World Athletics - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Marathon world record holder Kiptum dies in road accident

KENYA'S marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach were killed in a traffic accident in the Rift Valley, cutting short the career of the only man to have run the endurance classic in less than two hours and one minute. The 24-year-old set the world record, tab at the Chicago Marathon in October with a time of two hours and 35 seconds to surpass the mark of 2:01:09 run by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2022. Kiptum, who clocked three of the seven fastest marathon times in history, had been hoping to become the first man to run the…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Semenya case referred to European rights court’s grand chamber

NEWS

THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced that the case involving double 800 metres Olympic champion Caster Semenya will be heard by its Grand Chamber for a final ruling following a referral request from the Swiss government. Semenya, 32, wants to hold the sport's governing World Athletics body to account for what she terms discrimination against athletes with hyperandrogenism, a condition characterised by higher than usual levels of testosterone, a hormone that increases muscle mass and strength. She is attempting to overturn requirements that female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) medically reduce their testosterone levels. Following an…

Oct

2023

By HUGO BOOGAERDT

Olympics no longer Semenya’s major goal amid court fight

NEWS

DOUBLE Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya’s major aim is no longer to win medals but to continue her legal battle against World Athletics to overturn requirements that female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) medically reduce their testosterone levels. Semenya, 32, wants to hold World Athletics to account for what she terms discrimination against athletes with hyperandrogenism, a condition characterised by higher than usual levels of testosterone, a hormone that increases muscle mass and strength. Although still training, Semenya appears to have given up on her career on the track as she turns to coaching and maintaining her legal…

Jul

2023

By NICK SAID

Still a long road for Semenya despite winning discrimination ruling

NEWS

DOUBLE Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya has taken a potentially small step towards competing at Paris 2024 but there is a long way to go in her battle against World Athletics regulations that have kept her largely idle for four years. South African Semenya, an athlete with differences in sexual development (DSDs), has been involved in a legal battle over regulations that prohibit her from running unless she medically lowers her natural testosterone levels. The 32-year-old middle-distance runner first took her fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sport's highest court, and later the Swiss Federal Tribunal…

Jun

2023

By JANINA NUNO RIOS

Bolt desperate for impactful role in track and field

SPORT

USAIN Bolt said he is desperate to play a role in reviving the sport that made him a global superstar but has experienced something of a decline since his retirement six years ago. The Jamaican, who dominated men's sprinting for nearly a decade after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said he had found plenty to do to keep himself busy but was really keen to remain involved in sport. "I spend my time doing a lot of family things, when it comes to track and field, not as much as I would want to but I still try and stay in…

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.…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

World Athletics makes new equality pledges to mark International Women’s Day

SPORT

MITCH PHILLIPS WORLD Athletics has marked International Women's Day with a series of pledges to "further advance the role of girls and women" in the sport under the campaign slogan "WeGrowAthletics". The world governing body says it is focusing on three core areas of the sport – empowering women in leadership positions, breaking with traditions and shining a spotlight on women's stories across its platforms. World Athletics appointed its first female vice president in 2019 and increased female Council representation to 30%. It says it is committed to making that 40% by 2023 and an equal balance by 2027. Stephanie…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Ex-head of world athletics Diack jailed for two years for corruption

NEWS

THE former head of world athletics' governing body, Lamine Diack, has been convicted in France of corruption in a Russian doping scandal and sentenced to spend at least two years in jail. Diack, 87, was found guilty of accepting bribes from athletes suspected of doping, to cover up test results and let them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics. The court also found Diack guilty of accepting Russian money to help finance Macky Sall's campaign for the 2012 Senegal presidential election, in exchange for slowing anti-doping procedures. Prosecutors said Diack had solicited bribes totalling 3.45 million euros ($4.10…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Olympic champion Caster Semenya’s 11-year battle to compete

SPORT

RACHEL SAVAGE CASTER Semenya, the South African double Olympic 800 metres champion, lost her appeal against World Athletics rules that women with high natural testosterone levels must take drugs to reduce them to compete in middle-distance races. Switzerland's top court on Tuesday upheld a 2019 ruling by sport's highest court, the Court of Arbitration, that the global governing body's rules were necessary for fair female competition. WHY DID SEMENYA GO TO COURT? Semenya both wowed and raised eyebrows when she became 800 metres world champion at the age of 18 in 2009, having recorded dramatic improvements in her personal bests.…