THE LATEST in the aches, pains & eligibility departments:
Bashir Abdi, the European Recordholder in the marathon, withdrew from the Chicago race: “A small calf tear during my final training in Flagstaff means I won’t be making it to the start line. Disappointing after months of preparation but recovery comes first. Time to heal and focus on the next goal.”
Germany’s Mohamed Abdilaahi, ’26 world leader at 3000 and 10,000, has returned to training after an ankle injury caused him to miss the last half of the track season.
Not a great year for French vaulter Thibaut Collet, who ruptured his Achilles at the Euros. A few weeks later he crashed his mountain bike and needed ACL surgery.
No NCAA for World U20 champion Jayden DeLeon. The LSU signee, a double prep All-Am in the 200 and 400, has opted to turn pro and is negotiating a shoe sponsorship.
British sprinter Beth Dobbin, the Scottish 200 recordholder and Tokyo Olympian, has been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis and is bed-bound 22.5 hours a day, rarely able to leave her house.
Dutch heptathlete Sofie Dokter has had surgery to remove a misplaced piece of ankle bone. Groaner—physician heal thyself?
Mondo Duplantis will not be competing indoors next year. Explains father Greg, “You can’t just keep competing, competing, and competing without proper preparation. What happened this year cannot happen again.”
Sadie Engelhardt is returning from an injury and expects to not run for NC State at the ACC. Teammate Grace Hartman, 6th in NCAA cross last year, is also bouncing back and will not run the ACC.
Lindsay Flanagan had a busy surgery recently, featuring “a Haglund’s removal, bursectomy, and Achilles debridement.”
Portugal’s Marta Pen Freitas, a Mississippi State alum and 2-time Olympian, has decided to retire at age 33 as she deals with breast cancer.
Natoya Goule-Toppin, holder of the Jamaican 800 record at 1:55.96, was diagnosed with pericardial effusion this year and spent six days in the hospital.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, the ’24 Euro half-marathon champion, is staying away from racing as she deals with an injury that makes it painful to run on flat surfaces.
Olympic champion Sifan Hassan withdrew from the NYC Marathon after health setbacks, saying “sickness slowed down my training.”
BYU supersoph Jane Hedengren missed the Pre-Nationals with illness.
Charity Hufnagel, the ’26 USATF Indoor high jump champ, was hit by a car while riding on her e-bike and suffered a skull fracture and brain swelling. She wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time. “There’s no reason I should be alive, let alone walking.” She later added, “My recovery is going well. It will be a long full recovery process due to the fractures.”
Japanese walker Koki Ikeda, previously suspended by the AIU due to biological passport irregularities, has had his appeal to CAS upheld. The court felt that the irregularities may have had causes other than doping.
World and Olympic marathon champ Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended by the AIU after an out-of-competition test turned up traces of EPO. The sample was collected 6 weeks before her win at the Sydney Marathon. Organizers there say they will await a final determination before taking action.
Dennis Kipkogei, the Texas recruit with a 27:25.70 PR for 10K, has not raced yet this season. No confirmation has come on rumors that the 25-year-old frosh from Kenya is injured.
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo pulled his hamstring just after 30K in the Chicago Marathon.
Iowa State’s Mercyline Kirwa, the NCAA 10,000 champ, was injured over the summer and got a late start on XC training.
And yet another… Ronald Korir, a Kenyan marathoner with a 2:04:22 PR, has been provisionally suspended after a positive test.
Swedish distance runner Sarah Lahti has had surgery on her Achilles.
Athing Mu-Nikolayev has dropped hints that she may return to competition, but ’27 is looking doubtful after she and her husband announced they are expecting their first child.
Fiona O’Keeffe had to withdraw from the NYC Marathon. “Guess you could say I’m a bit hamstrung at the moment. An MRI at the end of September showed that the old partial tear I got leading into Boston had turned into a fully retracted tendon tear on the left side, so surgery was the next logical step.”
Taryn Rawlings, the Portland alum who Ranked No. 9 among U.S. 1500 runners in ’25, struggled with endometriosis this year and recently had surgery.
Marathoner Natosha Rogers has been dealing with a series of injuries on her right side. Throw in extensive dental work and she says it hasn’t been an ideal year for training.
The Broeders-Bol effect? Eveline Saalberg, a 50.84 performer who ran on the Netherlands’ winning 4×4 at the ‘23 Worlds, will concentrate on the 800 next year. She set her PR of 2:00.30 over the summer.
Emily Sisson pulled out of December’s Valencia Marathon for the best of reasons; she is expecting a child in March.
A top recruit to NC State who saw little collegiate action because of 6 bone stress injuries, Marlee Starliper has medically retired from the sport.
In the early stages of the Berlin Marathon, Finnish runner Alisa Vainio stepped on something awkwardly and injured the upper back part of her thigh.
Sara Vaughn skipped Chicago in part because of a lingering hamstring tear.
Despite competing with a 12cm tear in his semitendinosus (ie., hamstring), Clayton Young ran well in Chicago
Doping bans:
6 years — Ruti Aga (Ethiopia, marathon). □
