THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Southern U’s Tashina Alase, one of this year’s breakout hurdle talents, missed most of last season because a car accident crushed her big toe. “It was kind of hard to watch, but I knew it happened for a reason,” she says. “I knew I’d come back stronger.”
Ryan Crouser says that his elbow recovery is “up and down, unfortunately not just a linear healing progression. I’m still working around that, trying to get it all the way healthy, and gaining my confidence back has been the last part to come.” He notes that he is now coaching Payton Otterdahl and Nick Ponzio, in addition to Jamaica’s Roje Stona.
Now with a married name, multi-talented Anna Hall-Slayton withdrew from Götzis, saying she wasn’t ready. “After learning the hard way in 2024, I promised myself I would listen to my body this time around.”
Grant Holloway tore his hamstring in March after a strain in January kept him from the indoor season. “We’ve been attacking recovery ever since and things are trending in the right direction! Excited to start getting back on hurdles, building back up, and competing near you guys again soon!”
Akaoma Odeluga of Ole Miss hurt her foot in the SEC discus competition and will miss the rest of the season.
A double hit for Ole Miss throwers: Tarik O’Hagan got a “significant leg injury” in his first practice back after winning the SEC shot, his 13th overall, a record for any sport in the SEC. His season has ended.
Molly Seidel says she is happy with her move from the marathon to the trails: “It just wasn’t fun anymore. It’s really hard to maintain that level in marathoning. It’s a steep peak that you have to remain on top of. I needed a change. I needed something different.”
After missing ’25, former WC finalist Brian Williams has returned to the discus wars, opening with a 221-3 (67.45) win at Long Beach. “My last competition was the 2024 Olympic Trials,” he said. “Started training in late January and I’m physically not ‘ready’ in my opinion. Coach suggested we come out and ‘drop a pin’ to get my competitive feet under me again. Strong, but clunky.”
Ohio prep distance star Katy Zang has missed her senior season in outdoor track, resting to recover from a stress fracture in her right leg.
Internationally:
Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke has delayed her return to the Diamond League till Eugene (July 04), ostensibly to continue recovering from various injuries she has been dealing with.
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti missed the Euro Cup 10,000 because of a bout with the flu.
Says World steeple champ Geordie Beamish, “I dealt with illness and injury during the indoor season, but recently things have been moving in the right direction again.”
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn has announced that she is pregnant and will be taking a break from hurdling.
Belgium’s World high jump finalist Thomas Carmoy will miss the season after having foot surgery.
Neeraj Chopra of India, who hasn’t thrown since the World Championships in Tokyo, is reportedly nearing the end of his recovery from various injuries.
About to turn 36, Croatian discus great Sandra Elkasević is taking off this year so that she can be refreshed for championship seasons in ’27 and ’28. “For the first time in my career, I have decided to listen to my body and take a step back from all competitions for the 2026 season.”
World long jump champion Mattia Furlani had a bad injury scare in Xiamen, leaving the stadium on a stretcher. He later said, “Fortunately, after the initial test results, nothing serious seems to be happening, but I’ll tell you the truth: I’ve never been as scared as I was yesterday…I felt the ‘thrust’ in the air and from there I had a very strong reaction.”
Mariano García, the World Indoor 1500 champ, has missed some races because of a “slight” calf injury.
The Spanish recordholder in the mile, Esther Guerrero, is taking the season off as she is expecting her first child.
Norway’s Amalie Iuel, who was an All-America for USC in the 400H, has announced her retirement at age 32.
Mujinga Kambundji says coming back from pregnancy is a lot like rehabbing an injury: “It’s exactly like with an injury, the first few weeks I took off just to recover and then I had almost like a rehab training for almost 10 weeks, and then I started again with the ‘real’ training. I’m excited to be back.”
Kibiwot Kandie, already provisionally suspended, is facing an additional charge from the AIU for allegedly “tampering or attempted tampering” with the doping control process.
Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizéra has been granted a citizenship change and will be eligible to compete for Spain by the end of the year. In Madrid he recently ran 26:01 for a road 10K, ineligible for a record because the course drops 169m.
Kevin Mayer made his return to competition after 664 days, trying the vault and discus in smaller French meets. The decathlon WR holder seriously injured his hamstring at the ’24 Paris DL.
Letlhogonolo Mokgethi, an 800 runner from Botswana (PR 1:45.89) has been provisionally suspended by his federation after a positive out-of-competition test for 19-norandrosterone.
Kenya’s Mary Moraa revealed that she stayed behind in Tokyo after last year’s Worlds to get medical treatment for a mystery ailment. “I experienced general weakness and dizziness… I thought all was well after going through to the finals at the Worlds, but the situation worsened at the tail end of the final, leading to urgent medical attention… After several tests and treatment, the doctors gave me a clean bill of health a few weeks ago to resume training and competition.”
Ethiopian 1500 runner Mosisa Seyoum, who missed the World Indoors because of visa issues, has been provisionally suspended by the AIU for alleged EPO usage.
Sander Skotheim is nearing full speed after recovering from January ankle surgery. He will compete at Ratingen, Germany, in late June. “After recovering from my injury, I’m itching to compete again,” the Norwegian posted.
Despite losing much of the last few years to injuries, Johannes Vetter, the ’17 world champ, thinks that he can still make the German national team in the javelin, although he admits, “The road back was harder than expected, and that’s left its mark. Nevertheless, my ambition was still strong enough to achieve something tangible again. I’m taking it week by week. If I throw over 80m again this year, or maybe even over 83, then the Olympics will become more and more of a possibility.”
Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalová delayed her season opener in the 400H. Says her coach, “We simply need more time for training, especially speed and with obstacles. We want to catch up on what we missed due to knee pain, which has been going on since the indoor season. It is clear that she will not run at the level of a personal record in the first few starts, but her form should gradually grow.” It grew quickly, as she debuted with a new national record.
Doping Bans…
5 years — Deborah Sang (Kenya, marathon);
4 years — Hillary Chepkwony (Kenya, distance);
3 years — Zinah Senbeta (Ethiopia, marathon). □
