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Track & Field Informed will deliver in-depth features, commentary, and historical perspectives on world-class track and field athletes, top collegiate performers, and Southern California high school standouts by respected sports journalist John Ortega.

16/02/2024

Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas and Josh Kerr of Great Britain set world indoor records in the women's 60-meter hurdles and the men's two mile, respectively, in the Millrose Games in New York City last Sunday. Other major meets were held in Lievin, France, and Torun, Poland, during a week in which Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announced she would retire after the Olympic Games in Paris and Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana, were killed in a car accident.

Charlton and Kerr better longstanding marks in women's 60 hurdles, men's two mile

12/02/2024

The sport of track and field lost one of its brightest stars when marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana, were killed in a car accident in western Kenya on Sunday night. Many people regarded the 24-year-old Kiptum as a once in a generation talent as he had lowered the world record to 2:00:35 in winning the Chicago Marathon last October. He had previously run 2:01:53 in winning his marathon debut in Valencia, Spain, in December of 2022, and 2:01:25 in the London Marathon in April of last year.

Marathon world record-holder was driving vehicle that veered off road and hit tree

09/02/2024

Fiona O'Keeffe won the women's marathon in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials race in Orlando, Florida, last Saturday in her debut at the distance. Despite her inexperience, she bettered the previous Trials record by more than three minutes with a time of 2:22:10. Training partners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young placed 1-2 in the men's race with times of 2:09:05 and 2:09:06. Some of the other top performances during the week of January 29 - February 4 were turned in by Femke Bol, Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway, Jessica Hull, and Tia Jones at the world-class level, by Parker Wolfe and Olivia Markezich in the collegiate ranks, and by prep standout Sadie Engelhardt.

O'Keeffe wins women's title in U.S. Olympic Team Trials for marathon in initial race at the distance; favored Mantz edges Young for men's championship

04/02/2024

Nico Young of Northern Arizona University set a collegiate record of 12:57.14 while finishing second behind Adriaan Wildschutt of South Africa (12:56.76) in the second heat of the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 26. Young and Wildschutt were two of five men who broke 13 minutes in the 5,000 in the meet that saw 18-year-old Senayet Getachew of Ethiopia set a world U20 (under 20) record of 14:42.94 on the women's side. There were several other noteworthy performances during the week of January 22-28, with some of the top marks being produced by Nicola Olyslagers of Australia, Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, and Ewa Swoboda of Poland at the world-class level, and by Qussama El Bouchayby of the University of Alabama, and Luke Houser and Hana Moll of the University of Washington at the collegiate level.

Wildschutt, Young, and Kurgat lead onslaught of superb 5,000-meter performances in John Thomas Terrier Classic

02/02/2024

Fifty years ago today, Filbert Bayi of Tanzania capped what was then called the British Commonwealth Games with a world record of 3:32.16 in the greatest 1,500-meter race in history. Bayi's historical performance put an exclamation point on a meet that was loaded with superb performances in all six men's distance races.

Relive one of the greatest distance meets of all time in this richly woven story – featuring new interviews with the athletes and a 101-year-old coach detailing every race from that historic competition.

The Tanzanian's 1,500-meter world record came on final day of 1974 Commonwealth Games that sparkled with splendid performances in men's distance events

30/01/2024

Olivia Markezich has gone from a freshman walk-on at the University of Notre Dame to one of the elite distance runners in the collegiate ranks during her career for the Fighting Irish. The defending NCAA champion in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase will run her second race of the 2023-24 indoor season when she competes in the women's mile in the Meyo Invitational at the Loftus Sports Center on the Notre Dame campus on Saturday.

Fighting Irish standout has gone from freshman walk-on to elite collegian during her Notre Dame career

25/01/2024

Weini Kelati was a runaway winner of the women' race in the USA Track & Field Cross Country Championships in Mechanicsville, Virginia, last Saturday, six days after she had set an American record in the half marathon in Houston. There was lots of news to report on from the week of January 15-21, including noteworthy performances by Trey Cunningham of the U.S. and Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas in the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Tinoda Matsatsa of Georgetown University setting a collegiate record in the men's 1,000 meters, and juniors Nathaniel Ezekiel of Baylor and Michaela Rose of LSU posting collegiate records at 600 yards. Sadly, 2015 World pole vault champion Shawn Barber of Canada died at the age of 29.

Eritrean native follows American record in half marathon with runaway win in USATF cross country champs

17/01/2024

Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda ran 26:48 to win the men's division of the Valencia Ibercaja 10k in Spain on Sunday, but he was upstaged by Agnes Jebet Ngetich of Kenya, whose 28:46 clocking in the women's race chopped a whopping 28 seconds off the world record of 29:14 set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia in 2022. In other news from last week, Sutume Asefa Kebede of Ethiopia ran 1:04:37 to win the women's division of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Yusuf Bizimana of the University of Texas and Great Britain and Northern Ireland set a collegiate record of 2:18.10 in the men's 1,000 meters, and Americans Sandi Morris and Chris Nilsen won the women's and men's divisions of the National Pole Vault Summit with respective heights of 4.82 (15-9¾) and 5.90 (19-4¼).

Kenyan lops 28 seconds off world record in women's 10k road race in Valencia

11/01/2024

Ethiopians Tigist Ketema and Addisu Gobena turned in stunning performances in winning their debut marathons in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday. The 25-year-old Ketema (left in photo) won the women's division in 2:16:07 to move to eighth on the all-time performer list. Gobena, who is reportedly 19 years of age, won the men's title in 2:05:01. In other news from the week of January 1-7, Daniel Ebenyo of Kenya and Francine Niyomukunzi of Burundi won the men's and women's titles in the Campaccio-International Cross Country meet in Italy on Saturday, as did Beruhi Aregawi of Ethiopia and Beatrice Chebet of Kenya in the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza in Spain on Sunday. The week also saw the passing of Carmen Valero of Spain, the women's World cross country champion in 1976 and '77.

Ethiopians Ketema and Gobena post quick times in debuts at 42.2-kilometer distance

01/01/2024

Ryan Crouser of the U.S. has been chosen as the 2023 Men's Athlete of the Year by Track & Field Informed with Johnny O. Crouser, who turned 31 last month, set a world record in the shot put in the USA Track & Field Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA last May and produced the second-best put in history in winning the World title in Budapest, Hungary, in August while competing with a pair of blood clots in his left leg. In addition to a profile about Crouser, this post includes detailed capsules about nine other performers who were selected as one of the top 10 male athletes of the year.

American's win, while competing with blood clots in leg, was a key factor in his selection as men's athlete of the year

31/12/2023

Faith Kipyegon of Kenya has been chosen as the 2023 Women's Athlete of the Year by Track & Field Informed with Johnny O. The 29-year-old runner became the first woman in history to set world records in the 1,500 meters, mile, and 5,000 in the same year, as well as the first woman to win the 1,500 and 5,000 in the World Athletics Championships. In addition to a profile about Kipyegon, this post includes detailed capsules about nine other performers who were selected as one of the top 10 female athletes of the year.

Kenyan's three world records, two World titles, make her obvious choice for honor

20/12/2023

World Athletics took the easy way out when it decided to triple the number of athlete of the year awards that it presented at its annual awards gala in Monaco on Dec. 11. The organization's decision left elite athletes such as American sprinter Noah Lyles baffled "when we heard all of our names being called one after the other." Michael Johnson added in a social media post that "It devalues the AOY to have more than one AOY." In other news on the awards front last week, Ryan Crouser of the U.S. and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya were selected as the men's and women's athlete of the year by Track & Field News, and Jaydon Hibbert of the University of Arkansas and Julien Alfred of Texas received the Bowerman Award for men and women, respectively, at the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association convention in Denver.

Governing body's decision to triple the number of athlete of the year selections dilutes award's prestige

13/12/2023

Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal of Norway won her third consecutive women's title in the European Athletics Cross Country Championships in Brussels on Sunday, In addition, Yann Schrub's victory in the men's race made him the first Frenchman to have accomplished that feat in the 29-year history of the meet. In other news last week, the prep cross country season in the U.S. concluded with the Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, freshman JaMeesia Ford of the University of South Carolina set a U20 (under 20) world record in the women's 300 meters, four-time NCAA champion Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State signed a contract to run professionally for Adidas, and 2019 World pole vault champion Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia announced her retirement.

Norwegian wins third consecutive women's title, Schrub is first French runner to win men's championship

07/12/2023

Graham Blanks of Harvard University and Parker Valby of Florida continued their hot racing this fall by running the fastest 5,000-meter times in collegiate history on Saturday after capping unbeaten cross country seasons with victories in the NCAA championships two weeks earlier. Their performances came a day before Ethiopians Sisay Lemma and Worknesh Degefa became members of the sub-2:02 and sub-2:16 clubs, respectively, with their victories in the men's and women's divisions of the Valencia Marathon in Spain. In other events last week, the Nike Cross Nationals high school meet was contested in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, and the seventh gold level meet of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour was held in Austin, Texas, last Thursday.

Blanks and Valby post fastest 5,000-meter times in collegiate history two weeks after winning national titles in cross country

03/12/2023

Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia became the fourth man in history to run under 2:02 in the marathon when he set a course record of 2:01:48 in winning the men's division of the Valencia Marathon in Spain on Sunday. Compatriot Worknesh Degefa won the women's race in 2:15:51 to become the seventh woman in history to break 2:16 and lead countrywomen Alamaz Ayana (pictured below) and Hiwot Gebrekidan to a sweep of the top three places.

Ethiopian sets course record in Valencia Marathon while compatriot Degefa leads country to 1-2-3 sweep in women's contest

30/11/2023

The girls' cross country team from Santiago High School in Corona, California, defeated the three-time defending champions in winning its first title in the Division I race of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Cross Country Championships in Fresno last Saturday. The Sharks were one of seven teams from the Southern Section who won divisional championships in the meet that was comprised of 10 races. Runners from the Southern Section also won a combined six individual titles, with the meet's fastest performances coming from juniors Evan Noonan of Dana Hills High in Dana Point in the boys' Division III race and from Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura (pictured below) in the girls' Division II contest. In other prep news last week, Track & Field News released its prep All-American teams for the 2023 track and field season and several individuals, as well as relay teams, from Southern and Los Angeles City section schools were named to the squads.

Girls' team edges three-time defending champions to win first California state cross country title

23/11/2023

Oklahoma State turned in a dynamite performance in winning the men's team title in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Earlysville, Virginia, on Saturday. The win came a year after the Cowboys had tied Northern Arizona for first place in the national title meet before finishing second on the tiebreaker. In other news from the meet, a short-handed North Carolina State team won its third consecutive women's championship and juniors Graham Blanks of Harvard and Parker Valby of Florida capped undefeated seasons by winning the men's and women's individual titles, respectively. In track and field news, Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson were selected as USA Track & Field's male and female athletes of the year for 2023.

Cowboys snap Northern Arizona's title streak in NCAA Cross Country Championships a year after losing to Lumberjacks on tiebreaker

19/11/2023

North Carolina State University won its third consecutive women's title in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Earlysville, Virginia, on Saturday, despite running without its injured No. 2 runner, Kelsey Chmiel. Oklahoma State won the men's team crown by placing five runners in the top 15 finishers, and Parker Valby of Florida (pictured below) and Graham Blanks of Harvard set course records while winning the women's and men's individual titles, respectively.

Wolfpack wins third consecutive women's championship, while Oklahoma State takes men's crown, and Valby and Blanks set course records

17/11/2023

Northern Arizona University, after rolling to a pair of victories in the Mountain Regional cross country meet last Friday, could sweep the men's and women's team titles when the NCAA Cross Country Championships are held in Earlysville, Virginia, on Saturday. The NAU men's team, led by Nico Young (pictured in photo), is trying to win its fourth consecutive title and seventh in eight years. The women are shooting for their first championship after finishing sixth in last year's meet. This column contains notes on all nine collegiate regionals contested last Friday, as well as on a pair of meets over the weekend that are part of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour. In other news from last week, NCAA 200-meter champion Udodi Onwuzurike of Stanford announced his decision to run professionally and forgo his final two years of collegiate eligibility.

Lumberjacks appear primed for pair of team titles in NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday

15/11/2023

Graham Blanks' high school coach calls him a "student of the sport." After learning some valuable – and at times painful – lessons in recent seasons, the Harvard University junior will be one of the men's title favorites in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

Harvard standout one of men's title favorites entering NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday

09/11/2023

Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the women's race of the New York City Marathon on Sunday to become first woman since 1989 to win that race and the Boston Marathon in the same year. Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record of 2:04:58 in the men's race after dropping out of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, 10 weeks earlier. In other news from last week, Ethan Katzberg of Canada set three meet records while winning the men's hammer throw in the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, World Athletics announced its finalists for its annual Men's and Women's Rising Star Award, and Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan had her provisional suspension for an anti-doping violation dismissed by a disciplinary tribunal.

Obiri's victory in New York City Marathon follows first-place finish in Boston in April

06/11/2023

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record of 2:04:58 in winning the men's division of the New York City Marathon on Sunday while Hellen Obiri of Kenya used a big kick to win a tactical women's race in 2:27:23 and become the first woman since 1989 to win New York City and Boston marathon titles in the same year.

Tola sets course record in men's race while Obiri outkicks Gidey in tactical women's contest

02/11/2023

Brimin Misoi of Kenya and Buzunesh Gudeta of Ethiopia lowered their personal bests by large margins in winning the men's and women's titles in the Frankfurt Marathon in Germany on Sunday. In other news from last week, defending World cross country champions Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda (pictured below) and Beatrice Chebet of Kenya were victorious in the Cross Internacional Atapuetca in Spain, and collegiate conferences across the U.S. held their cross country championships as a prelude to the region championships on Nov. 10 and the NCAA title meet on Nov. 18.

Marathoners use different tactics in runaway victories

26/10/2023

Kibiwott Kandie of Kenya ran 57:40 to defeat a stellar field in the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday in a race in which he finished a second ahead of Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha and Hagos Gebrhiwet. Margaret Kipkemboi of Kenya won the women's division in 1:04:46 in a race in which the first six finishers ran under 1:07:00. In other news from last week, Ruti Aga of Ethiopia ran 2:18:09 to win the women's division of the Yellow River Estuary Marathon in Dongying, China; Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Femke Bol of the Netherlands were selected as European Athletics' men's and women's athletes of the year; and Ingebrigtsen and his brothers Henrik and Filip wrote that they parted ways with their father as their coach two years ago due to Gjert Ingebrigtsen's use of "physical violence and threats" with them through the years.

Kenyan defeats stellar field in winning Valencia Half Marathon for the third time

18/10/2023

Parker Valby of the University of Florida defeated defending NCAA champion Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State to win the women's title in the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational cross country meet last Friday. Northern Arizona swept the team championships in both the men's and women's races while Graham Blanks of Harvard used a strong kick to win the men's individual crown. In other news from last week, the BYU women and the Arkansas men won the team titles in the Pre-Nationals meet in Virginia on Saturday, and Joshua Belet of Kenya and Meseret Belete of Ethiopia won the men's and women's divisions of the Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday. World Athletics also announced its nominees for its 2023 men's and women's athlete of the year awards.

Valby, NAU, roll to women's titles in prestigious collegiate cross country meet

12/10/2023

Kelvin Kiptum's world record of 2:00:35 in the Chicago Marathon was the biggest news in the track and field world last week. But there were plenty of other storylines to come out of the race in the Windy City, topped by Sifan Hassan's 2:13:44 clocking that was the second-fastest time ever run by a woman. In other events, Olympic champions Neeraj Chopra and Mutaz Barshim won the men's javelin and high jump, respectively, on the final day of the Asian Games on Oct. 4.

Kenyan lowers world record to 2:00:35 while Hassan wins women's title in 2:13:44

08/10/2023

Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya crushed the world record in the men's marathon with a 2:00:35 clocking in Chicago on Sunday that slashed 34 seconds from the previous mark set by countryman Eliud Kipchoge last year. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won the women's division in 2:13:44, the second-fastest time ever run by a woman. The second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers in the race ran the fastest times ever for their positions.

Kiptum slashes 34 seconds from men's best, Hassan runs second-fastest women's time in history

05/10/2023

Diribe Welteji's victory in the women's mile in the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on Sunday put an exclamation point on a superb year for Ethiopian runners in the women's 1,500 meters. Some of the other notes in this column pertain to Hobbs Kessler's win in the men's mile in the World Road Running Championships, the dominance of Kenyan runners in the meet, Fred Kerley and Marcell Jacobs making coaching changes, Matthew Boling turning pro, Dafne Schippers retiring from the sport, and two-time defending NCAA women's cross country team champion North Carolina State winning the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

East African nation produced superb depth in women's 1,500 in 2023

01/10/2023

Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia handed Faith Kipyegon of Kenya her first loss of the season while winning the women's mile in the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on Sunday. Other individual winners were Hobbs Kessler of the U.S. in the men's mile, Peres Jepchirchir and Sabastian Kimaru Sawe of Kenya in the women's and men's half marathon, respectively, and Beatrice Chebet of Kenya and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia in the women's and men's 5,000 meters.

Ethiopian hands Kenyan superstar first defeat of season in women's mile race

27/09/2023

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya won an unprecedented fifth men's title in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, but the story of the event was a stunning world record of 2:11:53 set by Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia in the women's race. Her time crushed the previous best of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya in 2019. In other news last week, Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands and Makenson Gletty of France won the heptathlon and the decathlon, respectively, in the Decastar meet in Talence, France and USA Track & Field announced that the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials will be held in Eugene, Oregon from June 21-30 of next year.

Ethiopian's 2:11:53 clocking in Berlin crushes previous best of 2:14:04

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