Athletics

Former world 5,000m and 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay will miss the remainder of the 2026 track season after being handed a four-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation involving the prohibited substance, Letrozole.The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that the Ethiopian distance running star had accepted a Case Resolution Agreement after testing positive for a metabolite of Letrozole during an out-of-competition test conducted on 5 December, 2025.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsTsegay, 29, is one of Ethiopia’s most decorated athletes, having won world titles over 5,000m and 10,000m as well as setting world records in the 5,000m and indoor mile.According to the AIU, Letrozole is listed as a Specified Prohibited Substance under category S4.1##NAJAVA_MECA_9795819##Aromatase Inhibitors on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2025 Prohibited List and is banned at all times.The medication works by lowering estrogen levels in the body.The athlete was notified of the pot..

Award-winning Kenyan musician Nyamari Ongegu, popularly known as Nyashinski, has revealed the inspiration behind his hit song ‘Marathon Runner’.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe talented artist explained that the song stemmed from the lessons of patience, persistence, and the long journey to success, qualities embodied by marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge.The song, released in April 2019, has grown into one of the most recognisable tributes to the two-time Olympic marathon champion, amassing more than 4.7 million views on YouTube.Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi over the moon after welcoming first childIts popularity soared further later that year when Kipchoge adopted it as his theme song ahead of the historic INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria.During the event in October 2019, Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon distance in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40 in a non-official race.Nyashinski explained that the song was inspired by the broader concept of s..

Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout has been urged to take a measured approach to his burgeoning career after enduring a difficult Diamond League debut in Oslo, with Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo warning the teenager against rushing into senior competition.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe 18-year-old Australian could only manage sixth place in the men’s 200m at the Oslo Diamond League on Wednesday, 10 June, clocking 20.60 seconds after a sluggish start from the blocks.It was a far cry from the blistering 19.67 seconds he produced at the Australian Athletics Championships in April, a performance that not only shattered his own national record but also eclipsed Usain Bolt’s fastest time as a teenager.Consistency pays off for Cheruiyot as Gout Gout is handed reality check in Oslo DLWhile Gout struggled, Botswana’s Tebogo delivered a statement performance, storming to victory in 19.84 seconds to trim more than a tenth off his season’s best.Speaking after the race, Tebogo..

Africa has landed a first Abbott World Marathon Major, this after the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in South Africa was on Wednesday, 10 June confirmed as the eighth member of the most prestigious series in marathon running globally.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsThe development comes after the event passed the second and final test of its Abbott World Marathon Majors (WMM) assessment, following its successful staging of the 2026 race on Sunday, 24 May.##NAJAVA_MECA_9790930##“It gives me huge pleasure to welcome Cape Town to the family,” Abbott WMM CEO Dawna Stone said. “After watching the race grow in size and stature during its candidacy and also seeing the resilience and dedication of the team lead so wonderfully by Clark Gardner, Africa’s first Major has finally arrived. “The unique culture, the welcome from the people of the city and the wonderful setting Cape Town provides will bring a whole new dimension to our series. I know runners in Africa and across the world will ..

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis has opened up on his shock defeat at the Stockholm Diamond League that saw his remarkable unbeaten streak of nearly three years come to an end on home soil on Sunday, 7 June.The Swedish, widely regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, was beaten for the first time in 40 competitions on Sunday as Australia’s Kurtis Marschall claimed victory at the iconic Stockholm Olympic Stadium.Duplantis, who had not lost a competition since the Monaco Diamond League in July 2023, managed a best clearance of 5.80m before failing twice at 6.00m and once at 6.05m. Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsMarschall cleared 5.90m to secure one of the biggest wins of his career and hand the world record holder his first defeat in 35 months.The result brought to an end one of the most dominant streaks in modern athletics.During that run, Duplantis won two world outdoor titles, two world indoor titles, Olympic gold at Paris 2024 and multiple Diamond League crowns. ##NAJA..

Edmund Serem and Timothy Cheruiyot delivered podium finishes at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday, 7 June, as home favourite Armand “Mondo” Duplantis saw his remarkable winning streak come to an end in a dramatic evening of athletics in Sweden.Duplantis failed in his latest attempt to break the pole vault world record and suffered his first defeat in 40 competitions, with Australia’s Kurtis Marschall claiming victory after clearing 5.90 metres on his third attempt.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsCompeting before an expectant home crowd, Duplantis had targeted a 16th world-record improvement beyond his current mark of 6.31m. However, the Swede endured an uncharacteristically difficult outing, needing two attempts to clear 5.60m before comfortably negotiating 5.80m.##NAJAVA_MECA_9788882##The 26-year-old then failed twice at six metres and could not clear 6.05m in a final gamble for victory, handing Marschall the biggest win of his career. Duplantis later admitted that hi..

Kenyan marathoners Enock Kipkemboi and Joy Kemuma emerged victorious in the men’s and women’s races respectively at Sunday’s Nairobi City Marathon, both producing inspiring comeback performances to claim top honours.Kipkemboi redeemed himself after failing to finish at the Eldoret City Marathon earlier this year, storming to victory in the men’s race in 2:09:33. He held off Robert Kwambai (2:09:51) and Shadrack Kenduiywo (2:09:56), who finished second and third respectively.##NAJAVA_MECA_9787913##The triumph marked a welcome return to winning ways for Kipkemboi, whose last victory came at the Huai’an Marathon in China in 2024.”I am so happy to have come here and won today. My sole objective was to win this race because my last competition did not go according to plan. I fell down with two kilometres to go and so I could not finish the race,” said Kipkemboi.The Kenyan expressed hope that the Nairobi victory would open doors to more international competitions. “I hope that I can get to c..

For many African athletes, securing a scholarship, professional contract, or training opportunity abroad represents the ultimate breakthrough. Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsHowever, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo believes those opportunities should be used as stepping stones rather than permanent exits from the continent.The Botswana sprint star has encouraged African athletes to take advantage of opportunities overseas while ensuring they eventually return home to help develop athletics in Africa.Omanyala finishes eighth as Noah Lyles powers to Rome Diamond League victorySpeaking to The Athletic Heat, the Paris Olympic 200m gold medalist acknowledged the harsh realities that push many athletes to seek greener pastures abroad, including limited resources, inadequate training facilities, and economic challenges.”We have so many Africans competing in the United States. I understand the realities back home. I know we face hunger and challenges such as limited resources and ..

World records by Josh Hoey, Yomif Kejelcha and Toshikazu Yamanishi have been ratified by World Athletics, while world U20 records by Saron Berhe, Cooper Lutkenhaus and Gout Gout are also now official.The ratification of Kejelcha’s 26:31 as the men’s world 10km record follows the disqualification of Rhonex Kipruto’s 26:24, which he set in Valencia in January 2020, but has since received a suspension, and had results annulled due to an anti-doping rule violation.Ethiopia’s Kejelcha clocked 26:31 in Castellón on 16 February 2025, and that is the next best ratifiable performance.Rhonex Kipruto banned for six years in doping caseAs a result, the two-time world 10,000m silver medallist becomes a two-time world record-holder, adding the world 10km record to the world half marathon record of 57:30 he set in Valencia in 2024.USA’s Hoey achieved his world 800m short track record at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix – the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of the season – on 24 Januar..

When Paris Olympics 800m bronze medalist Mary Moraa crossed the finish line seventh in the women’s 800m final at the Tokyo World Championships, many were left stunned. For Kisii Express, as she is affectionately known in athletics circles, dominance in the two-lap race had become almost routine; the result raised eyebrows across the athletics world.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsMoraa clocked a season’s best of 1:57.10 in the final, a race in which she had looked destined for a podium finish after taking charge early and dictating the pace for the better part of the contest. How much Ferdinand Omanyala earned from Xiamen Diamond League victoryHowever, she faded drastically in the closing stages as her compatriot Lilian Odira stormed to gold in a championship record time of 1:54.62.What fans did not know then was that Moraa was fighting through a serious medical condition.The 2023 World Champion has now disclosed that she suffered sudden dizziness and extreme weakness durin..