Running News Daily

World record holder Letesenbet Gidey to make debut at the Valencia Half Marathon

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who is the current 5,000m (14:06.62), and 10,000m (29:01.03) world record holder is taking on her first half-marathon at the 2021 Valencia Half Marathon on Oct. 24.

This will mark Gidey’s first time stepping up to the half-marathon distance, as the experienced long-distance track runner is known for using her exceptional endurance to wear down the field.

In addition to her world records, Gidey has the world’s best time over 15 km on the road, running a jaw-dropping 44:20 last fall in Nijmegen, Netherlands. If she can hold her 15K pace for six more kilometres, she will crush Ruth Chepngetich’s half-marathon world record of 1:04:02 by a minute and a half.

Gidey will be challenged by the last two winners of this event, Genzebe Dibaba (1:05:18) and Senbere Teferi (1:05:32), as well as Yalemzerf Yehualaw (1:04:40), who was third at the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland in 2020.

On the men’s side, the Valencia Half Marathon is stacked with high-level competition. Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto is returning after running the second-fastest half marathon ever in 2020 (57:49). He also holds the 10K road world record at 26:24. Also in the race is Ethiopian Muktar Edris, a double world champion in the 5,000m who ran a 59:04 in his half-marathon debut.

The men’s half-marathon world record has been broken twice in Valencia over the past two years. The depth of the women’s and men’s fields are certain to threaten the record books this Oct. 24.

Kipchoge says that he can't move forward without embracing technology

Marathon world record holder and Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge hopes that technology will take "center stage" as athletes strive for improvement and chase faster times in the future.

The Kenyan, who overcame humid conditions in Tokyo earlier this month to claim gold in the marathon, was among a host of runners who ran in specially designed Nike shoes fitted with carbon-fiber plates for more spring and quicker times, once again rekindling a debate around "technological doping".

"If we don't embrace technology then we are not moving... I know regulations will be there but technology should take center stage," Kipchoge told Reuters.

"Let all athletes have top technology, have top innovation. That's the only way to think and actually try to improve your performance."

Other athletes such as Karsten Warholm, who won the Olympic 400 meters hurdles title in world record time, have been critical of rapidly advancing shoe technology.

"When somebody does a great performance now, everybody will question if it's the shoe, and that is the credibility problem," the Norwegian told Reuters earlier this month.

Kipchoge's footwear played a big part in him becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in 2019, a remarkable feat that is now the subject of a new documentary, "Kipchoge: The Last Milestone".

The film chronicles how Kipchoge worked with scientists and a group of fellow elite runners to run in an unofficial world record time of one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds in Vienna two years ago, an achievement many thought was impossible.

The 36-year-old said that his message of "no human is limited" extends beyond sport as he looks to inspire people from all walks of life.

"(This) is a huge message, not actually facing sportsmen and sportswomen alone. It's all around, it touches every profession... my lasting legacy will be purely about inspiration because that's what I want to drive in the mind of every human being in this world."

Kipchoge added that retirement was not on his mind as he was motivated to keep chasing titles by athletes who were still competitive well into their 30s and even 40s.

"I am being inspired by many people, the footballers, (Cristiano) Ronaldo is doing well (at 36), (Lewis) Hamilton is still very sharp as far as Formula One is concerned, Valentino Rossi is driving in the MotoGP at 42," said Kipchoge.

"For now I have to rest, pick up training in September and plan what next... I am enjoying what happened in Tokyo for now. So I'm mixing rest and enjoying the medal. But all in all there are still good things in the future."

Kenyans Felix Kipkoech (58:57) And Joyciline Jepkosgei (65:16) Win Generali Berlin Half-Marathon

Joyciline Jepkosgei took the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON with a spectacular course record of 65:16. The 27 year-old Kenyan smashed the mark of Dutch double Olympic Champion Sifan Hassan, who had won the race with 65:45 in 2019. Second-placed Kenyan Nancy Meto was just five seconds behind, improving her PB by more than three minutes. With 65:21 she was also inside the former course record. Valary Aiyabei completed the Kenyan podium with 67:32 for third place.

Kenya’s Felix Kipkoech clocked a world leading time of 58:57. The 23 year-old improved his own world lead by 38 seconds. Fellow Kenyans Josphat Tanui and Philemon Kiplimo followed in second and third with 59:40 and 59:54 respectively.

A total of 15,096 Starters from 130 countries had entered the 40th edition of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. 14,508 of them were runners, 572 Skaters, 14 Handbikers and 2 wheelchair athletes.

No world record but Sifan Hassan claims a clear win in Eugene

A willing but weary Sifan Hassan fell short of the women’s world 5000m record she was targeting at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday (20) as she finished well clear of a stellar field in 14:27.89.

On the traditional Distance Night preface to the Prefontaine Classic that now forms the Wanda Diamond League meeting, the 28-year-old Dutch runner was clearly tired after an epic season, having won the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m titles in Tokyo earlier this month and added a 1500m bronze.

She had announced her intention of eclipsing the mark of 14:06.62 set by her Ethiopian rival Letesenbet Gidey in Valencia last year, but eventually finished outside her own European record of 14:22.12 set in London two years ago.

Had Hassan’s ambitions come to pass in a recently rebuilt stadium that had the welcome atmosphere of a live home crowd it would have been another blow to her rival Gidey, who in June this year ran 29:01.03 at Hengelo to better the world 10,000m record of 29:06.82 Hassan had set on the same track just two days earlier.

Hassan’s response in Tokyo was impressive as she beat the Ethiopian to the Olympic 10,000m title with an unanswerable sprint around the final bend.

But depriving her rival of one of her world records proved an aspiration too far on this occasion for a woman who already held world marks in the 5km road event, mile and one-hour race.

Within the first 1500m the race had become a time trial as Hassan was the only athlete left tracking the two pacemakers who were keeping pace with the blue guide lights on the infield.

By five minutes in there was only one runner ahead of her. And by the halfway point she was running alone with only the green lights of the world record pace for company.

At the 3000m mark, however, she was slipping behind that snake of flashing green, although she kept working.

With less than a mile to go, the snake was gliding ever further away from her, despite the efforts of the spectators sprinkled throughout the stands of an arena that will host the postponed World Athletics Championships next year.

A lap in 70.1 was followed by 71.83 and with three laps remaining she could see her latest ambition moving away from her, although she had already moved well clear of a stellar field at the end of a long and exhausting season.

As the bell rang it was clear how hard the Dutch athlete was having to work, and she grimaced as she set off for one final lap.

Hassan was followed home by two Ethiopian runners, as Senbere Teferi clocked 14:42.25 and Fantu Worku finished in 14:42.85.

The next four runners clocked personal bests as Kenya’s Loice Chemnung finished in 14:43.65, home runners Alicia Monson and Abbey Cooper recorded 14:48.49 and 14:52.37 respectively and Kenya’s Sheila Chelangat was seventh in 14:52.66.

Gidey had finished second in the previous event, the women’s two miles, clocking 9:06.74 behind Burundi’s Rio 2016 silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba, who finished in a meeting record and 2021 fastest time of 9:06.74.

Kenya’s double world champion Hellen Obiri was third in 9:14.55, ahead of Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen in 9:18.16.

Olympic medalist Abdi Nageeye, Kibiwott Kandie and Kenenisa Bekele to clash in New York

World half marathon record holder, Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie is due for his maiden marathon at the New York City marathon on November 7 this year.

Kandie, the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist, faces baptism by fire when he takes on Tokyo Olympic marathon silver medallist, Abdi Nageeye from the Netherlands, and two-time Berlin Marathon champion, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele.

Kandie, who missed the Kenyan Olympic trials in 10,000m owing to an injury, holds the world half marathon record of 57:32 from 2020 Valencia.

Bekele has the fastest time in the star-studded field, having won the 2019 Berlin Marathon in 2:01:41, missing Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by two seconds.

Nageeye won the silver medal at the Olympic marathon in Sapporo this year, crossing the line in 2:09:58 behind Kipchoge.

The Somali-born Dutch runner was 11th at the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon and has finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon twice.

“For me, winning the silver medal in the Olympic Games was not a surprise,” Nageeye said. “There were many good athletes in the race, but I knew my preparation had been good. I was ready for the conditions, and most importantly I believed in myself.”

Nageeye said he will take that same focus into his preparations for New York, and that his belief and confidence in his abilities is even higher than it was at the Tokyo Olympics.

“There is nothing I want more than to bring a New York City victory back home along with my Olympic medal,” said Nageeye in a statement released by the race organizers on Thursday.

Bekele, a four-time Olympic medalist and 16-time world champion,  will make his debut in the men’s open division.

“I am proud of the many accomplishments in my career, but I have never had the opportunity to compete in the New York City Marathon,” Bekele said. “I am excited that 2021 will be the year for me to make my attempt in New York.”

Leading the American men will be Rio 2016 Olympian Jared Ward, who has finished as the top American in the last two New York City Marathons.

Great Britain’s Callum Hawkins will also make his New York City Marathon debut.

Hawkins is a two-time Olympian who finished fourth at both the 2019 and 2017 World Championships in the marathon.

 The 2019 New York City Marathon second and third-place finishers, Kenya’s Albert Korir and Ethiopia’s Girma Bekele Gebre will return in an attempt to repeat their podium performances, in addition to 2016 race winner Ghirmay Ghebreslassie of Eritrea.

Chicago Marathon organizers have required participants to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test

Chicago Marathon participants required to prove vaccination or negative test.

Organizers confirmed the move as part of updated COVID-19 guidelines published for the annual event.

Around 35,000 people have registered for the 2021 Chicago Marathon, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Registered participants are required to provide proof of a complete COVID-19 vaccination series or a negative COVID-19 test result to participate in the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon," organizers said.

"Registered participants who are not fully vaccinated are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result for a test administered within 72 hours of attending the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

"The event defines 'fully vaccinated' as individuals who are two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose vaccine series or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine.

"Proof of vaccination (hard copy, photocopy or digital version of an immunization record) or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of attending the event is required for entrance to the Abbott Health & Fitness Expo.

"Individuals unable to prove full vaccination or negative test will be barred from entering the Health and Fitness Expo and unable to pick up the necessary race materials that allow for participation in the event."

Organizers say RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, lateral flow, and rapid antigen tests are approved.

Attendees will be required to wear face coverings while at indoor event venues, while participants are encouraged to wear face coverings in Grant Park prior to starting the race.

Ethiopia’s Getaneh Molla and Seifu Tura, Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, and Americans Keira D’Amato and Emma Bates have become the latest elite athletes to join the start list for this year’s event.

Two-times Olympic medallist Galen Rupp and Sara Hall were announced earlier this year, with the pair expected to lead the United States’ challenge in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.

Molla has the fastest personal best in the men’s field as he clocked 2 hours 3min 34sec to win the 2019 Dubai Marathon.

Chepngetich is the reigning women’s world champion, with the Kenyan poised to make her Chicago Marathon debut.

She set the world record in the half marathon this spring in 1:04:02, while her marathon personal best of 2:17:08 makes her the fourth fastest woman in history.

Daniel Romanchuk and Tatyana McFadden are among the US stars set to feature in the elite wheelchair races, with Switzerland’s Marcel Hug also included on the start list.

Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel to run TCS New York City Marathon

Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel is one of several standout American women planning to run the New York City Marathon in November, race organizers announced Wednesday.

Seidel stunned even herself with a third-place finish in Tokyo this month in just the third 26.2-mile race of her career. An NCAA Division I champion at Notre Dame in the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meter events, she is now the headliner for the NYC Marathon’s 50th running in her five-borough debut.

“Since the beginning of 2021, I’ve had two races circled on my calendar: the Olympic Games’ marathon on Aug. 7 and the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 7,” said Seidel, 27, who grew up in Wisconsin. “Winning the bronze medal in Sapporo showed that I can run with the best in the world, and on any given day, anything is possible.”

Fellow U.S. Olympians Aliphine Tuliamuk, Sally Kipyego and Emily Sisson will also be in the field, along with 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden.

Four-time champion Mary Keitany of Kenya won’t participate for the first time since 2013.

The men’s professional field has not yet been announced.

The 2020 NYC Marathon was canceled by the pandemic, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in June that the 2021 race would go on — albeit with a field limited to about 33,000 entrants, down from 55,000 in 2019.

Tuliamuk, who was born in Kenya, won the 2020 U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Atlanta four years after gaining American citizenship. She gave birth to a daughter in January 2021 but still competed in Tokyo. She dropped out near the 20-kilometer mark.

“I want to inspire people, most importantly my daughter, to chase their dreams,” she said in a statement released by the NYC Marathon. “I’m a different athlete and person than I was the last time I ran the TCS New York City Marathon in 2019, so why not fulfill one more dream on Nov. 7?”

Tatyana McFadden is pursuing a record sixth NYC Marathon title in the wheelchair division but hasn’t won since 2016. She won’t have to contend with two-time defending champion Manuela Schär, who is not listed among the competitors.

Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich and Galen Rupp will headline the elite field at the Chicago Marathon

A number of the world’s top distance runners will be at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 10, organizers announced today, joining headliners Galen Rupp and Sara Hall. So far, there are no Canadians featured in the Chicago Marathon elite field.

Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya), Diane Nukuri (USA) and Keira D’Amato (USA) are among the names to watch in the women’s race for the 43rd running of the Chicago Marathon. Chepngetich, who dropped out of the Olympic marathon at around 30 km, is the reigning world champion and comes to Chicago as the pre-race favourite. Hall ousted Chepngetich in a sprint for second place at the 2020 London Marathon, but all eyes will be on their Oct. 10 rematch. Chepngetich is the only East African runner in an elite field that’s deep with American talent.

The men’s field features three athletes who have run under 2:05, as well Rupp, who won in 2017. Rupp is the only individual in the field with an Abbott World Major Marathons victory under his belt. Getaneh Molla (ETH) has won the Dubai Marathon, and Hassan El Abbassi (BRN) was the runner-up at the 2018 Valencia Marathon. Rupp had a sub-par Olympic Games, finishing a disappointing eighth in Tokyo (2:11:41) after many thought he would challenge Eliud Kipchoge for a medal. Rupp will enter Chicago as the pre-race favorite, thanks to his previous success on the course.

Past champions Daniel Romanchuk and Marcel Hug will battle it out in the elite wheelchair competition. Romanchuk is the defending two-time champion (2018 and 2019) and world record holder, while Hug won this race in 2016 and 2017. Hug and Romanchuk will compete on back-to-back days, in Chicago on Oct. 10 and at the Boston Marathon on Oct. 11.

With the cancellation of the New Jersey Marathon, larger mass races are putting together strict Covid protocols to avoid transmission of the virus, including face coverings at the start and finish and either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within 72 hours of the race.

Eliud Kipchoge says that one day his marathon records will be broken and he will be very happy

Marathon superstar Eliud Kipchoge has predicted that a "great runner" will one day shatter all of his records and he will be happy if they do.

The legendary Kenyan athlete retained his Olympic gold medal in Tokyo this month and is now recovering at his home close to the running centre of Eldoret in Kenya.

"I will be a happy man to see one of the great runners going below the two-hour mark in the marathon," he told Sky News.

"This is sport. It will show us that sport is to be enjoyed and it's you today and somebody else tomorrow. Breaking two hours in a normal marathon is a possibility."

Kipchoge holds the official world record with his time of 2:01:39 in the Berlin marathon of 2018, but he made history in Vienna the following year by becoming the first person to ever complete 26.2 miles in under two hours.

"I told all 40 of the other runners (his pacemaker team) 'let us go up to the moon and land together and make history'. It was like going to the moon and seeing what it's like there.

"There was no doubt. I didn't have any doubt. When I crossed the line my mind was blown. I was really happy to be the first human under two hours.

"That was the greatest day of my life. I had to share the happiness with my wife Grace, she has been such a good support, always supporting me. She takes care of the whole family and the children so she deserved a huge, huge hug."

His achievements have now been turned into a film, 'Kipchoge: The Last Milestone', by award-winning director Ridley Scott and can be watched on Sky Documentaries.

Kipchoge won't be in London for the marathon on October 3, but has a simple message for everyone taking part.

"Please enjoy running in London, let us make London great again. Let us bring hope again to the people in the UK, let us bring hope again to people around the world. This has been a tough time with COVID-19, but this thing will go away. Let us run as one!"

Kipchoge remained tight lipped about his future plans, saying that his focus right now is on recovering from his Olympic exploits.

"In a month or so I will sit down with my coach Patrick Sang and we will see what the future holds, what opportunities there are."

Kipchoge has won London four times and has only ever been beaten twice in his entire marathon career.

Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir has vowed never to betray her motherland for any cash incentives

Amidst the rising cases of Kenyan athletes seeking solace abroad after missing out on opportunities back home, the 2020 Olympic Games star insists her allegiance to her motherland remains firm.

“I'm loyal to my country. I can't be convinced to change my citizenship with money. We have so many Kenyans who represented other countries but never made it at the Olympics,” said Jepchirchir, who arrived in the country on Saturday morning before being accorded a rapturous welcome in her home in Eldoret.

“Some people change their citizenship to other countries so that they can get a chance to participate in the Olympics because, as you know, Kenya is highly competitive,” she said.

The 27-year-old withstood sweltering heat and humidity as she cruised through the streets of Sapporo – some 800km north of Tokyo – on her way to the historic conquest.

Jepchirchir led a 1-2 Kenyan sweep in the women's marathon. Her compatriot, Brigid Kosgei, emerged second while American Molly Seidel bagged the bronze medal.

“It had always been my dream to compete at the Olympics. It was unbelievable. I wasn't expecting (to perform) because this was my first time. I didn't expect to be the one to win gold,” said Jepchirchir.

“My time wasn't good enough because the weather affected my speed. I wish to improve on my personal time to 2 hours, 15 minutes because the current record is at 2 hours, 14 minutes.”

Jepchirchir clocked 2 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds, 10 minutes off her personal best.

“Because I had already run 2 hours, 23 minutes, my prayer was to run 2 hours, 17 minutes and then 2 hours, 15 minutes,” she said.

“I will not quit marathon because it helps me with speed. I wish to relax and see how the body will respond before I can think of something else."

“I wish to be among those representing the country at the next Olympics,” she added.

In response to murmurs reverberating across the country that the government gave the medalists a cold shoulder on arrival, Jepchirchir chose her words carefully.

“Let's not compare ourselves with other countries in terms of how we were received. We don't know about Uganda, it's another country it's another home," she said.

“Our home is Kenya and we have our own styles of doing things. The government gave us enough support during the Games. I believe they are planning to do something good to appreciate our efforts.”

She asked Kenyans to appreciate the athletes for their efforts even if they fell short of replicating the feats attained at previous events.

“We should thank God we actually even managed to clinch the ten medals, there are other countries that didn't get anything. We are proud of ourselves and we will work on our shortcomings,” she observed.

Jemal Yimer, Yebrgual Melese, Edna Kiplagat and Asefa Mengstu among Boston starters

Olympians, big city marathon winners and several former champions will contest the Boston Marathon on October 11, in what will be the first time the World Athletics Elite Platinum Road Race has been held in autumn.

Nine women who have clocked sub-2:22 lifetime bests will line up in Hopkinton, including Ethiopia’s Yebrgual Melese, whose 2:19:36 personal best makes her the fastest in the field. She’ll be joined by compatriot Mare Dibaba, the 2015 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. Ethiopian 2:20:24 marathon runner Workenesh Edesa, winner of past Xiamen, Lanzhou, and Marrakech Marathons, will make her Boston debut.

Five of the top seven finishers from the 2019 Boston Marathon return, aiming to break the tape on Boylston Street: Kenya’s two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat, USA’s Jordan Hasay, Des Linden, Kenya’s Caroline Rotich and Mary Ngugi.

A trio of Kenyans with prior top-five finishes in Boston look to contend for the win in the men’s race, as Wilson Chebet, Felix Kandie, and Paul Lonyangata will use knowledge of the undulating course to their advantage. They’ll be up against a trifecta of sub-2:06 Ethiopians in Lemi Berhanu, the 2015 Boston champion, and Dejene Debela and Asefa Mengstu, who finished second and third at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. Both Debela and Mengstu will be running their first Boston Marathon.

After much success over the half marathon and in cross country, Kenya’s Leonard Barsoton and Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer will both make their long awaited marathon debuts in Boston. Barsoton earned a silver medal at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships, while Yimer owns the Ethiopian half marathon record of 58:33.

Eight of the top 12 finishers from the US Olympic Trials Marathon will also compete in Boston, led by 2021 Olympian Abdi Abdirahman.

Ben Flanagan and Edna Kiplagat Win the 49th Annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race

Organizers of the 49th Annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race, one of America’s premier running events of the summer, officially brought road racing back to the streets of Falmouth today with Canadian, Ben Flanagan, winning the Men’s Division for a second time in 32:16 and Kenyan, Edna Kiplagat winning the Women’s Division in 36:52. 

Flanagan set up his strategy in advance. “I was out with my family at the Black Dog Café and I took a run on the course,” said Flanagan. “I noticed a crosswalk just before the final turn and decided I would make my move there. I knew, if I could hold off the pack until we got to the final downhill there was no way they could catch me.” 

The men’s race began with Frank Lara going to the front coming out of Woods Hole to post a 4:28 first mile. An accomplished pack of 18 men lined up behind Lara, as he held the lead through most of the race. By mile six, the men started to sort themselves out. Biya Simbassa, a University of Oklahoma graduate -- who recovered from a fall at the halfway mark -- stayed in the hunt, as did Emmanuel Bor, fresh off his fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials 5000m. 

Flanagan made a determined push at the base of the final hill before driving over the top to seal his victory over Simbassa, Bor and Lara - all finishing within 6 seconds of each other.  

The women’s race broke early with a pack of 30 dropping to seven by the second mile. Iveen Chepkemoi, a young 24-year-old talent from Kenya, who trains in Colorado Springs, put a gap on Edna Kiplagat, Emily Durgin, Fiona O’Keeffe and past Falmouth champion Diane Nukuri. By the halfway point, the race was between Kiplagat, a Boston, London and New York City Marathon champion, and Chepkemoi, with the second pack fading by 20 seconds. At mile four, Kiplagat pulled away as Chepkemoi got caught by the chase pack.  

“This was a fast race, and I needed it at this point in my training because I’m running the Boston Marathon in October,” said Kiplagat. “Once I saw the finish, I focused on keeping away from second place.” 

Durgin edged O’Keefe by one second to secure her third runner-up finish of the summer. “This is a beautiful course. We were all working together feeding off each other,” O’Keefe said. She was second at the U.S. 10K and 6K Championships. O’Keefe, a six-time All American at Stanford now coached by Olympian Amy Cragg,  finished third.  

In the Wheelchair Division, Hermin Garic, a veteran of eight Falmouth Road Races, took his first win with a 25:40. “I worked my butt off for this win,” said Hermin, who will be wheeling Utica Boilermaker the day before he heads to the 125th Boston Marathon. Emeilia Perry took the women’s wheelchair race in 37:39. “I’m really excited. This is my first Falmouth Road Race and I wasn’t expecting that last hill, ” Perry said after the race. 

Additionally, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, Molly Seidel, served as the official race starter and joined the ASICS Falmouth Race field of nearly 8,000 registered participants as its very last runner. For every runner that she passed along the 7-mile course, the Falmouth Road Race pledged to donate $1 to Tommy’s Place, a vacation home in Falmouth for kids fighting cancer. Tim O’Connell, founder of Tommy’s Place, announced an additional dollar-for-dollar match. While Seidel officially ran past 4,761 runners along the way, the Falmouth Road Race is pleased to announce that it will double its pledge, bringing its donation to $9,522.00 in appreciation of Seidel’s participation in this year’s event and to celebrate her victory in Tokyo. Combined with O’Connell’s match, that brings the grand total to $19,044. 

About Falmouth Road Race, Inc. The Falmouth Road Race was established in 1973 and has become one of the premier running events of the summer season. Each year the race draws an international field of Olympians, elite and recreational runners out to enjoy the iconic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit Falmouth Road Race organization is committed to promoting health and fitness through community programs and philanthropic giving.

Water you doing?! French marathon runner Amdouni faces accusations of ‘sabotage’ as he KNOCKS OVER rivals’ water bottles

Morhad Amdouni won't be winning any awards for sportsmanship this summer after appearing to 'sabotage' his rivals during the Tokyo Olympic marathon by knocking over water bottles from a refreshment table – only to save one for himself.

Frenchman Amdouni finished in 14th position in the 26-mile race which took place in sweltering conditions in Tokyo, and the 33-year-old has prompted a fiery debate on social media after footage was captured which appears to show him deliberately knocking over several water bottles which had been provided to refresh runners.

Competitors in front of Amdouni in the leading pack managed to grab a bottle with ease from a refreshment table, but when it came time for Amdouni to do the same he seemed to run his hand through the bottles, knocking each one over before he successfully picked up the final bottle in the line – leaving several runners behind him empty-handed.

The reaction has seen Amdouni deemed "selfish" by several figures on social media, with UK media firebrand Piers Morgan going so far as to declare the French athlete the "biggest d*ckhead of the Tokyo Olympics".

The Gold medal for biggest d*ckhead of the Tokyo Olympics goes to French marathon runner Morhad Amdouni, who deliberately knocks over all the water for his fellow competitors. Unbelievable!" wrote Morgan on social media in response to the footage.

Several others have also joined the online pile-on, with some writing that Amdouni should "hang his head in shame".

"I’m fairly certain he wasn’t practicing a dominoes trick – there is only one reason he did that and he should hang his head in shame. Hopefully, upon reflection, he will realize what a selfish act that was," added one critic, while another noted that he "should be disqualified [for] unsportsmanlike conduct."

A third suggested there was no way that the incident was unintentional, as Amdouni appeared to have little trouble in picking up the final bottle on the table after knocking the rest to the ground.

"No-one else had a problem grabbing one bottle," they wrote. "Have to think this was intentional."

However, as viewers also noted, there was another refreshment table just a little further up the circuit, so anyone behind Amdouni would likely have had another opportunity to rehydrate during the gruelling race.

Regardless of whether it was deliberate or not, Amdouni didn't gain any sizeable advantage due to his butter fingers, as he soon fell away from the leading pack and finished some six minutes behind the winner, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge.

Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge will miss 2021 London Marathon

Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge's name was conspicuously missing from the list of elite runners who will be competing at this year's London Marathon on October 3.

Organisers Thursday released a stellar list that has women's world record holder Brigid Kosgei and men's champion Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.

Kipchoge, who retained his Olympic marathon crown at the recently concluded Tokyo Games, finished eighth at the 2020 London Marathon, timing 2:06:49, more than a minute behind winner Shura Kitata.

He was expected to return to London to try and reclaim the title he won in 2019. Efforts to get a comment from the world record holder provide futile as his phone went unanswered.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after arriving from Tokyo, the 36-year-old remained non-committal on whether he would hang his boots after the triumph in Japan.

"I think it is good not to ask about retirement... When your wife delivered the first child, did you plan for the next one immediately?" Posed Kipchoge to a journalist, who responded in negation.

Kosgei, the Olympic silver medalist, will be attempting to win her third successive London Marathon after victories in 2019 and 2020.

She will be competing against New York City Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei and six other women who have run under two hours and 20 minutes.

"It is a great feeling to be coming back as London is one of my favourite marathons. Last year's win was very special, particularly given what the whole world was going through. It was fantastic just to have the London Marathon organised and even more so to be the winner. I hope to arrive again in very good shape 

Jepkosgei set a new personal best of 2:18:40 last December at the Valencia Marathon, where she finished second to Olympic champion Peres Chepchirchir.

Also in the elite women's field are Ethiopians Roza Dereje, whose PB of 2:18:30 makes her the tenth-fastest female marathoner of all time, and Birhane Dibaba (PB 2:18:35), who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2018 and 2015, and finished second in the same race on three other occasions (2020, 2017 and 2014).

The other women to have run inside 2:20 are Kenya's Valary Jemeli (2:19:10), Ethiopia's Zeineba Yimer (2:19:28) and Tigist Girma (2:19:50).

Also returning is Australia's Sinead Diver, who has had two top 10 London Marathon finishes in the past two years, and was 10th at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the men's race, Shura Kitata- who pulled out of the Olympic Games marathon last weekend after suffering in the hot and humid conditions in Sapporo- will line up with the other men as he seeks to defend his title.

Kitata bagged victory ahead of Kenya's Vincent Kipchumba and both will be meeting again in the contested race in October with Sisay Lemma also in the race.

Also on the starting line will be Kenya's Evans Chebet, the current Valencia Marathon champion and fastest man in the world last year (2:03:00), and the two-time Tokyo Marathon champion Birhanu Legese who is the third-fastest marathoner of all time (2:02:48).

Ethiopians Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55) and Mule Wasihun (2:03:16), who both finished on the podium at the 2019 race, also return.

Titus Ekiru, who clocked the fastest time during the Milano Marathon of 2:02:57, will make his debut.

The 2021 London Marathon returns to its traditional and iconic course from Blackheath to The Mall after last year's elite-only race on a multiple closed-loop circuit around St James's Park.

Up to 50,000 runners are expected in the mass race and another 50,000 around the world will take on the virtual event, completing the 26.2 miles on the route of their choice any time between 00:00 and 23:59:59 BST October 3.

Molly Seidel just became the new queen of Strava

In case you missed it, on Sunday, U.S. runner Molly Seidel won the bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. She ran the race of her life, hanging with the Kenyan leaders, Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei, until around 37.5 km, and fended off her competition over the last stretch to secure the bronze in a time of 2:27.51. The bronze medal won’t be the only achievement she will be coming home with, as she has just been crowned ‘Strava legend’ for having the most kudos for a women’s activity ever.

n case you are unfamiliar with kudos on Strava, they are virtual thumbs up, and comparable to “likes” on Facebook or retweets on Twitter. Currently her “full send” activity sits at 32,500 kudos and is still rising. Seidel sits on the throne beside cyclist and multiple Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who received 40,000-plus kudos for a ride in Italy.

Getting to Tokyo was an achievement of its own for Seidel, as she missed the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 to get eating disorder treatment. Seidel qualified for the Olympics Games when she placed second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020 behind fellow American Aliphine Tuliamuk. 

Canadian marathoner’s Malindi Elmore and Natasha Wodak who both respectively finished within the top 15 in Tokyo were apparently apart of Seidel’s morning walking club around the athlete’s village. Seidel illustrated the importance of these two tremendous women on her Instagram and Strava.

In case you are unfamiliar with kudos on Strava, they are virtual thumbs up, and comparable to “likes” on Facebook or retweets on Twitter. Currently her “full send” activity sits at 32,500 kudos and is still rising. Seidel sits on the throne beside cyclist and multiple Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who received 40,000-plus kudos for a ride in Italy.

Getting to Tokyo was an achievement of its own for Seidel, as she missed the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 to get eating disorder treatment. Seidel qualified for the Olympics Games when she placed second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020 behind fellow American Aliphine Tuliamuk. 

Canadian marathoner’s Malindi Elmore and Natasha Wodak who both respectively finished within the top 15 in Tokyo were apparently apart of Seidel’s morning walking club around the athlete’s village. Seidel illustrated the importance of these two tremendous women on her Instagram and Strava accounts. 

B.A.A. Announces Participants In John Hancock Professional Athlete Team For Boston Marathon

The Boston Athletic Association announced on Wednesday that more than 140 athletes will participate as part of the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team in the 125th Boston Marathon on Oct. 11.

Included in that field are eight of the top 12 finishers in the Olympic trials marathon, including Abdi Abdirahman, Scott Fauble, Matt McDonald, and Jonas Hampton. Elsewhere in the men’s open field, Kenya’s Leonard Barsoton and Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer will both make their long awaited marathon debuts in Boston. Dejene Debela and Asefa Mengstu will be making their Boston debuts.

For the women, five of the top seven finishers from the 2019 Boston Marathon will return: Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), Jordan Hasay (USA), Des Linden (USA), Caroline Rotich (Kenya), and Mary Ngugi (Kenya). Two-time Olympian and Providence resident Molly Huddle will also be running.

The women’s wheelchair race will include Team USA wheelchair Paralympians Susannah Scaroni and Jenna Fesemyer, along with course record holder Manuela Schär and five-time champion Tatyana McFadden. For the men’s wheelchair division, Aaron Pike will compete in the field that includes four champions – Daniel Romanchuk, Marcel Hug, Ernst van Dyk, and Josh Cassidy – with a combined 16 Boston Marathon titles.

As part of the inaugural Para Athletics Divisions at the Boston Marathon, many athletes will compete for prize money and awards within the vision impaired and lower-limb impaired divisions. Among those competing are 2016 Paralympians Chaz Davis (T12), Liz Willis (T64), and marathon silver medalist and current world record holder Misato Michishita (T12) of Japan. Davis, a Massachusetts native, holds the T12 American record of 2:31:48 for the marathon, while Willis is a converted sprinter-turned-distance runner for Team USA. Also competing is Marko Cheseto Lemtukei, the world best holder for the T62 marathon having run 2:37:23 in 2019. The Boston Marathon is the first major marathon to offer prize money and awards for athletes with vision, lower-limb, and upper-limb impairments.

“In October, many of the world’s best athletes will look to etch their names in the history books by winning the 125th Boston Marathon,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. President and Chief Executive Officer. “We very much look forward to October’s competition, bringing together winners from more than one hundred global marathons. The B.A.A. is eager to continue the tradition of athletic excellence as we return to the roads leading to Boston.”

“John Hancock is proud to support this year’s professional field for the monumental, 125th running of the Boston Marathon,” said Kate Ardini, Chief Marketing Officer at John Hancock. “In our 36th year as principal sponsor, John Hancock is committed to supporting the world’s top athletes as they aim for greatness in Boston. We look forward to cheering on every athlete as they make their way to the finish.”

Kenyan Brigid Kosgei and Ethiopian Shura Kitata to defend London marathon titles

Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei and Ethiopian Shura Kitata will defend their titles at the London Marathon in October, organisers said on Thursday.

Kosgei won silver in the women's marathon event at the Tokyo Games last weekend. The 27-year-old is aiming for her third consecutive London Marathon victory.

"Last year's win was very special, particularly given what the whole world was going through ... I hope to arrive again in very good shape and win for the third time," Kosgei was cited as saying in a statement from the organisers.

Kosgei set the women's marathon world record of 2:14.04 in Chicago in 2019.

Kitata, who pulled out of the Olympic Games marathon after suffering in the hot and humid conditions in Sapporo, said he was healthy and ready to return.

"I have set my mind on how I can run fast and better than last year and I'm looking forward to seeing if I can repeat the victory and make history in the race," the statement quoted 25-year-old Kitata as saying.

The London Marathon will be held on Oct. 3.

Vienna Marathon organizers do not expect any drastic rule changes that would limit outdoor events in the coming weeks

As things stand in Austria the Vienna City Marathon will go ahead on September 12. It is one month to go tomorrow and organizers do not expect any drastic rule changes that would limit outdoor events in the coming weeks.

Since July 1st the Austrian government has allowed all events to go ahead, no matter how many people are involved. The Vienna City Marathon could be one of the first major international marathons to take place since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Organizers, who are working closely with the city to provide the required hygiene concept, have today released a number of elite runners for the men’s event. Among those who will feature in Austria’s number one road running event are Uganda’s Solomon Mutai and Betesfa Getahun of Ethiopia, who has a personal best of 2:05:28.

It was in Vienna where Kenya’s Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge famously broke the two hour marathon barrier in October 2019 in a race co-organized by the same team that is in charge for the Vienna City Marathon. Almost exactly two years after this phenomenal performance by Eliud Kipchoge Vienna plans to stage a marathon again.

Adding races at shorter distances a total of 24,900 athletes have so far registered for the Vienna City Marathon, which will be spread over two days with some of the shorter events taking place on the Saturday. Online entry for this World Athletics Marathon Label Road Race is still possible until next Sunday.

“With their incredible performances and elegantly smooth running styles elite runners belong to the Vienna City Marathon. We are really happy that even in these extraordinary circumstances this year we will be able to present world-class sport on the streets of Vienna,” said Race Director Wolfgang Konrad.

Betesfa Getahun heads the current start list with a personal best of 2:05:28. The 22 year-old Ethiopian ran this time when finishing fourth in his marathon debut in Amsterdam in 2019. Since Vienna will only be his second marathon he will be eager to improve his PB. Among his rivals will be Kenyans Bethwell Rutto and Edwin Kosgei who clocked personal bests of 2:07:41 and 2:07:51 respectively in this year’s Siena Marathon. Solomon Mutai, who took a bronze medal in the 2015 World Championships’ marathon, will have the advantage of knowing the course when he returns to the Austrian capital. The Ugandan placed third in the Vienna City Marathon with a personal best of 2:08:25 in 2019.

A strong Japanese team will feature: Kento Kikutani improved his personal best to 2:07:26 this February in Otsu where he finished ninth. Yuta Koyama (2:08:46), Koki Yoshioka (2:10:13) and Daiji Kawai (2:10:50) are the other three Japanese who are currently in training for the race in Vienna.

Regarding mass participation organizers look ahead with confidence. “We are really happy with the interest runners are showing for our event. This is a great boost for all our activities. Two and a half years after the most recent Vienna City Marathon we are ready to go again.

When we organized smaller running events recently we already got a great response from the running community,” said Kathrin Widu, the Managing Director of the Vienna City Marathon. A recent anonymous survey among runners entered for the race showed that over 92.7% of them will compete in the Vienna City Marathon fully vaccinated.

What's next for Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge after Olympics?

Retirement is the last thing in the mind of Olympic marathon men's champion Eliud Kipchoge.

This came out clearly on Wednesday when the world record marathon holder arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi from Tokyo, Japan, where he had successfully defended his Olympic maratthon crown. 

In the race held last Sunday on the streets of Sapporo, Kipchoge claimed gold after timing two hours, eight minutes and 38 seconds to become only the third man to win consecutive marathon titles. 

Dutchman Abdi Nageeye bagged silver in 2:09.58, while Belgian Bashir Abdi settled for bronze in 2:10.00. 

Responding to questions from journalists moments after landing at JKIA, alongside 1500m silver medalists Timothy Cheruyot and marathoner Ruth Chepngetich, the 36-year-old remained non-committal on whether he would hang his boots after the triumph in Japan.

He gave the analogy of how parents who are blessed with a baby never plan for the next one immediately, saying he will announce his next plans in one-month's time. 

“I think it is good not to ask about retirement…When your wife delivered the first child, did you plan for the next one immediately?" Posed Kipchoge to a journalist, who responded in negation. 

Government officials who welcomed the athletes at the airport said the event was low key due to Covid-19 containment protocols which prohibit large gatherings. They said a ceremony will be held at a later day to celebrate all the athletes who made Kenya proud in Tokyo.

Kipchoge, who has earned the title G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) from his supporters due his unmatched success in athletics, said he is not bothered by the time he posted in Tokyo, noting that winning in the Olympics is to inspire people that everything is possible.

“We trained very well, participated in a good way and got the best results…To run in the Olympics is about humanity. It is about winning and showing the world that we as human beings can do it. It is not about how fast or slow you are,” said the father of three. 

The victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was Kipchoge’s 13th success in the 15 marathons he has raced in since 2013. He broke the world record in 2018 when he timed 2:01.39 in the Berlin Marathon.

About his future plans, Kipchoge reiterated that he will be nurturing talents. 

“I have a huge plan to inspire the youth and everybody in this world. I want to make running a Kenyan lifestyle. I want to make the young people to respect the sport, treat it like a real profession," he said.

French runner Morhad Amdouni defends himself after water bottle knocking over controversy in men´s marathon

There was a hugely controversial moment during the men's marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as France's Morhad Amdouni knocked over a row of water bottles and then picked up the last one. Amdouni was criticised on social media for his actions, but he has released a statement to defend himself.

French marathon runner Morhad Amdouni has defended himself after knocking over a row of water bottles at a rehydration station during the men’s marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, saying they were too “slippery” for him to pick up.

Amdouni sparked controversy when he appeared to deliberately knock over every bottle at the station before grabbing the last one for himself.

Amdouni, who finished 17th in the race, six minutes behind winner Eliud Kipchoge, was criticized on social media for unsportsmanlike behavior.

But he has released a statement defending his actions, along with a close-up video of him knocking over the bottles.

“To put an end to all the controversy from the video, I show this video to actually understand what happened.

“To guarantee freshness to the bottles, they are soaked in water, which makes them slippery. However, it is clear that I am trying to get one from the beginning of the row but they slip as soon as we touch them.”

The marathon was run in temperatures of 27 degrees and 30 athletes dropped out over the course of the race.

Kipchoge defended his marathon gold medal with an imperious display.

The 36-year-old Kenyan pulled clear with 10 kilometres to go to finish a full 80 seconds ahead of the Netherlands’ Abdi Nageeye, crossing the line in 2:08:38.

Kipchoge is just the third man in history to win consecutive Olympic marathon titles, adding yet another record to a glittering career.

Hassan and Warner among Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony flag bearers

More than 50 athletes from the sport of athletics will carry the flags for their nation at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Sunday (8).

Ten days of competition, which included three world records, 12 Olympic records and 28 area records, came to a close with the men’s marathon on Sunday morning, with Kenya’s marathon great Eliud Kipchoge retaining his title.

Now his fellow Olympic gold medallists Sifan Hassan, Damian Warner, Pedro Pichardo and Peruth Chemutai will be among the flag bearers returning to Tokyo's Olympic Stadium as the 2020 Games come to a close.

For Hassan, the moment will cap an incredible performance in Tokyo, with the Dutch star having claimed an unprecedented medal treble of 5000m and 10,000m golds plus 1500m bronze over nine days.

“I am so happy and I cried during the medal ceremony,” the 28-year-old said after her 10,000m triumph on Saturday. “I actually realised that I am done, the Games are over.”

Warner’s victory had been secured on Thursday, when he became just the fourth man in history to break the 9000-point barrier to win the decathlon title. The Canadian’s 9018-point tally was one of the 12 Olympic records set at the Tokyo Games.

Portugal’s Pichardo, meanwhile, leapt to the triple jump title, setting one of the 151 national records achieved at these Olympics with his winning mark of 17.98m. In that same competition, the bronze medallist was world indoor record-holder Hugues Fabrice Zango and as a result, Burkina Faso became the 100th country to have won an Olympic medal in athletics.

For Chemutai, victory came in the 3000m steeplechase. Other medallists in Tokyo carrying their nation’s flag will be Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, Grenada’s Kirani James, Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot and New Zealand’s Valerie Adams.

With the 2020 Games delayed a year due to the pandemic, athletes and fans now have only three years to wait until Olympic action returns in Paris in 2024.

Athletics flag bearers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

Listed in the order in which they will march. List correct at time of publication and may be subject to change.

Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) - Cejhae Greene (men’s 100m)

Andorra (AND) - Pol Moya (men’s 800m)

Italy (ITA) - Lamont Marcell Jacobs (men’s 100m and 4x100m)

Uganda (UGA) - Peruth Chemutai (women’s 3000m steeplechase)

Uruguay (URU) - Maria Pia Fernandez (women’s 1500m)

Ecuador (ECU) - Glenda Morejón (women’s 20km race walk)

Estonia (EST) - Maicel Uibo (decathlon)

Eswatini (SWZ) - Sibusiso Matsenjwa (men’s 200m)

Ethiopia (ETH) - Selemon Barega (10,000m)

Eritrea (ERI) - Nazret Weldu (women’s marathon)

Netherlands (NED) - Sifan Hassan (1500m, 5000m and 10,000m)

Guyana (GUY) - Emanuel Archibald (men’s 100m)

Canada (CAN) - Damian Warner (decathlon)

Gambia (GAM) - Ebrima Camara (men’s 100m)

Cuba (CUB) - Zurian Hechavarría (women’s 400m hurdles and 4x400m)

Grenada (GRN) - Kirani James (men’s 400m)

Kenya (KEN) - Timothy Cheruiyot (men’s 1500m)

Cote d'Ivoire (CIV) - Marie-Josee Ta Lou (women’s 100m and 200m)

Costa Rica (CRC) - Noelia Vargas (women’s 20km race walk)

Comoros (COM) - Fadane Hamadi (men’s 110m hurdles)

Congo (CGO) - Gilles Anthony Afoumba (men’s 400m)

Zambia (ZAM) - Sydney Siame (men’s 200m)

Djibouti (DJI) - Souhra Ali Mohamed (women’s 1500m)

Jamaica (JAM) - Demish Gaye (men’s 400m and 4x400m)

Sri Lanka (SRI) - Yupun Abeykoon Mudiyanselage (men’s 100m)

Saint Lucia (LCA) - Levern Spencer (women’s high jump)

Chinese Taipei (TPE) - Chen Chieh (men’s 400m hurdles)

United Republic of Tanzania (TAN) - Male Alphonce Felix Simbu (men’s marathon)

Czech Republic (CZE) Jakub Vadlejch (men’s javelin)

People's Republic of China (CHN) - Su Bingtian (men’s 100m and 4x100m)

Tuvalu (TUV) - Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca (men’s 100m)

Dominica (DMA) - Thea Lafond (women’s triple jump)

Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) - Andwuelle Wright (men’s long jump)

Namibia (NAM) - Beatrice Masilingi (women’s 200m)

New Zealand (NZL) - Valerie Adams (shot put)

Haiti (HAI) - Mulern Jean (women’s 100m hurdles)

Pakistan (PAK) - Arshad Nadeem (men’s javelin)

Panama (PAN) - Jorge Castelblanco (men’s marathon)

Bahamas (BAH) - Megan Moss (women’s 4x400m)

Paraguay (PAR) - Derlys Ayala (men’s marathon)

Barbados (BAR) - Tia-Adana Belle (women’s 400m hurdles)

American Samoa (ASA) - Nathan Crumpton (men’s 100m)

Virgin Islands, US (ISV) - Eddie Vovett (men’s 110m hurdles)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) - Amel Tuka (men’s 800m)

Botswana (BOT) - Anthony Pasela (men’s 4x400m)

Bolivia (BOL) - Angela Castro (women’s 20km race walk)

Portugal (POR) - Pedro Pichardo (men’s triple jump)

Honduras (HON) - Ivan Zarco Alvarez (men’s marathon)

South Africa (RSA) - Anaso Jobodwana (men’s 200m)

South Sudan (SSD) - Abraham Guem (men’s 1500m)

Republic of Moldova (MDA) - Andrian Mardare (men’s javelin)

Luxembourg (LUX) - Bob Bertemes (men’s shot put)

Rwanda (RWA) - John Hakizimana (men’s marathon)

Lesotho (LES) - Neheng Khatala (women’s marathon)

United States of America (USA) - Kara Winger (women’s javelin)

30 runners DNF in Sapporo heat

It wasn’t as fast as we’ve come to expect, but from 30K in, there was never any doubt that Eliud Kipchoge was on his way to a repeat performance of his 2016 Olympic marathon win. He stepped on the gas and immediately started to put distance between himself and the rest of the small lead pack, crossing the finish line in 2:08:38, a minute and 20 seconds ahead of the next finisher. The race for silver and bronze was won by lesser known runners, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands (silver, in a season’s best 2:09:58) and Bashir Abdi of Belgium, who crossed the line for the bronze medal two seconds later, in 2:10:00 (also a season’s best time).

With this win, Kipchoge joins the greats who have won back-to-back marathons at an Olympic Games. He is the third runner to do so – and in 2024, he will have the chance to become the only athlete ever to three-peat in the marathon.

Nageeye is one of Kipchoge’s training partners on the NN Running Team. This was his best marathon performance, in terms of finishing position; he has two top-10 finishes at the Boston Marathon (seventh in 2018 and eighth in 2016). The same is true for Abdi, who is a training partner of Mo Farah’s and paced Farah to his one-hour world record on the track in 2020. His best finish before today was seventh at the 2019 London Marathon.

Despite the heat, Canadians Ben Preisner, Trevor Hofbauer and Cam Levins had excellent races, Preisner in particular, who finished in 46th position, in 2:19:27), followed closely by Hofbauer in 48th (2:19:57). Preisner was in 73rd position at 5K and made steady progress as he made his way up throughout the race. Levins was in good shape through the first half, but was not able to maintain the pace, dropping to 72nd in 2:28:43 – a very respectable result, considering the high attrition rate.

Heat and humidity result in multiple DNFs

It was another hot, muggy morning in Sapporo for the final event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The lead pack consisting of Kipchoge, defending bronze medallist from 2016 and U.S. Trials winner Galen Rupp and 2019 world champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, among others, set off at 7 a.m., settling into a comfortable pace of just over three minutes per kilometre. Jeison Alexander Suarez of Colombia maintained a position at or near the front for more than half of the race as athletes stuffed their hats with ice to keep their bodies as cool as possible.

Around halfway, Kipchoge was seen exchanging fist bumps with Daniel Do Nascimento of Brazil, but a short time later, Do Nascimento collapsed, then rallied, then dropped out. By halfway, 10 men had already left the course, including 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich, 2020 London Marathon winner Shura Kitata and Jack Rayner of Australia, who was one of Kipchoge’s pacers at INEOS 1:59. Sisay Lemma (third at Berlin and Tokyo marathons, with a PB of 2:03) appeared to be struggling soon thereafter. Galen Rupp led the pack briefly, but for the most part appeared willing to let others do the work at the front; he ended up finishing eighth. By 27K, the lead pack had dwindled to about 10, with Kipchoge, Rupp and Suarez leading; Japanese record holder Suguru Osaka was still in the lead pack, as was Desisa.

At 30K, Rupp dropped further and further off the pace. Amos Kipruto also dropped back (eventually joining the long list of DNFs), and the chase pack dwindled to 2019 Boston Marathon winner Lawrence Cherono, Ayad Lamdassem of Spain, Nageeye and Abdi. Osaka tried to come back to them, as Kipchoge stormed toward the finish line with a bounce in his step. Cherono ultimately finished fourth, Lamdassem fifth and Osako sixth.

Top 10 finishers

Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)

Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands)

Bashir Abdi (Belgium)

Lawrence Cherono (Kenya)

Ayad Lamdassem (Spain)

Suguru Osako (Japan)

Alphonce Felix Simbu (Tanzania)

Galen Rupp (USA)

Othmane El Goumri (Morocco)

Koen Naert (Belgium)

Eliud Kipchoge Wins Olympic Marathon Again, This Time In Tokyo

Eliud Kipchoge delivered a dominating performance in the Tokyo Olympics men’s marathon, pulling away from his competition after the halfway point and finishing 1 minute, 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands on a steamy day in Sapporo, Japan.

Kipchoge of Kenya, the world record holder in the marathon, is the first men’s repeat Olympic winner since Waldemar Cierpinski of the former East Germany in 1976 and 1980. Kipchoge finished in 2 hours, eight minutes, 38 seconds.

Nageeye clocked in at 2:09:58, and Bashir Abdi of Belgium finished third, in 2:10:00.

American Galen Rupp, who won bronze in the marathon at the Rio 2016 Games, finished eighth, more than three minutes back in 2:11:41.

Galen Rupp of the U.S. finished eighth in the Olympic marathon. 

After the 15-mile mark, Kipchoge, in front of the lead pack, turned and looked over his shoulder at Rupp and said something to him. Shortly after that, Kipchoge took off and began building his insurmountable lead.

NBC commentators said that Kipchoge seemed irritated with Rupp in the encounter.

“We saw Kipchoge get annoyed, which is so, so rare,” NBC commentator Kara Goucher said.

Rupp won the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in February 2020 and had targeted gold in Sunday’s race. He won silver in the 10,000 meters in London 2012 and bronze in the Rio 2016 marathon.

American Jacob Riley finished 29th, in 2:16:26, and American Abdi Abdirahman 41st in 2:18:27. Abdirahman, 44 years old and competing in his fifth Games, is the oldest U.S. runner to ever make the U.S. Olympic team.

The 36-year-old Kipchoge, competing in his fourth Olympics, entered the race with three medals: a bronze in the 5,000 meters in Athens 2004, silver in the 5,000 in Beijing 2008 and gold in the marathon in Rio 2016. He failed to qualify for Kenya’s team for London 2012.

Kipchoge famously broke the two-hour marathon barrier on a closed-course race in Vienna in October 2019, part of a years-long effort by Nike that included a new type of shoes. The thick-soled shoes with superlight cushioning and a carbon-fiber plate have spawned copycats, lowered finishing times and taken over the sport.

Kipchoge was so in command of the race that more than 10 miles in, he appeared to fist-bump with Brazil’s Daniel Do Nascimento.

Do Nascimento, in fourth place at the half-marathon mark, soon dropped out then crumpled onto the road.  

It was over 80 degrees with humidity over 70%. Runners shoved bags of ice down the backs of their singlets or tucked cooling packs under hats. More than two dozen runners didn’t finish the race.

Runners move past the Susukino district while competing in the men’s marathon.

Frank Shorter was the last American man to win the Olympic marathon, in 1972.

Since then, the gold has been won twice by the East German, three times by Kenyans (including twice by Kipchoge), twice by Italians, and once by an Ethiopian, a South African, a Korean, a Portugese and a Ugandan.

U.S. runner Molly Seidel was a surprise medalist in the women’s Olympic marathon Saturday, finishing in third to take the bronze.

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes 1,500m gold in Olympic record

In the last individual final on the track at Olympic stadium, the young Norwegian, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, has taken the gold medal, outkicking his Kenyan rival, world champion Timothy Cheruiyot in a furious race over the final 200m. Ingebrigtsen crossed the line in 3:28.33, an Olympic record surpassing the one set just a few days ago by Abel Kipsang, who finished fourth.

Cheruiyot took silver in 3:29.01. Great Britain’s Josh Kerr unleashed a monster kick to take the bronze medal, only 0.04 seconds behind Cheruiyot.

The field looked on race favorite and world champion to take the race out swiftly, and he did. The Australian, Stewart McSweyn, looked strong in third place in the first few laps, with Ollie Hoare and Team GB’s Jake Wightman following closely behind but they fell off as they reached the bell. With one lap to go, Cheruiyot took off, with Ingebrigtsen right on his heel, but ultimately he didn’t have enough left in the tank to secure the race.

This is Ingebrigtsen’s first Olympic medal in his Games debut. The Norwegian, who is only 20, has a prolific resume over the European circuit, finishing fourth in this event at the world championships in Doha in 2019.

This is the final day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The final events are the men’s 4x400m final and the men’s marathon.

Molly Seidel Shocks the World With Bronze Medal, as Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kogei Go 1-2 in 2020 Olympic Marathon

In one of the most remarkable and unlikely runs ever by an American distance runner, Wisconsin native Molly Seidel earned a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon, running 2:27:46 in the heat of Sapporo on Saturday morning. Seidel established herself near the front of the race early, and remained there throughout. Late in the race, Seidel was in a battle for bronze with Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, but with three miles to go, Salpeter stopped running, leaving Seidel in bronze-medal position, which she protected to the finish line.

Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, the world record holder in the women’s-only half marathon, pulled away from teammate Brigid Kosgei, the marathon world record holder, in the final two kilometers to take the gold in 2:27:20. Kosgei settled for the silver in 2:27:36, her first loss in her her last five marathons.

The story for American distance running fans was Seidel, running in only her third marathon of her life (her first was the Olympic Trials marathon in 2020 to get here). Seidel beat five sub-2:20 women. She entered the race with a 2:25:13 personal best and yet was in the conversation for the gold until the final 2k. She joined American running legends Joan Benoit Samuelson (gold in 1984) and Deena Kastor (silver in 2004), as the only American women to medal in the Olympic marathon.

The race

At race time, it was sunny and 76 degrees with 87% humidity, despite the race being moved up an hour because of the heat to start at 6 a.m. local.

As a result, the race went out slow, with 5K and 10K splits of 18:02 and 36:16 for the leaders (2:32:50 marathon pace at 10K). The lead pack remained about 40 or 50 women strong at the 10-kilometer split, but the effect of the heat was unmistakable, with women applying ice bags on themselves and running wide to get into the shade. By this point, US champion Aliphine Tuliamuk had fallen off the pace (she would eventually drop out).

From there, as the race advanced north on a slight downhill, it picked up. Honami Maeda of Japan took a few turns at the front, as did Americans Seidel and Sally Kipyego, but it was mostly shared. The next two 5K splits (17:31 and 17:41) were quicker and reduced the lead pack to less than 20 women by 20K. Zeineba Yimer, a 2:19 woman from Ethiopia, dropped out at the 17K mark.

The lead group went through halfway in 1:15:14, and the lead group was whittled down to 11 with Ethiopian contender Birhane Dibaba falling off the back.

Americans Seidel and Kipyego remained in the lead pack of 12 at 25K (Volha Mazuronak of Belarus rejoined the lead pack between halfway and 25k), which the women went through in 1:28:51 (2:29:47 pace). Ethiopian Roza Dereje Bekele (2:18:30 pb) and Salpeter (2:17:45 pb), along with the three Kenyans, were pushing the tempo slightly.

After that split, as the women continued to weave through the north Sapporo suburbs and Hokkaido University, racers started dropping off the lead pack like flies: first Kipyego, then Mazuronak and then a big casualty — Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, the reigning world champ, falling back around the 29K mark.

Meanwhile at the front, Seidel led the entire 18th mile in around 5:26. The lead group of nine went through 30K in 1:46:03 (17:12 previous 5K, quickest of the race). The Japanese spectators pulled for their countrywoman Mao Ichiyama, who was still there.

The 30-35K split was the quickest of the race (16:54) and those five kilometers caused the biggest carnage: four women, including Ichiyama and Dereje, the final Ethiopian, dropped off the lead pack.

Now with the group down to five and less than five miles remaining, and Seidel continuing to run with confidence and share the lead with the two remaining Kenyans, the curiosity surrounding Seidel turned into a real possibility…could she snag a medal?

Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba dropped off just after the 35K mark, making it a four-woman race for three medals: Kosgei, Jepchirchir, Salpeter, and Seidel. Women with personal bests of 2:14, 2:17, 2:17, and 2:25. But in the summer Japan heat, the strongest women would win, not the fastest.

In the 24th mile, the Kenyans finally struck, Jepchirchir throwing in a surge and Kosgei covering it. They opened up a small gap on Salpeter and Seidel immediately, and Salpeter had a few meters on Seidel.Before one even had time to process whether Seidel’s fairytale quest for a medal was coming to an end, her fortunes changed drastically. At the 38-kilometer mark, Seidel caught Salpeter, who was still less than five seconds behind the leaders, but slowing slightly. Salpeter, however, was broken. Within a span of seconds she slowed to a walk and Seidel was into the bronze position, with the leaders still in her sights, Jepchirchir in front and Kosgei sitting on her.

At 40k, Jepchirchir and Kosgei were still together with Seidel only six seconds back, 31 seconds ahead of fourth place, comfortably in bronze position, barring a blowup. Seidel appeared to be closing on the leaders. Could she even get the silver or the gold?

Not quite. Jepchirchir had one final gold-medal move, dropping Kosgei just after the 40K split and quickly opening a 10-second gap. She would extend her winning margin to 16 seconds by running the final 2.195 kilometers at 5:23 pace.

Kosgei was fading slightly but so was Seidel. Both held their positions through the line, as Seidel could not quite summon the finish to get back to Kosgei and finished 10 seconds behind her in the bronze medal position.

Seidel yelled in delight as she crossed the finish line, while Kosgei looked slightly disappointed with the silver. The third American, Sally Kipyego, finished 17th in 2:32:53.

The temperature at the finish was 84 degrees with 67% humidity.

Brigid Kosgei seeks Kenyan Olympic marathon redemption

World record holder Brigid Kosgei has the unenviable task at the Tokyo Olympics of restoring Kenya's image in the marathon, which suffered a huge dent after the 2016 Rio Games.

Compatriot Jemima Sumgong became the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic marathon gold in Brazil, but she subsequently tested positive for the endurance booster EPO and was banned for eight years.

Kosgei, who ran the fastest women's marathon of all time, clocking 2hr 14min 04sec in Chicago in October 2019, is eyeing a medal on Saturday in Sapporo to spare Kenyan blushes.

Organizers moved the marathons from the capital to avoid Tokyo's punishing summer heat but temperatures in Sapporo are currently in the 30s, which will make the race a tough challenge for the entire field.

"I know it wouldn't be easy winning the gold medal... but I will go out there and take my chances since this is my first Olympics," Kosgei told AFP.

Like so many athletes, Kosgei traveled to the Olympics after 18 disrupted months due to the coronavirus crisis.

"It is unfortunate that we didn't have many competitions to help us prepare us for the Games since the Covid pandemic led to many race cancellations," she said.

A late starter in the sport, Kosgei -- a mother of eight-year-old twins -- had a difficult time growing up in a large family of seven children to a single peasant mother in Elgeyo Marakwet in Kenya's Rift Valley.

Like many of the girls in her village, Kosgei saw athletics as a vehicle to help her escape a life of destitution.

Her first marathon was in Porto, Portugal, in 2015 when the 27-year-old made a dream debut, winning the event in 2:47.59.

- 'Sharing the limelight' -

Kosgei credits her coach Erick Kimaiyo, a former winner of the Honolulu marathon and a runner-up in the 1997 Berlin marathon, for believing in her and helping to nurture her raw talent at his Kapsait training camp situated outside Nairobi at over 9,600 feet (2,900 meters) above sea level.

"I had grown up listening about the great marathon achievements of Catherine Ndereba and Tegla Loroupe, but I didn't expect that I could one day be sharing the same limelight with them," Kosgei said.

"But it was Kimaiyo’s belief in me that helped to propel me and see myself succeeding as a champion marathon runner."

The mentorship resulted in two contrasting victories at the 2016 and 2017 Honolulu marathons, with the difference in winning times between the two events -- 2:31:10 and then 2:22:15 -- further illustrating the power of the forged partnership.

She has won the London marathon twice and set a half-marathon course record of 64min 28sec at the Great North Run in northeast England in September 2019.

However, having missed the 2019 Doha world championships, Kosgei is hoping the Covid-affected Olympics will provide the big stage for her -- and redemption for Kenya.

Kenyan Faith Kipyegon outkicks Hassan for Olympic 1,500m gold, sets Olympic record

On another hot, humid night in Tokyo, the match-up we’ve all been waiting for finally took place: defending Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and the 5,000m gold medalist and world champion Sifan Hassan, who was attempting the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m triple crown, went head-to-head over the metric mile, but it was the U.K.’s Laura Muir who got between them, setting a national record of 3:54.50, while Kipyegon took home the gold in a new Olympic record of 3:53.11. Hassan had to settle for bronze, in 3:55.86.

Canadian track fans had their eyes on Toronto’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who was competing in her first-ever Olympic final. She did not make it out of the heats five years ago in Rio, but this time around was a potential challenger for a medal. She ran a brave race, going out strong to lead the pack through the first 300m. Hassan took over, to bring the pack through the first lap in 62 seconds, while Stafford stuck with the lead group to stay in medal contention.

She looked strong coming into the bell lap, but in the last 300m Kipyegon kicked up the pace and DeBues-Stafford began losing touch with the top three runners, ending up in fifth in 3:58.93 behind Ethiopia’s Freweyni Gebreezibeher, a 20-place improvement from her Olympic debut.

While everyone was expecting the fight for gold to be between Kipyegon and Hassan, it was Muir who was the (delightful) surprise of the night. The U.K. runner ran the race of her life, passing Hassan in the final 200m to take the silver medal in a new personal best and national record.

Hassan’s third-place finish means she will not accomplish the unprecedented 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m triple crown, but she still has a chance of winning three medals of different colours, with the 10,000m final taking place on Saturday.

Peruth Chemutai became the first Ugandan woman to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport when she triumphed in the women's 3,000m steeplechase on Wednesday

The 22-year-old clocked a time of 9:01.45 to finish over three seconds ahead of American silver medalist Courtney Frerichs with Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng taking the bronze.

"I'm so happy and proud of myself. It was a good race - I enjoyed myself and I enjoyed the weather," Chemutai said, referring to the heat in Tokyo.

Chemutai's triumph was only the third Olympic gold won by Uganda in any sport -- after John Akii-Bua's 400m hurdles win in 1972 and Stephen Kiprotich's victory in the 2012 marathon.

She moved in front early in the race before Frerichs took the initiative with three laps to go, pulling away from the field.

But Chemutai responded to the challenge and overtook the American on the last lap before crossing the line 3.34 seconds ahead of her.

Frerichs became the second American woman to win an Olympic steeplechase medal after Emma Coburn, who claimed bronze in Rio in 2016.

Coburn fell with two laps left and finished 14th before being disqualified but her team mate Frerichs was delighted with her silver after nearly missing the Games due to illness.

"I was prepared to have to take it early and make it a hard race. It's really difficult to put yourself out there like that and I definitely had some fear to overcome but I knew I'd walk away with no regrets if I really laid it all out there," she said.

Kenyan world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech finished seventh, leaving her country still without a gold medal in the women's event.

Kenyans have dominated the Olympic men's 3,000m steeplechase, winning nine gold medals in a row before losing their crown to Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali in Tokyo.

Chepkoech said she was far from at her best physically.

"I have an injury and it was so tight. I didn't even react, it's painful," she said.

"My aim was to win the race, but because of the injury, my mind was not here. It was so painful.

"I have problems with two tendons and a hamstring, low back and the stomach. I got injured before our trials in Kenya and it has been so tight since, I tried to nurse it, but it couldn't respond," she added.

Bronze medalist Kiyeng had won silver in Rio.

The wild and crazy men’s1500m at Tokyo Olympics

In heat one Belgium’s Ismael Debjani won to be fastest overall in 3:36.00 with a 53.4 last lap, just ahead of world champion Timothy Cheruiyot (3:36.01), Oliver Hoare (3:36.09), US trials winner Cole Hocker (3:36.16), Abdelatif Sadiki (3:36.23) and Michal Rozmys (3:36.28) who qualified automatically.

Rozmys had been six tenths of a second behind Kerr as he hit the straight but ran a 12.9 last 100m to the Scot’s 13.5 to catch him on the line, meaning the British champion missed out on automatic qualification by one hundredth of a second as he struggled in the closing stages.

Kerr said: “I was really frustrated with my positioning and there was some shoving and I made a hard move at 500m to go. Then, at 200m to go, I felt I was going to pay for this in the home stretch. I was just trying to stay focused and push all the way, but it just wasn’t a good run for me. I am fit and ready and I have had no problems. There are just no excuses for that. I just raced it badly.”

Kerr must have been relieved as heat two was run at nowhere near the same pace. The field ambled through 400m in 62.4 and 800m in 2:02.9, only really coming to life on the last lap as Kenyan Abel Kipsang covered it in 52.8 to win in 3:40.68.

Second was defending champion Matt Centrowitz (3:41.12), just ahead of Wightman (3:41.18) who ran his last 400m in 53.2 and 200m in 26.3. Also qualifying easily were Azeddine Habz (3:41.24), Samuel Zeleke (3:41.63) and Charles Grethen (3:41.92).

Marcin Lewandowski fell on the last lap and he jogged home but was added to the qualifiers by the judges after the event.

Wightman said: “It’s the most nerve-racking round, isn’t it? You’re worried you’re going to be embarrassed. I’m glad I managed to stay on my feet and get through. I had a smooth enough ride. I think I got a spike wound, had a few pushes but there was the fall which I’m glad I didn’t even notice until the end.

“The heats are the worst, because you’ve come all this way and no-one wants to get knocked out in the heat or expects to get knocked out in the heat, so you just want to get past and know how you are running to get through to the semi-final.”

The third heat was faster but, with six fastest loser spots, it did mean there would have to be 12 quicker than 3:36.29 for Kerr to exit and, in the end, there were only two.

The first lap was a slow 61.7 before Stewart McSweyn kicked on. The Australian completed the second lap in a lively 56.9 and the third in a top class 55.1, with only Heyward still in contact as the pair went through 1200m in 2:53.7 and 2:53.9, holding a big gap over the pack led by Robert Farken in 2:55.1.

Heyward passed McSweyn in the straight and won clearly in 3:36.14, having eased around his last lap in 55.9 and covered his last 1200m inside 2:50. Ethiopia’s Tedesse Lemi, who had been 12th at the bell, ran a 53.9 last lap to finish second in 3:36.26 and he had covered his last 1200m in 2:48.9.

McSweyn (3:36.39), Jakob Ingebrigtsen (an anonymous 3:36.49), Farken (3:36.71) and Adel Mechaal (3:36.74) completed the automatic qualifiers.

Double Olympic medallist Nick Willis (3:36.88), Andrew Coscoran (3:37.11), Ayanleh Souleiman (3:37.25) and Kenyan trials winner Charles Simotwo (3:37.26) qualified by time as they joined Kerr and Ignacio Fontes (3:36.95) as fastest losers.

Soufiane El Bakkali, who won the 3000m steeplechase title the previous day, was in contention until 200m to go but pulled out.

Heyward said: “I don’t think it could have gone much better. Safely through, that’s the main thing. You have to have a few scenarios, you have to be versatile. It could be fast, could be slow, so you’ve got to be ready for that. I think I always give my best performances in championships and I hope that showed a glimpse of what I can do.

“You can’t take anything for granted at the Olympics, you’ve got to be prepared for anything, and I was prepared to run super hard today, so that was my mindset going in. Luckily because I didn’t have to run that hard it felt quite comfortable, so it was good.”

Kenya´s Olympic Steeple Streak Broken by Soufiane El Bakkali of Morroco

Two-time world medalist Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, fourth at the Rio Games, found an extra gear near the final water jump to claim men’s steeplechase gold, becoming the first non-Kenyan to win the event since 1980.

El-Bakkali won in 8 minutes, 8.90 seconds on a wet track at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. He finished well clear of Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, who took the silver.

Benjamin Kigen claimed a bronze for Kenya after Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale, who was third heading to the final straight, fell. Wale struggled back to his feet and clung on for fourth.

The 25-year-old el-Bakkali was fourth at the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and on the podium at the last two world championships, but this was his first major title.

Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto, the leading star of the steeplechase, didn’t defend his Olympic title in Tokyo after failing to make the Kenyan team at the national trials.

Siffan Hassan has won at the 5,000 meters and now looks to the 1,500 and 10,000

Six races in eight days on the Tokyo track? No problem, says Sifan Hassan, who overcame a Monday morning fall in the 1500m heats to win 5000m gold in the evening.

How about 24,500 meters of Olympic racing in the matter of eight days?

The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan has said she’ll try it, competing in each of the 1500m, 5000m, and 10,000m races at Tokyo 2020, a line-up rarely seen – especially in the hot conditions athletics runners are facing at these Games.

“For me it is crucial to follow my heart,” said Hassan in a press release. “Doing that is far more important than gold medals. That keeps me motivated and it keeps me enjoying this beautiful sport.”

Having already run on Friday (July 30) to qualify for the 5000m final, Hassan fell with a lap to go in Monday morning's 1500m first round, but picked herself up to win the heat!

Just 12 hours later, Hassan produced her famed finishing kick to take her first global title over 5000m and her first Olympic medal.

That may have been the hardest of three with the mile world record holder completing a 1500m-10,000m double at the 2019 World Championships.

See her full schedule below – and find out what other similar feats have been attempted in athletics in Games past, as you get to know the distance running star.

Born in Ethiopia in 1993, Hassan arrived in the Netherlands as a 15-year-old refugee in 2008. She split her time between running and studying to become a nurse.

She became a Dutch citizen in late 2013, which allowed her to represent the Netherlands in competition.

As early as 2011, Hassan began making her mark on the international stage, winning the Eindhoven Half Marathon that year. In 2013, she won the 3000m at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in June.

At the 2014 European Championships in Zurich, Hassan took gold in the 1500m and a year later, she won bronze in the 1500m at the World Championships in Beijing, joining Dafne Schippers as the only Dutch athletes to win medals at the Worlds.

She had clearly established herself as one to watch ahead of Rio 2016, though injuries hampered her build-up to those Games, where she went out in the heats in the 800m but reached the final of the 1500m, where she finished fifth behind Kenya’s gold medalist Faith Kipyegon.

Has anyone tried such an Olympic programme before? Let’s compare it with two great long-distance feats at Olympic Games.

According to  The Guardian, Paavo Nurmi went for four at Paris 1924: Nurmi won the men's 1500m, 5000m, and 3000m team event – as well as two cross-country events – but “Finnish officials feared for his health and refused to let him race the 10,000m.”

The 1500, 3000 and 5000 happened over a span of just five days.

At Helsinki 1952, Czechoslovakia’s Emil Zatopek won the 5000m, 10,000m, and marathon (42km) – all in Olympic records. Those four races (a semi and a final for the 5000), took place over eight days.

After Rio, Hassan joined Alberto Salazar’s training group in Oregon, keeping her focus largely on the 1500m. She was fifth again (behind Kipyegon) in the 1500m at the 2017 World Championships in London and took bronze in the 5000m with another Kenyan, Hellen Obiri, winning gold.

In 2019, after a quiet season to start, she set a new mile world record at the Monaco Diamond League in 4:12.33.

At the World Championships in Doha, she entered the 10,000m having only ran the race competitively just once before. But Hassan closed down Letesenbet Gidey before sprinting clear on the last lap to take her first global title.

A week later, she showed her versatility by winning the 1500m to complete a unique double at Worlds.

After worlds, it was announced that her coach, Salazar, would be suspended from athletics due to doping allegations. Hassan denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.

She continued to perform at the top level after his suspension: She set the aforementioned mile world record in 2019, then ran the fourth fastest 10,000m ever before setting a new world record at that distance in June of 2021. (That record was broken two days later, by Gidey.)

Hassan will almost certainly fight it out with Gidey for gold in the 10,000, but the Dutch runner’s famed finishing kick gives her a great chance of adding the Olympic title to her world title.

Here’s a breakdown of Hassan’s potential schedule, having already advance through into the final of the 5000m on Monday night (Aug 2).

Fri 30 July 19:00 JST - 5000m semi-finals – Finished 1st, to reach final.

Mon 2 August 09:47 JST - 1500m round 1 - Finished 1st in heat despite falling, to reach semi-finals.

Mon 2 August 21:40 JST - 5000m final

Wed 4 August around 17:00 JST - 1500m semi-finals.

Fri 6 August 21:50 JST - 1500m final (if she qualifies)

Sat 7 August 19:45 JST - 10,000m final.

Here's everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics marathon

The men's Olympics marathon is traditionally held on the very last day of competition, with the women's race staged a day earlier. 

Both events will be starting early in the morning to avoid the heat, with the women running on Saturday, August 7 and the men racing on Sunday, August 8. 

Here's everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics marathon.

WHEN IS THE TOKYO OLYMPICS MARATHON? 

The women's race will be held on Saturday, August 7.

The men's race will be run on Sunday, August 8.

WHO IS RUNNING THE OLYMPIC MARATHON? 

There are a number of high-profile runners who won't feature in Tokyo, with Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele topping that list. 

It is still a packed field though, with defending Olympic champion and current world record holder Eliud Kipchoge set to run. 

Kipchoge will be joined on a formidable Kenyan team by Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto.

Ethiopia will be represented by Lelisa Desisa, Shura Kitata and Sisay Lemma, while Rio 2016 bronze medalist Galen Rupp is back representing America. 

In the women's race, it's hard to go past world record-holder Brigid Kosgei of Kenya. 

Kosgei will be joined by 2019 marathon world champion Ruth Chepngetich and two-time world half-marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir in Kenyan colours. 

The Ethiopian trio of Birhane Dibaba, Roza Dereje and Zeineba Yimer will also be in the mix and are all capable of comfortably running under 2:20. 

RIO 2016 OLYMPICS MARATHON WINNER

Eliud Kipchoge stormed to a memorable victory in the rain in Rio, finishing ahead of Ethiopia's Feyisa Lelisa and American Galen Rupp. 

In the women's race, Kenyan Jemima Sumgong won gold in front of Eunice Kirwa and Mare Dibaba. 

Athletics Kenya (AK) have named World 2019 bronze medalist Rhonex Kipruto as Geoffrey Kamworor's replacement in Kenya's 10,000 meters team for the Tokyo

Geoffrey Kamworor, who sustained an ankle injury in training this week, was a big medal prospect in the team that also has national cross country champion Rodgers Kwemoi and Weldon Kipkirui. 

The two left the country last Friday and will be competing in the final on July 30 where Kenya is expected to bag its first medal in athletics.

Kipruto, World Under-20 10,000m champion, withdrew from the Kenyan trials with five laps to go.

General Team Manager for the Tokyo Olympic Games Barnaba Korir said Kipruto has officially joined the team after clearance from World Athletics and necessary paperwork is ongoing.

“We are pleased to announce that Rhonex Kipruto is the latest inclusion to our athletics team for the Tokyo Olympics. He has already reported at Kasarani Stadium where the remaining part of team Kenya are in residential training in a bubble camp.

"The decision was arrived at after AK sought clearance from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on his anti-doping testing status, which I am pleased to say he has been given the green light,” Korir said via his official Facebook page.

Kipruto told Nation Sport that he is happy to get a chance to represent Kenya in what will be his first appearance at the Olympics. 

“I’m really sorry for my good friend Kamworor and I want to wish him quick recovery so that he can continue with his career. On my part I’m delighted becaue I will be able to represent my country once again and we will work hard to win something good for our country,” said Kipruto.

He also revealed to Nation Sport that his first Covid-19 test came out negative and he was going to be tested for the second time, a requirement before jetting out for the Games in Tokyo.

“I got the results and they are negative. We are doing another test just to be sure because this is now a requirement before travelling,” said Kipruto. 

Kipruto is currently the fastest man in 10km on the road having clocked world record time of 26:24 after lowering Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei’s time of 26:38 in Valencia, Spain in 2020.

The two will clash again when they line up for the 10,000m final on Friday after Cheptegei floored Kipruto during the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar winning gold ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha who took silver with KIpruto settling for bronze.

“We shall be battling out again with Cheptegei whom we have met in various races. He is a good athlete but I don’t want to say much for now but just to give my best, teamwork will be paramount,” he added.

Kenyan Faith Chepng’etich ready for Sifa Hassan duel in Tokyo

Olympic 1,500m women's champion Faith Chepng’etich is optimistic that she will retain her title at the Tokyo Games.

The 1,500m race will see the Kenyan rekindle her rivalry with Dutch’s Sifan Hassan, who is looking to make history in Tokyo by winning gold in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m.

Chepngetich is the first Kenyan woman to win gold in the 1500m race at a World Championship, achieving the feat at the 2017 Worlds in London, before bagging silver medal in the Doha games in 2019.

Nation Sport caught up with the four-lap race queen at her training base in Kaptagat, Elgeyo Marakwet during her speed work session where she said that her preparations are complete.

“I have done good preparations and I know the race will be competitive and my target is to get into the finals where I know my friend Sifan will also be eyeing victory. For me it’s a matter of winning and defending the title I won in 2016,” said Chepng’etich.

The two met during the Monaco Diamond League race and Faith came out on top, narrowly missing the world record after timing a new national record of 3:51.07, which was also a world lead time.

Sifan clocked 3:53.60 to finish second, while Ethiopia’s Hailu Freweyni was third in 3:56.28.

Chepng’etich said that she is aware that Sifan will be out to dethrone her, but remains confident of holding her off in Tokyo.

“I ran in Monaco and clocked my personal best and I wanted to gauge my performance ahead of the Olympic Games. I managed to identify some few areas which I have worked on and will give my best in Tokyo,” said the mother of one.

The 1500m heats will be held on August 2, before the semi-finals take center stage on August 4. The final is due on August 6.

Olympians, champions and top americans will lead fields for 2021 Asics Falmouth Road Race

Falmouth Road Race, Inc., organizers of the 49th Annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race, one of America’s premier running events of the summer season, today announced the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair open fields for this year’s race. Defending champions Leonard Korir and Sharon Lokedi lead an accomplished field of Olympians, World Champions and top Americans participating in the August 15, 2021 race.

WOMEN’S OPEN DIVISION

Lokedi, a Kenyan elite and 10-time All American at the University of Kansas, will race 2019 runner-up Sara Hall, who has won 11 U.S. national titles from the mile to the marathon. Hall recently finished sixth at the U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000m and won the AJC Peachtree Road Race, which hosted the National 10K Championships. The duo is joined by Edna Kiplagat, a Boston, London and New York City champion as well as a two-time World Athletics Marathon Championships gold medalist. 

Twelve-time All American and NCAA DI 10,000m champion Emma Bates and 2021 Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel will also participate. Bates is gearing up for a fall marathon and Seidel will run, alongside her sister Isabel, as a post-Olympic celebration.  

Accomplished women racing the leaders include Jordan Hasay, an 18-time All American and multiple podium finisher at the Boston and Chicago Marathons; former Falmouth champion and three-time Olympian Diane Nukuri; NCAA 10,000m champion Natosha Rogers; young talent Iveen Chepkemoi; Emily Durgin who finished runner-up at the AJC Peachtree Road Race with a 31:49 personal best, and Taylor Werner the recent USATF National 6K champion.

Many of the women in the field raced in the 5,000m and/or 10,000m at the recent U.S. Olympic Track Trials including Rogers, Durgin, Werner, Erika Kemp, Makena Morley, Jaci Smith, Fiona O’Keefe,  and Paige Stoner.

MEN’S OPEN DIVISION

The 2019 podium of Leonard Korir, Stephen Sambu, and Edward Cheserek return. Korir, an Olympian, became the first American man to win the Falmouth Road Race since 1988. He has 10 USATF national titles and holds the fastest-ever marathon debut by an American (2:077:56). 

Sambu looks to add an impressive fifth Falmouth Road Race title to his name. A road running star, Sambu set the 8K world record at the B.A.A. 10K, a race he has won twice. He is also a four-time champion of the Shamrock Shuffle. Edward Cheserek, the most decorated NCAA distance runner of all time with 17 NCAA Division I titles, ran for the University of Oregon. At Boston University in 2018, Cheserek ran the indoor mile in 3:49.44, which at that time was the second fastest indoor mile in history.  

Chasing the trio are 2018 Falmouth Road Race champion and 2018 NCAA 10,000m winner Ben Flanagan, of Canada, and Ben True, who holds five national titles, set a 5K national record at the 2017 B.A.A. 5K and recently finished fourth in the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Fresh from a two second 1-2 finish at the 2021 AJC Peachtree Road Race, Sam Chelanga, a six-time USATF National Champion, and Fred Huxham are in the field, as are B.A.A. 10K champion David Bett, 2018 Falmouth runner-up Scott Fauble and top 5,000m runner Emmanuel Bor. 

Many of the men running the ASICS Falmouth Road Race competed at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Track Trials including Korir, Chelanga, Bor, True, Biya Simbassa, Jacob Thomson and Frank Lara.

Women that have been barred from Olympics for being manly

One day, Annet Negesa was pushing her body to endure and make her the champion she believed she was born to be. On another day, her Olympics dreams were crushed because she was faster, stronger.

Annet Negesa reportedly still harbours intentions to run for her country. She runs every day, with the hope of returning to international competitions one day. 

Hers is a case of unfinished business, a dream that was cut short in June 2012 when she received a call from a doctor from track and field’s world governing body telling her, according to the New York Times newspaper - that “she would no longer be competing in the London Olympics because her testosterone levels were too high for competition,” thereby giving her an unfair advantage over other female athletes.

Negesa, 20 then, was one of Uganda’s top athletes. On the back of her London preparations, she set a national record for 800 metres earlier that year at a meet in Netherlands.

She was a three-time national champion and brought home a gold medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games.

She identifies as female and was born with external female genitalia but also with internal male genitalia that produce levels of testosterone that men do.

Most women, including elite female athletes, have natural testosterone levels of 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per litre, according to World Athletics. The typical male range after puberty is reportedly much higher, at 7.7 to 29.4 nanomoles per litre.

After years of litigation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2019 upheld World Athletics’ testosterone restrictions for female athletes in races with distances from 400 meters to the mile after renowned athlete Caster Semenya (we shall get to her later in the article), filed an appeal.

The court ruled by a 2-to-1 vote that the restrictions were indeed discriminatory but also a “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” means of achieving the World Athletics goal of preserving a level playing field in women’s track events.

Therefore intersex athletes (these are said to be roughly one in every 2,000 births), who want to participate in middle-distance women’s track events must take hormone-suppressing drugs and reduce testosterone levels to below five nanomoles per litre (5 nmol/L) for six months before competing, then maintain those lowered levels.

Unfortunately, the intervention seems to have come seven years late for Negesa, who claims World Athletics physician Dr Stéphane Bermon gave her surgery as her first option to reduce testosterone levels in 2012. 

But Negesa has since battled persistent headaches and achy joints that have not allowed her to pursue her career. Her postoperative care, which according to documents seen at the Kampala Hospital by the New York Times should have been recommended in further discussions with Dr Bermon, did not include the kind of hormone treatment that might have helped her body adjust to the change.

After Negesa appeared in a ‘break the silence’ documentary on German television’s ARD network in October 2019, World Athletics issued a statement denying that it participated in or recommended a specific treatment to Negesa.

Third category

Nine years after Negesa’s predicament, another recommendation to World Athletics; to introduce a third category of events in order to allow competitors with high testosterone levels to compete in their preferred disciplines, seems to be gathering steam after Kenyan 800m runner Margaret Wambui was ruled out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“It would be good if a third category for athletes with high testosterone was introduced; because it is wrong to stop people from using their talents,” Wambui told BBC Sport Africa.

The sport’s governing body, World Athletics, says it has no plans to introduce such a category and will stick to its current classifications of men’s and women’s events.

The idea of a third category in athletics has been floated before, but Wambui is the first athlete to express outright support for the suggestion.

“We would be the first people to compete in that category - so we can motivate others who are hiding their condition,” she said.

Since World Athletics introduced its latest rules governing DSD (disorders of sex development) athletes in 2018, not one of the three athletes who stood on the 800m podium in Rio has contested the distance at a global international championship.

At the 2016 Games, Wambui was beaten to gold by Semenya and silver by Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba.

“It is sad to see that the whole podium won’t be there.”  “They cut short our careers, because that wasn’t our plan. I feel bad that I won’t be in the Olympics because of World Athletics rules,” says Wambui.

The Bix is back: Race returns with resounding success

The crack of a starting pistol sent a scribble of smoke upward, queuing upbeat dance club music.

Miles away, a barber shop quartet serenaded with harmonic tones.

Palmer College of Chiropractic members dressed as vertebrae snaked their way up the infamously steep Brady Street.

Good Samaritans sprinkled cooling droplets of mist and rushed to the aid of an overheated runner.

A volunteer raked a neat pile of thousands of discarded water cups out of the road.

"These 14,000 cups have gotta go somewhere," Jen Broders said.

Post-race Jello shots were downed and accompanied by dives onto a front-lawn water slide.

Runner, walkers, past Olympians, pint-sized entrepreneurs, Marilyn Monroe look-alikes and "short-legged, no-talent" family members, friends and supporters packed the streets of downtown Davenport on Saturday morning for the 47th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7. More than 9,750 people registered for Bix races, according to race officials, marking the first time participation has dipped below 10,000 since 1986 (not counting last year's virtual Bix).

"Since last year's race ended, we've been planning for a very different race because our plans have changed on a monthly, weekly and daily basis," Bix 7 Race Director Michelle Juehring said.

The 53-year-old became race director in 2020 after the retirement of former longtime Race Director Ed Froehlich. She guided the race through its virtual version during the COVID-19 pandemic and was in the midst of preparing for her first full-blown Bix as its director.

Through all the changes COVID-19 forced in 2020, planning for the 2021 race was not without lingering pandemic-induced difficulties.

"We didn't know if the race would be open to all contestants until, basically, the last week in June, first week of July," Juehring said. "I am very grateful to have a whole race, but the road to getting here has forced us to be flexible and change."

Shade become prime real estate along the race course for bystanders. The temperature at race time was 78 degrees, tied for the third-hottest in Bix history, with 82% humidity and a 9-mph wind.

Though the start-time temperature was reasonable, the mercury shot up quickly and so did the action inside the medical tent. By 9 a.m., the temperature had climbed above 80 degrees. By 10:30 a.m., the mercury reached 85 degrees, at which time 36 people had been treated in the medical just past the finish line, one of whom was transported to the hospital. Another 10 runners were taken from the course to the hospital. Craig Cooper, spokesman for Genesis, said Saturday evening that one person had been admitted to the hospital but all others taken to Genesis had been treated and released.

Beat the Elite runner Doug Boleyn, 53, was the first patient escorted into the medical tent. Innovation officer at Genesis Health System, Boleyn was treated by colleagues from Genesis, which staffs the medical tent with dozens of volunteer doctors, nurses, aids and others. He was treated and released. 

The hot, hazy and muggy conditions, though, didn’t slow former Olympian Leonard Korir, 34, of Colorado Springs, Colo., who won his third Quad-City Times Bix 7 with a time of 32 minutes, 48 seconds, edging 25-year-old Frank Lara, of Boulder, Colo. Forty-one-year-old fellow Olympian Edna Kiplagat of Kenya won the women’s division.

“To win it three times, I’m so grateful,” said Korir, who credited his experience and training for his third top finish at the Bix 7.

As runners slogged through the heat and crowds on Kirkwood Boulevard, a gray tarp, continuously sprayed with a hose, offered brief refreshment for those brave enough to jump on.

Watching over the scene, resting on a lawn chair with Happy Birthday balloons tied to the back, was a large photo Sean Troncao's mother smiling.

he loved the Bix, Trancao said. It was one of her favorite days of the year. This year the Bix fell on her birthday weekend, so the family chose to celebrate at the Bix and bring her back to the event she loved so much.

"It just felt fitting to make sure she could join us," Trancao said.

Tom and Linda Hughes arrived on McClellan Boulevard at 6:15 a.m. Saturday to reserve their usual spot for their large family to watch the road race, and to promote organ donation through the Iowa Donor Network.

The group wore matching T-shirts featuring a photo of Tom's sister, the late Mary Ellen Smith. Smith used to run the Bix every year and was killed several years ago in a pedestrian-truck crash. Upon her death, all of her organs were donated.

Jerry Spaeth, Carl Anderson and Ken Stark stood on the side of the road enjoying a drink or two and cheering on Stark's wife, who he said has been running the Bix 7 for 22 years.

"I ran it for 15," Anderson said. "Now I stand here and drink beer." 

Tokyo Olympics preview: marathon-Women's marathon

World record-holder Brigid Kosgei will start as the woman to beat in the marathon when she hits the road on the Games' penultimate day. But she won’t be lacking for formidable opposition.

The 27-year-old Kenyan has been among the best marathon runners on the planet since 2017 when she first threatened the 2:20 barrier at that year's Chicago Marathon, finishing second in 2:20:22. She returned the following year to take the title in 2:18:35 and then returned again in 2019 to smash the world record with a jaw-dropping 2:14:04 performance.

She followed up well with a successful title defence at the London Marathon last October in 2:18:58, winning by more than three minutes to secure her fourth consecutive marathon victory.

Kosgei hasn't contested the distance since and has only raced twice in 2021, so her current form will be somewhat of a mystery. This will also be the first time she has competed at a major championship. Given her marathon pedigree, though, you can expect her to arrive in Sapporo well prepared.

But she'll have plenty of fast company, beginning with her teammates.

Peres Jepchirchir, the two-time world half marathon champion, heads to her first Olympics courtesy of her 2:17:16 victory at the Valencia Marathon last December, the fastest in the world last year. Just over a month earlier, she broke the half marathon world record for a women-only race, clocking 1:05:16 at the World Half Marathon Championships.

They'll also have Ruth Chepngetich, the world champion, for company. Chepngetich clocked 2:17:08 in Dubai in 2019 that currently places her fourth on the world all-time list. After a third-place finish at the London Marathon last October in 2:22:05, Chepngetich returned to action at the Istanbul Half Marathon earlier this year when she broke the world record in a mixed race, clocking 1:04:02.

That Kenyan trio is about as good as they come. But the Ethiopian team isn't too far off that mark.

Birhane Dibaba clocked 2:18:35 to finish second in Tokyo last year, one of the fastest performances of 2020. Teammate Roza Dereje was even faster a few months earlier, clocking 2:18:30 in Valencia in December 2019. Zeineba Yimer, 23, is another rising star, clocking 2:19:28 and 2:19:54 at the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Valencia Marathon.

Expect Israeli record-holder Lonah Salpeter to be in the hunt. The 32-year-old broke into the all-time top-10 after a sensational 2:17:45 run to win the 2020 Tokyo Marathon and has tuned up with a solid but pressure-free 2:22:37 run at home in March.

Helalia Johannes of Namibia, the surprise bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships, also made a notable jump last year into the sub-2:20 club, finishing third in Valencia in 2:19:52. She'll turn 41 the week after the Olympics ends and is showing few signs of slowing down. Winner of the Commonwealth title in 2018, Johannes excels in championship races held in hot conditions.

Japan will be well represented by a pair of consistent runners who could be ready to challenge for the podium. Mao Ichiyama has a 2:20:29 lifetime best from her victory at the 2020 Nagoya Marathon and was nearly as fast the following year when winning in Osaka in 2:21:11. Meanwhile, Mizuki Matsuda clocked 2:21:47 to win the Osaka Marathon in 2020 and 2:21:51 to win Nagoya earlier this year.

Ankle injury rules out Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor at Olympics

Kenyan 10,000 meters runner and 2019 New York Marathon winner Geoffrey Kamworor has pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to an ankle injury, he told BBC Sport Africa on Thursday.

The 28-year-old is a three times world Half Marathon champion, and previous world record holder, and had hopes of a medal in the 10,000m after winning the national trials.

He won silver at the 2015 world championships in Beijing, behind Britain's Mo Farah.

The injury comes after he was hit by a motorcycle while training near his home in June last year, suffering a fractured tibia.

"These are obstacles which can come on your way when you come back from a tough injury earlier on. It's only now extremely bad timing," the BBC quoted his manager Valentijn Trouw as saying.

All about the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics

While the men’s marathon has been a staple of the Olympics since the first modern Games in 1896, women were not allowed to run the 26.2-mile race until the 1984 Summer Games, which were held in Los Angeles. Now both the men’s and women’s races are among the most anticipated events on the Olympic calendar.

When is the Olympic marathon?

The women’s race is scheduled for Aug. 7, and the men will run on Aug. 8, the final day of Olympic competition.

Where will the Olympic marathon take place?

While the bulk of the Olympic competition takes place in Tokyo, the marathon races will be staged in Sapporo, which is located 500 miles north of the host city. Local Olympic organizers were eager to keep the race in Tokyo, but the International Olympic Committee pushed to relocate both marathons and the racewalking events in October 2019 due to concerns about high temperatures in Tokyo.

Who will represent the United States in marathon?

The United States staged its Olympic trials in February 2020, so the top American runners have had nearly one and a half years to prepare for the Sapporo course.

Galen Rupp, 35, was the top men’s qualifier, posting a first-place time of 2 hours 9 minutes 20 seconds at trials and earning a spot in his fourth Olympic Games. Rupp won silver in the men’s 10,000 meters at the 2012 Games before tackling the marathon four years later. He took bronze in the 2016 Olympic marathon with a time of 2:10:05, even though it was only the second time in his life that he tackled a 26.2-mile course.

He’ll be joined in Tokyo by fellow Americans Jake Riley and Abdi Abdirahman. Riley, 32, was 42 seconds behind Rupp at trials and was also the top American finisher at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. The Somali-born Abdirahman will be competing in his fifth Olympics and at 44 years old will be the oldest American runner to ever compete in a Summer Games.

Kenyan-born Aliphine Tuliamuk won the women’s marathon trials with a time of 2:27:23, and will be making her Olympic debut at age 32. Before the Tokyo Games were postponed due to covid-19, Tuliamuk had planned on starting a family immediately following the 2020 Olympics. The year-long delay changed her timeline and she gave birth to her daughter, Zoe, in January.

She’ll be joined at trials by Molly Seidel, who finished the trials just eight seconds behind Tuliamuk, and Sally Kipyego. The 27-year old Seidel will be making her Olympic debut. She was also the second American woman finisher at the 2020 London Marathon.

Kipyego, 35, is a decorated long-distance runner who will be competing in her second Olympics. Running for her native Kenya in 2012, she took silver in the 10,000-meter race.

Chevrier breaks course record at La Montee du Nid d’Aigle

Italy’s Xavier Chevrier and Kenya’s Lucy Murigi took top honours at the highly anticipated La Montee du Nid d’Aigle, the third stage of the WMRA World Cup series, on Saturday (17).

The race hub in the picturesque Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains, in the Haute-Savoie region of France, combined with a tough course and a field of top runners made for a fantastic mountain running race.

Blue skies greeted the runners at the start, with a few whispy clouds higher up in the mountains. Conditions were hot for the runners, particularly on the exposed parts of the course, making the 19.5km uphill-only race particularly relentless.

The route starts at Le Fayet and heads along the river towards St Gervais, and then to La Villette, climbing gradually. It then heads away from the road and into the trees and begins to climb more steeply all the way up to the finish at Refuge du Nid d’Aigle at 2394m.

With deep fields in both the men’s and women’s races, both podiums were wide open. As expected, the flatter first few kilometres of the race were fast and furious and before too long gaps had opened for the men and women.

Murigi, who finished third at Grossglockner last weekend, struck out into a lead over French duo Anais Sabrie and Christel Dewalle. Chevrier and Italian teammate Francesco Puppi also made a break for it in the men’s race, but they were hotly pursued by a group including France’s Julien Rancon, Alexandre Fine and Henri Aymonod.

Chevrier and Murigi maintained their leads, though the races remained close. In the closing stages, Chevrier pulled away from Puppi while the chasing runners jostled for third place.

Chevrier went on to win the men’s race in a course record of 1:44:25, followed by Puppi, more than a minute behind (1:45:49). Aymonod completed the all-Italian men’s podium in 1:46:44. Julien Rancon was fourth in 1:48:43 and Remi Lonchampt rounded out the top five in 1:50:18.

Dewalle, who is a 10-time French VK champion and excels on the steeper climbs, chased Murigi hard on the final climb, but couldn’t catch the Kenyan. Murigi won in 2:06:08, just two seconds outside the course record, with Dewalle just 21 seconds behind. Sabrie was a further minute in arrears (2:07:34).

France’s Mathilde Sagnes was fourth in 2:08:37 and Simone Troxler fifth in 2:10:43 with the top five finishing within five minutes of each other.

The next stop on the WMRA World Cup calendar is the Tatra SkyMarathon on 24 July.

Will Ethiopian-born Dutch distance star Sifan Hassan make history at Tokyo Olympics 2020?

Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch female long-distance runner. Her plans to compete in 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m track races at the Tokyo Olympic Games have created buzz in the running world.

If she is successful in winning gold medals in all three races, it will be unprecedented in the history of Track and Field at the Olympics. No female distance runner has won more gold medals in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m track races at the same Olympic Games.

Athletes in the past have attempted the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the Olympics, but the 28-year-old has added a 1,500m event to her menu that is being intensely debated.

At the 2019 Doha World Championships, she made history by winning gold medals in the 1,500m and 10,000m, to become the first female runner to do so.

Why is it tougher to set records in the Olympics

There is a major difference in competing at the Olympics and posting a fast time during one-day international competitions.

During lucrative one-day prize money events across the globe, race organizers have pacemakers to break records. However, elite athletes employ different tactics to win medals at major championships including Olympics.

Therefore, timings are faster in one-day competitions rather than at the Olympics as the main aim is to win medals and not break records.

Since races at the Olympics are sometimes slow in comparison to one-day meetings, the tactical battle could be an advantage for Sifan as she has both the speed and endurance.

At the Tokyo Olympics, the women’s 5,000m preliminary round is scheduled for the evening session on July 30 while the women’s 1,500m heats are slated for a morning session on August 2.

There is enough time between the 5,000m and 1,500m heat for Sifan to recover.

But it could be punishing for the Dutch distance runner as the event progresses. After the 1,500m heat in the morning session, she will be racing the women's 5,000m final in the evening session on August 2.

Sifan's next race, the women’s 1,500m semis will be on August 4. The final is on August 6.

After a good race on August 6 will she recover to compete in the women’s 10,000m final on August 7?

Having shown her prowess over distances ranging from 1,500m to half marathon, Sifan would be one to watch at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the first week of June, Sifan smashed the women’s 10,000m five years old world record in Hengelo, the Netherlands. She clocked 29 minutes 06.82 seconds to better Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana’s record of 29 minutes 17.45 seconds set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Last week (July 9) at the Monaco Diamond League, Sifan clocked 3 minutes 53.60 seconds to finish second behind arch rival Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, whose winning time was 3 minutes 51.07 seconds.

The inspiring story of Sifan Hassan

As a teenager, Sifan had to flee Ethiopia. She was barely 15 and reached the Netherlands as a refugee in 2008. She began running and enrolled herself in a nursing course. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2013.

According to Sifan, the nursing course took a backseat as she became a professional athlete. She will compete in Japan for her adopted country.

World 1500m champion added to Kenyan Olympic team as 18-year-old dropped

World 1500 meters champion Timothy Cheruiyot, left out of the Kenyan Olympic team after finishing outside the top three qualifying places at last month’s trials, has been added to the squad for Tokyo 2020. 

Cheruiyot, pictured limping away from the trials with a hamstring injury, won the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco last Friday (July 9) in a personal best of 3min 28.28sec, the fastest time run since 2015 and seventh best ever.

The 25-year-old from Bomet expressed hopes after his win that he would be able try to add the Olympic gold medal to his world title and he is now due to do that against a field that will include his perennial 20-year-old Norwegian rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen, European record holder with 3:28.68.

"I am thrilled to be part of the Kenyan Olympic team," Cheruiyot, now the favourite for gold, told Agence-France Presse. 

 "I am in better shape than I was during the trials and I promise to deliver a medal for Kenya in Tokyo."

Cheruiyot’s addition has been made possible by the ineligibility of the relatively unknown 18-year-old who finished second at the trials, Kamar Etyang.

He has had to be removed from the team because he does not have the minimum number of three out-of-competition tests that Kenyan athletes must fulfil in the 10 months before any major championship following the country’s placement in category A of the World Athletics and World Anti-Doping Agency watchlist.

Kenya's Olympics general team manager Barnaba Korir told The Nation that Athletics Kenya had petitioned the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) over the issue of Etyang without success.

"It’s really unfortunate that Etyang had to be dropped due to the AIU rules which require one to be tested three times out of competition," Korir said.

"We have explained this to the athlete and he has understood the situation we are in."

He added that the AIU were unable to make exceptions to the ruling.

"We were in the same situation in 2019 when two athletes Michael Kibet and Daniel Simiu were dropped from the team that was heading to the World Championships [in Doha]," Korir said.

"This is because Kenya is in category A and we need to strictly follow the rules so that we can get out of the woods in future."

Cheruiyot had made it clear after his Monaco victory that he was hopeful of being in the team for Tokyo 2020.

"I missed competition a lot after spending a lot of time in Kenya where I had a few issues like my hamstring injury and after also losing a relative in my family on the day of the Kenyan trials explaining why I missed out on making the team," he said.

"I am therefore happy I am back again after all this.

"Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo.

"My hope now is to be in another Olympics, that is where my mindset is and I will be very happy if I achieve that."

Ingebrigtsen, reportedly unable to train for the preceding fortnight because of a bacterial infection, finished second, with Spain’s Mohamed Katir setting a national record of 3:28.76 in second place.

Three other athletes originally named for the Kenyan team for Tokyo have been dropped - racewalkers Samuel Gathimba and Emily Ngii and 400m hurdler Moitalel Mpoke.

Kenya will send 40 athletes, mainly runners, to Tokyo 2020, which are due to open on July 23 with the athletics programme running from July 30 to August 8.

The Nairobi Marathon is to return on October 31 after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The race is sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and has been held annually since 2003 - with the exception of 2020.

This year’s physical event will only be open to 2,500 elite runners only, with a remote alternative available for other participants.

Relay races over 10 kilometres, 21 km and 42km will also be held.

The marathon course will set up on Nairobi’s Southern Bypass, starting and finishing at the Carnivore Gardens and taking in views of Nairobi National Park.

To be invited to the physical marathon, men need to have recorded a time of 2 hours 20min 0sec of better in 2019, while the cut-off time for women will be 2:30:00.

Kenyan athletes will be selected based on Athletics Kenya’s database, training camps and previous marathons in the country.

Athletics Kenya will communicate with other national bodies to determine eligible international athletes.

A series of warm-up races are also scheduled to enable athletes to practice with their fellow runners, trainers and coaches.

The virtual event will run from October 25 to 31, and it is hoped that 13,500 runners will take part. 

Participants can choose one of five challenges on the Strava app, 5km or any of the physical race distances.

Times for the virtual event will be recorded through Strava, and runners who complete their challenge will receive a reward. 

These prizes include Strava virtual badges, a premium subscription to the app for a year, places at physical warm-up races, shopping vouchers and Liverpool FC merchandise.

As reported by Capital Sports, chief executive of Standard Chartered Kariuki Ngari said during the launch of the events: "Upon cancellation of the marathon last year, we took time to engage with a couple of stakeholders and gained some useful insights for future marathons.

"One of the key things that came up was the adoption of virtual marathons and the emergence of virtual running communities across the world. This has been reflected in our hybrid marathon this year which will allow for virtual participation. We have also considered key issues such as safety and have consequently set up measures to ensure Covid safety protocols are observed during the marathon.

"Last year, a number of elite runners were affected due to the cancellation and we stepped up to offer financial and educational support through the KipKeino Foundation. We look forward to seeing many of them participate in this year's marathon and we will keep working towards ensuring our athletes are well equipped to perform well."

Brimin Kipkorir won the men’s Nairobi Marathon the last time it was held in 2019 with a time of 2:10:43, while Purity Jebichii triumphed in the women’s race in 2:30:34.

US marathoner Aliphine Tuliamuk infant daughter will be able to join her in Tokyo for the Olympics

U.S. long-distance runner Aliphine Tuliamuk announced Tuesday that her infant daughter was granted a visa and will be allowed to travel with her to Tokyo for the Olympics. 

"The last 6 months with you baby Zoe have been the best ones of our lives, your dad and I are so blessed to get to watch you grow and teach you everything we know about this world," Tuliamuk wrote on Instagram. "And now we are beyond excited that you get to come to Japan and cheer on your mama as she goes after her biggest running goals, ZOE’s VISA ARRIVED TODAY!"

Her elation comes after the IOC's decision to allow Olympians to bring their infants who are still breastfeeding. Originally, all foreign spectators, including family members, were banned from the Olympics due to concerns over COVID-19 in Japan, but the decision was changed in June. 

Tuliamuk, 32, won the 2020 Olympic marathon trials and is set to compete in Sapporo (where the marathon will be for the Summer Games) on Aug. 7.

Tuliamuk and several other Olympians who are mothers told The Washington Post in May that they were extremely concerned at the thought of having to make a choice between the Olympics and their children. This thought was especially scary for Tuliamuk, who may have the youngest child of all the U.S. Olympians.

“If I’m going to perform my best, she’s going to have to be there with me—and I hope she will be," Tuliamuk said. "I am still nursing Zoe and cannot imagine her not being with me."

Thankfully, she will not have to make that decision. 

Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk is a Kenyan-born American long distance runner. She placed first at the Women's 2020 Olympic Marathon trials in Atlanta, GA on February 29, 2020 with a time of 2:27:23 and will be representing the United States at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She won $80,000. 

Elite field for 125th Boston Marathon will include 13 former champions

The field for the 125th Boston Marathon will include 13 former champions with a combined 30 first-place Boston finishes, the Boston Athletic Association announced on Wednesday. The group competing on Oct. 11 includes World Athletics Marathon champions, Paralympic medalists, Abbott World Marathon Majors winners, and Olympians.

Four of the last five women’s open champions are scheduled to run: American Desiree Linden (2018), a two-time Olympian; Kenyan Edna Kiplagat (2017), a two-time World Athletics Marathon Championships gold medalist; Kenyan Caroline Rotich (2015); and Atsede Baysa (2016).

Two-time champion and course record holder Manuela Schär returns to defend her title in the women’s wheelchair race. Schär, a three-time Paralympic medalist from Switzerland, won Boston in 2017 and 2019 and is the only woman to have clocked a sub-1:30 marathon. Also among the wheelchair contenders is five-time Boston champion and 17-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden, who will race the 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and the marathon at the Tokyo Paralympic Games for Team USA.

The three returning men’s champions have all posted lifetime bests under 2:07:30. They are Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui (2017), Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu (2016), and Yuki Kawauchi (2018), who will attempt to become the first man from Japan since Toshihiko Seiko in 1987 to earn two Boston Marathon titles.

Four men’s wheelchair champions with a combined 16 titles will return, including defending champion Daniel Romanchuk of Illinois. The 2016 and 2021 Paralympian for Team USA made history by winning the 2019 race and Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII at just 20 years old. Course record holder Marcel Hug of Switzerland, who had four straight wins from 2015-18, is back. Ernst van Dyk of South Africa, the most decorated champion in race history with 10 titles, also will compete, as will 2012 winner and former course record holder Josh Cassidy of Canada.

The race also features restructured prize money awards that will include equal course record bonuses for the open and wheelchair divisions and the introduction of prize money for the inaugural para athletics divisions. Boston will be the first Abbott World Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record bonuses across open and wheelchair divisions, and the first event to provide a designated prize purse for athletes with upper limb, lower limb, and visual impairments.

“We are delighted to welcome so many champions from such a diverse range of competition back to Boston for the 125th running of the Boston Marathon,” said Tom Grilk, BAA president and CEO. “While October’s race marks a long-awaited return to racing, it will also recognize and celebrate the many world-class athletes competing for an historic prize purse across multiple divisions.”

Jake Wightman aiming to break 38-year-old Scottish record in final Tokyo tune up

The Olympic-bound Scot, who turned 27 on Sunday, will sign off his build-up in the historic Emsley Carr Mile at the Diamond League leg against a largely domestic field that also includes his 1500m rival at the Games, Jake Heyward. But despite two wins in four starts this summer, Wightman admits he’s hunting a fast time for the ideal pre-Games booster ahead of his medal tilt.

“It's weird running this because it could not go well,” he said. “And it would not be a nice way to go into Olympics. But I want to be able to try and run quick because I feel like the rounds in Tokyo, and especially a final, could potentially be quick. And I've not gone fast this year, really. So I want to try and make sure I get a race which prepares me for that.”

The European medalist will target Graham Williamson’s Scottish mile record of 3:50.64 that has stood for exactly 38 years to the very day.

Andy Butchart is slated to run the 3000m at the Grand Prix despite his Olympic place remaining in limbo just days before he is due to travel to Japan. Nicole Yeargin will get her Diamond League debut in the women’s 400m while Beth Dobbin takes on Rio 2016 gold medallist Elaine Thompson over 200m.

For Wightman and his Edinburgh club-mate Josh Kerr, there remains uncertainty too, with no confirmation still on the fate of world 1500m champion Timothy Cheriuyot, whose omission from the Kenyan team for Tokyo could yet be overturned. But whether or not the fastest man in the world this year is at the Games, opportunity knocks, Wightman insists.

“I don't think that the rest of us are that far behind or going to be discounted,” he said. “We could still be in there. Matt Centrowitz from 2016 is the one person that keeps me going. Thinking that anything can happen in an Olympic final. Because nobody would have said that Centro was going to win that race. If you have a perfect day, you can do anything.”

“Hopefully I get that,” he said. “Steve Cram let me know he has got the stadium record. So that's another incentive, to try and get that.

“I need to try and improve my mile time. I don't really getting the chance to run them too often. And obviously there's a lot of history in the event. So have a time that you can say is sub-3.50 to me is a lot bigger deal than obviously running four minutes, which I did a while ago.”

Kipyegon cruises to Kenyan 1500m record in Monaco

It’s all about keeping the faith.

Going into tonight’s 1500m at the EBS Herculis meeting in Monaco, world champion Sifan Hassan announced that she had asked for a pace of 61-second laps, which would add up to a second or so under the current world record of 3:50.07.

The Dutchwoman has set world records twice previously in Monaco, most recently over the mile two years ago, and she was feeling confident after rediscovering her love for the metric mile with a victory over Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence last month.

Hassan even floated the idea of adding the 1500m back into her Olympic schedule, having previously declared that she would attempt the 5000m-10,000m double.

She locked in behind the pacemaker from the beginning, her ambition obvious. Only Kipyegon and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu dared to follow and the race was down to three when they reached the bell.

Hassan then turned the screws, but Kipyegon clung to her like a limpet down the back straight as the Dutchwoman stretched out her legs for the run home.

In the past three years races have inevitably gone Hassan’s way in this situation, her unmatched mix of speed and endurance proving irresistible. But not this time.

As they entered the final straight Kipyegon kicked hard, dashing past her rival and sprinting down the straight to win in 3:51.07, a Kenyan record and the fourth fastest time in history. In the last 90 metres she put two-and-a-half seconds into Hassan, who finished in 3:53.60, with Hailu third in a personal best of 3:56.28.

Despite her recent losses to Hassan, Kipyegon said she remained confident that her day would come.

“I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and my goal was to run a fast race here and I thank God that was,” she said. “I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title.”

Kipyegon gave birth to her first child in 2018, returning in 2019 to finish second to Hassan at the World Championships in Doha, but has now found an even richer vein of form than that which carried her to the Olympic title in 2016 and the world title in 2017. “I came back after giving birth and I feel like a role model for the young mothers out there and the young athletes,” she said. “I hope to show them that when you go for maternity leave, this does not mean the end of your career. You can come back strong and win races.”

Fellow Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot was also a man on a mission tonight.

With his Olympic dreams hanging in the balance, the world 1500m champion dashed to the fastest time in the world for six years.

An out-of-sorts Cheruiyot was a shock fourth at the Kenyan Olympic trials last month, putting him in grave danger of missing selection. The situation has been complicated by the fact that second-placed Kamar Etiang has not completed the requisite number of anti-doping tests to qualify for the Olympic Games so his eligibility is in question.

That has left Cheruiyot in limbo just weeks before the Tokyo Games, but he thrust aside all that uncertainty to race with clear intent in Monaco.

In the fastest race of the year, he led at the bell and fought off all challenges, setting a personal best of 3:28.28 as four men dipped under 3:30.

Spanish surprise packet Mohamed Katir took almost five seconds from his personal best to finish second (3:28.76 national record) ahead of European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.25) and Australia’s Stewart McSweyn, who set an Oceanian record of 3:29.51 in fourth.

Cheruiyot revealed afterwards that a hamstring injury and the death of a relative on the day of the Kenyan trial had affected his performance there but he still hoped to be selected for the Olympics.

“Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo,” he said.

Amos and Muir impress over two laps

On a night of high-quality middle distance running, Botswana’s Olympic medallist Nijel Amos roared back to top form, recording the fastest time of the year to down a field full of Olympic contenders.

With his arms flailing, Amos used his awkward but effective running style to propel himself past Kenya’s Emmanuel Kori (1:43.04) and Canada’s Marco Arop (1:43.26).

Britain’s Laura Muir also had the last laugh in a world-class 800m field, looming late to take the win in a big personal best of 1:56.73. Muir had never cracked 1:58 previously for the distance, but had the strength to haul in her training partner Jemma Reekie (1:56.96) and USA’s Kate Grace (1:57.20) in the final metres as all three women set personal best times.

Muir has decided to focus her energy on the 1500m in Tokyo but that will be no easy task as Kipyegon demonstrated.

Both 3000m steeplechase races were suffused with drama and unpredictability at the Stade Louis II.

The men’s race descended into confusion when an official rang the bell a lap too early, but world silver medallist Lamecha Girma still managed to run a world-leading time of 8:07.75 to take the win from Abraham Kibiwot, just 0.06 behind.

In the women’s race, 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng made a break from the pack after two kilometres but misjudged the remaining laps and kicked too early. After crossing the line and hearing the bell for the actual final lap, the Kenyan tried to muster some energy to run another circuit. USA’s 2017 world champion Emma Coburn positioned herself to challenge Kiyeng as they approached the water jump, but Coburn stumbled at the hurdle and fell into the water losing all momentum, leaving Kiyeng to take the victory in 9:03.82, with world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech second in 9:04.94 and Winfred Yavi third (9:05.45). Coburn regathered herself to cross the line in fourth place in 9:09.02.

Baker blasts to 100m victory

There was unpredictability too in the men’s 100m where the form book was upended as the ever-reliable Ronnie Baker claimed victory in 9.91, from African record-holder Akani Simbini (9.98) and Italian Marcell Jacobs (9.99).

World leader Trayvon Bromell, regarded by many as the man most likely to win the Olympic 100m crown in Tokyo next month, lacked his usual zip and could only finish fifth in 10.01.

World 100m champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce used her early speed to take the lead on the bend in the women’s 200m, but could not hold off the Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the straight.

Miller-Uibo, who has chosen to focus on the 200m for Tokyo, won in 22.23 from Marie-Josee Ta Lou (22.25) with Fraser-Pryce third (22.48).

New world 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm returned to the competition track for the first time since his heroics in his hometown Oslo last week, eager to challenge his new “personal best” of 46.70.

He made a typically aggressive start, making up the stagger by the second hurdle, but ultimately he could not match the pace he set last week, crossing the finish line in a meeting record of 47.08, still the fourth fastest time of his career and faster than all but five other men in history.

He was pleased to maintain such a consistently high level of performance. “This was a good race so I’m satisfied,” he said.

Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos continued to build his Olympic medal credentials with a strong second place in 47.51, just outside his personal best of 47.34, also set in Oslo.

In the field, US pole vaulter Katie Nageotte carried her fine form to Europe to clear 4.90m and claim an impressive victory over world champion Anzhelika Sidorova and Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, who both cleared 4.80m.

A tight high jump competition was decided by a jump-off after both neutral athlete Mikhail Akimenko and Canadian Django Lovett were tied with best clearances of 2.29m. Akimenko then claimed the victory by leaping 2.32m in the decider.

World triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas had a tough night at the office, fouling four of her six jumps, including two that looked like they would have challenged the world record (15.50m). She led after five rounds with a best leap of 15.12m but could not find the board in the all-important sixth round under the Final 3 format being trialled in the Diamond League this year.

Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts took the win with 14.29m after she was the only one of the top three to register a legal jump in the final.

The men’s long jump also finished with an anti-climax after Miltiadis Tentoglou was the only one to hit the board in the final round (8.24m).

The women’s javelin was the only throwing event on the programme and saw a return to the winner’s circle for the veteran world record-holder Barbora Spotakova, who threw a season’s best of 63.08m in the sudden-death final round, the farthest mark ever achieved by a 40-year-old thrower.

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon runs spectacular 1500 at Herculis meeting

Off of an early fast pace, Kenya's Faith Kipyegon kicked to glory today in the 1500m at the Herculis meeting at the Stade Louis II, clocking the fourth-fastest time in history, 3:51.07. The 2016 Olympic 1500m champion swept past the tiring Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in the homestretch, to beat the reigning world 1500m and 10,000m champion by two and one half seconds and break her own Kenyan record.

"I thought I could run faster than that," Kipyegon said improbably after the race.

American 800-meter runner Chanelle Price got the race off to a good start, leading Kipyegon, Hassan and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu through 400m in 61.5 and 800m in 2:03.6. Price quickly stepped aside, and Hassan took the lead and was clearly focused on running a fast time. Kipyegon stayed close, but did not attempt to pass. She knew this was a great opportunity to run a fast time.

"I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and my goal was to run a fast race here and I thank God that was," Kipyegon said.

The petite Kenyan, who took a full year off in 2018 to have her daughter Alyn, waited until she came out of the final bend to launch her lethal sprint, and she clearly showed the kind of fitness which will be required to defend her Olympic title in Tokyo.

"I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title," she said. "I have a lot of pressure because the 1500m is a tactical race. Now I will train hard and hope to do my best at the Games."

Hailu, who is only 20 years-old, held on to get third place in a personal best 3:56.28.

There was also fast men's 1500m tonight. Off of the perfect pacing job by American 800m runner Chris Sowinski who hit 400m in 54.2 and 800m in 1:50.8, reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya had a narrow lead over Australia's Stewy McSweyn and Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Spain's Mohamed Katir was close behind the leading trio.

With about 200 meters to go, Katir tried to pass Cheruiyot on the outside, but the tall Kenyan quickly responded. In the homestretch, Katir continued to dig, but Cheruiyot would not relent and beat the Spaniard 3:28.28 to 3:28.76. Cheruiyot's time was a 2021 world leader and a personal best, while Katir bested Fermin Cacho's 24 year-old Spanish record of 3:28.95.

"Today's race was good and I won it for the third time," said Cheruiyot who also won here in 2019 and 2020. "I missed competition a lot after spending a lot of time in Kenya where I had a few issues like my hamstring injury and after also losing a relative in my family on the day of the Kenyan trials explaining why I missed out on making the team," Cheruiyot added. "I am therefore happy I am back again after all this."

There were more fast times down the finish order; 11 men broke 3:33. Ingebrigtsen finished third in a season's best 3:29.25, and McSweyn ran an Australian record 3:29.51. McSweyn has also run an Australian record for the mile in Oslo eight days ago.

There were strong 800m races here for both women and men. In the women's contest, Scotswoman Laura Muir got a dramatic victory moving from fourth place to first by sweeping wide in the final 50 meters. She ran a personal best 1:56.73 ahead of her training partner Jemma Reekie (1:56.96 PB), American Kate Grace (1:57.20) and Jamaican Natoya Goule (1:57.35). Goule had led the race into the final 200 meters but tied up in the homestretch.

The men's two-lap race played out similarly when 2012 Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos muscled past the tiring Marco Arop of Canada --who had led after the pacemaker dropped out-- and Emmanuel Korir of Kenya in the homestretch. Amos finished in a world-leading 1:42.91, while Korir got a season's best 1:43.04 and Arop a personal best 1:43.26. Clayton Murphy, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist finished seventh in 1:44.41.

"It is always a good feeling coming out here to Monaco, that I am always winning out here, always having a good time," said Amos. "So I try to channel that positivity and bring it to the race. No matter what shape I am in, it always seems to come together."

Nick Butter ran a marathon in every country in the world is now running around Britain

Nick Butter has faced gunfire, muggings, dog attacks and a minor heart attack in his running career. Now he has a new obstacle: Britain’s rugged coastline.

Butter is best known as the first person in history to run a marathon in each of the world’s 196 countries, which he did over 674 days from 2018 to 2019. Over the course of that mammoth challenge he ran in temperatures that exceeded 40C and fell below 20C, around an erupting volcano and through a forest swarming with frogs. He recounted his experiences in a book, Running the World.

His latest challenge is a little less extreme, though by no means easy. This time Butter has embarked on Run Britain, an attempt to run 200 marathons around the coast of Britain in 100 days. His anticlockwise journey began in April at the Eden Project, in Cornwall, and will end there later this month.

After his world tour ended, Butter says he wondered what to do next. But fellow endurance athletes told him to do what he loved, without feeling the need to keep topping each previous expedition just to challenge himself.

He explains: ‘When I think about the amount of people that live in Britain that have never seen many beaches, let alone the entire coastline…what do I love to do? Take photos, see the world and travel. And then you combine that with what I can do in Covid times. And here I am.’

Mountains to climb

It hasn’t been easy. When we ask if there have been moments where he doubted his ability to continue, Butter pauses. ‘‘A lot of moments,’ he says. The former skier has had four or five injuries since the challenge began, including a slipped meniscus in his knee and a stress fracture in his shin.

And while Butter’s respiratory fitness has gone through the roof during his latest epic tour, his body fat has plummeted from 11 per cent to just 2.7 per cent, which he agrees is too low. ‘I’m just skin and bones now,’ he says. ‘And I'm eating like a horse, I’m eating everything every day. And I still can't put weight on because you just burn it off and burn it off.’

Faced with those kinds of challenges, many runners would call it quits. But although Butter has had to adapt his schedule to build in more resting time for injuries, he’s determined to get to the end.

He says: ‘I started this trip very publicly saying I really don't know if I can do it. And it turns out that I can do it, but just a bit slower than I was planning to.’

The drive to keep going is partly down to the ‘machine’ Butter now has behind him: his support team, photographers, PR people and brand representatives, each with different demands. But it’s also due to the charitable intentions behind Run Britain: this challenge is a fundraising vehicle for the 196 Foundation, a micro-trust Butter set up after seeing the scale of poverty in countries such as Sierra Leone while on his Running the World trip.

‘I realised I wanted to do something significant that was going to be a bit of a legacy piece of the journey, and that I could continue putting my energy into for the rest of my life,’ he says.

Launched at the beginning of this latest expedition, the Foundation now has around 500 monthly donors. These donors give £1.96 a month: no more, no less. Anyone can write to the Foundation to suggest a worthy cause – whether that be an orphanage in Kenya or a new wheelchair for a neighbour – and once a year, all the donors vote on what cause they want their money to go to.

What’s next?

Although he hasn’t quite got to the finish line of Run Britain, Butter says it’s in his nature to have the next adventure planned. This wasn’t even the first choice of trip; he was supposed to be running north to south through New Zealand, but the pandemic forced a change of plan. Also in the works is a circumnavigation of Iceland and a journey through Malawi, visiting 196 Foundation projects. And he is exploring the idea of a north-to-south trip through Japan.

‘I'm yet to put my finger on why I love to put myself through so much pain,’ he says. ‘But I do, and this trip is brutal. ‘It’s something that I'm never going to forget.’