UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Faith Kipyegon says she will eventually run the marathon, but not before she breaks the 1500 WR she narrowly missed last summer: “I’m hoping that this year will be a successful one for me and all Kenyan athletes. I have very high expectations. I intend to break the World Record, and I hope to do so in style.”…
Chris Solinsky has been hired as an assistant distance coach at Oregon…
The U.S. has now won more Olympic gold medals in the women’s 400H than any other nation, thanks to Lashinda Demus. It’s now official that Demus 2012 is golden following the doping disqualification of Natalya Antyukh…
Just 5 weeks before the World XC (Bathurst, Australia, February 18) USATF announced its coaching staffs: Katie McGregor women, Dave Smith men, Kathy Butler U20 women, Rick Rothman U20 men…
Leonard Korir, after his 4th at the USATF XC Champs, declined the trip to Worlds, opening up the team spot to 7th-placer Reid Buchanan…
Slovenia’s only indoor track & field training facility, the Olympic Training Center in Novo Mesto, collapsed because of a large amount of snow on the roof. The federation is considering having its national indoor championship in another country…
Recruiters have undoubtedly packed their bags: Australia’s U18 record at 1500 was slashed by more than 3 seconds when Cameron Myers ran 3:40.60…
After Randolph Ross was slapped with a 3-year ban by the AIU for whereabouts violations and tampering, he also was removed as one of the three finalists for the Bowerman Award. Ross, responded angrily on Instagram, saying that USTFCCCA tried to get him to voluntarily remove himself from consideration. He refused, maintaining his innocence. Among other things, he opined that “the track & field world is one of the most corrupt organizations in the world.” He later removed the post…
World Athletics saw a 23% increase in its social media followers across the 6 major platforms, keeping it in 4th place in the annual ranking of Olympic sports federations. FIFA, in No. 1, had a 25% increase…
The relationship between the Armory Foundation and Nike now involves much more than the Nike Indoor Nationals. A new agreement between the two bodies assures Nike support of a whole host of fitness activities for youngsters, as well as college prep and other educational programs for kids…
The ’79 Heisman Trophy winner for USC, Charles White died in January 11 at age 64. On the track, he was best known for winning the Cal State title in the 330H in ’76, beating future Olympic gold medalist Andre Phillips…
A bill in the California legislature would require schools that play major college sports to pay athletes up to $25,000 per year. In addition, they would have to cover 6-year athletic scholarships and medical expenses after college…
Lolo Jones says that over the past year she has been harassed by three different stalkers, including one who showed up at her house and another who broke into the Olympic training center…
California has officially added the 4×8 to its State Meet, starting in ’23…
Sha’Carri Richardson found herself in more unwanted headlines when she was removed from an American Airlines flight after arguing with a flight attendant about whether her phone was in airplane mode. She posted her own video of the dispute on social media…
WA is looking for some new employees, having posted openings for a Communications Director, a Competition/Events director and an Event Operations Coordinator to help organize World Athletics Series events and the Olympics…
With crowds of up to 600,000 expected for the opening ceremonies, French authorities are planning to use an AI-assisted crowd control system during the ’24 Olympics. The system will scan images for suspicious or dangerous behavior, but will not utilize biometric data or facial recognition…
British teen Innes FitzGerald, an 8:59.67 performer over 3000 at age 16, declined a trip to the World Cross Country Champs in Bathurst, Australia, because of the carbon impact of the flight. For the European Championships in Italy, she took a train…
Kenya has announced that to ensure no dopers are included on its World Championships squad, its athletes can only qualify for teams through national championships, trials or international meets recognized by World Athletics…
The Huntington University case gets worse yet: an amended complaint filed in federal court alleges that ex-coach Nick Johnson had prescriptions for EPO and testosterone cream and doped runners without their consent. And now a third former runner, Erin Manchess, has joined in the lawsuit against Johnson, the university, and others involved…
A quick sellout was enjoyed by the organizers of the Karlsruhe meeting on the World Indoor Tour. All 3000 seats were claimed before Christmas for the January 27 event…
AIU has charged coach Yury Maisevich of Belarus for violations of the WA code of conduct for his withdrawal of Krystina Tsimanouskaya from the Tokyo Olympics. The sprinter eventually fled and has found asylum in Poland…
USC has named its track stadium “Allyson Felix Field” in honor of its prize alum, even though she never actually ran for the Trojans…
Dentsu, the Japanese advertising giant, has admitted that it rigged the bids for the Tokyo test events that preceded the Olympics, making sure that certain companies would financially benefit. The admission of collusion came out of a probe by prosecutors, who are also investigating a former Dentsu executive alleged to have received $1.5 million in bribes…
Mondo Duplantis might have swept nearly every honor for ’22, but at the Swedish Sports Gala, a speedskater, Nils van Der Poel, edged the vaulter for Swedish male athlete of the year honors…
After a year of reduced testing in ’20 due to the pandemic, WADA reports that in ’21, there was a 61% increase in testing. Even though the total number of tests was greater in the three pre-pandemic years, WADA director general Olivier Niggli says the current figures represent, “The quick return to normal testing levels.”…
Dutch hurdler Femke Bol says she is working to race with 14 strides between hurdles in order to challenge Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: “If I want to get close to the World Record holder, then a change to 14 steps might be the way to get it done.”…
Issam Asinga, one of the top returning prep sprints (Academy, Montverde, Florida), is the son of Tommy Asinga, the ’91 NCAA runner-up at 800 for Eastern Michigan and 3-time Olympian for Suriname. His mother, Ngozi Mwanamwambwa, was a 7-time All-America for Div. III Principia and competed in the 400 in 2 Olympics for Zambia…
WADA is calling on Caribbean nations to engage in more collaboration in order to more effectively drug test athletes in the region. “One country’s anti-doping system is stronger if its neighbor’s is also strong,” said WADA president Witold Bańka…
Despite having won the world title in the event back in ‘13, Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says the 200 may no long be for her: “The double is very hard. It is strenuous. The workload that you need to do it is definitely hard but I don’t know. I think last year I said that was it. And it may possibly be it for me for real and I’ll just focus on the 100m.”…
A documentary is in the works on the life and career of hurdle legend Edwin Moses, who was unbeaten for 10 years, winning two gold medals along the way. Cameras recently followed Moses on a visit to current WR-holder Karsten Warholm’s home in Ulsteinvik, Norway…
The Swedish team might miss the Euro Indoors in Turkey after relations between the 2 countries were inflamed by an incident where a protester burned a Qur’an outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. In response Turkey is blocking Sweden’s membership in NATO. The book burning was paid for by a journalist with ties to the Russian government…
A new trial opened up in January for Papa Massata Diack, the son of Lamine Diack, the former IAAF head. The younger Diack was convicted of corruption in French courts. Says his lawyer, “He is being criticized for being successful.”…
China has elected two current athletes as vice-presidents of its federation: shot put world champ Lijao Gong and sprinter Bingtian Su…
The IOC has rescinded its lifetime ban of Vincent Matthews for the ’72 podium protest he did with fellow American 400 runner Wayne Collett. Matthews is now 74; Collett died in ’10…
After losing its bid to host the ’27 World University Games to Chinese megacity Chungcheong, North Carolina was the unanimous choice to host the following edition. Most of the events will be held in the Triangle area, anchored by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill…
Baron Pierre de Coubertin might not have envisioned this back when he proposed a modern Olympics, but the Paris edition will be further enhanced by a new Mario & Sonic video game, created by gaming company Sega…
The B-word has reared its head for the ’24 Olympics. With the IOC seeming to open the door to participation by Russia and Belarus despite Russia’s continuing war on Ukraine, a growing number of Western nations are considering staying home. The latest is that Latvian and Lithuanian leaders have vowed to join Ukraine in a boycott should Russia be allowed to participate…
The latest new member of the USATF Foundation board is Bill Nolde, a finance executive who once competed for Arizona State…
WR holder David Rudisha survived unscathed the crash of the small plane he was traveling in to a Masai Olympics event…
Another crash survivor is Ethiopian distance legend Haile Gebrselassie, who walked away from a high-speed car crash in Addis Ababa…
After a 2-year hiatus, the Simplot Games are back on the Idaho State schedule for February…
Tor’i Brooks, star of MTV’s Ex On The Beach show and a social media influencer, was a 7-2½ (2.20) jumper for Davenport University, winning the ’15 NAIA indoor title. He’s also the brother of 7-time U.S. shot ranker Tia Brooks…
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency has taken over from the Ministry of Sports the task of approving anti-doping laws in the country, a move that moves the nation closer to compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code…
Not satisfied with merely being one of the world’s best runners, Jacob Kiplimo has joined with 5/10K recordholder Joshua Cheptegei in an effort to identify and encourage young talent in Uganda. The program is called “Discovery Uganda Championships.”…
That the ’21 Olympics in Tokyo were costly is something everyone knew, but an audit of the organizers’ books showed that the Games cost 20% more than previously reported. The actual total proved to be $12.9 billion — the bulk of that amount borne by Japanese taxpayers…
The USOPC is encouraging sports to consider adding an “open” category for transgender athletes after puberty, to ensure competition opportunities to all. The position paper was released in December. The recommended move is similar to what the British Triathlon federation has put in place; likewise, World Aquatics is considering an open category…
An event we somehow missed covering: the world Christmas tree throwing contest in Weidenthal, Germany. The winner for the 7th time was 58-year-old Frank Schwender, who says his secret is his pre-competition drink: “A few mulled wine, and then I’m ready.” His world record is 82-0 (25.01). ◻︎