The World Athletics Council has today (30) confirmed the dates for several upcoming World Athletics Series events at its meeting in Monaco.
There will be a slight change of dates for the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22, which were originally scheduled for 2-7 August, next year.
These championships have been moved forward by one day and will now run from 1-6 August 2022, as the Local Organising Committee has advised that these dates are better suited to the local needs in Colombia.
The sixth edition of the World Athletics Relays will be held in Guangzhou, China on 13-14 May 2023.
Previously held in The Bahamas, Japan and Poland, this will be the second time that the World Relays will be held in Asia and the first time in China. They will serve as a qualifying event for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
Later that year, the World Athletics Road Running Championships will make their debut in Riga, Latvia on 30 September-October 1.
This inaugural event will incorporate the existing World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, and will also feature the first world 5km championships.
Mass races will be held alongside the elite championships to allow recreational runners to be part of a global festival of road running.
The 226th World Athletics Council meeting continues tomorrow (1 December) in Monaco and will be followed by the broadcast of this year&rsquo;s World Athletics Awards.
Ten awards will be presented during the ceremony, which will begin at 6pm CET (GMT+1) and be streamed live on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics YouTube channel</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook page</a>. Marathon great Paula Radcliffe and long jump star Jazmin Sawyers will host the event.
World Athletics

World Athletics Council confirms dates for several upcoming World Athletics Series events

Dates announced for future World Athletics Series events in Cali, Guangzhou and Riga

Organisers of the M&uuml;ller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham have confirmed that Olympic pole vault champion and world record-holder Mondo Duplantis will compete at the World Indoor Tour Gold meeting on 19 February 2022.
The last time the Swedish megastar competed indoors in the UK was at the 2020 edition of this event in Glasgow where he cleared 6.18m to set a world record that still stands.
The M&uuml;ller Indoor Grand Prix is back after a year&rsquo;s hiatus and so is the Olympic champion, poised to thrill British crowds again at the Utilita Arena Birmingham.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited for the M&uuml;ller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham,&rdquo; said Duplantis. &ldquo;The event holds fond memories for me. Going over 6.18m and breaking the world record was a special moment.
&ldquo;British fans are passionate, and they really know pole vault, which is great for us to compete in front of. I always like to look forward, not back, and with loads of big competitions this year I hope to start my season well.&rdquo;
Duplantis is the latest star of the Tokyo Olympic Games to announce his intention to compete in the UK&rsquo;s second city, following last month&rsquo;s confirmation of Olympic 800m silver medallist and British record-holder Keely Hodgkinson.
The 22-year-old Duplantis has redefined one of the sport&rsquo;s most awe-inspiring disciplines in recent years, clearing a world U20 record of 6.05m to win European gold in 2018, then claiming world silver in 2019 and setting two world records in 2020. Earlier this year he secured his first senior global title when taking gold in Tokyo with 6.02m.
Organisers for World Athletics

The Olympic pole vault champion will compete at the World Indoor Tour Gold meeting on 19 February

World record-holder Duplantis confirmed for Birmingham

It was a year of world record-wrecking carnage. Every global men&rsquo;s mark from 1000m up to 30,000m was savaged in the track and field frenzy that was 1965.
The rampant Ron Clarke was the chief culprit, claiming 11 of the 23 &lsquo;victims&rsquo;, all the way from two miles to one hour. The towering Australian had the first word, clocking 13:34.8 in the Tasmanian state capital, Hobart, on 16 January. The final say, however, belonged to his great rival Kip Keino.
Today (30 November) marks the 56th anniversary of Keino&rsquo;s 5000m world record run in Auckland.
The anniversary coincides with the revered father of Kenyan distance running making a generous donation to World Athletics Heritage Collection and the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a> of the silver trophy he collected for one of the sizzling performances with which he set European tracks alight in the northern hemisphere summer of 1965.
Running the Morley Mile at the White City Stadium in London on 30 August 1965, Keino became the first African to run a sub-four-minute mile, wowing the packed English crowd with a 3:54.2 clocking that made the middle distance novice the third-fastest man of all time: behind Frenchman Michel Jazy&rsquo;s two month old world record of 3:53.6 and New Zealander Peter Snell&rsquo;s former global mark of 3:54.1. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know I could run anything like as fast as that at a shorter distance,&rdquo; he said.
He returned to London the following year, won the race again and was given the trophy in perpetuity.
Three days before his 1965 victory, Keino had made the first of his two marks on the world record books, smashing East German Siegfried Hermann&rsquo;s 3000m time by six seconds with 7:39.6 in the Swedish coastal town of Helsingborg. 
<h2>Takes down Clarke&rsquo;s 5000m mark</h2>
Keino beat Clarke in two out of three races on the European circuit, but by the time he travelled to New Zealand in November, the Australian had made two further improvements to the 5000m world record, running 13:33.6 in Auckland in February and then 13:25.8 in Compton, California, in June.
Running at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland 56 years ago, Keino registered mile splits of 4:16.0, 4:17.8 to reach two miles in 8.33.8. Though he tired significantly, with a 4:24.5 third mile, he closed with a final lap of 63.5 to break Clarke&rsquo;s record with a time of 13:24.2. Kiwi William Baillie was second in 14:01.2, with Yugoslav Franc Cervan third 14.02.0. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61a6334cbc3414677f2776a5.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The clamour for a head-to-head was satisfied when Keino met Clarke over 5000m in Melbourne a month later. There was no world record this time but Keino, sporting the lucky orange baseball cap he bought as a souvenir from the Tokyo Olympics, was a decisive winner, prevailing by 40 metres.
Clarke reclaimed the world record decisively eight months later. The 13:16.6 he recorded in Stockholm in July 1966 stood for six years, until Lasse Viren chipped 0.2 from it as a homecoming celebration in Helsinki in September 1972, on the back of his first Olympic 5000m-10,000m double in Munich. 
<h2>Traffic and illness no bar to Olympic glory</h2>
As for Keino, he proceeded to become a double Olympic champion himself &ndash; four years and two disciplines apart.
The &lsquo;flying Kenyan policeman&rsquo; with the long, loping stride had already established himself as a formidable force and a hugely popular performer on the international circuit before his astonishing heroics at the Mexico Olympics in 1968.
Fifth in the 5000m at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, where he failed to reach the 1500m final, and winner of the mile and three miles at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, Keino chose to take on the daunting challenge of the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m in the punishing thin air of Mexico City.
The fact that he had to run the last mile to get to the stadium in time for the 1968 Olympic 1500m final, after his bus got stuck in traffic, was the least of the psychological (or, indeed, physical) obstacles he had to overcome before executing his most famous victory.
A week earlier, Keino had collapsed two laps from the end of the 10,000m final, suffering from acute stomach pains which proved to be the result of a severe gall bladder infection. He collapsed on the infield but, when the stretcher-bearers arrived, he insisted on picking himself up and finishing, even though he had been disqualified. His compatriot Neftali Temu went on to win, claiming Kenya&rsquo;s first Olympic gold medal.
Four days later, despite being unable to digest solid food, Keino took the silver medal in the 5000m behind Mohamed Gammoudi of Tunisia, with Temu in third.
As the long-time trailblazing standard-bearer for Kenyan track and field, Keino felt it his duty to bring home 1500m gold. He was still suffering stomach pains on the morning of the final three days later. The West German team doctor warned he would be risking his life if he competed and told him to stay in bed and rest.
When the doctor left, however, Keino jumped out of bed, got dressed and caught the bus to the stadium. &ldquo;I must run for my country,&rdquo; he insisted. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61a634c6bc3414677f2776a8.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Despite his physical frailty, and the race to get to the stadium, Keino proceeded to produce one of the great middle-distance runs of all time.
Blitzing clear of the pack after his Kenyan teammate Ben Jipcho&rsquo;s blistering 56-second opening lap, Keino finished 20 metres clear of Jim Ryun, the US favourite who held the world records for 800m, 1500m and the mile, and who had been unbeaten at 1500m and the mile for three years. Keino knew the only way to neutralise Ryun&rsquo;s deadly finish was to amass an unassailable lead. He won in 3.34.9, an Olympic record, with Ryun a distant runner-up in 3.37.8.
Asked how he summoned such a stunning performance, Keino replied: &ldquo;I was thinking to myself, &lsquo;This is the race of my life. If I die here, I die here&rsquo;.&rdquo;
Such fearlessness came naturally to the son of a Nandi herdsman who escaped death at the claws of a leopard at the age of 12. The young Keino came across the wild cat preying on a goat and had to flee and hide up a tree to escape.
At the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Keino defied death threats to run in the 5000m final. &ldquo;A man only dies once,&rdquo; he told the Kenyan officials who attempted to dissuade him from lining up. He finished third in the race, behind Scots Ian Stewart and Ian McCafferty but won the 1500m.
He was also threatened by a man with a gun while warming up for the 1500m at the Martin Luther King Memorial Freedom Games at Villanova University, Philadelphia, in 1970. &ldquo;What are you doing here, monkey?&rdquo; the assailant asked. &ldquo;I told him I was a human being in my country,&rdquo; Keino recounted. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t win the race &ndash; I was second to Marty Liquori &ndash; but I did my best.&rdquo;
Keino finished second to Finland&rsquo;s Pekka Vasala in the 1500m final at the1972 Olympic Games in Munich but claimed his second Olympic gold as a novice 3000m steeplechaser. &ldquo;I jumped the hurdles like a horse,&rdquo; he said. 
<h2>Kip Keino Children&rsquo;s Home</h2>
Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino was born in Kipsamo in the Nandi Hills in western Kenya. His parents died when he was young, and he was brought up by an aunt.
He ran four miles barefoot to school each morning, four miles back at lunchtime, and repeated the stamina-building exercise in the afternoon. After school and at weekends, he trotted around the surrounding hills for hours, herding the family&rsquo;s goats at high altitude.
At 81, he lives on the 500-acre farm he bought after his retirement from track competition in 1974. At Kazi Mingi Farm, in the hills near Eldoret, he has built perhaps his greatest achievement.
Over the past 40 years, hundreds of orphans and abandoned children have been raised by Keino and his wife, Phyllis, at the Kip Keino Children&rsquo;s Home there. The farm complex also houses the Kip Keino School and the Kip Keino High Performance Training Centre.
Laura and Chamatia are typical of the adopted Keinos. They were found by police officers on the streets of Eldoret, unable to move because of pneumonia. When no one claimed them from the city hospital, Keino&rsquo;s old police colleagues called Kip and Phyllis.
Others have been orphans of Aids victims. &ldquo;They are all my children,&rdquo; Keino said. &ldquo;My own mother died when I was three. I don&rsquo;t want anyone to grow up with that problem.
&ldquo;I came into this world with nothing and I will leave with nothing. While I am here, I should be mindful of those people who need help.
&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t help everyone, but we do what is within our ability. The money that we make from farm produce and from the training centre helps to subsidise the children&rsquo;s home and the school.&rdquo;
The inestimable Kip Keino will turn 82 on 17 January.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

It was a year of world record-wrecking carnage

Keino makes donation to MOWA on anniversary of his 5000m world record

World Athletics has joined with a group of university and sports partners to support a major research project on child abuse in sport.
The study, called Child Abuse in Sport: European Statistics (CASES), has been led by Mike Hartill at Edge Hill University (UK) and Bettina Rulofs at Wuppertal University (Germany) with help from colleagues from across Europe. Data was collected from 10,302 adults in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Romania and Spain.
It is the first such study of this scale and the first prevalence study of its kind in sport in the UK and several other partner countries. The study investigated a wide range of behaviours that can be harmful to athletes, from verbal harassment and physical violence through to sexual abuse and neglect.
Key findings show that:
- 65% of adults (aged 18-30) reported experiencing psychological violence as children. - 44% reported experiencing physical violence inside sport as children. - Neglect was experienced by 37% of respondents. - 35% reported experiencing non-contact sexual violence. - 20% reported contact sexual violence. - The prevalence of interpersonal violence against children is lowest for respondents in recreational sport (68%) and highest for those who competed in international sport (84%). - Children belonging to ethic minority groups are significantly more likely to experience abuse at 76.9%. - Figures for each form of interpersonal violence were broadly similar across countries, suggesting the problem is not unique to one country.
It should be noted that the incidence of interpersonal violence against children in sport, was slightly lower than the incidence in the general community in each country surveyed.
While most people recall their experience of sport as children positively, sport is not immune from violence against children and this is timely research to remind sporting organisations that they must have strong safeguarding policies in place to ensure children are protected from violence and abuse, according to the researchers from Edge Hill University who worked on the report.
World Athletics, which <a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/world-athletics-safeguarding-policy">recently launched an overarching Safeguarding Policy</a> that will guide its 214 Member Federations to put in place their own policies by 2023, said: &ldquo;Safeguarding is about actions, not just words. Safeguarding is more than just a line in our integrity code of conduct. We need action &ndash; individually and collectively.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This research will inform the education, tools and guidance we will be creating with and for our Member Federations. We owe it to our athletes, competing now and in the future, to protect them from abuse, harassment and exploitation.&rdquo;
While the study found that 85% of adults reported having a positive experience in sport as children, three-quarters reported having had at least one experience of interpersonal violence inside sport before they turned 18.
Professor Hartill, who is also Director of Edge Hill&rsquo;s Centre for Child Protection and Safeguarding in Sport (CPSS), said: &ldquo;Our findings are obviously of great concern. We have seen a number of high-profile cases of child abuse in sport in recent times, but this research helps us to understand the scale of the problem more clearly.
&ldquo;The data shows that these experiences are common in the sports sector which is supposed to provide children with a positive and healthy space.
&ldquo;This study offers valuable evidence for sport organisations to work with and respond to. We are encouraged by the support the project has had from our sport partners and hope that our report is a good starting point for a cultural shift within sport.
&ldquo;As part of the project we will be developing educational resources with and for the sport sector aimed at enhancing understanding of this issue within its grassroots partners and affiliated bodies. Ultimately, the study aims to provide insights and develop resources for the sport sector that will support their efforts to safeguard children&rsquo;s welfare.&rdquo;
The project, funded by the European Union&rsquo;s Erasmus+ programme, is a partnership with seven universities and three sport partners &ndash; World Athletics, Sport England, and the German Sport Youth Federation.
The overall report and links to reports for each country can be <a href="https://sites.edgehill.ac.uk/cpss/projects/child-abuse-in-sport-european-statistics-cases/">found here</a>.

World Athletics has joined with a group of university and sports partners to support a major research project on child abuse in sport.

New research shows scale of child abuse in sport

The World Athletics Awards 2021 will be staged as a virtual event on Wednesday 1 December and will be a celebration of the sport, also honouring and recognising organisations and individuals from around the world in what has been another memorable and sometimes challenging year.
Ten awards will be presented at the World Athletics Awards 2021, which will begin at 6pm CET (GMT+1) on Wednesday and be streamed live on the World Athletics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/worldathletics">YouTube channel</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics">Facebook page</a>. The ceremony will be hosted by marathon great Paula Radcliffe and long jump star Jazmin Sawyers. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q_r5PbtrF9A" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&nbsp;
<h3>World Athletes of the Year</h3>
The most eagerly-anticipated of the 10 awards will be Female and Male World Athlete of the Year, recognising the top-performing athletes of 2021. A three-way voting process &ndash; split between the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family, and the worldwide community of athletics fans &ndash; determined the five female and five male finalists.
This year's female finalists: &bull; Sifan Hassan, Netherlands &bull; Faith Kipyegon, Kenya &bull; Sydney McLaughlin, USA &bull; Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela &bull; Elaine Thompson-Herah, Jamaica
And this year's male finalists: &bull; Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda &bull; Ryan Crouser, USA &bull; Mondo Duplantis, Sweden &bull; Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya &bull; Karsten Warholm, Norway
Over the past five days, we published features on all 10: &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-on-finalists-sifan-hassan-joshua-cheptegei" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-on-finalists-sifan-hassan-joshua-cheptegei">Sifan Hassan and Joshua Cheptegei </a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-faith-kipyegon-ryan-crouser" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-faith-kipyegon-ryan-crouser">Faith Kipyegon and Ryan Crouser</a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-sydney-mclaughlin-mondo-duplantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-sydney-mclaughlin-mondo-duplantis">Sydney McLaughlin and Mondo Duplantis</a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-yulimar-rojas-eliud-kipchoge" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-yulimar-rojas-eliud-kipchoge">Yulimar Rojas and Eliud Kipchoge </a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-elaine-thompson-herah-karsten-warholm" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/focus-finalists-elaine-thompson-herah-karsten-warholm">Elaine Thompson-Herah and Karsten Warholm</a> 
<h3>Female and Male Rising Stars</h3>
These awards shine the spotlight on the top U20 athletes of the year.
This year's female nominees: &bull; Keely Hodgkinson, Great Britain &bull; Silja Kosonen, Finland &bull; Christine Mboma, Namibia &bull; Athing Mu, USA &bull; Zerfe Wondemagegn, Ethiopia
And this year's male nominees: &bull; Sean Burrell, USA &bull; Erriyon Knighton, USA &bull; Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Kenya &bull; Tadese Worku, Ethiopia &bull; Sasha Zhoya, France
Who all also starred in a series of features: &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-keely-hodgkinson-sean-burrell" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-keely-hodgkinson-sean-burrell">Keely Hodgkinson and Sean Burrell </a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-silja-kosonen-erriyon-knighton" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-silja-kosonen-erriyon-knighton">Silja Kosonen and Erriyon Knighton</a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-christine-mboma-emmanuel-wanyonyi" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-christine-mboma-emmanuel-wanyonyi">Christine Mboma and Emmanuel Wanyonyi </a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-athing-mu-tadese-worku" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-athing-mu-tadese-worku">Athing Mu and Tadese Worku</a> &bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-zerfe-wondemagegn-sasha-zhoya" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-zerfe-wondemagegn-sasha-zhoya">Zerfe Wondemagegn and Sasha Zhoya</a> 
<h3>Coaching Achievement Award</h3>
Given to a coach who has helped athletes thrive. 
<h3>Inspiration Award</h3>
This award will recognise an individual or group of individuals whose efforts have resulted in a particularly inspiring athletics event or experience. 
<h3>Member Federations Award</h3>
First awarded last year, the Member Federation Award honours a national governing body that has gone above and beyond to serve its athletes, fans and greater community.
The six nominees, listed alphabetically, are: &bull; Athletics Australia (AUS) &ndash; Oceania &bull; Athletics Kenya (KEN) &ndash; Africa &bull; Czech Athletic Federation (CZE) &ndash; Europe &bull; Federacion Costarricense de Atletismo (CRC) &ndash; North &amp; Central America and the Caribbean &bull; Federacion Ecuatoriana de Atletismo (ECU) &ndash; South America &bull; Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JPN) &ndash; Asia
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/nominees-2021-member-federations-award" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/nominees-2021-member-federations-award">More about the&nbsp;Member Federation Award nominees.</a> 
<h3>Woman of the Year Award</h3>
Recognising a woman who has dedicated her life to the sport of athletics. 
<h3>President&rsquo;s Award</h3>
This award recognises and honours exceptional service to athletics. 
<h3>Athletics Photograph of the Year</h3>
Awarded to the best athletics photograph of 2021, as decided by an expert panel of judges, who whittled down 112 entries to this year's three finalists: &bull; Ryan Pierse, Getty Images &bull; Matthias Hangst, Getty Images &bull; Vegard Grott, Bildbyran
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2021-finalists" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2021-finalists">More about the Photograph of the Year finalists.</a>
The full shortlist of 25 images can be seen in the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2021-shortlisted-images" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2021-shortlisted-images">online gallery</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;World Athletics Awards 2021 website.
World Athletics

With just two days to go until the World Athletics Awards 2021, the spotlight shifts to the annual celebration honouring the world's best athletes whose achievements helped contribute to another unforgettable year for the sport.

Guide to the World Athletics Awards 2021

Spain&rsquo;s Abdessamad Oukhelfen and Eritrea&rsquo;s Dolshi Tesfu captured respective victories at the Cross Internacional de Alcobendas on the outskirts of Madrid during the sixth Gold leg of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour on Sunday (28). 
On a sunny but cold day (8&ordm;C), Burundi&rsquo;s Rodrigue Kwizera was an overhelming winner in the men's race but he was later disqualified for not wearing the vest of his Spanish club, Playas de Castellon. 
<h2>Kwizera in a class of his own</h2>
The first big news in the men&rsquo;s event came when organisers confirmed the late signing of the in-form Kwizera to play the role of hot favourite in the tough men&rsquo;s 10,060m contest. Once the race got under way, an early lead was built by Spain&rsquo;s reigning European indoor 3000m champion Adel Mechaal, eager to secure his berth for the upcoming European Cross Country Championships in Dublin. The 30-year-old was joined at the helm by Kwizera, Uganda&rsquo;s Thomas Ayeko and the Spanish trio of Carlos Mayo, Abdessamad Oukhelfen and Raul Celada.
Following an opening 2200m loop covered in 6:44, it was Mayo &ndash; 13th at the Tokyo Olympics over 10,000m &ndash; who took command of the pacing duties, with Kwizera, Ayeko and Oukhelfen always in close attendance. First Mechaal and later Celada began to lose some ground. At half way, shortly after another lap of 6:43, Kwizera decided to step up his cadence and his change of speed could only be aswered by Oukhelfen. The 22-year-old Burundian killed the race thanks to a lethal penultimate loop timed at 6:30.
At the bell, Kwizera led by five seconds from the Spaniard, while Mayo and Ayeko travelled together 20 seconds behind the leader. Kwizera strenghtened his lead over the closing circuit, running majestically, much to the joy of the crowd assembled. In the fight for a place on the podium, Mayo got rid of Ayeko some 1300m from home. At the tape, Kwizera crossed unopposed in 29:09, with a handsome 14-second margin on Oukhelfen, while Mayo completed the original podium 16 seconds behind his fellow Spaniard but six seconds clear of Ayeko.
Following Kwizera&rsquo;s disqualification, the reigning European U23 cross country bronze medallist Oukhelfen was upgraded to first place, to become the first Spanish athlete to win in Alcobendas since 1995 world marathon champion Martin Fiz&rsquo;s victory in 1992. Before knowing he would become the winner, he declared: "I feel very strong this cross country campaign and look forward to the Europeans in Dublin on 12 December. I&rsquo;ll try to get a medal there."&nbsp; 
<h2>Tesfu prevails over Mawia</h2>
Right from the gun, the pre-race favourite Dolshi Tesfu dictated the rhythm and only Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia dared to follow in her footsteps. After the opening small lap, that duo led by four seconds ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s&nbsp;Likina Amebaw,&nbsp;while the rest of the contenders ran way back, headed by Morocco&rsquo;s Siham Hilali and the Spanish duo of Irene Sanchez-Escribano and Blanca Fernandez.
After a 7:38 circuit, Amebaw began to close the gap on the leading pair and she was about to catch them with the clock reading 15 minutes, but it wasn't to be and she remained a lonesome third throughout the whole race.
The 22-year-old Tesfu upped the pace in the second lap, which took her 7:36, but Mawia remained on her shoulder, with Amebaw seven seconds in arrears. Mawia briefly took the lead on the last lap but it was short lived as Tesfu regained the top spot. It was over the final undulating section where the Eritrean managed to leave her fellow 22-year-old behind to reach the finish line in style with a 26:45 clocking after a 7:32 closing circuit. Mawia had to settle for the runner-up place, four seconds adrift, and Amebaw completed the top three another 14 seconds back.
In the fight to become first Spaniard home, Fernandez got the better of a surprise fast-finishing Laura Luengo, who secured her berth for the European Championships and beat Hilali and Sanchez-Escribano.
"The race was not easy but I&rsquo;m in great shape," said&nbsp;Tesfu. "It&rsquo;s an honour for me to write my name on the list of victors here as it includes my compatriots Zersenay Tadese, Kidane Tadesse and Teklemariam Medhin. I&rsquo;ll face the Eritrean nationals in early January but all my build-up is planned thinking of the World Championships in Oregon, where I would like to improve on my 15th place in Tokyo."
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics 
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Dolshi Tesfu (ERI) 26:45 2 Lucy Mawia (KEN) 26:49 3 Likina Amebaw&nbsp;(ETH) 27:03 4 Blanca Fernandez (ESP) 28:00 5 Laura Luengo (ESP) 28:01 6 Siham Hilali (MOR) 28:07 7 Irene Sanchez-Escribano (ESP) 28:10 8 Lidia Campo (ESP) 28:18 9 Emine Mechaal (TUR) 28:23 10 Rosal&iacute;a Tarraga (ESP) 28:23
Men 1 Abdessamad Oukhelfen&nbsp;(ESP) 29:23 2 Carlos Mayo (ESP) 29:39 3 Thomas Ayeko (UGA) 29:45 4 Adel Mechaal (ESP) 29:47 5 Raul Celada (ESP) 29:57 6 Juan Antonio Perez (ESP) 30:04 7 Andreu Blanes (ESP) 30:17 8 Ibrahim Chakir (ESP) 30:29 9 Jesus Ramos (ESP) 30:33 10 David Bascunana (ESP) 30:51&nbsp;

Abdessamad Oukhelfen and Dolshi Tesfu captured respective victories at the Cross Internacional de Alcobendas.

Tesfu and Oukhelfen take the spoils in Alcobendas

Kenya&rsquo;s Cybrian Kotut and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tsehay Alemu Maru took the honours at the 37th edition of the Asics Firenze Marathon, a World Athletics Label road race, on Sunday (28).
Kotut crossed the finish line in 2:08:59, recording the second fastest time in the history of the Florence Marathon. The 29-year-old missed James Kutto&rsquo;s course record by 17 seconds. Samuel Lomoi from Kenya finished second, improving his PB from 2:12:14 to 2:09:54. Olivier Irabaruta from Burundi completed the podium, taking third place in 2:10:13 ahead of former Eritrean record-holder Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom.
The leading pack &ndash; featuring Kotut, Salomon Soy, Lomoi, Irabaruta and Ruesom &ndash; set off at a conservative pace in the early stages of the men&rsquo;s race and went through 10km in 31:16, 15km in 46:27 and 21km in 1:05:09.
The race really started at 30km, when three runners &ndash; Lomoi, Kotut and Kibrom &ndash; remained in contention. The leading trio reached the 30km mark in 1:31:48.
Lomoi and Kotut made the decisive move at 35km and ran neck and neck until 40km. Kotut launched his final sprint with 2km to go to win by 55 seconds over Lomoi.
Kotut won the Paris Marathon in 2016 in 2:07:11 and finished third in Frankfurt in 2:07:28 in the same year. He also set a half-marathon PB of 59:12 in New Dehli in 2012.&nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s race, Maru set the fourth fastest time in the history of the women's event in Florence with 2:27:17, beating her compatriot Megertu Ifa Geletu by four seconds. Kenya&rsquo;s Mercy Kwambai finished third in 2:27:32 ahead of Morocco&rsquo;s Souad Kabouchia (2:27:49). 
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 Six runners were still in contention until 35km: Naomi Tuei, Maru, Flomena Cheyech Daniel, Kwambai, Geletu and Obse Abdeta Deme. They went through 15km in 51:53, 21km in 1:13:14, 30km in 1:44:42 and 35km in 2:02:41, with four runners left in the leading group at 40km.
Maru and Geletu ran together over the final 2km in a close race, while Deme and Tuei dropped back. Alemu unleashed her kick in the final kilometre to win in 2:27:17, as four women dipped under 2:28 for the first time at the Florence Marathon. Geletu with 2:27:21 and Kwamboi with 2:27:32 joined Maru in setting personal best times.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics 
<h2>Leading results</h2>
Women 1 Tsehay Alemu Maru (ETH) 2:27:17 2 Megertu Ifa Geletu (ETH) 2:27:21 3 Mercy Kwambau (KEN) 2:27:32 4 Souad Kabouchia (MAR)&nbsp;2:27:49 5&nbsp;Obse Abdeta Deme (ETH) 2:28:21&nbsp;
Men 1 Cybrian Kotut (KEN) 2:08:59 2 Samuel Lomoi (KEN) 2:09:54 3 Olivier Irabaruta (BDI) 2:10:13 4 Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom (Eritrea) 2:11:49 5 Salomon Soy (KEN) 2:15:42

Cybrian Kotut and Tsehay Alemu Maru took the honours at the 37th edition of the World Athletics Label road race.

Kotut and Maru claim marathon crowns in Florence

We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Elaine Thompson-Herah</h2>
In an outstanding year for sprinting, Elaine Thompson-Herah was the top performer in the world and became the first woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic sprint doubles.
The Jamaican got her 2021 season off to a strong start, speeding to a wind-assisted 10.76 and a wind-legal 10.78 in early May. She was surprisingly beaten in both disciplines in high-quality races at the Jamaican Championships, but her third-place finishes in 10.84 and 22.02 were more than sufficient to earn her places on the team for the Olympic Games.
Job done at the national championships, Thompson-Herah then headed to Europe to continue her preparation for the Games and showed she was rounding into top form with victory over 100m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar. She stopped the clock at 10.71, a Hungarian all-comers&rsquo; record and just one hundredth shy of her PB &ndash; but, more significantly, finishing comfortably ahead of compatriot and world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. 
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 In her final outing before heading to Tokyo, Thompson-Herah claimed a confidence-boosting victory over 200m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, confirming she was ready to defend her Olympic titles in the Japanese capital.
Her Olympic campaign began with an incredibly easy looking 10.82 100m heat win &ndash; faster than the gold medal-winning times at all but four editions of the Games. And she then went even quicker in the semifinals, winning her race in 10.76.
But even then, her margin of supremacy and winning time in the final still came as a shock. Despite running into a -0.6m/s headwind, she claimed gold in an Olympic record of 10.61 to win by 0.13 &ndash; which, in sprinting terms, is significant.
Following one rest day to reflect on a Jamaican podium sweep in the shorter sprint, Thompson-Herah was back on track for the 200m. She ran a comfortable &ndash; though borderline risky &ndash; 22.86 to advance from her heat, but then looked imperious in the semifinals as she stopped the clock at an equal PB of 21.66, despite slamming on the proverbial brakes before the finish line.
After promising more, she delivered more in the final. She claimed 200m gold in 21.53, breaking the long-standing Jamaican record that had previously been held by sprint icon Merlene Ottey, and moving to second on the world all-time list.
&ldquo;The ups and downs (since the 2016 Olympics) have been so many,&rdquo; she said after her 200m victory. &ldquo;To come here five years later and to win two events is just amazing.&rdquo; 
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 She wasn&rsquo;t done there, though. She capped her Olympic campaign three days later when teaming up with her Jamaican teammates to claim gold in the 4x100m, setting another national record with 41.02.
&ldquo;The feeling is surreal to capture three golds and we got a national record,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We are grateful."
Many would have forgiven Thompson-Herah for taking her foot off the gas after the euphoria of her Olympic triple triumph, but she stunned the world yet again in her first race after the Games. Up against another high-quality 100m field at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene, she stormed to victory in 10.54, consolidating her position as the second-fastest woman in history for the event.
She rounded out her season with a 10.64 run in Lausanne, finishing a close second to Fraser-Pryce, and victories in Paris (10.72) and at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich (10.65) &ndash; her 15th sub-11-second performance of the year.
&ldquo;It was a long season with ups and downs,&rdquo; said the 29-year-old. &ldquo;But next year, the world record is definitely on my mind.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Karsten Warholm</h2>
The men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles final in Tokyo was, without doubt, a defining moment for the sport.
The World Championships final in 2019 provided just a small taste of what to expect when Norway&rsquo;s Karsten Warholm held off USA&rsquo;s Rai Benjamin to retain his title. And while the pandemic forced the postponement of the Olympics, it also increased the anticipation for the most hotly contested discipline of the No.1 sport at the Games.
Benjamin was the first to show his cards in 2021. The talented all-round sprinter clocked a world-leading 47.13 in early May and followed it with victory at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha. Warholm, meanwhile, opened his outdoor campaign by breaking his own world best in the 300m hurdles with 33.26.
Benjamin then responded with a 46.83 run to win the US Olympic Trials, displacing Warholm in the No.2 spot on the world all-time list and coming within 0.05 of the long-standing world record. But Warholm, in his first 400m hurdles race of the year, finally accomplished what he&rsquo;d been threatening to do for the past few years and broke Kevin Young&rsquo;s world record with a 46.70 run at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo. 
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 "It has been really tough sitting at home and doing hard work and knowing that people are taking a shot at that world record for a long time, and seeing how Rai ran at the Trials,&rdquo; said Warholm. &ldquo;All respect to my competitors but it's very special and nice for me to be able to be the first to break that world record. It was important to me. It&rsquo;s also very special to do it here in Bislett in front of a great crowd, and I really think there is more in the tank.&rdquo;
He wasn&rsquo;t wrong. He won in Monaco eight days later with 47.08, improving on his own meeting record set 12 months prior, confirming all was on track for the Olympics later that month.
Warholm breezed through the rounds in Tokyo, winning his heat in 48.65 and his semifinal in 47.30 &ndash; faster than his gold medal-winning times at the past two World Championships and the 2018 European Championships. All the big contenders, Benjamin included, also safely advanced to the final, setting the scene for a mouth-watering showdown.
It didn&rsquo;t disappoint. The duo pushed one another the entire way, but Warholm ultimately proved the strongest, edging ahead in the closing stages to cross the line victorious.
Then people looked to the clock, and for a brief moment it appeared as though the figures may be incorrect. Surely it wasn&rsquo;t possible for a human to break 46 seconds for the event? But then, Warholm has always seemed borderline superhuman. And soon his winning time was confirmed at a staggering 45.94.
In what will go down as not only the best ever 400m hurdles race but one of the greatest moments in athletics history, the rest of the field produced stunning times too. Benjamin finished second in 46.17 &ndash; well inside the previous world record &ndash; and Brazilian youngster Alison dos Santos claimed bronze in 46.72, faster than Young&rsquo;s pre-2021 world record time. The athletes in fourth, fifth and sixth all finished comfortably inside 48 seconds. 
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 &ldquo;This is by far the biggest moment of my life,&rdquo; said Warholm. &ldquo;Last night I had this special feeling in my chest when I'm nervous. It's the feeling I had as a six-year-old on Christmas Eve. It's a feeling you don't think you'll ever have again. But I had it last night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just so big,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I had a world championships (gold). I had European championships. I had the world record, the European record. The Olympic gold medal is what everybody talks about. I knew this race was going to be the toughest of my life, but I was ready.&rdquo;
He maintained his 400m hurdles winning streak after the Olympics, claiming the Wanda Diamond League crown in Zurich in 47.35 before wrapping up his season with victory at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin.
Even then, almost six weeks after his triumph at the Games, few had managed to contextualise what Warholm had achieved in Tokyo. But perhaps his arch-rival Benjamin put it best when, in the aftermath of the Olympic final, he said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Usain Bolt&rsquo;s 9.5 was better than this.&rdquo;
And not many would disagree.

We take a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have been confirmed as finalists for Athlete of the Year.

Focus on finalists: Elaine Thompson-Herah and Karsten Warholm

We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Yulimar Rojas</h2>
Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas earned the World Female Athlete of the Year award in 2020 off the back of a world indoor record and an undefeated year. But her achievements in 2021 have been even better, by far outweighing anything she has accomplished in previous seasons.
She opted not to compete indoors this year and instead opened her campaign in May, leaping to a world-leading 15.14m in Ibiza. In her next competition, she bounded out to 15.43m to equal her outright personal best, matching the distance of her world indoor record from 2020.
After winning at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha with 15.15m, Rojas contested the long jump at a low-key meeting in La Nucia. She produced two wind-assisted leaps beyond seven metres, including a best of 7.27m (2.7m/s) &ndash; the farthest leap in the world in 2021 under any conditions &ndash; and a wind-legal PB of 6.88m, breaking the Venezuelan record. 
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 Rojas returned to her main event one week later, winning in Madrid with a wind-assisted 15.34m and backing it up with a wind-legal 15.19m. She maintained her consistent 15-metre form at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco, her final pre-Olympic outing, where she produced the top mark of the day with 15.12m.
But she timed her peak to perfection and hit her best form at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. She opened her account in the final with an Olympic record of 15.41m to take an early lead, then followed it with 14.53m and a foul before a 15.25m leap in the fourth round. After one more foul in round five, she regained her composure for her final leap and sailed out to a stunning 15.67m, smashing the long-standing world record by 17 centimetres.
&ldquo;I am lost for words; I can&rsquo;t describe this feeling and this moment,&rdquo; said Rojas, whose phases on her record-breaking jump were 5.86m, 3.82m and 5.99m. &ldquo;Gold medal winner, with an Olympic record, and a world record ... Wow!
&ldquo;I was focused on giving my best, enjoying myself, and it came out,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;It makes me happy. I have to enjoy it now, and live the experience.&rdquo; 
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 Her incredible form continued after the Olympics and she won at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne with a wind-assisted 15.56m and a wind-legal Diamond League record of 15.52m &ndash; the second and third-best leaps in history in any conditions. She capped her remarkable season with victory at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich, sailing out to 15.48m.
Rojas was the top performer in all nine of her competitions in 2021, leaping beyond 15 metres in all eight of her triple jump contests. She now owns five of the top six jumps in history in any conditions, all of which she produced this year.
&nbsp;
<h2>Eliud Kipchoge</h2>
When it comes to assessing an athlete&rsquo;s supremacy over one season, marathon runners are usually at a slight disadvantage as most of them are only able to contest a small handful of races within a 12-month period.
But it&rsquo;s also worth bearing in mind that marathon fields are much larger &ndash; and therefore more competitive &ndash; than those for most track and field disciplines. And the length of the race means there&rsquo;s more opportunity for things to go wrong.
So when an athlete like Eliud Kipchoge produces two stunning performances over the classic distance within one year, it can count for a lot.
The world record-holder contested two marathons in 2021. His first was in Enschede at the NN Mission Marathon event, a race created to provide an opportunity to athletes seeking a qualifying performance for the Olympic Games. As such, it attracted a high-quality international field. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607bfab874599939961ad803.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Kipchoge&rsquo;s place on Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic team had already been confirmed, but he was keen for a competitive run-out ahead of the Games. He ran as part of the lead pack through 15km (43:46) and half way (1:01:43), and then had just two pacemakers for company by the time he reached 30km (1:28:10). Shortly after, with 1:35 on the clock, Kipchoge left his pacemakers behind.
His tempo didn&rsquo;t actually increase in the closing stages, but he maintained his sub-three-minute kilometre pace, which brought him to the finish line in a world-leading 2:04:30, winning by more than two minutes.
&ldquo;Mission accomplished,&rdquo; said Kipchoge. &ldquo;The conditions were really good, a bit windy, but I had no complaints. The race was perfect.&rdquo;
Four months later, Kipchoge lined up in Sapporo for the Olympic marathon alongside 105 of the world&rsquo;s best distance runners as he looked to become just the third man in history to win back-to-back titles over the distance. 
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 In Rio, when he won his first Olympic title, Kipchoge waited until the 36th kilometre to break away. In Sapporo, his decisive move came in the 31st. By the 38th, the Kenyan more closely resembled a solitary figure out on a morning training run than a man leading the Olympic marathon. He'd built a lead of more than one minute by that point, with no other runner within view.
Despite the tough conditions, Kipchoge won in 2:08:38, six seconds quicker than his Rio victory and the fifth-fastest run in Olympic history. His winning margin of 1:20 was the biggest in an Olympic men&rsquo;s marathon since Frank Shorter's win in 1972.
&ldquo;I think I have fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time, back-to-back,&rdquo; said Kipchoge. &ldquo;I hope this helps to inspire the next generation.&rdquo;

Focus on finalists: Yulimar Rojas and Eliud Kipchoge

We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Sydney McLaughlin</h2>
Ever since she first emerged as a high school phenomenon seven years ago, Sydney McLaughlin has been touted as a future star of the sport. And in 2021, with two world records and an Olympic gold, the 400m hurdler fulfilled her promise.
She had experienced the Olympic stage as a teenager back in 2016, reaching the semifinals less than two weeks after her 17th birthday. But this time, having established herself as one of the best athletes in the world, McLaughlin took a far more calculated approach to the Olympics, knowing it was her moment to shine.
She spent the first half of the season focused on the sprint hurdles and honing her speed. She set four PBs across the span of five races, reducing it to 12.65 &ndash; a time that would have been sufficient to advance to the Olympic final.
From June onwards, McLaughlin switched to her specialist event, the 400m hurdles, and won at the Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Nashville with 52.83 &ndash; the fastest season-opening time in the history of the event.
She didn&rsquo;t race again until the US Trials 19 days later, where she easily advanced through the rounds, running 54.07 in her heat and 53.03 in her semifinal, setting up yet another mouth-watering clash between her and world and Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad. 
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 In two of their clashes in 2019 &ndash; the US Championships and World Championships &ndash; Muhammad won in world record time. But this time it was McLaughlin who emerged victorious, winning the US Olympic Trials in 51.90, breaking Muhammad&rsquo;s world record and becoming the first woman to beat 52 seconds for the discipline.
&ldquo;It's one of those moments that you dream about and think about when you&rsquo;re going to be able to put it together,&rdquo; she said after the race. &ldquo;I knew, from the moment I woke up today, it was going to be a great day. Afterwards there was a real &lsquo;I did it&rsquo; moment and I&rsquo;m going to cherish this for the rest of my life.&rdquo;
The next time the duo met was at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which played out in similar fashion to the US Trials &ndash; only much quicker. In an enthralling duel, McLaughlin held off her compatriot to win gold in a stunning 51.46 &ndash; faster than the world records for the 400m flat up to 1970.
&ldquo;I'm absolutely delighted,&rdquo; McLaughlin said. &ldquo;It was a great race. I'm just grateful to be out here celebrating that extraordinary race and representing my country.&rdquo; 
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 Three days later, McLaughlin was back on track for the 4x400m. Teaming up with Muhammad, 800m winner Athing Mu and sprint legend Allyson Felix, the US quartet claimed gold in 3:16.85 &ndash; the fifth-fastest time in history and the quickest in the world since 1993.
Still aged just 22, there&rsquo;s plenty more than McLaughlin wants to accomplish.
&ldquo;It's an honour (to be the fastest 400m hurdler ever),&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;So many amazing women have come before me and will come after me. I'm excited for what the future holds. I just want to leave my mark and be part of such an amazing sport, because the glory isn't forever.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Mondo Duplantis</h2>
He may not have improved on his own world record this year, but in many ways Mondo Duplantis&rsquo;s 2021 season was his best yet.
The Swedish pole vaulter &ndash; winner of the Male World Athlete of the Year award in 2020 &ndash; earned his first senior global title when winning Olympic gold in Tokyo. He also notched up 15 victories and 14 six-metre clearances between January and September, setting world-leading marks of 6.10m indoors and outdoors.
Fittingly, his season started and ended with six-metre vaults. His first came in Dusseldorf (6.01m), which was followed six days later by a 6.03m win in Rouen. After clearing a world-leading 6.10m in Belgrade, he won the European indoor title in Torun with a championship record of 6.05m. 
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 His outdoor season really got going at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo, where he sailed over a world-leading meeting record of 6.10m to match his indoor season&rsquo;s best height. From there until Tokyo, he was undefeated and cleared six metres in every competition, winning in Karlstad (6.00m), Oslo (6.01m) and Stockholm (6.02m).
Despite the pressure that comes with being a gold medal favourite at an Olympic Games, Duplantis kept his cool in Tokyo and cleared all of his heights with his first attempt, starting at 5.55m and then progressing to 5.80m, 5.92m and 5.97m before wrapping up the competition with a winning height of 6.02m.
&ldquo;The world record would have been nice and I felt like I was close but I won the Olympics so I&rsquo;m not going to sit here and complain about it too much,&rdquo; said Duplantis, who attempted a world record height of 6.19m at 12 of his competitions in 2021. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a surreal feeling &ndash; winning Olympic gold is something that I have wanted for so long and I finally did it.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a69b3ee37d62dd11399be.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 He suffered a rare &ndash; but understandable &ndash; defeat in his first competition after Tokyo, finishing fourth in Lausanne, but then returned to winning ways for his final three competitions of the year, securing victories at the Wanda Diamond League meetings in Paris (6.01m), Brussels (6.05m) and at the final in Zurich (6.06m).
&ldquo;Ever since I was a little kid, I loved this sport so much and I always believed that it would take me to some great places,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This sport has given me so much. I can never repay it.&rdquo;

Focus on finalists: Sydney McLaughlin and Mondo Duplantis

Uganda&rsquo;s Thomas Ayeko will be the star name at the Cross Internacional de la Constituci&oacute;n, the sixth Golden leg of the this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour, in Alcobendas on the outskirts of Madrid on Sunday (28).
The 29-year-old will take on the tough up-and-down 10.1km circuit, competing on Spanish soil for the fifth weekend in a row and aiming for his first victory of the season. Ayeko, who finished seventh at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, kicked off his cross-country campaign with runner-up spots in Soria and San Sebasi&aacute;n, finishing behind this season&rsquo;s sensation Rodrigue Kwizera on both occasions. Ayeko then faced the highest quality fields of the season so far in Atapuerca and Seville, placing fourth and fifth respectively.
Ayeko&rsquo;s stiffest opponents should be Spain&rsquo;s Carlos Mayo and Abdessadam Oukhelfen. The versatile and consistent Mayo, who last year set a half marathon PB of 1:00:06, is the national cross-country champion and finished 13th in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics. He finished in the top 10 in San Sebasti&aacute;n, Atapuerca and Seville, and has progressively finished closer to Ayeko in each of those races.
Oukhelfen, the European U23 cross-country bronze medallist, comfortably finished ahead of Mayo in San Sebasti&aacute;n and Atapuerca but was 23 seconds in arrears in Seville last Sunday.
Watch out too for Spain&rsquo;s multiple European cross-country medallist and European indoor 3000m champion Adel Mechaal.
The women&rsquo;s 8.1km event looks similarly competitive and features Eritrea&rsquo;s Dolshi Tesfu, Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ayel Likina.
While Tesfu opened her cross-country season with a second-place finish in Amorebieta, Mawia and Likina finished 1-2 in Soria. The three of them then clashed in Seville where Tesfu finished ninth, just three seconds ahead of Mawia with Likina further back.
There, the Spain-based Likina finished just ahead Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano, the Spanish steeplechase champion who has now fully recovered from the injury that forced her to miss the Tokyo Olympics and is steadily rounding into form.
Morocco&rsquo;s 35-year-old Siham Hilali, an Olympic and world indoor 1500m finalist back in 2008, should also be in contention on Sunday.
Notable past winners here include Eritreans Zersenay Tadese (2005) and Teklemariam Medhin (2012), Kenya&rsquo;s Joseph Ebuya (2007 and 2010), Uganda&rsquo;s newly-minted world half marathon record-holder Jacob Kiplimo (2018), Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meselech Melkamu (2005 and 2006), Vivian Cheruiyot (2009) and fellow Kenyan Linet Masai (2008 and 2015).
The weather forecast predicts dry conditions and cloudy skies with temperatures ranging between 7-9C.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Uganda’s Thomas Ayeko will be the star name at the Cross Internacional de la Constitución

Ayeko and Tesfu poised to strike in Alcobendas

Germany&rsquo;s Manfred Germar &ndash; world 200m record-breaker, European champion and Olympic medallist &ndash; made a generous donation of competition kit to the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics</a> (MOWA) this summer.
After retiring as a sprinter,&nbsp;Germar was the meeting director of the ASV Sports Festival in Cologne&nbsp;for over a quarter of a century.&nbsp; 
<h2>'Money didn't matter&hellip; but we saw the world'</h2>
A large black eagle on a golden-yellow background, neatly embroidered on top of a wide red stripe, used to adorn the national jersey of German track and field athletes. Germar, once one of the world's best sprinters, always wore it with pride.
The last occasion on which he sported this iconic team uniform was during Germany&rsquo;s visit to India in autumn 1962, and he has bequeathed his jersey from that trip to the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MOWA</a>.
"It was always an honour to compete for Germany. Money didn't matter, we didn't receive a penny, but we saw the world," says the now 86-year-old firmly. From 1954 to 1962, he was called up to the national team 52 times, making 123 individual appearances - more than any other German track and field athlete.
Germar &ndash; who won relay bronze at the 1956 Olympics, ran two world records and six European records and was European champion three times &ndash; filled the stadiums alongside other stars such as Heinz Futterer, Martin Lauer and Armin Hary. Some 40,000 fans at athletics events were not the exception, but the rule. 
Germar, who grew up in Cologne in post-war Germany and was equally gifted in sports and music, found his sporting love in athletics after trying football, handball and table tennis.
"From the beginning, my idol was Jesse Owens. I had seen him in a film about Berlin 1936 and was just so passionate about the Olympics," says 'Manni', as his friends still call him. &ldquo;My wish was to compete in the Olympics one day."
This wish came true for the talented sprinter at the 1956 Olympics. "That was a dream, it was a highlight of my life, an unforgettable journey. We travelled 56 hours to Melbourne," recounts Germar, then a 21-year-old student, who tells of a key experience. "During training I met Jesse Owens, we had our picture taken with him."
The four-time 1936 Olympic champion said to him: "You have a great running style, you just need to do something about that start of yours!"&nbsp; 
<h2>Relay bronze saved in Melbourne</h2>
There could not have been a more motivational encounter for a young athlete before his Olympic debut. In the 100m &ndash; after a weak start &ndash; he finished fifth in 10.9, the best European in a final won by Bobby Morrow in 10.5. Owens was right, of course, about Germar's start. But in his career, the German always managed to come from behind and win. Many a relay race looked lost only to be saved by Germar&rsquo;s incredible energy as the anchor.
He proved his strength as anchor in Melbourne. Although he had acquired a strain that had worsened in the qualifiers, he saved the bronze medal for Germany (Knorzer, Pohl, Futterer, Germar) "in great pain and with the last of his energy", as it was reported in 1956. The USA ran a world record of 39.5.&nbsp;
"Not only because of this medal, but because of the whole journey, Melbourne remains the great highlight of my career. We were on the road for eight weeks and even travelled back via Hawaii," remembers Germar. Nevertheless, the following two years were to see his biggest sporting successes. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/619c1c1f7c3ea9d92a68d946.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />Manfred Germar with Armin Hary (&copy; Getty Images) 
<h2>Undefeated in 74 races</h2>
After Melbourne, he remained undefeated in 74 (!) races over 100m and 200m. "The post-Olympic year 1957 became a unique triumph for Germar, with brilliant performances the likes of which no other German sprinter has ever experienced," wrote Heinz Vogel in the German Leichtathletik magazine.
Germar ran 10.2 and 10.3 over and over again, although, as he says: "I never chased times or records, I always just wanted to win!" Which he succeeded in doing impressively. He also beat the US athletes at that time, was called the "fastest man in the world" in the USA and was voted "Sportsman of the Year" in Germany. 
Although the 200m was his favourite discipline, he travelled to the 1958 European Championships in Stockholm as the favourite for both sprint distances. He had also beaten Hary at the German Championships. But in Stockholm in the fight for gold (both 10.4) he had to admit defeat to his compatriot and rival, two years his junior.
"Armin had a very fast start, I didn't see him in the race at first, but when I did, I tensed up," says Germar. 
He proved to be a gracious loser, which everyone at the time gave him credit for. His exemplary attitude, good character, modesty and humility have always distinguished him.
He quickly put the disappointment over the 100m in Stockholm behind him, ran to a superior victory in 21.0 over 200m and led the sprint relay team to the gold medal as the anchor. Leichtathletik cheered: "The way that Germar raced down that straight was a great joy and a pleasure!" 
<h2>World records in the relay and over 200m</h2>
Two gold and one silver so far, but the great year 1958 was not yet over for Germar. In the Mungersdorf stadium, in his home city of Cologne, the quartet of Manfred Steinbach, Lauer, Futterer and Germar equalled the world record held by the USA in 39.5 on 29 August.
"Even without Armin Hary, our changeovers worked out excellently," Germar remarks. The 40,000 spectators celebrated the world record relay.
His performance met with similar enthusiasm a few weeks later. On 1 October, Germar set the 200m world record on a 400m track in Wuppertal in 20.6. "It felt crazy to run a world record, even more so because it actually came quite easily," he recalls.
All these successes were achieved by 'Manni' alongside his studies and work. "I only trained twice a week!" That said, he was not lazy about training, as some suspected. "After all, in some years I competed 50 to 60 times, sometimes three times a week." He was in shape and looked towards the 1960 Olympics with optimism. 
<h2>Bad luck in 1960</h2>
But he was dogged by bad luck. Injuries and above all a five-hour jaw operation shattered all his Olympic dreams before Rome. Out of shape, he was eliminated in the heats of both sprints and had to watch the German quartet win Olympic gold.
At that point he wanted to end his career, but still ran in the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade. It was a golden farewell. As the anchor, he led the German quartet to the title in 39.5.
"How much he has longed for it, for this gold medal, this medal that he got himself fit for once again, before hanging up his racing shoes for good at the end of the year,&rdquo; wrote Leichtathletik. Just before that farewell race, however, he travelled to India with the national team, where he put on the jersey with the federal eagle for the last time. 
After the end of his active career, he always remained loyal to athletics and to German sport. He organised the ASV Cologne sports festival 28 times, and for decades he held leading positions at Sporthilfe, the National Olympic Committee and the German Olympic Museum.
Speaking of the Olympics, in Munich 1972 he got a "dream job". 
"I was allowed to personally look after some Olympic champions, like Vera Caslavska and Emil Zatopek. Jesse Owens was also there!" And so the circle closes.
Olaf Brockmann for World Athletics

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