Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs will renew their rivalry at the Millrose Games when the shot put stars compete at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on 11 February.
This historic head-to-head will surely be one of the most anticipated clashes of the entire event, held at the New Balance Track &amp; Field Center at The Armory.
At this point in his career, Crouser&rsquo;s claim to &lsquo;greatest of all-time&rsquo; status is virtually undisputed. After winning his first Olympic gold medal in 2016, Crouser set indoor and outdoor world records in 2021, and he retained his title in Tokyo with the most dominant performance in the history of the men's shot put, launching all six attempts beyond the previous Olympic record. He won his first world title in Oregon this year. Every time he steps in the ring, the world record is under threat.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to make a return to the Millrose Games again this year,&rdquo; said Crouser. &ldquo;The meet is always the best meet of the indoor circuit, and always a highlight for me. The shot put has hit new levels the past few years and I see no slowing down for the event. I&rsquo;m pushing every day to break new ground and I hope to show that at Millrose on 11 February.&rdquo;
His greatest challenger will come in the form of Kovacs, his friend and global rival. Kovacs is a two-time world champion, who memorably edged out Crouser by just one centimetre at the Doha event in 2019. He also took Olympic silver behind Crouser in both 2016 and 2021.
Earlier this year, Kovacs set the world-leading mark ahead of Crouser, moving up to second on the all-time performance list and winning the prestigious Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich with a 23.23m throw, just 14cm off Crouser's world record.
&ldquo;The Millrose Games is the most historic indoor track meet on US soil,&rdquo; said Kovacs. &ldquo;I am honoured to be a part of its 115th year history and excited for the opportunity to make history at this year&rsquo;s shot put show.&rdquo;
The Millrose Games is the fourth of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and Birmingham.
Already announced for New York are two other athletes who are also the best in the world in their event, pole vaulters Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris. Now added to the event is the 2016 Olympic Games champion Katerina Stefanidi from Greece.
For further information on the Millrose Games, visit the <a href="https://www.millrosegames.org/news/shot-put-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a>.
Organisers for World Athletics

Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs will renew their shot put rivalry at the Millrose Games

Crouser and Kovacs to clash again in New York

The Confederacao Brasileira de Atletismo has been named as winner of the Member Federations Award, the sixth honour announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.
The Member Federations Award honours a national governing body that has gone above and beyond to serve its athletes, fans and greater community. Six federations were shortlisted for the award in 2022, each nominated by one of the six area associations, before Brazil was selected as the winner.
&ldquo;Brazil receives the Member Federations Award with great joy and pride,&rdquo; said Confederacao Brasileira de Atletismo President Wlamir Leandro Motta Campos. &ldquo;It is a collective achievement, which I share with all the staff of the Brazilian Athletics Confederation, with the athletes, coaches, referees, officials, regional federation presidents and our sponsors.&rdquo;
Brazil hosted six international events successfully in 2022, including the South American U18 and U23 Championships, the South American Cross Country Championships, the Pan-American Cross Country Championships, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, and an international grand prix.
The federation secured two revolutionary sponsorship deals, benefitting the country&rsquo;s elite athletes as well as providing a boost to the sport at grass roots level.
&ldquo;It is a delight for the Brazilian Athletics Confederation to be able to take care of athletes, enabling better results by offering health plans to our athletes who stand out in Brazilian Championships and who are part of the national teams,&rdquo; added Motta Campos.
&ldquo;The Brazilian Confederation supports athletes from the start to the elite level. We have 60 grass roots athletics training centres, where we introduce the sport to children from six years old. We take part in all events with full teams, which shows our commitment and respect for the athletes, the greatest assets in our sport.&rdquo;
The Brazilian Athletics Confederation was founded on 2 December 1977, so celebrated its 45th anniversary on Friday.
Other winners already announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022 include Gennadii Zuiev (Coaching Achievement Award), Donna Fraser (Woman of the Year), Ukraine Athletic Association (President&rsquo;s Award), Martin Rickett (Photograph of the Year) and Katie Nageotte and Holly Bradshaw (Fair Play Award). The World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars will be revealed on Monday 5 December.
World Athletics

The Member Federations Award honours a national governing body that has gone above and beyond to serve its athletes, fans and greater community

Brazil wins Member Federations Award

Olympic 1500m silver medallist Laura Muir will have her eye on Maria Mutola&rsquo;s world indoor 1000m record when she competes at the&nbsp;Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, part of the 2023&nbsp;World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series, at the Utilita Arena on 25 February.
It will be Muir&rsquo;s first appearance back in front of a Birmingham crowd since she won 1500m gold and 800m bronze at this year's Commonwealth Games. The double world indoor medallist has enjoyed much success in the city and she achieved the second fastest time in history over the 1000m distance at the 2017 edition of the Birmingham indoor event. The time she set then was&nbsp;a British record 2:31.93, eclipsing Kelly Holmes&rsquo; previous mark. Only Mutola has ever gone quicker with 2:30.94.
"I have so many special memories from competing in Birmingham, so I am so very pleased to be coming back to race at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final and targeting Maria Mutola&rsquo;s world record," said Muir, who claimed world 1500m bronze in Oregon in July.
"It is a distance I have had a good history in over the years, and the British record in 2017 was a significant highlight in my career to date, so I look forward to seeing what I can lay down on the track next February.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I always look forward to racing indoors in the UK, and it kicks off a big year for the sport. It is fantastic that the UK is hosting the World Indoor Tour Series Final, and it is great that all the athletes will get to compete in a brilliant atmosphere as there is nothing quite like a British crowd.&rdquo;
The Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final is the last of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and then Birmingham.
Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Wightman have already been announced for the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, while Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris have been named for the Millrose Games in New York, and Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been announced for the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin.
For further information on the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, visit the <a href="https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/laura-muir-set-for-1000m-world-record-attempt-at-the-birmingham-world-indoor-tour-final/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a>.
Organisers for World Athletics

The Olympic 1500m silver medallist will have her eye on Mutola’s 2:30.94 at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final

Muir to target world indoor 1000m record in Birmingham

World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that New Zealand&rsquo;s 1960 Olympic 5000m gold medallist Sir Murray Halberg died on Wednesday (30) at the age of 89.
As well as claiming Olympic victory in Rome, Halberg set multiple world bests and won two Commonwealth titles during his highly successful career. The first New Zealander to run a sub-four-minute mile, Halberg also leaves a legacy off the track as founder of the Halberg Foundation.
Born in Eketahuna on 7 July 1933, Halberg grew up in Auckland where he played cricket and rugby, but a rugby injury at the age of 17 left him with a withered arm.
He switched his attention to athletics and a turning point came in 1951 when he met coach Arthur Lydiard. Three years later Halberg finished fifth in the mile at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, and he made his Olympic debut in 1956, placing 11th in the 1500m final in Melbourne.
The first of his Commonwealth three-mile crowns was claimed in Cardiff in 1958, the same year he became his nation&rsquo;s first sub-four-minute miler, and he retained that Commonwealth title in Perth in 1962, racing as an Olympic champion.
To claim that honour in Rome, Halberg made a bold break with around three laps of the Olympic 5000m final to go, and at one point had a 20m advantage. Although his rivals started to reel him in, Halberg couldn&rsquo;t be caught and he got gold in 13:43.76, not long after his training partner and compatriot Peter Snell won the 800m.
In 1961 Halberg&nbsp;achieved four world bests, three of them (two miles, 4 x mile relay and three miles) within just 19 days.
He went on to compete at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing seventh in the 10,000m and racing in the 5000m heats, before retiring from athletics.
Knighted in 1988 for services to sport and children with a disability,&nbsp;Halberg&nbsp;later received the Order of New Zealand for his service to athletics and charity work. He was also appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to athletics and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
&ldquo;Sir Murray was a fierce competitor who gave his all on the track, and a true gentleman who served others throughout his life,&rdquo; said Athletics New Zealand chief executive Peter Pfitzinger. &ldquo;He was a true champion in every respect and a great New Zealander.&rdquo;
New Zealand Olympic Committee president Liz Dawson also paid tribute and said: &ldquo;No one ever exemplified the Olympic spirit of triumphing over adversity better than Sir Murray Halberg.
&ldquo;But Sir Murray was more than just an inspiration on the field of play. Following his sporting career, he used his platform to help those less fortunate, transforming the lives of children with a disability as the founder and driving force behind the Halberg Foundation. Sir Murray used his triumph over adversity to inspire others to do the same.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Sir Murray Halberg, 1933-2022

1960 Olympic 5000m champion Halberg dies

Letesenbet Gidey and Tamirat Tola head another mouth-watering line-up for the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label event, on Sunday (4).
Valencia has witnessed a number of world records in recent years &ndash; in the women&rsquo;s 5000m and half marathon as well as the men&rsquo;s 10km and 10,000m &ndash; and organisers aim for city to be the epicentre of the running world again this weekend.
<h3>Can Gidey threaten the world record on her debut?</h3>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Gidey will be making her marathon debut one year after smashing the world half marathon record with a beamonesque time of 1:02:52.
The 24-year-old is also the world record-holder for the 5000m and 10,000m on the track and her first goal on Sunday should be to run the quickest ever women&rsquo;s marathon for a debutant, a feat which currently belongs to her fellow Ethiopian Almaz Ayana courtesy of her 2:17:20 in Amsterdam in October.
Gidey&rsquo;s training sessions are said to have gone very well over the past few months, so a serious attack on Brigid Kosgei&rsquo;s world record of 2:14:04 can&rsquo;t be ruled out. The Ethiopian star will be paced by a trio of male pacesetters, her compatriots Mebrahtu Werkineh and Getachew Niguse, plus Kenya&rsquo;s Bernard Soi.
&ldquo;I think I can do the world record,&rdquo; said a confident Gidey at the event press conference held on Friday (2). &ldquo;I have competed twice in Valencia and I was lucky to set respective world records on both occasions so let&rsquo;s hope on Sunday I can do it again&rdquo;.
In addition to Gidey&rsquo;s eye-catching debut, the line-up includes her fellow Ethiopians Sutume Kebede, Etagegne Woldu and Tigist Girma. The former is the fastest of the entrants after her 2:18:12 runner-up place in Seoul in April, although the 27-year-old had to settle for eighth in London in 2:20:44 a couple of months ago. As for Woldu, she is the defending champion in Valencia (PB 2:20:16) but has had a lacklustre 2022, while Girma is a 2:19:52 contender who clocked 2:25:10 on her last outing in Sydney in September.
Yet Gidey&rsquo;s biggest challenger might well be another debutant, Kenya&rsquo;s Sheila Chepkirui. The 31-year-old seems to be in the form of her life having lowered her half marathon PB in Ras Al Khaimah in February to 1:04:36, to elevate her to seventh place on the world all-time list. Chepkirui backed up that brilliant performance with a win in Berlin six weeks later thanks to a 1:05:02 run.
<h3>Men's course record is the goal</h3>
The men&rsquo;s event is also shaping up well as the cast includes 10 athletes who have run 2:05:30 or faster throughout their careers. The list is topped by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getaneh Molla, who ran 2:03:34 in Dubai in 2019, closely followed by the reigning world marathon champion Tola (2:03:39).&nbsp;
Ethiopia's Tola kicked off his 2022 campaign with a 2:04:14 third-place finish in Tokyo in March and went on to claim the world title in Oregon in 2:05:36, the fifth-quickest performance of his career. Sunday&rsquo;s race will be Tola&rsquo;s second appearance following Oregon, after a 59:49 half marathon win in Trento in early October.
The Ethiopian contingent is particularly powerful as it also features Dawit Wolde, who managed a lifetime best of 2:04:27 in Rotterdam last year, although has failed to finish his two races this year. Chalu Deso, whose PB of 2:04:53 dates back to Valencia in 2020, set a winning 2:05:07 season&rsquo;s best in Paris in April, while Workineh Tadese, third in Hamburg this year, has a PB of 2:05:07. Watch out too for Tanzania&rsquo;s Gabriel Geay, the World Championships seventh-place finisher and holder of a 2:04:55 lifetime best set in Milan last year.
Like in the women&rsquo;s race, there will be a number of much-awaited debuts. The Kenyan trio of Alexander Mutiso, Kelvin Kiptum and Philemon Kiplimo race the marathon for the first time, as does Ethiopia&rsquo;s Milkesa Mengesha. The 26-year-old Japan-based Mutiso ran a scintillating 57:59 &ndash; the fifth-fastest ever time &ndash; in Valencia two years ago and has also shown fine form this year with a 10km PB of 27:35 and a 58:48 half marathon effort in Ras Al Khaimah. Kiptum boasts a 58:42 time for the 13.1-mile distance and Kiplimo is another in the all-time top 10 for the distance courtesy of his 58:11 in Valencia in 2020.
Yet the most in-form debutant seems to be 22-year-old Mengesha, as he grabbed a 58:58 win in Copenhagen last September after setting a 10,000m career best of 27:00.24 in Hengelo on 5 June.
A trio of pacemakers comprising Kenyans Bernard Ngeno and Stanley Kurgat Rono plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Chala Regasa will target a steady 2:55 pace to go through the half marathon in 1:01:30, on schedule to break the course record of 2:03:00 set two years ago by Kenya&rsquo;s Evans Chebet.
A total of 30,000 runners are set to take part in the event, 50% of them travelling from abroad and representing 124 countries. The weather forecast predicts a nice and windless day, with the thermometer reaching 10-12&deg;C by the time of the event.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Letesenbet Gidey and Tamirat Tola head another mouth-watering line-up for the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label event

Gidey makes marathon debut as strong fields get set for Valencia

Katie Nageotte and Holly Bradshaw have been named winners of the International Fair Play Committee&rsquo;s (CIFP) Fair Play Award as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.
In August, World Athletics invited fans to take to social media to cast their vote for the moment that best exemplified fair play during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Following six days of voting, the social media scores were <a href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/finalists-fair-play-award-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/finalists-fair-play-award-2022">combined with jury votes</a> to determine three finalists, before Nageotte and Bradshaw were selected as the winners.
Traditionally the Fair Play Award recognises moments that happen during competition, but this time the honour highlights an act that went beyond the field of play.
In Oregon, Bradshaw injured herself after her pole snapped during the pole vault warm-up session. Her fellow competitor Nageotte immediately went over to support her. Knowing she would no longer be able to contend for a place in the final, Bradshaw withdrew from the competition, thus allowing another athlete to advance. Bradshaw received a lot of abuse on social media for withdrawing, but Nageotte again offered support by taking to Twitter in defence of her competitor.
&ldquo;The reason I wanted to address those negative comments online is first of all, Holly is the toughest athlete I&rsquo;ve possibly ever met. For her to pull out of a competition, especially a World Championships, no one would ever just do that,&rdquo; said Nageotte.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s also ignorance around our sport. It&rsquo;s kind of insulting to the sport as a whole when people say: &lsquo;oh she only fell 2ft, she&rsquo;s really milking it&rsquo;. When you break a pole, it would be like taking a metal baseball bat and hitting it against a metal pole as hard as you can. I&rsquo;ve seen so many injuries from it, so if nothing else, I want to teach people about the sport.&rdquo;
Bradshaw added: &ldquo;No one should be expected to understand (everything about the pole vault) but it&rsquo;s just having that realisation that what you are saying at home and posting online really does affect a person. Putting it online and in the domain, does so much damage. For Katie to stand up and speak out about it, is very important.&rdquo;
Secretary General of CIFP Sunil Sabharwal was also in Oregon during the World Championships. Giving recognition to the way the Fair Play Award has evolved and the winning moment in 2022, he said: &ldquo;When we look for an act of fair play, we are looking for an act where someone goes beyond the call of duty, at times putting themselves at risk. Here what we had was a series of events.
&ldquo;If you think about sports media or sports history, this kind of social media hate is a new phenomenon and the committee and the jury felt that this unwanted, unnecessary and undesired criticism by people who really don&rsquo;t know what is going on, needs to be called out. We were unanimous in supporting this.&rdquo;
On the significance of this recognition, Nageotte added: &ldquo;This award is so important for the next generation because I have always wanted to show that you can be a fierce competitor and phenomenal at what you do and still be a good person. It&rsquo;s more important for me to be remembered as a decent human being than a good athlete and if I can have both of those, then that&rsquo;s great.
&ldquo;I am happy that I could be a part of this, to show people that you can be a good person and that kindness is what we need more of going forward in this world. If I could show a little bit of that I&rsquo;m really happy, and to share it with Holly is pretty awesome.&rdquo;
The <a href="http://www.fairplayinternational.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.fairplayinternational.org">CIFP</a> was established more than 50 years ago to promote the principles of fair play in sport: fair competition, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality and sport without doping. It honours those who respect the written and unwritten rules of sport, which include integrity, solidarity, tolerance, care, excellence and joy, and who set an example for others, on and off the field. Related to the World Championships alone, 10 awards have been handed out since 2003.
The announcement of the 2022 Fair Play Award comes on the same day as the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/online-abuse-study-world-athletics-championships-oregon22" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/online-abuse-study-world-athletics-championships-oregon22">release of an online abuse study conducted by World Athletics during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22</a>. In line with its commitment to safeguarding on and off the field of play, World Athletics organised the study to identify and address abusive comments sent to athletes and will continue conducting research in this area to develop more effective ways to protect athletes from abuse.
World Athletics

Traditionally the Fair Play Award recognises moments that happen during competition, but this time the honour highlights an act that went beyond the field of play

Nageotte and Bradshaw win Fair Play Award

<h3 align="center">&bull; Almost 60% of all abuse targeted female athletes</h3>
<h3 align="center">&bull; One fifth of all abuse was racial</h3>
<h3 align="center">&bull; 60% of all abuse was made on Twitter</h3>
 In line with its commitment to safeguarding on and off the field of play, World Athletics today (2) publishes findings of a study conducted during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 to identify and address abusive comments sent to athletes via social media.
It is the second study of its kind in athletics following the Online Abuse Study that World Athletics conducted during the Tokyo Olympic Games, <a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/online-abuse-study-athletes-tokyo-olympic-games" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which revealed disturbing levels of abuse of athletes</a> and unequivocally highlighted the greater levels of abuse female athletes received in comparison to their male counterparts. This has informed World Athletics&rsquo; wider safeguarding policy, which was launched in November 2021 and updated in July of this year to make safeguarding policies mandatory for its Member Federations by the end of 2023.
World Athletics&rsquo; initial deployment of Threat Matrix, an initiative by data science company Signify Group supported by sports investigations company Quest Global, at the Tokyo Olympic Games was designed to illuminate the size, scale and gravity of the issue of online discriminatory abuse targeted at Olympic athletes on Twitter. At the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the efforts to protect athletes online went several steps further.
This year, coverage was extended to Instagram, meaning athletes were protected across the two platforms on which abuse is most likely to be detected. In addition, World Athletics monitored almost three times the number of athletes compared with the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The results of these two studies are guiding the strategies World Athletics is employing to address the issue of online abuse and will help World Athletics to work more closely with social media platforms to tackle the issue.
To further protect athletes and gain an understanding of online abuse surrounding the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the accounts of 461 competitors (derived from a list of 487 athletes with at least one active account, provided by World Athletics) across Twitter and Instagram were monitored for a period starting on 10 July and ending 1 August 2022. The timeframe was designed to detect any abuse leading in and out of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, as well as during the event itself.
<h3>Recipients of abuse and frequency of posts</h3>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6388be40b4112ea2e4a2b1e4.jpg" alt="Oregon online abuse study - recipients of abuse and frequency of posts" />
&nbsp;
</div>
In this timeframe, 427,764 posts and comments on Twitter and Instagram were captured for analysis. This included text analysis, through searches for slurs, offensive images and emojis and other phrases that could indicate abuse. AI-powered Natural Language Processing was used to detect threats by understanding the relationship between words (allowing it to determine the difference between &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll kill you&rdquo; from &ldquo;you killed it&rdquo;, for example). A post on Twitter refers to any tweet in which an athlete&rsquo;s @ handle was mentioned, while a comment on Instagram refers to any comment made in response to an organic, in-feed upload by an athlete.
The study revealed:
<ul>
<li>59 targeted discriminatory posts were identified coming from 57 unique authors, with 27 of the 461 tracked athletes receiving targeted abuse.</li>
<li>Sexualised and sexist abuse &ndash; overwhelmingly targeted at female athletes &ndash; made up over 40% of all detected posts.</li>
<li>Twitter was the preferred channel for abusers, accounting for almost 60% of detected abuse.</li>
<li>Abuse tended to be driven by events outside of competition &ndash; athletes were targeted over controversies associated with athletics, but not necessarily driven by results in the stadium.</li>
</ul>
&ldquo;The results of this study are disturbing but it&rsquo;s important that we know where and how our athletes are being abused on social media so we can take steps to protect them and prevent future occurrences,&rdquo; World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.
&ldquo;There is no place for abusive behaviour in our sport and we need to send a clear message to those who think athletes are fair game for this mistreatment. We won&rsquo;t hesitate to sanction individuals who abuse our athletes where we can identify them. We have a duty to safeguard our athletes to the best of our ability and that is why we have developed robust safeguarding policies to set the standards we want to see in our sport.&rdquo;
<h3>Breakdown of abuse types in Oregon</h3>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6388bf7d381dc636c2ae3aa2.png" alt="Oregon online abuse study - breakdown of abuse types" />
&nbsp;
</div>
60% of all detected online abuse was sexual or racial in nature, with racism comments depicted in the form of offensive deployment of the N-word, and in the use of monkey emojis against black athletes. This &lsquo;weaponisation&rsquo; of emojis as part of racist abuse is now common online.
When abuse types were broken down by gender, half of all abuse targeting female athletes was of a sexualised nature. Abuse targeting male athletes tended to include general slurs, with a significant proportion (29%) of racist abuse also detected.
As part of the analysis, all flagged abuse was placed into categories of seriousness, each with recommended actions.
59% of abusive posts were deemed to warrant intervention from the social platforms, with 5% considered so egregious that World Athletics is considering further sanctions against these individuals, including sending evidence and reports to national law enforcement agencies.
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, commented: &ldquo;Running a second follow up study with World Athletics illustrates the importance of on-going tracking of these issues as well as proactive stakeholder intervention. With the social media platforms currently in a state of flux and the introduction of new regulatory initiatives to deal with the poison of online abuse, it has never been more important to have a clear understanding of what athletes are facing online, the tactics being used to target abuse and the performance of platforms in dealing with this content.&rdquo;
Further to the data uncovered in the study, something that became apparent during the World Athletics Championships is that not all abuse happened on the athletes&rsquo; accounts. Some was found in the comments sections of media outlets and other organisations covering the event. World Athletics is exploring ways to better monitor and address this type of abuse, and will continue to conduct research in this area and use findings to further eradicate online abuse from both its own channels as well as those of our athletes.
Since the launch of the Safeguarding Policy, World Athletics has taken a number of steps to ensure athletics becomes a sport free from harassment and abuse and has created a number of resources for Member Federations and other stakeholder groups to ensure this is the case in all regions of the world.
All Safeguarding materials are available in seven languages and provide clear steps for Member Federations to be able to implement their own Safeguarding Policies by the end of 2023 and are accessible via a newly-launched <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletics-better-world/safeguarding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dedicated Safeguarding section on the World Athletics website</a>.
<h3><a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6389c796714a27f250a15a6a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full press release and key findings</a> </h3>

Almost 60% of all abuse targeted female athletes

World Athletics publishes Online Abuse Study covering World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Kenya&rsquo;s Edwin Kurgat and USA&rsquo;s Alicia Monson were victorious at the Fitnessbank Cross Champs &ndash; the only Gold stop on US soil in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour &ndash; in Austin on Thursday (1).
Kurgat took the lead with little about 2km to go in the men&rsquo;s 8km race and went on to win by two seconds from Yared Nuguse. Monson, meanwhile, made her mark much earlier in the women&rsquo;s contest and eventually finished six seconds ahead of runner-up Emily Infeld.
Commonwealth 1500m champion Oliver Hoare set off with clear intent and opened up a significant lead on the rest of the field in the men&rsquo;s race. The Australian had a six-second lead at the end of the first mile and it grew to nine seconds after mile two. Joe Klecker led a nine-man chase pack which also included Kurgat, Nuguse, Kenya&rsquo;s Wesley Kiptoo, Australia&rsquo;s Morgan McDonald and New Zealand&rsquo;s George Beamish.
Hoare continued the lead at the end of the third mile, but Kiptoo and Kurgat &ndash; former teammates at Iowa State &ndash; were within one second of him, while Nuguse was a few strides further back in fourth. With 14:25 on the clock, Kiptoo took command of the race and Hoare soon found himself in third place behind the Kenyan duo. By the time the leaders completed the penultimate circuit &ndash; with each lap incorporating about 350 metres of the athletics track at St Stephen&rsquo;s School &ndash; it was Kurgat who led from Kiptoo with Hoare now fighting to hold off Nuguse.
Kurgat, the 2019 NCAA cross-country champion, made his break at the start of the final lap and opened up a clear gap on his pursuers. Kiptoo slipped back while Hoare briefly moved into second place, only to be overtaken by Nuguse.
Kiptoo went on to win comfortably in 23:28 with Nuguse taking second place (23:31) and Hoare third (23:33).
&ldquo;I have four years&rsquo; experience of running cross country in college and I know that no matter what distance someone has in the early stages, it&rsquo;s still cross country; it&rsquo;s still hard and it never goes away,&rdquo; said Kurgat. &ldquo;This was a fun course for me and I&rsquo;m really happy to have won.&rdquo;
The women&rsquo;s race fast became a three-way contest between Monson, Infeld and Ednah Kurgat with the trio making a clear break in the first mile, which was covered in 5:24. They wound up the pace over the next two miles, covering them in 5:23 and 5:11 respectively, and by the time they set out on the final lap, they had a 10-second lead over Fiona O&rsquo;Keeffe in fourth place.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63896ba7b96a8c823f0469a0.jpg" alt="Eventual winner Alicia Monson in action at the Cross Champs in Austin" />
Eventual winner Alicia Monson in action at the Cross Champs in Austin (&copy; Kevin Morris)
</div>
Kurgat started to fade once they emerged from one of the wooded areas, but Infeld, the 2015 world 10,000m bronze medallist, did all she could to stick with Monson.
As soon as the track came into view at the end of the final lap, Monson made a decisive move and opened up a gap on Infeld, kicking away to win in 26:56. Infeld held on to second place in 27:02 with Kurgat taking third, some eight seconds further back.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really know what to expect here because we&rsquo;ve just been doing a lot of base building in training, so I just went out and worked hard and closed when I needed to,&rdquo; said Monson, who set PBs of 8:26.81 for 3000m and 14:31.11 for 5000m earlier this year. &ldquo;Running track all year can be kind of hard on the body, so doing cross country is really fun because you&rsquo;re not focused on times. And it&rsquo;s not often you get a chance to race an elite cross-country meet like this in the States.&rdquo;
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women (8km) 1 Alicia Monson (USA) 26:56 2 Emily Infeld (USA) 27:02 3 Ednah Kurgat (USA) 27:10 4 Fiona O&rsquo;Keeffe (USA) 27:20 5 Jessie Cardin (USA) 27:35 6 Courtney Wayment (USA) 27:36 7 Taylor Werner (USA) 27:45 8 Natosha Rogers (USA) 27:52 9 Sintayehu Vissa (ITA) 27:52 10 Allie Buchalski (USA) 27:53
Men (8km) 1 Edwin Kurgat (KEN) 23:28 2 Yared Nuguse (USA) 23:31 3 Oliver Hoare (AUS) 23:33 4 Morgan McDonald (AUS) 23:43 5 George Beamish (NZL) 23:43 6 Wesley Kiptoo (KEN) 23:45 7 Olin Hacker (USA) 23:47 8 Joe Klecker (USA) 23:48 9 Mario Garcia (ESP) 23:56 10 Andrew Colley (USA) 23:57

Action from the only Gold stop on US soil in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour

Kurgat and Monson convincing winners in Austin

World record-holder and double Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge and world champion Gotytom Gebreslase will make their Boston Marathon debuts on 17 April 2023, joining six former winners of the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race.
Defending champion Evans Chebet, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and two-time victor Lelisa Desisa will be part of a historically deep men&rsquo;s elite race. Among the returning champions in the women&rsquo;s field are Edna Kiplagat, Atsede Baysa and Desiree Linden.
As the fastest marathon runner in history, Kipchoge will take on the challenging Boston Marathon course with hopes of earning his 11th win in an Abbott World Marathon Majors event. Kipchoge&rsquo;s last marathon resulted in a world record of 2:01:09 at the Berlin Marathon.
&ldquo;I am happy to announce in April I will compete in the Boston Marathon, a new chapter in my Abbott World Marathon Majors journey,&rdquo; said Kipchoge. &ldquo;Good luck to all the runners running Boston in 2023.&rdquo;
Chebet stormed to a 2:06:51 win at the Boston Marathon earlier this year then ran to victory at the New York City Marathon in November. In 2022, Chebet became just the sixth man in history to win the Boston and New York City Marathons in the same year.
&ldquo;To be a champion in Boston is something very special and for me it has even more meaning because it took me quite some time during my career to be competitive enough to finally win the oldest marathon in the world,&rdquo; said Chebet. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait to be back and to enjoy the great atmosphere of such a unique and historical race!&rdquo;
Kipruto, a training partner of Chebet, also returns. Almost exactly one year after winning the 2021 Boston Marathon, he won the Chicago Marathon in a PB of 2:04:24.
Desisa enters Boston with vital experience, having placed in the top two four times at the Boston Marathon (wins in 2013 and 2015 and second-place finishes in 2016 and 2019). April marks the 10-year anniversary of his first victory, one in which he donated his champion&rsquo;s medal back to the City of Boston in recognition of the tragedy of 15 April 2013.
While this will be Gebreslase&rsquo;s first Boston Marathon, it is far from her first time racing in Boston. The Ethiopian world champion has finished runner-up at the Boston Half Marathon twice and has placed in the top five three times at the Boston 5K. Along with winning the world title, Gebreslase placed third at both the Berlin Marathon and New York City Marathons this year.
&ldquo;I am very happy to compete in the Boston Marathon 2023, as Boston is one of the most famous&nbsp;races in the world,&rdquo; said Gebreslase. &ldquo;It has long been a dream of mine to win the race. When I was a young track athlete, I raced many times in Boston in indoor races and then on the roads, so I am very excited and happy to bring my career full circle and come back to Boston now as the world&nbsp;champion.&rdquo;
Kiplagat, a two-time world champion, is still highly competitive at the age of 43. She finished fourth at this year&rsquo;s Boston Marathon in 2:21:40 &ndash; 12 seconds faster than her winning time in Boston in 2017.
Baysa, the 2016 Boston Marathon winner, also returns. Also a past winner in Chicago and Paris, Baysa finished eighth at the 2021 Boston Marathon. Linden, the winner in 2018, will be racing in her 10th Boston Marathon.
The complete elite field &ndash; including additional Boston Marathon champions, Abbott World Marathon Majors winners and global medallists &ndash; will be announced in the coming months.
Organisers for World Athletics

World record-holder and double Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge will make his Boston Marathon debut

Kipchoge, Gebreslase and Chebet confirmed for Boston Marathon

Martin Rickett&rsquo;s shot of a fall at the water jump during the women's 3000m steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year.
The fourth award announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022, the World Athletics Photograph of the Year shines a spotlight on some of the outstanding images captured by professional photographers.
From the 110 images that were submitted, the panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Ivo Gonzalez, Renaud Lavillenie and Pascal Rondeau &ndash; narrowed the entries to <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/awards/news/world-athletics-photograph-year-2022-shortlisted-images" target="_blank" rel="noopener">26 shortlisted images</a> and <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/awards/news/2022-world-athletics-photograph-finalists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three finalists</a> before deciding on the winner.
Rickett&rsquo;s photograph captures Germany's Lea Meyer falling headfirst into the water while competing in the heats on day two of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field.
It was taken using a remote camera placed two hours before the start of the session.
&ldquo;I could see in the background that somebody had fallen, so I pressed the remote to trigger the camera, but didn&rsquo;t know if the camera had actually fired,&rdquo; explained Rickett, shooting for PA Media. &ldquo;I then had to wait until the end of the session to retrieve the camera and that was a very nervous walk, to see how the images had turned out.
&ldquo;Thank you to World Athletics for putting on this competition. It&rsquo;s great that athletics specialist photographers have their work showcased around the world."
Although somewhat frustrated to have fallen at the World Championships, Meyer, the athlete in the picture, says the moment was a symbolic one of her season.
"When I tripped over the barrier, it was a bit of a wake-up call," she said. "It showed me that, even when I'm in good shape, I still have to make sure I concentrate and have to be 100% focused during the race. I still finished the race, and my time wasn't even that slow. Ultimately that provided me with the confidence that if everything does come together and I am fully focused, I can deliver when it matters. And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened a few weeks later at the European Championships in Munich (where she won the silver medal).
"While it may not have been the best moment for me personally, the photo itself is incredible," she added. "And in hindsight the photo in a way encapsulates how my whole season turned out. 2022 has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs for me, and it illustrates how every time I do fall &ndash; literally or figuratively speaking &ndash; I always get back up."
Rickett is an award-winning sport photographer based in Manchester, UK. Since joining PA Media in 2001, he has covered multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games, World Athletics Championships and European Championships, as well as many other sports and events.
Other winners already announced as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022 include Gennadii Zuiev (Coaching Achievement Award), Donna Fraser (Woman of the Year) and the Ukrainian Athletic Association (President&rsquo;s Award). Further announcements will be made in the coming days, ahead of the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars being revealed on Monday 5 December.
World Athletics

Martin Rickett’s shot of a fall at the water jump during the steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 has been selected as the World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Rickett captures World Athletics Photograph of the Year

The World Athletics Council has made a number of important decisions at its 229th meeting in Rome, to round out a highly successful year for the sport and provide guidance for the coming years.
In his summary of the year, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe noted that the organisation had organised four World Athletics Series events, attended by almost 4000 athletes from 180 countries, who set 354 national records. These events reached a cumulative global TV audience of three quarters of a billion, which extended well over one billion when accounting for the digital audience.
Among other events, the sport staged 162 Continental Tour events where almost 12,000 athletes competed from 159 countries, setting two area records, 118 national records and 2,396 personal bests.&nbsp;
On the road, the tally will be 200 events with almost 3 million people participating and generating a total revenue of $1.7 million, of which $72,000 will be paid to the AIU for their testing programme at the top level marathons.
The World Athletics website had 33 million visitors with over 1 billion hits on the competition statistics database. Our media coverage has reached 10 billion people. Our social media followers grew to 10 million and our fan database grew to 183,000.
The Council reached the following decisions in its two-day meeting in Rome.
<h2>Host of the 2024 World Athletics Relays announced</h2>
The 2024 World Athletics Relays have been awarded to Nassau in The Bahamas.
This event will be held in April/May 2024 (dates to be confirmed) and will be the main Olympic qualifying event for the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 4x100m and 4x400m relays and the mixed 4x400m relay.
Coe welcomed the decision, saying: &ldquo;We have had three wonderful editions of the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, which established this event on the global calendar, so we know we are in safe hands for what will be an important Olympic qualifier for all our relay events. We are confident that The Bahamas will offer the best conditions for the athletes and a brilliant atmosphere for both athletes and fans as we mark a key milestone on the road to the Paris Olympic Games.&rdquo;
The President of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Drumeco Archer responded: "We are incredibly excited for the long-awaited homecoming of the World Athletics Relays 2024 and we are grateful to the World Athletics Council for considering The Bahamas as the host city for this all-important event. The BAAA family and stakeholders will be standing at the seashores and airports with the banner of athletics waving high as we welcome the world of athletics and sporting enthusiasts back to our shores.
&ldquo;With a mutual sense of excitement, the Government of The Bahamas is proud to welcome you back to our country, which is widely known as a sporting paradise. Both the Government of The Bahamas and the BAAA intend to make the fourth hosting of this event the most &lsquo;Bahamazing&rsquo; experience of them all!"
<h2>Russia Taskforce report</h2>
World Athletics&rsquo; Russia Taskforce expects to be in a position to make a final recommendation to the World Athletics Council on the reinstatement of the Russian Federation (RusAF) at the next Council Meeting in March 2023, provided RusAF continues to make progress in reforming its culture, Taskforce Chair Rune Andersen told the Council today.
However he acknowledged that RusAF&rsquo;s progress on its reinstatement plan would have no bearing on any Council decision on RusAF&rsquo;s status arising from the war in Ukraine.
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/member-federation-resource-centre#collapserussian-reinstatement-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In presenting his regular report to the Council</a>, Andersen said that the RusAF leadership team had &ldquo;embedded a new culture of good governance and zero tolerance for doping throughout the organisation&rdquo; under Acting President Irina Privalova.
He noted that RusAF is reporting historic anti-doping rule violations uncovered in the Moscow Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), is delivering anti-doping education for 13,000 young athletes, has developed a test distribution plan that includes more than 2000 domestic tests of Russian athletes per year (most out of competition), and is taking other initiatives, including fining government-funded athletes for any single whereabouts violations.
But Andersen said that widespread and sustainable cultural change would likely take many years to embed and would proceed at different paces in different parts of the system. He expressed concern around the decision of the RUSADA disciplinary commission not to publish its findings in the case of the ice-skater Kamily Valieva.
He said the close monitoring and oversight of RusAF&rsquo;s operations would not end when its suspension from membership of World Athletics was lifted, but this function would be taken over by the Athletics Integrity Unit, which would enforce a detailed set of Post-Reinstatement Conditions, more stringent than those currently imposed on &ldquo;Category A&rdquo; federations (those regarded as most at risk of major doping issues).
These conditions would be finalised with the AIU over the coming months and would be presented to the Council for approval before the Taskforce made its final recommendation on reinstatement.
The Taskforce would also recommend that, to prevent backsliding or interference, any material breach of the Post-Reinstatement Conditions should trigger a Council proposal to Congress to expel RusAF permanently from membership of World Athletics.
<h2>World Athletics Series updates</h2>
In order to continue to support the development of road running, especially the growth of road miles and 5 km road races, the Council agreed to change the current frequency of the biennial World Road Running Championships, making it an annual event. The annual rotation will start in 2025.
The Council also approved the following dates for upcoming World Athletics Series events:
World Athletics Cross Country Championships Medulin/Pula 24: 10-11 February 2024
World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24: 26-31 August 2024
World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25: 13-21 September 2025
<h2>Changes to competition rules</h2>
From 1 January 2023, World Athletics will introduce an official world record for the road mile. Prior to 1 September 2023, official recognition of a world record will require a performance of at least 3:50.00 (men) / 4:19.00 (women). If the listed standards are not met by 1 September, the fastest recorded, record-eligible performances will be recognised as the world records.
<h2>Kenyan Federation status</h2>
The Council discussed the ongoing situation with doping in Kenya in the context of the Athletics Integrity Unit&rsquo;s regular report. It was agreed that the Kenyan Government&rsquo;s commitment to provide an additional $5 million a year for the next five years to strengthen Kenya&rsquo;s anti-doping programmes was an appropriate response to the situation at this time. As Kenya remains a Category A federation under the World Athletics anti-doping rules, the onus remains on Kenyan authorities to work closely with the AIU to ensure these funds are used effectively.
Coe welcomed the measures being taken to address the doping situation in Kenya.
&ldquo;I particularly welcome the additional resource made available by the Government of Kenya in this fight. The only way that we can reduce the scale of this problem is a joint commitment across all the sports stakeholders in Kenya and of course World Athletics and its Athletics integrity unit,&rdquo; Coe said.
<h2>DSD and transgender regulations</h2>
Outside of its formal meeting, the Council also attended a two-hour information session to discuss an ongoing review of the current DSD Regulations and Transgender Regulations. A preferred option for both sets of regulations was presented to the Council members and it was agreed that this option would be considered more widely during a consultation period with member federations, athletes and other stakeholders over the coming months. The results of this consultation and a final recommendation will be presented to the Council for a decision at its March meeting.
&ldquo;As most of you will know, we have always said our regulations in this area, and all areas, are subject to review at any time,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;In terms of these regulations, we will follow the science and the decade and more of the research we have in this area in order to protect the female category, maintain fairness in our competitions and remain as inclusive as possible.&rdquo;
Some additional work is being prepared following the Council information. Once this is complete World Athletics will share its preferred option publicly as part of the consultation process.

Summary of decisions made at the 229th World Athletics Council Meeting in Rome

Decisions made at World Athletics Council Meeting in Rome

The Ukrainian Athletic Association has been awarded the President&rsquo;s Award as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe presented Ukrainian Athletic Association President Yevhen Pronin with the award on Wednesday (30) at the World Athletics Council Meeting in Rome.
&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t think of anyone worthier than this for this year&rsquo;s award,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;What the Ukrainian Athletics Federation President, the coaches, and the athletes have done is just worthy of everyone&rsquo;s respect and recognition.&rdquo;
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the majority of Ukraine&rsquo;s elite athletes were unable to continue training, let alone competing. But the country&rsquo;s athletes showed remarkable resilience and made the most of any support that came their way &ndash; including the Ukraine Relief Fund, which was launched in April by World Athletics, the International Athletics Foundation and the Diamond League Association.
Ukraine&rsquo;s elite athletes were then able to find alternative training locations in Europe and the rest of the world, and were ultimately able to compete at this year&rsquo;s major international events. Among their many medal successes in 2022, Yaroslava Mahuchikh took high jump gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, while Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won the European triple jump title.
&ldquo;Our country and our federation are currently at the most difficult stage in our history,&rdquo; said Pronin. &ldquo;However, we understand that sport should not only live, it should develop. It&rsquo;s difficult to develop, but we have planned at least five sports festivals in Ukraine in December. Most of our athletes are based in other parts of Europe at the moment, and we&rsquo;d like to thank World Athletics and European Athletics for helping us. Things are still difficult but we know our target and we know how to achieve it.
&ldquo;Earlier this year our federation had a virtual board meeting and we decided that we wouldn&rsquo;t take part in international competitions in 2022 because we didn&rsquo;t know how our athletes and coaches would be able to travel,&rdquo; explained Pronin. &ldquo;But I then thought about it some more and after three days I felt like our athletes must represent Ukraine across the world, so I went back to our board and asked them to change our decision.
&ldquo;In every championships this year, our athletes have competed for medals, we have shown our flag, and we have heard our national anthem,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;But just as importantly, it has given people from our country an opportunity to talk to international media to let them know what is happening back in Ukraine.&rdquo;
Coe said that he could think of no one more deserving of this year&rsquo;s award than the Ukrainian federation and its athletes.
&ldquo;For the resistance and fortitude that your athletes have shown &ndash; supported by you, your federation and your coaches &ndash; that is why I felt absolutely impelled to present this year&rsquo;s President&rsquo;s Award to you and your federation,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just the federation; it&rsquo;s the coaches, the administrators, and the support you had at a governmental level. Really this award is for all of you, but particularly for you, Yevhenii, for the extraordinary effort you&rsquo;ve made to primarily keep the athletes in competition and in training. It has been one of the greatest contributions that anyone has made to our sport in a very long time.&rdquo;
The President's Award, first awarded in 2016, recognises and honours exceptional service to athletics. Past winners of the award include British journalist Vikki Orvice, Swiss meeting director Andreas Brugger, Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt and Kenyan distance great Tegla Loroupe.
World Athletics

The Ukrainian Athletic Association has been awarded the President’s Award as part of the World Athletics Awards 2022.

Two-time World Athlete of the Year, Duplantis continues to soar

Wanda Diamond League announces 2023 calendar

From anonymity to award-winner, McLaughlin-Levrone plots future path

McLaughlin-Levrone and Duplantis named World Athletes of the Year

Kiptum and Beriso break course records in Valencia