UK ATHLETICS DROPPED THE BALL big-time at the Euro Team Championships, entering the wrong athlete on its 4×4. The team was unable to start because it mistakenly declared shot putter Youcef Zatat, who had not made the trip to Poland. Zatat had somehow been confused with sprinter Rabah Yousif, who was on hand. Said Zatat on Twitter, “For those asking, 10000000% sure I would have run.”…
The dates for the ’20 Prefontaine Classic have been set for June 06–07 at the new Hayward Field. That’s a Saturday/Sunday pairing…
Jenn Suhr has signed a new 3-year contract with adidas, and indicated that that will take her to the end of her career. She’ll turn 38 come February…
The long jump gold medalist at the European Juniors was Larisa Iapichino of Italy, daughter of 2-time World champ Fiona May. The pole vault went to Aksana Gataullina, daughter of Olympic silver medalist Rodion Gataullin…
Monmouth 800 find Allie Wilson has signed with the Atlanta TC for her post-collegiate career…
Trey Culver high jumped in Des Moines wearing a shirt that said not sponsored—one of many top contenders who showed up unattached…
Zofia Dudek, the Polish winner of the 3000 at the European Junior (U20) Championships, also competes for Pioneer HS in Ann Arbor, Michigan…
Longtime Arkansas State coach Guy Kochel died at 78, in August. He coached 6 Olympians, including vault World Record holder Earl Bell…
Olympic hurdlers Jeff and wife Tiffany Porter had a baby in July…
Dutch 4×4 Olympian Madiea Ghafoor faces legal issues of a world-class nature after being arrested in Germany with $2.17 million in ecstasy and crystal meth in the trunk of her car…
A surprise visit by a drug testing crew to a track in Rohtak, India, only snared a few samples from some youngsters, as a number of elite athletes training there reportedly fled when news of the testing spread…
Former miler Phil Banning, who ran for Britain at the ’75 Euro Indoor, has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison for assaults on four girls under the age of 16. The crimes stem from his coaching career in the ’70s and ’80s…
Kyle Langford, who placed 4th in the ’17 Worlds in the 800, has been fined $1200 for getting into a physical scuffle with a 74-year-old official at a local meet.
Bedan Muchiri, 4th in the 10,000 at the last two Worlds, says he will miss the Kenyan Trials because of a previous commitment to a half marathon in Argentina…
Derartu Tulu, interim president of Ethiopia’s federation, has resigned her spot on the nation’s Olympic committee…
The Doha timetable may allow for Norway’s Karsten Warholm to try a 400/400H double, but his coach, Leif Olav Alnes, says it probably won’t happen.
American Pete Pfitzinger, winner of the ’84 OT Marathon, has been named CEO of Athletics New Zealand. He has lived Down Under since the mid-’90s…
Three-time XC skiing medalist Teresa Johaug won the Norwegian track title at 10,000 in 32:20.19. “There is no [skiing] World Championships this season, so there is an opportunity to challenge yourself in something else,” she said…
We’re waiting on pins and needles to see what the first ratified World Record is for the mixed-sex 4×4. The IAAF Council has decided it will be the first performance to better the U.S.’s 3:13.20 from ’16. Bahrain’s 3:11.89 from last year was not drug-tested, so it will not be ratified…
The 41st annual high jump meet in Eberstadt, Germany, won’t be held this year, but organizers report that it will move 10K down the road next summer and be held in Heilbronn…
Paraguay canceled its commitment to host the ’22 South American Games, deciding the money will be better spent on a new hospital…
Masters vaulter and Topgolf CEO Dolf Berle has joined the USATF Board as an independent director….
The Russian federation, in another bid for reinstatement, promises that it will make it harder for banned coaches to work for RusAF. In addition, coaches with more than one banned athlete in the previous two years will be denied coaching licenses.
Not only will fans at the Worlds in Doha be treated to air-conditioning, the wifi will be free as well…
Winners at the USATF Champs won $8000. On the same weekend 24-year-old Logan Paul held a track meet in LA to showcase his $100,000 bet he was “the fastest YouTuber” over 100m. Paul lost to another star “content poster” but apparently paid up. The video posted by the dash winner drew 4 million-plus views. A head-scratcher when, as this June issue went to bed, the views count for NBC Sports’ YouTube post of Muhammad’s boggling WR is stuck at less than 7% of that number, 271,500+.
The Kenyan Trials for Doha are now set for September 12-13 to avoid conflicts with the Diamond League. The 10,000 trials will still be held on the original date in August. Anyone named to the team will need to have the IAAF standard already in pocket, since the qualifying period ends September 6…
India is threatening a boycott of the ’22 Commonwealth Games in protest of the removal of shooting from the included sports…
Former hurdle world champ Ladji Doucouré will appear on France’s “Dancing with the Stars” this fall.
Lawrence Okoye, still the British recordholder in the discus, is done with his NFL stint (and his CFL stint) and threw at the London DL, his first competition in nearly 7 years. In February he was placed on injured reserve for the Birmingham team in a new American football league in Europe…
Britain’s Andy Butchart, 6th in the Olympic 5000, says he regrets moving to the U.S. to train with coach Terrance Mahon. “I should have just asked him just to advise me, because I don’t need to be coached.”…
Hurdler Omar McLeod, the only man under both the 13-flat barrier in the hurdles and 10-flat in the dash, says, “Hopefully, when I’m done with the hurdles, I’d love to switch over to full-time sprinting.”…
Mike Woods of Canada placed 32nd in the Tour de France despite cracking two ribs. He is the first sub-4:00 miler to complete the event. He ran his 3:57.48 at age 18…
Haile Gebrselassie recently donated $34,000 to pay for heart surgery for over a dozen children in Ethiopia (the cost would be 75 times that in the U.S.)…
A Nigerian government minister has dropped a big threat, telling athletes that if they don’t compete in the African Games in Morocco they won’t be considered for next year’s Olympic team…
From Vienna, home of the annual handbag-throwing championships, comes long jumping into a swimming pool. The third annual event produced winning marks of 21-6 (6.55) for the men’s winner and 19-2½ (5.85) for the women’s. ◻︎
