Huge Drama Already Coming Out Of London

LRCLondon Marathon Preview Podcast, Mo Farah And Haile Gebrselassie Brawling Off Track + Special Guest Ultra Marathoner Sage Canaday Learn everything you need to know about London and then if you dare the ultra marathoner world.

LRC Exclusive Victim Of Mo Farah’s Alleged Attack Says His Altercation With Farah Was “Minor” & That His Wife Was Not Struck Good news for distance fans all around as the main athlete involved in the “brawl” with Farah says the whole thing was “minor” and his wife was not struck by Farah as Gebrselassie alleged.

• Zane Robertson And Taoufik Makhloufi Both Say They’ve Had Stuff Stolen At Haile’s Hotel
• Farah’s Coach Thinks It’s A “Good Thing” Farah Went Public “It had been really bothering Mo and no one was taking him seriously,” Lough said. “And actually I think it is a good thing that he got it off his chest. Genuinely, there is no way this is going to affect his race.”
• The Telegraph:“Has The Mo Farah Mask Finally Slipped?” “Farah did not so much go off-grid as plough into tundra regions hitherto uncharted in the realm of athletics PR.”
• UK Athletics Have Talks With Mo Farah To Make Sure He Hasn’t Had More Contact With Jama Aden A Farah spokesperson said that the allegations by Halie G “have no basis and are not true.”

The 125th Penn Relays *Live Results, Schedule, Start Lists*TV & Streaming

SaturdayGeorgetown men win 1st wheel in a long time in 4 x 800
*Indiana women win 1st ever relay at Penn in women’s 4 x 800 dMonmouth’s Allie Wilson (2:02.29) and Penn’s Nia Akins (2:02.33) had the best splits.
*Morgan McDonald and Wisco win 4 x mile (barely) They were way back but Oliver Hoare got them back in it on leg #3.

Friday

• Morgan McDonald and Oliver Hoare show they are the best in NCAA as Wisco wins 1st DMR at Penn in over 100 years
• Penn coach’s son, Sean Dolan, finishes 2nd in boys mile Canada’s Foster Malleck got the win.
• Hyped field for boys 3,000 fails to live up to expectations
  *MB: If Penn Relays 3k champ Eldad Mulugeta wasn’t American, people would think he’s really old
  *MB: Defending Penn Relays HS 3k champ scratches because it rained? 
• Penn Relays has switched order of boys 4 x 800 and 4 x mile this year 4 x 800 is now first.
• Wisconsin Football Superstar Jonathan Taylor Made His Collegiate Track Debut At Penn Taylor, who has rushed for more than 4,000 yards in two years, ran the 4 x 100 and Wisco only beat his studly HS team’s time of 42.41 by 0.41.
• Holmwood Tech Gets Revenge On Hydel, Wins Girls 4 X 400 (3:37.20)
• Edwin Allen Girls Set 4 X 100m Record (43.62) At Penn They also won the 4 x 800 in 8:54.02.

Thursday

• MB: Penn women BLOW it open early, then hold on and win women’s DMR at Penn Relays in 10:59.44 It’s the first distance relay title for a women’s Ivy League school ever. Thanks to Nia Akins (3:22.73) and Uchechi Nwogwugwu (52.22), they had more than a 10-second lead on the eventual 2nd and 3rd placers after two legs. Notre Dame’s Jessica Harris had the leg of the day (4:28).
  *Philly.com:UPenn Women Make History With First DMR Win At Penn Relays
• MB:Victoria Starcher breaks Mary Cain’s Penn Relays meet record, wins in 4:38.19 According to a message board poster, she’s now the fourth US girl under 4:40 on the year.
• Philly.com:Indiana Freshman Maddy Pollard Saves Best For Last In Penn Relays Shot Put Pollard won with a big 16.41m on her last throw.
• DyeStat.com’s Day 1 HS Recap From Penn
• Recommended Read:The Philadelphia-Based Juventus Track Club Is “Embracing Philly’s Grit” A nice profile/photo shoot on the club who’s roster includes Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers and Charlene Lipsey.
• Team USA Team Announced For USA Vs. The World At Penn Relays The relay pools include Raevyn Rogers, Mike Rodgers, Cameron Burrell and Dezerea Bryant.

Previous Farah / Geb Drama News

• Haile Says Farah Has Held A “Grudge” Ever Since He Refused To Let Farah Bring Jama Aden Into His Hotel In 2016
• Farah Accused Of 2nd Assault At Haile’s Hotel A hotel gym instructor says Farah grabbed him by the neck an pushed and shoved him in 2018.
• Coach Gary Lough Stands By Mo Farah In Conflict With Haile Gebrselassie Paula Radcliffe‘s husband tells says Farah was acting in self-defense, however it seems a lot more than a “minor”thing as federal police were involved.
• Mo Farah’s Coach Gary Lough Says Haile Has “… been exposed for what he is and he’s fighting with low blows and lies.”
• Toni Reavis Is Enjoying The Farah Vs. Geb TMZ-Type Spat
• MB:Mo Farah says someone stole from while he was at Haile’s G hotel – Haile says Farah was reported for “attacking married athlete”

Pre-Drake News

• AP:Keni Harrison Looking For Her 4th Drake Relays 100H Title She’ll face seven Olympians, including Olympic silver medalist Nia Ali.
• Des Moines Register:Olympic 110H Champ Omar McLeod Hoping To Make A Triumphant Return At The Drake Relays McLeod says top hurdlers don’t dodge each other: “With hurdles, there’s no hiding from nobody, to be honest. We thrive off the competition. It keeps us sharper.”
• Des Moines Register Article On Brogan Austin’s Roommate, Who Won The Drake Relays Half MarathonZach Baker talks about the struggle with working a 50-60 hours/week job and losing motivation for running.
• DyeStat Thursday Drake Recap
• DyeStat Preview:10 Elite Storylines To Follow At The 2019 Drake RelaysRyan Crouser, Keni Harrison, Omar McLeod vs. Devon Allen, Sam Kendricks and Sandi Morris vs. Jenn Suhur are some of the pros who should highlight this weekend.
• Des Moines Register:Junior College Freshman Kenny Bednarek Racing Against The Pros At The Drake Relays 10.42/20.43/45.93 man will finally get some competition after not losing any races all of last year and this (according to TFRRS and Tilastopaja).

Non-London And Non-Penn Drake Distance News Of Note

• Caster Semenya Beats Dominique Scott To Win South African 5,000 Title In 16:05.97
• Interesting Read: Israeli Star Lonah Chemtai Salpeter Writes About The Search For Gender Equity In Running And Growing Up In Kenya Without Electricity

Previous Haile Vs. Farah News

LRCHaile Gebrselassie Fires Back At Mo Farah, Accuses Him Of “Disgraceful Conduct,” Says Sir Mo Was Reported For Attacking A “Married Athlete” In Hotel Gym We were expecting a titanic clash between distance legends in London – just not these two. Haile G also said Mo Farah refused to pay his $3,000 room bill and that Farah avoided a criminal charge for the alleged attack only after Gebrselassie’s intervention.

• Sean Ingle Reveals The Assault On The Married Athlete Was Physical, Not Sexual, In Nature And Haile G says he did so much for Farah that Haile was even afraid to return to his own hotel as he was afraid of an employee uprising. “He should know five workers from our hotel were in prison for three weeks – only for Mo Farah.”
• Mo Responds To Haile With Statement: It reads in part, “Mo disputes all of these claims which are an effort to distract from the situation, where members of his hotel staff used a room key and stole money and items from Mo Farah’s room.”
• LRCMo Farah Really Wants You To Know He Was Burglarized At Haile Gebrselassie’s HotelFarah lost a sentimental watch, two phones and over $3,200 in cash and was upset with Gebrselassie for not doing anything or responding to his many text messages.

More Coverage From London

• Mo Farah May Come Out Of Track Retirement For Tokyo 2020 Based on Farah’s quotes, he could return to the track or even run the marathon at 2019 Doha Worlds.
• Eliud Kipchoge:“Mo can beat me, others can beat me, but the best thing is that if you can accept the results, that’s the only way to enjoy the sport.”
• Good Read:Hear The Story Of GB’s Johnboy Smith, Who Turned To Wheelchair Racing After Suffering A Gunshot Wound When He Was 16 Smith is hoping to better his 11th place finish from London last year.

Guest LRC Editorial

LRC Want An Intelligent, Nuanced Read On Caster Semenya Before IAAF Ruling? Amby Burfoot: The Whole World Is Watching: Caster Semenya Vs. IAAF In this in-depth piece, Burfoot argues that intersex pro athletes like Semenya should only be allowed to compete in the female category if their testosterone is below a certain level.
*MB:What’s at stake in Semenya vs. IAAF — Amby Burfoot breaks down the monumental looming CAS decision 

NCAA News

• Recommended Read #1:DyeStat Profile On Notre Dame’s Men’s DMR, Who Are Going For The Team’s First Men’s Penn Relays Title In 76 Years The article tells the brief story of the four men who, from “blue chip recruit” to “former team manager,” will try to win the Fighting Irish’s first Penn wheel since 1943.
• RR #2: Michigan’s Erin Finn Approaching Her Senior Year With A Scientific Focus The epidemiology major says, “Having academic goals really helps me to be more of a scientist in running. I don’t have this emotional connection where I am stubbornly doing things. Instead, I’m being smart about how I approach things, changing one variable at a time and seeing how my body responds.”
• The State Of Arizona Pays $999,999 To Settle Lawsuit By Former University Of Arizona Track Athlete The state settled the lawsuit with former athlete Baillie Gibson, who was assaulted by former Arizona throws coach Craig Carter. Carter admitted to grabbing Gibson by the throat and holding a box cutter to her throat.
• Men’s NCAA Division I XC Champs Could Move From 10k To 8k The DI Track and Field and Cross Country Sport Committee is recommending a proposal to move Regionals and NCAAs from 10k to 8k. Many coaches, including Oklahoma’s Dave Smith, are reportedly organizing against the proposal.
  *MB:Men’s D1 XC Nationals may get moved from 10k to 8k