MAJOR SIGNING NEWS: prep 400 phenom Quincy Wilson surprised many by committing to Maryland…
Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu-Nikolayeva has ended her coaching agreement with Bobby Kersee and is now training in Dallas, Texas. Kersee told LetsRun, “I’m sure they’ll seek out good coaching and once she’s healthy, then she’s going to be very difficult to beat. She’s that talented. I think it was a blessing for me to coach her, I enjoyed coaching her. I loved her attitude, I loved her support. There’s nothing whatsoever I regret.”…
Abby Nichols, 30th in the ’24 World XC, has left NAZ Elite and signed with the Union AC…
Kassidy Johnson, a 2:00.78 performer, is now running with UA Mission Run Baltimore…
Sprinter Pjai Austin has left Mike Holloway’s training group to be coached by Dennis Mitchell…
After 3 years without a sponsor after returning from a ’19 doping ban, Salwa Eid Naser has signed with adidas…
BYU alum Courtney Wayment has left On and will represent Nike’s Swoosh Club, where she can stay with coach Diljeet Taylor…
Kemba Nelson is joining Michael Ford’s training group at Baylor, where he works with Dina Asher-Smith and Trayvon Bromell…
Georgia alum Aaliyah Butler has signed with Nike…
Long jumper Alexis Brown, NCAA Indoor winner for Baylor, has signed with Nike…
Harvard alum Maia Ramsden has left the On AC in Colorado to move her training base back to Boston…
Cool running: Jamaica surprised with a major bobsled win at the North American Cup. The team included three sprinters: Andre Dacres (20.68), Junior Harris (10.32) and Tyquendo Tracey (9.96)…
Shelby Houlihan made her trail running debut, beating all comers (even the men) at a 13.9M competition in Phoenix, running 1:34:12 for the distance. She said, “My goal for 2026 is to figure out and prioritize how to make running fun again.”…
The WJR of Chinese javelin thrower Ziyi Yan 212-8 (64.83) did not pass the ratification process because it came at an uncertified facility. Her later throw of 216-2 (65.89) was already ratified…
Georgia’s new track facility is set to officially open at a dedication ceremony on February 18. The 9-lane facility will have regular seating for 2500 that can be expanded to 4000 for special events…
The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center has been approved for a 10-year lease extension…
LSU All-America Godson Oghenebrume has pled guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm while on a non-immigrant visa. The Nigerian sprinter faces 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and possible deportation…
A man drove his car into 8 high school runners in Anaheim, California, and has been charged with DUI. Fortunately, none of the runners had critical injuries…
Mohammed Bati, 2-time Div. III cross country champion, has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for accepting around $6000 from his community to help him with school costs at Augsburg. International athletes are not eligible for NIL funds…
The AIU reports that its out-of-competition testing of competing athletes at Tokyo was up by 49% compared to London ’17. During the same 9-year period, out-of-competition tests by national anti-doping agencies rose 71%…
WADA has announced its ’23 stats. Leading the league of nations in positive tests: India with 222. Russia (209), Italy (109), Kenya (81) and France (62) follow…
The AIU has announced that it is conducting an investigation into age cheating in Nigeria…
In slow-rolling news, Everlyn Kemboi of Utah Valley was disqualified some time after winning the NCAA 10,000 in ’23 (and placing 2nd in the 5000). Emily Venters of Utah, the 10K runner-up, petitioned the NCAA to be declared the winner but was denied, with the official win “vacated.” Posted Venters, “Today’s decision from the NCAA is beyond disappointing. It is heartbreaking and honestly infuriating… We later [after the ’23 meet] learned that the athlete… tested positive for a banned substance and had her results revoked… I will never get to experience being named a national champion, standing on the top step of the podium, hearing my name called. That moment was taken from me by someone who chose to cheat and now by a system that refuses to fix it.”…
Former marathon great Ingrid Kristiansen finally lost her Nordic marathon record to Alisa Vainio’s 2:20:48. For that she says she is happy, but she admits she is skeptical of the spate of ultra-fast women’s times. “I have faith until the result starts at, for example, 2:17. When we go to the results starting at 2:13–2:14, I am always very convinced that they involve blood doping.”…
Olympic heptathlon champ Carolina Klüft returned to competition after a 13-year retirement, throwing the shot 36-5½ (11.11) at a small competition in Bollnäs, Sweden. Now 42, she said, “This was a family competition for the club that my children are in. It was just for fun and there were three standing shots. It was fun but I really have no desire to make a comeback.”…
Sifan Hassan has been world-class at everything from the 800 to the marathon. What’s next when she tires of marathons? “Then I’ll do an ultra run. A hundred kilometers or so, to see what it feels like, how far I can get. And not on the road, but on unpaved paths, up and down mountains. I really love that.”…
Former 400H World Record holder Kim Batten says that the recent improvements in the WR make it clear that the time has come to raise the barriers from 30 inches to 33. She is launching a “Raise the Hurdles” campaign which will be circulating a petition…
Mondo Mania? The announcement that AOY Mondo Duplantis would be competing at the London Diamond League in July led to an 1150% increase in ticket sales over the previous week…
Axelina Johansson broke the Collegiate Record with her December 64-8½ (19.72) in Lincoln. However, to get it approved as a Swedish indoor record, she had to make a rush flight to Denver. “There was no one in Lincoln who could test me. So literally, I just flew to Denver to pee,” said the Nebraska senior…
Poland’s Chorzów is no longer assured of hosting the ’28 European Championships. The additional budgeting required to host the event — some $2–3M to cover prize money — means the event will likely be rebid, with Belgrade also going for the meet…
Greece has announced that Athens will bid for the ’32 Euros to be held in its Olympic Stadium. The federation is also hoping to host the ’28 World Ultimate Championships…
The timing crew at the Southeast Asian Games had a bad day at the office, with most of the results in one session being invalidated for statistical purposes because of technical problems…
Poland is in the process of readying a bid to host the ’40 Olympic Games in Warsaw…
World Athletics admits it is making bank, with revenue of $586 million in ’25. That amounts to a 400–500% return on its investments in events…
The Qatar Olympic Committee has launched “Aim Beyond” and is funding 11 new tracks around the world. Recipient nations: Anguilla, Burundi, Cook Islands, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Panama, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Ukraine…
World Indoor medalist Carl Bengtström of Sweden is against the World Indoor going to 2-sections for its 400 final: “I think everyone in the final should run in the same race. Then the top three across the finish line will get a medal and everyone has the same conditions during the final. Now it could happen that one of the two finals is messy, while the other is completely clean for all runners. I might then think it would be a bit unfair for the runners in one heat.”…
The Nike Indoor Nationals this year will feature scoring by state, the event culminating with an all-star distance medley of state teams…
The IOC says that it will be allowing youth teams (U16) from Russia and Belarus to return to international competition…
In the everyone-is-doing-it department, Under Armour has announced that it will be hosting its own prep nationals at Florida’s IMG Academy in Bradenton, set for the last weekend of May…
USTFCCCA’s Bowerman Award winners for ’25: Doris Lemngole of Alabama and Jordan Anthony of Arkansas…
World Athletics gave its Member Federation Award for ’25 to China, host of the World Indoor and World Relays, along with two Diamond League meetings…
Mondo Duplantis, on winning WA’s AOY honor: “I hope to keep irritating everyone who has to vote for me for years to come.”…
The famous Tokyo doll shop, Kyugetsu, unveiled its annual collection of battledores (decorative badminton-like paddles) to honor positive newsmakers of the year. This is the third-straight year that track & field athletes have been included, namely, hurdler Hitomi Nakajima and sprinter Noah Lyles…
Former marathon WR-holder Paula Radcliffe was honored with the Order of the British Empire…
Wedding bells for Donavan Brazier, who got married over the holidays to pro soccer player Ally Watt…
Letsile Tebogo has reported that three nations have contacted him in the hopes that he will switch his nationality to theirs. Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are all shopping, he says. It doesn’t sound like he has given them a flat no: “We told them what we are worth, and they are promising to up their game, so that’s how it is.” For its part, Botswana has given its champion a new house…
Germany’s Jessica Schilder says she is gunning for 68-10¾ (21.00) in the shot. “My legs aren’t that strong; they need more muscle. It’s the body of a world champion, but not yet the body needed to become an Olympic champion.”…
Polish high jumper Robert Wolski, 43, was killed in a car accident in December. He had a PR of 7-7 (2.31) and placed 8th at the World Indoor in ’06…
Compensation department: a new deal is being offered to high school milers by the Italian apparel company Diadora. Quite simply, race the classic distance in a pair of its new Mezzofondo (Italian for “middle distance”) superspikes and if you’re the first to break the announced barrier, you’ll be NIL-compensated to the tune of $40,000. A boy will need to break 4:00, a girl 4:35 to become “the athlete connected to one of the boldest product launches in the sport,” says Diadora. “We believe this spike can change the conversation.”…
Tumultuous times for the USATF Board Of Directors, where 3 members were not only sidelined, but also had their USATF memberships completely suspended, making them ineligible to even attend the annual meeting. Two of the members, Mike Conley and Kristie Killough-Ali, were suspended because of their proximity to the continuing lawsuit by Jim Estes. The third, Jere Summers-Hall, apparently because of concerns raised by athletes and staff. USATF issued a statement that said, in part, “Following failed attempts to intervene, the Board had no choice but to act in the best interest of the organization. These decisions were made in near unanimity by a Board Of Directors that, while diverse in their perspectives, remains laser-focused on the business of running a national governing body and putting athletes first.”…
The Taliyah Brooks lawsuit against USATF for allowing the ’21 Trials heptathlon to proceed in extremely high temperatures, leading to her heat stroke, has been shot down by the Indiana Supreme Court, which focused its ruling on a procedural misstep…
Reportedly, multiple bidders are in the mix to host the ’28 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials…
Florida coach Mike Holloway has been tabbed by USATF to head its High-Performance Division…
USATF’s Long Distance Running Committee will be surveying team members in Tallahassee on the question of whether the national XC championships should be held at different distances in non-WXC years.…
Noah Lyles says that proper coverage of the sport’s rivalries can be a boost for its popularity. “But calling every competition of an athlete going up against another athlete a rivalry is not the same. There has to be a story. There has to be a purpose. There has to be intent. Just the fact that they happen to show up at the same track meet is not a rivalry.”…
Lyles was miffed that he and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden weren’t even nominated for WA’s AOY honors, saying, “At this point, this award is kind of a joke.” ◻︎
