<p>World Athletics and organisers of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 have marked Earth Day 2021 by signing on to the United Nations Climate Change (UNCC)&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Sports_for_Climate_Action_Declaration_and_Framework_0.pdf" data-cke-saved-href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Sports_for_Climate_Action_Declaration_and_Framework_0.pdf">Sports for Climate Action Framework</a></strong>, an initiative supporting and guiding sports organisations to measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.</p>
<p>The aim of the Framework is for international federations, leagues, clubs and event organisers to take collective action to limit global warming to a 1.5 C degrees rise, the levels agreed in Paris during the COP 21 Climate Change Conference in 2015.</p>
<p>The United Nations has recognised that the global carbon reductions required to meet the targets agreed to in Paris - to achieve a net zero emission economy by 2050 - cannot be met by governments alone. Meeting the scale of the immense challenge requires action from all sectors, including sport. With a global reach that includes a fan base in the billions and a unique power to inspire, sport is well positioned to help drive global climate action. With more than 1.4 billion people around the planet who run regularly, that&rsquo;s particularly true for the sport of athletics.</p>
<p>"Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe upon signing the Framework&rsquo;s letter of commitment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are witnessing irreversible changes that are impacting our sport across the board &ndash; from the quality of the air our professional athletes and recreational runners breathe to our ability to hold events safely. It is critical that sport is seen as a major player in the battle against climate change and a driving force for solutions.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Despite the worldwide economic slowdown driven by the pandemic last year, the planet&rsquo;s temperatures continued to climb at an alarming rate. In its <strong><a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1090072" data-cke-saved-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1090072">most recent annual report</a></strong>, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) noted that 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record and that the past six years, including 2020, were the six warmest on record.</p>
<p>Signing on to the Sports for Climate Action Framework, Coe said, underscores the global governing body&rsquo;s broader approach as outlined in the <strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/sustainability" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/sustainability">World Athletics Sustainability Strategy</a></strong>, a ten-year road map unveiled in April 2020 whose goals include transitioning to carbon neutrality across all of its operations and events by 2030.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We, as a truly global sport, have a very important role to play in the battle again climate change, but also in efforts to address diversity and advocate for social equality. It's important for us to utilise the power we have to lead and inspire others."</p>
<p>Coe added that local commitments and efforts to drive sustainability have become determining factors in World Athletics' choice of host cities for its championship events. "This is something our athletes and our fans are increasingly demanding. We, and our trusted partners, have to deliver. So I'm particularly proud that our partners in Belgrade have also committed to the principles outlined in the Framework.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Slobodan Brankovic, President of the&nbsp;WIC Belgrade22&nbsp;Local Organising committee, said: &ldquo;I am glad that the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 continues in the footsteps of the Serbian Athletics Federation in terms of sustainability.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is important to us, as it is to our fans and I believe to young people in Europe alike, to organise sustainable athletic events, to reduce our carbon footprint and to leave our planet better than we found it for the generations to come.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am sure that World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 will be a leader in this area in Serbia and inspire a generation of young Serbians to take action to combat climate change.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Eliud Kipchoge, the reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder in the marathon and one of the sport&rsquo;s most vocal proponents of environmental justice, said he was proud of his sport&rsquo;s efforts to drive sustainability and combat climate change.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am very pleased that World Athletics has started a collaboration with United Nations Climate Change," Kipchoge said. "We have all inherited the earth and our contribution will be measured on sustainability. It is our task to save and improve the land upon where we live for future generations. We are in a race against time, every minute counts, just like a marathon.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60812c9ea336d288101f3e43.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="534" /><br /><em>Eliud Kipchoge on Earth Day (&copy; Dan Vernon/NN Running Team)</em></p>
<p><br />Venezuelan star Yulimar Rojas, the 2020 World Athlete of the Year, echoed Kipchoge's sentiments.</p>
<p>"The world is our home and we must be responsible with it. We are committed to taking care of it every day for the rest of our lives, it is a duty to us and also to future generations," Rojas said.</p>
<p>"Raising awareness about climate change is the responsibility of all of us. I am proud to send this message through World Athletics, who are taking an active part in fighting for a better world."</p>
<p>Organisers of other upcoming championships have also expressed their support for the principles of the Framework. The LOC of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, who already have a robust sustainability strategy in place, are expected to sign on to the Framework soon.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We welcome World Athletics as a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework," said Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Sports for Climate Action Lead at UN Climate Change. "The world is in the most important race of our time &ndash; race against climate change. With over one billion active runners globally and counting, World Athletics has a significant opportunity to inspire climate action across this sports community and help win the race against climate change. We look forward to World Athletics&rsquo; contribution in helping to deliver on the goals of the Framework.&rdquo;</p>
<h3>About the Sports for Climate Action Framework</h3>
<p>The Sports for Climate Action Framework has two overarching objectives: achieving a clear trajectory for the global sports community to combat climate change through commitments and partnerships in congress with verified standards and using sports as a unifying tool to drive climate awareness and action among global citizens.</p>
<p>By signing on, signatories will agree to commit to five key principles:</p>
<p>&bull; Undertake systemic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility;<br />&bull; Reduce overall climate impact;<br />&bull; Educate for climate action;<br />&bull; Promote sustainable and responsible consumption; and<br />&bull; Advocate for climate action through communication.</p>
<p>Sports organisations are invited to sign on regardless of the current stage of their environmental endeavours and to work collaboratively with other signatories to identify and spotlight solutions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Commitment to the Framework requires a demonstration of ongoing progress, meaning organisations need to set targets, measure their carbon impact and take action to reduce as well as compensate for those remaining emissions.</p>
<p>The Sport for Climate Action Framework was launched in Katowice, Poland, in 2018, the city that will host the World Athletics Relays Silesia 2021 on 1-2 May. More than 200 governing bodies, leagues, clubs, teams and media organisations have signed on.</p>
<p>World Athletics urges all of its member federations, event organisers and other stake holders to learn more about the Framework and commit to its principles. World Athletics will provide any guidance and assistance needed to ensure that our sport is positively contributing to the framework.</p>
<p><strong>World Athletics</strong></p>

World Athletics and organisers of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 have marked Earth Day 2021 by signing on to the United Nations Climate Change (UNCC) Sports for Climate Action Framework, an initiative supporting and guiding sports organisations to measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

World Athletics and WIC Belgrade22 sign on to the United Nations Climate Change Sports for Climate Action Framework

100 ones to watch in Tokyo: sprinters

<p>World Athletics is now inviting potential hosts for six World Athletics Series events to register their interest by 1 June.</p>
<p>Bid guides for the 2024 and 2026 editions of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, World Athletics Cross Country Championships and World Athletics U20 Championships are now <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/member-federation-resource-centre#headingbidding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">available to download</a></strong></span>.</p>
<p>The World Athletics Indoor Championships is an immersive experience like none other in the sport, placing spectators close to the action. The world&rsquo;s best track and field athletes compete in 26 championship events over three days of non-stop action. The 2024 edition will be the final global championships in the lead-up to the Paris Olympic Games.</p>
<p>The World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the premier footrace for the world&rsquo;s toughest runners. The event features five championship races &ndash; three for seniors and two for U20 athletes &ndash; while the World Masters Championships will also be incorporated into the programme for the upcoming editions.</p>
<p>The World Athletics U20 Championships is a festival of track and field for the youth. Held over six days, it gives the world an opportunity to see the next generation of athletics stars in action.</p>
<p>Through its globally appealing and accessible events, World Athletics aims to attract the world&rsquo;s best athletes to the world&rsquo;s greatest places to inspire people on and off the field. For host cities, World Athletics Series events help to boost the local economy, drive sport tourism, promote active lifestyles, inspire youth, and put existing infrastructure to good use.</p>
<p>&ldquo;By partnering with World Athletics, a host city takes on a global spotlight, driving the elite profile of athletics both locally and internationally, and encouraging more active communities through legacy programmes that we can help our host cities to develop,&rdquo; World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.</p>
<p>The bid documents contain pages of useful information for prospective host cities of World Athletics Series events, outlining the benefits for hosts, the social and environmental impact, and the revenue potential. Bidding requirements, processes and timelines are also included in each bid guide.</p>
<p><strong>World Athletics</strong></p>

World Athletics is now inviting potential hosts for six World Athletics Series events to register their interest by 1 June.

Opportunities available for cities to host future World Athletics Series events

Before he took up running, Sam Tanner’s No.1 passion was surfing

How surfing has helped Tanner’s development as a runner

<p>Three-time world indoor champion Pavel Maslak, European indoor 400m champion Femke Bol, and African 100m champion Akani Simbine are among the big names on the final entry list for the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21.</p>
<p>The entries, published today, indicate that 127 relay teams from 37 countries will compete in Silesia.</p>
<p><strong>World Athletics Relays entries: <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/607eab393f7cb0ef0e3e6922.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">by event</span></a></strong> | <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/607eab863f7cb0ef0e3e6923.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by country</a></span></strong></p>
<p>Maslak will aim to keep the Czech men&rsquo;s 4x400m team in a qualifying position for the Tokyo Olympics. They currently occupy the 16th and final spot in the list of provisional qualifiers for the Games, but a lane in the final in Silesia will secure their place in the Japanese capital.</p>
<p>Simbine, who has produced three sub-10-second performances already this year, will be reunited with two of his other South African 4x100m teammates from the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. Thando Dlodlo and Clarence Munyai joined Simbine in setting a national record of 37.65 in the heats before going on to finish fifth in the final.</p>
<p>In Doha they finished just 0.01 behind Brazil, winners of the 4x100m at the World Athletics Relays Yokohama 2019. Three members of that Brazilian sprint relay squad have been named for Silesia.</p>
<p>Several newly minted winners from the recent European Indoor Championships are slated to compete in Silesia. European indoor 400m champion Femke Bol leads a strong Dutch 4x400m team, which includes all of the women who contributed to their relay success indoors.</p>
<p>European indoor 60m champions Marcell Jacobs and Ajla del Ponte, meanwhile, are named on the Italian and Swiss squads respectively.</p>
<p>Many other global stars also feature on the entry lists, including world 400m silver medallist Anthony Zambrano of Colombia, two-time African 100m champion Blessing Okagbare, Belgium&rsquo;s Borlee brothers, world 800m bronze medallist Ferguson Rotich and his Kenyan teammate Emmanuel Korir.</p>
<p>Spain&rsquo;s Angel David Rodriguez, who turns 41 later this month, is the oldest athlete entered for the event, while 17-year-old Nigerian sprinter Imaobong Nse Uko is the youngest.</p>
<p><strong>World Athletics</strong></p>

Three-time world indoor champion Pavel Maslak, European indoor 400m champion Femke Bol, and African 100m champion Akani Simbine are among the big names on the final entry list for the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21.

Olympic and world medallists in final entries for World Athletics Relays Silesia21

<p>Norway&rsquo;s Prime Minister Erna Solberg will today lead her nation in marking the extraordinary life of women&rsquo;s running pioneer Grete Waitz (n&eacute;e Andersen, 1 October 1953 &ndash; 19 April 2011) who tragically lost her life to cancer ten years ago today.</p>
<p>Between 7pm &amp; 8pm (CEST) this evening a celebration of Grete Waitz&rsquo;s life will, due to the pandemic, be held virtually, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/316783450005817/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broadcast live on Facebook</a></strong></span>.</p>
<p>Tributes will be led with video messages from Prime Minister Solberg and among others 1984 Olympic marathon champion Jean Benoit, Grand Slam tennis ace Billy Jean King and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.<br /><br /></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CmzTJL43s2c" width="600" height="336" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h3><br />NRK documentary and charity auction</h3>
<p>This national celebration of Waitz&rsquo;s life is centred on her hometown, the Norwegian capital of Oslo and its famous Bislett Stadium. In that athletics cauldron Waitz set two 3000m world records - in 1975 &amp; 76 - before embarking on her unmatched road running career in the autumn of 1978.</p>
<p>Outside Bislett stands a bronze statue of Waitz sculpted in 1984 by Norwegian artist Nils Aas.</p>
<p>The Facebook pages of the Oslo Marathon - Oslomaraton.no - Oslo Diamond League - Bislettgames.no - along with those of the charity Aktiv, which Grete and her husband &amp; coach Jack set-up together - aktivmotkreft.no - and the fitness community - kondis.no - will all broadcast tonight&rsquo;s event live.</p>
<p>Norway&rsquo;s Minister of Culture Abid Raja will be among the limited number of actual guests allowed to take part in the live broadcast.</p>
<p>Also on Monday, NRK TV, the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, will broadcast a documentary about Grete&rsquo;s life, while the Aktiv website will <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://aktivmotkreft.no/19-april/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">host an auction of a copy of her statue</a></strong></span> to raise money for the fight against cancer.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Carousel2/6e0198e9-6689-4e85-be5b-acfe84b07a88.jpg?cachebuster=deb1defd-dfda-4769-94f0-c14b44877c54" alt="" width="951" height="570" /></p>
<h3><br />Women dared to go out to run</h3>
<p>Waitz, the inaugural world marathon champion in 1983, was the first woman to run a marathon in under two and half hours, the second of her streak of four world bests in the marathon from 1978 to 1983. She won a record nine titles at the New York City Marathon and took five victories at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.</p>
<p>On 15 March 2021, Waitz was <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/plaque/grete-waitz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posthumously honoured with the award of the World Athletics Heritage Plaque</a></strong></span>. On that occasion Jack Waitz commented: &ldquo;I am proud about Grete&rsquo;s contribution to women&rsquo;s running. The whole situation was changed in Norway. Women dared to go out to run and dared to go out to run road races.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Chris Turner</strong><br /><strong>World Athletics Heritage</strong></p>

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg will today lead her nation in marking the extraordinary life of women’s running pioneer Grete Waitz (née Andersen, 1 October 1953 – 19 April 2011) who tragically lost her life to cancer ten years ago today.

Ten years having passed, Norway celebrates the legacy of Grete Waitz

<p>On Monday 25 September 2000, the Stadium Australia was packed with 112.524 spectators. Most were still basking in the afterglow of Cathy Freeman&rsquo;s gold medal in the 400m as the field lined up for the men&rsquo;s 10,000m final.</p>
<p>Few had left. There were nine gold medals decided that night, the Magic Monday of the Sydney Olympic Games. There was no divine ruling that each of the nine finals had to be a cracker: they just were.</p>
<p>The men&rsquo;s 10,000 final &ndash; there were still heats of the &lsquo;10&rsquo;, in those days &ndash; was seen to be about two men: Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat. And, a corollary to that, it was about what tactics Tergat, as perennial a second place-finisher to &lsquo;Geb&rsquo; as was Alain Mimoun to Emil Zatopek, would adopt.</p>
<p>What would Tergat do? For the longest time, it seemed the answer would be: &ldquo;nothing&rdquo;. Then, along the final back-straight coming up to 250 metres from home, Tergat played his trump card.</p>
<p>In five years of unbroken victories over Tergat and all others, Gebrselassie&rsquo;s finishing speed had been the decisive factor. Now, at his last chance to take an Olympic victory over his toughest rival, Tergat decided to play to Gebrselassie&rsquo;s greatest strength. What sort of madness was this, 100,000 people wondered at once.</p>
<p>The doubters were ultimately shown to be right. Of course, Tergat, an athlete who had looked to be a comparative plodder as Gebrselassie blew past him at three previous World Championships and in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic final, was mad to think he could now out-sprint him.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/01a7d7b5-c3f0-4e8a-ba0a-1bdd6d003834.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="653" /><br /><em>Paul Tergat tries to hold off Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney (&copy; Getty Images)</em></p>
<p><br />Mad, maybe, but also cunning like a fox: not until the final 20 metres did Gebrselassie draw level with Tergat. Not until the final 10 did he edge ever-so-slightly ahead. Not until the final line had he won. The margin was 0.09 seconds &ndash; the closest of all their titanic battles.</p>
<p>It was a narrower margin than the men&rsquo;s 100m final at the same Games (0.12). Indeed, of the Sydney Games&rsquo; 12 track events raced over one lap or less &ndash; where winning margins of centimetres are more commonly found &ndash; only three produced a closer finish.</p>
<p>Tergat had tried everything to beat Haile Gebrselassie. Everything else had failed. This was not madness, though it may have been an inspired act of desperation. How could it be mad? Tergat&rsquo;s tactics in Sydney took him closer to success than any others he had employed in four major championship finals.</p>
<p>Out of nothing, Tergat almost created something very big.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">One of the best final sprints in history. Happy birthday Haile Gebrselassie! 🎂<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrongerTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrongerTogether</a><a href="https://t.co/GguoS7yuqo">pic.twitter.com/GguoS7yuqo</a></p>
&mdash; Olympics (@Olympics) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympics/status/1383721993011220483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
<h2><br />How did we get to here?</h2>
<p>The rivalry between Tergat and Gebrselassie was a rare one. It spanned 14 years, from 1993, when Gebrselassie finished three places ahead of Tergat at the World Cross Country Championships in Amorebieta, until the 2007 London Marathon when they lined up alongside each other for the last time with Tergat eventually placing sixth and Gebrselassie recording a &lsquo;DNF&rsquo;.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0d1acf034ed19256fadb.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="630" /><br /><em>Paul Tergat (319) and Haile Gebrselassie (185) in action at the 1994 World Cross Country Championships in Budapest (&copy; Getty Images)</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Even in this professional era, it&rsquo;s rare to find other examples of two athletes who have dominated an event &ndash; in this case, the 10,000m &ndash; for so long. Others intruded at times &ndash; 1992 Olympic champion Khalid Skah finished between the pair at the 1995 World Championships &ndash; but it was almost invariably Tergat and Gebrselassie fighting it out at the end of the &lsquo;ten&rsquo;.</p>
<p>Fittingly, given the pre-eminence of the Olympic Games in public perception, Atlanta and Sydney were the highpoints. Atlanta was a battle fought in sweltering heat and humidity over the final 5000m; the greatness of the Sydney race, by contrast, crept up on spectators until its surprising and amazing final crescendo.</p>
<p>For the most part, the rivalry was played out on the track. After a second loss to Tergat in 1996, Gebrselassie gave up on the World Cross. Their battles were fought solely on the oval track and almost exclusively over 10,000m. The pair swapped world records, but it was always Gebrselassie on the top step of the podium.<br /><br /></p>
<div style="padding: 15px 20px 5px 20px; border: 2px solid #a5fa64;">
<h2>Gebrselassie vs Tergat</h2>
<p>The distance legends met 19 times during their career. Tergat had the better record on the cross country, winning two world titles, and on the roads, winning two of their three encounters. But Gebrselassie&rsquo;s dominance on the track gave him the edge in their overall head-to-head record.</p>
<p>Another connection between the pair is that they have both donated artefacts to the World Athletics Heritage Collection. Gebrselassie has donated his singlet and bib numbers from the 1999 World Championships, which can also be seen in the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Museum of World Athletics</strong></span></a>, while Tergat donated his kit from the 1997 World Cross Country Championships.</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">
<table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="50%">
<h3 align="center"><br /><img style="width: 180px; height: 180px; border-radius: 50%;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0adf7a75c1ec5b111981.png" alt="Haile Gebrselassie" /><br />Haile Gebrselassie</h3>
</td>
<td width="50%">
<h3 align="center"><br /><img style="width: 180px; height: 180px; border-radius: 50%;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0af17a75c1ec5b111984.png" alt="Paul Tergat" /><br />Paul Tergat</h3>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>7th</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1993 World Cross</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">10th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>3rd</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1994 World Cross</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">4th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1994 Brussels 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">4th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">4th</div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1995 World Cross</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1995 World Champs, 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">3rd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1995 Zurich 5000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">8th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">5th</div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1996 World Cross</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1996 Olympics, 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">2nd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>2nd</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1996 Zurich 5000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">3rd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1997 World Champs, 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">2nd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1997 Zurich 5000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">3rd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1998 Monaco 3000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">9th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1998 Zurich 5000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">4th</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">1999 World Champs, 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">2nd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">2000 Zurich 5000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">2nd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">2000 Olympics, 10,000m</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">2nd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>1st</strong></div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">2002 Lisbon Half Marathon</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">3rd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">3rd</div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">2002 London Marathon</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>2nd</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center">DNF</div>
</td>
<td width="60%">
<div align="center">2007 London Marathon</div>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<div align="center"><strong>6th</strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<h2><br />Sydney v Atlanta</h2>
<p>Statistically, at least, Atlanta was superior to Sydney. Conditions &ndash; the height of summer versus the moderate southern hemisphere spring &ndash; were tougher. The racing was savage: after a 13:55 first half, the kickdown generated by the three Kenyans &ndash; Paul Koech, Josephat Machuka, then, with six laps to go, Tergat &ndash; led to a 13:11.4 second half.</p>
<p>On almost every measure of the second half &ndash; last 800m, 1600m, 3000m and 5000m &ndash; Atlanta was quicker. The last lap is the exception, reflecting Tergat&rsquo;s frantic, unavailing sprint and Gebrselassie&rsquo;s desperate, successful chase. The final time was an Olympic record 27:07.34 (since broken by Kenenisa Bekele) compared to Sydney&rsquo;s 27:18.20. Gebrselassie was tired after his epic sprint to win in Sydney: he was very tired after the Atlanta final which left him clinging to the finish post for support.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have never been so tired after an important race,&rdquo; Gebrselassie said then.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0d84cf034ed19256fae1.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" /><br /><em>Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat in the 1996 Olympic 10,000m final (&copy; Getty Images)</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>But timing, and other intangibles, give Sydney the edge in any comparison. The rivalry was coming to an end. Tergat had already made public his intention to move up to the marathon.</p>
<p>Both protagonists seemed to be showing the first signs of running mortality. Tergat had to convince the Kenyan selectors he should run the 10,000m rather than the 5000m. It took a 27:03.87 which, poignantly, remained the year&rsquo;s fastest, to win the argument. &ldquo;I wanted to prove I&rsquo;m worthy of representing my country in this event,&rdquo; he said post-race.</p>
<p>Gebrselassie, who struggled to overcome an achilles injury to get to the line, had to dig deep, perhaps deeper than he had ever gone and ever would again, to get past his rival.</p>
<p>Few in Stadium Australia that night would have thought Tergat could win. Of those few, hardly any would have suggested he try to out-sprint him. The up-ending of our usual perceptions by Tergat&rsquo;s going against type provided a tantalising element of surprise similar, to draw an example from another sport, to when Muhammad Ali, on his way to a famous upset victory, absorbed a pummelling against the ropes in conning George Foreman to punch himself out in the famous &lsquo;Rumble in the Jungle&rsquo; heavyweight title fight.</p>
<p>Across the finish line, surprise and relief were etched on Gebrselassie&rsquo;s face; despair, perhaps tempered by the satisfaction that he had now tried everything, on Tergat&rsquo;s. The pair shared a brief embrace, the respect almost palpable. They would never meet on a track again, but the two greatest of their generation brought down the curtain on their era with a tour de force.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0d33cf034ed19256fade.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="629" /><br /><em>Haile Gebrselassie wins the 2000 Olympic 10,000m title (&copy; Getty Images)</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Did the Mezgebu shuffle kill Tergat&rsquo;s chances?</p>
<p>As Tergat lurked in the pack of five runners still in contention at the bell, he was boxed in when Assefa Mezgebu moved alongside. To get out to launch his final sprint, Tergat had to execute a side-step shuffle between the Ethiopian and Kenyan teammate Patrick Ivuti.</p>
<p>Tergat still got to the curve before the 200 and, heaven knows, Gebrselassie might somehow have found more had it been required. Could the manoeuvre have cost Paul Tergat nine-hundredths of a second? We will never know.</p>
<h2>Post-script</h2>
<p>True to his word, Paul Tergat moved up to the marathon after Sydney. He ran the marathon at the Athens 2004 Olympics, fading to tenth after looking a winning chance late in the race.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607c0d98cf034ed19256fae4.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" /><br /><em>Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat in 2007 ahead of their final clash (&copy; Getty Images)</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The marathon also featured prominently in Gebrselassie&rsquo;s post-Sydney career, but he could not quite bring himself to run it at a major championships. He ran the 10,000m at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, finishing fifth behind Bekele, and in 2008 in Beijing, for sixth place again behind Bekele.</p>
<p>Both men set marathon world records (Tergat, one; Gebrselassie, two), but neither established pre-eminence in the event in the same manner they had dominated the track.</p>
<p><strong>Len Johnson for World Athletics</strong></p>

On Monday 25 September 2000, the Stadium Australia was packed with 112.524 spectators. Most were still basking in the afterglow of Cathy Freeman’s gold medal in the 400m as the field lined up for the men’s 10,000m final.

Gebrselassie vs Tergat in Sydney: a race about (almost) nothing

Remembering one of the most iconic races in Olympic history

<p>Moments before she became the first Australian woman to clear a high jump bar set at two metres, Nicola McDermott was worried about a shoe.</p>
<p>Not the ones she was wearing, which suited her just fine. First-time clearances at 1.86m, 1.90m, 1.94m and 1.97m attested to that. Not even a whole shoe. Just half a shoe.</p>
<p>After missing her first attempt at 2.00m, McDermott wanted to move her run-up marker back half a shoe&rsquo;s length. Her life-long coach Mick Horsnell couldn&rsquo;t see it would make much difference. Nor could Australian head coach Craig Hilliard who was on hand for support. But they acquiesced, presumably because the one doing the jumping knows what is best.</p>
<p>Back the marker came. McDermott went through her normal pre-jump routine. In she raced, over she went and history was made, sailing over the Oceanian record and becoming the first woman to clear 2.00m outdoors this Olympic season. Whether or not half a shoe&rsquo;s length made a difference, we&rsquo;ll never know. But it sure didn&rsquo;t hurt.</p>
<p>McDermott added one centimetre to the national record set by Eleanor Patterson last year. The pair had a series of memorable clashes then, but Patterson missed the Australian Championships with a leg injury and had to watch as her competitor won the race to two metres. Hopefully normal competition will be resumed between now and Tokyo.</p>
<p>McDermott had the bar raised to 2.03m, but missed three attempts at the height. The last one came close enough to suggest it is within her reach.</p>
<p>Jye Edwards&rsquo; step-by-step improvement this season culminated in a national title when he upstaged Stewart McSweyn to win the 1500m. Edwards had come down in two-second chunks to 3:35.46, which he ran in defeating all the national contenders but McSweyn almost three weeks ago.</p>
<p>Pre-race talk was that national record-holder McSweyn (3:30.51) would go hard at some point, either from the gun or over the second half of the race. It took only seconds for the race plan to unfold: McSweyn burst into the lead and ran through the first 400m within 56 seconds and 800m in about 1:52. Edwards clung to his heels as the pace eased to a shade under 59 seconds for the third lap and around the final bend.</p>
<p>Off the bend came the shock. Edwards moved out to launch his finishing burst, got to McSweyn&rsquo;s side and, a few strides later, edged ahead. His 3:33.99 put him into the team for Tokyo as a winner with an automatic qualifying standard. McSweyn was second in 3:34.55 and Rorey Hunter third in 3:37.32. Edwards and Hunter are both coached by Dick Telford.</p>
<p>Dani Stevens took her 14th national title in the discus with a best distance of 62.74m, completing a domestic season comeback following two consecutive years with career-threatening back and neck injuries. She will also be confirmed in the Tokyo team and will complete her Olympic preparations in Australia.</p>
<p>Others to confirm Tokyo nomination on the final day of open competition were long jumper Brooke Stratton, sprinter Riley Day and Catriona Bisset, who retained her 800m title (last contested in 2019) with a win in 2:00.45. Kurtis Marschall, who no-heighted in the men&rsquo;s pole vault, was nonetheless nominated to the team.</p>
<h3>Moloney confirms his progress</h3>
<p>Ashley Moloney burst through into the top ranks of decathlon when he amassed 8492 points in his Queensland state championships late last year (20 December).</p>
<p>While not quite as impressive in Sydney, he took his first senior national title, winning six of the 10 events on his way to victory over training mate Cedric Dubler, scoring 8284. The pair train together under coach Eric Brown, who has been associated with most of Australia&rsquo;s top decathletes for many years now.</p>
<p>So much for the similarities: over two days, however, the pair are polar opposites. Moloney has a marked edge on day one, Dubler comes home markedly the stronger over day two.</p>
<p>Moloney tallied 4512 on day one, to lead surprise packet Alec Diamond and Dubler comfortably. Dubler kept nibbling into the lead through the second day&rsquo;s five events, including a 161-point swing in the pole vault and discus. Ultimately, he fell 109 points short with Diamond hanging on for third.</p>
<p>Moloney is an automatic nomination for the Tokyo team, the first Olympics for the 20-year-old. Dubler will go to his second Games as he already has achieved the qualifying standard and will be nominated.</p>
<h3>Browning, Hall, Kennedy and Oboya stay cool on a chilly Saturday night</h3>
<p>Sprinter Rohan Browning is generating his own heat at the moment. Almost alone of those contesting the explosive events, he produced something close to his best in winning the 100m title in 10.09 (0.4m/s). In doing so, Browning reversed the result from two years ago (the 2020 championships were cancelled due to Covid), relegating the winner then, New Zealand&rsquo;s Eddie Osei-Nketia, to second place more than two metres behind.</p>
<p>As he had already attained the Olympic qualifying standard of 10.05, Browning will be in his first Olympic team when he competes in Tokyo.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the throws, jumps and sprints appeared to be impacted by the unseasonably cool conditions. It was still, but the air temperature was uncomfortably cold. In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Brandon Starc appeared vulnerable when he cleared only 2.20m, but his 2016 Olympic and 2019 World Championships teammate Joel Baden could go no higher than 2.15m.</p>
<p>In the women&rsquo;s 400m, Bendere Oboya was a comfortable winner in 52.20. In the men&rsquo;s event, the expected close battle between Steve Solomon and Alexander Beck delivered a close race, but Beck&rsquo;s winning time was a moderate 46.41. The form man at 800m, Peter Bol, won his title in 1:49.27, though championships tactic also played a role there.</p>
<p>Two who defied the conditions, while at the same time confirming their spots in the Tokyo team, were pole vaulter Nina Kennedy and 1500m champion Linden Hall. Kennedy came into the final at 4.50m, where her clearance gave her the title, and progressed comfortably to 4.75m. She bowed out with three unsuccessful attempts at 4.85m, which would have been an improvement on her own Australian record.</p>
<p>Hall, who has run from the front throughout an outstanding domestic season, this time sat back in second or third place through the first two laps of the 1500m final. Picking it up from there, she covered her last two laps in approximately 2:07 to win in 4:07.56. In second place, Abbey Caldwell, who does not turn 20 until July, improved her previous best by almost two seconds in recording 4:08.67. At one stage on the last lap she was gaining ground on Hall, but the winner booted away again up the final straight.</p>
<p>The women&rsquo;s javelin brought together world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber, who has been struggling for form this year, and 2018 world leader Kathryn Mitchell, who has hardly competed since due to injury. Mitchell produced a 63.34m first-round effort which stood up for the win. Barber showed her best form of the season to take second with a best of 61.09m and 2013 world U18 champion Mackenzie Little was also beyond 60 metres in third place at 60.90m.</p>
<p>Matt Denny also appeared to struggle with the conditions, though he still produced a throw of 63.88m to win the men&rsquo;s discus.</p>
<p><strong>Len Johnson for World Athletics</strong></p>

Moments before she became the first Australian woman to clear a high jump bar set at two metres, Nicola McDermott was worried about a shoe.

McDermott wins race to 2.00m at Australian Championships, Edwards upstages McSweyn

<p>Oceania is coming together with one voice to urge support for the Global Conversation.</p>
<p>The region of Island nations has a rich history in the sport, having twice hosted the Olympic Games (Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000), created iconic events like the Stawell Gift &ndash; a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/news/stawell-gift-world-athletics-heritage-plaque" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recipient of World Athletics Heritage plaque</a></strong></span> &ndash; nurtured ground-breaking breaking coaches such as Arthur Lydiard and, of course, has been represented by some the sport&rsquo;s greatest competitors including Cathy Freeman, Valerie Adams, Herb Elliot, Sally Pearson and Peter Snell.</p>
<p>But the region is looking ahead to the future to grow and evolve athletics. The Northern Marianas Athletics Association has urged active involvement in the worldwide survey through the pages of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/nma-joins-global-effort-to-shape-athletics-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Saipan Times</a></strong></span>. While on Facebook, President of Vanuatu Athletics Federation Rex Issachar championed the unique opportunity of the Global Conversation. He said: &ldquo;Our athletics federation Is excited to be part of the World Athletics Plan to strategize our sport into the future.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The past 12 months have been challenging and we want to include the views of everyone in these discussions, every input is important to the future of the sport of athletics. This is your chance to have your say in our future. Together we will build the sport (Track &amp; Field) that we love.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Athletics Australia and the Federated States of Micronesia Athletics are among the association urging athletes, coaches, officials, fans and volunteers to all have their say.</p>
<p>To have your say in the future of the sport, please <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://surveyhub.deloitte.co.uk/wix/p402654971948.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complete the survey today</a></strong></span>.</p>

Oceania is coming together with one voice to urge support for the Global Conversation.

Island nations stand together

<p>Continuing her comeback in style, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn stormed to a 100m hurdles win in 12.32 (1.7m/s) to move to equal seventh on the world all-time list at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday (17).</p>
<p>Prior to her season opener one week before, Camacho-Quinn's last hurdles race had been in 2019 and the Rio 2016 Olympian had started questioning whether her future lay in competing over the barriers.</p>
<p>But her perseverance is paying off and in&nbsp;Gainesville&nbsp;the two-time NCAA champion took 0.08 off her own Puerto Rican record, which had been set in 2018, to make a statement in Olympic year.</p>
<p>Behind her, British sisters Tiffany Porter and Cindy Sember both clocked 12.62, with Brittany Anderson finishing fourth in&nbsp;12.91.</p>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNf8ObnHm5O/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13">
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<p><br />In the men's 110m hurdles, USA's world 60m hurdles record-holder Grant Holloway &ndash; who clocked a wind-assisted 13.04 (2.2m/s) a week earlier &ndash; ran a world-leading 13.07 (1.3m/s) for a dominant win. Trey Cunningham was second in a PB of 13.28.</p>
<p>World 400m champion Steven Gardiner went quickest over one lap, clocking 44.71 in his first 400m race since his world title win in Doha in 2019, as Britain&rsquo;s Matthew Hudson-Smith was second in 45.53. Fastest in the women&rsquo;s events was Jessica Beard with a time of 51.00.</p>
<p>Javianne Oliver won the women&rsquo;s 100m from Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta &ndash; 11.12 to 11.16 (2.2m/s).</p>
<p>The men&rsquo;s 100m saw the quickest time come in the university race as&nbsp;Jo'Vaughn Martin improved his PB from&nbsp;10.40 to&nbsp;9.94 (1.6m/s) to equal the world lead. Justin Gatlin went quickest in the 'Olympic Development' races with 9.98 (1.4m/s) ahead of Andre De Grasse with 9.99, Kenny Bednarek with 10.03 and Noah Lyles with 10.08.</p>
<p>Just one week after clocking 10.72 for 100m, Sha'Carri Richardson continued her fine form to run 22.11 (1.0m/s) in her 200m season debut on the first day of Tom Jones Memorial Invitational action on Friday (16).</p>
<p>It is the 21-year-old&rsquo;s second quickest ever time for the distance behind her PB of 22.00 set in Florida last August and saw the world U20 record-holder win the heat by almost half a second ahead of Lynna Irby with 22.57.</p>
<p>World and Olympic medallist Blessing Okagbare was third in 22.66.</p>
<p>The time clocked by Richardson &ndash; who moved to sixth on the world all-time list with her 100m run the week before &ndash; is the second fastest in the world at this early point of the season behind Shaunae Miller-Uibo&rsquo;s 22.03 from earlier this month.</p>
<p>World 400m bronze medallist Fred Kerley went quickest in the men&rsquo;s 200m heats, equalling his PB with 20.24 (0.9m/s) ahead of Jereem Richards with 20.30. Erriyon Knighton won another heat in 20.39 (0.5m/s).</p>
<h3>McLaughlin runs 100m hurdles PB</h3>
<p>World 400m hurdles silver medallist Sydney McLaughlin improved her 100m hurdles PB to 12.92 (0.2m/s) at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, on Friday (16).</p>
<p>With that result, the 21-year-old becomes the first woman to break 13.00 for the 100m hurdles, 23.00 for 200m and 53.00 for the 400m hurdles.</p>
<p>She was back in action just 40 minutes later and ran 51.16 in the 400m heats.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">New wind legal 12.92 100mH PR for Sydney McLaughlin (<a href="https://twitter.com/GoSydGo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoSydGo</a>) in the Bryan Clay prelims. 👏<br />📺: <a href="https://t.co/sw9nzYxLdh">https://t.co/sw9nzYxLdh</a> <a href="https://t.co/U24UF9QdSr">pic.twitter.com/U24UF9QdSr</a></p>
&mdash; FloTrack (@FloTrack) <a href="https://twitter.com/FloTrack/status/1383189348674199554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p><br />The 2016 world U20 champion Candace Hill was quickest in the 100m heats with 11.13 (0.5m/s) &ndash; her fastest time since that world under-20 win.</p>
<p>Brazil&rsquo;s Paulo Andre Camilo ran a wind-assisted 10.05 (2.4m/s) in the men&rsquo;s heats as Ameer Webb opened his season by winning the first heat in 10.09 (0.8m/s). An hour later Webb ran a wind-assisted 20.52 (2.2m/s) for 200m.</p>
<p>Malaina Payton followed up her recent 6.81m PB with 6.74m (1.7m/s) to win the long jump.</p>
<h3>Simbine wins in&nbsp;Pretoria</h3>
<p>African and Commonwealth champion Akani Simbine clocked 9.99 (0.2m/s) to win the South African 100m title in Pretoria on Friday (16). The day before, the national record-holder with 9.89 had run a wind-assisted 9.82 (2.8m/s) in the semifinals.</p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607ab806b66908129f0303f9.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="689" /><br /><em>Akani Simbine wins the South African 100m title&nbsp;(&copy;&nbsp;Reg Caldecott/Tuks Sports)</em></p>
<p><br />Gift Leotlela was second in the final, running 10.16, and Thembo Monareng was third in 10.33.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I'm glad to run another sub-10 and the key is to stay healthy,&rdquo; said Simbine. &ldquo;It's another big year and I'm sticking to the main goal, which is the Tokyo Olympics.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Reabetswe Moloi won the women&rsquo;s title, equalling her PB set in the heats with 11.55 (-0.5m/s).</p>
<p>Tiaan Kleynhans won the men's 110m hurdles final in 13.62, with African record-holder Antonio Alkana finishing fourth in 14.02 after hitting a hurdle. The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles title was claimed by Marjone Fourie in 13.54.</p>
<p>On Saturday (17), Olympic 400m champion and world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk returned after winning his 200m semifinal in 20.38 (-1.4m/s) to match that time to win the final (+0.1m/s), easing up on his approach to the finish line.</p>
<p>"Tonight was just about getting the win and feeling what it's like to win again at championship level," he said.<br /><br />"Now I can use this momentum going forward. Training is going well and I'm feeling confident in myself."</p>
<p>The 2017 world bronze medallist&nbsp;Ruswahl Samaai leapt&nbsp;8.16m (1.1m/s) to win the long jump.</p>
<p>Wenda Nel and&nbsp;Le Roux&nbsp;Hamman claimed the 400m hurdles titles, clocking respective times of 55.60 and 49.70.</p>
<p>Kyle Blignaut threw 20.82m to win the shot put ahead of Jason Van Rooyen with a 20.60m throw.</p>
<h3>Broadbell blasts to hurdles PB</h3>
<p>Jamaica&rsquo;s Rasheed Broadbell improved his 110m hurdles PB from 13.47 to 13.15 (-0.6m/s) at the Velocity Fest #9 meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday (17).</p>
<p>The 20-year-old, who had run 13.71 at the #8 meeting in March, finished clear ahead of Commonwealth champion Ronald Levy with 13.43.</p>
<p>Britain&rsquo;s European 100m champion Zharnel Hughes went quickest in the 200m races, running 20.14 for his fastest time on a standard track since 2015.</p>
<p>The women&rsquo;s 200m was won by Jamaica&rsquo;s multiple global gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 22.66 (-0.2m/s) ahead of Stephenie Ann McPherson with 22.90.</p>
<p>Racing the distance for the first time this year, Jamaica&rsquo;s double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah won the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.21&nbsp; (0.0m/s). Running into a -2.0m/s headwind, Nigel Ellis went quickest in the men&rsquo;s 100m with 10.39 as Asafa Powell won another of the heats in 10.48&nbsp;(-2.5m/s).</p>
<p>Jamaica&rsquo;s 2015 world medallist O'Dayne Richards won the shot put with a throw of 19.15m.</p>
<h3>Mboma improves world U20 record&nbsp;</h3>
<p>Less than a week after her 49.24 to break the world under-20 400m record* in Lusaka, Zambia, 17-year-old Christine Mboma went faster still with 49.22 at the Namibian Championships.</p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607b1ea0ad158e26a444df5d.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="463" /><br /><em>Christine Mboma celebrates her 49.22 400m at the Namibian Championships (&copy; Bradley Agnew/Newton Agency)</em></p>
<p><br />Mboma now has the two fastest times in the world clocked so far this season, with her 49.24 on 11 April having improved the long-standing under-20 record of 49.42 set by Grit Breuer at the 1991 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.</p>
<p>Beatrice Masilingi, who clocked 49.53 behind Mboma in Lusaka, this time ran 50.05 to finish second.</p>
<h3>Mu runs&nbsp;1:57.73&nbsp;800m&nbsp;</h3>
<p>After running a world U20 indoor 800m record* of 1:58.40 in February, Athing Mu improved her time outdoors to a world-leading 1:57.73&nbsp;to better the North American U20 record time at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas, on Saturday (17).</p>
<p>Racing the distance outdoors for the first time since 2019, the 18-year-old improved on her previous best of 2:01.17 clocked that year in Des Moines. The North American under-20 record of 1:57.74 was set by Sahily Diago Mesa in 2014, while the previous US collegiate record had been Raevyn Rogers&rsquo; 1:59.10 set in 2017.</p>
<p>Aaliyah Miller finished second in 2:00.87.</p>
<p>Gabrielle Thomas went quickest in the women&rsquo;s 100m with 11.21 (1.5m/s) ahead of Morolake Akinosun with 11.23, while Emmanuel Matadi ran 10.12 (1.4m/s) to lead the men&rsquo;s results.</p>
<p><em>*subject to the usual ratification procedures</em></p>
<h3>Hobbs and Brisco go sub-11</h3>
<p>There were two sub-11 second performances in the women's 100m at the&nbsp;LSU Boots Garland Invitational in&nbsp;Baton Rouge on Saturday (17), with Aleia Hobbs and&nbsp;Mikiah Brisco clocking 10.88 and 10.95 respectively, aided by a 2.4m/s tailwind.</p>
<p>Terrance Laird went quickest in the men's races with 10.06 (1.7m/s).</p>
<p>Favour Ofili with a wind-assisted 22.30 (2.6m/s) and Noah Williams with 20.36 (1.6m/s) were fastest in the 200m events.</p>
<p><strong>Jess Whittington for World Athletics</strong></p>

Continuing her comeback in style, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn stormed to a 100m hurdles win in 12.32 (1.7m/s) to move to equal seventh on the world all-time list at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday (17).

Camacho-Quinn runs 12.32 100m hurdles, Richardson and McLaughlin also impress

<p><span lang="EN-AU">To best describe the close friendship between training partners and occasional on track rivals Lieke Klaver and Femke Bol, perhaps the Dutch word of 'gunnen' (not begrudge) might be most apt.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The Dutch duo have independently and collectively made quite an impact over the past 18 months or so. Last year Bol rocketed to No.1 on the world lists for the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, posting a huge national record of 53.79, and earlier this year emphatically snared the European indoor 400m title.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Klaver, meanwhile, earlier this year set national indoor records for 200m and 400m (before Bol claimed the latter mark at the same meeting in Vienna) and the pair featured as one half of the Dutch sprint team which banked the European 4x400m crown with a national record time.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The duo have also occasionally competed against one another, but this has not compromised their relationship and their close bond is described by Bol as like a &ldquo;sisterhood&rdquo;.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We feel more like family and get on really well,&rdquo; adds Bol. &ldquo;We are like sisters and learn to help each other. If we need advice, she (Klaver) would the first person I would go to.&rdquo;</span></p>
<h3><span lang="EN-AU">The start of the </span>sisterhood</h3>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The pair first met at the 2017 European U20 Championships in Grosseto &ndash; where Klaver finished sixth in the 200m final and Bol exited at the 400m semi-finals &ndash; but they barely uttered a word to each other during that trip and it was only while sharing a room at the 2019 World Athletics Relays in Yokohama that the athletes started to build a friendship in a slightly quirky manner.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;Our friendship started out of our clumsiness,&rdquo; recalls Klaver with a smile. &ldquo;We shared a room with a high window but as I tried to open the window I banged my head. Two minutes later Femke did the same thing and we had such a laugh about it.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Aged just 18 months apart, Yokohama also represented the starting point of their respective senior international careers. In fact, their shared experiences on that trip brought them closer and the pair laugh about their &ldquo;fan girl&rdquo; behaviour in Japan.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;Some athletes who competed in Yokohama had started to follow me on Instagram,&rdquo; recalls Klaver. &ldquo;I kept saying to Femke, &lsquo;that girl is following me (on Instagram) and that guy is following me.&rsquo; On the track I was awestruck at seeing Andre De Grasse and others.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Femke was similarly giddy on that trip when identifying top athletes.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We spotted athletes in the elevator, we were like young girls on an adventure,&rdquo; adds Femke. &ldquo;At one point Lisanne de Witte (fellow Dutch athlete) walked over and said: &lsquo;Girls, you have to focus on your own game because you have to run against them&rsquo;!&rdquo;</span></p>
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<p><span lang="EN-AU"><br />If World Relays provided the spark for their future friendship, the closeness of their relationship started to bed down later that year after both athletes joined the same Papendal-based training group led by Swiss coach Laurent Meuwly.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Klaver, who grew up in Enkhuisen in Noord Holland, a little under a 90-minute drive from Bol&rsquo;s home town of Amersfoort, came under Meuwly&rsquo;s guidance in August of 2019 with Bol joining the successful sprint group a month or so later.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Training and living together in the same Papendal facility, which sees around 20 athletes live in separate bedrooms with a shared kitchen, the pair&rsquo;s friendship strengthened.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We were discovering a lot of lot of new things at the same time, which felt like we had a special bond,&rdquo; explains Klaver, 22.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Yet Klaver and Bol are far from two peas in a pod. In fact, their friendship is more a case of opposites attract.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Klaver is the more outgoing and forthright of the pair, taking on the role of &lsquo;older sister&rsquo;. Bol, a more introverted and softer personality, is happy to play the part of &lsquo;younger sister.&rsquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The pair listen to different music &ndash; Klaver is a big fan of rap and hip hop while Bol prefers pop music from the Dutch top 40.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;I think the fact we are so different is maybe why we have such a good relationship,&rdquo; explains Klaver, a 50.98 400m flat runner. &ldquo;In some ways we don&rsquo;t have a lot in common, although we do share a similar sense of humour.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;Femke is so much more of a perfectionist than me. She has seven books where she writes down all of her plans, I&rsquo;m more go with the flow, which is not always a good thing and I can learn from her structure.&rdquo;</span><span lang="EN-AU">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">On the flip side, Klaver is also a good foil for Bol.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;Lieke has helped me learn to relax a bit more,&rdquo; adds Bol. &ldquo;At 10 o&rsquo;clock I would think, right, I have to go to sleep right now but she was a bit more loose with that. I was more strict but not in a good way. She made me more relaxed to the point we really learned from each other.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Even in training the pair possess a complimentary skill set which can benefit each other. Klaver admits she would love to have Bol&rsquo;s endurance. Meanwhile, Bol would dine out on her good friend&rsquo;s speed, strength and tough mindset in training.</span></p>
<h3><span lang="EN-AU">Friendly rivalry</span></h3>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">While Klaver is chiefly a 200m and 400m flat exponent and Bol a 400m hurdles specialist, during the indoor season the pair stepped on one another&rsquo;s toes by meeting over the one-lap distance.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">In Vienna in January, while not in direct combat, Klaver set a national indoor record of 51.48 in the 400m B race only for Bol to supersede it just 10 minutes later with a 50.96 clocking.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Then at the European Indoor Championships in Torun in March, Bol sped to 400m gold with Klaver back in fifth. So how do the pair manage their friendship when they are both out to beat one another on the track?</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We felt at the European Indoors that the natural thing to do was give ourselves a little space, so we didn&rsquo;t share a room at the meet hotel,&rdquo; explains Klaver.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We often drink tea together in the evenings but we stopped doing that around the competition period.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;When people didn&rsquo;t see us together I got questions from people asking; did we have a fight? But we just needed a bit of space because we had a race to run. It was nothing bad for the friendship.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU"><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607ac263d816cfd83d40d2e7.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="635" /><br /></span><em><span lang="EN-AU">Winner Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver after the 400m final at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-AU">(&copy; Getty Images)</span></em></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU"><br />Bol, a 21-year-old communications science student, adds: &ldquo;Of course during a competition we would love it if we could both win but somebody has to be first and second. But as a competitor I switch my mindset to say &ldquo;okay, I want to beat everyone, whoever it is.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Klaver too supports this viewpoint and sees the advantages in occasionally racing one another.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;We are at a similar level, so we know if we want to reach a higher level we need to push and help each other,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;If we are both chasing PBs, we are helping each other progress.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">In Torun their friendship faced a severe test. Klaver admits she was far from happy to place fifth in the 400m final and needed time to herself to absorb the disappointment. It was only later that could she express her happiness for Bol.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Yet the following day the dynamic duo came together as one half of the Dutch 4x400m relay team that raced to gold in a national record of 3:27.15 &ndash; which helped to wash away any disappointment Klaver may have felt.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;The next day Lieke ran a crazy split in the 4x4 and showed she could do it - I was very happy for her,&rdquo; explains Bol. &ldquo;The relay success makes it even more beautiful because we have been through so much together in training. To share that memorable moment together was very special.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The pair both believe their close bond has enabled them to improve as athletes. Klaver admitting the inspirational feats of Bol over the past year has generated an extra motivation in her and given her a new level of confidence.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;The friendship makes me relaxed. Friendship is a sign of trust and when I trust people I can be myself and when I can be myself I can run fast on the track,&rdquo; explains Klaver.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">The next time that friendship will come together will be at the World Athletics Relays in Poland on 1-2 May.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Klaver and Bol could compete as part of a women&rsquo;s 4x400m team or mixed 4x400m team &ndash; providing the heartbeat of what is likely to prove a pair of impressive quartets.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">&ldquo;Of course, we want to put in some good races and show what we can do as a country together,&rdquo; adds Bol. &ldquo;We will try to do our best and see where we are placed compared to the rest of the world.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-AU">Given their close friendship coupled with their rapidly developing form, the Bol-Klaver factor could prove a very potent weapon in Silesia.</span></p>
<p><strong><span lang="EN-AU">Steve Landells for World Athletics</span></strong></p>

To best describe the close friendship between training partners and occasional on track rivals Lieke Klaver and Femke Bol, perhaps the Dutch word of 'gunnen' (not begrudge) might be most apt.

How friendship further inspires Klaver and Bol

<p>The leadership of the Cameroon Athletics Federation (CAF) have issued a rallying call for &ldquo;everybody&rdquo; from every area of the west African nation to participate in the &lsquo;<strong><a title="Global Conversation" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/conversation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Conversation for the Future of Athletics</a></strong>&rsquo;&nbsp;to have their voice heard.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/538550040" width="100%" height="450" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&ldquo;Here there are some people living in villages who follow athletics keenly,&rdquo; said CAF president Emmanuel Motomby Mbome at a specially convened press conference in Douala ahead of 'Le 3&egrave;me meeting interclubs d'athl&eacute;tisme' which took place on 27-28 March.</p>
<p><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/607af3d547579802cbfd3d62.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1087" /></p>
<p>Flanked by general secretary Charles Kouoh Kotte at the event, Mbome&nbsp;added: &ldquo;These are the people who, because they love athletics, they can contribute to better the sport.&rdquo;</p>
<p>To have your say on the future of athletics,&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://surveyhub.deloitte.co.uk/wix/p402654971948.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">please complete the survey</a></strong> by the end of April.</p>

The leadership of the Cameroon Athletics Federation (CAF) have issued a rallying call for “everybody” from every area of the west African nation to participate in the ‘Global Conversation for the Future of Athletics’ to have their voice heard.