Atlanta 1996 marked the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games.
The host nation&rsquo;s Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the defending champion and world record-holder who had dominated the heptathlon for a decade, was bidding for a third consecutive Olympic title, but she withdrew after the 100m hurdles, the first of the seven contested events.
She had hoped that her hamstring injury wouldn&rsquo;t prevent her from winning her last title at the age of 34 in front of her home crowd before her retirement from the sport. But after the first event, the pain intensified, and the three-time Olympic gold medallist could not continue.
Joyner-Kersee broke down in tears while her husband and coach Bob Kersee comforted her. Before leaving the track together in front of their home crowd, Ghada Shouaa, a Syrian heptathlete who was ranked No.1 in the world in 1995 and 1996, hugged and kissed them both in a great display of respect to the woman she had always looked up to.
&ldquo;Before I even started competing in the heptathlon, my idol was Jackie Joyner-Kersee,&rdquo; Shouaa said in an interview following the 1996 Olympics. &ldquo;When I began to improve my scores, I considered it a great honour to compete with Jackie at the same event and stadium. I am proud of her as an athlete and she deserves all the recognition and admiration she has received.&rdquo;
In her autobiography, Joyner-Kersee mentioned this small gesture by Shouaa which meant so much for the defending champion back then. She wrote: &ldquo;That was the greatest compliment a competitor could have paid me."
Shouaa went on to complete the seven events and win Syria&rsquo;s first and only Olympic gold medal. It was the second ever Olympic medal for Syria after Joseph Atiyeh&rsquo;s silver medal in wrestling at the 1984 Olympic Games. 
<h2>From basketball to major athletics championships</h2>
Shouaa was born on 20 September 1973 in Maharada, Hama Syria. One day, when she was only 12 and was preparing to run to school, she spotted a rabbit hiding behind a rock. She knew that the rabbit belonged to one of their neighbours. When she approached it, the rabbit started running. She ran after it and captured it right in time for her to give it back to her mother and run back to school.
&ldquo;My mother always tells this story, which is true,&rdquo; said Shouaa in an interview with her hometown channel in 2011. &ldquo;I remember the neighbour came to our house and told my mother that he was there watching me run after the rabbit. He said: &lsquo;I never saw someone capture a rabbit like she did&rsquo;.&rdquo;
The Syrian, who stood 1.87m tall, competed in multiple sports including handball and basketball. She played on the national basketball team from 1989 to 1991. In parallel, she did high and long jump before completely switching to heptathlon in 1991, and dropping basketball for good despite receiving offers to play professionally. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6141d6cba43742194bc23bc7.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6141d6e2a43742194bc23bca.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
<h2>From last to becoming world champion</h2>
When Shouaa entered the heptathlon at the 1991 National Championships in Aleppo, she barely knew what the combined events were. But as she crossed the finish line in the final event, the 800m, she had broken the Syrian record. "This gave me more motivation to pursue athletics as a career,&rdquo; she said.
The same year, she represented Syria at the World Championships in Tokyo, her first major event, and the following year she competed at her first Olympic Games in Barcelona.
She finished 24th and 25th respectively in her first major competitions, but Shouaa had a taste of what it was like to compete on the international stage which gave her more motivation to train seriously. She started going on training camps outside her home country, mainly in Germany, to prepare.
In 1994, she scored 6361 to finish third at the Goodwill Games in St Petersburg. Three months later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Hiroshima, scoring 6360.
But her big breakthrough came in 1995 when she won at the prestigious Hypo Meeting in G&ouml;tzis with a national record of 6715, marking her as a big favourite for the World Championships later that year.
&ldquo;Arriving at the World Championships in 1995, I knew I was a strong contender for a gold medal because I prepared very well,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I had scored a personal best two months prior in Austria, but I also knew that all the other 24 women competing were medal contenders because they all are world-class athletes.&rdquo;
In the absence of Joyner-Kersee and Sabine Brown, Shouaa was crowned world champion in Gothenburg, becoming the first Syrian athlete to win a medal at the World Championships.
&ldquo;To stand on the podium and hear your national anthem is the best feeling in the world and it is every athlete&rsquo;s dream,&rdquo; she reflected.
&ldquo;Western media used to look at me with surprise, not realising how a woman from the MENA region can reach this level," she added. "This gave me even more motivation and confidence that I can be as good as Europeans and even better." 
<h2>Atlanta 1996: The golden moment</h2>
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613bd182b75f809e8854c84f.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613bd198b75f809e8854c852.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613bd1b0b75f809e8854c855.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613bd1cfb75f809e8854c858.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 &ldquo;It was thrilling for me to take the victory lap and hear the cheering of the crowd," said Shouaa. "But although I had won, the feeling of victory was not complete. I felt like something was missing. The victory would not be complete until I climbed to the top of the podium."
The medal ceremony was scheduled for the following day, where her childhood dream became a reality.
&ldquo;When I was awarded the gold medal, I heard the announcer say &lsquo;Ghada Shouaa of Syria, the winner of the gold medal&rsquo;. That&rsquo;s when I felt that the entire Arab world, and the Syrian people, were all being congratulated with me, and the Syrian national anthem was being played not just for me but all of us,&rdquo; she added.
Following her win, Shouaa received a phone call from the president of the Republic of Syria to congratulate her. Her achievement was widely celebrated in Syria and she returned home as a hero. 
<h2>Series of injuries and rejections from her own people</h2>
Imad Sarraj, a renowned track and field coach, watched Shouaa grow into an Olympic champion when he was transitioning from an athlete to a coach. He coached Majd Eddin Ghazal, who followed in Shouaa&rsquo;s footsteps by winning bronze in the high jump at the World Championships in London in 2017.
&ldquo;The Olympic champion Ghada Shouaa was a rare talent in the heptathlon, especially in the Arab world,&rdquo; said Sarraj. &ldquo;Her achievement was the result of years of hard work and commitment to training. It had a direct impact on the sport in Syria and the Arab world. She is the first and only Arab woman to reach this level in the heptathlon. She became a role model for women in the region who don&rsquo;t necessarily have the best conditions to train in but managed to reach the highest ranks regardless.&rdquo;
On 20 December 1996, Shouaa sustained a serious back injury while training for the javelin - an injury that kept her away from track until August 1999, when she placed third at the World Championships in Seville.
&ldquo;I stayed in Syria after the injury but no one believed that I was seriously injured," she said. "I couldn&rsquo;t believe that I had to spend 72 days at home without anyone asking about me until the government decided to send me to Germany to get the medical care I needed."
The 1999 season was tough for Shouaa. When she was on her way to fully recovering from her back injury, she had a near-fatal car accident while driving to her training camp on 20 May 1998. She suffered injuries in her hips, knee and elbow which delayed her preparation for the World Championships.
&ldquo;I was grateful that I survived the accident; it was another chance of life for me," she said. "I couldn&rsquo;t prepare well for the World Championships, but the doctors in Germany took good care of me and my coach had put a plan for me which I executed feeling that I had something to prove."
Shouaa started to train eight to nine hours a day, sticking to her coach&rsquo;s plan to get her ready for the World Championships. And the plan worked.
&ldquo;Placing third at the World Championships in 1999 was a miracle," she said. "I still can&rsquo;t believe that I was able to stand on the podium that day. I am proud of this moment."
The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games was the next big competition for Shouaa. The Syrian people were waiting for another Olympic achievement from the 28-year-old, but another injury put an end to this dream.
She felt obliged to start the competition but dropped out immediately after it began.
&ldquo;I was so disappointed. This situation affected me a lot and I decided to retire and stay away from track afterwards,&rdquo; she confessed years later.
Shouaa remains an icon in her country and the Arab region. Her achievements in the heptathlon have never been matched by another Arab woman and she remains the only athlete who has brought home gold for Syria, a war-torn country in recent years.
She remains the ninth best heptathlete of all time with her winning performance in G&ouml;tzis in 1996 with 6942, which still stands as the Asian record.
Christel Saneh for World Athletics

The Atlanta 1996 Games saw Shouaa win Syria’s first and only Olympic gold medal.

Ghada Shouaa: The only Olympic gold medallist for Syria

World Athletics and the local organising committee (LOC) for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2022 have agreed to postpone the championships, which was scheduled to be held in Bathurst, Australia on 19 February 2022.
The event will now take place on Saturday 18 February 2023 in Bathurst.
The postponement is due to the biosecurity measures and travel restrictions currently in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Australia. Australian borders are closed to international visitors.
&ldquo;Athletics Australia and the LOC are delighted that World Athletics and its partners have agreed to the postponement, which allows us to plan and deliver a world-class celebration of cross country running in February 2023. This is one of the most exciting athletics events in the world and the iconic course at Mount Panorama will see some incredible racing,&rdquo; said LOC Co-Chair and Athletics Australia Board Member Jill Davies.
&ldquo;We would like to thank World Athletics and the New South Wales Government for their continued confidence in our ability to deliver a world-class event in February 2023. We will continue to work hard over the next year to be ready to welcome the world&rsquo;s best cross-country athletes and athletics fans to Bathurst for a global celebration of cross country running.&rdquo;
The World Athletics Cross Country Championships is regarded as the toughest race on the calendar, combining the world&rsquo;s greatest distance runners and challenging terrain to create a unique spectacle in sport. The 2023 event will be the 44th edition of these storied championships and will welcome more than 550 elite athletes from more than 60 countries to the famed Mount Panorama venue at Bathurst.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to hosting the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in 2023,&rdquo; said Mayor Ian North of Bathurst Regional Council.
&ldquo;Mount Panorama is a world-famous international racing track venue, attracting competitors from across the globe and is the perfect backdrop for the most important cross-country event in the world.&rdquo;
World Athletics and the LOC are committed to the responsible planning and delivery of the event, which includes ensuring that athletes from all international federations are able to participate and enjoy an experience that is befitting of a World Athletics Series event. The health and safety of the entire running community and the host region is at the forefront of this postponement. While it is acknowledged that international events are currently scheduled for early 2022 in Australia, the 14-day quarantine requirements for international visitors to Australia are not practical for a one-day event.
The World Athletics Cross Country Championship Bathurst 2023 will comprise the U20 men&rsquo;s (8km) and women&rsquo;s (6km) races, the universal mixed relay (8km) and the senior individual men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s races (10km). These World Championship events will be supported by a series of mass participation races.
Information regarding ongoing event planning, including ticket sales, course information, mass participation events and entertainment, will be provided regularly on the event website and social media channels.
World Athletics

World Athletics and the local organising committee (LOC) for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2022 have agreed to postpone the championships, which was scheduled to be held in Bathurst, Australia on 19 February 2022.

World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst postponed until 2023

Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Niyonsaba took more than two seconds off Genzebe Dibaba&rsquo;s world 2000m record with a brilliant run of 5:21.56 at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on Tuesday (14).
Dibaba&rsquo;s best of 5:23.75 was set indoors in Sabadell, Spain in 2017 and stood as the outright world record. But, taking advantage of a windless and warm evening for the final World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event of the year in Europe, Niyonsaba strode clear of Olympic 1500m fourth-place finisher Freweyni Hailu on the final lap to win by four seconds.
Niyonsaba, who last week won the Wanda Diamond League title at 5000m, followed the pacemakers for the first three laps, passing through 400m in 1:04.50 and 800m in 2:09.22. The half-way point was reached in 2:41.37, putting Niyonsaba and Hailu inside world record pace.
Niyonsaba went through the bell in 4:20.23, meaning she needed a final lap of about 63 seconds to claim the world record. Hailu tried to move into the lead on the back straight, but Niyonsaba kept her at bay and then kicked for home, eventually crossing the line in 5:21.56.
Hailu finished second in 5:25.86, an outdoor Ethiopian record and just half a second shy of Sonia O&rsquo;Sullivan&rsquo;s 5:25.36 clocking from 1994, the fastest outdoor performance before today.
Afterwards, a smiling Niyonsaba said: &ldquo;I am feeling seriously wonderful. I didn&rsquo;t realise I could run a world record, but it was my first time here. I came here to do what I have to do.
&ldquo;I did it. It&rsquo;s wonderful and it&rsquo;s fabulous. The pacing was really perfect. I want to thank all the people who came to cheer us.&rdquo; 
<h2>Allen goes sub-13</h2>
One of the most eye-catching performances of the night came in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles where USA&rsquo;s Devon Allen joined the sub-13-second club.
Ending his season in blistering style following victories in Zurich and Berlin, Allen left Olympic gold and bronze medallists Hansle Parchment and Ronald Levy in his wake as he logged 12.99 (0.7m/s). Levy was second in 13.11 with Jamaican teammate Parchment 0.01 behind in third. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/614104ba5c4abc81a66768fa.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited,&rdquo; said Allen. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been there, you know that when you are running consistent. It&rsquo;s great conditions tonight and warm with no wind, with a great crowd.
&ldquo;I started well and when I am out front, as long as I run it clean, I am running quick.&rdquo;
The men&rsquo;s 100m was another race of high quality won by USA&rsquo;s Marvin Bracy in 9.86 (0.8m/s), just 0.01 shy of Usain Bolt&rsquo;s 10-year-old meeting record. US teammates Ronnie Baker and Trayvon Bromell completed the top three in 9.97 and 10.03 respectively. 
<h2>Four meeting records fall</h2>
A clutch of other athletes were in record-breaking form in the Croatian capital with four further meeting records falling in the course of the evening.
The men&rsquo;s pole vault saw an incredible five athletes bettering the existing meeting record of 5.76m. But it was Olympic fourth-place finisher KC Lightfoot of USA who best rose to the occasion, clearing 5.87m on his third attempt to win with an outdoor personal best.
His US teammates, two-time world champion Sam Kendricks and Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen, Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall and France&rsquo;s Valentin Lavillenie all went clear at 5.82m, the latter two also earning personal bests. But Kendricks was second and Marschall third on countback.
Olympic silver medallist and Diamond League winner Christine Mboma of Namibia scorched to a meeting record of 22.04 in the women&rsquo;s 200m. The world U20 champion was 0.26 clear of Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, who was 0.05 quicker than Allyson Felix&rsquo;s meeting record that had stood since 2012.
Three-time Olympic medallist and former champion Kirani James stamped his class all over the men&rsquo;s 400m. Running strongly from the gun, he stormed to a meeting record of 44.46, slicing nearly half a second off the four-year-old previous best, held by Gil Roberts.
World silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts leapt to a meeting record of 14.77m to win the women&rsquo;s triple jump. The Jamaican led from the outset, opening with jumps of 14.33m and 14.37m before improving to 14.77m in the penultimate round. Slovenia&rsquo;s Neja Filipic was second with a PB of 14.37m. 
<h2>Allman on top</h2>
In one of the most eagerly awaited events of the evening, Olympic champion Valarie Allman defied sentimental favourite and her predecessor as Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic the chance of a 10th successive win on home turf in Zagreb in the &nbsp;discus. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/614104d95c4abc81a66768fd.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 After setting a North American record of 71.16m in Berlin last weekend, the 26-year-old wrapped up a memorable season with a superb final-round throw of 69.63m with Perkovic settling for runner-up with her second-round effort of 66.48m.
Allman had led since the first round when she threw 64.22m before improving to 67.61m and 68.87m in the second and third rounds.
World and Olympic champion Daniel Stahl also rubberstamped a memorable season, winning a championship-quality men&rsquo;s discus contest. His first-round throw of 67.79m was good enough to hold off Olympic bronze medallist Lucas Weisshaidinger&rsquo;s final-round effort of 66.21m. Slovenia&rsquo;s Kristjan Ceh continued his fine end of season form with 65.17m in third.
In a tightly fought men&rsquo;s 800m, Catalin Tecuceanu of Romania enjoyed a breakthrough victory, emerging from the outside to win in 1:44.93. Not only was it a PB, but it also broke the national record of 1:45.41 that had stood since 1985. The 22-year-old didn&rsquo;t compete at the Olympics as he didn&rsquo;t achieve the entry standard, but has now won three of his past four races on the international circuit.
He finished ahead of British duo Daniel Rowden and Elliot Giles in 1:44.98 and 1:45.01 respectively. World silver medallist Amel Tuka dropped out at about the 600m mark,
In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, Diamond League winner Tobi Amusan of Nigeria eased to a comfortable win in 12.61, just one hundredth outside the meeting record.
In the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, Olympic fourth-place finisher Getnet Wale of Ethiopia triumphed in 8:12.01. Olympic finalist Madara Palameika of Latvia took the women&rsquo;s javelin with a season&rsquo;s best of 63.35m and Panama&rsquo;s Olympic finalist Gianna Woodruff won the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 54.67.
Chris Broadbent for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Burundian clocks 5:21.56 at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial

Niyonsaba breaks world 2000m record in Zagreb

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s 10.78 clocking over 100m was one of six meeting records set at the Gal&agrave; dei Castelli, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, in Bellinzona on Tuesday (14).
The world 100m champion smashed the stadium record held by another Jamaican legend, Merlene Ottey, who clocked 10.95 in 1996. Fraser Pryce, who clocked a lifetime best of 10.60 last month in Lausanne, once again ran well on Swiss soil, producing her 13th consecutive sub-11-second clocking.
&ldquo;Bellinzona is very special to me,&rdquo; said the multiple world and Olympic gold medallist. &ldquo;I am happy to be back here. I came to this meeting in 2018 with my son Zyon. I really wanted the meeting record held by Merlene Ottey, so I am excited about that. The weather was perfect. I set most of my best performances in Switzerland.&rdquo;
World 200m bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji finished second in 10.99 to beat Swiss compatriot Ajla Del Ponte, the European indoor champion (11.11).
Kambundj returned to the track for the 200m and scored one of two Swiss wins of the evening in 22.36, ending the meeting on a high note.
&ldquo;I wanted to break the Swiss record (22.26),&rdquo; said Kambundji. &ldquo;I was not able to achieve it but I am very happy. I am very proud with my season, especially with the Olympic final in the 100m and the Diamond League win in the 200m in Eugene.&rdquo;
Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse won the men&rsquo;s 100m in 10.06 (-0.1m/s) beating Olympic 100m silver medallist and Diamond League winner Fred Kerley (10.11) after two false starts. De Grasse avenged his loss to Kerley, who beat the Canadian sprinter in 9.87 to 9.89 at the Diamond League final in Zurich last week.
Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol crowned her successful season with a win in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in a meeting record of 54.02. European champion Lea Sprunger finished second in 54.53 in what was the final race of her career.
&ldquo;It was really my last race,&rdquo; said Sprunger. &ldquo;I wanted to end my career on a high note. I ran my second-best time of the year. I am definitely happy with what I achieved this evening. I have a special relationship with this meeting and Canton Ticino. I train with my close friend Del Ponte and it will be strange that I will no longer train with Ajla and Femke Bol, but I will still remain in the world of athletics.&rdquo;
Sweden&rsquo;s Carl Bengstrom won the 400m hurdles B race in 48.53, improving the stadium record that had stood to Fabrizio Mori since 1997. But just minutes later, Olympic bronze medallist Alison Dos Santos won the A race in another meeting record with 48.15, holding off Estonia&rsquo;s Olympic finalist Rasmus Magi (48.53).
European indoor champion Nadine Visser won the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.59, improving the meeting record by 0.03 and comfortably beating Cindy Sember (12.73).
Swiss record-holder Jason Joseph won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, named in honour of local coach Fiorenzo Marchesi, in 13.34, beating Brazil&rsquo;s Rafael Pereira (13.42).
Jamaican record-holder Natoya Goule won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 1:58.20. Pacemaker Aneta Lemlesz went through the 400m mark in 56.69 before Goule broke away from the rest of the field with 300m to go. Chanelle Price finished second in 1:59.75 ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Lindh (1:59.94).
Elsewhere, Olympic finalist Charles Grethen from Luxemburg came through in the final straight to win the men&rsquo;s 1500m in a meeting record of 3:35.48. Slovenian record-holder Tina Sutej cleared 4.70m to win the women&rsquo;s pole vault. She had a clean sheet at 4.35m and 4.50m before vaulting 4.60 on her second attempt and 4.70m at the third time of asking.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

The world champion's 10.78 clocking over 100m was one of six meeting records set at the Galà dei Castelli

Fraser-Pryce dashes to 10.78 victory in Bellinzona

World Athletics is saddened to hear that world hammer record-holder Yuriy Sedykh died on Tuesday (14) at the age of 66.
Across a 15-year span, Sedykh won three global titles, three European titles and broke the world record six times.
Born in 1955 in Novocherkassk, Sedykh took up athletics in 1967, initially training in Burevestnik and later in Kiev. Six years later, and coached by 1972 Olympic champion Anatoliy Bondarchuk, he landed his first major title by taking gold at the 1973 European U20 Championships in Duisburg.
Sedykh was just 20 years of age when he threw a world-leading 78.86m at the start of the 1976 season. He went on to win the Olympic title in Montreal with an Olympic record of 77.52m while his coach, Bondarchuk, took bronze.
Sedykh successfully defended his Olympic title on home soil in Moscow in 1980 and remains one of just three men to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the hammer.
He won three consecutive European titles between 1978 and 1986, the latter in a memorable duel with training partner Sergey Litvinov in Stuttgart.
Litvinov broke Sedykh&rsquo;s championship record in the first round with 85.74m, but Sedykh responded with a world record of 86.74m in the fourth round. Five of Sedykh&rsquo;s six throws from that competition landed beyond 85 metres; his shortest throw that day was 83.94m.
&ldquo;On that day, everything came together: my mood, my physical fitness, my ambition, the competition, the sector, the fans and the weather,&rdquo; Sedykh told European Athletics.
Sedykh took silver behind Litvinov at the 1988 Olympics, but his throw of 83.76m was by far his best mark ever achieved in an Olympic arena.
He won his first and only world title at the age of 36 when he struck gold at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, throwing 81.80m. Despite having a best of 82.18m in 1992, he narrowly missed out on selection for what would have been his fourth Olympic Games.
He competed internationally until the mid-1990s, recording his final 80-metre throw in 1994. Although he continued to enter competitions as a veteran, coaching became his main focus once he retired from the sport.
Sedykh married 1980 Olympic 100m champion Lyudmila Kondratyeva, with whom he had a daughter, Oksana, who became an international-level hammer thrower. Sedykh later married world shot put record-holder Natalya Lisovskaya and together they had a daughter, Alexia, the 2010 Youth Olympic hammer champion.
World Athletics Senior Vice President Sergey Bubka paid tribute to Sedykh. &ldquo;For me, Yuriy was a friend, a wise mentor, to whom I am deeply grateful that we shared life experience and human values,&rdquo; said Bubka.
&ldquo;He was an outstanding two-time Olympic champion, whose fantastic world record is still not broken after 35 years. My sincere condolences to Natalya, Alexia, the whole family and the sports community. We will always remember Yuriy.&rdquo;
World Athletics

World Athletics is saddened to hear that world hammer record-holder Yuriy Sedykh died on Tuesday (14) at the age of 66.

Two-time Olympic hammer champion and world record-holder Sedykh dies

The one-day series of the world&rsquo;s best cross country, combined events and race walking meetings will all move to a three-tier World Tour format from next month.
Adding the final pieces to the jigsaw of the restructuring of international athletics competitions, the World Athletics Cross Country Tour, Combined Events Tour and Race Walking Tour will replace the existing challenge and permit series with a more global spread of fixtures.
A combined amount of more than $400,000 in prize money will be on offer for the best tour performers, including a new pool of $75,000 for the best male and female cross country runners.
The development of these tours is part of a concerted effort by World Athletics to create a logical long-term global calendar of international events. It will also ensure more top-level competition opportunities and exposure for athletes in all areas of the sport.
As with the Continental Tour and World Indoor Tour, competitions within the new tours will be given either gold, silver or bronze status. The calendars for each tour &ndash; more details of which will be provided in the coming weeks &ndash; are already beginning to take shape.
The Cross Country Tour, for example, which gets underway later this month, is expected to have stops in North America, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Europe and will incorporate many of the world&rsquo;s biggest and most prestigious cross-country meetings that have been part of the Cross Country Permit series in recent years. Athletes who compete in Cross Country Tour meetings will also earn world cross country ranking points.
"One of our primary goals at World Athletics is to improve the competitive and earning opportunities for elite athletes around the world and these new tour formats are designed to do just that," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. "They will also create new avenues for fans to watch our leading athletes, either in person or via broadcast or livestream. My thanks goes to World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon and Competition Director, Jakob Larsen, for the work they have been doing on the global competition calendar and the one-day meetings and the team they have now put in place to drive this critical area forward."
All gold-level Cross Country Tour meetings will be shown on the World Athletics YouTube Channel, and World Athletics is working to ensure a similar level of coverage for next year&rsquo;s Combined Events and Race Walking Tours.
In order to support the restructure of the global one-day competition calendar, World Athletics has made the following staff appointments.
Pierce O&rsquo;Callaghan has been appointed as Head of Competition Management after working as a consultant to World Athletics to establish the Continental Tour, expand the World Athletics Indoor Tour and lead the Global Calendar Unit in recent years. He has also been an international referee at four World Athletics Championships and four Olympic Games and was Director of Operations for the 2017 World Championships in London and Director of Readiness for the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Luca Verrascina has joined World Athletics as Competition Manager after serving as a Technical Delegate or International Technical Official at many World Athletics Series events. He was the Head of Competition at the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships, the 2013 and 2017 European U20 Championships and the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome.
The Competition Department will continue to work on a number of key projects, including the integration of mass participation events into the World Athletics Series, the cohesion of one-day meetings and major championships, the development of the world rankings and qualification pathways for major championships, and a review of the competition rules.
Meeting and race organisers who are interested in having their events included in the new tours should send an email to <a href="mailto:competition@worldathletics.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">competition@worldathletics.org</a> for more information.
World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h3>Regulations</h3>
&bull; <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=dbbd6f71-d7c5-490f-a061-64035433ec66.pdf&amp;urlslug=C1.7%20-%20Race%20Walking%20Tour%20Regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Race Walking Tour</a> &bull; <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=8fc6e49c-7132-453d-abcb-91520f41681b.pdf&amp;urlslug=C1.8%20-%20Combined%20Events%20Tour%20Regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Combined Events Tour</a> &bull; <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=fd7d4bb1-8dae-40a7-84d9-8b4116f99957.pdf&amp;urlslug=C1.9%20-%20Cross%20Country%20Tour%20Regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cross Country Tour</a>

The one-day series of the world’s best cross country, combined events and race walking meetings will all move to a three-tier World Tour format from next month.

World Tour competition structure announced for cross country, combined events and race walking

Double Olympic champion and world record-holder Ryan Crouser brought the curtain down on a flawless season by beating his own meeting record to win the Ivan Ivancevic Memorial men&rsquo;s shot put in Zagreb on Monday night (13).
There was an intimate atmosphere at the specially staged event at the city fountains ahead of Tuesday&rsquo;s main Boris Hanžekovića Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, but the action was explosive in the circle. Crouser produced a series of consistent high quality, bettering 22 metres with all six throws, his best being a fourth-round effort of 22.84m &ndash; a 10-centimetre improvement on his meeting record set last year. 
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 He was pushed hard by twice Olympic bronze medallist Tom Walsh of New Zealand who thrived in front of an appreciative crowd, landing a fifth-round 22.39m for second place, with his other five throws all in excess of 21 metres. World champion Joe Kovacs took third with 21.70m in a competition that also featured music, flames and lights against the spectacular fountain backdrop.
&ldquo;This is one of my favourite meetings and a great capstone to what has been a fantastic season for me,&rdquo; said a very satisfied Crouser. &ldquo;In 2021, I have achieved everything I could have wanted and more. To be able to come out here for one of my favourite meetings and perform as well as I did for a great crowd, I was extremely happy. You can see the energy that the athletes bring when the crowd has so much energy and enthusiasm.
&ldquo;They let us pick our theme songs for the music, which is always fun and gets the athletes hyped up,&rdquo; added Crouser, who has now been undefeated for almost two years. &ldquo;It was a lot of fun and I feel like the results showed. With the shape I am in right now, after eight weeks on the road travelling, that was one of my best competitions of the year with just how I felt coming in and how I performed.&rdquo;
Chris Broadbent for World Athletics

Crouser breaks meeting record in Zagreb

There was a huge amount of excitement for the first ever&nbsp;World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup race in Spain and Canfranc-Canfranc served up two races over the weekend. Firstly, the 45km race on Saturday (11) was the latest long mountain race in the series, while Sunday (12) featured a 16km classic mountain race.
The 45km race is renowned for being tough. It&rsquo;s technical and rugged, with four climbs of between 250m and 1400m, and of course it&rsquo;s one of the longest races in the World Cup.&nbsp;
The men's race featured Slovakia's Peter Frano, winner of Tatra SkyMarathon this year, and Spain's Raul Criado, who was third&nbsp;at Tatra SkyMarathon and was 12th&nbsp;here last year. Basque runner&nbsp;Ugaitz Artola was also hotly tipped. In the women&rsquo;s starting line up were Britain's Charlotte Morgan, the 2018 WMRA long distance world champion currently lying third in the World Cup standings, while Spain's Eva Mesado, the 2020 runner-up here, and Olivia Magnone of France were also expected to be challenging for the podium.
As Covid restrictions were still in place at Canfranc the runners set off in small groups at one-minute intervals. These small gaps were soon to become bigger gaps as the first climb of 1400m kicked in. In the women&rsquo;s race Morgan struck out into an early lead and by the top of the first climb at Moleta she was four minutes in front of Magnone, who in turn was two minutes ahead of Mesado. Similarly, in the men&rsquo;s race it was Spain's Fran Naval who had a clear lead of three minutes over Frano, with Criado and Inigo Macias snapping at his heels, just 30 seconds behind.
One long descent and another big ascent (of 800m) and descent later, and by the 28km Candanchu checkpoint it was all change in the men&rsquo;s race. Frano was now in the lead, but Criado was just 30 seconds behind. A gap of three minutes had opened back to Naval in third, with Macias another minute behind him. In the women&rsquo;s race Morgan had really begun to stretch out a lead and she passed through Candanchu with a lead of 16 minutes over Magnone, with Mesado three minutes behind. It seemed unlikely that Morgan could be caught, but the men&rsquo;s race could still go to any of the top four.
Who would we see running into the finish first? In the end it was Frano, who looked incredibly fresh and took the win in 5:38:16. Criado just couldn&rsquo;t hang on to the second place he&rsquo;d battled for and it was Macias who came in as runner-up in 5:42:48, with Criado completing the men&rsquo;s podium in 5:43:23.
It was no surprise to see Morgan coming in to win the women&rsquo;s race, though the cuts on her knee and face showed that it hadn&rsquo;t been an easy final section. Her time was 6:38:09, which put her in eighth place overall. Magnone was second in 6:57:14 and Mesado third in 7:01:37, with a gap of over 10 minutes on fourth. 
<h2>Murphy breaks course record and Martinez takes second win</h2>
The 16km event welcomed USA's 2019 world champion Grayson Murphy back for more European action, after her win at Trofeo Nasego and second place at Vertical Nasego last weekend. Also on the startline for the women were course record-holder Nadege Servant of France, Spain's Nuria Gil and Yolanda Martin.
In the men&rsquo;s race all eyes were on 2020 winner Antonio Martinez of Spain, who would face strong competition from Sandor Szabo of Hungary and Spanish athletes Inigo Arantzamendi, Roger Comellas and Ion Sola. Also on the start for the men was Raul Criado, who was third in Saturday&rsquo;s 45km race.
The runners were again set off in small groups at minute intervals. They would face one up and down over the 16km, but what a big up and down it was. It featured 1400m over the course of the first 6km to the summit of La Moleta, followed by a technical 10km descent down to the finish. &nbsp;
It was Szabo who hit the summit in the lead in the men&rsquo;s race, with Daniel Castillo of Spain a minute behind and Martinez a minute behind him. It was all still very close, despite the long climb. In the women&rsquo;s race there was a clear leader and that was Murphy. She hit La Moleta 10 minutes ahead of Gil and in fact was lying in fourth place in the race overall at that point. Servant was around 90 seconds behind Gil.
It looked unlikely that Murphy would be caught, but anything can happen on a 10km technical descent. In the men&rsquo;s race it was Martinez who hit the final stretch (part of the famous Camino del Santiago) first and he took the win, his second consecutive one here, in 1:52:26. Szabo was a minute and a half behind in second place in 1:53:52, with Castillo taking third in 1:54:38.
All eyes were on the clock for Murphy&rsquo;s arrival as it looked likely that the existing women&rsquo;s course record of 2:08:18 was under threat. In fact Murphy broke the tape in an incredible 1:57:43, obliterating the previous mark and finishing fifth overall. The runner who set that record, Gil, took second in 2:15:28 and Servant was third in 2:17:16.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics

There was a huge amount of excitement for the first ever World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup race in Spain and Canfranc-Canfranc served up two races over the weekend.

Morgan and Frano among winners at Canfranc

Not content with capping her season by taking the Diamond trophy in Zurich three days ago, Olympic champion Valarie Allman continued her incredible year in the discus by breaking the North American record with 71.16m at Berlin&rsquo;s ISTAF meeting, a Continental Tour Silver competition, on Sunday (12).
Her record-breaking throw came in the first round. Even before her discus landed comfortably beyond the 70-metre line, Allman was beaming and punching the air in delight, knowing that she&rsquo;d hit a good throw. Just moments later it was confirmed: her 71.16m had broken the North &amp; Central American &amp; Caribbean record that had stood to Cuba&rsquo;s Hilda Ramos since 1992. It also smashed the meeting record that had stood to Margitta Pufe since 1979.
Allman skipped the second round, but resumed her series with 65.15m in round three before ending her day with throws of 66.78m and 68.80m. All four of those measured marks would have been enough to win from Olympic bronze medallist Kristin Pudenz, who was second with 64.52m.
Allman now moves to 18th on the world all-time list; since 1993, only one other athlete - three-time world champion Sandra Perkovic - has entered the top 20 on the world all-time list.
&ldquo;Honestly, I am still processing this,&rdquo; said Allman. &ldquo;This stadium, the crowd and the competition was so incredible. This season has had so many magic moments. One thing I wanted to do this season is to improve my best. 2021 is coming to an end and I have a PR that is so good. All my work is paying off.
&ldquo;My season has been a dream come true,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;For a long time, I&rsquo;ve been working my way up. And now to have all this work paid off and doing it in Germany, a place where there is such an amazing history of throwing, only makes it more special. Next season I just want to keep getting better, trying to take on big goals. Being able to represent your country at home &ndash; and I see how much the crowd cheers on Kristin &ndash; is so special. Having a moment like that in 2022 will just be unreal.&rdquo;
One of the biggest cheers of the day came in the men&rsquo;s javelin, which was won by 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter. The German took an early lead with 84.64m and then improved to 88.76m in round two.
He eventually won by almost five metres with Moldova&rsquo;s Andrian Mardare taking second place with 84.44m.
&ldquo;I have 18 friends sitting in the stadium and I told them that if I won today and have to run a lap of honour, they had to bring me a beer,&rdquo; explained Vetter. &ldquo;And they managed to do so.&rdquo;
World and Olympic champion Karsten Warholm was another convincing winner. The Norwegian star won the 400m hurdles in a comfortable 48.08 as Estonia&rsquo;s Rasmus Magi finished several strides behind in 48.73. 
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 The men&rsquo;s pole vault was a lot closer, though. Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen registered one failure at his opening height, 5.41m, but it ultimately proved decisive as that was the only difference between his card and that of two-time world champion Sam Kendricks.
The US duo cleared 5.56m and 5.71m first time, then both needed two attempts at 5.81m and 5.91m before ending with three misses at 6.01m. Due to Nilsen&rsquo;s early miss, Kendricks had the upper hand on countback.
There were further US victories on the track. Kate Grace continued her fine run of middle-distance form and stepped up in distance to win the 1500m by three seconds in a PB of 4:01.33. Spain&rsquo;s Esther Guerrero was second in 4:04.45, just 0.14 ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Axumawit Embaye.
Just three days after they were separated by mere thousandths of a second at the Diamond League final, Devon Allen and Ronald Levy once again filled the top two places in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles &ndash; though this time Allen&rsquo;s winning margin was a whole hundredth of a second. The world and Olympic finalist clocked 13.10 to the Jamaican&rsquo;s 13.11. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613e5b95201f7451b581d3d5.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Marvin Bracy notched up his sixth sub-10-second clocking of the season to comfortably win the men&rsquo;s 100m in 9.95. Britain&rsquo;s Olympic finalist Daryll Neita took the women&rsquo;s race in 11.04 from Jamaica&rsquo;s Natasha Morrison (11.09).
Elsewhere, Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene won the high jump with 1.98m and Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers took the long jump with a fifth-round leap of 6.73m to beat world and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo by three centimetres.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Allman breaks North American discus record in Berlin

An array of Olympic medallists will be seeking to sign off their seasons in style at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on 13-14 September.
The final World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event in Europe this year sees multiple champions from Tokyo named on the start lists in the Croatian capital. In particular, the throws events are brimming with championship quality.
The men&rsquo;s shot will see the complete podium from Tokyo &ndash; and Rio and Doha &ndash; renew rivalries. Unbeaten all year and fresh from his most recent Wanda Diamond League success in Zurich last week, two-time Olympic gold medallist and world record-holder Ryan Crouser will start as favourite.
The US thrower, who excels at street meets, has won in Zagreb three times and set a meeting record of 22.74m when winning in the Croatian capital last year.
Olympic silver and bronze medallists Joe Kovacs and Tom Walsh will be joined by Olympic finalist Armin Sinancevic of Serbia as well as home hope Filip Mihaljevic to try to blot Crouser&rsquo;s perfect year.
The sport&rsquo;s strongmen may also draw inspiration from their competition enjoying showcase status on the eve of the main meeting in the intimate setting of Zagreb&rsquo;s City Fountains on Monday evening in a competition that is known as the Ivan Ivancevic Memorial.
The following night in the Sports Park Mladost, the main Hanzekovic Memorial welcomes another complete Tokyo podium to the men&rsquo;s discus circle. Fresh from wrapping up another impressive win at the Diamond League Final in Zurich, Olympic champion Daniel Stahl leads a stellar entry from Tokyo silver and bronze medallists Simon Pettersson and Lucas Weisshaidinger. Zurich runner-up Kristjan Ceh will also be seeking to end his season with a further flourish.
The women&rsquo;s discus is the event perhaps most likely to capture the crowd&rsquo;s imagination. Croatian heroine Sandra Perkovic, the three-time world champion, goes head-to-head with her successor as Olympic champion Valarie Allman of the USA. Allman got the better of Perkovic again at the Diamond League final, but the Croat will be highly motivated to end her season on a high in front of her home supporters after the disappointment of her fourth-place finish in Tokyo last month.
The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s sprint hurdles both offer some real intrigue.The men's event in particular always takes on extra significance at this competition as Boris Hanzekovic, after whom the meeting is named, was a 110m hurdler before he was killed in World War II.
An evenly matched men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles includes Olympic gold and bronze medallist Hansle Parchment and Ronald Levy going in against Devon Allen, fourth in Tokyo but in fine form off the back of his Diamond League final victory over the Jamaican duo.
In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, Diamond League winner Tobi Amusan of Nigeria will be looking to build on her searing African record run of 12.42 which landed her with the Diamond trophy. She will have world indoor silver medallist Christina Clemons among the opposition.
In the sprints, the women&rsquo;s 200m pits Olympic silver medallist Christine Mboma against Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson in a rematch from Zurich that saw Mboma win by 0.03 in 21.78 for an improvement on her own world U20 record. Allyson Felix's meeting record of 22.35 looks to be living on borrowed time.
The men&rsquo;s 400m is spearheaded by 2012 Olympic champion and Tokyo bronze medallist Kirani James of Grenada with Botswana&rsquo;s Isaac Makala his chief opposition. The meeting record in this discipline, 44.94 from 2017, also appears to be under threat.
USA&rsquo;s Ronnie Baker, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell head up the men&rsquo;s 100m line-up. With a fifth-place finish in Tokyo and a third-place finish in the Diamond League final, Baker arrives in the better form of the trio. Former European record-holder Jimmy Vicaut is also in the field.
In the men&rsquo;s pole vault, Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen goes in against USA teammate and two-time world champion Sam Kendricks, who will be hoping to end the season on a high after missing out on competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, Olympic fourth placer Getnet Wale of Ethiopia heads the line-up. There will also be plenty of interest in the women&rsquo;s 2000m with Diamond League 5000m champion Francine Niyonsaba, Olympic 1500m fourth-placed Freweyni Gebreeziweher and 2013 world 5000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono set to tackle the rarely run distance.
Chris Broadbent for World Athletics

An array of Olympic medallists will be seeking to sign off their seasons in style at the Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on 13-14 September.

Crouser, Allman and Stahl lead star-studded cast for Zagreb

Kenya&rsquo;s Agnes Tirop took 28 seconds off the long-standing women-only world record for 10km*, while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Senbere Teferi set an outright world 5km record of 14:29* at the adizero Road To Records event in Herzogenaurach on Sunday (12).
Tirop, the world 10,000m bronze medallist, put in a decisive surge with little more than two kilometres to go in the 10km, breaking away from fellow Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui before eventually winning in 30:01.
Teferi, the 2015 world 5000m silver medallist, ran away from her opponents after the first kilometre with an incredible solo effort, winning the 5km in 14:29.
Tirop and Chepkirui were part of a five-woman lead pack during the early stages of the 10km and passed through 4km in 12:07. A couple of minutes later, Tirop and Chepkirui had broken away from the rest of their opponents, reaching the half-way point in 15:00 after coving the fifth kilometre in a swift 2:54.
Chepkirui then moved in front of her compatriot and tried to force the pace but was unsuccessful in making a break. The duo continued to run side by side for the best part of three kilometres, but Tirop started her long run for home with about six minutes to go.
Tirop, who won the senior world cross-country title as a teenager back in 2015, passed through 9km in 27:07 with a comfortable lead and was still comfortably inside world record pace. She didn&rsquo;t ease back for the final kilometre, though, and covered it in another 2:54 to reach the finish line in 30:01.
Chepkirui finished second in 30:17, also inside the previous mark of 30:29 set by Morocco&rsquo;s Asmae Leghzaoui back in 2002. Nancy Jelagat was third in 30:50.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy to have broken the world record,&rdquo; said Tirop. &ldquo;I felt the pace was good and Sheila assisted me a lot. The course was very good too.&rdquo;
Teferi, contesting the final race of the day, ensured the event ended on a high as she smashed the world 5km record with 14:29, winning by 25 seconds from Ethiopian teenager Melknat Wudu.
Six weeks after her sixth-place finish over 5000m at the Olympic Games, Teferi ran with the pack for the first kilometre, covered just inside three minutes. Then, sensing that the pace wasn&rsquo;t quite fast enough to challenge the world record, set off on her own and covered the second kilometre in 2:49.
By 3km, which she reached in about 8:43, Teferi had an eight-second lead over the chase pack. She continued to forge ahead, passing 4km in 12:07 and then ended with a 2:52 final kilometre to cross the finish line in 14:29.
Not only did it break the women-only world record of 14:44 set by Beatrice Chepkoech and the 14:43 outright world record set by Sifan Hassan in a mixed race, she also bettered the fastest 5km clocking in history of 14:32, set by Joyciline Jepkosgei before the distance became an official world record event.
&ldquo;I'm so happy,&rdquo; said Teferi. &ldquo;After the Olympics, I knew I was ready to go after this world record. I'm so happy.&rdquo;
Wudu, a double medallist at the World U20 Championships, took second place in 14:54, just ahead of compatriot Nigisti Haftu.
In the day&rsquo;s other races, world record-holder Rhonex Kipruto won the men&rsquo;s 10km in 26:43, the fourth-fastest time in history, while recently crowned world U20 champion Tadese Worku was second in 26:56, an Ethiopian U20 record.
Abel Kipchumba was a convincing winner of the men&rsquo;s half marathon in 58:48 with fellow Kenyan Alexander Mutiso Munyao taking second in 59:20, and Brenda Jepleting added to the Kenyan success with a dominant 1:06:52 victory in the women&rsquo;s race.
Jacob Krop won the men's 5km in 13:06, breaking away from two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris in the second half to finish three seconds ahead of the Ethiopian.
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure
<h3>Leading results</h3>
WOMEN
5km 1 Senbere Teferi (ETH) 14:29 2 Melknat Wudu (ETH) 14:54 3 Nigisti Haftu (ETH) 14:54 4 Agnes Jebet Ngetich (KEN) 15:02 5 Dawit Seyaum (ETH) 15:10
10km 1 Agnes Tirop (KEN) 30:01 2 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 30:17 3 Nancy Jelagat (KEN) 30:50 4 Betty Chepkemoi (KEN) 31:09 5 Dorcas Kimeli (KEN) 31:22
Half marathon 1 Brenda Jepleting (KEN) 1:06:52 2 Besu Sado (ETH) 1:08:15 3 Brillian Jepkorir (KEN) 1:08:28 4 Tgise Haileselase (ETH) 1:08:30 5 Irene Jepchumba (KEN) 1:09:02
 MEN
5km 1 Jacob Krop (KEN) 13:06 2 Muktar Edris (ETH) 13:09 3 Hosea Kiplangat (UGA) 13:13 4 Geoffrey Kimutai (KEN) 13:22 5 Daniel Kinyanjui (KEN) 13:27
10km 1 Rhonex Kipruto (KEN) 26:43 2 Tadese Worku (ETH) 26:56 3 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 27:09 4 Nicholas Kimeli (KEN) 27:22 5 Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 27:24
Half marathon 1 Abel Kipchumba (KEN) 58:48 2 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 59:20 3 Amos Kurgat Kibiwot (KEN) 59:34 4 Raymond Magut (KEN) 1:00:00 5 Phenus Kipleting (KEN) 1:00:08
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Chepkirui and Langat victorious in Vienna</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Vibian Chepkirui and Leonard Langat took top honours at the Vienna City Marathon, a World Athletics Label road race, on Sunday (12) in what was the first major marathon worldwide with a strong international elite field and a mass race since the start of the corona pandemic.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Derara Hurisa actually crossed the line in first place in the men&rsquo;s race, but it transpired afterwards that his shoes were not compliant with the rules, so Langat was awarded the victory.
On a day when temperatures reached about 25C during the final part of the race, hopes of records faded during the second half of the race. Chepkirui, a marathon debutante, won in 2:24:29 while Langat clocked 2:09:25. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61407a97b474dc6c27b831e2.JPG" alt="" width="100%" /> Vibian Chepkirui wins the Vienna City Marathon (&copy; VCM / Leo Hagen)
&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s leaders were running well inside the course record pace of 2:22:12 for most of the race as Chepkirui and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meseret Dinke and Gelete Burka passed the half way mark in 1:100:47.
Burka had recovered from a fall earlier in the race when she stumbled at a zebra crossing where a section was slightly elevated. However, neither she nor Dinke was able to hold on to Chepkirui, who had opened up a 33-second lead at 30km.
Although she slowed in the final section, Chepkirui&rsquo;s victory was never in doubt as she crossed the line in 2:24:29, winning by more than a minute. Dinke and Burka finished in 2:25:31 and 2:25:38 respectively. Little over a month after her 12th-place finish in the Olympic marathon, Fabienne Schlumpf of Switzerland was fourth in 2:26:31.
&ldquo;Had it not been for the heat, I would have run at least two minutes faster,&rdquo; said Chepkirui.
The leading group in the men&rsquo;s race passed the half-way mark in 1:03:41, and their 30km split of 1:30:33 still pointed towards a finishing time of about 2:07:30. But soon after, when the last pacemaker dropped out, the race became much slower and more tactical.
Japan&rsquo;s Kento Kukutani joined the leading group with Langat, Hurisa, Kenya&rsquo;s Samwel Kiptoo and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Betesfa Getahun, then the pace increased again. Kukutani and Kiptoo were quickly dropped while the other three battled for victory. Hurisa had the best sprint and crossed the line first, but learned of his disqualification about 45 minutes later.
&ldquo;Of course I would have preferred to have broken the tape,&rdquo; said Langat, who achieved his first sub-2:10 performance. &ldquo;I had no clue about the disqualification until they told me. It was a good race, but the heat was a problem.&rdquo;
Organisers registered about 26,000 entries from 126 nations for the various events in Vienna across the weekend. 6000 of them were marathon runners. In the 10km race, Julia Mayer smashed the national record with a time of 32:54, becoming the first Austrian woman to break 33 minutes.
Organisers for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
WOMEN 1 Vibian Chepkirui (KEN) 2:24:29 2 Meseret Dinke (ETH) 2:25:31 3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:25:38 4 Fabienne Schlumpf (SUI) 2:26:31 5 Lucy Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:27:47 6 Celestine Chepchirchir (KEN) 2:28:49
MEN 1 Leonard Langat (KEN) 2:09:25 2 Betesfa Getahun (ETH) 2:09:42 3 Edwin Kosgei (KEN) 2:10:10 4 Kento Kikutani (JPN) 2:10:37 5 Samwel Kiptoo (KEN) 2:11:16 6 Tadesse Abraham (SUI) 2:12:26

Kenya’s Agnes Tirop took 28 seconds off the long-standing women-only world record for 10km, clocking 30:01* to win at the adizero Road To Records event in Herzogenaurach on Sunday (12).

Tirop and Teferi smash world records in Herzogenaurach

Agnes Tirop of Kenya clocks 30:01 for 10km, Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi runs 14:29 for 5km

A number of Tokyo Olympic medallists, including champions Faith Kipyegon and Peruth Chemutai, will be among the athletes in action at the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya, on 18 September.
Athletes from at least 28 countries are expected to compete when the final meeting of this year&rsquo;s Continental Tour Gold series is held at the Kasarani Stadium, which recently hosted the World Athletics U20 Championships.
After winning her second Olympic 1500m title and then claiming the series crown at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich, Kenya&rsquo;s Kipyegon will make her Kip Keino Classic debut. Uganda&rsquo;s Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Chemutai, meanwhile, returns to the event after her sixth-place finish in the inaugural edition of the meeting last year.
Both Olympic steeplechase champions will be competing, with Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco having already been announced for the men&rsquo;s race. He is set to be joined on the start line by Kenya's world U20 champion Amos Serem.
Like Kipyegon, USA&rsquo;s Fred Kerley claimed a Diamond Trophy in Zurich, becoming the first athlete to ever win top series honours in both the 100m and 400m. Three years after his 400m success, Kerley won the 100m in 9.87 in Zurich and the Olympic 100m silver medallist is now set to race in Nairobi.
In men's 100m action will be the USA&rsquo;s world leader Trayvon Bromell, Kenyan record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala and the USA&rsquo;s Justin Gatlin, while Botswana&rsquo;s Isaac Makwala has been announced for the 400m.
Namibia's Christine Mboma improved her world U20 record and African record to 21.78 to win the 200m Diamond Trophy in Zurich and the Olympic silver medallist returns to Nairobi, where the 18-year-old won the world U20 title last month.
The men&rsquo;s hammer competition will also feature an Olympic champion, with Poland's Wojciech Nowicki among those who will be seeking more success when they compete in Kenya.
Ukraine&rsquo;s world finalist Iryna Klymets will compete in the women&rsquo;s event.
World Athletics

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