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Articles tagged #sifan Hassan
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How Conservative Pacing Can also Be Aggressive Pacing
Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed endurance sports coach, nutritionist, and author. His many books include On Pace, The Endurance Diet, 80/20 Running, and How Bad Do You Want It?
On June 6, 2021, Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands smashed the women's 10,000-meter world record in the Dutch town of Hengelo, besting Ethiopian Almaz Ayana's mark of 29:17.45 by more than 10 seconds. Two days later, the Ethiopian Olympic Trials Women's 10,000m was held on the same track. Nobody expected the record to go down again, least of all because the fastest runner in the race, Letesenbet Gidey, had a PB of 30:21—a full 75 seconds slower than Hassan's time. Nevertheless, those fancy blue Wavelight LED's that show world-record pace were activated, just in case.
Gidey started fast, but not that fast, reaching 2000 meters in 5:54, about 5 seconds behind the lights. Her next kilometer was a mite quicker, though still slower than record tempo, leaving her another second off the mark after 7.5 laps. She held that pace through the halfway mark, hitting 5000 meters in 14:42, on pace to finish in 29:24, a virtual straightway behind the specter of Hassan. But she looked really good—about as relaxed and comfortable as she had during her earlier warm-up jog.
Gidey's next two kilometers were her swiftest yet—each completed in 2:55—yet even this pace was fractionally slower than Hassan's standard, leaving her fully 10 seconds behind the lights at 7K. That's when Gidey began to accelerate, running each remaining lap faster than the one before. She covered the final 1600 meters in an astonishing 4:26, the bell lap in a brain-melting 63 seconds, and finished with a new world record of 29:01.03. Her time for the second half of the race—14:18—was the eighth fastest women's 5000-meter time ever run!
What do we make of this performance? For me, it teaches an important lesson about pacing. Specifically, it shows that a conservative pacing strategy can also be an aggressive pacing strategy in the sense that running the first part of a race at a relatively slow pace can position an athlete to achieve a breakthrough performance for the full race distance. The reason has to do with the psychological nature of pacing and human performance limits.
You see, in sprint races, performance is directly limited by physiology (specifically, leg turnover and force application). But in middle- and long-distance running events, performance is merely constrained by physiology and is directly limited by psychology. In a properly-paced middle- or long-distance race, the runner does not encounter any kind of hard physiological limit until they are within about 30 seconds of finishing, as it is humanly impossible to sustain a maximal effort longer than half a minute, give or take. Prior to that time, the runner is deliberately running slower than she could, aiming for the fastest pace she can sustain without hitting her bodily limit before she's within 30 seconds of crossing the finish line.
This calculated parceling of effort is done mainly by feel. Hence, a degree of uncertainty is involved in pacing. How can a runner be certain she's riding the line, on track to complete the race in the exact least time possible for her on that day? She can't. However, uncertainty does tend to decrease as the race unfolds. The closer the runner gets to finishing, the more confident she becomes in her pacing judgments. Shorter races are easier to pace than longer ones, after all, and longer races effectively become shorter ones as runners move through them.
Pacing is really all about belief. When a runner is certain her current effort is sustainable for the remaining distance of a race, she's usually right, and when she's certain it's not, she's also right, not for some hippie-dippy mystical reason but because such beliefs have a solid basis in perceived effort, conscious knowledge of the situation, and past experience. But because belief is not strictly tied to physiology, runners can manipulate belief independent of physiology in ways that enable them to race faster, and that's exactly what Letesenbet Gidey did in her record-breaking 10,000 meters.
In particular, Gidey ran the first 7K of the race at a pace that was slow enough to leave her feeling relatively good but not so slow as to put the world record out of reach. At that point, confident she could speed up, she did, but only a little, such that, after completing another lap, Gidey felt confident she could speed up a little more, which she did, and so on. The materialists in the room are rolling their eyes at this, but is my theory really so far-fetched? We have all kinds of experimental evidence that purely psychological factors affect pacing and performance. Endurance athletes are known to race faster when they are in a group, when they have a higher level of motivation before the race, and when they set a goal they believe is achievable, but just barely. The Gidey method of pacing is just one more way of improving performance through psychological self-manipulation.
I'm not suggesting that the Gidey method is the optimal pacing strategy for every runner in every race, though I push back hard against the claim that Gidey achieved what she did despite her pacing, not because of it. Folks, she covered 10,000 meters 5 seconds faster than any woman in the history of the world! How could that possibly have come about as a result of screwing up? I humbly ask you to consider experimenting with an aggressively conservative pacing strategy in an upcoming race. Here's an example of a Gidey-style pacing plan for a runner hoping to squeak under 40:00 in a flat road 10K:
1K – 4:062K – 4:05 (8:11)3K – 4:05 (12:16)4K – 4:04 (16:20)5K – 4:02 (20:22)6K – 3:59 (24:21)7K – 3:58 (28:19)8K – 3:56 (32:15)9K – 3:54 (36:09)10K – 3:50 (39:59)
One of three things will happen if you try this experiment: 1) You will mess it up and decide either to try again or not to, 2) you will execute the plan well but decide you could have gone faster with a more traditional pacing strategy, or 3) you will execute the plan well and achieve a breakthrough performance you're so proud of, you name your next pet Letesenbet. One thing that I can guarantee will NOT happen if you try this experiment is that you spontaneously combust and never run again. So, try it!
(01/17/2023) Views: 113 ⚡AMP
by Matt Fitzgerald
2024 Olympic Track & Field Schedule Is Out
On Monday, World Athletics announced the schedule for the 2024 Olympic Games, to be held in Paris on August 1-11, 2024 (only 570 days to go!). There were a few key changes from three years earlier in Tokyo.
First, all track & field finals will be held during the evening sessions (some finals had been held in the morning during the 2016 and 2020 Olympics). The marathons will remain in the morning, though the men's marathon will no longer be held on the final day of the Games, as had been tradition. That honor for the first time will go to the women's marathon, which will be held on August 11. Giving women the honor makes sense given that, per Reuters, the "marathon route was modelled on the path of the October 1789 Women's March on Versailles – when thousands, mainly female market traders furious over the price of bread, marched to the lavish palace of King Louis XVI." In 2024, the men's marathon will come on the penultimate day, August 10.
The other major change is the introduction of a repechage round, which will replace time qualifiers in five events: the 200, 400, 800, 1500, and 400 hurdles. Under the new format, any athlete who does not advance automatically from the first round will compete in an extra race –the repechage round — to earn their spot in the semifinals. Qualification from semifinals to the final will remain the same.
While every evening session has at least one final, you may want to circle August 8, 2024, on your calendar right now. That night is set to feature the finals of the women's 400 hurdles (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone), men's 200 (Noah Lyles vs. Erriyon Knighton), and men's 110 hurdles (Grant Holloway), plus the semis of the women's 1500 meters.
A number of doubles — 100/200, 800/1500, 1500/5,000, 5,000/10,000 — are very feasible under the current schedule. But what about the 400/400 hurdles, 400/800, and 1500/5,000/10,000 — the doubles (and triple) that would appeal to superstars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Athing Mu, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen? None of them are impossible.
Possible doubles/triples
Men's 1500/5,000/10,000 (Jakob Ingebrigtsen)
We've got great news for Jakob Ingebrgitsen fans. You'll likely see him running in two — maybe three — events at Paris.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Ingebrigtsen would have liked to have done the 1500/5000 double like he did at the 2019 and 2022 Worlds but he only ran the 1500 as the two events overlapped a ton. In Tokyo, the 1500 was held on August 3 (a.m.), August 5 (p.m.), and August 7 (p.m.) and the 5000 was held on August 3 (p.m.) and August 6 (p.m). In Paris, 1500/5000 double is eminently more doable as the 1500 finishes before the 5000 even starts.
And there is even more good news. Last year, Ingebrigtsen made headlines by saying he wanted to do what Sifan Hassan did in 2021 and triple at the 2023 Worlds and 2024 Olympics: 1500, 5,000, and 10,000. The triple is basically impossible at the 2023 Worlds. At the 2024 Olympics, it's tough but doable: it would require two races on August 2 (1500 first round in the morning, 10,000 final 10 hours later), and it would require running the 1500 final at 9:00 p.m. on August 6 and the 5,000 first round 14 hours later on the morning of August 7.
In Tokyo, Hassan had to run two races on the same day (1500 prelims in morning, 5,000 final in evening) and also had to run finals on consecutive days (1500 followed by 10,000). In Paris, Ingebrigtsen would get four days between the 10,000 and 1500 finals and another four days between the 1500 and 5,000 finals.
August 2, 11:05 a.m.: 1500 first round
August 2, 9:20 p.m.: 10,000 final
August 4, 9:10 p.m.: 1500 semis
August 6, 9:00 p.m.: 1500 final
August 7, 11:00 a.m.: 5,000 first round
August 10, 8:00 p.m.: 5,000 final
Women's 1500/5,000/10,000 (Sifan Hassan)
Given Sifan Hassan already did the 1500/5,000/10,000 triple in Tokyo about as well as anyone could (bronze-gold-gold) and given it took her close to a year to return to racing in 2022, it would be a surprise to see her attempt the triple again in Paris. But if someone else — perhaps World Indoor 1500/World Outdoor 5,000 champ Gudaf Tsegay — is so inclined, it's possible to triple. The toughest part would be running the 1500 first round the morning after the 5,000 final and running the 10,000 and 1500 final on back-to-back nights (the latter was also the case for Hassan in 2021, though the order of the 10,000 and 1500 finals were flipped). But unlike in 2021, all the races are on different days.
August 2, 6:10 p.m.: 5,000 first round
August 5, 9:20 p.m.: 5,000 final
August 10, 8:25 p.m.: 1500 final
Women's 400/400 hurdles (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Femke Bol)
No woman has ever won the 400/400 hurdles double at the Olympics, but superstars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol could attempt it in Paris. It would require racing six days in a row (seven including the 4×400 relay final) but never more than once in a day. That's about as good as you can ask for.
August 4, 12:35 p.m.: 400 hurdles first round
August 5, 11:55 a.m.: 400 first round
August 6, 7:45 p.m.: 400 hurdles semis
August 7, 8:45 p.m.: 400 semis
August 8, 9:05 p.m.: 400 hurdles final
August 9, 8:00 p.m.: 400 final
August 10, 9:20 p.m.: 4×400 relay final
Women's 400/800 (Athing Mu)
Athing Mu won the women's 800 at the 2020 Olympics and 2022 Worlds and is the NCAA record holder in the 400 meters at 49.57. After winning gold in Tokyo, she said one of her next goals is to double up in the 400/800. The double is possible in Paris but not perfect as it would require her to race three sessions in a row — the night of August 4 in the 800 semis, the morning of August 5 in the 400 first round, and the night of August 5 in the 800 final. The good news is Mu has will have some time to recover as there is a rest day between the 800 final and 400 semis and another rest day between the 400 semis and 400 final.
In a perfect world the 800 semis and 400 first round would both be shifted forward by a day but that's not going to happen because it would require running the repechage and semifinal round of the 800 on the same day.
August 2, 7:45 p.m.: 800 first round
Women's 200/400 (Shaunae Miller-Uibo)
Two-time Olympic 400 champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas attempted the 200/400 double in Tokyo and made the finals of each event. But she wound up going through the motions of the 200 final, finishing last in 24.00 (after running the first round of the 400 that morning), before running a personal best of 48.36 to win the 400 three days later. The 200/400 double is once again possible in 2024, but Miller-Uibo's weaker event, the 200, would once again come first. It would also require running twice in one day, though neither of the races would be finals (400 first round on the morning of August 5, followed by the 200 semis that evening).
Men's 200/400
In Tokyo, it was possible to attempt the men's 200/400 double as all of the races were on different days (save for the 200 first round and semis — a necessary same-day double for all athletes). In Tokyo, it's virtually impossible as the 200 semis will be held just 73 minutes before the 400 final on the night of August 7.
How will the repechage round work?
In almost every case, the repechage round will take place the day after the first round of each event. The only exception is the men's 110 hurdles, where the first round is on August 4 and the repechage on August 6. And in almost every case, the repechage athletes won't have to race twice in the same day. The only exception is the women's 200, where the first round will be held on the morning of August 4, the repechage on the afternoon of August 5, and the semis on the evening of August 5.
Should any repechage athlete in the 800 advance to the final, they will have raced on four consecutive days. For any 1500 athlete to advance to the final, they will have had to have raced three straight days followed by a one-day break before the final. The repechage round is mostly a chance for lesser athletes to get a longer Olympic experience instead of running one race and going home, but it's not impossible to suggest that a repechage athlete could be a factor in the final. At the 2020 Olympics, Great Britain's Josh Kerr needed a time qualifier to advance from the first round of the men's 1500 and wound up earning the bronze medal. Such a feat will be harder in 2024 since an athlete such as Kerr would now have to run an extra race.
Here's how the schedule works for the men's and women's 800 and 1500:
Prelims: August 7, 11:45 a.m.
Repechage: August 8, 12:00 p.m.
Semis: August 9, 11:30 a.m.
Final: August 10, 7:30 p.m.
Prelims: August 2, 7:45 p.m.
Repechage: August 3, 11:10 a.m.
Semis: August 4, 8:35 p.m.
Final: August 5, 9:50 p.m.
Repechage: August 3, 8:25 p.m.
by Letsrun
Paris 2024 Olympic Games
For this historic event, the City of Light is thinking big! Visitors will be able to watch events at top sporting venues in Paris and the Paris region, as well as at emblematic monuments in the capital visited by several millions of tourists each year. The promise of exceptional moments to experience in an exceptional setting! A great way to...
Will Letesenbet Gidey break the women's marathon world record in Valencia on Sunday?
The undisputed fastest female distance runner in history, Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, will make her highly anticipated 42.2-km debut on Sunday at the 2022 Valencia Marathon.
The 24-year-old currently holds world records over 5,000m (14:06.62), 10,000m (29:01.03), and the half-marathon (62:52), plus she is the reigning world 10,000m champion.
Gidey has found success in Valencia—it's where she set two of her world records (5,000m and half-marathon). To date, she is the only woman to run under the 64- and 63-minute barrier for the half-marathon, which predicts she is ready for something fast on Sunday.
What attracts many of the world's top marathoners to race in Valencia is the favourable weather and flat course. In the 2020 edition, 60 athletes achieved their qualification times for the Tokyo Olympics.
The weather for Sunday couldn't be better for marathoning—the current forecast calls for 5 C with less than 10 km/h winds. It is reported that Gidey will have three male pacemakers guiding her, and she will be trying to run fast, says her agent.
Although Gidey has not come out and said she is chasing the world record, her previous times over 10K and 21.1 km have shown that she could be capable of something in the range of 2:16 to 2:12.
Until 2019, only one female marathoner had ever run under 2:16—Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon. Since 2019, three women have broken the 2:16 mark, with Brigid Kosgei's world record time of 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon leading the way. Her Kenyan compatriot Ruth Chepngetich came within 14 seconds of her record at this year's Chicago Marathon, becoming the second-fastest female marathoner in history (2:14:18).
Letesenbet Gidey leads Sifan Hassan and the late Agnes Tirop at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Photo: Kevin Morris
Another time on Gidey's mind is the Ethiopian national record of 2:15:37, which was run by Tigist Assefa at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
Right now, Gidey is at the top of her game, and the only thing holding her back is her lack of marathon experience. Valencia offers her a chance to reach times no woman has touched, and on Sunday, we are likely to see something special.
Our prediction is something in the realm of 2:13-low, smashing the world record and achieving the title of the fastest debutante of all time.
by Running Magazine
VALENCIA TRINIDAD ALFONSO
The Trinidad Alfonso EDP Valencia Marathon is held annually in the historic city of Valencia which, with its entirely flat circuit and perfect November temperature, averaging between 12-17 degrees, represents the ideal setting for hosting such a long-distance sporting challenge. This, coupled with the most incomparable of settings, makes the Valencia Marathon, Valencia, one of the most important events in...
Faith Chepng'etich nominated for World Athlete of the Year Award
Olympic and World 1,500m champion Kenya's Faith Chepng'etich has once again been nominated for the 2022 Women's World Athlete of the Year Award.
The 28-year-old Faith Chepng'étich will battle nine other top athletes for the coveted award whose winner will be revealed on World Athletics' social media platforms in early December.
The announcement on Wednesday marked the opening of the voting process for the 2022 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the World Athletics Awards.
Chepngétich is up against world champions Nigeria's Tobi Amusan (100m hurdles), American Chase Ealey (shot put), 2013 Women's World Athlete of the Year, Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100m) and Shericka Jackson (200m) and American Sydney McLaughlin (World 400m hurdles and 4x400m).
Other world champions in the race are the 2020 Women's World Athlete of the Year, Yulimar Rojas (Triple jump) from Venezuela, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (400m) from Bahamas and Peru's Kimberly Garcia (20km race walk).
Also in contention is the World Indoor and World High Jump silver medalist Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine.
These athletes were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.
"It has been another memorable year for the sport and the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world," noted a statement from World Athletics.
Chepngétich recaptured the world 1,500m tile clocking three minutes and 52.96 seconds on July 18, before going on to win the Monaco leg of the Diamond League in a national record time of 3:50.37, missing the world record by just three tenths of a second.
It was the second fastest time in history of the women's 1,500m race where Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba holds the world record of 3:50.07 set in Monaco in 2015.
Chepngétich would retain her Diamonds League Trophy, winning in Zurich in 4:00.44 on September 8.
Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah beat Chepngétich and Tokyo Olympics 10,000m/ 5,000m champion Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands to win last year's award.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists. The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.
Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube this week; a 'like' on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.
The World Athletics Council's vote will count for 50 percent of the result, while the World Athletics Family's votes and the public votes will each count for 25 per cent of the final result.
Voting for the World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on October 31. At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics.
by Faith Chepng'étich
Faith Chepng'etich asserted her supremacy as the world's best in 1,500m
World and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon admits she never expected to go around the last bend alone on her way to victory on Day Two of the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday.
Kipyegon clocked 4:00.44 to win the women's 1500m and rack up her third Diamond League title on the final day of this year's League.
Ireland's Ciara Mageean (4:01.68) and Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu (4:01.73) came second and third respectively.
"I was hoping that when I pushed, they would come with me and it would be a tough race. I enjoyed it anyway, but it was really funny because I honestly believed they were coming with me so it almost felt that I was running on my own towards the end," the double Olympic champion said.
She added: "I tried to follow the pacer and do my own thing. It is really special to race here, this is Zurich, and you can really hear it out there."
During this year's edition of the prestigious track and field one-day meet, Kipyegon emerged victorious in the Prefontaine, Monaco and Zurich legs of the competition.
Last time out, in Monaco, she fell 0.3 seconds of setting a new world record, timing 3:50.37 on her way to victory.
Despite running slower this time, Kipyegon was still happy to finish off her season with a win and looked back to what has been business as usual for the two-time world champion.
"This was a really strong field, but then I kept thinking this was the last race of the season, and I took the opportunity to end it in a nice way. It has been a long season, and, indeed, my legs are tired, but I think I still managed to run a good time all things considered – like I said, it was a strong field," she said.
Having cemented her status as the queen of the three-and-a-quarter lap race, Kipyegon will be keen on enhancing this reputation when she returns to Budapest next year to defend the world title she snatched from Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in Oregon in July.
by Omondi Onyatta
Dutch track star Sifan Hassan mulling marathon switch
Dutch track star Sifan Hassan, who won double Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Games, said Tuesday she was thinking about stepping up to the marathon.
"I'm really planning to run marathon," said the Ethiopia-born Hassan. "I don't know when, but I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking about it every night and every day, whenever I run."
When asked whether she might have a tilt at the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she replied with a laugh: "Why not?"
Hassan, 29, also won bronze in the 1,500 in Tokyo in a remarkable bid for three titles.
That effort, however, took its toll and Hassan has enjoyed a hiatus from the sport, time she said that had been constructively spent learning about her true self.
"In Tokyo I did amazing, but it affected me a lot. This year for me is like a break of a year," Hassan said ahead of Wednesday's 5,000-meter race, part of the Diamond League finals in Zurich.
"I have to have a very big goal and very big challenge to go forward," she added, describing herself as "curious" to see if she can push her limits for challenges as much mental as physical.
"I've lost a couple of races, which gave me a boost," she said of this season. "I'm in great shape, I'm peaking now."
Much was expected of Hassan at July's world championships in Oregon, but she could only finish sixth in the 5,000 and fourth in the 10,000.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wants to triple at the 2024 Olympics
Last Thursday, before Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran the world-leading time of 3:29.05 at the Lausanne Diamond League meet, he revealed to the media that he hopes to run the distance triple of 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics (like Sifan Hassan did at Tokyo 2020).
Ingebrigtsen planned to do the triple at the 2022 European championships in Munich, but COVID-19 prevented him from attaining the qualifying standard before the meet. "I got COVID when I was supposed to race the 10K, so I couldn't put that into the plan for the summer."
Instead, he hopes to attempt the triple at the world championships and the 2024 Olympics. He said he hadn't seen the schedules yet, but added, "I hope World Athletics officials have made it possible."
On Friday, World Athletics announced the schedule for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, and here's what it would require:
Day 1, 7:05 p.m.: 1,500m first round
Day 2, 5:35 p.m.: 1,500m semis
Day 2, 6:25 p.m.: 10,000m final
Day 5, 9:15 p.m.: 1,500m final
The triple would be difficult as currently scheduled. On Day 2, Ingebrigtsen would have to run the 1,500m semi-final and then the 10,000m final within 45 minutes of each other. Is it possible? Yes, but he would need to run conservatively in the semi-final and then has to hope the 10,000m final goes out slowly.
The great Emil Zatopek is the only runner to pull off the triple–at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Zapotek won the men's 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon, breaking Olympic records in each event.
Hassan attempted the distance triple at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but came up short with a bronze in the women's 1,500m.
There are a few changes to the 2023 schedule over Eugene 2022. The length of the competition has been changed to nine days (Aug. 19-27), as opposed to the previous 10-day schedule used for the 2022 World Championships. Another change in the time of the finals: all track and field finals will now be scheduled for the evening sessions.
Here's How the U.S.'s 5,000-Meter World Finalists Handle Excessive Heat on Race Day
Racing in hot weather can be daunting. Utilize these pro tips from Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, and Emily Infeld to better prepare yourself for the next scorcher.
If you've ever raced in the summer, then you know how difficult it is to be underneath the beating sun for too long. Heat stroke, sunburn, and dehydration are legitimate dangers from overexposure. But maybe you signed up for a race that starts in the middle of a summer day. Maybe you're running a destination marathon in a hotter climate. Perhaps you're even attempting an ultramarathon, like Badwater 135, which takes place in Death Valley. You want to race, but you also want to be safe.
Professional runners sympathize. On July 20 at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the women's 5,000 meters took to the track for their preliminary races in searing 90-degree heat.
Yet despite the scalding temperatures, Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, and Emily Infeld of the U.S. all qualified for the 5,000-meter final without any problems from the temperature. Schweizer and Infeld even ran season bests. Here are their tips for handling the heat so next time you're faced with a race on hot day, you can be prepared.
Gradually adapt to hotter temperatures
Before the prelim, Infeld hadn't run much in hot weather. She trains part-time in Flagstaff, Arizona, whose average summer high hover around 80 degrees, and has spent the last few months in Eugene, which hadn't experienced 90-degree days yet.
"We were trying as best we could to go at the hottest part of the day, which is around 4 to 6, to do workouts," said Infeld. "Some days that was 80 degrees, some days that was 60. So, I was trying to do sauna, and do things that I could to prepare in case it was hot."
Infeld owns a portable sauna tent that goes up to 140 degrees. She would go for a run, and if it wasn't hot enough for her body to learn to adapt, she'd hydrate well and sit in the sauna for 20 minutes to simulate heat training. A review published in Frontiers looked at numerous studies that confirmed that passive heat acclimation strategies, such as sauna, have a measurable effect on athletic performance and heat tolerance. If you don't have access to a sauna, a study from Temperature recommends overdressing to simulate hotter temperatures, though admits this method isn't as effective.
Infeld's preparations paid off with a season best time of 15:00.98 and a time qualifier for the 5,000-meter final.
Stay as cool as possible before racing
Schweizer already had one race under her belt before the 5,000-meter prelims —the championship 10,000 when she placed ninth in a personal best of 30:18.05. Because the weather was temperate for the 10,000, Schweizer found the heat during the 5,000 jarring.
Not only does Schweizer train to adapt to the heat—such as working out in the Salt Lake City, Utah sun during altitude camp with the Bowerman Track Club or using a sauna like Infeld—but she also takes precautions before race to stay cool.
She spends much of her pre-race time in the shade, wears an ice vest to warm up, and even stuffs ice in her uniform on the starting line: "It was to the point where I had chills, so I was pretty cold going into the race."
While utilizing shade and ice may sound like too simple of a solution, it's actually very effective. The same Temperature study previously mentioned reveals that pre-cooling your body optimizes endurance performance and mitigates the effects of heat strain during extreme temperatures. Some techniques mentioned include ice baths, ice vests, cold towels, and drinking very cold drinks or frozen beverages (called "ice-slurries" in the text) before the race. The study recommends trying out a few techniques to see what works best for you on race day.
Wear sunglasses to prevent extra strain
Cranny credits her races last year at the Olympic Trials and Olympics as practice for racing in the heat, and also has similar pre-race cooling procedures as her teammate, Schweizer. But Cranny also found that wearing sunglasses during races makes a huge difference.
According to Cranny, many of the Bowerman Track Club athletes wear sunglasses in practice. But until the USATF Championships in June, she had never worn them in a race before. Shalane Flanagan, who coaches the club alongside Jerry Schumacher, highly recommended it, telling Cranny that it prevents squinting in direct sunlight, which relaxes the face. By relaxing her face, Cranny felt she prevented other parts of her body from tensing up, such as her shoulders.
Expect to see Cranny, Schweizer, and Infeld all wear sunglasses for Friday's final like they did in the prelims, in addition to using pre-cooling techniques. They'll fight for medals against key competitors like double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, world 10,000-meter champions Letesenbet Gidey, and world 1500-meter silver medalist Gudaf Tsegay on Saturday, July 23.
Schweizer is ready to put herself in the race, no matter the conditions or pace: "I feel like at a U.S. level, I'm pretty good at running with that confidence. But going into a world level, there's a lot of really big names and a lot of them have run some pretty crazy times. So I think it's hard sometimes to really trust yourself and trust your fitness but I know I can hang with the best of them."
Cranny will focus on staying mentally tough, as Schumacher advised her and Schweizer that a 15-minute 5,000 might feel like a 14:30 effort in the heat. "You kind of just have to prepare yourself… If you panic 6 laps in cause it feels horrible, even if you're not running a PR pace… being prepared for that and talking yourself through it is a big part."
Infeld caught COVID-19 at the USATF Championships but isn't letting that or the temperatures hold her back: "I always want to compete against the best and see where that lands me," she said immediately post-race, before knowing she qualified on time. "Today it was sixth in that heat, but I hope that's enough to get in the final and mix it up with the women out there."
by Runner's World
Tsegay wins women's 5000m world title after dramatic last lap
It was a 5000m race that came down to the final 100m, Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay using her 1500m speed to prevail in a thrilling sprint finish and gain her first global outdoor gold on the penultimate day of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
The world indoor 1500m record-holder, who claimed the indoor title in that discipline in Belgrade in March, returned to the track five days after claiming 1500m silver behind Kenya's Faith Kipyegon at Hayward Field and she had the 5000m title as her target. After a tactical test, she achieved her aim, clocking 14:46.29 as little more than a second separated the top three. Kenya's 2018 world U20 winner Beatrice Chebet was right behind her, securing silver in 14:46.75, while Ethiopia's Dawit Seyaum got bronze in 14:47.36.
Three years after placing runner-up to her compatriot Hellen Obiri – the two-time world 5000m champion who focused on the 10,000m in Oregon – Margaret Kipkemboi finished fourth in 14:47.71 and Ethiopia's recently-crowned 10,000m champion, Letesenbet Gidey, was fifth in 14:47.98, one place ahead of Netherlands' double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan in 14:48.12.
"The hard times were at the Olympics in Tokyo, because I was injured there" said Tsegay, who still managed to race for 1500m bronze at last year's Games. "Not today."
With a final 1500m of 4:14.59 and a last lap of 59.95, the 25-year-old pulled away from Chebet and Seyaum down the home straight, executing her plan.
"I have been training well for 1500m and this helps sprint on the home stretch," added Tsegay, who claimed her 2014 world U20 1500m silver in Eugene. "I know that Sifan is a top athlete and she is also a 1500m runner, so she has the speed. When she came in front, I sped up even more and won the medal."
It was that attack from Hassan at the bell that launched Tsegay into action. Always near the front, Tsegay led through the first 1000m in 3:14.21 ahead of Kazakhstan's Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui, Seyaum and Gidey. Gidey and Tsegay continued to take turns at the front and Tsegay was to the fore as 3000m was reached in 9:02.79. The world 10,000m champion was a stride ahead with four laps to go as she and Tsegay continued to control the race, with Chebet right behind them.
Glancing over her shoulder with three laps remaining, Tsegay led the 10-strong group and Gidey moved ahead along the back straight. One lap later, Tsegay kicked ahead, but not by enough to shake off her rivals. With her eyes on the big screen, she could see Hassan move from seventh to fifth, and by the time they reached the bell the Olympic champion was on her shoulder.
The race was down to a six-strong battle for the medals. With Tsegay in front, Hassan moved ahead of Gidey as they ran down the back straight for the final time, taking the inside line to challenge Tsegay on the bend. Chebet was running wide, but holding her place. As they left the curve, Hassan no longer seemed the biggest threat, with Chebet providing the challenge. But no one could match Tsegay's finishing speed and she strode ahead down the home straight, on her way to victory. Chebet held on for silver, as Seyaum came through for bronze.
"It was a matter of tactics," said Chebet, whose CV includes the 2019 world U20 cross country title as well as her 2018 world U20 track win. "I was well positioned.
"Although I am young, I've run many races with elite athletes at the Diamond League. They are not new to me. This medal will make a good difference for me."
For Seyaum, the bronze medal was welcome after years of injuries. "I hoped to get a place on the podium," she said. "I hoped and expected to become a medallist in this event. For five years, I was having injuries, so this result is very special for me."
And Hassan, who finished fourth in the 10,000m seven days earlier, explained how she was happy to be back on the international stage. "I started to train like two months ago and today, I did my best and I gave everything," she said. "For me, it is important if I give everything and race smart, it does not matter what the position is.
"I think I really overworked last year, so I wanted to have a break mentally, because athletics is not only about running but also about motivation. I took an almost seven-month break. I am happy to be back, and I will try for more golds next year."
by Jess Whittington (World Athletics)
Budapest is a true capital of sports, which is one of the reasons why the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 is in the right place here. Here are some of the most important world athletics events and venues where we have witnessed moments of sporting history. Throughout the 125-year history of Hungarian athletics, the country and Budapest have hosted numerous...
Caster Semenya unnoticed at World Championships The South African Olympic champion fails to advance in the 5,000 meters in Oregon – her first major international competition since 2017
How many times had South Africa's Caster Semenya charged onto the Hayward Field homestretch seemingly in a different race than the rest of the pack, the sport's most storied stadium rocking as Semenya raced into the deafening roar?
How many times had American track and field's most knowledgeable fans, most passionate crowd stood in appreciation of the two-time Olympic, three-time World 800-meter champion?
On a scalding hot afternoon at the World Championships on Wednesday, Semenya labored through the final meters of her 5,000-meter heat in front of a half-empty stadium, largely ignored or unnoticed even in a place that calls itself Tracktown U.S.A.
Semenya, one of the most compelling and controversial athletes of her generation, has fallen so far off the sport's radar since 2019 that the most well-known of her fellow competitors on Wednesday didn't even realize she was in the competition.
"Caster?" asked Sifan Hassan, the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 champion from the Netherlands, who ran in a later heat on Wednesday.
"Caster Semenya ran the 5,000?" Hassan asked again. " I had no idea. I didn't even know she was here. Did she make it?"
Semenya, running in her first major international competition since winning the 2017 Worlds 800 title, did not advance to the final, finishing 13th in her heat, running 15 minutes, 46.12 seconds, nearly a minute off the winning time of Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia (14:52.69).
"Cooking," Semenya said after the race, referring to the heat. She declined to answer reporters' questions.
Under different circumstances, the sport would be obsessing over the prospect of a showdown between Semenya, 31, and Athing Mu, the 20-year-old Olympic champion from the U.S. in Sunday's 800 final and whether the pair could challenge the world record of 1:53.28 that was set by Czechoslovakia's Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.
Instead, Semenya, who was assigned female at birth, raised as a girl and identifies as a woman has not raced the 800 in meets sanctioned by World Athletics, the sport's international governing body, because of her refusal to submit to the organization's guidelines regarding intersex athletes.
Under the World Athletics guidelines athletes in events from the 400 to the mile – in other words, Semenya's events – are required to take hormone suppressing drugs to reduce their testosterone to below 5 nanomoles per liter for at least six months before being allowed to compete internationally.
Semenya has an intersex condition called Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) or 46, XY that because of differences in sex development that causes male and female traits and a testosterone level higher than the typical female range. She is not transgender.
"I am a woman and I am a world-class athlete," Semenya said in 2019, shortly before the Prefontaine Classic, her final 800. "The IAAF will not drug me or stop me from being who I am."
Semenya had found herself unwittingly in the center of controversy almost from the moment she emerged on the world stage a decade earlier.
She won her first Worlds title in 2009 as an 18-year-old, a victory that prompted Russia's Mariya Savinova to suggest the South African was a man.
"Just look at her," Savinova said.
While the results of Semenya's sex test were supposed to be confidential they were leaked to Australia's Daily Telegraph. Semenya has internal testes but no ovaries or womb, the newspaper reported quoting the test report.
"She is a woman, but maybe not 100 percent," IAAF secretary general Pierre Weiss said at the time, doing nothing to discourage the headline writers at New York's Daily News who blared that the World champion "is a woman … and a man."
Semenya began taking a hormone suppressant drug. She finished second to Savinova at both the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics.
"The IAAF used me in the past as a human guinea pig to experiment with how the medication they required me to take would affect my testosterone levels," she said in 2019. "Even though the hormonal drugs made me feel constantly sick the IAAF now wants to enforce even stricter thresholds with unknown health consequences.
"I will not allow the IAAF to use me and my body again. But I am concerned that other female athletes will feel compelled to let the IAAF drug them and test the effectiveness and negative health effects of different hormonal drugs. This cannot be allowed to happen."
Semenya was awarded the 2012 Olympic gold medal in 2017, two years after the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended that Savinova receive a lifetime ban for doping and her results dating to July 2010 be disqualified.
Given the event's suspect history, the irony of World Athletics now demanding she dope to level the playing field is not lost on Semenya.
"I'm not going to do that," she told the Orange County Register after the 2019 Prefontaine meet. "I'm a very clean athlete. I believe in the clean sport. I believe in the equal opportunities. At the end of the day, this is a woman's sport, this is a man's sport. If they're going come (at) me with that nonsense then why do you lead?"
Semenya challenged World Athletics guidelines with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A three-member CAS panel in June 2019 said the World Athletics policy was "discriminatory" toward athletes with DSD but two of the panel members, nevertheless agreed with the World Athletics that policy was "necessary, reasonable and proportionate" to counter advantages DSD athletes have over other female competitors. Semenya and other female athletes with DSD should be considered "biological males" World Athletics told CAS.
Switzerland's Supreme Court rejected Semenya's appeal in September 2020. She filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in February 2021.
While Semenya fell short in her bid to reach the Olympic 200-meter qualifying standard last year, the success of other intersex athletes has raised further questions about the World Athletics policy.
by Scott Reid
Gold again for Faith Kipyegon as she wins 1500m in Oregon
Faith Kipyegon's supporters were so confident she would win the women's 1500m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 that they put the Kenyan in an uncomfortable position.
"I was facing a lot of pressure," said Kipyegon, the two-time Olympic champion in the 1500m. "Everybody was expecting something special from me. Everybody was like, 'Faith, we believe in Faith,' so it was a real pressure. But I managed it."
In other words, their Faith was not misplaced.
With her trademark kick, Kipyegon regained the world title on Monday (18) that she first won in 2017. She claimed an unprecedented fourth medal in the event. And Kipyegon indeed did something special, clocking 3:52.96, the second-fastest time on US soil after her own 3:52.59 at the Prefontaine Classic in late May on the same Hayward Field track.
After crossing the finish line, Kipyegon, 28, kissed the track and blew kisses to the crowd on 'Women in the Spotlight' day.
The fast-paced race saw Kipyegon and three other runners quickly leave the rest of the field behind with a first lap in just under 59 seconds.
"I'm so grateful to have won the gold medal," Kipyegon said. "This was my big target. I did do it. I was really looking forward to this championship. I was really, really prepared for this race."
World indoor champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia was with her nearly every step until Kipyegon pulled away with about 300 meters to go. Tsegay took the silver in 3:54.52, upgrading from the bronze she won in 2019. She was also just a bit slower than she was at the Pre Classic, where she ran 3:54.21.
"I was expecting more from this race, but my opponents were more experienced and lucky so I have to be grateful for the silver," said Tsegay, 25, who also will run the 5000m later in the week.
Great Britain's Laura Muir, in her fifth World Championships final, at last secured a medal, claiming the bronze with a season's best of 3:55.28. Muir, 29, finished six seconds ahead of Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu, the largest gap in World Championships history between third and fourth.
Sofia Ennaoui of Poland ran a season best of 4:01.43 for fifth. The US placed two runners in the top 10: national champion Sinclaire Johnson was sixth, clocking 4:01:63, while Cory McGee was 10th with a time of 4:03.70.
The third Ethiopian runner, Hirut Meshesha was 12th in 4:05.86 after helping Tsegay push the pace for the first half of the race.
"To tell you the truth, I knew the Ethiopian lady was going to be fast," Kipyegon said. "I knew she was a front-runner, and we ran really quick and I thank God I won."
While the two Ethiopians controlled the early part of the race, Kipyegon stayed on their heels. Muir also clung to the lead group. "To be honest, I didn't look at the clock at all the whole race," she said. "After the first couple of hundred meters, I knew this was very, very fast. I thought it's not going to help to look at the clock right now; it's probably better not to look.
"For me, it's all about racing. It's not about times. I'm really pleased I stuck with it and went with them and it paid off."
Kipyegon has placed first or second in every major championship since 2015. Three years ago, she was coming off maternity leave after having her daughter and placed second behind Sifan Hassan, whose 3:51.95 is the championship record. Kipyegon also earned a silver in 2015.
Hassan decided not to contest the 1500m this year.
After Kipyegon won her second straight Olympic gold medal, Muir called her "the greatest of all time."
"I can say thank you so much," Kipyegon said at the post-race press conference in Oregon, with Muir at her side. "I'm really grateful; she is really a nice lady. Before the race, I talked with her and I wish her all the best. Laura, let's continue like this. This is the spirit of sports."
Kipyegon added that she was happy that Muir, the Olympic 1500m silver medallist, won her first World Championships medal.
"She has been really fighting since 2017 in London and also in 2019 in Doha," Kipyegon said.
The Kenyan said she will skip the upcoming Commonwealth Games and prepare for the Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
She wouldn't speculate about possibly breaking the world record. "I can't talk about it right now," Kipyegon said. "Let me focus myself and see what is possible. I will be trying my best to lower my personal best and to run a good race."
In the meantime, she will spend time with her daughter. "She is everything to me," Kipyegon said.
Letesenbet Gidey's 10,000 Meter World Championship Win Was a Nail-Biter
The 30-minute race was decided in the final second. Four runners barreled down the homestretch toward the finish, their form breaking down, stride getting sloppy. It was ultimately Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey who maintained her mechanics just enough to cross the line first in Saturday's 10,000 meter world championship final. She out-leaned the other three women—Kenya's Hellen Obiri and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi and the reigning Olympic champion in the event from the Netherlands Sifan Hassan—to secure victory in 30:09.94, just 0.08 seconds ahead of Obiri who finished second.
"My legs tied up. I tried to get her, but I couldn't," Obiri said of the finish, keeping her answer plain and simple. Because that's what racing is—plain and simple.
The first 9,900 meters weren't very dramatic. World-class 10Ks on the track usually go the same way. Everybody runs together at the start and people gradually fall off the back of the pack when they can't handle the pace. Today was no different. The pace was honest (15:19 through 5K) and then even more honest, with fewer women in contention every lap. It makes sense that so many athletes fell off the pack: The leaders ran 14:50 over the back-half 5K.
Most athletes don't want to be in the driver's seat. Leading the race is vulnerable. Karissa Schweizer, who was the top American today, said she loves when the pace is fast and she just has to go along for the ride. "My coach always says my biggest skill is following," she said. "I just latched on. My goal was to never run by myself and I did that."
The reigning Olympic champion in the event, Sifan Hassan, was also vying for the title down the homestretch. Coming off the final turn it looked like she had more momentum than anybody. Gidey was certainly the favorite; she's the current World Record holder in both the 5,000 and the 10,000. A Hassan win over Gidey would've been extraordinary—but not necessarily unexpected. Hassan loves to flirt with the history books. Last year in Tokyo, for example, she attempted an unprecedented distance triple crown: She told everybody she wanted to win gold in the 1500, 5,000, and 10,000. She came pretty close. She won gold in both of the long events and placed fourth in the 1500. When it was all said and done, she'd raced six total times with all the qualifying rounds.
Hassan was exhausted—so exhausted she didn't run for eight months. "I'd trained so hard for so long," she said. "After Tokyo I crashed. Mentally crashed. I didn't even care about running."
Hassan came off the track and the media expected her to be upset. The double Olympic gold medalist had to watch three other women step up onto the podium, so she must be upset. "That was fantastic," was the first thing she said. "I'm standing here so happy. It's amazing how I ran."
Hassan's first race of the season was last week in Portland. She ran a 5,000 by herself in 15:13, close to a minute slower than her personal best. There were rumors that she'd been injured, that she was out of shape, that she'd scratch from the World Championships. Clearly, none of it was true.
Schweizer has a similar story. She finished ninth today in 30:19, a 30-second improvement to her personal best. She had Achilles surgery in October and said the recovery period that was required of the surgery was the reset she needed to race at a high level this summer.
Though Schweizer said she was constantly in pain, she trained through it for close to two years. "It really wasn't sustainable, just for my mental health. I was going out and just not enjoying my runs," she said. "Being able to get that surgery done, I realized how much pain I was actually in. I was kind of limping out of bed, limping to start my runs. Not anymore."
Schweizer was disappointed with her finish in Tokyo last summer and said today proved she's moving in the right direction. "Coming into this meet last year I was very overwhelmed. I feel like I got pushed around and then I left disappointed," she said. "This year I wanted to be in contention with two laps to go, and I feel like I did that. If my best is ninth place today, then that's what it is. If I just keep showing up, hopefully one day my best will be a medal."
by Matt Wisner
Cheptegei leaves rivals with no response to retain world 10,000m title in Oregon
Just like the Olympic final in Tokyo, there was a mass queue of runners still in contention as the bell sounded in the men's 10,000m final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
On that occasion there were seven men remaining in the hunt for gold. This time there were eight.
There was another subtle difference as the 25-lap event built up to just as thrilling a crescendo as the women's final the previous day.
In Tokyo the slender Ethiopian Selemon Barega refused to budge from the front, keeping ahead of Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei with a 53.9 final lap.
In Eugene, having controlled most of the race from halfway, Cheptegei hit the front again at the sound of the bell and stayed there. The fastest man in history at 5000m and 10,000m was not going to relinquish the title he toiled to gain in Doha three years ago.
Barega moved on to his shoulder down the back straight and looked set to pounce with 200m to go, but as Cheptegei led round the final bend and into the finishing stretch the world indoor 3000m champion had nothing in the tank.
Like Sifan Hassan in the women's final, Barega faded out of the medals. Like Barega's compatriot Letesenbet Gidey, Cheptegei gritted his teeth and kept his feet on the gas. The 25-year-old could afford to open his arms in celebration as he crossed the line 0.47 clear of his closest pursuer in 27:27.43.
In doing so, Cheptegei became only the fourth man to win back to back 10,000m world titles, following in the footsteps of Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele and Britain's Mo Farah. His final lap was faster than Barega's in Tokyo: 53.42.
"I knew that if I could get into the last fight, I could control it and I could speed it up," said Cheptegei, who won the world U20 title back at Hayward Field eight years ago. "It was very emotional for me to come back to the USA where I started my international career in 2014. Now, I want to continue my dominance in long distance running and I hope I will manage it."
The surprise silver medal winner, in 27:27.90, was Stanley Mburu. The world U20 silver medallist at 5000m in 2018, the 22-year-old Kenyan had quickly regained his composure after falling on the opening lap.
As in the Olympic final, Jacob Kiplimo took the bronze medal, Cheptegei's compatriot clocking 27:27.97 to resist the challenge of home favourite Grant Fisher. The spirited US challenger had to settle for fourth in 27: 28.14, with Barega fifth in 27:28.39.
There were Ugandan flags fluttering in the stands as the 24 runners took their place on the start line, the loudest cheer coming for Fisher, who settled into second as Spain's Carlos Mayo led through 400m in 66.70.
Mayo remained in front through 800m in 2:12.72, 1km in 2:46 and 2km in 5:51, with Fisher maintaining in second spot and Cheptegei keeping a watching brief on proceedings in third.
After Mayo passed 3km in 8:20.08, Cheptegei's teammate Stephen Kissa took over at the front but without upping the pace.
Indeed, the speed slowed to 2:51 for the fourth kilometre, prompting Barega to show his face at the front for the first time with 13 laps to go, reaching halfway in 14.01.32.
Kiplimo was first to make a notable injection of pace, stretching out the field with a 64.46 lap. When Cheptegei moved through on to his compatriot's heels, Barega was alert to the potential threat, surging back up into third.
Cheptegei then took over at the front but slowed the pace to steady laps of 67 seconds. All the while, Barega breezed along, eyes fixed on the target on Cheptegei's back as 15 men remained in contention.
With two laps to go, Mburu made the long run for home but at the bell there were still eight contenders. It was then, after a fleeing appearance at the front by Barega's teammate Berihu Aregawi, that Cheptegei regained control – this time for good.
Obiri, Chelimo will confront Hassan in 10,000m gold rush
Hellen Obiri and Margaret Chelimo, who staged a 1-2 finish in the 5,000m final during the previous 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships, to do battle in the final.
Obiri missed out on a 10,000m medal at the 2019 World Championships and the Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing fifth and fourth respectively, and has decided to focus on the 25-lap only.
Chelimo hopes to double up in the 10,000m and 5,000m that will begin with the heats on Thursday at 2.25am followed by the final on Sunday at 4.25am.
This year, Obiri won the 10,000m at Kenya Defence Forces and the national trials in April and June respectively. She finished second at Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February in 1:04:22 but won the Istanbul Half Marathon in March in 1:04:48.
The duo from Kenya Defence Forces will be eying to recapture the title Kenya won last through Vivian Cheruiyot at the 2015 Beijing World Athletics Championships.
The Kenyans have a battle at hand against the Olympic and World 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands and Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey, the world record holder in both 10,000m and 5,000m.
The Dutchwoman wrestled the 1,500m title from Kenya's Faith Chepng'etich before sealing a double with victory in 10,000m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
The 29-year-old would march on to 5,000m and 10,000m gold and 1500m bronze at last year's Olympic Games.
It's Chepng'etich who halted Hassan's march for the historic hat-trick in Tokyo.
Hassan had not competed this year until a return on July 8 when she won the 5,000m race at Stumptown Twilight Meet, Griswold Stadium, Portland in 15:13.41.
If Hassan wins, she would become only the second woman to successfully defend the title, after Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba, who achieved the feat in Helsinki in 2005 and Osaka in 2007 – and who also triumphed in Moscow in 2013.
Cheruiyot won the title in 2011 and regained it from Dibaba in 2015.
Gidey, the Ethiopian who obliterated Hassan's two-day-old world record of 29:06.82 with a stunning 29:01.03 in Hengelo in June last year, has the best finishing kick alongside Obiri.
In Doha in 2019 and in Tokyo last year, Gidey failed to halt Hassan's dream for victory, taking silver and bronze respectively.
by Ayumba Ayodi
Ethiopia Has Changed Its Team Again for the 2022 Worlds
On Tuesday, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation announced its team for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. If this sounds familiar, that's because Ethiopia already named its team on June 13…and then updated it four days later to sub in Dawit Seyaum after she ran 14:25 to win the Oslo Diamond League.
Tuesday's list — which the federation says is the final roster (it pretty much has to be, since entries were due to World Athletics on Monday) — features even more changes, which will have a major impact on Worlds, which begin on July 15 at Hayward Field. Remember, at World Indoor Championships earlier this year in Belgrade, Ethiopian athletes won eight of the 12 available medals across the 1500 and 3000 meters — including all four golds and a 1-2-3 sweep in the women's 1500. The country is a distance powerhouse.
Here is the full roster, with changes, followed by some analysis on what it all means.
Men's 800 (no changes)Ermiyas GirmaTolosa Bodena
Women's 800Habitam AlemuDiribe WeltejiHirut Meshesha (1:58.54 sb) replacing Freweyni Hailu (1:59.39 sb)
Men's 1500Samuel TeferaTaddese Lemi (3:37.06 sb) replacing Melese Nberet (no races this year)Samuel Abate
Women's 1500Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.21 sb) replacing Axumawit Embaye (3:58.80 sb)Freweyni Hailu (3:58.18 sb, 4th in Olympics) replacing Ayal Dagnachew (3:59.87 sb)Hirut Meshesha
Men's 3000 steeple (no changes)Lamecha GirmaHailemariyam AmareGetnet Wale
Women's 3000 steepleMekides AbebeWorkua GetachewSimbo Alemayehu (9:09.17 sb at age 18) replacing Zerfe Wondemagegn (9:27.75 sb)
Men's 5,000Muktar EdrisBerihu AregawiYomif KejelchaSelemon Barega replacing Telahun Bekele
Women's 5,000Ejgayehu TayeLetesenbet Gidey (14:24.59 sb) replacing Gudaf Tsegay (14:26.69 sb)Dawit Seyaum (14:25.84 sb) replacing Fantu Worku (14:47.37 sb)
Men's 10,000Selemon BaregaTadese WorkuBerihu Aregawi (26:46.13 sb) replacing Milkesa Mengesha (27:00.24 sb)
Women's 10,000Letesenbet GideyEjgayehu Taye (30:44.68 sb) replacing Girmawit Gebrzihair (30:47.72 sb)Bosena Mulate
Men's marathonLelisa DesisaTamirat TolaMosinet GeremewSeifu Tura
Women's marathonGotytom GebreslaseAbabel YeshanehAshete Bekere
1) Ethiopia's team just got A LOT stronger and Ethiopia went from no one doubling to a lot of doublers
In recent years, Ethiopia has been reluctant to allow its stars to double at global championships. Last year in Tokyo, Ethiopia had two huge 5,000m medal threats in Selemon Barega (Olympic 10,000 champ) and Berihu Aregawi (the 10,000 4th placer who would go on to win the Diamond League 5,000 title) but neglected to enter either in the 5,000 meters. Of the three men Ethiopia did enter, two failed to even make the final and the third, Milkesa Mengesha, wound up 10th.
The federation took criticism after that misstep and it looked as if it would double down in 2022 as the initial team named in June featured no doublers. But the final squad features five athletes double-entered: World Indoor bronze medalist Hirut Meshesha (800/1500) and Ejgayehu Taye (14:12 pb, #5 woman all-time), Letesenbet Gidey (women's 5k/10k world record holder), Barega and Aregawi, all of whom are running the 5,000 and 10,000.
2) The meet is more interesting with the Ethiopians doubling; the men's 5,000 final is now totally stacked
The World Championships are meant to be about the best against the best. When a world final is over, we don't want to be asking ourselves, "What would have happened if Athlete X was in the race?" But that's absolutely what we were thinking after the 2021 Olympic 5000 final without Barega. And it's been an issue for a lot longer than that. Only once in his career did Haile Gebrselassie attempt the 5,000/10,000 double at a global champs (1993), in part because there were still prelims in the 10,000 in those days and in part because he didn't want to tire himself for the lucrative post-championship meets in Europe.
That shouldn't be an issue in 2022 (and if it is, it won't have been the fault of the Ethiopian federation) as the distance finals are much stronger with Taye, Gidey, Barega, and Aregawi doubling up. The men's 5,000 could be an all-timer. Not only do you have Olympic 5,000 champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, but now we have Olympic 10,000 champ Barega stepping down and Olympic 1500 champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen stepping up. It's reminiscent of one of the most famous races in track history, the 2003 World Championship 5,000 final in Paris which featured Hicham El Guerrouj stepping up from the 1500 and Kenenisa Bekele stepping down from the 10,000 only for both of them to be defeated by an 18-year-old Eliud Kipchoge.
Having Aregawi in the 10,000 makes for a stronger race as well as he was 3rd at the Ethiopian trials in that event and set a Diamond League record for margin for victory when he ran 12:50 to win the Pre Classic 5,000 by 16 seconds.
3) Gudaf Tsegay's medal odds went up but her gold medal odds went down
Tsegay is pretty clearly the #2 women's 1500 runner in the world. She won World Indoors by 5+ seconds and is 3+ seconds faster than the #3 1500 woman in the world right now. But she's also not close to double Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon, who beat her convincingly at Pre, 3:52.59 to 3:54.21.
Initially, Tsegay was entered in the 5,000 at Worlds (she ran the 5,000 only at the Olympics last year, earning the bronze medal) and while there's no overwhelming favorite in that event like Kipyegon (well at least until we see how Sifan Hassan looks this weekend), Tsegay is not as good at the 5,000 as the 1500 (as evidenced by her defeat to countrywoman Dawit Seyaum in the 5,000 in Oslo). By running the 1500, Tsegay has a better shot at a medal but her odds at gold are worse.
4) It just got a WHOLE LOT harder for the Americans to medal
An American medal in the women's 5,000 or 10,000 was already unlikely, so the Ethiopian roster changes didn't make a huge impact on the chances of Karissa Schweizer or Elise Cranny. But the medal odds of Grant Fisher, who finished 5th in the Olympic 10,000 last year, are way lower today than they were a week ago (a statement also true for his US teammates Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker).
Last Wednesday, two of the four men who finished ahead of Fisher in the 10,000 in Tokyo were major question marks. Bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo hadn't raced on the track all year, while Aregawi, the 4th placer, was named to Ethiopia's team in the 5,000 only. Since then, Kiplimo ran 7:29 for 3,000 in Stockholm to show he's very fit right now and Aregawi was added to Ethiopia's 10,000 squad. Plus Barega was added to the 5,000.
Those developments will make it significantly harder for Fisher (or any American man in the 5,000 or 10,000) to earn a medal. That said, if an American can somehow medal, it will go down as a monumental achievement since no one can accuse these fields of being watered down.
Sinclaire Johnson's medal hopes in the 1500 also took a BIG hit. With Tsegay now in the 1500, two medals seem to be spoken for and new addition Freweyni Hailu, who was 4th in the Olympics last year at age 20, is better than Ayal Dagnachew (who is no slouch herself, world junior 800 champ last year and 3:59 this year).
5) Ethiopia needs to figure out a better way to do this
One of the most important jobs an athletics federation has is selecting national teams. And for countries that don't use a "top 3 at the trials" model — which is to say, every country except for the US — things can get prickly as someone, inevitably, is going to be upset they're missing out on the team.
There are ways to limit the outrage. The simplest solution is the one USATF has already discovered: hold a trials and just pick the top three finishers. Ethiopia actually did this ahead of the Olympics last year. The problem was, they held all the races on the same day, making it impossible for athletes to try out for both the 5,000 and 10,000 teams.
But even if you don't want to stage a trials, a federation can avoid much of the backlash by announcing a clear criteria ahead of time and sticking to it. You want to pick the team based off season's bests? Fine. Just let everyone know before the season starts and let them plan their races accordingly. Transparency and consistency are the keys.
Heck, even if you want to be subjective and use a selection panel, you can at least cut down on some of the drama by letting the athletes know in advance that they'll have to run a few performances to impress the selectors.
What you don't want to do is announce a team well before the entry deadline (and three days before two key Diamond League meets featuring most of your athletes) only to drastically change it three weeks later. Which is exactly what happened in Ethiopia, leaving athletes like Telahun Bekele (winner of the 5,000 in Oslo) to think they're on the team only to yank it away less than a month later.
In the end, Ethiopia ended up picking the team by season's best except in the 10,000, where it staged a trial race (and the top 3 there were the fastest 3 on the year). If it had just used that criteria throughout the year and stuck to it, there would be fewer angry people right now. The athletes deserve better.
by Jonathan Gault
Sifan Hassan Will Make 2022 Debut on Friday & Will Compete at 2022 Worlds
Olympic 5,000/10,000-meter champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands will open her 2022 season on Friday in the 5,000 meters at the Stumptown Twilight meet in Portland and is planning on competing at the World Championships, according to her coach Tim Rowberry. It will be Hassan's first race since last year's Diamond League final on September 9.
It is not uncommon for athletes to take longer to get going in the year following an Olympics, and no athlete was busier in Tokyo last year than Hassan, who ran six races across nine days, earning three medals (bronze in the 1500, gold in the 5,000 and 10,000). Rowberry said Hassan began preparing for her 2022 season in December as she usually does but it has taken most of the year to make sure she is recovered and excited to train again."
"On the personal level, Sifan also is trying to take things slowly so she doesn't burn herself out next year while building up for Paris [2024]," Rowberry added.
Hassan began the year with training stints in Namibia and Ethiopia but Rowberry said those training trips were not as productive as usual.
"Fasting during Ramadan this year also interrupted training more than usual," Rowberry said about Hassan, who is Muslim, "so I felt it was necessary to postpone her races leading into Prefontaine rather than interrupt the slow training buildup."
Rowberry said training has improved over the last two months, during which time Hassan has been based in Utah. The 5,000 on Friday will serve as a tuneup for Worlds and not much more (Hassan's pb is 14:22; the #2 seed for the meet is 15:51). Currently, Hassan is entered in the 1500, 5,000, and 10,000 at the World Championships but is not planning on running all three events. Rowberry said they will make a decision on which event(s) to drop after this weekend.
Kenyan Faith Chepng'etich steps up preps for major races
Two-time Olympic 1,500 meters champion Faith Chepng'etich will on Monday compete in the 800m race at the FBK Games in Hengelo, the Netherlands.
She will battle it out with the world champion over the distance, Ugandan Halima Nakayi.
Chepng'etich said that she will be using the race to improve her speed in preparation for the World Athletics Championships that will be held in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America on July 15-24.
The world 1,500m silver medalist finished second behind Burundi's Francine Niyonsoba in the 3,000m race at the Doha Diamond League on May 13.
And at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League held on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon, Chepng'etich ran a world-lead time of three minutes, 52.59 seconds (3:52.59) to win the 1,500m race.
"Competing in the 800m race is part of my training. I will be testing my speed as I prepare for the world championships in July. Speed is critical for a podium finish," she told Nation Sport.
Chepng'etich will be looking to reclaim the world 1,500m title that she won during the 2017 edition held in London, but which she surrendered to Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands in Doha in 2019.
During the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that were held last year, Chepng'etich defended her 1,500m title that she had previously won at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
In the 3,000m steeplechase, another top Kenyan athlete, Celliphine Chespol, will be seeking to qualify for the world championships.
The 2018 World Athletics Under-20 Championships winner in Tampere, Finland will be competing against Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai from Uganda, who will be participating in her fifth event this year.
During last week's Prefontaine Classic, Eugene Diamond League, Chespol finished fifth in her specialty.
Kenyan-born Kazakhstani athlete Norah Jeruto won the race and another Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Winfred Yavi was second.
Chespol said that her season has started slowly, but she is getting back into shape. She said that the races she has participated in have helped her improve her performance.
by Bernard Rotich
Prefontaine Classic promises world record attempts and rich competition despite late losses
It is a measure of Eugene's Prefontaine Classic meeting - which tomorrow forms the third stop on the Wanda Diamond League tour - that it can lose four Olympic gold medalists at late notice and still remain packed with compelling competition and world record attempts.
The arrangement of all that athletics action was altered today following forecasts of rain and high winds - likely to be blowing into the faces of the sprinters - on Saturday.
Accordingly the men's pole vault, featuring Olympic gold and silver medalists Mondo Duplantis of Sweden and Chris Nilsen of the United States, the women's discus, featuring the US Olympic champion Valarie Allman, and the women's high jump, involving Ukraine's world indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, have been moved to Friday night's programme, where world record attempts are being made over two miles and 5,000 meters.
The news that the United States' Olympic women's 800 meters champion Athing Mu will not now race against Britain's Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson, and that Italy's men's 100m champion Marcell Jacobs will not be in a field including the man he beat to gold in Japan, home sprinter Fred Kerley, was disappointing.
Also missing from the planned line-up at the new-look Hayward Field, which will stage this year's World Athletics Championships, are home talents Matthew Centrowitz, the Rio 2016 1500m gold medalist, Tokyo 2020 and world 400m hurdles silver medalist Rai Benjamin and double world pole vault champion Sam Kendricks.
And South Africa's double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, who had planned a first top-level race since 2019, has also withdrawn.
All this means the limelight will shine all the more intensely on stellar performers such as Jamaica's double Olympic women's 100 and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who runs over the shorter sprint against a field including the American who missed last year's Olympics because of a three-month suspension after testing positive for cannabis, Sha'Carri Richardson.
Britain's world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, who last Saturday won the Birmingham Diamond League 100m from which Thompson-Herah had made a late withdrawal, is also in the mix, as is Switzerland's world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji and Jamaica's Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Shericka Jackson.
Thompson-Herah chose to make a low-key start to her outdoor season, choosing to compete in Kingston, where she clocked 10.94sec despite a strong headwind of -1.8 meters per second.
It was on this track last year that she ran 10.54, putting her second on the all-time list.
The men's 100m is also loaded given the presence of Kerley and his fellow Americans Trayvon Bromell, who will be keen to restore normal working after his early exit in Birmingham because of a false start, world champion Christian Coleman, world 200m champion Noah Lyles and Canada's Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse.
And 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton, who last year became the youngest male athlete to represent the United States since middle distance runner Jim Ryun in 1964 and missed a 200m medal by one place, will seek to break 10sec for the first time.
Knighton already tops this year's 200m world list with his startling 19.49sec in Baton Rouge last month, which put him fourth on the all-time list.
The women's 200m will see double Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo taking on Jamaica's 35-year-old Beijing 2008 and London 2012 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won world gold at this distance in 2013 and took silver at the London 2012 Olympics.
The men's 400m will see Kirani James of Grenada, the London 2012 champion and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist, take on home athletes including Michael Cherry, Michael Norman – a major talent currently seeking a performance to do himself justice - Vernon Norwood and Kahmari Montgomery.
The absence of Benjamin from the 400m hurdles will offer Brazil's Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Alison Dos Santos - who beat Benjamin in the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha – a perfect chance to shine,
In the women's 100m hurdles, Puerto Rico's Olympic champion takes on the American who took silver behind her in Tokyo, world record holder Kendra Harrison.
The traditional Friday evening distance racing in Eugene will include a women's two miles and a women's and men's 5000m race.
At the latter, which will be followed by an official Diamond League 5,000m on Saturday, Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei is billed to make an attempt at breaking his own world record of 12min 35.36sec, which he ran in Monaco in August 2020.
On Saturday afternoon the majority of the rivals Cheptegei beat to win Olympic 5,000m gold in Tokyo last year will line up for the Diamond League 5.000m, where Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, Olympic 5,000m silver Mohammed Ahmed of Canada and two-time Olympic 5,000m medalist Paul Chelimo of the United States are the main contenders.
Friday night will also see Ethiopia's 24-year-old Letesenbet Gidey aiming to lower the women's 5000m world record of 14:06.62 that she set in Valencia in October 2020.
Gidey has since lowered the women's 10,000m world record to 29min 01.03sec and the world half marathon record to 1hr 2min 52sec.
Elsewhere on Friday, the women's two miles will see Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion, facing Diamond League 5,000m champion Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi.
The latter, who was disqualified at the Tokyo 2020 Games, beat Kenya's double Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon over 3,000m in Doha earlier this month.
The world best of 8:58.58, set by Ethiopia's Meseret Defar in 2007, is sure to be under threat.
Saturday's middle-distance action will be highlighted by the clash of Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who renew their rivalry in the Bowerman Mile.
Ingebrigtsen beat Cheruiyot for the first time in the Olympic final in Tokyo last year but the Kenyan beat his Norwegian rival a few weeks later to win over 1500m at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Both men will need to be primed, however, to beat Kenya's Abel Kipsang, who out-kicked Cheruiyot to win in Doha recently and who backed it up with 1500m victory in Birmingham last Sunday.
Kipyegon meanwhile will take on Britain's Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Laura Muir and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia in the women's 1500m.
Hodgkinson faces an 800m field that includes home runner Ajee Wilson, who took the world indoor title earlier this year.
The men's shot put will involve the respective Tokyo 2020 gold, silver and bronze medalists Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs of the United States and New Zealand's Tom Walsh.
by Mike Rowbottom
Prefontaine Classic
The Pre Classic, part of the Diamond League series of international meets featuring Olympic-level athletes, is scheduled to be held at the new Hayward Field in Eugene. The Prefontaine Classicis the longest-running outdoor invitational track & field meet in America and is part of the elite Wanda Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually. The Pre Classic's results score has...
Pre Classic Hit With Withdrawals: Olympic Champs Athing Mu, Marcell Jacobs and Matthew Centrowitz All Withdraw From Meet
Every year the Prefontaine Classic is an incredible meet. Not only is it the lone Wanda Diamond League meeting in the US, but Nike pretty much mandates that its top athletes compete unless injured.
This year's meet was shaping up to be totally spectacular as it comes less than two months before Worlds are held on the very same track. However, while the meet is going to be amazing, it's going to be less than amazing than it was looking like a few days ago as a bunch of big-name stars have been taken off the start lists in recent days.
Reigning Olympic 800 champ Athing Mu is no longer listed in the women's 800. The same is true for Marcell Jacobs in the men's 100, which this year is supplanting the Bowerman Mile as the last event on the schedule. However, he has been replaced by Trayvon Bromell –the fastest man in the world in 2021. 2016 Olympic 1500 champ Matthew Centrowitz also is off the start lists, meaning he still hasn't raced at all in 2022.
"Matthew has a knee injury and is unable to race this weekend. Hopefully, he will be back in action soon," texted Ricky Simms, the agent for Centrowitz, when asked for comment by LetsRun.com.
The Italian federation said that Jacobs picked up a muscle injury during his race in Savona last week and has been told to take 10 days off. No reasons have been given for Mu's withdrawal and Wes Felix, her agent, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday night, the US 10,000 meter champs will be held plus there will be world record attempts in the women's 2 mile with Francine Niyonsaba and Sifan Hassan as well as 5000s with Letesenbet Gidey and Joshua Cheptegei. Then on Saturday, the normal meet will be held.
Eilish McColgan motors to victory in the Vitality London 10,000 in 30:23
Eilish McColgan came within two seconds of Paula Radcliffe's long-standing British and European 10km record at the Vitality London 10,000 on Monday (2) morning.
After a frantic sprint finish, McColgan stopped the clock at 30:23 to miss the record by a tantalising margin. However, Eilish did relieve her mother and coach Liz of yet another family record as she improved her Scottish record of 30:38 which had stood since 1989.
This was McColgan's second near-European record in just over a week, proving the European 5000m silver medallist is back in top shape after testing positive for coronavirus in March. In Malaga last week, McColgan clocked 14:45 for 5km to fall one second short of Sifan Hassan's European standard bearer.
At twice the distance eight days later, McColgan came within touching distance of Radcliffe's 10km mark of 30:21 from 2003 which also stood as a world record for more than a decade. However, the European all-time list is headed by Lonah Chemtai Salpeter's 30:05 clocking from Tilburg in 2019 although that time was not ratified for record purposes.
"I am gutted to have missed the British record by a couple of seconds. I probably didn't believe I could do it, so I went into the race thinking I'd be happy to run 31:40, but I'm in much better shape than I give myself credit for," said McColgan.
McColgan passed through halfway in 15:15 - by contrast Radcliffe rocketed through 5km in 14:48 when she clocked 30:21 - and despite mustering up some of her track speed in the last 200 meters, McColgan couldn't quite revise the record books.
"I only saw the clock when I turned the corner towards the finish line, and I thought: 'Oh my god, I could make it in time. I think I probably ran a 200m PB in the push for the finish line. I was so desperate to get the record but hopefully there will be another opportunity to go for it again later this year," said McColgan who holds the European 10km record in a women's only race at 30:52.
McColgan won the women's race by more than one minute from fellow Olympian Jess Piasecki in 31:28 with Samantha Harrison third in 31:44.
In the men's race, British international Ellis Cross achieved a significant victory over multiple Olympic, European and world 5000m and 10,000m champion Mo Farah who was racing for the first time in almost one year due to a stress fracture.
Cross broke clear of Farah in the last two kilometers for victory in 28:40 to Farah's 28:44. "I'm lost for words – I did not expect this in a million years. Honestly, I know it's a cliché, but I couldn't believe it. I just felt very good from the get-go. Obviously, I knew Farah had a finish, so the last 2K I thought I'd try and wind it up a bit – try to sting his legs a little bit to hold him off," said Cross.
Vitality London 10,000
The Vitality London 10,000 takes you past many landmark sites, including the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Bank of England – so you even get to do a bit of sightseeing along the way! You will run alongside elite runners and have coverage from the BBC, making this 10km one of the highest in profile of its kind....
Fast times at the Meta Time Trials in Malaga
Eilish McColgan has set a UK 5km record of 14:45 at the ASICS META:TIME:TRIALS in Malaga.
She bettered her own 5km mark of 14:48 from the UAE back in February and Paula Radcliffe's 14:51, set at Hyde Park in 2003, while McColgan is also close behind Sifan Hassan's European 5km record of 14:44.
Fast times were the target and many were achieved at Sunday's META: TIME : TRIALS by ASICS, a World Athletics Label event in Malaga, with Ethiopia's Tsegay Kidanu quickest in the men's 10km with 27:14 and Britain's Eilish McColgan among the national record-breakers in the 5km.
The event was specially organised to showcase the new METASPEED™+ Series footwear and McColgan, the 2018 European 5000m silver medallist, was among the athletes to go quicker than ever before. She led the women's 5km in 14:45 to improve the official British record and finish ahead of Kenya's Naomi Chepngeno with 14:57.
In the men's race, Olympic finalist Mohamed Katir ran 13:20 to miss Jimmy Gressier's European record by just two seconds. Felix Bour of France was second in 13:41.
Kidanu impressed on his 10km road race debut, running 27:14 after passing half way in 13:42. That saw the 2019 world U20 cross country fifth-place finisher win by nine seconds ahead of Kenya's Boniface Kibiwott with 27:23.
Kenya's Vicoty Chepngeno, winner of the Houston Half Marathon in January, was this time racing over 10km and claimed top spot in 31:39, 16 seconds ahead of Sweden's Sarah Lahti with 31:55.
Three athletes dipped under the hour in the men's half marathon, led by Morocco's Olympic marathon 11th place finisher Mohamed Reda El Aaraby with 59:54.
That saw him break the hour barrier for the first time, improving on his previous best of 1:00:17 set when finishing 13th the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia.
Kenya's Wilfred Kimitei and Alfred Kipchirchir were just two seconds behind him, both clocking 59:56, while their compatriot Vincent Ngetich clocked exactly an hour.
Ethiopia's Yeshi Kalayu Chekole claimed a clear win in the women's half marathon, running a PB of 1:07:30 to finish 38 seconds ahead of Kenya's Sharon Kemboi with 1:08:08.
ASICS META : Time : Trials
ASICS elite athletes from around the world came together to take part in a high-octane series of races inspired by the Tour de France, as they push each other to achieve their own fastest times ever. Over 80 athletes including British Eilish McColgan, Boniface Kibiwott, Vicoty Chepngeno and Mohamed Katir competed in World Athletics certified races of either five kilometers,...
Radcliffe announced as event ambassador for the 2022 European 10,000m Cup
Former world marathon record-holder Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain has been announced as an event ambassador for the 2022 European 10,000m Cup which takes place in Pacé, France on 28 May.
After the 2018 and 2019 editions were held in conjunction with the Night of the 10,000m PBs before the 2021 edition had to be staged behind closed doors in Birmingham due to pandemic restrictions, the next three editions of the European 10,000m Cup will all take place in the Stade Chasseboeuf in Pacé, just outside Rennes.
Radcliffe is still the second fastest marathon runner in history with her 2:15:25 clocking from the 2003 London Marathon and while Sifan Hassan has taken her European 10,000m record into new territory, Radcliffe is still the second fastest European in history with 30:01.09.
She ran that time without pacemakers - and in the pouring rain - at the 2002 European Athletics Championships in Munich and this time remains the championship record some twenty years later. It could very well remain on the books after this year's European Athletics Championships which return to Munich.
Reflecting on her achievements, Radcliffe said: "That performance [in Munich] has a very high place in my career because for me, it was truly a target for a long time to win a championship on the track. I thought that perhaps I wouldn't run quite so fast on the track after moving up to the marathon but in fact it was the opposite.
"The fact the marathon went so well gave me a lot of confidence in myself. It also brought me more strength physically and mentally. Therefore it helped me on the track and that was surely the case in Munich.
"I hadn't run a 10,000m that season so it was the only occasion I had to try and break my record and perhaps the mythical European record of Ingrid Kristiansen who had held the record for almost as long as I did. I looked up to her in the 1980s, and the way she ran, when I started running."
Like Kristiansen, Radcliffe was a fierce and committed front runner and just like the Norwegian did at the 1986 European Championships, Radcliffe led almost every step of the race. Her time of 30:01.09 was the second fastest in history up until that point but she rued how close she was to breaking the fabled 30 minute-barrier.
"That's why, when I crossed the line, there were two emotions. There was the emotion of happiness because I was pleased to take the record at last and set a lifetime best but also the emotion of having missed the 30 minute-barrier by 1.09. Perhaps with different conditions I would have done it, perhaps with other competitors in the race I would have done it - but I was pleased nonetheless!" she said.
Radcliffe made her debut at this distance four years prior when the event was known under its original alias of the European 10,000 Metres Challenge. Radcliffe finished second on that day to Portugal's Fernanda Ribeiro but the Brit was to notch up individual victories at both the 1999 and 2001 editions of the event, each time with winning times inside 31 minutes - 30:40.70 and 30:55.80 respectively.
Having retired from competitive athletics in 2015, Radcliffe is looking forward to being a spectator in Pacé and the organisers are planning to employ many of the innovations which made the 2018 and 2019 editions of the European 10,000m Cup such a success, including a full programme of events - including kids' and veterans' races - and allowing spectators to watch and cheer from the track.
"It's what I love and I am sure the French can do the same thing as well and produce a beautiful night of athletics. We will cross our fingers that the night will produce some good performances - not too hot, not too windy and especially with a good atmosphere around the track.
"Having all the spectators around the track will also protect the runners a bit more and it will also give them a bit more motivation," said Radcliffe.
The hosts will be looking to retain the men's team title after triumphing last year thanks in no small part to Morhad Amdouni who took the individual victory in a sprint finish ahead of Bashir Abdi from Belgium and Spain's Carlos Mayo.
How does Radcliffe see this year's race unfolding?
"[Last year] was a great race. The French team ran super well. At the moment the men's team in France is really strong with plenty of talent. In the UK, it's more in the 1500m and 5000m for the most part but we wait to see what the guys will show in the 10,000m. On the women's side the level is higher with Eilish McColgan," she said.
by European Athletics
Ethiopian Senbere Teferi set for Agnes Tirop Memorial race
Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi has become the latest international athlete to confirm her participation to next month's Agnes Tirop Memorial World Cross Country Tour.
She joins compatriot world 5,000m and 10,000m record holder Letesenbet Gidey, who is currently training Eldoret and Djibouti's Ayanleh Souleiman.
Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor will also take part in the race set for February 12 at Lobo Village in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Teferi is keen to compete in honor of her departed best friend Agnes Tirop, who was found murdered in her home in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County on October 13 last year.
The estranged lover of the 2015 World Cross Country Championships winner, Ibrahim Rotich, is in police custody after denying murder charges.
In an interview with Nation Sport during the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa over the weekend, Tefere said she was saddened by Tirop's cruel murder.
She recalled how they became good friends in 2015 when Tirop beat her during the World Cross Country Championships in China where she bagged silver behind the Kenyan.
Since then and they would always talk over the phone for long periods and were both managed by Gianni Demaonna.
"I was touched by the death of Tirop who was my best friend and shared a lot with in terms of competition. Losing such a nice friend in such a manner was really sad and I hope her family will get justice.
I will be starting my season during the Memorial Agnes Tirop Cross Country Tour in Eldoret, Kenya and running there is special for me because I want to honor my departed sister.
We always had a good relationship when we competed because we came from one continent and when a Kenyans win we celebrate, the same way we would when an Ethiopian wins," said Tefere.
She is looking forward to meet some of her competitors when she lands in Kenya in the next few days.
"I have never been to Kenya but I'm looking forward to meet some of the athletes who train there and get to share their experiences. I hear it is a nice place to train," she added.
She is hoping to use the race to prepare for the World Championships to be held in USA later this year.
"The race in Kenya will gauge my preparations this season but my target is to compete in the 10,000m race where I'm targeting to be in the podium after emerging in sixth position in 2019 during the World Championships in Doha, Qatar," said Tefere.
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Tefere finished 10th in the 5,000m won by Dutch's Sifan Hassan with Hellen Obiri settling for silver and Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay winning bronze.
Kenyan star Hellen Obiri to race at Northern Ireland International Cross Country
Kenya's world champion Hellen Obiri will compete in Saturday's Northern Ireland International Cross Country event in Dundonald.
The 32-year-old's entry is a big boost for the meeting which will take place at the Billy Neill Country Park.
Obiri won the World Cross Country title when that event was last held in 2019.
She also won 5,000m gold at the past two World Championships and took silver over the distance at the Tokyo Olympics behind Dutch star Sifan Hassan.
Obiri's performance in Tokyo matched her silver medal at the Rio Games in 2016 and her last run in the UK saw her winning the Great North Run in September.
"While the International Cross Country here has always attracted classy athletes from abroad it is particularly gratifying that we have got the services of such a star athlete as Hellen Obiri especially given the ongoing difficulties created by Covid concerning international travel," said meeting organizer John Allen.
"With her win in the last World Cross, Hellen has shown that she has the versatility to beat the best in the world over either track or cross country."
Star performers who have competed at the Northern Ireland event since it began in 1977 include Steve Ovett, John Treacy, Million Wolde, Ismael Kirui, Paula Radcliffe and Catherina McKiernan.
by BBC sports
Laura Muir Hungry For More Success After Tokyo Silver
Laura Muir knows she may never better the Olympic silver medal that gave Britain a night to remember in Tokyo.
But as the new year dawns she insists her first taste of global success has only made her more hungry.
Until now Muir awoke from every Hogmanay resolving to shed her 'nearly' tag. Not today, not after that 1,500 metres performance.
It remains to be seen whether she will ever top beating Sifan Hassan to second place behind Faith Kipyegon in a British record time.
But the 28-year-old Scot has made clear she will not fail for the want of trying.
"The fire inside me is, if anything, burning even more fiercely now," she said. "Tokyo gave me a taste of what it's like to be on a global podium.
"I want more of that, I want to add more medals. It's going to be incredibly tough. This is probably the most competitive time there's been in my event. But I'm very excited to be a part of that."
She has already returned to racing, winning the Scottish Short Course Cross-Country Championships.
It was small beer compared to the Olympics but it sent a message that she is back up and running, business as usual.
"I think I've got a few years left in these legs," she smiled. "I'll keep on running competitively for as long as my body holds up.
"To have finally put a performance out there that shows the calibre of athlete I am is huge for me. I always knew I could do it, but going to Tokyo and delivering has given me huge belief.
"I will now go into championships more relaxed, with the confidence that I've been and done it already. That's a huge hurdle. Now I'm over it, things should be a bit smoother in that sense.
by Alex Spink
Sifan Hassan wants to try a marathon before Paris Olympics
Hassan was crowned Dutch Sportswoman of the Year for the second year in a row
On Wednesday evening, triple Olympic medallist Sifan Hassan was crowned Dutch Sportswoman of the Year for the second year in a row, after her heroics at the Tokyo Olympics. Hassan revealed in her acceptance speech that she has aspirations of moving up in distance to the marathon soon.
"I want to run a marathon before the Paris Olympic Games," she said in her virtual acceptance speech. Hassan was unable to attend the award ceremony in person after testing positive for COVID-19.
Going into the Tokyo Olympics, Hassan had her eyes on pulling off the trifecta in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m, an accomplishment no other athlete has achieved. She beat her rivals Letesenbet Gidey in the 10,000m and Hellen Obiri in the 5,000m to win gold in both, but fell just short of the triple, as she finished third in the 1,500m behind Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and Great Britain's Laura Muir. Hassan joined a very small group of athletes to have won three individual medals in athletics at an Olympic Games.
Although the date for Hassan's marathon debut has not been set, it will be interesting to see how she transitions into the 42.2-kilometre distance. Hassan currently holds the European half-marathon record of 65:15, which she ran at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 2018.
Kenya's ex-world record holder Agnes Tirop was found dead in Iten
Kenya's former women's only world record holder in 10km road race Agnes Tirop is dead.
Tirop was found dead in her house on Wednesday morning, in what Athletics Kenya said is a suspected homicide.
Athletics Kenya confirmed the shocking news in a statement.
"Atheltics Kenya are this afternoon distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000 meters bronze medalist Agnes Tirop," AK said.
"Kenya has lost a jewel who was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage, thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track... We pray that God may grant strength to family and friends at this difficult time."
By the time of going to press, police officers from the forensics unit in Eldoret had sealed off the home of the athlete, whose decorated performances also includes a World Cross Country title in 2015.
The 25-year-old long distance runner, was part of Team Kenya for the Tokyo Olympics where she finished just outside the medals bracket in fourth behind winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, Hellen Obiri and Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay.
Tirop set the new world record in 10km road race after clocking 30:01 during the Adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany on September 12 this year.
The event saw athletes participate in the men's and women's half marathon race, men's and women's 10km road race and the 5km road race in both categories.
Tirop, who took the charge in the last two kilometers, managed to shake off her competitors before crossing the line, lowering Morocco's Asmae Leghzaoui previous record of 30:29 set in New York in 2002.
"I'm delighted by my performance because I didn't expect to run a world record time. This is a good start as we start another season," said Tirop after the race.
Kenya's Sheila Chepkurui came in second after running 30:17, while Nancy Jelagat completed the podium sweep in 30:50.
Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne then lowered the mark last week during the Giants Geneva 10km in Geneva, Switzerland, setting a new world record in 29:38 in a race that Tirop was second. Kenya's steeplechase specialist Celliphine Chespol was third.
(10/13/2021) Views: 1,632 ⚡AMP
Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon says she is motivated to break more records next season
Double Olympic1500m women's champion Faith Kipyegon hungry for more success.
Speaking on Tuesday after she was voted LG Sports Personality for the month of August, the mother of one stated that the timely award will motivate her going forward.
Faith defended her 1500m gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games in Japan in a new Olympic record of 3:53.11, beating Great Britain's Laura Muir and Dutch star Sifan Hassan.
"I am surprised about this award. It has never happened before. Being the off season, coach Patrick Sang called me and said that there is an urgent meeting. Little did I know I was to receive this award. It is an inspiration for me and my teammates at the camp," said Kipyegon Tuesday during the award ceremony at the Global Sports Communication Training Camp in Kaptagat in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
To win the monthly award, Kipyegon went home with a state-of-the-art LG washing machine worth Sh92,000 and a glittering trophy engraved with her name.
Kipyegon was voted the best ahead of the men's marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, Peres Jepchirchir who both won gold in Tokyo Olympics in marathon, as well as 800m gold medalist Emmanuel Korir.
Also in the nominees were World Under-20 Walk champion Heristone Wanyonyi, 100m sensational Ferdinand Omanyala and World Under-20 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
LG Electronics Managing Director, Sa Nyoung Kim appreciated the partnership, saying that the electronic firm is committed to developing sports in the country.
"I am humbled to be at such a humble camp which has so many championships. LG and SJAK will continue working together to support and motivate sports personalities achieve their dreams," LG boss said.
On his part, Valentijn Trouw, a senior manager in the Global Sports Communication Camp said, "We are pleased as a team to have a fifth athlete awarded. As Global Sports Communication we work as a team to ensure that we not only develop good athletes but a well-rounded person."
Kipyegon becomes the fourth female athlete in 2021 to lay hands on the coveted award, previously won by the likes of Kipchoge, Geoffrey Kamworor, Kenya sevens star Jacob Ojee and 800m Commonwealth champion Wycliffe Kinyamal among others.
She also joins the growing list of 2021 winners that includes tennis superstar Angela Okutoyi (January), Tylor Okari Ongwae of Kenya Moran's (February), Hit Squad boxer Elly Ajowi (March), world marathon champion Ruth Chepng'etich (April), Milan marathon winner Titus Ekiru (May), Safari Rally WRC3 winner Onkar Rai (June) and US based Lioness basketball star Victoria. Reynolds (July).
by Agnes Makhandia
Gemechu breaks course record at Copenhagen Half Marathon
sehay Gemechu set a course record while Amedework Walelegn made it an Ethiopian double at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race, on Sunday (19).
Making the most of the flat course in Denmark's capital city, Gemechu took 52 seconds off her almost two-year-old PB, running a dominant 1:05:08 to improve the course record set by Sifan Hassan in 2018 by seven seconds. Walelegn, meanwhile, won a much closer men's race, holding off a challenge from Kenya's Keneth Renju to win by two seconds in 59:10.
Running behind her pacemaker Roy Hoornweg, who also paced Yalemzerf Yehualaw to her world half marathon record in Larne last month, Gemechu had her sights on the 1:05:15 race record set by the now double Olympic champion Hassan three years ago, but the big pre-event favourite wasn't alone in the opening stages. Her fellow Ethiopians Hawi Feysa, Gete Alemayehu and Beyenu Degefa, plus Kenya's Vivian Kiplagat, joined her in a lead group which went through 5km in 15:16 and by 10km (30:48) the pack was starting to stretch, with Alemayehu having been dropped and Gemechu still to the fore and looking comfortable.
A couple of kilometres later Gemechu, who finished fourth in the 2019 world 5000m final in Doha, had broken away and was running clear ahead of her compatriot Feysa, the 2017 U20 world cross country silver medallist. By 15km Gemechu, now running without her pacemaker, had a 13-second lead ahead of Feysa, with Kiplagat another 22 seconds back. That is how the positions remained to the finish line, but with Gemechu's advantage having grown to half a minute.
Feysa, who has a 2:23:36 marathon PB from Dubai last year but was making her half marathon debut, finished second in 1:05:41, with Kiplagat clocking 1:06:07 to take 31 seconds off her PB in third. Degefa was fourth (1:08:15) and Ethiopia's Yitayish Mekonene fifth (1:08:53).
"I was hoping to break my personal best and run close to 65 minutes, and beating Sifan Hassan's race record of course is something special," said Gemechu. "I am very happy. It was a bit windy, so I had to work hard."
The men's race saw a group of nine athletes, plus pacemaker Abel Sikowo, pass the 5km mark in 13:55 and the 10km point in 28:01. As Sikowo dropped back just before 15km it was the pre-race favourite Walelegn, who claimed bronze at last year's World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, who took control, taking the field through that checkpoint in 42:15.
The podium was decided over the next kilometre, with Walelegn making a move along with Kenya's Daniel Mateiko and Renju. With around two kilometres remaining, Walelegn tried to break away but with a glance over his shoulder he could see it wasn't enough to lose his rivals. Then it was Renju's turn to push the pace and while Walelegn stuck close behind him, Mateiko was dropped and the race was down to two.
Covering Renju's move, Walelegn was determined to take the top spot and with another look over his shoulder at 21km he strode down the final stretch to victory. Renju's runner-up time of 59:12 was a PB and his first half marathon under the hour, while Mateiko was third in a PB of 59:25. The top four all ran under 60 minutes, with Ethiopia's Abe Tilahun finishing fourth in a PB of 59:46, while Norway's Zerei Kbrom, returning to the half marathon for the first time since 2016, ran a more than six-minute PB of 1:00:07 for fifth.
The event incorporated the Danish Championships, with Annah Ritah Nagadya (1:16:49) and Abdi Hakin Ulad (1:03:30) claiming the national titles.
Behind the elite action, the mass event had close to 20,000 entries.
Copenhagen Half Marathon
The Copenhagen Half Marathon was the first road race in Scandinavia and is one of the fastest half marathons in the world. The Copenhagen Half Marathon has been awarded with the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) most distinguished recognition - the IAAF Road Race Gold Label. Copenhagen Half Marathon was awarded the IAAF Road Race Bronze Label in January...
CAS releases official report on Salazar ban
Reports on Wednesday announced the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had upheld the four-year suspension imposed on former Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar and former team endocrinologist, Dr. Jeffrey Brown for doping violations, and less than 24 hours later the official CAS report has been released.
In its report, the CAS ruled that Salazar had committed three anti-doping rule violations, including possession of testosterone, complicity in Brown's administration of a prohibited method and tampering with the doping control process with respect to the issue of L-carnitine infusions/syringes. Similarly, Brown was charged with four violations, including complicity in Salazar's possession of testosterone, trafficking of testosterone to Salazar, administration of a prohibited method and tampering with the doping control process.
The investigation into Salazar and the NOP began in 2015 when a BBC Panorama documentary entitled "Catch Me If You Can" alleged the coach used prescription drugs and therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) to push the boundaries of performance.
The film interviewed former NOP athlete Kara Goucher and former coach Steve Magness, who described the experiments Salazar performed to determine exactly how much testosterone cream could be applied to an athlete's skin without triggering a positive test. An experiment was also done to test a rapid-acting (and illegal, under WADA rules) infusion of a supplement known to boost the body's L-carnitine levels, which in turn helps the body convert fat to energy.
In 2017, a leaked U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report from 2016 indicated that Salazar had been giving his athletes, including Sir Mo Farah, the amino acid L-carnitine, via an IV drip. L-carnitine is not a banned substance, but infusions of more than 50 mL in the span of six hours are prohibited, and reports claimed the coach "almost certainly" broke those rules.
Throughout the process, Salazar has continued to deny the allegations, and none of his former athletes, including Farah, Galen Rupp, Sifan Hassan, Matthew Centrowitz and Canada's Cam Levins have ever tested positive for illegal substances, which the CAS notes in its report.
It also acknowledged that the way in which USADA's investigation was conducted was "out of proportion and excessive when compared to the severity and consequences of the ADRVs [anti-doping rule violations] that have been established," yet it still upheld the bans: "the Panel was satisfied that the rules have been properly applied, and that, on the basis of the ADRV's found by the CAS Panel, the sanctions have been determined in accordance with the relevant version of the WADC."
by Brittany Hambleton
Tirop and Teferi smash world records in Herzogenaurach
Kenya's Agnes Tirop took 28 seconds off the long-standing women-only world record for 10km*, while Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi set an outright world 5km record of 14:29* at the adizero Road To Records event in Herzogenaurach on Sunday (12).
Tirop, the world 10,000m bronze medallist, put in a decisive surge with little more than two kilometres to go in the 10km, breaking away from fellow Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui before eventually winning in 30:01.
Teferi, the 2015 world 5000m silver medallist, ran away from her opponents after the first kilometre with an incredible solo effort, winning the 5km in 14:29.
Tirop and Chepkirui were part of a five-woman lead pack during the early stages of the 10km and passed through 4km in 12:07. A couple of minutes later, Tirop and Chepkirui had broken away from the rest of their opponents, reaching the half-way point in 15:00 after coving the fifth kilometre in a swift 2:54.
Chepkirui then moved in front of her compatriot and tried to force the pace but was unsuccessful in making a break. The duo continued to run side by side for the best part of three kilometres, but Tirop started her long run for home with about six minutes to go.
Tirop, who won the senior world cross-country title as a teenager back in 2015, passed through 9km in 27:07 with a comfortable lead and was still comfortably inside world record pace. She didn't ease back for the final kilometre, though, and covered it in another 2:54 to reach the finish line in 30:01.
Chepkirui finished second in 30:17, also inside the previous mark of 30:29 set by Morocco's Asmae Leghzaoui back in 2002. Nancy Jelagat was third in 30:50.
"I'm so happy to have broken the world record," said Tirop. "I felt the pace was good and Sheila assisted me a lot. The course was very good too."
Teferi, contesting the final race of the day, ensured the event ended on a high as she smashed the world 5km record with 14:29, winning by 25 seconds from Ethiopian teenager Melknat Wudu.
Six weeks after her sixth-place finish over 5000m at the Olympic Games, Teferi ran with the pack for the first kilometre, covered just inside three minutes. Then, sensing that the pace wasn't quite fast enough to challenge the world record, set off on her own and covered the second kilometre in 2:49.
By 3km, which she reached in about 8:43, Teferi had an eight-second lead over the chase pack. She continued to forge ahead, passing 4km in 12:07 and then ended with a 2:52 final kilometre to cross the finish line in 14:29.
Not only did it break the women-only world record of 14:44 set by Beatrice Chepkoech and the 14:43 outright world record set by Sifan Hassan in a mixed race, she also bettered the fastest 5km clocking in history of 14:32, set by Joyciline Jepkosgei before the distance became an official world record event.
"I'm so happy," said Teferi. "After the Olympics, I knew I was ready to go after this world record. I'm so happy."
Wudu, a double medallist at the World U20 Championships, took second place in 14:54, just ahead of compatriot Nigisti Haftu.
In the day's other races, world record-holder Rhonex Kipruto won the men's 10km in 26:43, the fourth-fastest time in history, while recently crowned world U20 champion Tadese Worku was second in 26:56, an Ethiopian U20 record.
Abel Kipchumba was a convincing winner of the men's half marathon in 58:48 with fellow Kenyan Alexander Mutiso Munyao taking second in 59:20, and Brenda Jepleting added to the Kenyan success with a dominant 1:06:52 victory in the women's race.
Jacob Krop won the men's 5km in 13:06, breaking away from two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris in the second half to finish three seconds ahead of the Ethiopian.
Leading results
1 Senbere Teferi (ETH) 14:29
2 Melknat Wudu (ETH) 14:54
3 Nigisti Haftu (ETH) 14:54
4 Agnes Jebet Ngetich (KEN) 15:02
5 Dawit Seyaum (ETH) 15:10
1 Agnes Tirop (KEN) 30:01
2 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 30:17
3 Nancy Jelagat (KEN) 30:50
4 Betty Chepkemoi (KEN) 31:09
5 Dorcas Kimeli (KEN) 31:22
1 Brenda Jepleting (KEN) 1:06:52
2 Besu Sado (ETH) 1:08:15
3 Brillian Jepkorir (KEN) 1:08:28
4 Tgise Haileselase (ETH) 1:08:30
5 Irene Jepchumba (KEN) 1:09:02
1 Jacob Krop (KEN) 13:06
2 Muktar Edris (ETH) 13:09
3 Hosea Kiplangat (UGA) 13:13
4 Geoffrey Kimutai (KEN) 13:22
5 Daniel Kinyanjui (KEN) 13:27
1 Rhonex Kipruto (KEN) 26:43
2 Tadese Worku (ETH) 26:56
3 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 27:09
4 Nicholas Kimeli (KEN) 27:22
5 Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 27:24
1 Abel Kipchumba (KEN) 58:48
2 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 59:20
3 Amos Kurgat Kibiwot (KEN) 59:34
4 Raymond Magut (KEN) 1:00:00
5 Phenus Kipleting (KEN) 1:00:08
Kenyan Faith Kipyegon wins 1500m showdown for Diamond League success in Zurich
From the moment that Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan declared that she would race fellow Tokyo gold medallist Faith Kipyegon in the 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich, the race had the makings of an all-time classic.
And so it was.
Their first meeting this year was in Florence in June, where world champion Hassan had Kipyegon's measure. But Kipyegon took back the initiative in Monaco in July and claimed a dominant victory at the Tokyo Olympics in August, as Hassan fought through the fatigue of her extraordinarily ambitious race schedule to secure the bronze medal.
But with two such exceptional talents – Hassan led their head-to-head record 9-8 before tonight's race – each battle must be fought anew.
From the first lap, each only had eyes on the other. The pacemaker was forgotten as they both waited and watched for the inevitable showdown.
Kipyegon moved into the lead just after the bell, with Hassan shadowing her every step. The Kenyan surged down the back straight and then stepped up the pace around the final bend, but Hassan would not concede.
The Dutchwoman moved out of the Kenyan's slipstream as they entered the straight and drew level. For a moment with 50m to go it appeared that Kipyegon might buckle under the pressure but her strength held and it was Hassan who faded slightly in the final metres.
Kipyegon stopped the clock in 3:58.33, just a metre ahead of Hassan in 3:58.55. The USA's Josette Norris came through for third in 4:00.41.
"I knew it would be a tactical race today," Kipyegon said. "I was confident that in the last lap I could do better and it worked."
Hassan declared Kipyegon was "really one of the greatest athletes" but vowed to keep challenging her.
"Today was my last race (of the season) and I wanted to give everything, and I did that and I am happy about it," Hassan said before warning: "Next year, I will train my speed and I will be amazing."
Close finishes were the order of the evening as the men's 1500m followed an eerily similar script.
This time the protagonists were the world champion Timothy Cheruiyot and the Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Until the Tokyo Olympic Games, the young Norwegian had lost 12 straight races to Cheruiyot but he finally turned the tables on the biggest stage of them all. However, Cheruiyot gained a measure of revenge in Zurich.
Cheruiyot employed the same tactics as his compatriot Kipyegon, forcing Ingebrigtsen to chase him from the bell. He tightened the screws gradually until he entered the home straight and lit out for home.
Like Hassan, Ingebrigtsen had the strength to challenge in the straight but not to draw ahead. Cheruiyot hung tough and took the glory (and his fourth Diamond League trophy) by 0.08 – 3:31.37 to 3:31.45. Australia's Stewart McSweyn (3:32.14) completed the podium, one place ahead of his compatriot Ollie Hoare (3:32.66).
Cheruiyot Defeats Ingebrigtsen In Diamond League 1500m Final
At tonight's talent-packed Wanda Diamond League Final at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot evened the score with Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen by defeating the reigning Olympic 1500m champion by just 8/100ths of a second, reversing their finish places from Tokyo. With his victory tonight, Cheruiyot retained the Diamond League title he had earned in Brussels in 2019 and sent a signal that he'll be tough to beat at next summer's World Athletics Championships in Eugene where he will come in as reigning champion.
"That was good but a very tight race," Cheruiyot said. "I knew the standard was strong here, and I am happy."
In last month's Olympic final, Ingebrigtsen cleverly shadowed Cheruiyot throughout the race before overwhelming the Kenyan in the final sprint. Tonight, Cheruiyot took the lead from Australia's Stewart McSweyn at the bell, and held his lead through the final bend where Ingebrigtsen was still close behind. In the last 100 meters, Cheruiyot kept his signature forward-leaning form as he accelerated to the finish line in 3:31.37. Ingebrigtsen tied up in the final meters and had to settle for second in 3:31.45. McSweyn held on for third in 3:32.14 just ahead of his compatriot Oliver Hoare who ran a personal best 3:32.66.
"It is what it is," lamented Ingebrigtsen. "I am really happy with what I did in Tokyo. It is tough to go into races afterwards. So I am just happy to be done with this season and looking forward to the World Championships next year."
Cheruiyot, who nearly missed out on Olympic team selection after he only finished fourth at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, is also looking forward to 2022.
"I was having many challenges in Tokyo, so now I am getting better," he said referring to a pesky hamstring injury. "My hamstring is getting better and I am prepared for next season. My goal is that I know I need to defend my world title at next year's championships. That is my target now, but I need to work out (hard) because I know Jakob Ingebrigtsen is going to continue to get better."
In another epic rematch from Tokyo, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon out-sprinted Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan to win the women's 1500m in 3:58.33. Like in the men's race, Kipyegon was able to hold her form and run smoothly through the tape, while an exhausted-looking Hassan thrashed her way to second in 3:58.55. Hassan had defeated Kipyegon in the 2019 World Athletics Championships, but Kipyegon beat Hassan to third place in last month's Olympics. Their rivalry is sure to continue into next year.
"I was confident that in the last lap I could do better and it worked," Kipyegon said. "This is my second Diamond League trophy and my first as a mother. My family is watching tonight from home. I started my season well and I finished it well, I won almost all my competitions, especially the Olympic final. I am so grateful."
Kenyan men also won the 800m and 3000m steeplechase. In the two-lap event, reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists, Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich, finished in the same order again tonight. Rotich tried to win with a long drive from 250 meters out, but Korir --who was sprinting furiously-- passed him in the homestretch to win 1:44.56 to 1:44.96. American Clayton Murphy got third (1:45.21).
"I think it was tough today," said Korir. "But I managed to follow my strategy, tried to push it in the end and now I have this Trophy and I am very glad."
Benjamin Kigen upset Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco in the steeplechase by running away from the field on the backstretch of the final lap, hurdling the final water jump, then holding on in the homestretch before El Bakkali could catch him. Kigen clocked 8:17.45 to El Bakkali's 8:17.70.
"It was my wish to win today," said Kigen. "I am very happy now. Today was not a matter of time, but it was a matter of winning."
A Kenyan also won the women's steeplechase. Norah Jeruto, who did not compete in Tokyo despite being the fastest steeplechaser of the year (8:53.65), won a two-way battle over compatriot Hyvin Kiyeng on the final lap. The two women were even going into the last water jump, but Kiyeng landed flat-footed, lost her momentum, and Jeruto scampered away. Jeruto was clocked in 9:07.33 to Kiyeng's 9:08.55. Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs finished third in 9:08.74; her strong sprint got her past Ethiopia's Mekides Abebe and Kenya's Celliphine Chespol.
British teen Keely Hodgkinson, the Olympic 800m silver medalist, added "Diamond League Champion" to her résumé tonight when she pulled away from Jamaica's Natoya Goule in the homestretch to win in 1:57.98. Gould looked safe for second, but a charging Kate Grace just edged her at the line (both women were timed in 1:58.34). Jemma Reekie, Hodgkinson's Olympic teammate, finished fourth in 1:58.61, the same position as the Tokyo Olympics.
All the event winners tonight earned provisional starting starting spots at next summer's World Athletics Championships (conditions apply) and earned USD 30,000.
by David Monti
Duplantis, Hassan and Cherry break meeting records in Brussels
Meeting records are hard to come by in the Wanda Diamond League, given it's the premier one-day meeting circuit in the world, but three such marks fell at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on Friday (3), thanks to Mondo Duplantis, Sifan Hassan and Michael Cherry.
When the men's pole vault got underway, some 40 minutes before the first track event, the King Baudouin Stadium was still filling up. By the time the contest reached its climax three hours later, with all other disciplines having long finished, Duplantis commanded the attention of every single person inside the venue.
Though the world record once again evaded Duplantis tonight, the 28,000 spectators – the largest gathering for an athletics meeting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – were treated to a vaulting masterclass from a legend of the sport.
The Olympic champion opened at 5.50m, skipped 5.65m and then got over 5.75m and 5.85m on his first tries. Four other men were left in the competition at this point, but only two of them got over 5.85m; Olympic silver medallist Christopher Nilsen did it on his first try, while US compatriot KC Lightfoot scraped over on his third attempt.
The US duo couldn't quite manage 5.91m tonight, though, but Duplantis once again went clear at the first time of asking to confirm his victory. The 21-year-old Swede then raised the bar to 6.05m in a bid to add some height to his own 6.00m meeting record from last year. He brought the bar down with his first two tries, but got over it on his third attempt.
The bar was then raised to the would-be world record height of 6.19m. Following a short wait while the technical officials ensured all was set for a record attempt, Duplantis took to the runway but wasn't particularly close to clearing the bar on his first attempt. His second try was significantly closer, and his third attempt was also decent, but a world record wasn't to be tonight.
Nevertheless, Duplantis wasn't disappointed with his winning height of 6.05m. Only he, Sergey Bubka and two-time world champion Sam Kendricks have ever vaulted higher outdoors.
"I was really close to the world record," said Duplantis. "Everything was perfect, it was just up to me. I haven't had such an amazing atmosphere during a competition in a really long time."
Almost a month has passed since Sifan Hassan's final race at the Olympic Games, where she won two gold medals and one bronze. Having raced just once during that time, the Dutch distance star arrived in Brussels well rested and ready to take on the mile.
She was the only athlete capable of sticking with the pacemakers as they led through the first 400m in 1:02.03. By the time the second pacemaker reached the 800m point in 2:04.97, with Hassan still in close attendance, the rest of the field was about 30 metres adrift.
With a lap to go, it was clear from the wavelight technology that an improvement on Hassan's 4:12.33 world record was not on the cards in Brussels, though it never really seemed as though that was her ambition for the race anyway. By this stage, her lead had grown to 50 metres and she kicked for the final lap, going on to win by more than six seconds.
Her winning time of 4:14.74, the fifth-fastest performance in history, smashed Faith Kipyegon's meeting record by two seconds. Ethiopia's Axumawit Embaye was second in 4:21.08, closely followed by Australia's Linden Hall, who broke her own Oceanian record with 4:21.38.
"Since the start of the pandemic, we haven't had such a big crowd and I'm so happy to see them," said Hassan. "We haven't experienced it for nearly two years; it makes you feel special. It's amazing, I really love it."
In Tokyo last month, Michael Cherry was beaten to the 400m bronze medal by just 0.02 as Kirani James pipped the US sprinter at the line. Today's race in Brussels was the first clash between the pair since the Olympic final, and Cherry ran like a man with a point to prove.
He went out hard, as did James, and by half way the duo had started to open up a clear gap on the likes of Isaac Makwala and Liemarvin Bonevacia.
James almost drew level with Cherry on the final bend, but Cherry had another gear left and forged ahead down the home straight, crossing the line in a lifetime best of 44.03 to take 0.03 off Michael Johnson's meeting record from 1998.
James finished second in 44.51 with Makwala taking third place in 44.83.
The meeting record may have remained intact in the women's high jump, but it proved to be one of the most enthralling contests of the night.
Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene breezed through the first few heights and hadn't recorded any failures up to and including 1.98m. World silver medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who needed three attempts to clear 1.95m, also got over 1.98m on her first try, while Olympic silver medallist Nicola McDermott needed two jumps to clear it.
But McDermott was then the first to go clear at 2.00m, getting over on her first try, then Lasitskene did likewise. Mahuchikh succeeded on her second attempt at 2.00m, but then nailed 2.02m on her first attempt, taking the lead at a critical point of the competition.
Lasitskene missed once and then passed to 2.04m, while McDermott had two misses at 2.02m before registering a third failure at 2.04m. Neither of the trio managed to get over 2.04m, leaving Mahuchikh as the winner. It was just the second time in Diamond League history that three women have cleared 2.00m in the same competition.
With Lasitskene having won in Lausanne and McDermott winning in Paris, Mahuchikh's triumph in Brussels means all three Olympic medallists have achieved Diamond League wins since the Tokyo Games.
Kerley makes Diamond League history
Olympic 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley won the short sprint, becoming the first man to win over 100m, 200m and 400m in the Wanda Diamond League.
World leader Trayvon Bromell blasted into an early lead and held his form well, but Kerley rallied and held off the additional challenge from Michael Norman in lane seven, dipping well on the line to take the victory in 9.94.
Bromell held on to take second place in 9.97, just 0.01 ahead of Michael Norman (9.98), completing a US sweep of the top three places.
Christine Mboma, also an Olympic silver medallist, won the women's 200m. The Namibian teenager came through strongly in the closing stages to edge in front of Jamaica's Shericka Jackson and world champion Dina Asher-Smith.
Mboma stopped the clock at 21.84 while Jackson took second place in 21.95. Asher-Smith recorded a season's best of 22.04 in third, and US 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson was a few strides adrift in fourth place (22.45).
Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba produced a similarly well-timed finish to win the 5000m.
Once the last of the pacemakers dropped out at 2000m, Niyonsaba took up the running at the front of the pack with two-time world champion Hellen Obiri close behind. The Kenyan led for a brief stint too, passing through 3000m in a swift 8:42.57.
Niyonsaba, who finished fifth over 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics, led again for most of the final kilometre, but Obiri kicked into the lead when the bell sounded for the final lap. She appeared to be on her way to victory, but Ethiopia's Ejgayehu Taye came back strongly and briefly led with about 90 metres to go, then a rejuvenated Niyonsaba came back to take the lead in the closing stages, crossing the line in a national record of 14:25.34.
Taye took second place in 14:25.63 with Obiri claiming third in 14:26.23. World silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi set a PB of 14:27.12 in fourth as the top seven women finished inside 14:32 – unprecedented depth for a 5000m race.
Goule, Rotich and McSweyn take middle distances
Exactly one month since her eighth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, Jamaica's Natoya Goule rebounded with a satisfying win over 800m, beating several women who finished ahead of her at the Games.
With the pacemaker passing through the first lap in 56.99, the field was still relatively tightly bunched with 300 metres to go. Goule held the lead, but Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson moved on to the Jamaican's shoulder on the final bend and looked poised to strike.
Goule had saved something for the finish, though, and she held off the challenge from the British teenager, winning in 1:58.09. Hodgkinson was second in 1:58.16 from compatriot Jemma Reekie (1:58.77).
Stewart McSweyn led an Australian 1-2 in the men's 1500m. The Oceanian record-holder overtook a fading Mohamed Katir on the home straight to win in 3:33.20 with compatriot Oliver Hoare taking second place (3:33.79). Poland's Michal Rozmys was third in 3:33.96.
Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich was a comfortable winner of the non-scoring men's 800m, crossing the line in 1:43.81 to win by more than a second from Belgium's Eliott Crestan (1:45.24).
Hurdles victories for Dos Santos and Visser
Racing for the first time since taking Olympic bronze and moving to third on the world all-time list, Brazil's Alison dos Santos won the men's 400m hurdles with his trademark strong finish.
Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands led for most of the race, making up the stagger on Dos Santos, drawn one lane outside him, by the half-way point. Dos Santos stuck with McMaster around the final bend and drew level with Jamaica's Jaheel Hyde. McMaster hit the penultimate hurdle, throwing off his rhythm slightly as he went into the final barrier. Dos Santos, meanwhile, came off the 10th hurdle much better and went on to win in 48.23.
McMaster finished second in 48.31 and Yasmani Copello took third place in 48.45.
The closest finish of the day came in the women's 100m hurdles, in which Nadine Visser won by just eight thousandths of a second from Tobi Amusan, both timed at 12.69 (0.7m/s). Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper was third in 12.77.
Elsewhere, Steffin McCarter saved his best for last to win the men's long jump. His sixth-round leap of 7.99m was not only the best in the 'final three' contest; it was also the top mark of the entire competition. Ruswahl Samaai was second thanks to his last-round leap of 7.89m, having jumped 7.95m earlier in the competition.
Sifan Hassan will headline classy Brussels Diamond League field
Dutch all-rounder Sifan Hassan, who won two golds and a bronze in an unprecedented effort at a distance treble at the Tokyo Olympics, heads up a talent-loaded field at the penultimate meeting of the 2021 Diamond League series in Brussels on Friday.
In the last event before the two-day Diamond League finals in Zurich on September 8-9, the men's 100m featuring Tokyo silver medallist Fred Kerley of the US will also be a highlight.
Kerley will be up against compatriots Trayvon Bromell, Michael Norman and Ronnie Baker, along with Canada's Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse.
Kerley, fresh from a personal best of 19.79sec in the 200m in Paris last week, said: "I've got a lot of confidence in my current form and want to show what I've got in the upcoming weeks.
"My goal is very clear: I want to be the fastest man in the 100m, 200m and the 400m."
Kerley joined an exclusive club this year of sprinters who have broken 10 seconds in the 100m, 20 seconds in the 200m and 44 seconds in the 400m. Only Norman and South African Wayde van Niekerk have also achieved the feat.
"I want to be the best at all three distances. What makes someone the best, maybe a world record? I know I have got the potential to break the 400m record.
"I want to be a legend, like Usain Bolt. I see him as a big brother. To me he will always have a spot on the podium of the greatest of all time, he is a big example."
Hassan will race the mile at the King Baudouin Stadium, a venue she knows well, having broken the one-hour world record there last year.
The Ethiopian-born Dutch runner is also the world record holder in the mile and, given her sparkling form, it would take a brave person to bet against her winning once again.
The women's 200m is packed full of quality, with Tokyo bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, Olympic finalist Marie-Josee Ta Lou and a handful of sprinters who have a point to prove after Olympic disappointment this summer.
Outspoken American Sha'Carri Richardson missed out on a trip to Tokyo after being handed a one-month ban after testing positive for cannabis while Britain's Dina Asher-Smith was forced to pull out through injury.
Christine Mboma, the 18-year-old Namibian who is barred from running events between 400m and the mile because of her high testosterone levels, won a surprise silver in the 200m in Tokyo and will likely be a strong contender in Brussels.
Having rebounded from a disappointing outing at Lausanne with an emphatic win in Paris, Olympic pole vault champion Armand "Mondo" Duplantis is likely to again attempt to better his own world record of 6.18m.
Kenyans Felix Kipkoech (58:57) And Joyciline Jepkosgei (65:16) Win Generali Berlin Half-Marathon
Joyciline Jepkosgei took the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON with a spectacular course record of 65:16. The 27 year-old Kenyan smashed the mark of Dutch double Olympic Champion Sifan Hassan, who had won the race with 65:45 in 2019. Second-placed Kenyan Nancy Meto was just five seconds behind, improving her PB by more than three minutes. With 65:21 she was also inside the former course record. Valary Aiyabei completed the Kenyan podium with 67:32 for third place.
Kenya's Felix Kipkoech clocked a world leading time of 58:57. The 23 year-old improved his own world lead by 38 seconds. Fellow Kenyans Josphat Tanui and Philemon Kiplimo followed in second and third with 59:40 and 59:54 respectively.
A total of 15,096 Starters from 130 countries had entered the 40th edition of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. 14,508 of them were runners, 572 Skaters, 14 Handbikers and 2 wheelchair athletes.
Berlin Half Marathon
The story of the Berlin Half Marathon reflects a major part of the history of the German capital. It all began during cold war times and continued during reunification. The events leading up to today's event could really only have happened in this city. Its predecessors came from East- and West Berlin. On 29th November 1981 the Lichtenberg Marathon was...
No world record but Sifan Hassan claims a clear win in Eugene
A willing but weary Sifan Hassan fell short of the women's world 5000m record she was targeting at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday (20) as she finished well clear of a stellar field in 14:27.89.
On the traditional Distance Night preface to the Prefontaine Classic that now forms the Wanda Diamond League meeting, the 28-year-old Dutch runner was clearly tired after an epic season, having won the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m titles in Tokyo earlier this month and added a 1500m bronze.
She had announced her intention of eclipsing the mark of 14:06.62 set by her Ethiopian rival Letesenbet Gidey in Valencia last year, but eventually finished outside her own European record of 14:22.12 set in London two years ago.
Had Hassan's ambitions come to pass in a recently rebuilt stadium that had the welcome atmosphere of a live home crowd it would have been another blow to her rival Gidey, who in June this year ran 29:01.03 at Hengelo to better the world 10,000m record of 29:06.82 Hassan had set on the same track just two days earlier.
Hassan's response in Tokyo was impressive as she beat the Ethiopian to the Olympic 10,000m title with an unanswerable sprint around the final bend.
But depriving her rival of one of her world records proved an aspiration too far on this occasion for a woman who already held world marks in the 5km road event, mile and one-hour race.
Within the first 1500m the race had become a time trial as Hassan was the only athlete left tracking the two pacemakers who were keeping pace with the blue guide lights on the infield.
By five minutes in there was only one runner ahead of her. And by the halfway point she was running alone with only the green lights of the world record pace for company.
At the 3000m mark, however, she was slipping behind that snake of flashing green, although she kept working.
With less than a mile to go, the snake was gliding ever further away from her, despite the efforts of the spectators sprinkled throughout the stands of an arena that will host the postponed World Athletics Championships next year.
A lap in 70.1 was followed by 71.83 and with three laps remaining she could see her latest ambition moving away from her, although she had already moved well clear of a stellar field at the end of a long and exhausting season.
As the bell rang it was clear how hard the Dutch athlete was having to work, and she grimaced as she set off for one final lap.
Hassan was followed home by two Ethiopian runners, as Senbere Teferi clocked 14:42.25 and Fantu Worku finished in 14:42.85.
The next four runners clocked personal bests as Kenya's Loice Chemnung finished in 14:43.65, home runners Alicia Monson and Abbey Cooper recorded 14:48.49 and 14:52.37 respectively and Kenya's Sheila Chelangat was seventh in 14:52.66.
Gidey had finished second in the previous event, the women's two miles, clocking 9:06.74 behind Burundi's Rio 2016 silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba, who finished in a meeting record and 2021 fastest time of 9:06.74.
Kenya's double world champion Hellen Obiri was third in 9:14.55, ahead of Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen in 9:18.16.
Sifan Hassan to Attempt 5k World Record at Prefontaine Classic
(The 46th Prefontaine Classic, member of the Wanda Diamond League of international track & field meets, will be held August 20-21 at Hayward Field.)
Double Olympic gold medalist Sifan Hassan will bring her unmatched distance skills back to the Prefontaine Classic with an attempt at the world record in the 5000 meters on the first of the meet's two days.
Hassan's race will conclude a distance-special session on Friday evening as the Pre Classic returns to the re-imagined Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Festivities are set to begin at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
This will be the first race for Hassan since her historic Tokyo Olympics, where she became the first woman or man to earn medals in the 5000, 1500 and 10,000 in the same Olympic Games. Her medal haul in Tokyo equaled the most individually by any track & field athlete with a pair of gold medals in the 5k and 10k that sandwiched a bronze in the 1500.
Hassan even avoided potential disaster, getting up from a fall on the final lap of her heat in the 1500 to not only catch the qualifiers but pass them all in finishing first.
The 28-year-old Hassan also made history at 2019 World Championships in Doha, becoming the first woman or man to sweep gold medals in the 1500 and 10k.
Hassan owns two world records on the track – in the uncanny combination of the mile (4:12.33) and the longest distance achieved in the one hour run (18,930 meters, just over 11¾ miles).
She added a third WR on June 6 in her homeland of the Netherlands, lowering the 10k best by more than 10 seconds at 29:06.82. At the time she matched American Mary Slaney as the only person to hold both the mile and 10k WRs simultaneously. Alas, Hassan's 10k WR lasted but two days and she now sits at No. 2 all-time.
Hassan also owns the Wanda Diamond League record in the 3000 meters, achieved at the 2019 Pre Classic in 8:18.49 when it was held at Stanford. Just four days after her 10k WR she set the 1500 DLR at 3:53.63, but that was broken in July. Her PR in the 1500 is 3:51.95, a European record that makes her No. 7 all-time.
Curiously, the weakest of Hassan's PRs is right in the middle of her fantastic range, as her 5k best is "only" 14:22.12, which puts her No. 12 all-time. The world record that she is aiming for 14:06.62.
This will be Hassan's fifth Pre Classic, and she has PRed in three of her previous four appearances.
Eugene will play host rematches betwen olympic medalists at the Prefontaine Classic
Dozens of medal winners from the recent Tokyo Olympic Games will be back in action at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene when Hayward Field hosts the Prefontaine Classic on August 21.
Based on the announcements made so far by the meeting organizers, five events will feature a full set of Olympic medalists from Tokyo.
Double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan headlines the women's 5000m field and she'll take on two-time world champion Hellen Obiri and world indoor 1500m record-holder Gudaf Tsegay, the silver and bronze medalists in Tokyo over 5000m.
All three medalists from the men's 5000m will also be in action as Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei, Canada's Moh Ahmed and USA's Paul Chelimo clash over two miles.
Teenage stars Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson, the top two finishers in the 800m in Tokyo, will be back in action over two laps, along with world and Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers, world champion Halimah Nakaayi, Britain's Jemma Reekie, Jamaica's Natoya Goule and USA's Ajee Wilson and Kate Grace.
World record-holder and two-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser will look to maintain his winning streak in the shot put when he takes on world champion Joe Kovacs and 2017 world champion Tom Walsh. Brazil's Darlan Romani and US duo Darrell Hill and Payton Otterdahl are also in the line-up.
Jamaican sprint stars Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson – who filled the 100m podium in Tokyo – will face USA's Sha'Carri Richardson and Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.
The men's 100m, meanwhile, features Olympic silver and bronze medalists Andre De Grasse and Fred kerley, along with world indoor bronze medallist Ronnie Baker, 400m specialist Michael Norman and African record-holder Akani Simbine.
Two-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will once again line up against Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir and Canadian record-holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, while world champion Timothy Cheruiyot will clash with Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men's Bowerman mile.
In the women's steeplechase, world champion Beatrice Chepkoech takes on world leader Norah Jeruto Tanui, Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn.
Other global stars confirmed so far include world 400m hurdles champion Dalilah Muhammad, Olympic triple jump champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo and world indoor triple jump record-holder Hugues Fabrice Zango.
Hassan and Warner among Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony flag bearers
More than 50 athletes from the sport of athletics will carry the flags for their nation at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Sunday (8).
Ten days of competition, which included three world records, 12 Olympic records and 28 area records, came to a close with the men's marathon on Sunday morning, with Kenya's marathon great Eliud Kipchoge retaining his title.
Now his fellow Olympic gold medallists Sifan Hassan, Damian Warner, Pedro Pichardo and Peruth Chemutai will be among the flag bearers returning to Tokyo's Olympic Stadium as the 2020 Games come to a close.
For Hassan, the moment will cap an incredible performance in Tokyo, with the Dutch star having claimed an unprecedented medal treble of 5000m and 10,000m golds plus 1500m bronze over nine days.
"I am so happy and I cried during the medal ceremony," the 28-year-old said after her 10,000m triumph on Saturday. "I actually realised that I am done, the Games are over."
Warner's victory had been secured on Thursday, when he became just the fourth man in history to break the 9000-point barrier to win the decathlon title. The Canadian's 9018-point tally was one of the 12 Olympic records set at the Tokyo Games.
Portugal's Pichardo, meanwhile, leapt to the triple jump title, setting one of the 151 national records achieved at these Olympics with his winning mark of 17.98m. In that same competition, the bronze medallist was world indoor record-holder Hugues Fabrice Zango and as a result, Burkina Faso became the 100th country to have won an Olympic medal in athletics.
For Chemutai, victory came in the 3000m steeplechase. Other medallists in Tokyo carrying their nation's flag will be Ethiopia's Selemon Barega, Grenada's Kirani James, Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot and New Zealand's Valerie Adams.
With the 2020 Games delayed a year due to the pandemic, athletes and fans now have only three years to wait until Olympic action returns in Paris in 2024.
Athletics flag bearers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony
Listed in the order in which they will march. List correct at time of publication and may be subject to change.
Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) - Cejhae Greene (men's 100m)
Andorra (AND) - Pol Moya (men's 800m)
Italy (ITA) - Lamont Marcell Jacobs (men's 100m and 4x100m)
Uganda (UGA) - Peruth Chemutai (women's 3000m steeplechase)
Uruguay (URU) - Maria Pia Fernandez (women's 1500m)
Ecuador (ECU) - Glenda Morejón (women's 20km race walk)
Estonia (EST) - Maicel Uibo (decathlon)
Eswatini (SWZ) - Sibusiso Matsenjwa (men's 200m)
Ethiopia (ETH) - Selemon Barega (10,000m)
Eritrea (ERI) - Nazret Weldu (women's marathon)
Netherlands (NED) - Sifan Hassan (1500m, 5000m and 10,000m)
Guyana (GUY) - Emanuel Archibald (men's 100m)
Canada (CAN) - Damian Warner (decathlon)
Gambia (GAM) - Ebrima Camara (men's 100m)
Cuba (CUB) - Zurian Hechavarría (women's 400m hurdles and 4x400m)
Grenada (GRN) - Kirani James (men's 400m)
Kenya (KEN) - Timothy Cheruiyot (men's 1500m)
Cote d'Ivoire (CIV) - Marie-Josee Ta Lou (women's 100m and 200m)
Costa Rica (CRC) - Noelia Vargas (women's 20km race walk)
Comoros (COM) - Fadane Hamadi (men's 110m hurdles)
Congo (CGO) - Gilles Anthony Afoumba (men's 400m)
Zambia (ZAM) - Sydney Siame (men's 200m)
Djibouti (DJI) - Souhra Ali Mohamed (women's 1500m)
Jamaica (JAM) - Demish Gaye (men's 400m and 4x400m)
Sri Lanka (SRI) - Yupun Abeykoon Mudiyanselage (men's 100m)
Saint Lucia (LCA) - Levern Spencer (women's high jump)
Chinese Taipei (TPE) - Chen Chieh (men's 400m hurdles)
United Republic of Tanzania (TAN) - Male Alphonce Felix Simbu (men's marathon)
Czech Republic (CZE) Jakub Vadlejch (men's javelin)
People's Republic of China (CHN) - Su Bingtian (men's 100m and 4x100m)
Tuvalu (TUV) - Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca (men's 100m)
Dominica (DMA) - Thea Lafond (women's triple jump)
Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) - Andwuelle Wright (men's long jump)
Namibia (NAM) - Beatrice Masilingi (women's 200m)
New Zealand (NZL) - Valerie Adams (shot put)
Haiti (HAI) - Mulern Jean (women's 100m hurdles)
Pakistan (PAK) - Arshad Nadeem (men's javelin)
Panama (PAN) - Jorge Castelblanco (men's marathon)
Bahamas (BAH) - Megan Moss (women's 4x400m)
Paraguay (PAR) - Derlys Ayala (men's marathon)
Barbados (BAR) - Tia-Adana Belle (women's 400m hurdles)
American Samoa (ASA) - Nathan Crumpton (men's 100m)
Virgin Islands, US (ISV) - Eddie Vovett (men's 110m hurdles)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) - Amel Tuka (men's 800m)
Botswana (BOT) - Anthony Pasela (men's 4x400m)
Bolivia (BOL) - Angela Castro (women's 20km race walk)
Portugal (POR) - Pedro Pichardo (men's triple jump)
Honduras (HON) - Ivan Zarco Alvarez (men's marathon)
South Africa (RSA) - Anaso Jobodwana (men's 200m)
South Sudan (SSD) - Abraham Guem (men's 1500m)
Republic of Moldova (MDA) - Andrian Mardare (men's javelin)
Luxembourg (LUX) - Bob Bertemes (men's shot put)
Rwanda (RWA) - John Hakizimana (men's marathon)
Lesotho (LES) - Neheng Khatala (women's marathon)
United States of America (USA) - Kara Winger (women's javelin)
Netherlands' Sifan Hassan won the 10,000m to seal her second gold and third medal of the Tokyo Olympics.
The 28-year-old, who had been seeking an unprecedented golden treble, had missed out on that feat when she took bronze in the 1500m but still takes home a hat-trick of medals after adding Saturday's gold to her 5,000m title.
Despite running three races in Tokyo's heat in the last few days, Hassan found an extra gear in the last lap.
She won in 29 minutes 55.32 seconds.
It had been a highly anticipated race with world champion Hassan pitted against Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey, who broke the Dutchwoman's world record in June, and it did not disappoint.
Hassan tucked in just behind the leaders and with about 3,000 metres remaining, she increased her pace to sit second behind Gidey.
On the final turn Hassan surged past the Ethiopian, who then faded further to take bronze after Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne passed her to get the silver.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Fifty-six years after having organized the Olympic Games, the Japanese capital will be hosting a Summer edition for the second time, originally scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020, the games were postponed due to coronavirus outbreak, the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021, according to the International Olympic Committee decision. ...
A British couple are completing every single Olympic event in 17 days for charity
Stuart Bates and Charlotte Nichols of the U.K. have set out to complete every single Olympic event over the 17 days the Games are taking place in Tokyo. They're taking on this challenge to raise money for the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA), and are calling it the "Spennylympics" in honor of Bates' brother, Spencer (a.k.a. Spenny), who passed away from motor neuron disease
In order to complete this formidable challenge, Bates and Nichols will have to complete 96 events in 17 days, including the marathon, 10K swim and the 234K cycling road race. They'll even be putting together a synchronized swimming routine — and we thought Sifan Hassan's competition schedule was grueling!
Bates and Nichols share on their website that they were both excited and terrified to begin the challenge. "We share a passion for all sports and are by nature hugely competitive people (without the fitness or expertise to back it up!)," they add. "Although we have both previously completed fundraising events they have been nothing quite like the scale or magnitude of the Spennylympics."
Their motivation, of course, is to raise as much money as possible for the MNDA, and they continue to say that the pain and sacrifice they will experience over these 17 days will pale in comparison to what those living with motor neuron disease experience on a daily basis. Still, the pain they've experienced during some of the events, notably the 50Km race walk, has been significant.
With only four days left in these Olympics Games, the pair have less than 10 events to go in order to complete the challenge. While they are close to the end, they've saved the marathon for last, which will be a monster hurdle to get over before officially finishing the Spennylympics. To keep up with their efforts, follow them on Twitter (@spennylympics) and Instagram, and if you'd like to support their cause, head over to their website to donate.
Kenyan Faith Kipyegon outkicks Hassan for Olympic 1,500m gold, sets Olympic record
On another hot, humid night in Tokyo, the match-up we've all been waiting for finally took place: defending Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and the 5,000m gold medalist and world champion Sifan Hassan, who was attempting the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m triple crown, went head-to-head over the metric mile, but it was the U.K.'s Laura Muir who got between them, setting a national record of 3:54.50, while Kipyegon took home the gold in a new Olympic record of 3:53.11. Hassan had to settle for bronze, in 3:55.86.
Canadian track fans had their eyes on Toronto's Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who was competing in her first-ever Olympic final. She did not make it out of the heats five years ago in Rio, but this time around was a potential challenger for a medal. She ran a brave race, going out strong to lead the pack through the first 300m. Hassan took over, to bring the pack through the first lap in 62 seconds, while Stafford stuck with the lead group to stay in medal contention.
She looked strong coming into the bell lap, but in the last 300m Kipyegon kicked up the pace and DeBues-Stafford began losing touch with the top three runners, ending up in fifth in 3:58.93 behind Ethiopia's Freweyni Gebreezibeher, a 20-place improvement from her Olympic debut.
While everyone was expecting the fight for gold to be between Kipyegon and Hassan, it was Muir who was the (delightful) surprise of the night. The U.K. runner ran the race of her life, passing Hassan in the final 200m to take the silver medal in a new personal best and national record.
Hassan's third-place finish means she will not accomplish the unprecedented 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m triple crown, but she still has a chance of winning three medals of different colours, with the 10,000m final taking place on Saturday.
Siffan Hassan has won at the 5,000 meters and now looks to the 1,500 and 10,000
Six races in eight days on the Tokyo track? No problem, says Sifan Hassan, who overcame a Monday morning fall in the 1500m heats to win 5000m gold in the evening.
How about 24,500 meters of Olympic racing in the matter of eight days?
The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan has said she'll try it, competing in each of the 1500m, 5000m, and 10,000m races at Tokyo 2020, a line-up rarely seen – especially in the hot conditions athletics runners are facing at these Games.
"For me it is crucial to follow my heart," said Hassan in a press release. "Doing that is far more important than gold medals. That keeps me motivated and it keeps me enjoying this beautiful sport."
Having already run on Friday (July 30) to qualify for the 5000m final, Hassan fell with a lap to go in Monday morning's 1500m first round, but picked herself up to win the heat!
Just 12 hours later, Hassan produced her famed finishing kick to take her first global title over 5000m and her first Olympic medal.
That may have been the hardest of three with the mile world record holder completing a 1500m-10,000m double at the 2019 World Championships.
See her full schedule below – and find out what other similar feats have been attempted in athletics in Games past, as you get to know the distance running star.
Born in Ethiopia in 1993, Hassan arrived in the Netherlands as a 15-year-old refugee in 2008. She split her time between running and studying to become a nurse.
She became a Dutch citizen in late 2013, which allowed her to represent the Netherlands in competition.
As early as 2011, Hassan began making her mark on the international stage, winning the Eindhoven Half Marathon that year. In 2013, she won the 3000m at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in June.
At the 2014 European Championships in Zurich, Hassan took gold in the 1500m and a year later, she won bronze in the 1500m at the World Championships in Beijing, joining Dafne Schippers as the only Dutch athletes to win medals at the Worlds.
She had clearly established herself as one to watch ahead of Rio 2016, though injuries hampered her build-up to those Games, where she went out in the heats in the 800m but reached the final of the 1500m, where she finished fifth behind Kenya's gold medalist Faith Kipyegon.
Has anyone tried such an Olympic programme before? Let's compare it with two great long-distance feats at Olympic Games.
According to The Guardian, Paavo Nurmi went for four at Paris 1924: Nurmi won the men's 1500m, 5000m, and 3000m team event – as well as two cross-country events – but "Finnish officials feared for his health and refused to let him race the 10,000m."
The 1500, 3000 and 5000 happened over a span of just five days.
At Helsinki 1952, Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek won the 5000m, 10,000m, and marathon (42km) – all in Olympic records. Those four races (a semi and a final for the 5000), took place over eight days.
After Rio, Hassan joined Alberto Salazar's training group in Oregon, keeping her focus largely on the 1500m. She was fifth again (behind Kipyegon) in the 1500m at the 2017 World Championships in London and took bronze in the 5000m with another Kenyan, Hellen Obiri, winning gold.
In 2019, after a quiet season to start, she set a new mile world record at the Monaco Diamond League in 4:12.33.
At the World Championships in Doha, she entered the 10,000m having only ran the race competitively just once before. But Hassan closed down Letesenbet Gidey before sprinting clear on the last lap to take her first global title.
A week later, she showed her versatility by winning the 1500m to complete a unique double at Worlds.
After worlds, it was announced that her coach, Salazar, would be suspended from athletics due to doping allegations. Hassan denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.
She continued to perform at the top level after his suspension: She set the aforementioned mile world record in 2019, then ran the fourth fastest 10,000m ever before setting a new world record at that distance in June of 2021. (That record was broken two days later, by Gidey.)
Hassan will almost certainly fight it out with Gidey for gold in the 10,000, but the Dutch runner's famed finishing kick gives her a great chance of adding the Olympic title to her world title.
Here's a breakdown of Hassan's potential schedule, having already advance through into the final of the 5000m on Monday night (Aug 2).
Fri 30 July 19:00 JST - 5000m semi-finals – Finished 1st, to reach final.
Mon 2 August 09:47 JST - 1500m round 1 - Finished 1st in heat despite falling, to reach semi-finals.
Mon 2 August 21:40 JST - 5000m final
Wed 4 August around 17:00 JST - 1500m semi-finals.
Fri 6 August 21:50 JST - 1500m final (if she qualifies)
Sat 7 August 19:45 JST - 10,000m final.
Kenyan Faith Chepng'etich ready for Sifa Hassan duel in Tokyo
Olympic 1,500m women's champion Faith Chepng'etich is optimistic that she will retain her title at the Tokyo Games.
The 1,500m race will see the Kenyan rekindle her rivalry with Dutch's Sifan Hassan, who is looking to make history in Tokyo by winning gold in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m.
Chepngetich is the first Kenyan woman to win gold in the 1500m race at a World Championship, achieving the feat at the 2017 Worlds in London, before bagging silver medal in the Doha games in 2019.
Nation Sport caught up with the four-lap race queen at her training base in Kaptagat, Elgeyo Marakwet during her speed work session where she said that her preparations are complete.
"I have done good preparations and I know the race will be competitive and my target is to get into the finals where I know my friend Sifan will also be eyeing victory. For me it's a matter of winning and defending the title I won in 2016," said Chepng'etich.
The two met during the Monaco Diamond League race and Faith came out on top, narrowly missing the world record after timing a new national record of 3:51.07, which was also a world lead time.
Sifan clocked 3:53.60 to finish second, while Ethiopia's Hailu Freweyni was third in 3:56.28.
Chepng'etich said that she is aware that Sifan will be out to dethrone her, but remains confident of holding her off in Tokyo.
"I ran in Monaco and clocked my personal best and I wanted to gauge my performance ahead of the Olympic Games. I managed to identify some few areas which I have worked on and will give my best in Tokyo," said the mother of one.
The 1500m heats will be held on August 2, before the semi-finals take center stage on August 4. The final is due on August 6.
Sifan Hassan eyes unprecedented Olympic track treble
Sifan Hassan may have raised eyebrows when she announced an unprecedented bid for triple Olympic gold in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, but on previous form she looks tailor-made to make history in Tokyo.
The 28-year-old, born in Ethiopia but now a long-time naturalised Dutchwoman, became the first athlete to achieve the 1500 and 10,000m world double in Doha in 2019.
It was a remarkable show of running, especially as it came after the news that her coach Alberto Salazar, the head of the Nike-funded Oregon Project, had been banned for four years over doping-related issues.
"The hardest moment and pressure in my life was in Doha and I handled it," she said earlier this month.
"Tokyo will not be hard."
Hassan certainly did handle it, meeting the furore head-on after she had completed the double.
"If they want to test me they can test me every single day. Every single day," she said.
"I believe in clean sport, I'm always clean, I will always be clean.
"I believe in the Oregon Project (since disbanded by Nike). I've seen Alberto. He's worked really hard and that is what I know."
Hassan failed to bow down to more potential criticism from detractors when she selected former Salazar assistant Tim Rowberry as her new coach.
"Three years ago I made the choice to go to America," she said in 2020 after choosing Rowberry.
"I now have a familiar situation where I feel very much at home.
"I have considered several options and met new people to find the right click, but I believe that my current training situation is the best way to successfully prepare for the Tokyo Olympics."
'I am crazy'
Hassan's treble bid echoes that of the 'Czech Locomotive', Emile Zatopek, who won 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon golds at the 1952 Olympics.
For Hassan it may be more of a challenge in terms of the scheduling with the toughest day on August 2.
She runs the 1500m heats in the morning and then, provided there has not been an upset in qualifying, the 5,000m final in the evening session.
She would then need to come through the 1500m semi-finals on August 4 with the final two days later.
If it is two from two after that, a sleepless night might beckon ahead of a history-making attempt at the third, the 10,000m final, on August 7.
Will Ethiopian-born Dutch distance star Sifan Hassan make history at Tokyo Olympics 2020?
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch female long-distance runner. Her plans to compete in 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m track races at the Tokyo Olympic Games have created buzz in the running world.
If she is successful in winning gold medals in all three races, it will be unprecedented in the history of Track and Field at the Olympics. No female distance runner has won more gold medals in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m track races at the same Olympic Games.
Athletes in the past have attempted the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the Olympics, but the 28-year-old has added a 1,500m event to her menu that is being intensely debated.
At the 2019 Doha World Championships, she made history by winning gold medals in the 1,500m and 10,000m, to become the first female runner to do so.
Why is it tougher to set records in the Olympics
There is a major difference in competing at the Olympics and posting a fast time during one-day international competitions.
During lucrative one-day prize money events across the globe, race organizers have pacemakers to break records. However, elite athletes employ different tactics to win medals at major championships including Olympics.
Therefore, timings are faster in one-day competitions rather than at the Olympics as the main aim is to win medals and not break records.
Since races at the Olympics are sometimes slow in comparison to one-day meetings, the tactical battle could be an advantage for Sifan as she has both the speed and endurance.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the women's 5,000m preliminary round is scheduled for the evening session on July 30 while the women's 1,500m heats are slated for a morning session on August 2.
There is enough time between the 5,000m and 1,500m heat for Sifan to recover.
But it could be punishing for the Dutch distance runner as the event progresses. After the 1,500m heat in the morning session, she will be racing the women's 5,000m final in the evening session on August 2.
Sifan's next race, the women's 1,500m semis will be on August 4. The final is on August 6.
After a good race on August 6 will she recover to compete in the women's 10,000m final on August 7?
Having shown her prowess over distances ranging from 1,500m to half marathon, Sifan would be one to watch at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the first week of June, Sifan smashed the women's 10,000m five years old world record in Hengelo, the Netherlands. She clocked 29 minutes 06.82 seconds to better Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana's record of 29 minutes 17.45 seconds set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Last week (July 9) at the Monaco Diamond League, Sifan clocked 3 minutes 53.60 seconds to finish second behind arch rival Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, whose winning time was 3 minutes 51.07 seconds.
The inspiring story of Sifan Hassan
As a teenager, Sifan had to flee Ethiopia. She was barely 15 and reached the Netherlands as a refugee in 2008. She began running and enrolled herself in a nursing course. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2013.
According to Sifan, the nursing course took a backseat as she became a professional athlete. She will compete in Japan for her adopted country.
by N Singh
With the Tokyo Olympics less than two weeks away Bromell, Thompson-Herah and Vetter headline last Diamond League
With the Tokyo Olympics less than two weeks away, many of the world's top athletes will get a last chance to test their competitive form when they line up in the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, on Tuesday (13).
US sprinter Trayvon Bromell, German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter, Jamaican sprint star Elaine Thompson-Herah and British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson are among the top names entered in the Muller Grand Prix.
Despite the late withdrawals of British world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith and Dutch middle-distance star Sifan Hassan, the meet features an array of world and Olympic champions and will serve as a crucial tune-up ahead of Tokyo.
The seventh Diamond League meeting of the season – and second in Gateshead – comes just 10 days before the 23 July opening of the Tokyo Games and 17 days before the start of the Olympic athletics competition on 30 July.
Many athletes are returning to the venue in northeast England for the second time this season. Gateshead hosted the Diamond League opener in May after the meeting was moved from Rabat, Morocco. Tuesday's meeting was originally scheduled to take place at the Olympic Stadium in London but was switched to Gateshead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
World 100m leader Bromell will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing performance in last Friday's Herculis EBS Diamond League meeting in Monaco, where he clocked 10.01 and finished fifth in a race won by American teammate Ronnie Baker in 9.91. It was Bromell's first 100m defeat since 2019, having won four races in 2020 and 10 this year.
Bromell, who ran 9.77 in June for the fastest time in the world this year and won the 100m in 9.80 at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene last month, will be determined to regain the form that made him the favourite for gold in Tokyo.
Bromell will go up against Fred Kerley, who qualified for Tokyo by finishing third in 9.86 at the US trials, and Canada's Andre De Grasse, the Olympic and world 100m bronze medallist. Isiah Young, who has clocked 9.89 this season, is also in the 100m line-up, along with British sprinters Adam Gemili and Chijindu Ujah.
About 40 members of Team GB's athletics team for Tokyo – more than half the entire squad – will be in action in Gateshead. Missing, however, will be Asher-Smith, who pulled out citing a tight hamstring. She opted not to take any risks ahead of the Olympics.
"As you all know, I love running in front of a home crowd but I have to make smart decisions for myself and my body ahead of Tokyo,'' Asher-Smith said in a statement on Twitter. "I'm sorry to those who were hoping to see me run this week but I'm looking forward to making you all proud in a few weeks' time."
Asher-Smith had been scheduled to run the 200m in a marquee matchup against Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic 100m and 200m champion. The Jamaican will now be the favourite in a field that also includes American Tamara Clark, who finished fourth in the US Olympic Trials in a personal best of 21.98.
Hassan, the women's world champion at 1500m and 10,000m, also withdrew due to a tight hamstring and preferring not to take any chances before Tokyo, where she looks set to contest the 5000m-10,000m double. Hasan had been scheduled to run the mile, in which she holds the world record of 4:12.33. Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda, who has a season's best of 4:00.84 in the 1500m, and American Kate Grace, who clocked 1:57.36 for the 800m in Stockholm, now start as favourites.
The men's mile has past winner Jake Wightman of Britain in the field along with European indoor 800m record-breaker Elliot Giles, who will be running the 800m in Tokyo.
If conditions are good, Vetter could challenge Jan Zelezny's 25-year-old javelin world record of 98.48m. The German came close last year with a throw of 97.76m and threw 96.29m to win his event at the European Team Championships in May. Vetter has been successful competing in Britain, winning the world title in London in 2017.
Javelin records have been set in the UK before, with Zelezny throwing 95.66m in Sheffield in 1993 and Britain's Steve Backley setting a mark of 90.98m at London's Crystal Palace in 1990. Also in the javelin field in Gateshead are world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago.
Still making her way back to full fitness after an Achilles injury, Johnson-Thompson is entered in the women's long jump, where she will take on world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany. In Stockholm, Mihambo produced the best jump of 7.02m in the third round but settled for second place in the new final-three format when her final effort of 6.77m was bettered by the 6.88m of Ivana Spanovic of Serbia.
In the women's 400m hurdles, 21-year-old Dutch star Femke Bol will resume her rivalry with US athlete Shamier Little for the third time this season.
Kipyegon cruises to Kenyan 1500m record in Monaco
It's all about keeping the faith.
Going into tonight's 1500m at the EBS Herculis meeting in Monaco, world champion Sifan Hassan announced that she had asked for a pace of 61-second laps, which would add up to a second or so under the current world record of 3:50.07.
The Dutchwoman has set world records twice previously in Monaco, most recently over the mile two years ago, and she was feeling confident after rediscovering her love for the metric mile with a victory over Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence last month.
Hassan even floated the idea of adding the 1500m back into her Olympic schedule, having previously declared that she would attempt the 5000m-10,000m double.
She locked in behind the pacemaker from the beginning, her ambition obvious. Only Kipyegon and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu dared to follow and the race was down to three when they reached the bell.
Hassan then turned the screws, but Kipyegon clung to her like a limpet down the back straight as the Dutchwoman stretched out her legs for the run home.
In the past three years races have inevitably gone Hassan's way in this situation, her unmatched mix of speed and endurance proving irresistible. But not this time.
As they entered the final straight Kipyegon kicked hard, dashing past her rival and sprinting down the straight to win in 3:51.07, a Kenyan record and the fourth fastest time in history. In the last 90 metres she put two-and-a-half seconds into Hassan, who finished in 3:53.60, with Hailu third in a personal best of 3:56.28.
Despite her recent losses to Hassan, Kipyegon said she remained confident that her day would come.
"I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and my goal was to run a fast race here and I thank God that was," she said. "I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title."
Kipyegon gave birth to her first child in 2018, returning in 2019 to finish second to Hassan at the World Championships in Doha, but has now found an even richer vein of form than that which carried her to the Olympic title in 2016 and the world title in 2017. "I came back after giving birth and I feel like a role model for the young mothers out there and the young athletes," she said. "I hope to show them that when you go for maternity leave, this does not mean the end of your career. You can come back strong and win races."
Fellow Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot was also a man on a mission tonight.
With his Olympic dreams hanging in the balance, the world 1500m champion dashed to the fastest time in the world for six years.
An out-of-sorts Cheruiyot was a shock fourth at the Kenyan Olympic trials last month, putting him in grave danger of missing selection. The situation has been complicated by the fact that second-placed Kamar Etiang has not completed the requisite number of anti-doping tests to qualify for the Olympic Games so his eligibility is in question.
That has left Cheruiyot in limbo just weeks before the Tokyo Games, but he thrust aside all that uncertainty to race with clear intent in Monaco.
In the fastest race of the year, he led at the bell and fought off all challenges, setting a personal best of 3:28.28 as four men dipped under 3:30.
Spanish surprise packet Mohamed Katir took almost five seconds from his personal best to finish second (3:28.76 national record) ahead of European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.25) and Australia's Stewart McSweyn, who set an Oceanian record of 3:29.51 in fourth.
Cheruiyot revealed afterwards that a hamstring injury and the death of a relative on the day of the Kenyan trial had affected his performance there but he still hoped to be selected for the Olympics.
"Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo," he said.
Amos and Muir impress over two laps
On a night of high-quality middle distance running, Botswana's Olympic medallist Nijel Amos roared back to top form, recording the fastest time of the year to down a field full of Olympic contenders.
With his arms flailing, Amos used his awkward but effective running style to propel himself past Kenya's Emmanuel Kori (1:43.04) and Canada's Marco Arop (1:43.26).
Britain's Laura Muir also had the last laugh in a world-class 800m field, looming late to take the win in a big personal best of 1:56.73. Muir had never cracked 1:58 previously for the distance, but had the strength to haul in her training partner Jemma Reekie (1:56.96) and USA's Kate Grace (1:57.20) in the final metres as all three women set personal best times.
Muir has decided to focus her energy on the 1500m in Tokyo but that will be no easy task as Kipyegon demonstrated.
Both 3000m steeplechase races were suffused with drama and unpredictability at the Stade Louis II.
The men's race descended into confusion when an official rang the bell a lap too early, but world silver medallist Lamecha Girma still managed to run a world-leading time of 8:07.75 to take the win from Abraham Kibiwot, just 0.06 behind.
In the women's race, 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng made a break from the pack after two kilometres but misjudged the remaining laps and kicked too early. After crossing the line and hearing the bell for the actual final lap, the Kenyan tried to muster some energy to run another circuit. USA's 2017 world champion Emma Coburn positioned herself to challenge Kiyeng as they approached the water jump, but Coburn stumbled at the hurdle and fell into the water losing all momentum, leaving Kiyeng to take the victory in 9:03.82, with world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech second in 9:04.94 and Winfred Yavi third (9:05.45). Coburn regathered herself to cross the line in fourth place in 9:09.02.
Baker blasts to 100m victory
There was unpredictability too in the men's 100m where the form book was upended as the ever-reliable Ronnie Baker claimed victory in 9.91, from African record-holder Akani Simbini (9.98) and Italian Marcell Jacobs (9.99).
World leader Trayvon Bromell, regarded by many as the man most likely to win the Olympic 100m crown in Tokyo next month, lacked his usual zip and could only finish fifth in 10.01.
World 100m champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce used her early speed to take the lead on the bend in the women's 200m, but could not hold off the Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the straight.
Miller-Uibo, who has chosen to focus on the 200m for Tokyo, won in 22.23 from Marie-Josee Ta Lou (22.25) with Fraser-Pryce third (22.48).
New world 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm returned to the competition track for the first time since his heroics in his hometown Oslo last week, eager to challenge his new "personal best" of 46.70.
He made a typically aggressive start, making up the stagger by the second hurdle, but ultimately he could not match the pace he set last week, crossing the finish line in a meeting record of 47.08, still the fourth fastest time of his career and faster than all but five other men in history.
He was pleased to maintain such a consistently high level of performance. "This was a good race so I'm satisfied," he said.
Brazil's Alison Dos Santos continued to build his Olympic medal credentials with a strong second place in 47.51, just outside his personal best of 47.34, also set in Oslo.
In the field, US pole vaulter Katie Nageotte carried her fine form to Europe to clear 4.90m and claim an impressive victory over world champion Anzhelika Sidorova and Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, who both cleared 4.80m.
A tight high jump competition was decided by a jump-off after both neutral athlete Mikhail Akimenko and Canadian Django Lovett were tied with best clearances of 2.29m. Akimenko then claimed the victory by leaping 2.32m in the decider.
World triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas had a tough night at the office, fouling four of her six jumps, including two that looked like they would have challenged the world record (15.50m). She led after five rounds with a best leap of 15.12m but could not find the board in the all-important sixth round under the Final 3 format being trialled in the Diamond League this year.
Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts took the win with 14.29m after she was the only one of the top three to register a legal jump in the final.
The men's long jump also finished with an anti-climax after Miltiadis Tentoglou was the only one to hit the board in the final round (8.24m).
The women's javelin was the only throwing event on the programme and saw a return to the winner's circle for the veteran world record-holder Barbora Spotakova, who threw a season's best of 63.08m in the sudden-death final round, the farthest mark ever achieved by a 40-year-old thrower.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon runs spectacular 1500 at Herculis meeting
Off of an early fast pace, Kenya's Faith Kipyegon kicked to glory today in the 1500m at the Herculis meeting at the Stade Louis II, clocking the fourth-fastest time in history, 3:51.07. The 2016 Olympic 1500m champion swept past the tiring Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in the homestretch, to beat the reigning world 1500m and 10,000m champion by two and one half seconds and break her own Kenyan record.
"I thought I could run faster than that," Kipyegon said improbably after the race.
American 800-meter runner Chanelle Price got the race off to a good start, leading Kipyegon, Hassan and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu through 400m in 61.5 and 800m in 2:03.6. Price quickly stepped aside, and Hassan took the lead and was clearly focused on running a fast time. Kipyegon stayed close, but did not attempt to pass. She knew this was a great opportunity to run a fast time.
"I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and my goal was to run a fast race here and I thank God that was," Kipyegon said.
The petite Kenyan, who took a full year off in 2018 to have her daughter Alyn, waited until she came out of the final bend to launch her lethal sprint, and she clearly showed the kind of fitness which will be required to defend her Olympic title in Tokyo.
"I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title," she said. "I have a lot of pressure because the 1500m is a tactical race. Now I will train hard and hope to do my best at the Games."
Hailu, who is only 20 years-old, held on to get third place in a personal best 3:56.28.
There was also fast men's 1500m tonight. Off of the perfect pacing job by American 800m runner Chris Sowinski who hit 400m in 54.2 and 800m in 1:50.8, reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya had a narrow lead over Australia's Stewy McSweyn and Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Spain's Mohamed Katir was close behind the leading trio.
With about 200 meters to go, Katir tried to pass Cheruiyot on the outside, but the tall Kenyan quickly responded. In the homestretch, Katir continued to dig, but Cheruiyot would not relent and beat the Spaniard 3:28.28 to 3:28.76. Cheruiyot's time was a 2021 world leader and a personal best, while Katir bested Fermin Cacho's 24 year-old Spanish record of 3:28.95.
"Today's race was good and I won it for the third time," said Cheruiyot who also won here in 2019 and 2020. "I missed competition a lot after spending a lot of time in Kenya where I had a few issues like my hamstring injury and after also losing a relative in my family on the day of the Kenyan trials explaining why I missed out on making the team," Cheruiyot added. "I am therefore happy I am back again after all this."
There were more fast times down the finish order; 11 men broke 3:33. Ingebrigtsen finished third in a season's best 3:29.25, and McSweyn ran an Australian record 3:29.51. McSweyn has also run an Australian record for the mile in Oslo eight days ago.
There were strong 800m races here for both women and men. In the women's contest, Scotswoman Laura Muir got a dramatic victory moving from fourth place to first by sweeping wide in the final 50 meters. She ran a personal best 1:56.73 ahead of her training partner Jemma Reekie (1:56.96 PB), American Kate Grace (1:57.20) and Jamaican Natoya Goule (1:57.35). Goule had led the race into the final 200 meters but tied up in the homestretch.
The men's two-lap race played out similarly when 2012 Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos muscled past the tiring Marco Arop of Canada --who had led after the pacemaker dropped out-- and Emmanuel Korir of Kenya in the homestretch. Amos finished in a world-leading 1:42.91, while Korir got a season's best 1:43.04 and Arop a personal best 1:43.26. Clayton Murphy, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist finished seventh in 1:44.41.
"It is always a good feeling coming out here to Monaco, that I am always winning out here, always having a good time," said Amos. "So I try to channel that positivity and bring it to the race. No matter what shape I am in, it always seems to come together."
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl