THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Former Virginia Tech miler Vincent Ciattei has been recovering from a knee injury this winter.
Arkansas soph Lexington Hilton ran 3:58.70 and 7:49.84 in January, but was subsequently sidelined with a foot injury.
Sprinter/long jumper Anna Keefer, who placed 8th in the NCAA Indoor long jump last year for North Carolina, has retired from track and is now under contract to wrestle for the WWE: “I’m 24 and I’m trying to learn something brand new,” she told Dyestat’s Dave Devine.
A case of COVID kept Josephus Lyles from competing in the USATF Indoor.
Makena Morley had to withdraw from the U.S. cross country team for the WC after injuring her knee when she slipped on ice.
Rio steeple Olympian Colleen Quigley has announced that she is moving to the triathlon. She won her first 3-eventer in February, earning her pro card.
Arkansas vaulter Grace Ridgeway missed the SEC with torn ligaments in her knee.
Rachel Schneider is expecting a child in April with husband Mike Smith, the coach at Northern Arizona.
Texas Tech speedster Terrence Jones delayed opening his season because of a bursa sac inflammation, but looked sharp in a 6.48 win at the Big 12.
Sam Whitmarsh, Texas A&M’s SEC runner-up last year in the 800 (1:46.09), has not competed this season because of injury.
Oregon sprinter Micah Williams has been forced to cancel the rest of the season after his previously reported hamstring injury.
The International Scene…
Heptathlete Allison Halvorsen has completed her three-year waiting period for a nationality switch, and now the former San Diego Stater is eligible to represent Armenia.
Indian horizontal jumper Aishwarya Babu has been provisionally suspended after a positive test.
Peter Bol had his provisional suspension for EPO (“Status Quo,” February) lifted after the B sample did not match the A sample. The AIU is continuing its investigation.
Belgian quartermiler Dylan Borlée hurt his shoulder when he crashed a race in Madrid, but says he will be fine for the Euro Indoor: “Suddenly going from 30kph to 0 can hurt. Luckily, I didn’t use my arm to prop myself up; I fell on my side.”
Former Euro Indoor shot champ Konrad Bukowiecki of Poland is sidelined by an elbow injury.
Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Ponte says she is healing well from last year’s surgery for a tibial fracture and hopes to start training in March. “I feel physically stronger, and really motivated to get back to doing things normally.”
Two-time 800 medalist Mark English had to withdraw from the Euro Indoor because of illness.
Alison dos Santos, Brazil’s brilliant 400 hurdler, tore the meniscus in his right knee in training and will miss the entire year.
Emmanuel Ihemeje injured himself triple jumping at the Razorback Invitational and withdrew from the Italian team for Istanbul.
Hungary’s Luca Kozá, the Euro silver medalist in the 100H, ended her indoor season with an unspecified injury.
Asier Martínez of Spain from the Euro Indoor hurdles with a back injury.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo has announced that she will bypass the ’23 season because she is expecting a baby with husband Maicel Uibo.
Nigeria’s Divine Oduduru has been provisionally suspended as part of the AIU investigation into therapist Eric Lira, who allegedly supplied performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. The AIU is reportedly seeking a 6-year ban for the former NCAA champ for Texas Tech.
World high jump champ Eleanor Patterson reinjured her right leg while warming up for the Banská Bystrica competition in Slovakia. An x-ray showed a fracture in her foot.
German high jumper Mateusz Przybylko, the reigning European Indoor champ, withdrew from the İstanbul edition with injury.
’12 Olympic triple jump gold medalist Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan has retired at age 38.
French hurdler Sasha Zhoya has been hampered by a hip injury.
Doping Bans…
3 years – Danah Hussein (Iraq, sprints);
2 years – Stella Barsosio (Kenya, marathon), Gloria Kite (Kenya, distance). □