HERE’S THIS MONTH’S collection of short takes on generally off-track activities that have gone/will go a long way towards shaping the way the sport is headed. The biggest may be major changes in collegiate eligibility (see box).
More Cash Available For The Diamond League
The Wanda DL, the best payday the sport has currently, will get even better in ’26 for the athletes who are able to cash in.
Individual athletes will now be able to earn up to $20,000 at series meetings and up to $60,000 at the DL Final. Plus, the number of Diamond+ disciplines has been increased from 4 to 8 at all meetings. The basic level of prize money for non-Diamond+ events will remain at $10,000 at series meetings and $30,000 at the DL Final.
Says CEO Petr Stastny, “The adjustment reflects the Diamond League’s commitment to delivering a competitive, financially sustainable and gender-equal prize money structure that benefits athletes across the full diversity of track & field.”
The overall prize pool was raised to $9.24 million last year. Including promotional fees for top athletes, organizers say that athletes will clear a total of around $18 million this year.
Felix Not Quite Done Yet
It may be a longshot, but sprint legend Allyson Felix says she is up for the challenge of trying to make her sixth Olympic team. Now 40, the 7-time gold medalist will be 42 when LA28 rolls around.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime homecoming,” she says. “And it is the only thing powerful enough to pull me back.”
Inspired by athletes in other sports who have done big things in their 40s, she says she is also motivated by society’s expectations for women.
“So many of us have been told not to do the big, bold thing. You know, at this age, I should probably be staying home and taking care of my kids, doing all that. And just, why not? Let’s flip it on its head. Let’s go after the thing. Let’s be vulnerable.”
Working with longtime coach Bobby Kersee on what she is calling “Project Six,” she expects to begin competing again in ’27. Her ultimate hope, she says, is to win another medal, “I know, at 40, I am not at my peak. I have no illusions about that. I’m very clear in what it is and what I want to see. And so I hope it’s seen that way.”
Jamaican Star Thompson-Herah Is Back
Allyson Felix isn’t the only sprint great with future plans. Elaine Thompson-Herah, who won double sprint golds in the ’16 and ’21 Olympics, plus a relay gold, has stormed back on the scene after missing nearly two years with injuries.
After a few test races in the early season, the most notable of which was a 10.92 in April — her fastest time since the ’23 Prefontaine Classic — she produced the clutch anchor that secured the World Relay gold for Jamaica’s 4×1.
“It’s been a rough one, mentally, but I’ve overcome that,” she told NBC. About to turn 34 in June, she has reunited with coach Reynaldo Walcott and the Elite Performance Track Club, where she found her Olympic success.
“After running 10.54, it has been a challenge. Running that high, it takes a toll on my body, I must say. The Achilles was not giving me anything. Pretty much not competing last year, I think it has done a lot to me. I probably needed that rest away from the sport to clear myself and to come back. So using this season for me is like a rebuilding process.”
She added, “I don’t think I’m where I want to be yet. I’m being patient with myself… Once the pain is gone, Elaine is capable of doing anything.”
New Super-Shoes Too Super?
No question that Sabastian Sawe is the first man to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon in a legitimate race. The question, according to some reports, is whether his shoes were legal according to the rules.
Christopher Kelsall of Athletics Illustrated points out that Sawe and 3 others of the top 5 wore the adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. According to his reporting, WA rules dictate that a shoe is not eligible unless it is “reasonably available to all” for at least a month prior to the competition.
The new shoe was dropped in a limited release just the day before the race at a price of $500. How limited the release was can be divined by how the shoe did on the collector resale market, with some going for as much as $4600 in the following days.
When asked about the shoe’s legality in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything,” adidas GM Patrick Nava said, “The rules of WA allow as of recent [sic] also the use of unreleased models, as long as they are WA-approved before the race (e.g., other athletes this weekend from other brands were running in yet unreleased models to the public).”
A look at the latest revision of the rules (effective January 01, 2026) seems to back Nava’s stance. No longer is there a mention of availability for a month beforehand, though the requirement of availability is still there. However, WA can waive that requirement “in circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the sporting goods industry that make a shoe manufacturer unable to make a Available Shoe available for purchase.”
Steiner Suing Her Sponsors
When Abby Steiner turned pro after a stellar career at Kentucky, expectations weighed heavily on the NCAA champion who had won two WC relay golds in the season after her senior year. What followed was a litany of “Status Quo” mentions in our pages as she battled injury after injury.
Now she is suing her sponsors at the time, Puma and Mercedes, saying that the shoes the company had her train and race in led to career-ending injuries. Her written complaint calls the shoes “defective” and blames them for “physical and emotional injuries.” She is seeking damages to cover past, present and future medical expenses.
She missed the ’23 WC after surgery on her heel. Her last competition came at the ’24 Trials, when she finished 6th in the 200. Since then she has had two more surgeries on her left foot. Last year she ended her career to focus on her Masters degreee.
WADA Fighting Doping In India
WADA has revealed that it is working with India’s federal police to help attack the supply chain of racketeers and agents who are providing performance-enhancing drugs to Indian athletes. The south Asian nation for the last three years has had the unenviable distinction of leading the lists of athletes currently sanctioned for doping offenses.
Says WADA head Witold Bańka, “We see the problem of production of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) — India is the biggest producer of those illegal substances. That’s why we collaborate with CBI, with law enforcement, to try to destroy this market and to really protect the lives of athletes and the health of society.”
Since ’22, WADA’s Global Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigations Network (GAINN) has been working with Interpol worldwide to attack the supply chain, with 250 raids, 88 labs dismantled and nearly 90 tons of PEDs seized.
A Break Coming In Hodgkinson’s Future?
Keely Hodgkinson may be talking about taking a break from the sport, but no worries, it won’t happen anytime soon. Now 24, the Olympic 800 champion was asked about the prospects of a long career.
“To extend a career from 19 to 34 is a big ask, but I’d like to do it. I might need a year off at some point, perhaps when I’m 30,” she said.
To training partner Georgia Hunter Bell, who was also participating in the interview, she quipped, “We’re going to get pregnant together that year, aren’t we?” She added that she is hoping for three more Olympics, which would make a total of 5 at age 36.
A Major Change For The World Champs Marathon
In a bold response to the marketplace, WA has decided to cut its marathon event away from the rest of the WC and hold it as a stand-alone event starting in ’30. The inaugural edition could be in Athens.
The tentative plan is for a WC Marathon to be held annually, with men and women alternating years. WA says that a key partnerships are in the works with “those who have made the marathon the global phenomenon it is today.” Details will be announced in the coming months with regard to partnerships and scheduling. What many are waiting for is to see how this development will affect the World Marathon Majors.
Says WA CEO Jon Ridgeon, “The marathon is one of the most universal events in sport, and Athens is its spiritual home. Exploring the possibility of a future standalone World Marathon Championships here reflects our ambition to bring the sport’s greatest global showcase back to where it all began. This roadmap ensures the event meets the rigorous technical and operational standards required for the world’s most prestigious stage.”
Transfers To Türkiye Nixed
In a blow to athletes who thought their nationality switch to Türkiye was a done deal, a WA panel has denied the transfer requests of 11 performers, 5 of them Olympic medalists.
From Jamaica the list includes Rajindra Campbell, the ’24 shot bronze winner; Jaydon Hibbert, 2-time NCAA triple jump champion; Wayne Pinnock, the ’24 long jump silver medalist; and Roje Stona, the ’24 discus gold medalist.
From Kenya, the list is Brian Kibor, a 58:39 half marathoner; Brigid Kosgei, the ’20 marathon runnerup; Ronald Kemoi, ’24 runnerup in the 5000; and also developing athletes Nelvin Jepkemoi and Catherine Relin.
Nigeria’s Favour Ofili, 6th in the Paris 200, and Russia’s Sophia Iakushina, the Texas A&M heptathlete, were also turned away.
According to the WA press release, the transfers would “impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the World Athletics eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations.
“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Türkiye government acting through a wholly-owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts, with the aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Türkiye at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
African Circuit Proposed
A new track series may be in the offing, one that will take place in Africa. Barnaba Korir, the Youth Development Chair for Athletics Kenya, is working to put together the African Athletics Series.
He says the idea is gaining momentum rapidly. “Kenya will take the lead, and we have Ethiopia, who have already upgraded the Addis Ababa Grand Prix to gold level alongside Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria.”
He added, “People are realizing the importance of sports at the moment, and the whole landscape is now changing. We also have to be ready to embrace that change.”
Korir says that following the European model will be the key. “We have to understand how European countries conduct their events, then come home and convince our sponsors and government that the only way to build sport is to cooperate and invest in its development.”
In Trouble With The Authorities Again
Nick Johnson, the former coach at Indiana’s Huntington U, had his probation for sexual battery revoked after he failed to actively participate in and complete his assigned sex offender treatment program; nor did he complete a polygraph as ordered. It is unclear how much of his original 1-year sentence he will have to serve.
This is the latest chapter in a sordid saga of Johnson, who had formerly been associated with the Nike Oregon Project and was arrested in Oregon and charged in December ’20 with felony child seduction, kidnapping and identity deception. He pled guilty to identity deception and prosecutors dropped the other charges.
He was fired by Huntington, a Christian College, after the news broke, and replaced by his wife, Lauren, who had competed in the 1500 at the ’15 Worlds.
Standout runner Addy Wiley, coached by Lauren, decommitted from Colorado to run for Huntington starting in the fall of ‘22. She won 8 NAIA titles before turning pro in ’24. These days she says she is coached by her mother primarily.
A lawsuit by some of Johnson’s former athletes accused him of running a doping program while sexually assaulting female athletes, all with his wife’s knowledge. Lauren Johnson was fired as coach in ’22, and the lawsuit dismissed in ’23. ◻︎
