THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Medical advisors had sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke skip the Irish Championships for unspecified reasons.
Rai Benjamin revealed that he had missed 8 weeks of running prior to his USATF win, between an irritated nerve in his back and a bout with COVID.
French hammer thrower Quentin Bigot cancelled the rest of his season after surgery on a herniated disc. “I have a lot of work to get back to my level.”
A bone spur in his right ankle caused Trayvon Bromell to terminate his season after the USATF meet. He will undergo surgery.
Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Ponte tore a thigh muscle and will miss the rest of the season.
Still just 24, Juan Miguel Echevarría, the World Indoor long jump champ in ’18, has left Cuba and will return to competition this summer for a Portuguese club.
Grant Fisher withdrew from the USATF 5000, saying that he had a stress reaction in his femur that was exacerbated by competing in the 10,000, where he finished 4th.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says her knee is still not 100%. She originally hurt the knee prior to the Keino Classic in May. She says, “It is what it is.”
Commonwealth 1500 champion Ollie Hoare will miss Budapest because of a sports hernia and swelling in his groin. “It’s obviously an easy call looking in but it was a hard decision to make for me,” says the Aussie star. “I had a disappointing Worlds last year and this year felt like I could do something special.”
Anna Kiełbasińska, who has run on several of Poland’s medal-winning 4x4s in recent years, withdrew from the 200 final at her nationals with an Achilles injury and said she may not run at Worlds.
Twice the world steeple champ, Conseslus Kipruto missed making the Kenyan team for the first time in 10 years when he hit a barrier hard and injured his knee. He was unable to finish. “It’s back to training now,” he said.
Hanna Klein, the Euro Indoor 3000 champion for Germany, will miss Worlds with an Achilles injury.
Russia’s Darya Klishina, the former WC silver medalist in the long jump, says that now that she’s a mother, she has no plans to return to competition.
Konstanze Klosterhalfen had to miss the German Championships with a foot injury.
Reigning OG/WC 800 gold medalist Emmanuel Korir missed the Kenyan Trials with a calf injury. “I won both the Olympic and world titles after coming back from seasons in which I was plagued by injuries. Budapest is no exemption; I will recover in time.”
Noah Lyles said that he had COVID just a few days before the USATF meet.
Last year’s WC bronze medalist in the 110H, Asier Martínez of Spain has confirmed that an injury will keep him from racing this summer.
Maykel Massó, who won long jump bronze for Cuba in Tokyo, injured a knee at the CAC Games.
Knee pain for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone caused her to pull out of the Monaco DL. She said the decision came after her warmup and was “nothing serious.”
Olympic and world long jump Malaika Mihambo suffered a small tear in her thigh muscle at the German Champs and will probably miss Budapest.
Spanish hurdler Orlando Ortega has ended his season because of injury.
Promising teenage Finnish javelin thrower Topi Parviainen is injured.
Elle St. Pierre gave birth in March and has returned to training. “I was almost feeling a little burnt out before, so this is like a fresh start,” she told Fast Women.
Colleen Quigley did not start the USATF steeple because of a hip issue in warming up.
A sore hamstring kept Sha’Carri Richardson from running the 100 at the London DL.
French 800 runner Benjamin Robert missed several July meets because of an injury to his right hamstring.
Sergey Shubenkov is planning to return to competition in August. The Russian hurdler broke a collarbone in a motorcycle accident earlier this summer.
Sprinter Akani Simbine pulled out of Monaco because of cramps.
After not making the U.S. team, sprinter Abby Steiner moved up her plans to have bone spur surgery.
Polish 400 star Justyna Swięty-Ersetic has ended her season because of injury.
Multi-talented Nafi Thiam pulled out of the Monaco and London DLs because of a “minor injury.”
World 1500 champ Jake Wightman ended his season to concentrate on recovering from the foot injury he sustained in South Africa in February.
Britton Wilson was wearing a boot between races at USATF as a precautionary measure in dealing with an ongoing shin injury.
Healthy again after a long spate of physical problems, Kenyan javelin star Julius Yego says, “I now feel good, strong, ready, and determined to reclaim back my 2015 world gold medal.”
The Pro Route…
Irish sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke announced that she has signed with Nike and will no longer compete for Texas, though she will continue training in Austin and finish her education.
Jasmine Moore will forego her final year at Florida to turn pro. The horizontal jump star has signed with Puma.
Hurdler Ackera Nugent has gone pro and will not finish out her eligibility at Arkansas.
After his NCAA-winning frosh year at Georgia, Will Sumner has gone pro, signing with adidas.
Hurdle find Cordell Tinch has decided to leave Pitt State, signing with agent Paul Doyle.
Doping Suspensions & Bans…
Tobi Amusan has been provisionally suspended for 3 whereabouts failures by the AIU (see “Last Lap”).
The AIU has provisionally suspended ’16 Olympic vault gold medalist Thiago Braz of Brazil after a reported positive test for the anabolic Ostarine.
Titus Ekiru, still No. 6 on the all-time marathon list with his 2:02:57 in ’21, has been provisionally suspended for three whereabouts violations that year and is looking at a potential 10-year ban.
Bans handed down:
5 years — Fantu Jimma (Ethiopia, marathon);
3 years — Ana José Tima (Dominican Republic, triple jump). □