Athletics Africa Magazine

Cameroonian Hamad Kalkaba Malboum was re-elected for the fifth term as President of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) , at the end of its 28th CAA Elective Congress on Monday at the Golf Hotel Abidjan - Cocody in the Ivorian capital. The election took place on the sidelines of the 2019 African U18 and U20 Athletics Championships, which will be officially opened on Tuesday, 16 April until 20 April. Out of 54 countries, 51 were present at the meeting and took part in the secret ballot, while delegates from Angola, Chad and Sao Tome were absent. They were two candidates in the running for CAA presidency - Tunisian Amara Khaled and outgoing president Hamad Kalkaba Malboum . At the end of the ballot and after counting, President Kalkaba won a fifth term running until 2023 by 44 votes to 7 votes for his opponent Khaled. Newly re-elected President Hamad Kalbaba congratulated his opponent afterwards for his spirit of fairplay. He also invited him to join him to w...

Worknesh Degefa, left, and Lawrence Cherono celebrate after winning the 2019 Boston Marathon / Photo: BAA Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa won the women’s field with a time of 2:23:31 and Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono took the men’s race with a time of 2:07:57 at the 123rd annual Boston Marathon on Monday. In the closest finish in the men's race since 1988, Cherono, making his Boston Marathon debut, held off two-time Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia to clip the finish line tape in first position. Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono / Photo credit: Boston Marathon Cherono outkicked Lelisa Desisa in a sprint to the tape passing him just steps away from the finish line. Desisa finished was two seconds behind, in a time of 2:07:59, ahead of another Kenyan Kenneth Kipkemoi , who was third in 2:08:07. Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa / Photo: Boston Marathon Kenya's Edna Kiplagat , the 2017 champion, finished second in 2:24:13 ahead of American Jordan Hasay , w...

© IOC/Fabrice Coffrini The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was strongly represented at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC's) International Athlete Forum, which brought together around 350 athletes from more than 200 countries in Lausanne, Switzerland, this week (13-14 April). As part of a panel on the protection of clean sport featuring representatives from the IOC , WADA , the International Testing Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) , Chair of the WADA Athletes Committee Beckie Scott spoke in particular about the work of the committee in the fight against doping. Scott also highlighted some of the group’s current priorities, including the development of the Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights and of a strategy to ensure that the committee continues to strengthen the athletes’ voice within WADA and the wider anti-doping movement. Also speaking in this panel, Chief Operating Officer Frédéric Donzé updated the forum on recent devel...

Khalifa International Stadium in Doha / Photo credit: Doha DL The men’s shot put was one of the highest quality events across the athletics programme last season and six of the seven throwers who surpassed the 22-metre line will be competing in the Doha Diamond League - the first stage of the IAAF Diamond League 2019 - on 3 May. The event came to a climax in the Zurich Diamond League where reigning world indoor and outdoor champion Tom Walsh from New Zealand reached out to a second-round effort of 22.60m to eclipse the Diamond League record by four centimetres. “Breaking the Diamond League record in Zurich to win the Diamond League title was one of the highlights of my season. Of course, I have very high expectations this year as well and I have been pleased with my performances so far in 2019,” said Walsh. Walsh holds the world outdoor lead with 21.91m from the Australian Championships where he participated as a guest but the calibre of the field is such that a throw in e...

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce that the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) has become the 188th State Party to ratify the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport (UNESCO Convention).  This leaves just seven countries worldwide that have yet to complete their ratification of the UNESCO Convention. WADA President Sir Craig Reedie said: “It is encouraging for WADA and for clean sport that we can welcome yet another State Party to the UNESCO Convention. We are pleased that Timor-Leste has shown its commitment to anti-doping in this way. “Almost all governments of the world have pledged their support to clean sport and vowed to ensure that the UNESCO Convention is implemented and practiced effectively in their respective countries. This is good news for the athletes of Timor-Leste and their competitors around the world. “I know that Gobinathan Nair, Director General of the Southeast Asia Regional Anti-Doping...

Athletics South Africa has expressed delight at hosting four other countries who will be competing at the Athletics Grand Prix Series which kicks off in Mangaung on Saturday. The one hour and 30 minutes Track and Field thriller starts at 5.30pm and the programme boasting high level competition, will come to a close at 7.15pm. With this being a year of the IAAF World Championships (28 Sep – 6 Oct Doha, Qatar), the stakes are high and the battle of athletes to meet their respective qualifying criteria and improve the quality of performance, has commenced. The first leg in particular, has put the cat amongst the pigeons attracting Botswana , Kenya , Lesotho , Mauritius and Kingdom of Eswatini on the fray. While these countries will also contest the individual categories, it is the relay part of the series that the countries will show their class and potential to pull down the programme’s curtain at 7.15pm with the battle in the Senior Women 4x100m Relay Final and Senior Men Fin...

The Athletics South Africa Track & Field season steals the spotlight in March when it takes off with the Athletix Grand Prix Series in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Paarl. Seen here (from left to right):  Kyle Whitehall (Liquid Telecom South Africa Chief Executive Officer), Aleck Skhosana (the president of Athletics South Africa) and Michael Meyer (Managing Director of Stillwater Sports).  Photo Credit:  Tobias Ginsberg The first of three meetings will take place at Ruimsig Stadium, Johannesburg on Thursday, 1 March. The women’s 800m is one of many bouts to look out for on the day. Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda looks to be the race favourite with an 800m best of 1:58.63 which she ran in Monaco in 2014. Nanyondo is the Commonwealth Games 800m bronze medallist from 2014 and with a best of 53.72sec in the 400m, Nanyondo has the fastest half lap time on the field. Halimah Nakaayi has experienced both the World Championships (2017) and the Olympic Games (2016) and w...

Some of South Africa's fastest men have fired warnings ahead of the ASA Senior T&F Champs + Combined Events Champs at Tuks Stadium next month, storming to fast times in Tshwane as the various ASA Provincial Track and Field championships got under way at the weekend. At the high-altitude AGN Championships held in the capital city, 20-year-old Olympic sprinter Clarence Munyai stole the show on Saturday's second and final day of competition, clocking 10.10 in the 100m semi-finals to chop 0.10 off his Personal Best. Munyai, however, did not take up his lane in the afternoon to run in the final. Former World Championships 200m bronze medallist Anaso Jobodwana went on to win the 100m final in 10.07, with the benefit of a +3.3 m/s tailwind, ahead of Henricho Bruintjies (10.15) and Thembo Monareng (10.18). World 800m champion Caster Semenya turned out in the 400m sprint event, storming to a convincing victory in 52.45 as she sharpened up for the Athletix Grand Prix series...

The Road To The Final reached its decisive phase in many disciplines this Friday July 21, as the IAAF Diamond League completed its 11th stage of the season at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco. Here's a summary of the top headlines. Manangoi wins, Kiprop misses out on Final Elijah Motonei Manangoi won a thrilling 1500m in Monaco, overtaking Timothy Cheruiyot on the home straight to come in at 3:28.80. Victory saw Manangoi finish top of the qualification standings. Three time Diamond Trophy winner and current holder Asbel Kiprop , meanwhile, finished only 11th, meaning he did not secure a place in the top 12 of the qualification standings, and will not be able to defend his title at the Final. Ibargüen rallies, takes revenge on Rojas For much of the women's triple jump, it looked like Venezuelan pretender Yulimar Rojas was going to inflict a second defeat this season on Colombian legend Caterine Ibargüen. The Diamond Trophy holder and Olympic champion rallied in ...

Catch up on what Kendra Harrison , Wayde Van Niekerk , Maria Lasitskene, Thomas Röhler and Renaud Lavillenie had to say at Thursday's press conference ahead of the 11th IAAF Diamond League meeting of the summer in Monaco. *NOTE: Forward Video to 27 minutes to start watching Copyright © 2011-2017 | AthleticsAfrica.Com

The Road To The Final reached Africa this weekend as the world's top athletes descended on Rabat for the Meeting International Mohammed VI. The action saw many stars book their place in the Final, while others picked up enough points to raise their hopes of securing a qualifying place. Here's a summary of the top headlines: Blessing Okagbare (Nigeria) and Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) at the Rabat Diamond League / Photo credit: Kirby Lee / IAAF Protsenko qualifies, Tamberi fights back Andriy Protsenko put in a consummate display of jumping to secure victory in Rabat, but the night belonged to Gianmarco Tamberi. After returning from injury just weeks ago, Tamberi's second Diamond League appearance of the season marked a brilliant return to form in which he finished joint second, picking up seven points, and moving him closer to a qualifying position. "I needed these points, I need to reach the Final", he said. Ibargüen returns to top of the stan...

Hellen Obiri from Kenya won the Women's Mile at the 2017 Müller Anniversary Games in London on Sunday, setting a meeting record of 4:16.56, and breaking her national record. Hellen Obiri at the London Diamond League / Photo IDL/Kirby Lee Kenya's Winny Chebet was third while there was a Polish record of 4:19.55 for Angelika Cichoka in fourth. In the men’s 800m, Botswana's Nijel Amos leapt to the top of the world leaderboard as he brought back memories of the 2012 Olympic final where he chased world record-setting David Rudisha to the line for a world U20 record of 1:41.73. He wasn’t quite that quick this afternoon, but Amos adopted Rudisha-like tactics as he followed pacemaker Bram Som through half way in 49.58 and held off the field into the home straight to win in 1:43.18, his quickest time since 2015. Many of the world's top athletes secured their place in the IAAF Diamond League Final at the end of the season by picking up crucial points a...

It was a thrilling night of IAAF Diamond League action at Athletissima in Lausanne on Thursday evening. A number of athletes secured qualification for the Final, and records were tumbling left, right and centre. Here's a summary of the top headlines. Wayde van Niekerk eases to record South African Wayde van Niekerk made his first Diamond League appearance of the season in Lausanne, and he made quite a splash, easing over the line in 43.62 and smashing the 400m Diamond League record. The win gives him eight points and brings him to 9th place in the rankings, meaning a spot in the top eight and a place in the Final is within touching distance. Kendricks and Wojciechowski deliver thrilling finale The men's pole vault was the last event to finish in Lausanne, as Sam Kendricks, Pawel Wojciechowski and Renaud Lavillenie went the full distance in a brilliant battle. After Lavillenie had bowed out at 5.87m, Kendricks and Wojciechowski both cleared 5.93m. ...

The 2017 IAAF Diamond League season reached Paris on Saturday, as the world's top athletes had another chance to pick up valuable points on the Road To The Final. It proved to be a night of upsets and decisive moments at the Stade Charlety. Here's a summary of the top headlines. Thompson back in the running Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson had drifted down the qualification standings in the women's 100m over the last few weeks. She eased to victory in 10.91 in Paris to take her tally to 16 points. Though she is now second, and still yet to officially qualify, Thompson's passage to the Final now looks a lot smoother than it did before tonight. Kendricks beats Lavillenie again Sam Kendricks had twice beaten Renaud Lavillenie in this season's Diamond League before this evening, and he extended his streak, winning again after he cleared 5.82m. Seven time Diamond Trophy winner Lavillenie couldn't use his home advantage, and is still without a win...

While South Africa's top sprinters are expected to steal the show and experienced campaigners are favoured to dominate other disciplines, a number of junior prospects and resurgent stars are aiming to cause upsets at the ASA Senior and Combined Events Championships in Potchefstroom on Friday and Saturday.  With the likes of national 100m record holder Akani Simbine , SA 200m record holder Anaso Jobodwana , world 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk and defending 100m champion Henricho Bruintjies tipped to battle it out for the short-sprint titles, they will need to hold off a new generation of determined teenage speedsters. Defending national 200m champion Clarence Munyai broke the SA Junior half-lap mark in Tshwane last month, clocking 20.10 seconds, while training partner Gift Leotlela shattered the Under-20 100m record with a 10.12 performance on the fast Tuks track. After covering the 100m dash in 9.95 earlier this season to join a growing list of local sub-10 sp...

South Africa's growing list of world-class sprinters will lead the charge in Potchefstroom this weekend, as a number of elite stars target double titles at the ASA Senior Championships on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 April 2017. In-form Olympic finalist Akani Simbine will turn out as the favourite for the Men's 100m and 200m crowns, after he was confirmed in the Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) entry lists released on Tuesday. Photo credit: Roger Sedres/ImageSA Simbine, who has clocked impressive times of 9.92 and 19.95 in the short sprints this season, will line up against 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk (Athletics Free State), World Championships 200m bronze medallist Anaso Jobodwana (KwaZulu-Natal Athletics) and national Junior 100m record holder Tlotliso Gift Leotlela (AGN) in both events. Two other AGN speedsters, former national 100m record holder Henricho Bruintjies and the latest SA athlete to dip under 10 seconds, Thando Roto , will focus on the...

Geoffrey Kirui won the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday, pulling away from three-time U.S. Olympian Galen Rupp with two miles to go to give Kenya its first men's victory in five years . Edna Kiplagat won the women's race to complete the Kenyan sweep. They were followed closely by Americans who grabbed two of the top four women's spots and six of the top ten for men -- the first time that's happened since the race went professional in 1986. Edna Kiplagat (left) and Geoffrey Kirui, both of Kenya, raise the trophy after winning the women's and men's races at the Boston Marathon on Monday.  Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports "It's so exciting to see Americans being competitive here," said Rupp, the Olympic bronze medallist who was making his Boston debut. "It's a real exciting time. And it's awesome to see American distance running on the upswing and being competitive in these races." Kirui finished in 2 hours, 9 minutes...

South Africa's road runners dominated a long weekend packed with fine performances, as the nation's elite athletes turned out in various contests around the world. On Saturday, Lebogang Shange stepped on the podium at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Taicang, China. Shange took third place in 1:23:45, crossing the line 1:29 behind Brazilian Caio Bonfim, who was fourth at last year's Rio Olympics, in the Men's 20km race. Elsewhere, in Cape Town, marathon runner Lungile Gongqa won the Old Mutual Two Oceans 56km ultra-distance contest. Gongqa completed the race in 3:09:43 to earn the first SA victory in the men's race in four years. Maryna Damantsevich of Belarus controlled the women's race from start to finish to bag the title in 3:37:13, despite falling and scraping her knees at the start. Local marathon specialist Jenna Challenor , making her Two Oceans debut, ran a well-judged race to finish second in 3:47:32. Namakoe Nkhasi of Les...

Qatar’s Olympians and rising stars are set to compete amongst some of the best athletes in the world in the first meeting of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League season in Doha. Qatar’s athletics team will join an already outstanding list of athletics superstars who will compete on 5th May at Qatar Sports Club. Lead by Olympic silver medallist, Mutaz Barshim , 13 Qatari athletes will compete, including fellow Olympians Ahmed Bedeer competing in the javelin and the fastest man in Asia, Femi Ogunode in the 100m. The javelin competition is set to be a thriller, with Qatar’s young Olympian and Aspire Academy graduate, 21-year-old Ahmed Bedeer looking to continue his solid progress in the sport in a competition that features the Rio 2016 Olympic gold and silver medallists, Thomas Röhler and current World Champion Julius Yego . Bedeer set a personal best of 84.74 to qualify for Rio 2016 and will be aiming to use the Doha Diamond League to gain further experience on his road to the Lo...

There's less than a week to go before the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017, which will be held in Nassau on Saturday and Sunday 22-23 April. More than 500 athletes from around the world will compete in five relay disciplines in the Bahamian capital's Thomas A Robinson National Stadium: the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and to cap the competition, a mixed 4x400m. The top eight finishers in the both the men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m will earn automatic entry for the IAAF World Championships London 2017 to be held later this year, which ensures nations will be represented by some of their finest stars. Indeed, athletes expected in Nassau have amassed 177 world and Olympic individual and relay medals, 60 of them gold. Winners of seven Olympic titles and 11 world titles will be represented during the competition's third edition. Among them are Jamaica's new sprint queen Elaine Thompson , who sped to a 100/200m double triumph in Rio last summer, an...