- King Charles let course measurers into Windsor Palace recently to help prove that 1908 marathon really was 26m 385yds In the late 1990s, it was c;ao,ed that the course was 174 yards but that's not true and King Charles is mpw thinking about permanently marking the original start line.
- The Paris Olympics were supposed to be AC free until the rich nation's bitch and moaned And Paris finally gave in and let the US and others rent portable units.
*MB: Put an *asterisk next to all American medals in Paris? They'll have AC in Paris while Kenya, Ethiopians & Ugandans my not - St. Lucia's has never won an Olympic medal - that's likely to change this year with Julia Alfred
- History lesson to everyone under the age of 40: Before his 1996 glory, Michael Johnson flamed out of the 200 in 1992 as a huge favorite due to food poisoning
- Kenya head to Olympics after a scourge of doping positives
Archived Homepage For July 24, 2024
Archived Homepage For July 24, 2024
Random Links That Passed Our Vetting Process
More Olympic News
- Chariots of Fire has been re-released and re-reviewed in honor of 100th annniversary - "superbly watchable" Everyone who hasn't seen the movie should watch it before Paris 2024. Parents, it's a great way to get your kids into the Olympic spirit.
- Carl Lewis is a Marcell Jacobs fan: "He's definitely one of the top guys I really like."
- Warholm ready to rip vest open at Paris Olympics
- Ryan Crouser looking for an unprecedented 3-peat in shot put but he lost in London DL
- British Olympic team is majority female (52.6%) for 1st time ever And yet the article is primarily about the author complaining that "it’s estimated that a mere 6% of all research performed on endurance athletes has been done on women."
On The Boards
On The Boards
Olympic Track 11 Days Away
Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway could become legends with Olympic gold in Paris; with a loss, they'd go down as runners who could not win on the sport's biggest stage.
The betting markets make it clear, Noah Lyles is definitely not the favorite for the Olympic 100m. Kishane Thompson Is
Mid-D News That Passed Our Human Vetting Process
- With Keely H leading the way, how many golds will Britain win in Paris? Way more than normal as Molly Caudery, Keely Hodgkinson and Matthew Hudson-Smith are all world #1s and Josh Kerr is the reigning World Champ. Britain has won no Golds since Mo Farah.
- Keely Hodgkinson is having fun and ready to win gold Hodgkinson says she prepares for a race rather as she does for a night out. She also reveals her weekly mileage (35 mpw+ lots of cross training) and that she likes a fine glass of wine.
- Faith Kipyegon is going for 3-peat in 1500 as a mom and if she wins it will be two golds as a mom and 1 as not She also raves about Kipchoge. “I don’t know how to express it, he’s just a unique athlete,” Kipyegon says. “I have grown as an elite athlete and as a person. To be alongside Eliud all of the time and to hear what he’s saying about motivation and about hard work … I think it has really changed my mindset and changed my goals,” she says.
- Former World Cup footballer George Mills is super proud of his 1500/5000 Olympian George But he says being an atheltics dad is way tougher than being a football dad.
*MB: George Mills' dad: "Watching athletics is the worst on the planet." - Q&A with US 800 hope Bryce Hoppel who raves about his coach "Coach (Whittlesey)’s like the mastermind behind it. He obviously has his Ph.D. and knows the science behind it, and he knows what he’s doing. So, I’ve always kind of had that blind faith of, like, ‘Man, like, this guy’s special and he’s going to do what needs to be done to get me where I’m going.’"
- Timothy Cheruiyot remembers the first time he ever got on a plane to go to World Relays And we remember when the 19-year-old went out in 51.9 in a 1600!! The craziest relay leg we've ever seen.
Non-DIstance News
- Wonderful video: McKenzie Long does it for her mom who died earlier this year Watch it above. "I wasn't ready to let everything go (when she died), because I knew, I knew my8 would not want me to do that... She would haunt me."
- A look at how the Japanese Olympians did in their final pre-Paris races One highlight was the 100mh NR by Mako Fukube (12.69).
- Ethiopia only won 4 medals in Tokyo, wants more in Paris
- Olympic organizers reveal that only heptathlon and decathlon athletes will be allowed to use the iconic Stade de France dressing room that World Cup champs used "Organisers hope that by making it available to just the 25 decathletes and 25 heptathletes in Paris – out of 1,810 athletes overall – it will inspire France’s world record‑holder, Kevin Mayer, to win a decathlon gold medal. And, as a result, will spark renewed interest in athletics in France."
- Stephen Francis rips coach David Riley for botching Jamaica's men's 4 x 400 qualification: "Mr. Riley doesn’t even know what he is talking about or doing,”
- The LA Times goes to Flagstaff to see what makes it so special They spend nearly 3,000 words examining the magic of the birthplace of LRC and a place that was sacred for Native Americans.
- Interesting Read: Comparing the 1924 to 2024 Olympics Did you know the 1924 track was 500m in circumference and there were no medal ceremonies? The medals were shipped by mail.
- Faster, higher, stronger: How the Paris 1924 1500 runners would do against today's Olympians A century of data shows how a deeper gene pool, better diets and fancy sneakers have made humans run faster. How much improvement is left?
- Who were the first Africans at the Olympics? The disturbing story of two 1904 marathon runners The Olympics were hosted by the World's Fair in St. Lous and before running in the marathon the two black South Africans first competed in the “athletic events for savages” that was in the World's Fair.
*MB: The 1st black Olympians from Africa in 1904 first competed in the “athletic event for savages” featuring the tree climb - 40-years after settling for Olympic 100mh silver, Shirley Strong still refuses to watch the race
- Euro U18s have concluded: Full meet recap College coaches, you can see compiled results here.
Field Event/Multi News
- TJer Christian Taylor has retired - A look back at his AMAZING career Taylor won his first Worlds in 2011 and and then won 5 of the next 6 global championships including two Olympic titles. Sadly achilles troubles kept him from competing in any more Olympics and limited to only 1 more Worlds. “I just strived to be the best athlete I can be,” said Taylor after his final performance in Gainesville where he finished fifth with 16.14m. “I just want to be a good person and a good role model. I couldn’t have asked for a better career or a better journey.”
- MB: Brynn King never vaulted higher than 13-11" at Duke, Now she's going to the Olympics at 15-6 after transferring to DII Roberts Wesleyan There's not doubt that Rick and Jenn Suhr know what they are doing when it comes to the pole vault. They were hoping she'd be an All-American to start the year. In somewhat related news, Sandi Morris isn't going to the Olympics but don't tell that to NBC Chicago.
*MB: NBC Chicago puts out 30-minute Paris Olympic feature on Sandi Morris who isn't even going to the Olympics - Netflix's 'SPRINT" is getting lot of attention but new documentary Daley: Olympic Superstar is this summer’s quiet hit It of course focuses on former decathlon start Daley Thompson.
- A look back at how from 1990 through 2000, VISA sponsored the USA/VISA Decathlon Team It all happened after coaches Henry Marra and Fred Samara cold-called Visa.
- Two-time world champ Katarina Johnson-Thompson reveals uncertainty over fitness before Olympics here she's never medalled She thinks she's over her injury problems. “All the signs are there that I’m coming into shape. That’s all I can ask for. I’m just praying I can take that into the heptathlon."
Saturday's US Action
The biggest news of all was that Sifan Hassan didn't run. Katelyn Tuohy dominated the 5k and literally popped champagne after she won in 15:07 and Nikki Hiltz had a nice double running 1:59/4:04 in the span of an hour. Whittni Morgan (4:02.59) edged Karissa Schweizer (4:02.79) in the 1500 in the battle of US 5000 Olympians *Dyestat recap
*MB: Katelyn Tuohy is back folks!!!!! Wins Sunset Tour 5k in 15:07!!!
*MB: Nathan Green, get ready: 25-year-old 3:32 guy Justin Kipkoech expected to enroll at Eastern Kentucky this fall
*Dyestat: Hiltz did double duty to get ready for rounds in Paris: "The whole point of rounds is just pushing through it when it’s uncomfortable. Having the 1:59 in your legs definitely was uncomfortable for the whole 1,500." “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 3:55 (to make the Olympic Final),” Hiltz said.
On The Roads: Ahmed Muhumed (22:26) and Rachel Smith (25:40) win US 8k road titles Muhumed edged Isai Rodriguez by 1 second with Hillary Bor third while Rachel Smith won by 18 seconds.
London DL
Do we have new Olympic favorites in the men's and women's 400? Is Grant Fisher in trouble after getting outkicked by Dominic Lobalu? Plus Niels Laros wins despite losing to Olli Hoare and more. *Race videos
*Lyles is pumped to have run a big pb in front of a big crowd: "I live for the biggest moments, the more eyes the better I perform"
*UA Dark Sky's Edwin Kurgat is pleased to have run a pb for 3rd behind Fisher in London
- OTB: Official 2024 London DL Live Discussion Thread - London DL Was Spectacular - Hodginson and Hudson-Smith Break British Records and World Leads, Noah Lyles PRs and More
- KeelyMANIA is just getting started!
- Keely Hodgkinson - 6th Fastest of All Time!
- London women's 800 …. Wow
- Am I Alone In Thinking That Grant Fisher Will Win The 2024 Olympic 10000m?
- London DL Mile Fall
PUMA American Track League Concludes
The 16-year-old Wilson ran a time that would have won the last two world titles while Mu went out in 57.15 but had nothing in the last 100 in a race won in 1:58.19. In other action, unheralded 33-year-old Emmanuel Matadi ran 9.93 to win the 100 (+1.2) and Josh Hoey (1:44.22) beat Clayton Murphy (1:45.01) in the 800 and two-time Olympic and 4-time World champ Christian Taylor jumped for the last time in the men's tripe jump. You can watch the whole meet for free by clicking play above or see these links for certain races:
*M200 Video *M400 video *W800 Video *Full meet replay
- Watch: Christian Taylor Makes The Final Jump Of His Career At The Holloway Pro Classic Taylor announced he would be retiring after not making Team USA for Paris (he was 10th in the triple jump at the Trials). He ends his career #2 on the all-time list, with two Olympic golds and four world titles.
- Skyler Franklin Runs 51.03 (3rd Place) To Move To #3 On The Prep All-Time List At Holloway Pro Classic 400m
- OTB: Official PUMA American Track League's Holloway Pro Classic Discussion Thread - Knighton, Mu & Wilson
- QUINCY MF WILSON 44.20!
- Athing Mu DID NOT want to be at this meet
- Athing Mu needs to change her coach ASAP
- Wiley beats Mu by 1.5 seconds in 800 today
Josh Kerr has gone all in
- Good BBC feature on Josh Kerr's meticulous Olympic preparations - "The three and a half minutes that has been years in the making" Jake Wightman, who shared a room with Kerr in Tokyo, admits he thought it was over the top. "I would say the description of him living like a monk is accurate," said his coach, Danny Mackey.
*MB: Kerr, his fiancee and Danny Mackey have all given up alcohol for 3 months to get ready for Paris - How hard would it be for you? - Josh Kerr on Jakob wanting to be the GOAT: "He can have all the other distances but he can’t have the 1500."
Distance News
- Parker Valby Says She Isn't Used To Being Recognized In Public Yet "This morning, I was in Whole Foods, and the cashier was like, 'Bring home the gold!' I was like, 'Uh, sir, I’m not going for gold. I’m just happy to be here."
- Jasmin Paris’s Signed Barkley Marathons Racing Top Up For Auction For Charity In March, Paris became the first woman to finish the famous Barkley Marathons 100 mile ultra.
- National HS Trail Championships Are Next Weekend
- How many 60+ records is Tommy Hughes going to break? A LOT. Can you imagine running 2:30 at 60 or 2:36 at 64.
- A dad is running all 6 marathon majors in memory of his son who died of brain cancer “Any time my mind starts going off and the sadness gets to me, I put on my trainers, and it clears my head,” said the Dad.
Sprint News
- Linford Christie is now the feature of a new a 90-minute film for BBC One With unprecedented access and never-before-seen archive, the film takes a deep dive into the former Olympic champion's complicated legacy.
- Jeff Demps is super impressed by Kishane Thompson "“It look easy to him, you know…he’s just so strong, like so explosive bro...Oh, this kid special.”” Demps is the 2010 NCAA 100m champ who also played in the NFL.
Field Event News
- Ryan Crouser Says He's Been On An "Upward Trend" Since The Trials After Coming Back From Two Debilitating Elbow Injuries This Year Crouse is self-coached so admits he has no one else to blame and thinks he overtrained a bit, not wanting to accept that he might not be able to train at 31 the same way he did at 25.
- Italy's World HJ Champ Gianmarco Tamberi Almost Completely Healed From His Recent Hamstring Tear He says he's been doing three therapy sessions a day.
- A Brief Look At The Origin Of The Discus Throw And Preview Of What The Competition At The Paris Games Might Look Like The discus was one of the original five events contested at the ancient games and was also part of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
- Canada's World Decathlon Champ Pierce LePage Out Of Olympics With Injury He suffered a herniated disc in April and hasn't recovered.
- Sandi Morris Talks About "The Worst Day Of Her Life" When She Snapped Her Pole And Got Injured At The Tokyo Olympics Morris says, "My whole career I've probably taken 15,000 to 20,000 jumps, and I've broken four poles. It's really, really rare."
- Athletics Weekly Preview/Prediction For The Decathlon And Heptathlon At The Paris Games
Euro Under-18 Champs
- Laura Frličková Wins Slovakia's First Ever Gold Medal At The European Under-18 Championships In The 100 Hurdles
- Cian Crampton Wins Ireland's First Ever Field Event Medal At Euro U18 Champs With Bronze In The Discus
- Enni Virjonen Takes Charge In Euro U18 Heptathlon With Monster Javelin Throw
- World Under-18 Leads Highlight Throwing Finals At Euro U18s
General Olympic News
- World Athletics Looks Back At The 1924 Paris Olympics And What Has Changed Since Then There were four events at Paris 1924 that won't be at Paris 2024 - cross country (individual and team), the 3000m team race, 10,000m race walk and the pentathlon.
- Runner's World: The 18 Most Striking Moments From the Olympic Trials, Captured on Camera
- List Of Athletes Competing In Paris With Ties To Oregon
- Some Are Upset That France Is Banning Its Female Athletes From Wearing A Hijab At The Paris Games France has rules against showing religious symbols during sporting events.
Sprint Stuff
- US 400m Champion Quincy Hall Fires Back At Noah Lyles Over 4x400 Relay Comments Lyles wants to run the 4x400 in Paris and when he gave his optimal US squad, he left Hall off the team. Hall responded on social media with, "(Noah Lyles) I don’t bother nobody but my blocks ready anytime you feel like you can beat me in the 400 you was talking (too) much on my name on (your) little podcast. I don’t do the little slick comments and remarks I line up.”
- Harvard Grad Gabby Thomas Is Very Into The Science And Technical Aspect Of Sprinting She thinks Flo-Jo's 200m WR is in reach this year in Paris.
- Grant Holloway Looking For Redemption In Paris After Silver Medal In Tokyo Left "A Sour Taste"
- GB Sprinter Daryll Neita Says She Wants To "Destroy" Her Countrywoman, Dina Asher-Smith Neita: "We are racing each other week in week out and yet we want to destroy each other, we’re not friends during the year."
- GB's 2011 World 400H Champ Dai Greene Retires At Age-38 Greene hadn't raced since 2021, but apparently had been trying to return to competition. He won Euro Champs and the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and then Worlds in 2011, but injuries derailed his career.
- RIP Aussie 1956 Olympic 4x400 Silver Medalist Kevan Gosper, 90
More Weekend Action
- Hillary Bor, Diego Estrada, Isai Rodriguez Lead Men's Field For USATF 8k Champs On Saturday The women's race has Jenny Simpson, Rachel Smith, Natosha Rogers and Stephanie Bruce.
- European U18 champs have started and 16-year-old British sprinter Joel Masters is a name you might want to remember He's run 5.73 for 60m and 10.40 for 100m. AW repors that "since the inaugural European U18 Championships eight years ago, the likes of Keely Hodgkinson, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Rhasidat Adeleke, Max Burgin and George Mills have all competed at it."
Distance News
2022 London champ Amos Kipruto (2:03:13) and 2023 Berlin runner-up Vincent Ngetich (2:03:13) lead the somewhat shallow men's field where Daniel Ebenyo will debut while Tokyo champ Sutume Kebede (2:15:55) is the women's headliner.
*MB: 2024 Chicago Marathon Elite Field (Amos Kipruto/Vincent Ngetich | Ruth Chepngetich fastest entrants + Daniel Ebenyo debut)
- When Eliud Kipchoge started running, all he wanted to do was get good enough to get on a plane to race in Europe, soon he'll for a spot in history at an Olympics there. The article says Kipchoge has explained away his poor Tokyo marathon run as being the result of him nor sleeping for days.'
- Coach Patrick Sang wants Eliud Kipchoge to win third Olympic marathon title in Paris to make history and portray "longevity in a different perspective"
- Josh Kerr says if you guaranteed him Olympic silver right now he'd turn it down
- Teen 800 stars will lead Japan to U20 champs in Peru Rin Kubo is the senior NR holder at 1:59.93 while Ko Ochiai isn't that far off as he's run 1:45.82.
Non-Distance News
- MB: An "Absolute Disaster" as NBN winner and Euros U-18 favorite Odey-Jordan eases up and is knocked out of 200 (amazing video) Watch the video above. Kids, do not replicate that at home. Run through the line.
- Be inspired: In 2021, Freddie Crittenden kissed the Eugene track thinking he was done, now he heads to the Olympics ranked #2 in the world
- Grant Holloway's mom & dad talk about their son's Olympic prospects "THE goal is simple. The goal is gold. Of course, Grant has a chip on his shoulder. There is no secret he was favorited to win in 2021 but it wasn't his season... It's time for his gold medal," said mom.
- 19-yr-old TJ star Jayden Hibbert jumps into Olympics with KFC deal
- Paul Tergat expects Kenya to win "at least" 5 golds in Paris They won four in Tokyo and their most ever is six in 2016 and 2008. We know they've got at least 2 due to Kiypegon.
- HJer Lamara Distin signs with PUMA The 3-time NCAA champ in the HJ for Texas A&M is also the Jamaican record holder at 2.00m.
1500 News
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen won't have an accredited coach with him in Paris as neither Filip nor Henrik made the team and thus weren't accredited In the past, they have been by his side as athletes but didn't make it this year. Additionaly, now there is some worry that Jakob will be distracted as his wife went on social media and admitted it's hard being a mom and she's often in tears:
*MB: Jakob's Ingebrigtsen's returns to social media posts video saying she's often in tears as a new mom and it's super hard - Jessica Hull reflects on the 5 key milestones of her career and admits she was initially stunned by her 3:50 in Paris "In the moment (after her 3:50.83 1500m in Paris) I was absolutely stunned. I was like, ‘what have I done? I can’t believe this!’ But as I have reflected, I can see the steps that led to it. I have ticked all the boxes in training, I have trained hard and consistently, and I have been healthy for a long time. My last major injury was in 2020, so I have put four years of work together."
- Ciara Mageean has 'unfinished business' with Olympics The 30-year-old, who has never made an Olympic final, was 4th at Worlds last year and won Euros this year. She was only 10th in Paris and Monaco but a medal is very much a possibility for her.
More Distance News
- Learn about the 1924 Olympic xc race - “probably the most spectacular Olympic race ever witnessed" and the last xc race ever run at the Olympics as there were fears multiple runners had died in it And making it even better is the fact that behind Paavo Nurmi's gold, the bronze medallist was Robert "Earl" Johnson.
- MB: Meet the greatest Olympic distance runner you've never heard of - LRC, I proudly introduce you to 1924 Olympian Robert Johnson *Race video
- Jake Wightman is excited for the 800m at the Olympics as if he wins gold it will prove him as an all-time great "It probably has more implications for my career that I’m doing the 800. If I run as well over this as I would have hoped to over 1500, it will mean an even greater career as I’ll have shown I can do it over multiple events. So I’m excited," said the Scot.
This Week's Pod
We break down Jakob's 3:26, and Jess Hull's WR, span the globe and then part 2 of our talk with Matthew Centrowitz where he reflects on his amazing career.
Week That Was
Plus how about some love for 16-year-old Rin Kubo who made history by become the first Japanese woman to break 2:00 in the 800 - or did she?
A New Running Movie
Q&A with writer, director and star of new film "Billy Runs Boston?" "This thought-provoking film delves into various issues facing the running community, including cheating, bullying of cheaters, over-training while injured, the pervasive impact of social media, and the deeply sensitive topic of suicide. Amidst these themes, it also celebrates the profound rewards and sheer joy of running. " *More
Non-Distance News
- MB: Zharnel Hughes thinks Noah Lyles talkks way too much - "this guy can talk...man! Shut up."
- Kenya's mixed 4 x 400 qualified for Paris as #16 out of 16 thanks to Mary Moraa but it still remains to be seen if she'll run it The prelims of the mixed 4 x 400 are the race directly before the 800 first round so that's a no-go. If they make the final, she'd be off the next day from the 800.
- World decathlon champion Pierce LePage to miss Paris Olympics with herniated disk “I thought I was going to be fine. The last few months have been draining–it’s tough to see your dreams slip away from your hands. No matter what I did, it kept getting worse, and it got to a point where, you know, you can’t do it. We hit that point in the last week.”
- NCAA and US Triple jump champ Salif Mane listens to 3 voicemails from his deceased dad before he competes The 22-year-old had a 16.79 pb coming into the year but now has gone 17.52 and is #5 in the world.
- Valarie Allman 34-minute podcast with BBC's Sportsworld - The Warm Up Track 2024: Valarie Allman – the power and mystique of Olympic gold
Administrative News
- Paris mayor swims in Seine to prove water quality is good to go for the Olympics
- Medals for U20 championships in Peru are unveiled The official logo of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 shows a chasqui symbolically running along an athletics track with the citadel of Machu Picchu in the background.
- A look at 4 NCAA champs headed to Paris - Leo Neugebauer, Jaida Ross, Rowan Hamilton & Maia Ramsden
Kenyan News
- Good Read: Athletics Weekly Q&A With Famous Kenyan Coach Patrick Sang Who Gives Some Interesting Insights On Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon And Wycliffe Kinyamal Sang says that even 1:42.08 800m man Kinyamal runs up to 40k (24.9 mile) long runs in training.
- Kenya's Former Javelin World Champ Julius Yego Says He's Frustrated Not Having A Coach The man who famously learned to throw javelin via YouTube videos is going to his fourth Olympics, but has struggled this year and had to get in on world ranking.
- From "Just [Wanting] To Take A Plane And Go To Europe" To Being The All-Time GOAT, Eliud Kipchoge Chases Olympic Hat-Trick In Paris
- 2022 NYC Marathon Champ Sharon Lokedi Reacts To Being Named To Kenya's Olympic Marathon Squad After Brigid Kosgei's Withdrew With Injury "I never knew Kenyans loved me this much. People I have never met. ...Now that I have the chance, I will run my heart out for them, my country and my career."
More Distance News
- MB: Sifan Hassan, Katelyn Tuohy, Karissa Schweizer, Nikki Hiltz Among Those Racing At Sunset Tour LA On July 20 Hassan is entered in the 1500m against Schweizer and Hiltz and the 5000m against Tuohy.
- After not qualifying for Euros, Irishman Cathal Doyle didn't have the standard for the Olympics, then he PRd twice in 3 days and won both races and made it with points to spare Three of his top 5 ranking races all came in a 7-day period in June.
*Doyle's Road to Paris stats - MB: Sage Hurta Klecker 3rd in 2:00.56 @ Luzern 800 The race was won by Aussie Abbey Caldwell in 1:59.35. *Results
- World Athletics Profile: "Refugee Athlete Emmanuel Kiruhura Ntagunga On The Right Track After Being Resettle In Norway" Ntagunga is now a member of the home athletics club of Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
- Megan Keith And Neil Gourley Among Several Scottish Athletes To Receive Bonus National Lottery Funding For Paris
- Jun Arakawa And Izumi Tomizawa Win Ontake 100 Miler In Japan
Sprints / Jumps
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- Two-Time Double Olympic Champ Elaine Thompson-Hera's Coach, Stephen Francis, Says She Should Move To The US And Get A New Coach Francis: "If she were to ask me what she should do, I would tell her to go somewhere in the states and train because I don’t think that she is going to be able to survive using the methods which they use out here (in Jamaica) ... She can’t fit in at MVP because there is too much talent right now which is a priority."
- Guardian Profile: "Abused, Expelled, Orphaned At Eight Months: How Bob Beamon Beat The Odds And Became A Legend" Beamon's 8.90m long jump world record to win the 1968 Games was dubbed "the leap of the century."
- Noah Lyles Vs Letsile Tebogo Vs Yohan Blake Set For London DL 100m On Saturday
Doping News
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- MB: Brazilian 2:04 marathoner Daniel do Nascimento catches doping ban - LetsRun.com His girlfriend, Graziele Zarri (a 2:42 marathoner) tested positive earlier this year while training in Kenya.
- WADA Founder And IOC Member Dick Pound Says The US Could Lose The 2028 Summer And 2034 Winter Olympics Over Chinese Swimmer Controversy The US is investigating the swimming doping scandal, but Pound claims WADA could rule the US non-compliant which would make them ineligible to host the Olympics. We estimate the chances of this happening are around zero percent.
- Mechanical Doping? MB: 8 years ago, Nike's super shoes made a mockery of the Olympic marathon. Will history repeat itself with On & Hellen Obiri in 24?
UK Mid-D News
- Jake Wightman Will Try To Ease Selection Guilt By Winning A Medal In Paris Wightman: “I’m pretty grateful that I got the nod for that. I tried not to think about the alternative, because it would be a bit crushing. Sadly, it’s meant that others have had to have that feeling, which isn’t very nice ...But the only way you can make sure you feel better is if you go out and perform as well as you can and do it justice."
- Keely Hodgkinson Says She Dealt With Post-Olympic Depression When She Won The Silver Medal At The Tokyo Games "I didn’t realize how much the Olympic comedown was actually a really big thing. ... You end up thinking, ‘My life’s great – what have I got to feel sad about?’ But it was just that I couldn’t really get any sort of high from anything else."
- UK 1500m Champ Neil Gourley: "I'm definitely looking to go to this Olympics not just to be a tourist. There's ambitions there of medals."
Olympic News
- A History Lesson Of How Political Tensions Have Clashed With The Olympics From the Cold War era boycotts to Russia's ban due to their war with Ukraine, there are often political tensions at the Olympics.
- Paris Memorial For 1972 Munich Massacre To Be Held In Secret It was originally going to be at Paris City Hall, but was moved due to concerns it could be the target of an extremist attack.
- Over 2000 Foreign Police Officers (From More Than 40 Countries) Are Helping With Security At The Paris Olympics
- Paris Mayor Finally Takes A Swim In The Seine To Prove The Water Is Safe Her swim had been postponed multiple times due to heavy rain and concerns about the water quality.
- Report Warns About Air Pollution Levels At The Paris Olympic Village And Other Athletic Sites
- Good News For People Traveling To Paris - Airport Worker Strike Called Off
Japan Has A New Middle Distance Star
- 16-Year-Old Rin Kubo Becomes First Japanese Woman To Break 2:00 For 800m She ran 1:59.93 to break the 19-year-old national record.
- 16-Year-Old Japan 800m Champ Rin Kubo Leads Girls' 4x800m To High School National Record (8:33.77) She split 2:01.9 and her teammates' splits were 2:07.4, 2:11.2 and 2:13.1.
European News
- All-Time Irish Great Sonia O’Sullivan Says She Doesn't "Really Get Too Involved" In Her Daughter Sophie's Olympic Prep On her daughter, who runs for the University of Washington and won the Irish 1500m title this year, O'Sullivan says, "I’m just there as a parent just to support her.”
- GB Heptathlon World Champ Katarina Johnson Thompson Q&A On What She Does On Her Day Off She says she often watches TV shows with her boyfriend, hurdler Andrew Pozzi, but since they are long distance they start the show at the same time from different locations.
- Crystal Palace Celebrates 60th Anniversary The iconic stadium was once under threat of being demolished, but it has now been refurbished and the official re-opening is this weekend.
- European Under-18 Champs Are This Week In Slovakia - Men's Preview *Women's Preview *Full Entries
Your Turn Sydney:
Femke Bol became the second woman under 51 seconds in the 400m hurdles as she continues to chase Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
- Resisprint La Chaux-de-Fonds Full Recap: South Africa's Benjamin Richardson Wins 100m In 9.86 It was the 20-year-old's first sub-10. He also came in second in the 200m with his first sub-20 second run of 19.99 (the race was won by France's Ryan Zeze in 19.90). Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji won the women's 100m in 10.90; Salwa Eid Naser took the 400m in 49.66.
- Discuss: Femke Bol 50.95 European Record in 400 hurdles
- MB: FEMKE BOL: sub 51 European Record, why it doesn't mean VERY much After every amazing run, someone on the MB is always bound to have a contrarian take.
More Weekend Results
- John Korir Wins Boilermaker 15k In 42:11 While Women's Race Comes Down To The Final Steps With Grace Loibach Nawowuna Winning In 49:18 Korir beat out two-time defending champ and CR holder Jemal Yimer by 8-seconds and Emmaculate Anya Achol was the women's runner-up finishing .2 seconds behind Nawowuna. Biya Simbassa and Annamaria Kostarellis were the top Americans finishing 8th in the men's and women's races. *Results
- Ireland's Cathal Doyle Wins Morton Games Mile In 3:52.06 He beat out Sam Prakel who ran 3:52.32. GB's Shannon Flockhart won the women's 1500m in 4:04.98 over Sophie O'Sullivan (4:05.77). Kenya's Amos Langat won the 5k in 13:12 while 800m wins went to US's McKenna Keegan (1:59.82) and South Africa's Edmund Du Plessis (1:44.22). *Results
*Nathan Green Breaks University Of Washington 800m Record With 1:46.23 In Ireland (2nd Place) - US Champion Curtis Thompson Wins American JavFest In PA With 82.62m Sarah Blake won the women's competition with 57.63m.
- Germany’s Lukas Ehrle And Great Britain’s Scout Adkin Win Montemuro Vertical Run
So You're Telling Me There's A Chance For Yared
- MB: Ingebrigtsen talks after running 3:26 in Monaco: 'I think anyone who runs 3.29 or faster can win the Olympics.' So that means Yared has a shot but not Cole.
- Timothy Cheruiyot reveals what he needs to work on after Monaco: "I especially need to work on my speed endurance.” Another article has the same quote but has it as "speed & endurance" which we think is more likely to be accurate.
- Mary Moraa complains that Kenyan athletes get no $$$ for doing well at Kenyan Trials Memo to Mary. The US govt doesn't pay our athletes. "I urge the government to look at what other nations are doing and promote the sport," said Moraa.
- AFP names it's 5 Olympic stand-out events after Monaco & 4 of them are men's events - 400h, 1500, 200 and 800 + w100
Non-Distance News
- Recommended Read After Luz Long hugged Jesse Owens, the Nazis told him: 'Never embrace a black man again'
- Warholm analyzes why he lost in Monaco Long was a hero as he helped his #1 rival make the LJ final with a tip on how to make his mark.
- Mahuchikh said her WR was inspired by letters she got from Ukranian troops + she's irate there will be Russian in the Olympics “If you talk about the Olympic Games, it’s about peace. How can we talk about peace if Russia invades my country in the center of Europe? It’s crazy,” she said. “When I see Russian athletes, I imagine every city, every building destroyed, every life that Russia takes."
- Canadian 400m star Christopher Morales Williams turned pro with adidas before Monaco DL Morales-Williams, who ran 44.05 at SECs, ran 45.11 in Monaco which was faster than the 45.44 he ran at the Canadian champs but then slower than the 44.47 he ran at NCAAs.
- Curtis Thompson, US Trials champs, wins American JavFest in East Stroudsburg, Pa. (82.62m) He won the Trials at 83.04, but he PRd at this event in 2022 at 87.70
Non-Distance News
- Sha'Carri Richardson Makes The Cover, Gets Long Profile In Vogue
- Co-Olympic HJ Champion Mutaz Barshim Talking About Retiring After Paris Games Asked about his tie for gold at the Tokyo Olympics with Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, Barshim said, "That won't be repeated. We will battle until the very end."
- "Dancing Hurdler" Michelle Jenneke Makes Team Australia For Paris Games She missed making it to the Tokyo Olympics, but has qualified for Paris and recently ran a 12.65 PB at the FBK Games (she's #2 on the Australian all-time list).
- "World's Sexiest Athlete" Alica Schmidt Makes German Olympic Team She made the German 4x400 relay pool for the Tokyo Olympics, but didn't compete after she didn't make the final cut.
- Rundown Of World And European Champions Retiring After Not Making Paris 2024 Includes Belgian 400m runner Jonathan Borlee who missed out on what would have been his fifth Olympics.
- Science Says Sha'Carri Richardson Could Technically Run On Water If that water was on another planet with around 10% Earth's gravity.
- Letsile Tebogo Dedicates His Monaco Diamond League Victory To His Late Mother "Everything I do now is for her," he says.
More Weekend Results
- Addy Wiley (1:58.67), Jonah Koech (1:45.23), Henry Wynne (3:33.33) & Anna Camp Bennett (4:06.36) win at Ed Murphey Track Classic If you want to watch, a stream of American Track League event action can be found here. *Results
- Annie Rodenfels Wins USATF 6K Champs In 18:03 (4:50 Pace) She beat out Amanda Vestri by 13 seconds. *Results
Paris 2024 News
- 75% Of Athletes (All Sports) On Team USA Competed In The NCAA The schools with the most athletes on Team USA are Stanford, UCLA and USC.
- Paris 2024 Achieves Its First Record With Over 8.6 Million Tickets Sold This breaks the 8.3 million ticket record from the 1996 Atlanta Games
- River Seine In Paris Has Been Clean Enough For Swimming The Majority Of The Past 12 Days A positive sign ahead of the Games as past tests indicated it might not be safe for competition.
*Paris Olympics May Use Alternate Site For Marathon Swimming If Seine River Is Unsafe Due To Pollution - Ukraine Is Sending A Historically Low 140 Athletes To The Olympics That's the lowest number Ukraine has ever sent to an Olympic Games. The Ukrainian Olympic Committee says more than 400 professional athletes have died in combat since February 2022.
- Entry List Published For Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Track & Field)
- Day-By-Day 2024 Paris Olympics Schedule (All Sports)
Monaco is Friday (2-4 pm ET) and We Can't Wait
Monaco is Friday (2-4 pm ET) and We Can't Wait
After struggling over the winter with injury, Ingebrigtsen appears to be in the best shape of his life entering the Olympics.
5 days after running 3:50.83 for 1500, Hull backed that performance up with a 5:19.70 world record in the 2000 that is equivalent to a 3:51.12 in the 1500.
Monaco Chatter
- Official 2024 Monaco DL Live Discussion Thread
- Jakob is BACK BABY - 3:26.73!! Wow.
- I don't believe Jakob is clean. injured and runs 3:26.7 a bit later?
- Sedjati = obvious EPO cheat: 1:41.46 800 3
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen the MF Goat will run 3:26 in Monaco
- 1500m record has only a 1 hour left
- 3:26 jakob vs 3:29 kerr
- 3:26.74 will be Jakob's LIFETIME best.
- Yeah, Kerr ain't winning
- After Jakob's 3:26, Kerr's chance of winning in Paris has INCREASED
- 2000m is NOT a WR it's a WB
- I’m worried about Marco Arop
We recap the rest of the meet for you here.
Paris 2024 Flag Bearers
- Olympic 100H Champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Will Be Paris 2024 Opening Ceremonies Flag Bearer For Puerto Rico
- Race Walker Antigoni Drisbioti Chosen As One Of Greece's Flag Bearers For Paris Opening Ceremony What will be more taxing for her, walking at the Opening Ceremony carrying a flag or walking faster without a flag when she competes?
- 2016 Olympic Discus Silver Medalist Melina Robert-Michon Will Be One Of France's Flag Bearers For Paris Opening Ceremony
Other Distance News
Engelhardt's outdoor season included a national outdoor mile record (4:28.46), a 1500m PB of 4:08.86 and an 800m PB of 2:03.48. Maine basketball player Cooper Flagg won the boys' award.
- Kenyan 2:24 Marathoner Lucy Karimi Gets 3-Year Doping Ban Her ban was reduced by one year for admitting to using EPO.
- RIP GB's 1962 European And Commonwealth Games Marathon Champion Brian Kilby, 86
Upcoming Action
- MB: Athing Mu Running 800m In Gainesville On Friday At Holloway Pro Classic
- Elite Fields Announced For Sir Walter Miler On August 2 The men's race has Craig Engels, Sean McGorty and 2023 winner Amon Kemboi while the women's race includes Sinclaire Johnson, Heather MacLean and Sage Hurta-Klecker.
- World Athletics Preview Of Montemuro Vertical Run In Portugal On Sunday
Olympic Team News
- Jamaica Names Team For Paris 2024 Past global champions Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Hansle Parchment lead the team plus new star Kishane Thompson in the 100m.
- Data Scientist Reveals 88.9% Of US Olympians Finished 1st Or 2nd In Their Semis At Trials
- 5 Athletes Who Won't Defend Their Olympic Titles In Paris Three are injured and two (including 800m champ Emmanuel Korir) failed to qualify at their Olympic Trials.
- Chinese Team Announced For Paris Olympics Gong Lijiao will defend her Olympic shot put title.
- 10.01 Sprinter Rohan Browning Squeaks Onto Aussie Olympic Team In The 100m He was 54th on the world rankings and top-56 got in.
Mid-D News
- MB: 2016 800m Olympian Kate Grace Retires From Track And Field Grace made a comeback from injuries and having a child in 2023 to make the 800m final at the US Trials where she finished 8th.
- Hicham El Guerrouj On Jakob Ingebrigtsen: "He has all the potential to break my records ...I’m happy that my world records are still alive. And I’d like them to survive a bit longer!" Asked what he thought he could run with super shoes and wavelight tech, El Guerrouj said "maybe 3:39 for the mile" and added that these days he might be able to run under 5:30 all-out.
*MB: El Guerrouj: “Ingebrigtsen can break my records (but I’d rather he didn’t!)” - No Surprise: Keely Hodgkinson Is The Rival World Champ Mary Moraa Is Most Wary Of For Paris Moraa: "I can say that I’m strong and I know Keely is also strong and when we get to the final, whoever God wants to give a medal is the one who will win."
Catching Up On Some Recent Results
- Jim Walmsley Wins Western States 100 For A Fourth Time; Katie Wins Women’s Race Walmsley won the famous ultra in 2018, 2019, 2021, and now in 2024
*Runner's World Writer Shares What It's Like To Crew For Elite Runners At Western States - Luke Houser wins mile race in front of 82,000 fans!! - LetsRun.com The race was held during half-time of the Cork-Limerick hurling semi-final in Ireland. *Video
- Group Of Canadians Break Women's 100xMile Relay World Record They broke the record (set by the US last year) by almost 21 minutes, averaging 5:22 a woman.
- MB: Joseph Gray And Lauren Gregory Win USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships
- Kenya's Timothy Kipkorir Kattam (2:08:52) And Japan's Yuki Nakamura (2:24:22) Win Gold Coast Marathon
- Former European XC Champ Gemma Steel Wins Great North Run 10k (34:23)
- Kenya’s Richard Omaya Atuya And Germany’s Nina Engelhard Win Grossglockner Mountain Run In Austria
- Irish Weekend Track Round-Up
Distance News That Caught Our Eye
- Recommended Read Q-and-A with Mike Smith: "If you want to see something crazy, watch what (Nico) does next year." No topic is missed in this extensive Q&A. Mike talks about NAU, Kincaid, Hiltz, the portal, Dan Pfaff, and even the Colorado job.
*MB: Mike Smith interview about his Olympians, why he is staying at NAU and what’s the deal with Bosley - Sifan Hassan to race 1500 and 5,000 at Sunset Tour event in LA on July 20 & then decide what she'll do in Paris
- Irish Olympic team unveiled - can they win their first track medal since 2000? Fionnuala McCormack will make history by becoming the first Irish woman to compete in 5 Olympics.
- Q&A with Australian Olympian Isobel Batt-Doyle She's come a long way from her 15:40 pb for Washington as she's now run 14:49.
- Boilermaker is Sunday - John Korir is hoping to upgrade to first from 2nd as he gets ready for Chicago "I am heading there to win the race after missing out last year. I am well prepared. This will be a big event for me,” said Korir who will also race LetsRun.com employee Steve Soprano.
Big Doping News
There are some big developments in the Asinga case. Gatorade finally found the actual batch that his gummies came from and they tested negative for GW1516 as did some gummies another athlete was given at the awards ceremony. But Asinga had his own gummies tested again and they came back negative as well so Asinga's suit is rather straightforward - your delay in producing the gummies ruined my ability to prove my innocence.
*MB: Asinga Sues Gatorade
*PDF of Lawsuit
- WADA's 'independent' prosecutor says WADA showed no favoritism to China in doping case involving 23 swimmers but the NY Times and Travis Tygart and Hajjo Sepelt aren't buying it The special prosecutor says WADA "made an 'indisputably reasonable; decision not to impose penalties on the swimmers, and concluded that the agency had not shown preferential treatment to China. But in an annex to his report, the prosecutor noted that two top scientists at the agency said they had difficulty believing China’s claim that the swimmers had been unwittingly contaminated." The link above takes you to the NY Times article. You can see what Tygart and Seppelt have to say about it here and WADA's press release is here.
*US Dept of Justice and FBI has opened a criminal investigation of Chinese doping case
Non-Distance News
- MB: 100 years ago, Eric Liddell won one of the most famous golds in track history (400m in Paris, Chariots of Fire) His gold was a shock upset as he was 100m man who couldn't do that due to his religious beliefs. He was truly an incredible man who died in an internment camp in China.,
- Shericka Jackson's injury isn't serious - just a cramp in her hamstring What happened in the middle of the meet in Poland didn't look good but her physio says it's no big deal.
- Legendary HBCU track & field coach to have a highway named after him Interstate 440 in Raleigh will now be known as the Coach George Williams Interchange. Coach Wiliams coached Saint Augustine’s to 39 NCAA DII titles.
- Russia pays 245 Athletes who won't be going to Paris Olympics
- 400m WR holder Wayde van Niekerk opts out of 400 for Paris, will run only 200m
- MB: Japan's Olympic entries reveal they have zero flat female sprinters but a full team of male sprinters - anyone have a theory as to what explains this?
- SPRINT among top 10 most-watched Netflix shows in first week of release It got 2.4 million views which put it at #6 but to be honest is less than we thought it would get considering the US Olympic Trials were averaging close to 5 million per night.
- Good news: NBC will no longer broadcast Olympics as ‘plausibly live’ (tape-delayed) for Paris Games this summer They historically have held all of the big events for their evening live show but now will not do that. Also they will use "AI to allow fans to create personalized highlights packages, by picking in advance some favorite sports and the type of action they would like to see. AI will then deliver those specific highlights, narrated by an AI-generated model of Michaels’ voice — eerily realistic during a demonstration given on Wednesday."
Previous Distance News
- MB: Yomif Kejelcha posts on facebook ripping decision to take him off 5000 team for unproven Biniam Mehary "I request the people and the government of my country to stand with me and oppose my oppression and help me get the right justice," said Kejelcha. Kejlcha has run 12:38 this year while Mehary (12:54 pb) lost to Grant Fisher in LA but did run 26:37.
- Josh Kerr Q&A with Athletics Weekly - Kerr says he's healthy despite fall, feeling calm and he explains why he's joining the Grand Slam Track League Kerr's comments on the MJ Track League are quite interesting to say the least.
*MB: Josh Kerr on Grand Slam Track: I want to enjoy being the best in the world and not worry about going after an Olympic title - Keira D’Amato relocates to Utah for her fall marathon build to be coached by Ed Eyestone
- World Athletics traveled to Kenya to do a 10-minute feature of Niels Laros - aka the Next Ingebrgitsen - getting ready for Paris "My father was an athlete and he missed qualifying for the Olympics by eight hundredths of a second," explains Laros, who a few years ago was listening to the LRC Track Talk Podcast while on vacation but was our featured guest last year. "When I was young, I heard that story and I immediately thought I want to be the guy who makes it. So it means a lot to now be heading to an Olympic Games. "It's always been a dream. I used to think that Paris would come too soon, but I'm really happy with the progress I've made and that I can compete in Paris."
*Laros 10 minute video - Norwegian article analyzing the impact of Ingebrigtsen family drama on the matriarch - Tone Ingebrigtsen The article says she and Gjert and the youngest child may move to Spain where she lived for a few years as a teen.
Previous Doping News
- Kenya's 2019 Boston And Chicago Marathon Lawrence Cherono (2:03:04 PB) Gets 7-Year Ban For Doping And Tampering Cherono failed an out-of-competition test and then tried to cover-up his doping by lying about receiving an injection for stomach problems before changing his story to accidentally taking his wife's medication. But the AIU was able to debunk his story over a two-year investigation.
- CAS Rejects World Athletics' Appeal Against 2022 Steeple World Champ Norah Jeruto's Reinstatement Jeruto’s original ban was overturned last fall and now World Athletics' appeal requesting a 4-year ban has been rejected by CAS so she's free to compete in Paris.
- French 2:05:43 Marathoner Mehdi Frere Gets 2-Year Doping Ban For Whereabouts Failures; Will Miss Paris Olympics He is hoping to have his appeal heard by CAS before the Olympics.
Hungary WA Gold on Tuesday
In the WA gold meet before the Olympics, Olympic champs Andre De Grasse (19.98), Steven Gardiner (44.50) and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.47) all got wins as did Tamara Davis (11.00) and Julien Alfred (22.16) but biggest news may have been that Sherick Jackson pulled up injured in the 200m. *Video of Jackson injury
- MB: Jackson pulls up injured in 200m in Hungary - should we hand golds to Sha'Carri and Gabby now? Jackson was wearing a knee brace before the race and then pulled up about 100m in and jogged across the line in 36 seconds.
- MB: Kishane Thompson takes down Tebogo in Hungary 9.91 to 9.99
- Jackson was wearing a knee brace before the race
Olympic Team Updates
Kenya's Olympic Silver Medalist And 2:14:04 Marathoner Brigid Kosgei Out Of Paris Olympics With Injury
She will be replaced by 2022 New York Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi (2:22:45 PB).
- USATF Announce Full 120 Athlete Roster For Paris Olympic
- MB: Athing Mu not in 4x400 relay pool for Paris She ran on the 4x400 that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Netherlands Names Olympic Squad - Sifan Hassan Listed In 1500m, 5000, 10,000 And Marathon She's waiting to announce which event(s) she'll actually race in Paris.
- MB: Great News for Grant Fisher: Ethiopia Pulls Yomif Kejelcha in 5000 for Biniam Mehary Not confirmed, but it looks like Ethiopia is replacing the 12:38 man with 12:54 runner Mehary.
- Australia Names Team Of 75 For Paris Olympics The team includes several former NCAA distance champions in Jess Hull, Olli Hoare, Morgan McDonald and Patrick Tiernan.
Sprint Stuff
- BBC Looks Back At Some of The Most Iconic 100m Races Of All Time On their list is Usain Bolt's 2008 Olympic gold where he showboated his way to a world record.
- Canadian Champs 110 Hurdles 3rd Placer Tamarri Lindo Facing Deportation Back To Jamaica His family came to Canada five years ago, but their refugee application has been rejected.
- A Look At How Hurdler Christina Clemons Got Around Logo Rules With Her Doritos Speedsuit At The Olympic Trials When she was made to cover-up the Doritos logo, she still showed off her sponsor with nacho-shaped iron-on vinyl.
- Five Things To Watch Out For At The Monaco DL On Friday Noah Lyles vs Botswana's Letsile Tebogo in the 200m.
- Canada Running Magazine Review: "4 Reasons Why Netflix's Series 'SPRINT' Falls Short" They actually write that the series had "too much Noah Lyles."
The Latest on A Very Important Anti-Doping Case
Asinga, who ran 9.89 and 19.97 last year, says he tested positive for the banned substance GW1516 due to a contaminated batch of Gatorade Recovery Gummies that he got from Gatorade at an awards ceremony. The gummies were falsely marked with the NSF Certified for Sport label which would mean they were contaminant free but have since tested positive for G1516. The AIU didn't buy it, banning him for four years & suggesting Asinga or someone close to him doctored evidence to cover up his doping.
Olympic Heartbreak
- Not Just The UK: Several Swedish Athletes Who Qualified Via World Rankings Had Olympic Spots Rejected By Swedish Olympic Committee Includes 1500m national champ Yolanda Ngarambe who also hit the Olympic standard for the Tokyo Olympics, but was denied selection.
- The Telegraph: "UK Athletics Under Pressure To Reverse Controversial Olympics Selection Policy" Thousands have signed a petition calling for them to reverse the policy and have asked UK Sport and the BOA to intervene. Probably too little, too late unfortunately.
- Telegraph Opinion Piece: "UK Athletics Has Weakened Its Paris Talent Pool - No Olympic Invite Should Be Turned Down" On UKA leaving home seven Olympic qualified athletes, Jeremy Wilson writes, "There is a fine line between fostering excellence and causing disillusionment."
- Irish 400m Hurdler Thomas Barr Just Misses Olympic Qualification After Finishing 42nd On The World Rankings (He Needed To Be Top-40) Barr said he "completely" messed up at Irish Champs where he ran all-out in the heats in bad weather to try and hit the auto standard. This led him to run much slower in the final the next day, just missing the points necessary to go to Paris.
High School News
- Quincy Wilson Named MileSplit's Boys' High School Athlete Of The Year Wilson's amazing season started with breaking a 20-year-old high school indoor 400m record, saw him run a 1:50.44 800m and ended with three sub-45 second runs at the Olympic Trials to make the 4x400 squad for Paris.
- MB: 3-Time Foot Locker Qualifier And Double USATF U20 Champ Ellie Shea Commits To NC State
- Another NC State Commit: MileSplit Chooses Sadie Engelhardt As Girls' High School Athlete Of The Year Undefeated against HS competition this year, Engelhardt's highlight was breaking the outdoor mile record with 4:28.46 (after Mary Cain and Addy Wiley, she's only the third high school girl to run a sub-4:30 mile or its equivalent).
More From The Paris DL 1500m
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- Faith Kipyegon Credits Jess Hull For Pushing Her To The WR Kipyegon said, "I was like, who is following me? But I turned back and saw Jessica Hull behind me. It was really feeling great to push each other towards the finish line. I am really really happy for her."
- Laura Muir "Emotional" After Break British 1500m Record In Paris Muir: "I think that is four in a row now where I’ve raced and Faith has set the World Record. I told her I am her lucky charm."
*Laura Muir Broke Her Own British 1500m Record When She Finished 3rd At The Paris DL (3:53.79)
Two WRs at Paris DL
Kipyegon took .07 off her own mark from last year in Florence and showed that she is better than ever despite missing time in 2024 due to injury.
More Paris DL
Two world records - the women's 1500 and HJ - have fallen in Paris. Watch our instant reaction show above.
- MB: Official 2024 Paris DL Live Discussion Thread (10-12 am ET Sunday) + Live Reaction Show at 12 noon ET
- MB: Holy shi*: Bryce Hoppel we have a problem. Sedjati 1:41.56 leads three under 1:42 in Paris DL 800!!
- MB: Why has the 800m suddenly improved?
- MB: Faith Kipyegon 3:49.04 WR 3
- MB: JESSICA MF HULL 3:50.83
- MB: Jess Hull progression - nothing to see here
- MB: Faith kipyegon is more vulnerable in 2024 Olympics than in 2021...
- YAROSLAVA MF MAHUCHIKH
- I attended the Paris Diamond League, AMA
FBK Games Hengelo
Laros broke the 2:15.05 record from 1997 while Hassan faded to 5th in the 1500m (4:04.83) in the race won by GB's Melissa Courtney-Bryant (4:03.58). Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m in 1:57.78 and Femke Bol the 400m in a meet record 50.02. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala won the men’s 100m in 10.01 over US's Ronnie Baker (10.03) and Olympic 200m champ Andre De Grasse (10.07). *Full Results
More Olympic Team Updates
- Olympic Trials 5000m 4th Placer Graham Blanks Will Go To Paris After 3rd Placer Parker Wolfe Missing World Ranking Quota Wolfe finished just one spot out of the necessary world ranking to get an invite so Blanks will go since he has the Olympic standard.
*MB: Graham Blanks headed to Paris
*MB: Men’s 5k team: Wolfe or Blanks???
- Uganda Name Team Of 20 For Paris Olympics Olympic 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei, half-marathon WR holder Jacob Kiplimo and steeplechase Olympic champ Peruth Chemutai lead the team.
Olympic Team Updates
- Whittni Morgan Will Run The 5000M At The Paris Games After Elle St. Pierre And Parker Valby Decline Spots St. Pierre is going to focus on the 1500m and Valby on the 10,000m leaving a spot open for Trials 5th placer Morgan. This after having patellar tendon surgery in November and only starting running again in February.
*MB: Whittni Morgan will run the 5000M in Paris - World Athletics And IOC Reducing Number Of 4x100 And 4x400 Athletes Getting Full Accreditation This because the projected number of track and field athletes in Paris is likely to be over the 1,810 athlete quota.
- Olympic Champs Andre De Grasse And Damian Warner On the distance side, World champ Marco Arop will go in the 800m, Mohammed Ahmed is doing the 5000/10,000 double and Cam Levins is in the marathon.
- Ethiopian Athletics Federation Name Olympic Team For Paris
*World Athletics article
- Japan Announce Their Paris 2024 Olympic Team Of 51 (34 Men, 17 Women)
Doping News
- Bloomberg: Peter Thiel's Pro-Doping Olympics Alternative ("The Enhanced Games") Seeks To Raise $300 Million Something we haven't seen mentioned before is that athletes are only allowed to take drugs approved by the FDA (like anabolic steroids and growth hormones). So apparently even the doping Olympics will have anti-doping rules.\
- MB: 72-yr-old Masters World and National Champ Busted - Dude was an all sorts of PEDs!!! Robert Qualls holds the American 70+ mile record at 5:33.
- Help Make The Sport Cleaner - The Athletics Integrity Unity (AIU) Job Posting
FBK Games And Other Weekend Action
Hassan was supposed to do the 10,000/1500 double, but was a DNS in Saturday night's 10,000m. Keely Hodgkinson is racing the 800m against 2019 world champ Halimah Nakaayi. Ethiopia’s 12:42 man Telahun Haile Bekele leads the 5000m. Femke Bol is in the flat 400m.
- MB: Sara Hall 3rd in Gold Coast Half Marathon In Australia She ran 70:08 for 3rd in the race won by Aussie Leanne Pompeani in 69:20.
- Mountain Running World Cup At Grossglockner Mountain Run In Austria On Sunday
- Slovenia's Kristjan Ceh Defeats Sweden's Daniel Stahl In Discus At Folksam Grand Prix In Sweden (67.91m To 66.81m)
One more look at Trials
We take one final look at yet another riveting US Olympic Trials and wonder - What do most of the Olympians have in common, which pro groups had the best and worst Trials, why were tv ratings up but attendance down? Plus some free advice to USATF on how to make the Trials more entertaining.
UKA Selection Criteria Under Fire
- UKA Chair Ian Beattie Tries To Defend Olympic Selection Criteria: “Setting tough standards helps improve performance levels.” He gave some bogus reasoning including that having athletes failing to qualify for the finals in their event has a "demotivational effect" on "genuine medal contenders". Like Josh Kerr is going to have less motivation to win the 1500m because a women's discus thrower failed to make the final? He also mentioned the financial side of paying for a team to go to the Games even though past UKA officials have said it had nothing to do with money.
- GB Steepler Phil Norman Bashes UK Athletics After He Was Left Off Olympic Team Even Though He Missed The Standard By Just .15 Seconds Norman said, "This season I was British champion, ran the fastest time by a British athlete since 1992 and broke the championship record which had stood since 1990. I am now ranked 6th fastest of all-time on British rankings. In the eyes of UKA I am not good enough. Physically I am in the shape and form of my life. But mentally and emotionally I have nothing left to give." *Sign the petition now
- Jake Wightman Relieved To Get Team GB "Lifeline" For What Could Be His Last Olympics Wightman sat out the GB trials with injury, but was chosen by selectors in the 800m over Elliot Giles.
- MB: UK Athletes rip British Olympic selection criteria - some screwed over including steepler Zak Seddon are retiring from the sport
RIP
- RIP 1968 800m Olympian And Hayward Field Meet Official Wade Bell, 79 Bell was coached by Bill Bowerman at Oregon, was the 17th American to run a sub-4 mile and at one point held US records at 1000 yards and 1000m. He worked as a meet official at Hayward Field for many meets, including a couple days during the recent Olympic Trials.
- RIP Former Indiana University Coach Ron Helmer, 77 At IU he coached 6 individual NCAA champions and 407 All Americans.
Olympic Selection News of Note
- MB: UK team for Paris 2024 Announced In the 800, Jake Wightman got the final spot over Elliot Giles and they only entered 2 in the women's 10,000 freeing up a spot for Valby/Schweizer.
- Recommended Read: Some of Britain's best track athletes in a generation are 'ashamed to represent' British Athletics - urge others to "switch to another country if that is an option"
- 2018 World indoor 60mh champ Andrew Pozzi announces he has an ankle fracture so he's out of Paris and he's also retired You can read his official statement here.
- 18-year-old Cam Myers unofficially left off Australian Olympic Team "According to "informed sources speaking anonymously", Myers is the odd man out. Based on results, it was the right call as he had the slowest pb and the lowest finish of the 4 qualified men - Spencer, Hoare, Myers, McSweyn - but when selectors get involved, you never know what is going to happen as sometimes they go off of potential.
July 4 = Peachtree
World half marathon Champ Sabastian Sawe (28:03) and Stacey Ndiwa (31:12) Win 55th Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race It's crazy that Sawe didn't try out for the Olympics as this year he's won Kenyan xc, in Prague (58:24) and now in Atlanta. He broke free of 10,000 worlds silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo, who had jumped out to an 8-second lead at mile 2. Jake Robertson was the first non-Kenyan in 5th (28:37). In the women's race, 2:25 marathner Stacy Ndiwa (LA champ) outkicked 2:18 marathoner Irene Cheptai.
- Black flag issued at AJC Peachtree Road Race due to heat That officially means the race was cancelled mid-race and they officially stopped recording finishing times.
- MB: Cardiac Arrest at Peachtree Road Race
This Week's Pod
We take one final look at an epic Olympic Trials.
Bonus Podcast
The British 1500m champ is our guest on a bonus podcast recorded after Euros and before the British champs. Plus we're releasing our Supporters Club podcast with Brooks Beast coach Mackey who coaches Josh Kerr, Nia Akins and Brandon Miller.
Watch SPRINT On Netflix Now
- SPRINT Docuseries Has Officially Hit Netflix The six-part series follows many of the world's top sprinters in the build-up to 2023 Worlds including Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Marcell Jacobs and more.
*MB: "Sprint" by Netflix premiers today - share your impressions here.
*MB: BREAKING: ROJO ON NETFLIX - Cathal Dennehy: "Why Netflix Series Is Unlikely To Trigger A Track And Field Revolution" Dennehy starts off with a healthy dose of sarcasm as he writes, "In case you haven’t heard, our sport is about to be saved, and it didn’t take a big commercial deal or a cracking World Championships to do it. ... SPRINT, the long-awaited Netflix docuseries, will tell the stories of the world’s fastest 100m runners. ... Now that we get to see what Sha’Carri Richardson has for breakfast, how Noah Lyles chooses his outfits, how Marcell Jacobs warms up, the effect will be seismic. Groundbreaking."
- Financial Times Review: "Netflix Warms Up For Olympics With Dashing Docu-series" Dan Einav writes, "The series is disappointingly sketchy on the technical details that make all the difference between a sub-9.7-second time and an underwhelming run only fractionally slower. ...The result is a documentary that seems more like a sport-adjacent reality show or a polished PR campaign."
- Flotrack Does Episode-By-Episode Synopsis Of SPRINT
New from Norway
- Gjert Ingebrigtsen may be charged with second charge of abuse involving Jakob When Gjert was initially charged with abusing his daughter, many other cases of alleged abuse were dismissed. Some of the Ingebrigtsen kids appealed the dismissal of 4 of those cases and now the dismissal of a case of alleged abuse against Jakob has been overturned.
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen raves about his current form 'The form is quite strong...We are so professional that it's almost a bit dangerous.'
- After bombing Euros, Narve Nordås bagged a planned altitude trip and instead had a battery of tests which found nothing
*Nordas: " Now I got to train my head."
Should The US Trials System Change? We Say No.
- Good Read: Alan Abrahamson: "The Trials are brutal, the ultimate American exemplar of meritocracy. Keep it that way." Abrahamson explains that Athing Mu's coach, Bobby Kersee and agent pushing for her to get special treatment is exactly why the Trials should remain the way it is. Abrahamson writes, "Because these sorts of campaigns are 100% what the brutalist nature of the Trials is designed to put an abrupt stop to. Win, you’re in. Otherwise, see you in four. ... Fourth, sucks. You fall, sucks."
- Sports Illustrated: "An Injury, Fall And Unforgiving US System Leave Athing Mu On The Outside" Mu's agent Rocky Arceneaux argues that, "It’s time for the U.S. to change" and says he's going to campaign to change the system even if it can't help Mu get to Paris.
*MB: Athing Mu had a TORN Hamstring + her team wants the Trials systems overhauled to protect stars - Michael Johnson: "Our US Trials selection policy works best because it eliminates politics in selection. And the strength and depth of the US team allows such a policy."
- Pulse Sports: "After Athing Mu's Debacle Should America Learn From Kenya?" Kenya is another country that does "first two across the line" and then a discretionary spot for the third.
Other Assorted News
- South Africa’s 2003 World High Jump Champ Jacques Freitag Murdered The 42-year-old, who had been struggling with a drug addiction, had been missing for two weeks before his body was found with multiple gunshot wounds.
- Christopher Morales Williams excited to chase a 400m Olympic medal for Team Canada "I mean it's the biggest sporting event of all time, next to the World Cup," said the Georga star.
- After missing Trials with an abductor injury, Trayvon Bromell will race in American Track League's Ed Murphey Classics on July 12
- AP: Tests Show Seine River Still Has Unsafe E. Coli Levels With Olympics Less Than A Month Away Will the Paris mayor still take her announced dip in the Seine in a couple weeks?
- World Athletics: "10 Stars Set To Shine Bright At The Paris 2024 Olympic Games" Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone tops their list.
- The Register Guard Runs Through Their Top Moments From The Olympic Trials
Ukraine-Russia War
- Seb Coe Visits Ukraine Championships; Meets With President Zelenskyy Coe said, “I have been deeply moved by the resilience and determination of the athletes. As we arrived at the stadium, an air raid siren was sounding and delayed the 200m start. This is the stark and sobering reality and challenges the athletes face day-in, day-out."
- Rundown Of Topics Discussed Between Coe And President Zelenskyy Coe committed to continue financially supporting Ukrainian athletes affected by the war with Russia.
- World Friendship Games Postponed Until 2025 Russia's alternative to the Olympics was originally scheduled for September 2024, but organizers felt it was too much of a burden for athletes who were also preparing for Paris 2024.
Other News
- RIP Legendary Olympic And College Coach Brooks Johnson, 90 Johnson coached at Stanford from 1980 to 1992 and according to this article has coached at least one athlete at every Summer Olympics since 1968.
- Arkansas' NCAA Indoor LJ Champ Wayne Pinnock Forgoes Remaining Eligibility, Goes Pro With Puma He finished 3rd at the Jamaican trials this past weekend.
- Grant Cartwright Promoted To Boston University Director Of Track & Field And Cross Country
Jamaican Champs Day 2
Last year's Jamaican champion Oblique Seville was second in 9.82 and Ackeem Blake third (9.92).
*MB: Kishane Thompson runs an easy 9.77 WL to win Jamaican Trials
- Shericka Jackson Wins Her Third Straight Jamaican 100m Title In 10.84 She beat out Tia Clayton (10.90) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.94).
- Former NCAA Champ Natoya Goule Wins Her 10th Jamaican 800m Title In 1:59.06 Tarees Rhoden won the men's race in 1:45.94 while Aisha Praught Leer won the women's 1500m in 4:25.63. Rahiem Walker won the men's 1500m in 4:07.
It's been a busy few days for Jakob Ingebritsen
- MB: Jakob allowed to run 5000 at Norwegian champs even though he didn't enter. Beats Nordas, runs 13:14. This came the day after he won the 1500.
- 3 days after becoming a father, Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins 1500 at Norwegian champs on his home track in new stadium record of 3:34.03 The weather was nasty.
- MB: When Jakob's wife called to say she was having contractions, he was in St. Moritz. He then did a workout, flew home, took her to the hospital, did another workout and got back in time to cut the umbilical cord
- MB: Jakob Ingebrigtsen is now a father, Elisabeth gave birth today to Filippa
Olympic Tattoos
From Kara Goucher to Clayton Murphy, Evan Jager to Andrew Wheating, dozens of US Olympians have the Olympic rings on their body. Here are their stories.
Michael Johnson's Plan
The league has signed up Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who has only run 4 Diamond Leagues in her life, to commit to doubling at 4 meets a year. There will be six event groups per sex (no field events) with 48 athletes getting base contracts to double in all four meets (one in LA, other locations TBD). Winners of the combined events scoring will get $100k per meet down to $10k for 8th. The first meet is scheduled for April 2025. What's surprising is the events groups are totally siloed off. So with this format, Michael Johnson would never have faced his 200m rivals Frankie Fredericks or Ato Boldon in the 200 as Johnson would be in the 200/400 group and Boldon/Fredericks in the 100/200 group. So Sydney will never face Marileidy Paulino or Athing Mu in the 400 as they'll be in the 200/400 and 800/1500 groups while she'll be in the 400h/400 group.
RIP
Competing against legends Kipchoge Keino and Ron Clarke in the 1964 Olympic final in Tokyo, Schul used a 38.7-second final 300m to win an iconic gold medal. His daughter confirmed his death to LetsRun.
Save Money On The Best Shoes For You
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10 Years With LRC
This weekend's Prefontaine Classic marks 10 years since Jonathan Gault's first meet for LetsRun.com. He reflects on what he learned from his first trip to Eugene to cover David Rudisha and Galen Rupp in 2014.
- MB: We celebrate Jonathan Gault's 10 years at LetsRun.com!! Show your appreciation by signing up for the Supporters Club today as all $$ this week go directly to him.
Time Flies When You Are Having Fun
After a decade with LetsRun.com, Jonathan Gault counts down his 10 favorite races he has seen in-person. Usain Bolt, Matthew Centrowitz, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen all make appearances - who claims the #1 spot?
Other Links That Passed Our Human Vetters
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to run the 400m hurdles for the first time since August 2022 next weekend at Edwin Moses Legends Meet
- Kenny Bednarek is very thankful for his mom who adopted him and 3 others + reveals he wants to meet Usain Bolt to pick his brain
- Serbian long jumper Ivana Spanovic has won gold everywhere but the Olympics - can she do it at age 34 in her 5th Olympics
The King is Back at the Olympics
Twenty years after his first Olympic gold and 12 years after his last Olympic appearance, Bekele will return to face Eliud Kipchoge on the sport's biggest stage in Paris.
RIP Kelvin Kiptum
In just three races, Kiptum turned the marathon world upside down, setting a world record, and running the three fastest second halves ever in a marathon. Jonathan Gault recaps his life and career.
- MB: RIP: Marathon WR Kelvin Kiptum has died in a car accident at the age of 24
- MB: Kelvin Kiptum's final 2 training sessions - 35km long run on Thursday, 18.6 km fartlek on Saturday
- MB: Kiptum's father: "Strange people looked for him 4 days before his death" Kiptum's father says the four men said they were from the State House, but could not produce identification to prove it. He now wants the Kenyan government to investigate.
BetterRunningShoes.com Presents
We present to you the LetsRun.com Shoe Awards for 2023. What is the best shoe of 2023, the supershoe of 2023, the newcomer of the year and more?
Everyone's still looking for an edge
Kelvin Kiptum, Faith Kipyegon, Keely Hodgkinson and everyone in the OAC are among the stars who experimented with Maurten Bicarb System in 2023 ($65 for 4 doses). The big question: does it work? (paywall lifted)
BetterRunningShoes.com
We think most of you could guess the #1 brand, but the #2 might be a surprise. We break down the most popular brands overall, and for road, trail, and racing.
Paywall lifted!
Paywall lifted!
The Latest JG Feature
What links Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the NAU cross country team, and Sebastian Coe? Double threshold training, which is having a moment in 2023. Note, most of this article is behind our SC paywall for 72 hours (until Saturday).
Your latest American stars share their insights.
American Record Holders
American Record Holders
Keira D'Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, was joined by Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years.
Sisson was the guest on the LetsRun.com Track Talk podcast after she became the first American to go sub 67 in the half marathon on a record-eligible course. Podcast highlights above. Full pod here.
Woody Kincaid joined us after he broke the American record indoors at 5000. He talks above why he left the Bowerman Track Club. Podcast highlights and link to full podcast here.
Coogan's New Balance Boston team had 3 Olympians in 2021 and 2022 could be the biggest year yet for the program with 2 new additions and the TRACK at New Balance coming on March 1st.
Danny Mackey has taken the Brooks Beasts from an unproven club to the Olympic podium in its first decade.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the first of the top pro coaches to sit down and talk about his club heading into the 2022 campaign.
Best of Jon Gault
Best of Jon Gault
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
Take Your Love of LetsRun to the Next Level
LetsRun Classics
LetsRun Classics
