Star Trek may seem like an unlikely starting point for environmental sustainability, but for former Canadian international sprinter Oluseyi Smith, the iconic sci-fi film and television series was the launchpad that led to him embarking on an enterprise of his own to address climate change.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I often tell the story about my own obsession with Star Trek in the 90s with Jean-Luc Picard played by Patrick Stewart. I would watch that show every day when I came back home (from school). It always created this world where humans were living in harmony with the world around them, where energy problems are a thing of the past. It was a great show and a great idea,&rdquo; recalls the now-retired 100m and 200m sprinter.
&ldquo;I understood that we didn&rsquo;t live in that kind of world, but I wanted to be part of it. I think that was part of the reason that I became an engineer, I wanted to do something that would allow us to achieve that. That was always in my mind from about 10 years of age.&rdquo; 
<h2>Off-the-field ambitions of a two-sport Olympian</h2>
Known as &lsquo;Seyi&rsquo;, the sprinter carried his interest in sustainability through a successful athletics career coupled with studying technical engineering and renewable technology in the UK at Loughborough University. As a sprinter, he represented Canada at the 2003 World Youth Championships, 2006 World Junior Championships, 2009 World Championships, 2009 Universiade, 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2012 Olympic Games, before switching to bobsleigh and representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
His biggest success was at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, where he was part of Canada&rsquo;s 4x100m team that placed fifth. Three years later, he missed out on Olympic bronze, when Canada were disqualified for a lane violation after initially finishing third. All the while Smith still nurtured environmental ambitions, but it took some pointed words from Barack Obama to spur him into action.
Living in Calgary, he attended a speech by the former US President that resonated with him.
&ldquo;Towards the end, he was telling people: &lsquo;Apathy is going to be the end of all of us.&rsquo; Because it&rsquo;s very easy to sit back and say: &lsquo;The world is going to hell, politicians are corrupt and everyone&rsquo;s an idiot,&rsquo; then you do nothing, sit back and judge. The question is: &lsquo;What will you &ndash; as individuals &ndash; do to try and address the problem, either in your house, your city or your country?&rsquo;
&ldquo;I kind of took that to heart and said: &lsquo;Yes, I don&rsquo;t do anything. I&rsquo;m an athlete. I do my sport. I do my job and I watch Netflix. I&rsquo;m not really giving back.
&ldquo;So, when the opportunity presented itself at the IOC with the Young Leaders Programme to support athletes who want to take up projects as long as they fit in with the UN&rsquo;s SDGs (United Nations&rsquo; Sustainable Development Goals), I said: &lsquo;This is it, I can take that Star Trek and Obama inspiration and that technical background. I can stay in athletics, stay in sport, have a renewables focus, and use my day job all in one.&rsquo;&rdquo; 
<h2>Creating Racing to Zero &ndash; &lsquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t underestimate the impact of grassroots events&rsquo;</h2>
Teaming up with fellow Canadian Olympians Oliver Scholfield (field hockey), Martha McCabe (swimming) and Donna Vakalis (modern pentathlon), Smith founded Racing to Zero with support from the IOC. The innovative programme focuses on grassroots athletics and encouraging sustainable practices, behaviour and education at local level meetings. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61682046ff471158cc702cf4.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 &ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t underestimate the impact that grassroot events can have,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;The international side is always the more appealing and glamourous. But the entry level stuff, where the base is, is the biggest bang for the buck. The (Olympic) Games only come around once every four years, yet there are more than 4000 small events every season in Canada alone. We mustn&rsquo;t forget entry level stuff.
&ldquo;I am on the IOC Sustainability Commission and I was a board member of the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee), so I was very aware of what international and national Olympic committees do in this space. But I was also a volunteer starting official at the lowest level events and I could just see this massive gap, so I figured here is where I can provide some value and apply those international best practices to the &lsquo;mom and pop&rsquo; meets at a level that makes sense.&rdquo;
This year, Racing to Zero undertook a three-point plan. Firstly, in educating the fans, athletes, volunteers and coaches around sustainability through online quizzes. Secondly, by working closely with meeting directors to provide objective guidance and advice on how to improve their sustainable practices and finally, providing water fountain facilities on site at meetings to reduce the reliance upon single use plastic water bottles. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61682079ff471158cc702cf7.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> 
<h2>Recognising sport&rsquo;s power to influence change</h2>
Smith recognises that athletics and sport in general has the power to influence wider change. But, he argues that it also has the infrastructure to make an immediate and tangible difference.
&ldquo;We have a platform, but so do artists and politicians. It&rsquo;s more than tweets and likes and speeches. It&rsquo;s results and we are really well suited for that compared to other sectors that are impacting the global issue. We have the umbrella structure internally of IOC (International Olympic Committee), IFs (International Federations), NOCs (National Olympic Committees) and National Sport Federations. We have the structures in place that make it possible to make a measurable impact.&rdquo;
Of course, the size and scale of the sustainability issue is vast, but Smith feels his experience of being an elite athlete holds him in good stead to meet the challenge.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Resilience is required, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You can send a zillion emails and be ghosted. Athletes are very comfortable being uncomfortable, whether it&rsquo;s a training session and you have to do more reps &ndash; even though you are tired, you do it anyway. I think what probably helps me the most as an athlete is that I trust the process.
&ldquo;Every athlete has been in the situation where you get to a start line and you question: &lsquo;Am I fit? Am I fast enough? Am I going to do a good job here?&rsquo; But, the confidence you have comes from an entire season of having done the right thing with a tried and tested process.
&ldquo;Even though this is a tiny project in the large scheme of things, it could easily be swatted aside by people not paying any attention to me. I trust the process that me and the other three Olympians have done with emails, with contacts, with conversations with other researchers that have given us their data.
&ldquo;What I am doing is not too much different to what other people are doing in their own countries. Even though it may be difficult, I trust that this process works. I&rsquo;m a big fan of process. It worked for me as an athlete. It&rsquo;s why I didn&rsquo;t freak out on the Olympic stage.&rdquo;
That single-minded mentality is why this particular Star Trek fan is prepared to boldly go where no athlete has gone before in nurturing change at the grass roots.
Chris Broadbent for World Athletics

Racing to Zero is Smith's grassroots sustainability project.

How former sprinter Seyi Smith switched racing on the track for 'Racing to Zero'

Dobromir Karamarinov has been elected unopposed as European Athletics President at the 27th European Athletics Congress, a Special Election Congress, which was held at the Hotel Royal Savoy in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (14).
Karamarinov becomes the sixth European Athletics President after Adriaan Paulen (1970-1976), Arthur Gold (1976-1987), Carl-Olaf Homen (1987-1999), Hansjorg Wirz (1999-2015) and Svein Arne Hansen (2015-2020). Karamarinov has served as interim president since March 2020 after Hansen, who died in June 2020, was unable to fulfil his duties following a stroke.&nbsp;
"Thank you, once again, for your support and for putting your trust in me. Though I was unopposed in today&rsquo;s election, I do not take that support and trust for granted. To me, it is a huge honour to be elected as President, and to continue to serve European Athletics. I aim to do my very best to repay your support and trust," said Karamarinov in his acceptance speech.&nbsp;
Born in Bulgaria in 1958, Karamarinov was first elected to the European Athletics Council in 2007. After serving two terms as a Council Member he was elected as first vice president in 2015 before serving as interim president from March 2020.
Karamarinov was formerly an athletics coach and has a postgraduate degree in sports management. He is also the President of the Bulgarian Athletic Federation as well as the Association of the Balkan Athletic Federations.
In addition to Karamarinov's election as European Athletics President, Jean Gracia (FRA) was elected vice president ahead of Erich Teigamagi (EST) with 30 votes to 19 votes. He will serve alongside Cherry Alexander (GBR) and Libor Varhanik (CZE), both of whom were elected to serve full four-year terms at the 2019 European Athletics Congress in Prague.
The two vacant positions on the European Athletics Council were filled by Juergen Kessing (GER) and Henryk Olszewski (POL) who received 42 and 28 votes respectively ahead of Frank Carreras (GIB) and Luis Figueiredo (POR) with 18 and 10 votes respectively.
European Athletics for World Athletics

Karamarinov becomes the sixth European Athletics President.

Dobromir Karamarinov elected President of European Athletics

Less than a month after the conclusion of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series, top-level action will get under way again this weekend with the Cardiff Cross Challenge, the first Gold standard meeting of the new World Athletics Cross Country Tour.
It marks the start of a six-month stretch of high quality competitions, because just as the 2021-2022 Cross Country Tour nears its conclusion, the World Athletics Indoor Tour will begin, with the first Gold level fixture slated for 28 January in Karlsruhe.
As <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-challenge-combined-events/news/world-tour-cross-country-combined-events-race-walking" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-challenge-combined-events/news/world-tour-cross-country-combined-events-race-walking">announced last month</a>, the Cross Country Tour has replaced the former Cross Country Permit series. As with the Continental Tour and World Indoor Tour, competitions within the Cross Country Tour have gold, silver or bronze status.
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.
Fourteen competitions currently feature on the 2021-2022 Cross Country Tour Gold calendar. The tour takes in many of the stops that formed part of the Cross Country Permit series, including the Cross Internacional de Soria, Cross de Atapuerca, Campaccio and Cinque Mulini. They now sit alongside new additions to the tour, including the CrossCup de Hannut, the Cardiff Cross Challenge and the Cross Country Classic&nbsp;in Eldoret, Kenya.
2021-2022 Cross Country Tour Gold calendar: 16 Oct &ndash; Cardiff Cross Challenge, Cardiff (GBR) 24 Oct &ndash; Cross Internacional Zornoza, Amorebieta (ESP) 31 Oct &ndash; Cross Internacional de Soria, Soria (ESP) 14 Nov &ndash; Cross de Atapuerca, Atapuerca (ESP) 21 Nov &ndash; Cross of Italica, Seville (ESP) 28 Nov &ndash; Cross Internacional de La Constitucion Alcobendas, Alcobendas (ESP) 19 Dec &ndash; Cross Internacional de Venta de Banos, Venta de Banos (ESP) 6 Jan &ndash; Campaccio International Cross Country, San Giorgio su Legnano (ITA) 9 Jan &ndash; Elgoibar Juan Muguerza Cross Country, Elgoibar (ESP) 16 Jan &ndash; Gran Premio Caceres Campo a Traves, Serradilla (ESP) 23 Jan &ndash; CrossCup de Hannut, Hannut (BEL) 30 Jan &ndash; Cinque Mulini, San Vittore Olona (ITA) 6 Feb &ndash; Cross das Amendoeiras em Flor, Albufeira (POR) 12 Feb &ndash; Cross Country Classic, Eldoret (KEN)
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-permit/calendar-results?startDate=2021-10-01&amp;endDate=2022-12-31" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-permit/calendar-results?endDate=2022-12-31&amp;startDate=2021-10-01">Full Cross Country Tour calendar (including Gold, Silver and Bronze meetings)</a>
Heading into its seventh season, and its second in a three-tier structure, the 2022 World Indoor Tour&nbsp;includes seven Gold standard meetings, all of which are among the top indoor meetings in the world. The Millrose Games and the M&uuml;ller Indoor Grand Prix, both of which were unable to go ahead last year, will be back for 2022. In total, 31 meetings feature in the&nbsp;2022 World Indoor Tour.
2022 World Indoor Tour Gold calendar: 28&nbsp;Jan &ndash; Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe (GER) 29 Jan &ndash; Millrose Games, New York City (USA) 13 Feb &ndash; New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston (USA) 17 Feb &ndash; Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Lievin (FRA) 19 Feb &ndash; M&uuml;ller Indoor Grand Prix, Birmingham (GBR) 22 Feb &ndash; Copernicus Cup, Torun (POL) 2 Mar &ndash; Villa de Madrid, Madrid (ESP)
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results?">Full World Indoor Tour calendar (including Gold, Silver and Bronze meetings)</a>
World Athletics

The first Gold standard meeting of the new World Athletics Cross Country Tour takes place this weekend.

Top-level competition continues with Cross Country Tour and World Indoor Tour

World Athletics is deeply shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Kenya&rsquo;s Agnes Tirop at the age of 25 at her home in Iten.
One of the world&rsquo;s leading distance runners, Tirop broke the women-only world record for 10km last month, clocking 30:01 in Herzogenaurach. She was also the 2015 world cross-country champion, a two-time world medallist over 10,000m, and had placed fourth over 5000m at this year&rsquo;s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
&ldquo;Kenya has lost a jewel,&rdquo; Athletics Kenya said in a statement. &ldquo;She was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track.&rdquo;
"Athletics has lost one of its brightest young stars in the most tragic circumstances," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. "World cross country champion at just 19, Agnes Jebet Tirop burst on to the global scene in 2015 and has been one of the world&rsquo;s best female distance runners over the past six years. This is a terrible blow to the entire athletics community, but especially to her family, her friends and Athletics Kenya and I send them all our most heartfelt condolences."
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta also paid tribute to Tirop.
"It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we've lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, had brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage including in this year's 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she was part of the Kenyan team," said Kenyatta. "It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people."
Born in Uasin Gishu County, Tirop first came to prominence in 2012 when, aged 16, she notched up a series of podium finishes in national-level cross-country races.
Those performances earned her a place on Kenya&rsquo;s team for the African Cross Country Championships in Cape Town where she secured the silver medal, finishing behind Faith Kipyegon. Later that year, Tirop secured another podium finish at a major event, taking bronze over 5000m at the World U20 Championships in Barcelona. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/991c983d-87e1-4e07-9a55-53a33b636bcf.png" alt="" width="100%" />
 Tirop turned the tables on Kipyegon at the start of 2013, securing a rare victory over her compatriot at the Kenya Cross Country meeting in Kericho. The finish was a lot closer at the World Cross Country Championships two months later, where Kipyegon finished a whisker ahead of Tirop to take gold.
Outdoors that year, Tirop improved her PBs across all track distances and raced on the senior international circuit, performing well in Diamond League races.
She capped her U20 career in 2014 with victory at the African Cross Country Championships in March and then earned another 5000m bronze medal at the World U20 Championships in Oregon.
Tirop joined the senior ranks in 2015, though few could have predicted how soon she&rsquo;d make an impression on the global distance-running scene. She claimed a surprise triumph at the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, becoming the second-youngest winner of the senior women&rsquo;s title in the history of the event. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/ac8fbb58-31f6-44a6-900c-a73a9cbb2806.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 She continued to compete across a range of distances and on various surfaces, but shifted her focus to the 10,000m in 2017. After winning the Kenyan trial race at that distance, she took bronze at the World Championships in London in a PB of 31:03.50.
Tirop replicated that feat in 2019, taking another World Championships bronze over 10,000m in a PB performance, this time clocking 30:25.20. Earlier in the year she had set PBs of 14:20.68 for 5000m and 8:27.51 for 3000m. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613dcd845054d2d43db8b225.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 She raced sparingly in 2020 but reduced her 3000m PB to 8:22.92 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha. 2021 was another lean racing year for Tirop, but she focused on quality rather than quantity; she finished third at Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic Trials, placed fourth at the Olympic Games over 5000m and then turned to the roads with a 10km world record of 30:01 in Herzogenaurach.
Her most recent race was a second-place finish over 10km in Geneva on 3 October, clocking 30:20.
World Athletics

World record-holder Tirop dies

The World Athletics Continental Tour enjoyed a memorable 2021 season with numerous world, area and national records set across the 12 Gold meetings in the series.
In the second of a two-part series, we look back at this year&rsquo;s highlights from the tour.
&nbsp;
<h2>Turku, 7-8 June</h2>
Marcin Krukowski improved his Polish javelin record to 89.55m and compatriot Wojciech Nowicki won the men&rsquo;s hammer with 80.77m.
Senni Salminen set a Finnish record of 14.51m in the women&rsquo;s triple jump, adding 29 centimetres to her previous best and 22 centimetres to the meeting record. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oPC7vc93vc0" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Sweden&rsquo;s world champion Daniel Stahl won the discus with 68.11m, and Germany&rsquo;s Christin Hussong took the women&rsquo;s javelin with a meeting record of 66.63m.
Other meeting records came through Bahrain&rsquo;s Winfed Yavi, who clocked 9:17.55 in the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, and Kenya&rsquo;s 21-year-old Mary Moraa, who won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 1:59.95.
&nbsp;
<h2>Bydgoszcz, 30 June</h2>
Home athlete Anita Wlodarczyk laid down a huge marker ahead of the defence of her Olympic hammer title as she won with 77.93m, her farthest effort since winning the European title in 2018.
Wlodarczyk&rsquo;s flourish followed DeAnna Price&rsquo;s win with 80.31m at the US Olympic Trials.
&ldquo;My message is that I am back and I am ready,&rdquo; said Poland&rsquo;s four-time world champion.
Her international teammate and fellow four-time world champion Pawel Fajdek set a meeting record of 82.77m in the men&rsquo;s hammer. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xHOxwnuF8Dc" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Namibia&rsquo;s 18-year-old Christine Mboma won the women&rsquo;s 400m by almost half the straight in 48.54.
Chris Nilsen of the United States won the men&rsquo;s pole vault with a stadium record of 5.92m.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Worknesh Mesele ran a meeting record of 1:59.39 in the women&rsquo;s 800m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Szekesfehervar, 5-6 July</h2>
Olympic 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, only third in the 100m at the Jamaican Olympic Trials two weeks earlier, won the 100m here in 10.71 &ndash; just 0.01 shy of her personal best.
Her 34-year-old compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the world champion, was second in 10.82.
Akani Simbine of South Africa raised his Tokyo 2020 hopes by winning the men&rsquo;s 100m in an African record of 9.84.
Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Hugues Fabrice Zango had a monumental contest in the men&rsquo;s triple jump before the former, competing for Portugal, won with a fourth-round distance of 17.92m. Pichardo had broken Christian Taylor&rsquo;s meeting record of 17.68m with his second-round effort of 17.82m but his rival from Burkina Faso matched it in the third round, setting an African record. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/roRxCiDiB4c" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Six other meeting records fell.
Jamaica&rsquo;s 400m specialist Shericka Jackson continued to impress over 200m, running 21.96 to inflict upon Shaunae Miller-Uibo her first defeat at the distance since the 2017 World Championships, with the Bahamian finishing second in 22.15.
New Zealand&rsquo;s Tom Walsh won the men&rsquo;s shot put with 22.22m.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands won the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 52.81 ahead of Shamier Little of the United States, who clocked 52.85.
Two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris, who had failed to make Ethiopia&rsquo;s Olympic team, set a personal best and Hungarian all-comers&rsquo; record of 7:30.96 in the men&rsquo;s 3000m.
Lithuania&rsquo;s European bronze medallist Liveta Jasiunaite had produced the first meeting record of the day with her javelin victory of 62.73m.
Turkey&rsquo;s 2016 European champion Yasmani Copello won the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 48.35.
Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus won the men&rsquo;s high jump with a world-leading 2.37m.
Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the 100m hurdles in 12.34.
Canada&rsquo;s world and Olympic silver medallist Andre De Grasse won the men&rsquo;s 200m in 19.97 from Kenny Bednarek of the United States, who clocked 19.99.
The men's and women's hammer contests were won by rising Ukrainian talent Mykhaylo Kokhan and Poland&rsquo;s Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk.
Kokhan, 20, threw a personal best of 80.78m to defeat Poland&rsquo;s European champion Wojciech Nowicki (80.58m) while Wlodarczyk won with 74.76m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Silesia, 5 September</h2>
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, suitably rested after her 10.60 victory in Lausanne 10 days earlier, won the 100m here in a meeting record of 10.81.
It was a Polish all-comers&rsquo; record for the 34-year-old double Olympic champion, breaking the 10.93 mark set by Ewa Kasprzyk in 1986, and one of six meeting records acclaimed by a crowd of 32,000. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CMV2u_gd71k" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Germany&rsquo;s Johannes Vetter won the men&rsquo;s javelin with 89.60m while Poland&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Maria Andrejczyk won the women&rsquo;s event with 61.77m.
Olympic champion and world record-holder Ryan Crouser of the United States won the shot put with 22.39m. Fellow Olympic gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi was also victorious; the Italian won the high jump with 2.30m.
Home discus thrower Piotr Malachowski, the 2015 world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist, made an emotional farewell appearance aged 38, finishing fourth with 62.29m as Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia won with 66.65m.
Two weeks after winning the world U20 title over the distance, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tadese Worku set a meeting record of 7:36.47 to win the 3000m. Morocco&rsquo;s Olympic steeplechase champion Soufiane El-Bakkali was second in a personal best of 7:37.18.
Further meeting records came from Portugal&rsquo;s Auriol Dongmo, who won the shot put with 19.32m, Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan, who clocked 12.64 in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, Britain&rsquo;s Jemma Reekie, who was timed at 2:35.47 in the 1000m and Kenya&rsquo;s Wycliffe Kinyamal, who won the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:44.63.
Pawel Fajdek, Olympic hammer bronze medallist, beat fellow Pole and Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki with a final effort of 79.60m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Zagreb, 13-14 September</h2>
Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Niyonsaba broke the women&rsquo;s 2000m world record in the Croatian capital, clocking 5:21.56.
The Diamond League 5000m champion eclipsed the previous world record of 5:23.75, set indoors by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Genzebe Dibaba in 2017. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X45_JtfFjLc" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 The Olympic men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s discus champions were victorious as Sweden&rsquo;s Daniel Stahl threw 67.79m and Valarie Allman of the United States managed 69.63m to beat home favourite Sandra Perkovic's 66.48m.
The women&rsquo;s 200m saw Namibia&rsquo;s 18-year-old Christine Mboma clock 22.04 to beat Jamaica&rsquo;s Shericka Jackson, who ran 22.30.
Double Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser of the United States threw beyond 22 metres with all six efforts, setting a meeting record of 22.84m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Nairobi, 18 September</h2>
Trayvon Bromell of the United States bettered his own world-leading 100m mark at the Kip Keino Classic as he won in 9.76, with home runner Ferdinand Omanyala second in an African record of 9.77.
Bromell had run 9.77 earlier in the year and won the US Olympic trials but failed to reach the Tokyo final. He is now equal sixth on the world all-time list, matching the mark set by fellow US sprinter Christian Coleman in winning the 2019 world title.
Omanyala, 25, the first Kenyan to reach the men's Olympic 100m semi-finals, knocked 0.09 off his previous best, bettering the mark of 9.84 set earlier in the season by South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbine. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i5J5kdSP6KU" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Fred Kerley of the United States, the Olympic 100m silver medallist, won over 200m in a personal best of 19.76.
In the women&rsquo;s 200m Namibia&rsquo;s 18-year-old Olympic silver medallist and Diamond League champion Christine Mboma won in 22.39.
Kenya&rsquo;s double Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon won the 1500m in 4:02.40.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

In the second of a two-part series, we look back at this year’s highlights from the tour.

2021 Continental Tour Gold review – part two

Following a somewhat challenging inaugural season in 2020, the World Athletics Continental Tour got into full swing in 2021 with 12 Gold level meetings hosted in nine different countries, spread across four continental areas.
In the first of a two-part series, we look back at the highlights of a memorable 2021 Continental Tour Gold season.
&nbsp;
<h2>Eugene, 24 April</h2>
Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas, the 2016 Olympic champion, set a meeting record of 49.08 to win the 400m, breaking the stadium record at the legendary Hayward Field.
World finalist Rudy Winkler of the United States won the hammer with a personal best of 81.98m. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MfbaFfNIDXY" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won the 100m hurdles in 12.46 &ndash; 0.14 off her world-leading PB at that time.
Michael Norman ran 44.67 to win the 400m from training partner Rai Benjamin, who clocked 44.97.
Britons Laura Muir and Eilish McColgan won the 1500m and 5000m respectively in 4:01.54 and 14:52:44.
&nbsp;
<h2>Tokyo, 9 May</h2>
In the test event for the stadium that would later host Olympic athletics, Qatar&rsquo;s world champion Mutaz Barshim and home athlete Naoto Tobe shared victory in the high jump following an inconclusive jump-off.
After clearing all heights from 2.15m to 2.30m and then failing at 2.33m, they vainly took it in turns to decide the winner at 2.33m, 2.31m and 2.29m before calling it a day. An interesting precedent in the Olympic stadium&hellip; 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7zy3ihQiSw" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Elsewhere in the Ready Steady Tokyo meeting, home athletes Kazuki Kurokawa and Ryuji Miura, both 19, excelled in the 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase respectively.
Kurokawa won with a personal best of 48.90 and Miura won in a national record of 8:17.46 &ndash; both Olympic qualifying marks.
More success for the host nation came in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, which world U20 champion Nozomi Tanaka won by more than three seconds in 4:09.10.
&nbsp;
<h2>Mt SAC, 9 May</h2>
Home sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson ran two sub-10.80 100m times.
The 21-year-old, who had run 10.72 earlier in the season to move to sixth on the world all-time list, clocked 10.74 (1.1m/s) in her heat and won the final with 10.77 (-1.2m/s).
Statistical reckoning indicated the latter time would have been worth 10.69 in still conditions and 10.58 with a 2.0m/s following wind, the maximum allowable for record purposes. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WbMtq9dCgvI" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Rai Benjamin, running his first 400m hurdles race since taking silver at the 2019 World Championships, won his specialist event in 47.13, 0.15 off his personal best. He bettered the 1979 track record of 47.89 set by two-time world and Olympic champion Edwin Moses. Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands was second in a national record of 47.50 and 20-year-old Alison Dos Santos third in a Brazilian record of 47.68.
Benjamin's run was one of four early world-leading marks set by home athletes.
The three others came in the women's 400m hurdles, won by home Shamier Little in 53.65, the women&rsquo;s 1500m, where Elle Purrier ran 3:58.36, and the men's pole vault, where Pan American champion Chris Nilsen cleared 5.91m to knock Sweden's world record-holder Mondo Duplantis off the top spot.
World champion Noah Lyles ran 19.90 to win the 200m, beating fellow US sprinter Kenny Bednarek by 0.04.
Gabby Thomas won the women's 200m in 22.12, with 35-year-old Allyson Felix, the 2012 Olympic champion, second in 22.26, her fastest time since 2016.
&nbsp;
<h2>Ostrava, 19 May</h2>
Uganda&rsquo;s world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder Joshua Cheptegei fell short of his world record target in the 3000m, but his winning time of 7:33.24 was one of five world-leading marks set at the 60th Golden Spike meeting. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ptjffeS9muc" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter won the javelin with 94.20m.
Two teenage British runners won the 800m races as 19-year-old Keely Hodgkinson reduced her best to 1:58.89 and Max Burgin, a day before his 19th birthday, won the men&rsquo;s race in a European U20 record of 1:44.14 &ndash; the fastest in 2021 to that point and an Olympic qualifying time.
There was a world lead too in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m, where Uganda&rsquo;s 20-year-old Jacob Kiplimo, the world half marathon champion, clocked 26:33.93.
Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson of the United States won over 200m in 22.35 and Sweden&rsquo;s pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis earned victory with 5.90m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Boston, 23 May</h2>
World 100m hurdles record-holder Kendra Harrison broke the meeting record at the adidas Boost Boston Games, clocking 12.49.
US compatriot Grant Holloway, the world indoor record-holder, also broke a meeting record for the 110m hurdles with 13.20. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5z-T5z8EWv8" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas stepped down to the 200m and won in 22.08.
Further meeting records went in the rarely run 200m hurdles events, through Jamaica&rsquo;s Shiann Salmon in 24.86 and Brazil&rsquo;s Alison Dos Santos in 22.11.
&nbsp;
<h2>Hengelo, 6 June</h2>
Sifan Hassan lowered the women&rsquo;s world 10,000m record to 29:06.82 in the stadium where she had set a European record of 29:36.67 in October 2020.
The world 1500m and 10,000m champion took more than 10 seconds off the 29:17.45 mark set by Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
She went through halfway in 14:38.75 and ran a 2:45 final kilometre, lapping the entire field before sinking to the track in delight.
&ldquo;Wow, to run this world record here today in Hengelo is something I could only dream of,&rdquo; said Hassan after adding this latest mark to her world records in the mile, one hour event and road 5km &ndash; albeit that Ethiopia&rsquo;s Letesenbet Gidey would beat it with 29:01.03 two days later on the same track. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HWgwuDUNZuc" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 That was a perfect start to the 40th Fanny Blankers Koen Games and 21-year-old world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis kept the bar high with a 6.10m victory, which remained the best clearance of 2021.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won the 100m hurdles in a meeting record of 12.44.
Britain&rsquo;s world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith ran her first sub-11.00 100m time of the season, clocking a meeting record of 10.92.
Home athlete Femke Bol also broke a meeting record as she won her first 400m hurdles race of the season in 54.33.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

In the first of a two-part series, we look back at the highlights of a memorable 2021 Continental Tour Gold season.

2021 Continental Tour Gold review – part one

Diana Kipyogei and Benson Kipruto landed a Kenyan double at the 125th edition of the BAA Boston Marathon on Monday (11), winning the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race in 2:24:45 and 2:09:51 respectively.
Kipyogei, contesting just her third ever marathon and her first in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, emerged with the biggest victory of her career to date after making her break at about 29km. Kipruto, who finished 10th in Boston in 2019, waited until 35km to make his move, landing his second marathon victory of 2021. Both winners also recorded significant negative splits.
Up until Kipyogei&rsquo;s break, the women&rsquo;s race had been going at a relatively conservative pace with most of the runners in the lead pack seemingly reluctant to make a move. A large group of about 20 women, led by USA&rsquo;s Nell Rojas, went through 10km in 35:00 and that pace was maintained through the half-way point, which was reached in 1:14:11 with 15 women still in the pack.
Kipyogei, two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat, fellow Kenyans Caroline Chepkoech, Mary Ngugi and Monicah Ngige were among those still in the lead group at 25km, along with Rojas, Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2018 world half marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta and Workenesh Edesa. About 15 minutes later, though, Kipyogei started to make a break and by 30km she had a 10-second lead over the rest of the field.
Gudeta tried to make up the deficit on Kipyogei and she joined the Kenyan at about 21 miles, but Kipyogei dug in again and started to open up a gap on her Ethiopian rival.
This time it proved decisive and by 40km Kipyogei&rsquo;s lead had grown to 27 seconds. Further back, Kiplagat looked extremely comfortable and had passed Gudeta to move into second place, while Ngugi and Ngige were a few strides behind the top trio.
Kipyogei&rsquo;s lead was too great, though, and she went on to win in 2:24:45 after covering the second half in 1:10:34. Kiplagat, now aged 41, finished second in 2:25:09 while Ngugi came through for third place in 2:25:20.
"I am very happy," said Kipyogei, who set her PB of 2:22:06 when winning in Istanbul last year. "The hills were the toughest part, I kept looking over my shoulders to make sure no one was coming back."
CJ Albertson was the story of the men&rsquo;s race for the first 20 miles. The US runner made an early break and had opened up a one-minute gap shortly after passing 5km in 14:29, just outside 2:02 schedule.
Although his pace dropped slightly from there on, his lead over the sizeable chase pack continued to grow, passing through 10km in 29:32 and 15km in 45:01. By the time Albertson reached the half-way point in 1:04:08 &ndash; faster than his official best for the distance &ndash; his lead had grown to two minutes and 13 seconds.
But that was about as much as his rivals were prepared to give him today in Boston. The chase pack &ndash; which now comprised 16 men, including 2017 Boston winner Geoffrey Kirui, two-time Boston winner Lelisa Desisa, and Ethiopian half marathon record-holder Jemal Yimer &ndash; worked together to make up the deficit on Albertson. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61646ef3eb7c933807f46d32.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 By the time Albertson reached 30km (1:33:03), his lead was down to 54 seconds. He was finally caught shortly before the 21-mile point, and just a few minutes later he had fallen off the back of the lead pack, which still had 14 men in contention.
Not long after passing 35km in 1:49:25, Kipruto put his foot down and opened up a significant gap on the rest of the pack. The Kenyan covered the next five-kilometre segment in 14:05, which stunned his opponents, who suddenly found they were some 37 seconds adrift with little more than two kilometres to go.
Kipruto &ndash; who later revealed he was unaware that Albertson had made that early break in the first half &ndash; maintained his punishing pace to the finish, eventually crossing the line in 2:09:51. Lemi Berhanu emerged from the pack to take second place in 2:10:37 from compatriot Yimer, who finished third in 2:10:38 on his debut at the distance.
"It was slower than I thought it would be as there were no pacemakers," said Kipruto. "The fans really helped, though."
It's Kipruto's second marathon victory of the year following his 2:10:16 win in Prague in May. Before this year, his only other triumph over the classic distance came in Toronto in 2018 (2:07:24); he returned to the Canadian city one year later and set a PB of 2:05:13 to finish fourth.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics 
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Diana Kipyogei (KEN) 2:24:45 2 Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:25:09 3 Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:25:20 4 Monicah Ngige (KEN) 2:25:32 5 Netsanet Gudeta (ETH) 2:26:09 6 Nell Rojas (USA) 2:27:12 7 Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:27:38 8 Atsede Baysa (ETH) 2:28:04 9 Biruktayit Eshetu (ETH) 2:29:05 10 Tigist Abayechew (ETH) 2:29:06
Men 1 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:09:51 2 Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:10:37 3 Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:10:38 4 Tsedat Ayana (ETH) 2:10:47 5 Leonard Barsoton (KEN) 2:11:11 6 Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 2:11:16 7 Colin Bennie (USA) 2:11:26 8 Dejene Debela (ETH) 2:11:38 9 Wilson Chebet (KEN) 2:11:40 10 CJ Albertson (USA) 2:11:44

Diana Kipyogei and Benson Kipruto land a Kenyan double 

Kipyogei and Kipruto triumph in Boston

Men&rsquo;s world indoor triple jump record 18.07m Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR) Aubiere 16 January 2021
Men&rsquo;s world indoor shot put record 22.82m Ryan Crouser (USA) Fayetteville 24 January 2021
Men&rsquo;s world U20 200m record 19.84 Erriyon Knighton (USA) Eugene 27 June 2021
Men&rsquo;s world U20 110m hurdles records 12.93 Sasha Zhoya (FRA) Nairobi 20 August 2021 12.72 Sasha Zhoya (FRA) Nairobi 21 August 2021
Women&rsquo;s world U20 4x100m record 42.94 Jamaica (Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill, Tia Clayton) Nairobi 22 August 2021
Men&rsquo;s world U20 4x100m record 38.51 South Africa (Mihali Xhotyeni, Sinesipho Dambile, Letlhogonolo Moleyane, Benjamin Richardson) Nairobi 22 August 2021
&nbsp;
World indoor records from Hugues Fabrice Zango and Ryan Crouser, plus a handful of world U20 records set by teenage talents Sasha Zhoya and Erriyon Knighton in 2021, are among the latest marks to have been ratified.
Zango produced one of the first stand-out performances of 2021. The triple jumper from Burkina Faso bounded out to a sensational 18.07m last-round leap in Aubiere on 16 January. It was the first time the 18-metre barrier had been surpassed indoors, and it broke the world indoor record of 17.92m that had been set by Zango&rsquo;s coach, Teddy Tamgho, at the European Indoor Championships in Paris on 6 March 2011.
&ldquo;With this distance, I feel immense pride and joy to have accomplished something unique,&rdquo; said the world bronze medallist, who went on to set an African outdoor record of 17.82m during the outdoor season before taking bronze at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
US shot putter Crouser started the year as he meant to go on at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Fayetteville on 24 January. In what was his first outing of 2021, and in the first round of the competition, the 28-year-old launched his shot out to 22.82m, breaking the long-standing world indoor record of 22.66m that had been set by USA&rsquo;s Randy Barnes in Los Angeles on 20 January 1989.
Crouser backed up his winning throw with efforts of 22.70m, also beyond the previous world indoor record, and 22.48m.
&ldquo;I felt really nervous on the first throw, but I had a ton of energy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel like there's more there.&rdquo;
His instinct turned out to be right; later in the year, Crouser went on to break the world record with 23.37m, then retained his Olympic title with an Olympic record of 23.30m before going on to set a Wanda Diamond League record of 23.15m in Eugene.
Knighton was one of the revelations of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene. The 17-year-old breezed through his 200m heat in a world U18 best of 20.04, then won his semifinal in a world U20 record of 19.88 &ndash; which was ratified earlier in the year &ndash; and eventually placed third in the final on 27 June, improving his own world U20 record to 19.84 and booking his place on USA&rsquo;s Olympic team.
Knighton went on to place fourth in the Olympic final in 19.93, just 0.19 shy of a medal. He will be an U20 athlete throughout all of 2022 and 2023.
Zhoya has been similarly prolific in his record-breaking this year. The French sprint hurdler dipped under 13 seconds for the 110m hurdles (99cm height) on his way to winning the European U20 title in July, marking him as the favourite for the world U20 title in Nairobi in August.
He still managed to exceed expectations, though. He sped to a world U20 record of 12.93 (-0.4m/s) in the semifinals on 20 August and then went significantly faster in the final on 21 August, clocking 12.72 (1.0m/s).
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the quickest time on any hurdle height and that makes me really happy,&rdquo; said Zhoya. &ldquo;Now all I need to do is to replicate my junior performance to the senior category as I now focus into transiting into the seniors.&rdquo;
One day later, on the final day of the World Athletics U20 Championships Nairobi 21, there were two world U20 records within the space of 15 minutes.
Jamaica&rsquo;s quartet of Serena Cole, individual 100m champion Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tia Clayton sped to victory in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m in 42.94, smashing the previous world U20 record of 43.27 that had been set by Germany at the European U20 Championships in Grosseto on 23 July 2017.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great that Tia was able to win a medal because she didn&rsquo;t have a chance to win a medal in the 100m,&rdquo; Tina Clayton said of her twin sister. &ldquo;She came out here and executed well.&rdquo;
South Africa&rsquo;s quartet of Mihali Xhotyeni, Sinesipho Dambile, Letlhogonolo Moleyane and Benjamin Richardson were similarly well drilled en route to their 38.51 triumph in the men&rsquo;s race 15 minutes later. Their time broke the world U20 record of 38.62 that had been set by the USA in San Jose on 20 July 2019.
&ldquo;We worked for it, and it feels like a very great achievement,&rdquo; said anchor leg runner Richardson. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for me and my team doing it together; we&rsquo;re all fast and together we got to a world record.&rdquo;
World Athletics

World indoor records from Hugues Fabrice Zango and Ryan Crouser, plus a handful of world U20 records set by teenage talents Sasha Zhoya and Erriyon Knighton in 2021, are among the latest marks to have been ratified.

Ratified: world records for Zango, Crouser, Zhoya and Knighton

Italy's&nbsp;Henri Aymonod and&nbsp;Joyce Muthoni Njeru of Kenya have been crowned the overall&nbsp;World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup champions following the final race of the 2021 series at Chiavenna-Lagunc on Sunday (10).
The&nbsp;Kilometro Verticale Chiavenna-Lagunc was a fitting setting to decide the winners of the overall World Cup as well as the&nbsp;short uphill category, with the winners of Sunday's race &ndash;&nbsp;Aymonod and Austria's&nbsp;Andrea Mayr &ndash; also claiming those category titles.
The start lists featured a mix of short uphill specialists and athletes more comfortable with longer races, but committed to adding to their World Cup points totals. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61635ea2db267732db60277d.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> Kenya's 2021 WMRA World Cup winner Joyce Muthoni Njeru (&copy; Luca Coluccia)
 The women set off for the&nbsp;historic vertical kilometre race first, at 20 seconds intervals, with the top ranked athletes going last.
It was an exciting morning, seeing the top three change as the competition progressed. Eventually it was Mayr who won by a huge margin, but an agonising one second outside of her own course record in 35:41.
In second place it was Italy's Francesca Ghelfi in 39:16 and in third was last year&rsquo;s winner, Ireland's Sarah McCormack, in 39:56.
Then it was time for the men, also setting off at 20 second intervals. It was an incredibly close race, with the top six all finishing within 90 seconds of each other.
It was no surprise to find Aymonod coming out on top &ndash; his third victory here in a row &ndash; in 31:40.
Italy's Tiziano Moia was second in 32:18 and Nadir Maguet completed the Italian clean sweep in 32:40.
Finishing behind&nbsp;Aymonod and&nbsp;Mayr&nbsp;in the overall short uphill category at the end of the series are&nbsp;Njeru and&nbsp;Slovenia's&nbsp;Mojca Koligar in the women's standings and&nbsp;Moia and his fellow Italian Andrea Rostan in the men's standings.
In the overall World Cup, Britain's Charlotte Morgan and Hungary's Sandor Szabo claim the runner-up spots, with Italy's Alice Gaggi and Kenya's Geoffrey Gikuni Ndungu placing third.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics 
<h3>WMRA World Cup results</h3>
Overall World Cup
Women 1 Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) 2 Charlotte Morgan (GBR) 3 Alice Gaggi (ITA)
Men 1 Henri Aymonod (GBR) 2 Sandor Szabo (HUN) 3 Geoffrey&nbsp;Gikuni&nbsp;Ndungu&nbsp;(KEN) 
Short uphill category
Women 1 Andrea Mayr (AUT) 2 Joyce Muthoni Njeru&nbsp;(KEN) 3 Mojca Koligar (SLO)
Men 1 Henri Aymonod (ITA) 2 Tiziano Moia (ITA) 3 Andrea Rostan (ITA) 
Classic mountain category
Women 1 Joyce Muthoni Njeru&nbsp;(KEN) 2&nbsp;Lucy&nbsp;Wambui&nbsp;Murigi (KEN) 3 Alice Gaggi (ITA)
Men 1&nbsp;Geoffrey Gikuni Ndungu&nbsp;(KEN) 2 Sandor Szabo (HUN) 3 Henri Aymonod (ITA) 
Long mountain category
Women 1 Charlotte Morgan (GBR) 2 Marcela Vasinova (CZE) 3 Belen Perez (ESP)
Men 1 Raul Criado (ESP) 2 Peter Frano (SVK) 3 Kamil Lesniak (POL) 
<a href="https://www.wmra.info/files/world_cup/2021_WORLD_CUP/Wcup_Positions/WCUP_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a>

The final race of the 2021 series at Chiavenna-Lagunc was won by Henri Aymonod and Andrea Mayr.

Aymonod and Njeru win overall WMRA World Cup honours

Ethiopia&rsquo;s Seifu Tura claimed the biggest win of his career so far, while Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Ruth Chepngetich added another title to her CV as the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, returned on Sunday (10).
Prior to the race, Tura had explained how the warmer than expected conditions may not play in his favour, but the 24-year-old kept his cool to triumph in 2:06:12 as he finished 23 seconds ahead of the USA&rsquo;s Galen Rupp, with Kenya&rsquo;s Eric Kiptanui third.
While Tura broke away in the final kilometres, Chepngetich had a solo run to success as she held on to the lead she had created with a blistering start to win in 2:22:31. Making a breakthrough behind her was 2018 US champion Emma Bates, who clocked a PB of 2:24:20 for second place, while her US compatriot Sara Hall was third.
Tura had shown earlier this year how he was in the shape of his life, as he ran a PB of 2:04:29 to finish fourth in Milan. While the conditions, which included temperatures of around 22&deg;C at the start of the event, caused him to rethink his target of improving that time in Chicago, he ran a well-judged race to win his first major marathon. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61631a56c550571a7508a2c8.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 His compatriot Shifera Tamru had been the early leader, as he followed the pacemaker through 5km in 14:36, seven seconds ahead of the nine-strong chase group. By 15km, passed in 44:06, his lead was 15 seconds but his challengers were beginning to close him down.
Tamru was caught and at half way the clocked showed 1:02:29. Rupp was 11 seconds behind the group &ndash; which featured Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tamru, Tura and Chalu Deso, plus Japanese record-holder Kengo Suzuki and Kenya&rsquo;s Reuben Kipyego and Eric Kiptanui &ndash; at that point but he rejoined the pack a short while later, on US record pace.
After 25km was passed in 1:14:42 and 30km in 1:30:06, the pace picked up again and Tura, Rupp and Kiptanui broke away to create an advantage of half a minute on fourth-placed Suzuki at 35km.
After looking like he wanted Rupp or Kiptanui to take a turn at the front, Tura &ndash; winner of the 2018&nbsp;Milan and Shanghai marathons &ndash;&nbsp;decided to make a move and was nine seconds ahead of Rupp at 40km, which he passed in 1:59:44. Untroubled in the closing stages, Tura had increased that margin to 23 seconds by the finish to build on his sixth place in Chicago in 2019, denying Rupp &ndash; who clocked 2:06:35 &ndash; a second Chicago Marathon victory after his win in 2017.
Kiptanui was third in 2:06:51, with Suzuki fourth in 2:08:50 and Tamru completing the top five in 2:09:39.
&ldquo;I just was determined to fight to the very end,&rdquo; said Tura. &ldquo;I was extremely concerned when they said the other day that it was going to be very hot, because I had not prepared for warm weather.
&ldquo;There was a breeze, and the first half was not too fast, so that helped me and I was able to do well.&rdquo;
Rupp, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist who was back in marathon action just nine weeks after his eighth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, told NBC: &ldquo;Obviously I came in here wanting to win but I&rsquo;m really happy with this race. It has been a tough last two years for me but this was a tremendous step in the right direction.
&ldquo;It was a great field, I just didn&rsquo;t quite have it at the end, he (Tura) really ran an unbelievable race. That&rsquo;s the way it goes sometimes.&rdquo; 
<h2>Chepngetich claims the crown</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Brigid Kosgei had broken the women&rsquo;s world record at the last edition of the Chicago Marathon in 2019, clocking 2:14:04 to take 81 seconds from Paula Radcliffe&rsquo;s 2003 mark. Setting off at a storming pace, the early stages of this year's race had Chepngetich on schedule to smash that with a sub-2:12 predicted finishing time as she followed her pacemaker through 5km in 15:37.
The 2019 world champion, who ran in the Tokyo Olympic marathon in August but was unable to finish, remained well ahead of world record pace as she passed 10km in 31:22 and 15km in 47:15, and by that point she was a minute ahead of Kiplagat, with Hall a further two and a half minutes back.
But with her pacemaker having stopped at around eight miles and with some gusty winds now against her, Chepngetich&rsquo;s pace began to drop. No longer on world record schedule, the 27-year-old &ndash; who ran a world half marathon record of&nbsp;1:04:02&nbsp;in Istanbul in April&nbsp; &ndash; went through half way in 1:07:34, a minute and 16 seconds ahead of Kiplagat. Although tiring, Chepngetich maintained that lead and had extended it to three minutes by 35km, running a 1:56:05 split, and by this point Bates had passed Hall to sit in third place.
As Kiplagat started to struggle, Bates&rsquo; consistency paid off as the 2019 Chicago fourth place finisher moved into second and Hall into third. Although Bates was closing the gap, Chepngetich&rsquo;s rapid start left her with more than enough to claim a clear win as she crossed the finish line with 2:22:31 on the clock, with Bates taking more than a minute off her PB to claim the runner-up spot and a tiring 2020 London Marathon runner-up Hall holding on clock 2:27:19 for third.
Their US compatriot Keira D&rsquo;Amato was fourth in 2:28:22 and Kiplagat fifth in 2:29:14. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/616320dba0051093c87d0590.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 &ldquo;The race was good but it was not easy because I pushed alone from 13km until the finish line,&rdquo; Chepngetich &ndash; who sits fourth on the women&rsquo;s marathon all-time list with 2:17:08 from Dubai in 2019 &ndash; told NBC. &ldquo;But the weather was nice. I just believed in myself, I was confident and I just pushed myself. I told god to give me the strength to finish the race.
"I didn't look back. I just pushed forward and focused on the finish line. I was feeling strong but I could feel it in my legs."
Bates, who ran a negative split with 1:12:27 for her first half and 1:11:53 for her second, said: &ldquo;I started out very conservative, I didn&rsquo;t want to go out too fast because of the heat and everything.
"Everybody was so far ahead that I wasn&rsquo;t sure if I was going catch anyone, so I was just running my own race and ended up reeling some people in and taking second today, so I&rsquo;m thrilled.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics 
<h2>Leading results</h2>
Women 1&nbsp;Ruth Chepngetich (KEN)&nbsp;2:22:31 2 Emma Bates (USA)&nbsp;2:24:20 3 Sara Hall (USA)&nbsp;2:27:19 4&nbsp;Keira D&rsquo;Amato (USA)&nbsp;2:28:22 5&nbsp;Vivian Kiplagat (KEN)&nbsp;2:29:14 6&nbsp;Maegan Krifchin (USA)&nbsp;2:30:17 7 Carrie Verdon (USA)&nbsp;2:31:51 8&nbsp;Sarah Pagano (USA)&nbsp;2:33:11 9&nbsp;Meseret Belete (ETH)&nbsp;2:33:14 10&nbsp;Lindsay Flanagan (USA)&nbsp;2:33:20
Men 1&nbsp;Seifu Tura (ETH)&nbsp;2:06:12 2&nbsp;Galen Rupp (USA)&nbsp;2:06:35 3&nbsp;Eric Kiptanui (KEN)&nbsp;2:06:51 4&nbsp;Kengo Suzuki (JPN)&nbsp;2:08:50 5&nbsp;Shifera Tamru (ETH)&nbsp;2:09:39 6&nbsp;Colin Mickow (USA)&nbsp;2:13:31 7&nbsp;Nico Montanez (USA)&nbsp;2:13:55 8&nbsp;Reuben Kipyego (KEN)&nbsp;2:14:24 9&nbsp;Reed Fischer (USA)&nbsp;2:14:41 10&nbsp;Wilkerson Given (USA)&nbsp;2:14:55

Seifu Tura kept his cool to triumph, while Ruth Chepngetich had a solo run to success.

Tura and Chepngetich take Chicago Marathon titles

Kenya&rsquo;s Edna Kiplagat and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lelisa Desisa are among the former champions returning to race the Boston Marathon on Monday (11), as the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race makes a comeback after 910 days.
Following cancellation and postponement due to the pandemic, this year&rsquo;s race &ndash; the 125th edition &ndash; will be the first held outside of its traditional Patriots&rsquo; Day date in April.
Deep fields have been announced, with 13 women boasting sub-2:23 PBs and 12 men with personal bests under 2:07 on the start lists. Leading those lists are two-time world champion Kiplagat with her 2012 PB of 2:19:50 and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Asefa Mengstu, who ran 2:04:06 in Dubai in 2018.
Kiplagat&rsquo;s Boston victory came in 2017 and the 41-year-old was runner-up to Worknesh Degefa two years later. She went on to finish fourth in that year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Doha, which was her last marathon, and her results so far this year include a 32:20 10km in June.
With a PB just two seconds slower is Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mare Dibaba, the 2015 world champion who clocked 2:19:52 in Dubai in 2012 and finished second in her last marathon, in Berlin in 2019. Kenya&rsquo;s Angela Tanui, meanwhile, has more recent marathon results to her name having raced, and won, twice over 26.2 miles in 2021, with her PB of 2:20:08 set in Siena in April.
Joining Kiplagat in returning to the race as a former champion are the USA&rsquo;s 2018 winner Desiree Linden, who drops back down in distance after breaking the world 50km best with 2:59:54 in Oregon in April, plus Kenya&rsquo;s 2015 winner Caroline Rotich and Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2016 champion Atsede Baysa. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/3554e3ff-982f-4939-a826-86a91225d53f.png" alt="" width="100%" />
 Like Kiplagat, Dibaba and Tanui, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Workenesh Edesa and Sutume Kebede, plus the USA&rsquo;s Jordan Hasay &ndash; twice a third place finisher in Boston &ndash; have PBs under 2:21, while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Netsanet Gudeta will also be looking to make an impact. The last time Gudeta completed a marathon was 2017, when she ran her PB of 2:29:15, but since then she has won the 2018 world half marathon title &ndash; clocking a then women-only world record of 1:06:11, and she improved her PB for that distance to 1:05:45 in Ras Al Khaimah the following year.
Former world 5km record-holder Caroline Chepkoech, who has a half-marathon PB of 1:05:07 from 2018, makes her marathon debut.
In the men&rsquo;s race, world champion Desisa will be going for a hat-trick in Boston after his wins in 2013 and 2015. He returns to the race for the seventh time, having also claimed two runner-up finishes, in 2016 and 2019.
&ldquo;Boston has become my second home and I truly cherish my time when I am there,&rdquo; said Desisa, who ran his PB of 2:04:45 in 2013 and raced at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in August but did not finish. &ldquo;I return to compete still chasing my third victory in the Boston Marathon. I look forward to putting on a good show for you on Marathon Monday!&rdquo;
Mengstu, meanwhile, makes his Boston debut and will be looking to build on the third-place finish he claimed at the Chicago Marathon in 2019. He went on to place seventh in Tokyo in 2020 but did not finish his most recent marathon, in Milan in May.
The third sub-2:05 runner in the field is their fellow Ethiopian Lemi Berhanu, the 2016 Boston champion who clocked his 2:04:33 PB in 2016 and makes a comeback after two DNF results from his two 2020 marathons, in Tokyo and Valencia.
Desisa and Berhanu are not the only former Boston winners in the men&rsquo;s field, with Kenya&rsquo;s Geoffrey Kirui &ndash; who won world and Boston titles in 2017&ndash; among the entries and he is also returning after a DNF at the 2020 Valencia Marathon.
He is joined by fellow Kenyans Benson Kipruto and Filex Kiprotich, who ran their respective PBs of 2:05:13 and 2:05:33 in 2019, plus Wilson Chebet, who has achieved four top five finishes in Boston, including a runner-up finish from 2014. The other sub-2:06 runners in the field are Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dejene Debela, the 2019 Chicago Marathon runner-up, and 2020 Houston Marathon champion Kelkile Gezahegn.
Five-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and Scott Fauble lead the US men&rsquo;s entries, while Ethiopian half marathon record-holder Jemal Yimer &ndash; who ran 58:33 for the distance in 2018 &ndash; will look to complete his first marathon after being unable to finish on his debut in Valencia last year. His most recent result is a half marathon win in Larne, where he clocked 1:00:30 in August. Another debutant is Kenya&rsquo;s Leonard Barsoton, the 2017 world cross country silver medallist who has a half marathon PB of 59:09 from 2019 and ran 59:59 in Istanbul in April.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
<h3> Elite fields</h3>
Women Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50 Mare Dibaba (ETH) 2:19:52 Angela Tanui (KEN) 2:20:08 Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:20:24 Sutume Kebede (ETH) 2:20:30 Jordan Hasay (USA) 2:20:57 Helah Kiprop (KEN) 2:21:27 Atsede Baysa (ETH) 2:22:03 Diana Chemtai Kipyogei (KEN) 2:22:06 Desiree Linden (USA) 2:22:38 Biruktayit Eshetu (ETH) 2:22:40 Tigist Abayechew (ETH) 2:22:45 Purity Changwony (KEN) 2:22:46 Caroline Rotich (KEN) 2:23:22 Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:27:36 Nell Rojas (USA) 2:28:09 Paige Stoner (USA) 2:28:43 Shiho Kaneshige (JPN) 2:28:51 Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) 2:29:04 Netsanet Gudeta (ETH) 2:29:15 Kellys Arias (COL) 2:29:36 Julia Griffey (USA) 2:29:58 Bethany Sachtleben (USA) 2:31:20 Dot McMahan (USA) 2:31:48 Sydney Devore (USA) 2:32:39 Hilary Dionne (USA) 2:33:03 Brittany Charboneau (USA) 2:33:14 Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:33:27 Heather Lieberg (USA) 2:34:07 Caitlin Phillips (USA) 2:34:43 Laurie Knowles (USA) 2:36:01 Courtney Olson (USA) 2:36:21 Brittany Moran (CAN) 2:36:22 Emma Spencer (USA) 2:37:05 Rachel Hyland (USA) 2:37:22 Andrea Pomaranski (USA) 2:37:39 AnnMarie Kirkpatrick (USA) 2:37:49 Gina Rouse (USA) 2:38:41 Nina Zarina (USA) 2:38:50 Jordan O&rsquo;Dea (USA) 2:38:57 Christina Murphy (USA) 2:39:15 Hilary Corno (USA) 2:42:14 Caroline Chepkoech (KEN) debut Monicah Wanjuhi (KEN) debut Elaina Tabb (USA) debut Men Asefa Mengstu (ETH) 2:04:06 Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:04:33 Lelisa Desisa (ETH) 2:04:45 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13 Wilson Chebet (KEN) 2:05:27 Filex Kiprotich (KEN) 2:05:33 Dejene Debela (ETH) 2:05:46 Kelkile Gezahegn (ETH) 2:05:56 Thomas Kiplagat (KEN) 2:06:00 Felix Kandie (KEN) 2:06:03 Tsedat Ayana (ETH) 2:06:18 Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) 2:06:27 Jake Robertson (NZL) 2:08:26 Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 2:08:28 Abdi Abdirahman (USA) 2:08:56 Scott Fauble (USA) 2:09:09 Colin Bennie (USA) 2:09:38 Stephen Scullion (IRL) 2:09:49 Augustus Maiyo (USA) 2:10:47 Dylan Wykes (CAN) 2:10:47 Parker Stinson (USA) 2:10:53 Matthew McDonald (USA) 2:11:10 CJ Albertson (USA) 2:11:18 Reid Buchanan (USA) 2:11:38 Jonas Hampton (USA) 2:12:10 Rory Linkletter (CAN) 2:12:54 Jarrett Leblanc (USA) 2:13:51 Carlos Trujillo (GUA) 2:14:21 Luke Humphrey (USA) 2:14:39 Nitendra Rawat Singh (IND) 2:15:18 Daniel Ortiz Perez (MEX) 2:15:41 Luis Carlos Rivero (GUA) 2:15:43 Thomas Toth (CAN) 2:16:28 Pardon Ndhlovu (ZIM) 2:16:47 Brian Harvey (USA) 2:17:05 Alex Taylor (USA) 2:17:08 Peter Bromka (USA) 2:19:04 Chip O&rsquo;Hara (USA) 2:21:20 Eric Blake (USA) 2:22:49 Blue Bendum (USA) 2:23:43 Jemal Yimer (ETH) debut Leonard Barsoton (KEN) debut Nicholas Kosimbei (KEN) debut Harvey Nelson (USA) debut Girma Mecheso (USA) debut Paul Hogan (USA) debut

The World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race makes a comeback after 910 days.

Former champions Kiplagat and Desisa seek more Boston Marathon success

Tasmanian runner Meriem Daoui has received the 2021 Peter Norman Humanitarian Award in recognition of her role in leading a number of initiatives to raise vital funds and awareness for cancer causes as well as her work with the Muslim Women in Sport Network.
Awarded each year on&nbsp;9 October &ndash; Peter Norman Day &ndash; to honour the legacy of the famed Australian sprinter, the award is given to a member of the Australian athletics community who exemplifies the spirit of Norman through their work in human rights, equality or humanitarian causes.
Born in Morocco, Daoui was 10 years old when her family relocated to Tasmania. Living in a community not previously exposed to the Muslim faith, Daoui was bullied at school for wearing full length clothes and a hijab, and developed anxiety, depression and an eating disorder.&nbsp;
In a story of triumph over adversity, 22-year-old Daoui &ndash; who also has type 1 diabetes &ndash; has used her own experiences as fuel to help others. Now a nurse on the oncology ward at the Royal Hobart Hospital, the 2021 award winner uses her love of running as a platform.
At the age of 16, Daoui ran her first marathon, raising more than $5000 for displaced Syrians affected by the civil war. Since then she has run the Cadbury Marathon twice, raising funds for Cancer Council Tasmania and oncology outpatients at her hospital, and earlier this year she ran the Point to Pinnacle half marathon every day for seven days to raise funds for childhood cancer. More than $12,000 was raised.
&ldquo;It is a great honour to be awarded the Peter Norman Humanitarian Award. Not only was Peter one of Australia&rsquo;s greatest sprinters, he was also an advocate for human rights who spoke out against racism which I believe is one of the greatest attributes a person can have,&rdquo; Daoui said.
&ldquo;His legacy in athletics and advocacy is truly inspiring and I hope that as a community we can use his legacy to make a stand in creating an inclusive environment in both sports and society.&rdquo;
Speaking about how her own story influenced her philanthropic work, Daoui added: &ldquo;Much of my work comes from wanting to give back to society and to help causes close to my heart. I believe we can all contribute in making the world a better place.
&ldquo;My personal experiences have played a role in the charity work that I have done, and that includes having experienced the effects of racism during my early teenage years when I first moved from Sydney to Tasmania. I was able to receive support during those years, and I&rsquo;d like to thank those who helped me at my most vulnerable as they have contributed to becoming the person I am today.
&ldquo;I have also witnessed the effects of how raising funds for our healthcare system can improve the quality of life of patients and their care. As a nurse in oncology and currently working in paediatrics, I felt that I could use my running to help raise much needed awareness and funds for cancer research and treatment.
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&ldquo;It means a lot that my own experiences can be used to help others. I personally draw inspiration and insight from others as I believe that shared knowledge and experiences can help shape us to become better people.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Athletics Australia this year received several high quality nominations for the Peter Norman Humanitarian Award, but it was a unanimous decision to present the 2021 honour to Daoui, said chair of the&nbsp;national governing body's Special Award Committee, Jane Flemming.
&ldquo;Meriem received a glowing nomination from the Northern Suburbs Athletic Club in Tasmania, but it was her story and her ability to inspire others that made it clear she is deserving of this year&rsquo;s Peter Norman Humanitarian Award,&rdquo; Flemming explained.
&ldquo;Meriem has used her own adversity to drive her to make a positive impact on her community and her ambition to make a difference have inspired countless individuals from both the athletics community and the wider public to give back in their own ways.
&ldquo;We are incredibly proud of her humanitarian efforts, and I&rsquo;d like to congratulate Meriem on this award. We look forward to seeing her progress in both her athletics and philanthropic career, and wish her all the very best in her next endeavour to raise funds for cancer research.&rdquo;
In supporting Daoui&rsquo;s charitable efforts, Athletics Australia will make a donation to her nominated cause &ndash; the Tim Blair Run for Kids Foundation, which is a Tasmanian-funded organisation that financially supports families undergoing childhood illnesses.
Sascha Ryner (Athletics Australia) for World Athletics
</div>

Each year the award is given to a member of the Australian athletics community who exemplifies the spirit of Norman through their work in human rights, equality or humanitarian causes.

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