THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
In a very busy summer in the NCAA transfer portal (more on that in an upcoming issue) it’s big news that discus WR holder Mykolas Alekna of Cal has announced that he will use his final season of eligibility at Oregon.
Arkansas’s NCAA 100 champ Jordan Anthony has turned down football opportunities and gone pro in track.
Quentin Bigot, the ’19 WC hammer runner-up, has retired at 32.
Olympic 100 finalist Teahna Daniels, winner of a silver medal on the ’21 Olympic 4×1, has announced that she is leaving track & field at age 28 — but not retiring. “Never thought this would be my next chapter… but here we are… I’m officially announcing my pursuit to earn a spot on Team USA Bobsled for the ’26 Winter Olympics. From the track to the ice, we pivoted.”
The yearly collegiate 400 leader at 44.38, Florida State’s Micahi Danzy had to miss the NCAA with what has been described as a “minor injury” picked up in training.
Miami quartermiler George Franks, 4th in the ACC at 45.20, has been granted a nationality change and became eligible to represent Greece on May 15.
In another high-profile NCAA move, NCAA 400H runner-up Akala Garrett has transferred from Texas to South Carolina.
Olympic high jump bronze medalist Iryna Gerashchenko has given birth to her first child.
Keely Hodgkinson withdrew from the Stockholm DL 800 after hitting a setback in her recovery from her hamstring injury from the indoor season.
Molly Huddle has given birth to a daughter, her second.
Norway’s 800 recordholder, Hedda Hyne, has retired at age 35.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen says he is still babying his Achilles, and withdrew from the Pre Classic. “My injury was just an irritation in the Achilles tendon. So the injury itself is not that critical. But if you’re not cautious and don’t take it that seriously, it can develop to be something serious.”
Weini Kelati has indicated that she is dealing with some stomach issues that have impacted her training. She is currently on medication to resolve the problem.
Joe Klecker has switched his focus to the roads. He told Race Results Weekly’s David Monti, “The big picture was always in the off-year after Tokyo, make that transition. Then I got injured, pretty significantly, and we kind of thought that this might be the right time to push it up a year.”
Kenya’s Benard Koech, 5th in the ’23 Worlds 10,000, has been provisionally suspended for biological passport abnormalities.
Emily Lipari has announced that she is pregnant with her first child.
Decathlon recordholder Kevin Mayer is still dealing with the hamstring injury that hit him last year. “I feel good physically, but I’m doing less athletics at the moment. I’ve tried a treatment method, instead of surgery, and we’ll see, I have no idea if it’ll work or not. I’m a fighter, I know I’ll come back. I don’t know when.”
Finnish vaulter Wilma Murto has undergone knee surgery for a torn meniscus.
Chris Robinson, returning to the stadium in Ostrava for a 400H medal ceremony, tripped over a tram track. He spent the night in the hospital, diagnosed with a light concussion.
Betsy Saina is expecting her second child in September and has withdrawn from the U.S. marathon team for Tokyo.
French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela has returned to running following a calf injury that canceled some of her meets, including the Miami Grand Slam.
Sander Skotheim withdrew from a mini-combined events competition at the Oslo DL because of knee pain after a bad landing in the long jump.
Coach Mark Coogan says Parker Valby is currently rehabbing a foot injury, but he is hoping she’ll be able to race the USATF meet.
Doping Bans…
5 years – Daniel Kinyanjui (Kenya, distance);
3 years – Andrej Hladnik (Croatia, distance), Citlali Cristin Moscote (Mexico, distance), Delvine Merignor (Romania, distance), Varsha Tekam (India, distance). □
