Athletics

Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge says he is “really rooting” for the Cape Town Marathon to officially become an Abbott World Marathon Major.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe double Olympic marathon champion voiced his support for the race on Tuesday, 19 May, moments after jetting in at the city that will act as the first stop for his Eliud’s Running World Tour. The tour is a project involving a series of seven marathons across all continents over the next two years, with an aim to inspire healthier lifestyles, and unite people worldwide through running.“Africa is where my journey as a runner began, and where the foundation of my success is deeply rooted,” the 41-year-old said shortly after landing at the Cape Town International Airport, where he was met by Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, and CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Clark Gardner.Welcome to Cape Town, @EliudKipchoge! 🇿🇦🇰🇪Eliud is a 2x Olympic Champion and one of the greatest marathon r..

Reigning world 3,000m steeplechase champion Faith Cherotich will have a battle on her hands as she faces her two fiercest rivals at the Prefontaine Classic Wanda Diamond League meeting on 4 July.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsCherotich, who kicked off her Diamond League season with a second place finish in Shanghai last weekend, will go head-to-head with Winfred Yavi and Peruth Chemutai, in what is expected to be one of the star events in Eugene that night.The star clash will be the first time the three will line up against each other, since the World Championship final in Tokyo last September, when they took two of the three spots on the podium.Ndereba, Tergat land key roles in historic Mandela Marathon launchTheir last clash in the Diamond League, however, came at the same Prefontaine Classic event last year, when Kenyan-born Bahraini Yavi came out on top with a meeting record and world lead of 8:45.25.Kenya’s Cherotich was nonetheless the standout performer of the 2025 ..

Team Kenya has turned its sights on the upcoming Commonwealth Games after ‎an impressive outing at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana, where the nation ranked second on the medal standings.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more news‎‎Team Kenya amassed 17 medals in Ghana including five gold, five silver and seven bronze. South Africa led the overall standings with 22 medals as Ethiopia placed third with 14 medals.‎‎The performance at the Championships has been hailed as a glowing testament to Kenya’s expanding talent pool, with officials praising the youthful squad for punching above its weight and reaffirming the country’s growing strength across both track and field disciplines.How coach Ayiemba restored Omanyala’s sub-10 form in eight months‎‎“We took a very young team to Ghana, and they did phenomenally well to finish second behind South Africa,” assistant team manager Lt Col. Albert Lagat said upon arrival. “This performance underscores the incredible dept..

Kenyan long-distance legends Catherine Ndereba and Paul Tergat have been unveiled as ambassadors for the inaugural Nelson Mandela Marathon alongside South African athletics stars Prudence Seokgodiso and Hendrick Ramaala.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe ambassadors were introduced after the Nelson Mandela Foundation officially launched the marathon at Cape Town City Hall, the iconic venue where former South African President Nelson Mandela addressed the nation following his release from prison in 1990.##NAJAVA_MECA_9757857##The marathon, scheduled for Sunday, 18 October 2026, will feature a 42-kilometre route through Cape Town, with organisers describing it as the world’s first value-based running series centred on human rights.The race forms part of the newly launched Mandela Legacy Sporting Series, a platform aimed at bringing together sporting initiatives linked to social justice, active citizenship and community upliftment.The sporting series was unveiled at Sanctuary..

When Ferdinand Omanyala parted ways with coach Geoffrey Kimani in September 2025, many wondered what direction Africa’s fastest man would take next in his career.In a surprising but familiar turn, the Commonwealth Games champion reunited with his former coach Duncan Ayiemba, the man who guided him during the early stages of his sprinting journey before the pair separated in 2023.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsEight months later, the reunion is already yielding encouraging results.Omanyala has enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 season, clocking sub-10-second times in four consecutive races.The Kenyan sprint star began his campaign at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia, where he stormed to victory in 9.98 seconds before heading to the Kip Keino Classic, reclaiming the title he last won in 2023 after clocking 9.96 seconds.##NAJAVA_MECA_9757957##He then competed at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, finishing third in 9.95 seconds, before producing another impressive display ..

For Solomon Ayela Okeny, the journey to the African Championships in Accra was about much more than athletics.Growing up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in North Western Kenya, he had spent years watching planes land with food and humanitarian supplies before taking off again into the distance. He always wondered what it would feel like to be inside one.##NAJAVA_MECA_9750241##That curiosity finally turned into reality on May 9 when Okeny boarded a plane for the first time in his life as part of the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team travelling to Ghana for the African Championships.The experience left a lasting impression on the young athlete.“I was very nervous when the flight attendants explained what we needed to do in case of an emergency,” Okeny said in an interview with World Athletics “But the whole experience of moving in this ‘thing that just floats in the sky’ was worth it. I didn’t sleep even for a second during the entire journey.”The excitement of travelling outside Kenya for the..

Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jackson Tuwei has been appointed interim president of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) following the death of long-serving president Hamad Kalkaba Malboum.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe decision was reached during an emergency CAA Council meeting held on Saturday, 16 May in Accra, Ghana, where members unanimously agreed that Tuwei would take over in an acting capacity until elections scheduled for 2027.Kenya’s roll of honour at African Senior Athletics ChampionshipsMalboum, who died earlier this week at the age of 75, had led the Confederation since 2003 and was widely credited for his contribution to the growth and development of athletics across the African continent. Tributes poured in from across the athletics world, led by Sebastian Coe and other global sports leaders, who praised his impact on the sport.##NAJAVA_MECA_9750166##Tuwei’s appointment marks another major milestone in his career in sports administration. The re..

Olympic champion Noah Lyles has termed his performance at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix ‘a great way to start the season’, having started his 100m outdoor season with a 9.95 (0.6m/s) to win the last race on the programme.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsLyles was making a return to the Tokyo’s National Stadium where he claimed World 200m and 4x100m titles in September last year, as well as his first Olympic medal five years ago.The venue played host to the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting on Sunday, 17 May, with the eight- time World champion putting on a show to go sub-10.Why Mercy Oketch will wait longer to make her Diamond League debutHe joins a growing list of 100m runners who have already dipped under 10 seconds, a list led by Botswana’s Collen Busang Kebinatshipi after clocking an impressive 9.89 seconds at the Botswana National Trials last month.”I’m happy with the race, I’m happy with the time,” Lyles told World Athletics. “It’s a great way to start the se..

Kenyan runner Charles Mbatha Matata on Sunday, 17 May narrowly missed world marathon record holder Sabastian Sawe’s course record, this after winning and leading a Kenyan podium sweep at the Rimi Riga Half marathon in Latvia.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsMbatha, running his second race of the year, was victorious in the men’s race, clocking 59:15, which was just five seconds shy of Sawe’s record time of 59:10, set during his gold-medal winning heroics at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in 2023.Why Mercy Oketch will wait longer to make her Diamond League debutThe 28-year-old will however take solace in his effort, which gave him his new personal best in the distance, going over the 1:00.01 he timed earlier this year in Istanbul.In taking his first win of the year, Matata was also at hand to lead an all-Kenyan top three finish, with compatriots James Kipkogei and Benson Tunyo Murkomen clocking 59:50 and 1:00.29 to take silver and bronze respectively.##NAJAVA_..

2026 Kip Keino Classic 400m champion Mercy Oketch will have to wait longer to make her much-anticipated Diamond League debut after visa complications ruled her out of the season opener held on Saturday, 16 May in Shanghai.Excitement had been building after the Shanghai Diamond League organisers listed Oketch among the athletes set to battle for the women’s 400m title in Keqiao, China. Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsHowever, fans were left disappointed when the Kenyan star failed to appear on the start list during the race.Reports from Sporty FM indicated that Oketch was unable to secure a visa to China after reportedly being denied clearance by the Chinese Embassy. By 1430 hours on Friday, 15 May, the sprinter was still in Kenya, making it impossible for her to travel in time for the event.##NAJAVA_MECA_9750088##Travelling from Nairobi to Shanghai takes between 15 and 18 hours on average due to the lack of direct flights, with total travel time largely depending on airline..