THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Florida’s former NCAA 400 champion Emmanuel Bamidele, a Nigerian native, is now representing the United Arab Emirates.
Sam Blaskowski, the Wisconsin-La Crosse alum who sped to PRs of 9.89 and 19.93 this season, has reportedly applied for Polish citizenship.
A virus kept Britain’s Max Burgin from making the final at the Commonwealth 800; it limited his training before the Euros. Then, at the Euros, he withdrew from the final because of an injury minutes earlier in warmups.
Olympic hurdles champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn has given birth to a daughter.
Belgium’s Elliott Crestan pulled out of the Euro 800 after sustaining a tear in his left thigh during a training session.
Ryan Crouser reports: “Surgery went well and made it back home. I have learned that having your arm in a cast in full extension is not fun.”
Johannes Erm dropped his defense of his Euro decathlon title when his heel pain flared up after his being in 5th on day 1.
Italy’s Mattia Furlani had to withdraw from long jump qualifying at the Euros after one attempt due to pain in his right thigh, a recurrence of the early season injury he picked up in China. “I felt good today and was pushing hard, but evidently, at those intensities, my body wasn’t yet ready to return to the speeds I was used to, and I suffered a setback,” he explained.
Prolific racer Sifan Hassan explains her low profile this year by saying, “Last year I ran too many marathons.” She will be racing in NYC. She adds, “I will never say that I am giving up the track. If I did that, I would just quit as a professional athlete. There is a good chance that I will be active on the track again.”
Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe was injured and did not run in the Euro 100 final.
Veteran U.S. sprinter Aleia Hobbs was assessed a 6-month ban for getting an over-the-limit IV infusion to deal with flu symptoms at home. No banned substances were involved. She will be eligible again on November 19.
Explaining her Zürich withdrawal, Keely Hodgkinson said, “Unfortunately, the body isn’t quite ready to race again after the European Championships.”
Shericka Jackson pulled up in Lausanne and returned to Jamaica after an MRI confirmed a thigh injury.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs said he was injured after failing to qualify in the Euro 100 semis. “When I tried the starting blocks in the warm-up for the final, I felt a lot of discomfort in my adductor, probably the same problem I had a month ago.” An MRI has shown a left thigh injury.
Stephen Kihu of Kenya, who won the 10K walk silver at the Commonwealth Games, has been provisionally suspended by the Kenyan anti-doping agency after testing positive for EPO among other substances. The suspension, interestingly, starts 5 days after his medal performance.
“For now, I will take the time to heal, recover and get stronger,” said Faith Kipyegon in revealing she has struggled with a hamstring injury this season.
American miler Jonah Koech, the ’25 USATF champion, has been hit with a 3-year ban for biological passport anomalies indicating blood doping.
Euro hammer champion Silja Kosonen of Finland missed Chorzów with an ankle injury.
Irish 400 star Sharlene Mawdsley withdrew from the Euros because of a hamstring tear.
After getting hurt long jumping in Chorzów, Germany’s Malaika Mihambo ended her season. An MRI revealed a small muscle tear in her thigh.
Briton Laura Muir has revealed that between the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships, she hurt her ankle.
A comeback in the offing for Athing Mu-Nikolayev? She posted an Instagram response recently that read, “I miss the feeling, but I’ll be back.” She’s still only 24.
Elle St. Pierre has announced that she is expecting her third child.
Before missing the European championships, French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela posted, “I have been dealing with physical pain that already prevented me from competing at my full potential.” Yet now there are reports that what the Olympic silver medalist actually has been dealing with is a potential suspension by AIU for whereabouts violations.
Karissa Schweizer has taken a break for knee surgery. “A few weeks ago, I felt a pop in my knee during practice. Right away, I knew it wasn’t good. Instead of racing at USAs like I had hoped, the last few weeks have been filled with doctor’s appointments, MRIs, uncertainty, and eventually surgery. To say I was heartbroken would be an understatement.”
World Indoor 1500 champ Gudaf Tsegay, still serving a 4-month ban for failure to obtain a therapeutic use exemption for a needed medication, gave birth in August.
Doping bans:
3 years — Jonah Koech (U.S., 1500);
2 years — Mikhail Akimenko (Russia, high jump), Thantsha Reghen Magwi (South Africa, marathon);
6 months — Aleia Hobbs (United States, sprints). □
