WITH HER 3:59.83 for 7th in Rabat, Jenny Simpson raised her U.S.-leading total of sub-4:00s in the 1500 to 10. Overall, there have been 33 such, the others belonging to Mary Slaney (8), Suzy Favor Hamilton (5), Shannon Rowbury (4), Shelby Houlihan (3), Christin Wurth-Thomas (2) & Anna Willard (1).…
In losing to Genzebe Dibaba in that DL race, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan set a record for the most career sub-4:00s at 16. She moved out of a tie at 15 with Maryam Jamal of Bahrain. Now Dibaba is tied with Jamal as No. 2…
Sydney McLaughlin has confirmed that she will attempt to qualify for Doha only in the 400 hurdles…
Tori Bowie is planning a long jump/100 double for Des Moines and, she hopes, Doha…
NFLer Marquise Goodwin says that he will again be going after the long jump in the ’20 Olympic Trials. In ’12 he was an Olympic finalist. In ’16 he jumped his PR of 27-8¾ (8.45)…
After German discus throwers Robert & Julia Harting had twins in late May, the German federation announced that all twins and triplets would be given free admission to the German Championships in August. What about quadruplets?…
Yohann Diniz, the WR holder in the 50K walk, is now 41 and says he has only two races at his speciality left: the Worlds and the Olympics…
Flying seems to be getting tougher for pole vaulters. Russia’s Anzhelika Sidorova had to cancel an appearance at Innsbruck because her airline refused her poles. And it took 2 tries for Jenn Suhr to make it to Rome, who tweeted, “DENIED So…apparently these don’t fit on the biggest plane in the world (Airbus 380). First attempt to Europe this year is miss.” It didn’t get any better for Suhr, as a subsequent no-height in the meet led to a tweeted death threat from an Internet wacko who perhaps had bet money on her…
More air woes: the Greek team for the European Games was on the brink of canceling after running into airline ticketing issues. The prime minister of Greece came to the rescue, promising them a government plane…
But was there a cash purse? Fans in Vienna were electrified by new world bests in handbag throwing as 17-year-old Will Dibo threw the 2kg purse 233-11 (71.31) and Tatjana Meklau set a women’s 1kg best with her 163-0 (49.69). ..
This year’s sellout of the Bislett Games was the first in the history of the Oslo event…
Southern Mississippi’s Eric Richards, who PRed in the NCAA high jump at 7-4¼ (2.24), stands 5-9 (1.75), putting him at an impressive 19¼-inch (49cm) differential…
A German court has ruled that national titles can only be awarded to German citizens, after the federation was sued by a citizen of Italy over the issue…
The Golden Gala Diamond League meeting will be held in Milan next year—and possibly in 2021 as well—as Rome’s Stadio Olimpico is being renovated to host the European Championships in soccer…
Reports in this space in April that Geneva would be installing a 12-lane straightaway turned out to be an April Fool’s joke that had someone in Switzerland chuckling at our expense.…
The mile WR (holding-hands version, that is) fell hard in May when British Olympian Stephanie Twell and husband Joe Morwood cranked out a 4:50 on a road course, smashing the old best by 34 seconds…
The Olympic marathon trials are a tough invite to get in Japan. Only 12 women and 31 men have been invited…
British selection for the Olympic marathon team is a two-part process, with an initial selection in December and a final selection after next spring’s London Marathon…
Ethiopia has announced its marathoners for Doha: Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55 PR), Mule Waishun (2:03:16), Lelisa Desisa (2:04:45). The women: Worknesh Degefa (2:17:41), Ruta Aga (2:18:34), Roza Dereje (2:19:17)…
The IAAF has hired New York-based Burson Cohn & Wolfe to run its global public relations campaigns…
The IAAF takes RSVPs seriously. Botswana was a no-show at the World Relays and has been fined $9000 by the IAAF…
Another Qatari has been charged by French prosecutors in the probe of bribery related to the nation’s ’17 World Champs bid: Nasser Al-Khelaifi, head of a Qatari sports television channel. Al-Khelaifi is a part-owner of a firm that funneled payments to Papa Massata Diack…
Olympian Duane Solomon returned to 800 racing with a 1:55.04 in Nashville. He says, “Raced my first race today after more than 2 years layoff. Not going to lie, I felt like crap, but I am proud that I put myself out there for all to see whether it was a horrible performance or not.”…
A Steve Ovett record has fallen in Britain. Max Burgin, 17, took down Ovett’s Youth (U18) Record of 1:46.80 in the 800 with a 1:46.70.
Briton Dale Greig, 82, died in May 2. One of the pioneers of women’s distance running, she ran the first marathon on a certified course with her 3:27:45 in ’64…
Beware of scalping tickets at the Tokyo Olympics. A new law is in place that calls for a year in prison for offenders…
An update from Eugene indicates that the new $195 million Hayward Field will be finished in time for the ’20 Pac-12 meet…
Science marches on: the medal podiums to be used in the ’20 Olympics will be made from 45 tons of recycled plastic. A new feasibility study in France suggests that flying taxis may happen in Paris just in time for the ’24 Olympics…
Former UCLA mentor Bob Larsen is the subject of a new book, Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed by Matthew Futterman…
Colorado congresswoman Diana DeGette has introduced a bill that—if it moves forward—would fundamentally restructure the USOC. “Our own U.S. Olympic Committee has failed,” says DeGette. “No number of gold medals are worth putting the health and safety of our athletes at risk.”…
Ajee’ Wilson says she will move up to 1500, perhaps before the ’20 Olympics…
IOC vice president John Coates has said that the site of the ’32 Games might be named as early as next summer. The Australian also hinted that Brisbane might be in the running…
Worried about taking a bad hit during an upcoming celebrity soccer match, Mo Farah has insured his legs for $8.8 million. □
