ATHLETICS - The African Mirror

Feb

2023

AIU seeks six-year ban for Nigerian sprinter Oduduru

NIGERIAN sprinter Divine Oduduru has been provisionally suspended and notified of two potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) which said they are seeking a six-year ban. The alleged violations relate to the possession or use or attempted use of a prohibited substance. They come after U.S. prosecutors charged therapist Eric Lira with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Oduduru's provisional suspension comes a year after his teammate Blessing Okagbare was banned for 11 years for doping in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics and refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Divine Oduduru of Nigeria…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

The IOC must protect Russian and all athletes against geopolitics

ATHLETICS, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Ukrainian government are at each other’s throats over the inclusion of Russian and Belarussian athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics in 18 months. ABBEY MAKOE The IOC has stated its willingness to let athletes from the two countries heavily involved in the Ukraine war participate “under a neutral flag” at the games in France. In the aftermath of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarussian athletes should be “indefinitely suspended” in international competitions. Russia was swiftly barred from participating in the UEFA games and the FIFA…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

From Bochesa to Cape Town, Ethiopian athlete Tadu Nare comes down the mountain

ATHLETICS

STEPHEN GRANGER IT’S Sunday, 23rd October 2022, and the final SPAR Women's Grand Prix 10km race at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town is underway. Three green-vested athletes, Tadu Nare, Helalia Johannes, and Selam Gebre, form a small lead group through the halfway mark. The rest of the athletes are running for fourth place at best. Johannes, the Namibian winner of the 2019 SPAR Grand Prix title, leads this trio. But not long after, Nare, the smallest of the three, takes command of the race, opening a wide gap between her and the two until she crosses the finish line…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Kenyans Kipyokei, Lempus provisionally suspended for doping

ATHLETICS

KENYA'S 2021 Boston Marathon winner Diana Kipyokei and compatriot Betty Wilson Lempus have been provisionally suspended for using the banned substance triamcinolone acetonide, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday. Both have also been charged with obstructing the AIU's investigation by providing false information or documentation. "After extensive investigations, the AIU has provisionally suspended two Kenyan marathoners – Diana Kipyokei and Betty Wilson Lempus – and charged them with various breaches of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules," the body said in a statement. "These alleged anti-doping rule violations stem from probes into the information provided by the athletes to…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

World athletics ex-boss Lamine Diack dies at 88

ATHLETICS

DIADIE BA LAMINE Diack, the former head of world athletics' governing body who was convicted of corruption last year, died at home in Senegal on Friday at the age of 88, his son told Reuters. Diack led the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, during which he was later found guilty of running a clique that covered up Russian doping in return for millions of dollars in bribes. A French court sentenced him to four years in prison in 2020, but he was never jailed. He remained under house arrest and was later released on bail.…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Lyles retains 200m crown as US sweep podium, Jackson wins women’s title

ATHLETICS

NOAH Lyles retained his 200 metres title as U.S. sprinters secured their second podium sweep while Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made it a 1-2 finish for Jamaica in the women's event at the World Championships on Thursday. Lyles, bronze medallist at the Tokyo Games, scorched to victory in 19.31 seconds to become the third-fastest athlete of all time over the distance and break four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson's national record. Five days after Fred Kerley led a U.S. 1-2-3 in the 100m, Lyles produced another dominant performance to clinch gold ahead of Tokyo runner-up Kenny Bednarek in 19.77 while…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

No substitute for experience as Olympic champions earn world gold

ATHLETICS

EXPERIENCE prevailed on day four of the World Championships with Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon and Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas among the Olympic champions standing on top of the podium in Eugene, Oregon. Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali backed up his Tokyo 3,000 metres steeplechase win by ending Kenya's dominance at the worlds, while Qatar's Mutaz Barshim had high jump gold all to himself this time. Kipyegon, the winner of the last two Olympic 1,500m titles, finished with a remarkable time of three minutes, 52.96 seconds to regain her world crown. Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay took silver while Laura Muir, runner-up at…