THE 2:10 BARRIER: Sifan Hassan now thinks that she can break 2:10 in the marathon too, saying, “A lot of people say: it’s bizarre what [Ruth] Chepngetich did. I think so too, but for me it’s also possible. She actually made my life easier. Because I often did things that I didn’t know were possible. if Chepngetich hadn’t been able to do this, I would have had to focus on whether it was possible or not.”…
Nikki Hiltz announced that they will be coached by Juli Benson. With the renewal of their lululemon contract, they could no longer be coached by Mike Smith, who is now a Nike coach…
Kaela Edwards is now being coached by Brian Kula…
Jake Wightman has announced that he will no longer be coached by his father, commentator Geoff Wightman. “The point has come in my career where both physically and mentally we both need to go our separate ways,” he posted. “By doing this we ensure there’s plenty more to come in the future, not as a coach/athlete but as a father/son, away from the intensity and stress of training and racing.”…
The Olympic bronze medalist in the 100 recently got married and will now be known as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden…
Athing Mu got married in early March; no word on whether there will be a name change…
German sisters Sara and Sofia Benfares, both banned last year for doping violations (5 and 4 year), have also been sentenced to criminal penalties under German law and were ordered to pay fines…
Italian authorities are investigating the brother of sprinter Filippo Tortu for allegedly participating in an illegal wiretapping aimed at ’21 Olympic 100 champ Marcell Jacobs and his coach. Giacamo Tortu had suspected Jacobs of doping…
Polish heptathlete Adrianna Sułek-Schubert is being coached by Britain’s Tony Minichiello, despite his being banned for life by UK Athletics for sexually inappropriate behavior, emotional abuse and bullying. The Polish federation issued a statement clarifying that the heptathlete made her own coaching decision and that they are not paying Minichiello…
The ITA is launching training for blood collection specialists to be able to put more anti-doping testers in the field, with the first training sessions coming in April…
The trial of Gjert Ingebrigtsen will be open to journalists, after the court ruled against an appeal from the coach, who is accused of mistreating his track star children…
With the first Enhanced Games scheduled to go off in late ’25 or early ’26, organizers are seeking big dollar investors to fund the doping-friendly competition. The latest round of venture capital investments included one Donald Trump, Jr., son of the President…
Dillon Reidenauer, a yearling pole vaulter at LSU, died in a car crash on campus in February. She was just 18…
The University of Missouri at St. Louis, which just started its Div. II track & field program in ’20, has announced plans to cancel it at the end of the school year. One of the reasons appears to be a lack of facilities, after St. Louis County decided not to go ahead with a planned recreation complex nearby…
When severe flooding hit the capital of Botswana, bystanders caught video of Letsile Tebogo rescuing stranded motorists…
WA released its findings from the test of the new take-off zone in the long jump at the Düsseldorf meet. Fouls dropped from 32% to 13%. Two-thirds of casual fans liked the test, while spectators actively involved in the sport were not in favor…
Roger Black, the ’96 silver medalist at 400, underwent open heart surgery recently. He is 58…
Femke Bol says she was excited that the European Indoor Championships were held in Apeldoorn. At the last major event Netherlands hosted, the ’16 Euro outdoor meet, “I was a volunteer. I was scanning the accreditation or the tickets of people. Also, when I was out there, I could go out and watch a few times. It was absolutely crazy.”…
Botswana, boasting one of the highest GDPs in Africa, is throwing its hat into the ring to host big meets. A delegation from WA recently did an inspection tour to evaluate the country’s bid to host the ’26 World Relays Champs…
Kenya also may be bidding for more big events in the future, beyond its pending bid for the ’29 WC. Noted coach Patrick Sang has urged Athletics Kenya to go beyond that. “Any sport is driven by the viewers and fans. Every time we have hosted world events, our ratings have gone very high.”…
South Korea has decided on its bid city for the ’36 Olympics, and it’s surprisingly not Seoul. Instead, North Jeolla Province got the nod, with track events planned for Daegu, host of the ’11 WC…
The BAA 10K in June will no longer be the host of the USATF 10K Championships, as organizers and the USATF were not able to agree on terms…
They’re calling it “Save the 10,000.” Olympians Kara Goucher and Desiree Linden are sponsoring a pair of track 10Ks at Mt. SAC on May 03, with an eye toward providing qualifying standards for USATF nationals as well as the WC. The under-the-lights event will feature a $25,000 prize purse…
The European Indoor used Wavelight technology, the first-ever instance of it in a championship setting. The lights were used not to pace athletes, but primarily as a spectator aid, to use graphics to introduce athletes, to provide a reference pace in the 1500 and 3000 heats so that fans can see if one heat is faster than another, and also as a signal if an athlete is near record pace. “It’s all about context,” said operational director Bram Som…
The Trump administration has put tougher rules in place against Cuba and has recently denied visas for a Cuban basketball team that needed to play an AmeriCup qualifier in Puerto Rico. Some feel this, combined with the refusal to grant visas to transgender athletes, could eventually pose challenges for the LA Olympics. “It’s going to be a massive problem. There’s no one paying attention to this at all,” said one immigration expert…
Geoff Freeman, head of the U.S. Travel Association, says that unless visa processing is expedited, it will be difficult for the U.S. to host the Olympics and the World Cup. Wait times for visitors from Colombia, for instance, is around 700 days. “People want to come, but they’re not coming,” he said. “It gets down to these visa wait times. It gets down to the customs inefficiencies.”…
Grand Slam Track has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to broadcast its meets across Asia and Europe in a multi-year deal…
High jumper Donald Thomas of the Bahamas cleared 7-3 (2.21) at Banská Bystrica. It’s the highest ever by someone over 40. The ’07 NCAA Indoor champ for Auburn, he also World Ranked No. 1 that year. He says, “It looks like my final season, but let’s see.”…
The jacket that 200 medalist John Carlos wore in the historic Mexico City podium protest has been auctioned for $500,200…
A silver replacement medal for the ’12 Olympics that was awarded to Jim Thorpe posthumously has been auctioned for $31,720…
Mondo Duplantis and his fiancé Desiré Inglander have released a new song called “Bop” on social media…
Rajpaul Pannu, who initially won the USATF 100M road title, found himself disqualified after he wore the HOKA Skyward X, which has a 48cm heel, 8cm over the WA limit. He posted, “I hold myself accountable… No one on the course cared about the stack height of my shoes. Not even the USATF official. The protest was filed by someone who watched the live stream.”…
A 15-year-old New Zealand boy has opened eyes by running to a tie with 2-time Olympian Sam Tanner in the national championship 1500 final. Tanner led much of the way until Sam Ruthe’s kick caught him at the line as they both clocked 3:44.31…
The indoor mixed 4 x 400 has now been added to the WA rulebooks as an official event, as it will be included in the ’26 World Indoor. The running order has been set at M-W-M-W. For the first official WR to be recognized, it must be 3:12.44 or better and set after March 01…
The IOC has landed a major global sponsor in China’s TCL, a technology company focused on consumer electronics and home appliances. The release says, “TCL will play an important role as the IOC progresses its Olympic AI Agenda.”…
Zariel Macchia, one of our HS All-Americas last year, was banned from the New York State indoor championships after she competed against collegians at BU’s Hemery Valentine Invitational. Her parents sued on her behalf, and a judge ordered that she be let into the meet, saying that she would “suffer irreparable harm” otherwise…
Oklahoma State alum Taylor Roe had mixed feelings about winning the USATF Half Marathon and qualifying to run in the World Road Championships. “Good news it went well, bad news this means I have another half-marathon.” ◻︎
