all run as one, good luck to all fans of @SpursOfficial.  Great to have you guys on the start line! #RunAsOne,” Kipchoge tweeted.

Kipchoge is among Hotspurs fans who have been invited to race in the global virtual marathon relay that is organised by Maurten, the club’s official sport fuel supplier.

To add further incentive, each participating team has the chance to be one of 10 teams that will see a running superstar join their squad. These include Kipchoge, Berlin Marathon champion Kenenisa Bekele, World Cross Country and World 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei and World half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor.

“Every runner has their own pace, their own background and their own motives to why they run. I am very excited to join someone’s team,” said Kipchoge adding they are really looking forward to joining the relay in this wonderful initiative with his teammates.

Also involved is legendary former player and 1991 FA Cup winner David Howells, who was up for the challenge when asked to take part.

Spurs will be well represented across the event, with members of Supporters’ Clubs from across England, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United States and Canada all pounding the pavements and donning their club colors.

“Like football, running and mass participation events have come to a grinding halt over the last few months,” Howells, the popular former midfielder said. “This is a great initiative that still carries team spirit, sets a target and encourages exercise, which is so important for physical and mental health right now.”

Howells said he is looking forward to the challenge, pulling on that Spurs kit again and representing the club with other fans around the world.

The Cardiff Half Marathon scheduled for October 4 has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus

Organizer Run 4 Wales says holding it in just four months' time "really isn't feasible" and the event will instead take place on 28 March next year.

Since its foundation in 2003, the event has become the UK's third biggest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.

Last year 27,500 runners and 100,000 spectators attended the race.

The 2019 Cardiff Half Marathon saw men's winner Leonard Langat from Kenya finish the 13.1 mile course in a new record time of 59 minutes 29 seconds.

"There's still uncertainty about what the autumn looks like," Run 4 Wales chief executive Matt Newman told BBC Sport Wales.

"The prognosis is not very good at the moment and it looks like [mass] events are going to be one of the last things to come back when the world starts to settle down.

"Whilst we could have left this for 12 months and come back in the autumn of 2021, we wanted to give participants an option to come in March which we feel is long enough away for the world to start to come back to some sort of normality."

The Cardiff Half had been due to take place on the same day as the rearranged London Marathon. As it stands that event is still due to go ahead.

The Newport Wales Marathon - already postponed from April to October - has been pushed back again to a new date of 18 April 2021.

Newman is hopeful that postponing the Cardiff Half will allow organisers to hold an event "virtually as normal" next spring, but admits Run 4 Wales is preparing for some restrictions to still be in place.

"We're getting lots of information about how the running community across Europe is looking to stage events," he said.

"There's a lot of creativity going on about different waves, different start times, putting in place all sorts of safe practices.

"But right now it's a little bit early to explain all the options, as we're still hopeful that by the spring of 2021 some of the restrictions we have at the moment are relaxed."

The Cardiff Half Marathon typically sees more than £4m raised for charities and the hope is that only delaying the event will mean these good causes will not miss out on vital fundraising.

Next year will see two half marathons take place in the Welsh capital, with the autumn event still scheduled for 3 October 2021.

David Rudisha says that he is firmly on road to recovery

David Rudisha says he’s happy with Thursday’s surgery on his fractured ankle.

The two-time Olympic 800 meters champion was on Saturday discharged from St Luke’s Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, after the successful surgery.

Rudisha, who has been training in Iten, Eldoret and Kilgoris in Narok County, was preparing for his comeback ahead of the Olympics Games in Tokyo.

The Games were postponed to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The champion picked an injury during a walk in his compound in Narok County after stepping on uneven ground.

He went on with training which caused further harm on his ankle forcing him to visit the hospital where the fracture was detected and successful surgery done by Dr. Victor Bargoria.

Bargoria said he said Rudisha suffered a “Supination-External Rotation” which he fixed with a 1/3 tubular plate and 3.5 millimeter screws.

Talking to Nation Sport from his hospital bed on Saturday, Rudisha said that he was happy the surgery went on well and that he will be recovering at home after being discharged.

“I’m doing well and will be leaving the hospital today (Saturday). I would just ask Kenyans and my fans to continue praying for me. I’m in good condition and on the path to recovery now,” said Rudisha.

Rudisha will recover from home and after six weeks he will be able to get into rehabilitation when the tissues will have healed. “In six weeks he should start the rehabilitation process and we shall be there with my team to make sure it goes on well because he also needs to do his normal life activities,” said the doctor, who also handles Kenya’s Olympic team.

Winny Kosgey targets to run the Ottawa Marathon’s 10k virtual run on June 2

On Sunday, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station, the first time a crewed US spacecraft has performed the feat in nearly a decade.

The "Soft capture," the moment when the spacecraft makes first contact and starts latching with the target vehicle, occurred at 10:16 am Eastern Time (5.16pm Kenyan time).

Carrying two NASA astronauts, Bob Behnkhen and Doug Hurley, the mission marked a huge milestone in space travel.

Back on earth, and right here in the North Rift, man will celebrate another major milestone, this time in sport, not space travel.

Under normal circumstances, Winny Kosgey, an upcoming distance runner, would have been in Ottawa, Canada, for a 10-kilometre run.

But with the coronavirus having disrupted global sports programmes and airline travel, Kosgey was among scores of sportspeople who couldn’t travel to their destinations of competition.

However, she will still run the Ottawa 10km race, and has the possibility of bagging prize money.

Thanks to technology, organisers of the race have elected to have it run, virtually.

With virtual competitions slowly becoming the enforced vogue, Kosgey will most certainly break new ground for Kenyan sport when she competes on Tuesday.

Virtual running seems to be the way forward now for athletes as they wait for the virus to be contained.

Last weekend’s cancellation of the Boston Marathon, the first time it its 124-year history, drove further affinity to virtual running.

Her quick thinking directed her to the internet where she managed to register for the reorganised race, and she has been preparing for the last few weeks.

The virtual race requires an athlete to compete alone at his or her own pace, adhering to social distancing regulations provided by the government and Ministry of Health.

She said she has been promoting social distancing in sport, and, at the same time, competing to raise money for charity for a children’s hospital in Canada.

She will be running alone, with her husband a freelancer journalist Justin Lagat, and her daughter, Berylynn Jerotich, monitoring her progress from a trailing car.

“The race is to promote social distancing and it’s only my family who will be able to see me running.

“I don’t expect anybody to cheer me while running,” said Kosgey, who names world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei as her mentor.