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Posted by: MvG501 1st January 2021, 12:35 PM

A thread to discuss all things athletics related such as events, debates and news and anything to with the world of athletics in 2021.

Posted by: Iceman501 10th January 2021, 05:42 PM

Olympic long jump silver medallist Luvo Manyonga has been provisionally suspended for three breaches of anti-doping rules in 12 months.

The 30-year-old South African, who has battled drug addiction in the past, could be banned for two years for the whereabouts failures.

Posted by: Iceman501 10th January 2021, 05:48 PM

The Welsh Indoor Championships and Welsh Cross Country Championships will not be held this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Welsh Athletics (WA), the sport's governing body in Wales, normally holds the events in January or February.

But with the country in Level 4 lockdown, WA says it is not feasible to do so in 2021.

The body accepts the decision will be a "disappointment for many athletes in Wales".

Posted by: Iceman501 15th January 2021, 12:09 AM

Olympic 100m hurdles champion Brianna McNeal has been provisionally suspended from athletics after being charged with breaching anti-doping rules.

The American is accused of "tampering within the results management process", the Athletics Integrity Unit said.

McNeal, 29, won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and was also world champion three years earlier.

She missed the 2017 World Championships while serving a one-year ban for missing three drug tests.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 30th January 2021, 10:04 PM

Just been watching the World Indoor Tour at Karlsruhe - I've not watched much indoor athletics before so this was an experience! Some great results for GB with Elliot Giles and of course Dina Asher-Smith.

Was interesting to watch the 400m 'final' which was actually two heats with the fastest time determining the winner, wonder why they've decided to do it like that?

Posted by: Iceman501 31st January 2021, 11:49 PM

QUOTE(PeteFromLeeds @ Jan 30 2021, 11:04 PM)

Posted by: ukchartstatsfan 4th February 2021, 10:57 PM

Britain's Laura Muir will not attempt to win a European Indoor double for the third year running as she focuses on preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 27th February 2021, 09:51 PM

Gave the Madrid leg of the Indoor Tour a watch tonight - was interesting watching all the long-distance races basically being a bunch of Spanish athletes and one Ethiopian and the Ethiopian was the winner in each one

Also Grant Holloway beats Colin Jackson's record from the 90s, which they're saying is great but I always feel a little sad when a record that has stood for so long is finally broken.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 5th March 2021, 10:12 PM

Catching a bit of the European Indoor Championships - great to see the British representation in the Womens' 3000 with Markovc in gold and Ockenden in bronze as well! Who needs Laura Muir?

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 6th March 2021, 10:42 PM

Some more medals today for Team GB! Brilliant bronze for Jodie Williams, glad to see Holly Archer get re-instated after that mad final and a bit of a shame that Holly Bradshaw couldn't get the gold but at least she got a medal - Moser continuing to pull out clearances on her third attempt was something to behold!

On another note, I really don't envy those people who have to dress up as loaves of bread and high-five all the contestants...

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 3rd May 2021, 04:12 PM

Managed to catch the second day of the World Relay Championships yesterday – completely forgot how manic the races could be with all the DNF and disqualifications, it does leave a bit of a flat feeling when the first 3 to cross the line aren’t always the medallists though!

Also interesting to see which countries were prominent – who knew Japan, Ecuador and Brazil were so good at relays? Good to see Team GB get in amongst the medals in the ladies’ 4x400m as well.

Posted by: Mack. 12th May 2021, 10:13 PM

Britain's four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah is set to compete on home soil for the first time since 2017 at the European 10,000m Cup in June.

Twelve athletes will represent the British team in the event at the University of Birmingham on 5 June.

Farah retired from track racing in 2017 but will look to secure a place in the British team for the Olympic Games.

The 38-year-old last competed on the track in Britain at the 2017 Birmingham Diamond League.

Posted by: Mack. 13th May 2021, 07:11 PM

Dina Asher-Smith began her outdoor season with an impressive win over 200m in Savona, Italy.

The world champion at the distance won in 22.56 seconds, finishing ahead of fellow Briton Beth Dobbin, who was second in 23.06secs.

It was Asher-Smith's first 200m race since becoming world champion in Doha in October 2019.

The 25-year-old will take part in the 100m at the Grand Prix in Gateshead on 23 May.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 14th May 2021, 06:30 PM

QUOTE(Mack. @ May 12 2021, 11:13 PM)

Posted by: Mack. 23rd May 2021, 07:55 PM

Great win for Dina. She won that on the start

Posted by: Mack. 23rd May 2021, 07:56 PM

QUOTE(PeteFromLeeds @ May 14 2021, 07:30 PM)

Posted by: Mack. 29th May 2021, 10:08 PM

Double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya failed in her latest attempt to secure her place at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing outside the qualifying mark for the 5,000m.

The 30-year-old South African finished in 15 minutes 32.15 seconds in Durban - 22.15secs outside the qualifying time.

It was her second bid to qualify after clocking 15:52.28 in April.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 31st May 2021, 03:38 PM

Ah it appears that the Diamond League has started back up again this month! Will need to get back to watching that.

Posted by: Mack. 2nd June 2021, 02:27 PM

Olympic medallist Eilidh Doyle says she no longer had the "fire in my belly" to continue on to this summer's Tokyo games after retiring at the age of 34.

The Scot gave birth to her first child, son Campbell, in January 2020 and planned to return to the track.

Posted by: Mack. 15th June 2021, 11:30 PM

American middle distance runner Shelby Houlihan has been banned from athletics for four years after testing positive for a prohibited substance - which she blamed on a burrito.

The 28-year-old says she was told in January the anabolic steroid nandrolone had been found in a doping sample.

Olympian Houlihan said it may have come from eating a pork burrito, which she said could lead to a false positive for nandrolone, the night before her test.

Posted by: Mack. 19th June 2021, 08:57 AM

Olympic long jump silver medallist Luvo Manyonga has been banned for four years after failing to meet whereabouts criteria three times in 12 months.

The South African missed a doping test in November 2019, and made two filing failures in April and October 2020.

As it is a second violation of the anti-doping code by the 30-year-old, he has been given double the normal two-year ban for whereabouts failures.

He was banned for 18 months in 2012 for testing positive for crystal meth.


Silly man.

Posted by: Mack. 19th June 2021, 09:02 AM

Shelby Houlihan says she will not compete at the US Olympic trials after a failed bid to obtain an injunction against her four-year doping ban.

The American, 28, was banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday after testing positive for the prohibited anabolic steroid nandrolone, which she blamed on a burrito.

Houlihan is appealing against the ban.

Posted by: Mack. 19th June 2021, 10:56 PM

Ryan Crouser broke the men's shot put world record after a 23.37m throw at the United States Olympic track and field trials.

The 2016 Olympic champion's effort broke the previous record of 23.12m that had been held by compatriot Randy Barnes since 1990.

Crouser set the new benchmark with his fourth throw in Eugene, Oregon.

Posted by: Mack. 20th June 2021, 04:08 PM

Wayde van Niekerk has qualified to defend his men's Olympic 400m title at this summer's Games in Tokyo.

The South African, 28, ran 44.56 seconds, which is inside the required 44.90secs standard, in finishing second behind Anthony Jose Zambrano in Spain.

Van Niekerk set the 400m world record in winning gold at Rio 2016 but has since struggled with injury.

Meanwhile, his compatriot Caster Semenya again failed to qualify for the women's 5,000m in Tokyo.

Posted by: Mack. 25th August 2021, 01:55 PM

Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah feels a new women's 100m world record is within reach as she prepares for the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Jamaican, 29, set a new world lead of 10.54 seconds at the Eugene Diamond League last Saturday - the second fastest of all time.

Only American Florence Griffith-Joyner has run faster, when she set her world record of 10.49 seconds in 1988.

The event takes place on Thursday.

"A few years ago I was asked whether I could break that record and I said it was not possible," she said.

"But for me to run a 10.54 means it is within reach, therefore it means anything is possible."

Posted by: Mack. 28th August 2021, 12:04 PM

On Thursday

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran the third fastest time in women's 100m history to edge out Elaine Thompson-Herah in their latest encounter at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Fraser-Pryce clocked a stunning 10.60 seconds to beat the Olympic champion.

Jamaican compatriot Thompson-Herah registered 10.64 secs - the fastest losing time in the event's history.

Posted by: Mack. 28th August 2021, 11:12 PM

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah set a meet record time of 10.72 seconds to win the 100m at the Paris Diamond League but Florence Griffith-Joyner's 1988 world record still eludes her.

Posted by: chartfridays 12th September 2021, 08:03 AM

Anyone tuning in for Great North Run this morning?

A chance for someone other than Mo Farah to win the men's race.

Posted by: Mack. 15th September 2021, 11:39 AM

British sprinter CJ Ujah's 'B' sample has tested positive, confirming the result of his initial test from the Tokyo Olympics.

Ujah, 27, was part of the British men's 4x100m relay team which won silver at the rearranged 2020 Olympics.

They will now almost certainly lose those medals.

Posted by: Mack. 15th September 2021, 11:40 AM

QUOTE(chartfridays @ Sep 12 2021, 09:03 AM)

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 15th September 2021, 04:26 PM

I really feel for the relay teem who might end up losing their medals after all this now (and maybe even for CJ, who knows whether he was aware he was taking a banned substance or not)

Posted by: Boycie 23rd September 2021, 12:12 PM

Kenyan marathon runner Mary Keitany has announced her retirement at the age of 39 because of a back injury.

Keitany holds the world record for a women-only marathon with a time of two hours 17 minutes one second, which she set when winning her third London Marathon in 2017.

She also won the New York Marathon on four occasions.

Posted by: Mack. 29th September 2021, 02:34 PM

Former Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has been named in one of the Great Britain bobsleigh squads that will attempt to qualify for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Posted by: Mack. 30th September 2021, 01:28 PM

An investigation has been opened into two Belarus coaches who allegedly tried to force an athlete to fly home from the Tokyo Olympics.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said she was taken to the airport in Tokyo against her will after criticising her coaches.

The sprinter received police protection after voicing fears for her safety and was later granted asylum by Poland.

The International Olympic Committee and World Athletics have now opened a "formal procedure" into the matter.

Posted by: Mack. 5th October 2021, 01:19 PM

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 5th October 2021, 09:30 PM

Interesting to hear - would be great to see an African nation host a big contest like that! Of course the question is whether they have the infrastructure to support it.

Posted by: Mack. 6th October 2021, 12:27 PM

British 5,000m record holder Eilish McColgan would be wary about doing training runs after dark.

McColgan's fellow distance athlete Charlotte Purdue spoke on Monday about how the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in March has reinforced her stance about running at night.

And the 2018 European Championships silver medallist echoed that.

"I'd be very hesitant about running in the dark. It will be the same for women all across the world," McColgan said.

"I'm in the fortunate position of being a professional athlete and being able to train 24 hours a day. My partner actually cycles along with me most days so I never really feel unsafe.

"I can choose my times but other women can't do that. We travel all over the world so there are always going to be places you are a little bit unsure of."

Posted by: Mack. 6th October 2021, 12:47 PM

Scottish team at the Commonwealths will feature all our best-known athletes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/58789138

Posted by: Mack. 7th October 2021, 03:02 PM

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been charged with three offences by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

She was suspended during the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for a human growth hormone following an out-of-competition test on 19 July.

The 32-year-old later tested positive for another banned substance, recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), which increases red blood cell count.

She has also been charged for not co-operating with the AIU's investigation.

The AIU alleges Okagbare "failed to comply with a formal requirement to produ

Posted by: Mack. 14th October 2021, 10:42 PM

Police in Kenya have arrested the husband of record-breaking long-distance runner Agnes Tirop who was stabbed to death at her home.

Emmanuel Rotich, who was detained in the coastal city of Mombasa, will face charges once investigations are completed, an official said.

Ms Tirop, 25, was found dead on Wednesday in the western town of Iten, a training centre for top athletes.

She had finished fourth in this year's Tokyo Olympic 5,000m final.

In 2019, she had won the 10,000m bronze at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

Posted by: Mack. 19th October 2021, 04:49 PM

Keely Hodgkinson has been granted top-level funding on the British Athletics World Class Programme but some big names have missed out.

The governing body announced that 67 athletes have received funding for the next Olympic cycle.

Hodgkinson, 19, won 800m silver at the Tokyo Olympics where she smashed Dame Kelly Holmes' 26-year-old British record by almost a second.

Funding has been cut for Mo Farah, CJ Ujah, Tom Bosworth and Andrew Butchart.

Four-time Olympic champion Farah, 38, missed out on the Games in Japan after failing to qualify for the 10,000m.

Posted by: Mack. 22nd October 2021, 07:51 PM

Joanna Coates has resigned as chief executive of UK Athletics and performance director Sara Symington has stepped down to join British Cycling.

Coates was appointed in February 2020, after Zara Hyde-Peters opted not to take up the role.

UK Athletics chair Ian Beattie said: "I'd like to thank Jo and Sara for their work and I wish them both all the best for the future."

Development director Mark Munro will take over as interim boss.

Posted by: Mack. 24th October 2021, 01:32 PM

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey smashed the women's half marathon world record by running 62 minutes and 52 seconds in Valencia.

The 23-year-old beat the previous best over 13.1 miles - set by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich - by 70 seconds.

Gidey is also the world 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder, winning bronze in the latter distance at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer.

Posted by: Mack. 25th October 2021, 03:05 PM

One of Ecuador's best-known athletes, Alex Quiñónez, has been shot dead.

He was shot along with another person outside a shopping centre in the city of Guayaquil on Friday night. A motive is not yet clear.

Tributes have been pouring in for Mr Quiñónez, 32, who was described by Ecuador's athletics federation as the country's greatest sprinter.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 25th October 2021, 08:37 PM

Oh that's awful, thoughts are with the families of him and the other person who died. Scary that things like this seem to be happening more often now.

Posted by: Mack. 9th November 2021, 01:06 AM

Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir won the women's race at the New York City marathon as compatriot Albert Korir claimed the men's title.

Olympic champion Jepchirchir sprinted for the finish line to beat Kenya's Viola Cheptoo, who was second, and third-placed Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh.

The 28-year-old won in a time of two hours 22 minutes 39 seconds.

Jepchirchir is the first athlete to win Olympic gold and the race in New York in the same year.

Korir had a winning time of 2:08:22, with runner-up Mohamed El Aaraby of Morocco finishing 44 seconds behind him and Italian Eyob Faniel claiming third.

Posted by: Mack. 19th November 2021, 12:09 AM

A former athletics coach has been handed a lifetime ban from the sport for misconduct towards athletes.

John Lees, who coached athletes who represented Great Britain at senior level, appealed against a five-year sanction issued in February.

But an independent appeal committee, chaired by Jane Mulcahy QC, found him guilty of five charges relating to his misconduct towards athletes.

Posted by: Mack. 24th November 2021, 03:22 AM

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo has set a new world record for the half marathon, shaving one second off the previous best time.

The 21-year-old clocked 57 minutes 31 seconds as he won the Lisbon Half Marathon road race on Sunday.

Posted by: Iceman501 2nd December 2021, 05:26 PM

Laviai Nielsen and Adam Gemili have been taken off UK Athletics' World Class Programme after opting to stay with US coach Rana Reider.

Reider is under investigation by US Safe Sport amid multiple complaints of sexual misconduct against him.

Sprinter Gemili and 400m runner Nielsen have opted to remain part of his training group in Florida.

However, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Daryll Neita has left Reider's group and retains her funding.

"UK Athletics' (UKA) position has not changed in that any athlete working directly with Rana Reider, given the confirmed complaints of sexual misconduct against him from US Safe Sport, will not be able to be supported through the World Class Programme (WCP)," said UKA in a statement.

"Our discussions have been ongoing with athletes who are working directly with Rana Reider in Florida.