Here’s the latest in the aches, pains & eligibility departments, featuring our mid-year collegiate recruiting reports
Curtis Thompson is back at Mississippi State, ready to reclaim his ’16 NCAA title. (MIKE SCOTT)
Bahrain’s ’16 World Indoor gold medalist, Kemi Adekoya, has been provisionally suspended for a steroid positive.
Sarah Brown, with a second child on the way in April, has announced her retirement. After 4 NCAA titles for Tennessee and 5 U.S. Rankings in the 1500, she wrote in a long Facebook post, “I realized it was OK to want something different now. I didn’t have to be the same person I was 3, 5 or 10 years ago. I stopped feeling guilty for my feelings and started to realize that if I stayed in professional running right now, and didn’t pursue my family, that I would soon grow to resent running. You can’t do something well when you resent it—and I want to ‘enjoy’ running as a part of my life for a long time to come.”
Mary Cain is reportedly training well and spent 3 weeks with the Mammoth TC at altitude.
Jamaican sprint great Veronica Campbell-Brown has announced that she is pregnant and says, “At this moment, I am uncertain if I will return to competition, as the main focus is to welcome our baby, and to provide the best environment filled with love, warmth, and care.”
The Camel City Elite meet announced the withdrawal of big names Matt Centrowitz and Paul Chelimo from the February event due to “training setbacks.”
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the ’17 runner-up in the Worlds 10,000, canceled some cross country races after getting banged up in a December car accident, but came back well in an end-of-January harrier competition.
Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse is now working with coach Rana Reider and has moved to Florida to train.
Claudia Lane, California’s prep distance star—sidelined for months after a long stretch of injuries that has included a stress reaction and IT band issues—is planning to race this track season.
A nagging hamstring injury caused Kara Goucher to drop out of the Houston Marathon. Afterwards she hinted that she may be done with the event, saying, “I have my eye on a race in June, but it is not on the roads.” (Continues below)
Where They Are Going — Mid-Year Update
The 2018–19 NCAA school year’s major personnel action was covered in depth in the Where They Are Going feature in the November issue. Here’s what has happened since then.
Codes
•N = new students not coming from another U.S. college or university. All have a full 4 years of outdoor eligibility unless coded otherwise (- = senior, * = junior, ** = soph).
•JC = transfers from a 2-year college (tougher standards than for new frosh).
•T = newly eligible transfers from another 4-year school.
•IT = ineligible transfer.
•GT = eligible transfer doing graduate work.
•Ret = athletes returning from injury or some sort of ineligibility.
•RS = athletes who will redshirt in ’19.
•Pro = athletes who turned pro early.
•DNR = athletes with remaining eligibility who did not return to team (but may still be enrolled in this school or another).
Vaulter Renaud Lavillenie is having knee issues, but after an MRI the French WR holder decided to continue his indoor season.
Sandi Morris is taking some down time because of recent ankle surgery.
Two-time Olympic walk medalist Denis Nizhegorodov of Russia has announced his retirement at age 38.
Veteran Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell pulled out of the Paris indoor in late January because of a hamstring injury.
A quad injury will keep British hurdler Andrew Pozzi out of the European Indoor Championships.
German heptathlete Claudia Salman-Rath may opt to become a long jump specialist in the future. She had knee surgery last year and has still not fully recovered.
Grace Stark, the Michigan prep who won the Youth Olympics 100H last fall, delayed her indoor opener because of a hamstring twinge.
Nafi Thiam, the world’s top-rated heptathlete, tore a muscle in her calf while training in South Africa and will miss the indoor season.
A stress fracture in his sacrum has sidelined British miler Jake Wightman.
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