Athletics

When it comes to the Olympic Games, there are some truths that are as old as time. The United States will prove a dominant force in the track and field events, Eastern European nations will thrive in weightlifting and wrestling, and Asian countries will enjoy success in those sports demanding exceptional hand-eye coordination – table […]

Between January 1, 2023 and May 30, 2024, the world record in 29 different World Athletics recognised track and field disciplines was broken. Sixteen of them were shattered by female athletes, 13 by men. And while some came in throwing and jumping-based sports, the vast majority were in some kind of running discipline. The insinuation […]

The 2024 Olympic Games are noteworthy as they come exactly one century since Paris last hosted the extravaganza. Why has it taken so long for the Games to return to the French capital? There’s sporting and political reasons, although it would be true to say that 100 years is far too long for the Games […]

There was a huge outpouring of emotion when it was announced that Kelvin Kiptum and his coach had tragically lost their lives in a road accident. As well as the human loss to his family, friends and fans, there was a feeling that Kiptum was in the prime of his marathon running career at the […]

When you look back over the annals of major sporting events, few nations are quite as adept as the United States at putting on a spectacle. So the 2028 Olympic Games should be an extravaganza of entertainment, given that the host city – Los Angeles – is the birthplace and spiritual home of modern cinema. […]

With the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the European Championships, amongst many others, there’s no shortage of top-tier athletics events for the stars of track and field to strut their stuff at. There’s a danger of overkill too, perhaps, which maybe explains the current turmoil facing the Commonwealth Games. The quadrennial meeting, which brings […]

Imagine an Olympic Games – but one where the athletes don’t have to pass a drugs test in order to compete. Tha’s the idea behind the Enhanced Games – a rather radical event where cheats really do prosper. Aron D’Souza, a lawyer and ‘entrepreneur’, has revealed plans to hold a version of the Olympics where […]

The athletics world joined forces to pay tribute to Jim Hines, who passed away in June 2023 at the age of 76. Hines, for the uninitiated, is one of the most legendary sprinters of all time – in 1968, he became the first person to break the 10-second mark for the 100 metres. In fact, […]

Running, walking, limping and then crawling 26.2 miles is not for the feint-hearted, and those that choose to run the marathon dress as a postbox or in full diving gear deserve our respect and concern in equal measure. The world of professional long-distance running can be incredibly competitive and cutthroat, and given the difficulty of […]

In November 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a new framework of rules which would govern how transgender athletes would be able to compete against natal women. The framework, a six page document of comprehensive detail, introduced one major u-turn from the governing body: that it should not be ‘presumed’ that transgender athletes have […]

While it may seem a long way away right now, time moves at such pace that it won’t be long until the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 are the next big showpiece occasion in sport. The Paris Games are sure to be a hit in 2024, but the USA has such a fine heritage of […]

When you allow a country as polarising as China to host an Olympic Games, at a time when political and humanitarian sensitivities are front page news, it’s likely that there’s going to be an almighty fallout. The alleged human rights breaches in the province of Xinjiang, and the ongoing mystery surrounding the suspected disappearance of […]

Sadly, doping and the use of performance-enhancing drugs is rife in athletics and cycling, to name just two sports, and in the end authorities have no choice but to use the full extent of their powers to punish those responsible. But cannabis use? That’s something of a grey area, given that there is no scientific […]

While Paralympians are now paid at the same rate as their able-bodied colleagues at the Olympic Games, there’s still a long way to go before para-athletes are earning the same prize money in bread-and-butter events. There’s still no pay-scale in place for the Diamond League and other key meetings, and the Paralympic gold medallist Jonnie […]

It is the absolute pinnacle of an athlete’s career – winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Blood is shed, sweat is spilt and tears are wept in the pursuit of a place at the Games, and so to have the chance to be crowned the best in the business must be a feeling […]

The Olympic Games tend to be dominated by the sporting powerhouses such as the United States, Russia, China and Great Britain every four years. Indeed, the medal table at the Tokyo Olympics – albeit only five days in – sees hosts Japan lead the way with 13 golds, closely followed by China, the USA and […]

The Tokyo Olympics this summer will deliver a number of firsts for the Games, and not least the first transgender athlete to ever compete on the major stage. Laurel Hubbard will represent New Zealand in the 87kg weightlifting event, after being selected for the team following a raft of rule changes that allow transgender athletes […]

They say that life begins at 40, but for Sinead Diver so far 44 has been the magic number. The Australian has been called up to represent Australia in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Diver will compete in the women’s marathon and in doing so become the country’s oldest ever competitor at the […]

Sport has ever been short of technical innovations that raise eyebrows – readers of a certain vintage will remember when tennis welcomed graphite rackets over the formerly loved wooden versions….a ‘Bob Dylan goes electric’ moment for Boris Becker and co. You might think that running is a pretty straightforward sport – the fastest man or […]

The current fastest man on the planet, Christian Coleman, will be banned from competing in the Tokyo Olympics after failing to provide a drugs test on three separate occasions. The 24-year-old, who won the 100m gold medal at the 2019 World Championships, has been banned from competing for two years – meaning he will miss […]

He is a knight of the realm, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and the creator of a global celebration craze…. But Sir Mo Farah’s outstanding long-distance running legacy is in danger of being tarnished as fresh allegations of his links to the disgraced coach Alberto Salazar emerge. Back in 2019, Salazar and Dr Jeffrey Brown […]

Occasionally, a huge worldwide virus comes along that changes how we well go about our business. So far, there hasn’t been a major outbreak of the so-called coronavirus on a global scale, however it is being reported that there are now two cases that have been discovered in Japan, including one in Tokyo where thousands […]

What are they putting in cod liver oil supplements these days? Just days after it was revealed that Robbie Savage was pulling his football boots back on at the age of 45, Mo Farah has revealed that he will look to become one of the oldest gold medallists in Olympic history should he qualify for […]

It was set to be a landmark case that changed the face of athletics – and possibly sport as a whole – forever. Most expected Caster Semenya’s challenge against the IAAF’s ruling regarding testosterone levels to be upheld, but it transpires that the law has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) […]

Controversial subjects and conversational hot potatoes are never far from the agenda in sport. And in the past couple of weeks a rather sensitive topic has emerged as the latest item for debate. Do transgender athletes, and those who identify as female, gain an unfair advantage in sport? Rachel McKinnon, a transgender cyclist, won a […]