THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments (with plenty of post-Olympic retirements)
In this space last month we noted the retirement of Nesta Carter. It now turns out that the Jamaican sprint vet is facing doping charges again (see Last Lap).
Kenyan-born Caroline Chepkoech (14:27.55/31:16.38) is now representing Kazakhstan.
After her 35th at Boston in 2:41:43, Jordan Hasay posted on Instagram, “I have no excuses for yesterday’s performance. I am thankful for my health, and a great support team around me. It has been a rough 2 years of racing and it’s time to hit reset. You will not see me on the roads for awhile until my heart and mind are ready.”
Molly Huddle has announced that she is taking a break from competition at age 37 as she and her husband are expecting their first child in April. “Boston, I’ll have to take a rain check this year,” she said on Instagram.
Ethiopian marathoner Shura Kitata was unable to finish the Olympic race with a hamstring injury. He said it was still bothering him some in London, but there he finished 6th in 2:07:51.
Polish hammerer Malwina Kopron, the Olympic bronze medalist, has undergone knee surgery.
Desiree Linden lost training time prior to Boston due to hip and IT band issues in the summer.
Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare is now facing 3 doping charges (see Last Lap).
Javelin thrower Michael Shuey reports that on his first throw in Tokyo he twisted his knee, spraining his LCL and incurring a slight tear in his joint capsule. “Didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” he said.
Emily Sisson withdrew from the NYC Marathon because of a knee injury, explaining, “A few weeks before Tokyo, my knee started to hurt pretty badly. I took a week off after Tokyo hoping to heal. Not for a lack of trying, I haven’t really been able to train for 2.5 months now.”
In a heartbreaking tale, Kenyan distance star Agnes Tirop is dead at 25, a murder victim (see Landmarks).
The Retirement Department…
Hungarian hurdler Balázs Baji is retiring at age 32. The ’17 World bronze medalist is concentrating on his career as a veterinary surgeon.
Joanna Fiodorow, who won silver in the ’19 Worlds hammer, has retired at age 32. The Pole placed 7th in Tokyo.
After breaking through to 13.16 this year Japanese hurdler Taio Kanai has retired at only 26 to go full-time as a dentist.
Shotputter Dani Hill has officially retired; her last competition came at the ’19 Pan-Ams, where she finished 4th. She was a 5-time U.S. Ranker.
Marathon great Mary Keitany has retired at age 39 because of persistent back troubles. She set a marathon women’s-only record of 2:17:01 in ’17 and won the London and New York marathons multiple times.
Kamila Lićwinko, the ’14 World Indoor co-champion and 6-time World Ranker for Poland, has retired at age 35.
Poland’s Piotr Małachowski, the ’15 World champ in the discus, has retired at age 38.
Rabbit supreme Chanelle Price has retired at age 31. “I always wanted to walk away on my own terms,” she told us. “Not enough athletes leave on a high note. This was my best year ever, and I think I’m OK walking away after that.”
Cuban decathlete Leonel Suárez, winner of Olympic bronzes in ’08 and ’12, has called it quits at 34.
Doping Suspensions…
5 years — Mosito Lehata (Lesotho, sprints);
4 years — Vasylyna Vitovshchyk (Ukraine, walks). □