Athletics Africa Magazine

Olympic 10,000m silver medallist, Sileshi Sihine, has secured a place in the Ethiopian World Championships team after setting a meet record in the 10,000m at the Memorial Josefa Odlozila (IAAF Grand Prix II) meeting in Prague. Sihine, 22, who has suffered a knee injury all through last winter, took the record to cleaners in 26:57.27, relegating countryman Gezhagne Mamo and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kingeno to the second (27:38.49) and third (27:41.78) positions respectively. The Ethiopian, who was a bronze medallist at the Paris 2003 world championships, said after the race he was disappointed with his form inspite of the record. Read More

Athletics Kenya Kenya athletics governing body, (AK) has released a list of 37 athletes to represent the country at the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships from August 6 -14 in Helsinki, Finland. Olympic 3000m Steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi and silver medallist Brimin Kipruto, are included in the team, but bronze medallist Paul Koech, who was fifth at the Kenya trials misses out. Athletics Kenya officials however delayed the naming of the third athlete to join both Kemboi and Kipruto in the team to the championships. Read More

The talkpoint of the 16th NNPC/ExxonMobil Nigeria track and field championship will be the expected showdown between in-form Olusoji Fasuba and old-horse Deji Aliu and Uchenna Emedolu. The three Nigerian sprinters are in the top 20 of the recent (13th June) IAAF world ranking and were part of the Nigerian Bronze winning 4X100m relay quartet at the Athens 2004 Olympics. Fasuba, 20, is the highest ranked Nigerian at 10th position in the world. The reigning Africa Champion from Brazaville African Athletics Championships in 2004 has been in terrific form this outdoor season. He sped to a 10.09 clocking to equal his personal best in the 100m at the African Athletics Confederation (AAC) Permit Meeting at Kasarani, Nairobi on 7th May, and returned 10.17 to finished second at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet on 9th June. He also took a sprint double (10.20 seconds in 100m and 20.62 seconds in 200m) in an earlier AAC meet in Bamako on 6th April. All-Africa Games (Abuja 2003) winner...

Sponsors of the 16th Mobil/NNPC Track and Field Championship/World Athletics Championships trials has introduced cash rewards for the first time in the history of the competition, which started in 1990, reports Nigeriansportsonline.com . Events winners will each receive N50,000 (£200) while runners-up will receive N30,000(£120) and third place finishers will get N20,000 (£80) each. The name sponsor of the meet, Mobil Oil Producing Unlimited expects this token to engender more competition among participating athletes at the annual meet. It would also provide an opportunity for local athletes who could not take part in the IAAF Grand Prix and other international meets to earn some money at home.

IAAF news report - Elfenesh Alemu (fourth at the Athens Olympic Marathon), Ethiopian National Marathon record holder Gete Wami are the surprise omission as Ethiopia announced its provisional Marathon squad for the 10th IAAF World Championships to be held in Helsinki, Finland (August 6-14 2005). But two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu is in line to make her major championship marathon debut after making the squad, while there are a lot of fresh talent throughout the men’s squad as Ethiopia begins life without its established stars. National Marathon team coach Zelalem Desta said that the technical committee of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) decided to drop Alemu after she repeatedly turned down invitations to join the National team training. Alemu, the fastest Ethiopian women marathoner in 2005 with her 2:27.03 for second place in Boston and one of the world’s top female marathoners, will therefore miss the chance to make her fourth appearance at the W...

Breaking News - Asafa Powell breaks the WORLD 100 METRES RECORD IN GREECE!!! while Aziz Zakari who was second sets a new African Season best of 9.99 seconds at the IAAF GP meet this evening in Athens, Greece AthleticsAfrica.Com IAAF NEWS FLASH - Tuesday 14 June 2005 World 100m record for Powell - 9.77 seconds Athens, Greece - In the last few minutes, Asafa Powell of Jamaica has, subject to ratification, broken the World 100 metres record at the Athens Super Grand Prix Tsiklitiria 2005. Powell's time was clocked as 9.78 seconds equalling the existing World record - Tim Montgomery, USA, Paris, France, 14/09/2002 - but a few minutes later this was rounded down officially to 9.77 (wind 1.6m/s). His reaction time at the start was 0.150. “I knew that I could do it," commented Powell. "I did my best. It feels great to be the fastest man of the world." How fast can you go this season? “Who knows? 9 something...I love Greece and I will come back here ...

Fatimoh Mohammed - Courtesy UTEP 

Yomi Omogbeja (12/06/2005) Nigeria's Fatimoh Omolola Mohammed has continued to impress in the US National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) championships. University of Texas, El Paso's Junior Fatimoh Muhammed is ranked eighth in 800 metres in the country, with her personal best of 2:05.28, despite failing to get to the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California at the weekend. The 21-year-old, Management major, came fourth in her opening round of the 800 metres with a time of 2:06.04 and moved on to the semifinals with the 15th-best time. Her path to the finals was however halted after she finished seventh in her semifinal heat with a time of 2:06.98. This year had been quite remarkable for the Abeokuta-born athlete, who is a cousin to Nigeria's foremost female quarter miler and Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist Falilat Ogunkoya. At the NCAA Midwest Track and Field Regional in Norman, Oklahoma on May 27th,...

Nigeria's newest sensation, Olusoji Fasuba continues his good run of form yesterday in Ostrava. Fasuba finished hot on World leader Asafa Powell of Jamaica heels in 10.17 seconds. In the process, defeating two other Nigerans, Former World Junior Champion in 1995, Deji Aliu (4th in 10.22) and UTEP graduate Aaron Egbelle (5th in 10.31) .