Belly Up To The Track
Athletics Canada has signed a sponsorship deal with the Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery. Beer will now be available at select Athletics Canada events…
Not your usual church statues: Kidist Selassie Church in Addis Ababa has dedicated two new statues, one of distance legend Miruts Yifter and the other of the coach who spearheaded Ethiopia’s distance development, Dr. Woldemeskel Kostre.
Britain’s Max Burgin made waves in May with the fastest-ever 800 by a 15-year-old. Racing in Manchester, he clocked 1:47.50 some 8 days before turning 16…
All-time discus great Robert Harting has announced that his final meet will be Berlin’s ISTAF meet in September…
In mid-April, admitting that his hopes for racing in ’18 were gone, 400 WR holder Wayde van Niekerk said, “The focus is now on next year and when I return next year, I want it to be like I never left. In fact, I have no doubt that I will be a better athlete than I was before the injury. I can refresh my mind and rebuild and the next 10 years I can get back-to-back titles and continue to go from strength to strength.”
A few days before the Rome DL, an Italian TV cooking show, in league with the Rome organizers, featured Emma Coburn, Mason Finley, Aisha Praught-Leer and Sandra Perković…
A women’s “national championship” decathlon will take place in Grass Valley, California, on June 30–July 01, complete with prize money. Pole Vault Power is putting up the $500/$200/$100 for the first three finishers.
2 Milestone Miles
In winning the Pre Classic’s “International Mile in 3:57.02,” Australian Luke Mathews recorded the 400th sub-4 performance in meet history. Behind him, in 6th, Riley Masters ran 3:58.12 for the 500th sub-4 overall at Hayward Field…
A Japanese study has warned that the crush of people coming for the ’20 Olympics could cause “fatal congestion” on the Tokyo subway system. Among the suggested solutions: asking regular commuters not to travel in peak Olympic travel hours, asking them to work at home, and insisting that Olympic fans travel by foot…
The NCAA’s website chose 5 “must-see college track destinations.” Oregon’s Hayward Field was No. 1, of course, followed by 2. Penn’s Franklin Field, 3. Texas’s Mike A. Myers Stadium, 4. Drake’s Drake Stadium, 5. Sac State’s Hornet Field…
Sheila Chepngetich, who won bronze in the World Junior 1500 in ’14, and was currently serving a doping ban, died May 6 in Kenya at the age of 22 after falling ill…
Former Arizona assistant Craig Carter was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the ’15 assault on a former member of the team…
The IAAF has announced that it is teaming up with United Nations Environment to measure air quality at 1000 tracks worldwide and raise awareness of air quality issues…
Washington coach Greg Metcalf has resigned just before the end of the season. The athletic department called it a “mutual separation” and indicated that it was related to “student-athletes’ concerns of potential misconduct.”…
Following a series of sports scandals involving abuse and harassment, the USOC has hired a Senior Director Of Athlete Safety.
The Check’s In The Mail
The Boston Marathon has reversed its position and decided to award prize money to the three women who placed in the top 15 despite not being in the elite-athlete category…
The Tokyo ’20 marathon course has been revealed, and it will feature a grind to the finish, as the final 3K will feature a steady 1% incline. Starting time has not been decided, but organizers say a morning start is likely to minimize the heat…
A high school coach in New Jersey is in all kinds of hot water after admitting to faking the results of an entire track meet this spring, apparently to get qualifying times to New Balance Nationals. Further investigation is also casting doubt whether the ’17 edition of the Newark meet ever took place…
Aleia Hobbs’s 10.90 at the East Regional set a record in an unusual category. The LSU speedster’s hip number somehow got stuck to her hand in the early going, and she completed the race that way. □
