Athletics

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has confirmed that Botswana will host the 25th African Senior Athletics Championships in 2028, marking a historic milestone for the southern African nation.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe hosting rights were initially awarded in 2024, with the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) presenting its preparedness case before the CAA council in Accra, Ghana, on May 11.BAA acting president Oabona Theetso said the association delivered a convincing presentation that reassured the council of Botswana’s readiness to stage the continental showpiece.Omanyala confirmed for first Diamond League stop of the season“We are happy that CAA found it fit to allow Botswana to host the championships back in 2024. As Botswana, it will be our first time to host the African Senior Championship; therefore, we are not going to drop the ball,” Theetso said.The last time the championships were staged in southern Africa was in 2016 in Durban, South Africa.T..

Africa’s fastest man in 100m, Ferdinand Omanyala, has his work cut out as he lines up for his first Diamond League (DL) race of the year in Shanghai on Saturday, 16 May, against a world-class field.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsOmanyala, a late inclusion to the field, following the withdrawal of Kishane Thompson, is hoping to carry his current form to the Chinese event.Having dipped under 10 seconds in his last three races, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion is among the quickest on the field this year, but will face his toughest field yet, a challenge likely to put his current form to the real test.##NAJAVA_MECA_9743881##The Kenyan record holder began his season indoors, running a 6.66-second season best while finishing fourth at the Russian Winter event in February before moving outdoors.His first race outdoors was at the Cape Miller Continental Tour in Stellenbosch, where he eased to victory in 10.19 seconds on Friday, 10 April.A week later, Omanyala lined up for..

Former half-marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie, currently suspended for failing to provide a doping sample, has received further charges that could lengthen his suspension and impending ban, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has announced.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe AIU has issued a Notice of Charge, including an additional violation of Tampering or Attempted Tampering with doping control to the earlier charge for Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection.Oketch set for historic Diamond League debut in ShanghaiKandie, 29, who won the Valencia Half Marathon in a world record time of 57:32 back in 2020, knocking 29 seconds from the previous record of 58:01 set by fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor in 2019, was initially suspended on 14 March 2025.He was already facing a potential four-year ban for his first violation. Now, with the additional charge, he is at risk of a sanction of up to eight years.’Cape Town will be more than a marathon’ – K..

When reigning national 400m champion Mercy Oketch lined up for the Brussels Diamond League (DL) Invitational race last year it was a sign that better was yet to come.Now, the 23-year-old is set to make her DL debut at the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday, 16 May against a stacked field after an impressive start to her season.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsFresh from leading Team Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay squad to a fourth-place finish at the global event held in Botswana on 3 May, missing out on bronze at the line, Oketch is set to face tough opposition in Shanghai, where she is looking to establish herself as a rising talent in the one-day event.The Shanghai DL meeting in Keqiao is the first of 15 legs set to conclude in Brussels later in the year, and the Kenyan will hope to carry her record breaking form to the Chinese District, having been part of the 4x400m mixed relay area and national record 3:09.87 run at the World Relays.Mathare United sack head coach three ga..

The second instalment of the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup double header at Transvulcania concluded on Saturday, 9 May with Kenyans Philemon Kiriago and Ruth Gitonga delivering another Kenyan double.Following an exhilarating Uphill race on Thursday, 7 May, in which both the women’s and men’s course records fell to Joyce Muthoni Njeru and Richard Omaya Atuya respectively, Saturday’s winners also lowered the course marks in the longer distance.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe races marked the first long-distance contest of the 2026 World Cup season, contested over a 25km course featuring 2,100m of ascent with competitors facing a formidable opening 17km of sustained climbing, gaining 1800 metres of elevation to the high point at Las Deseadas, before a testing eight-kilometre descent that brought them to the finish line at El Pilar, situated at 1445 metres above sea level.In the men’s race, the trio of Atuya, Kiriago and Ephantus Mwangi Njeri dictated pace, going thr..

Five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has opened up on the mental and physical agony of her 20-month injury layoff after making a triumphant return to the global stage at the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe Jamaican sprint queen anchored her country’s women’s 4x100m relay team to gold after clocking 42.00 seconds ahead of Canada’s 42.17 and Spain’s 42.31, marking her first major international competition since July 2024.For Thompson-Herah, the victory symbolised the end of a painful chapter defined by injuries, uncertainty, and missed opportunities.Lokedi, Chepkirui set to clash at Manchester 10km“I must say we’re grateful that we crossed the line healthy,” Thompson-Herah said after the race.“I mean, coming down the straightaway, I felt my leg was heavy. I feel the hamstring, so I said I have to bring the team home, because we’re looking forward to that,” she continued.The five-time Olympic champion had been sidelined b..

Reigning Boston Marathon and back-to-back champion Sharon Lokedi will face 2024 New York City Marathon winner Sheila Chepkirui at the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run set for, Sunday, 31 May.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsIn an elite women’s 10km shaping up to be exciting, Lokedi, who on Monday, 20 April lifted the Boston Marathon title in 2:18:51, has a 10km best of 30:52 from New York.She makes a return to the same field she recorded 31:06 in 2022, where she placed fourth.Meanwhile Chepkirui clocked 29:46 in Valencia, but that was back in 2020. She last raced the distance in 2025 in Boston, clocking 32:17 for seventh place.Her most recent action came on 8 March when winning the Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2:21:54.Harambee Stars youngster tipped to join English Premier League side”After winning the Great North Run last year, I hoped we could work Manchester into my schedule for 2026 as I have heard many good things about this race. I’m looking forward to testing myself against so..

Dennis Kipkogei hit the headlines in March when he finished second at the Generali Berlin Half Marathon, a race he had entered as a pacer.He ran shoulder to shoulder with eventual winner, Andrea Kiptoo, all the way to the final kilometer, showing no signs of letting up and only stepping aside in the last possible moment, despite looking stronger.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsAll eyes will be on Kipkogei, on Sunday, 10 May when the Kenyan newcomer runs only his second race outside Kenya at the Gutenberg Mainz Half Marathon.Six weeks ago while competing as a pacemaker for Germany’s record holder Amanal Petros in Berlin, the 24-year-old clocked 59:11, a time that makes him the fastest runner on Sunday’s start list.Organisers are hopeful that the men’s race will see its first sub one hour winning time. For a third time in a row both course records could be broken.Sharon Lokedi’s first race since defending Boston Marathon title announcedKipkogei must be regarded as a firm favo..

South African sprinter Akani Simbine has opened up on how marriage and family stability have transformed both his life and career, crediting his wife, Terisa Webb, for helping him become a more relaxed and fulfilled athlete.Since tying the knot in December 2024, Simbine has enjoyed one of the most remarkable stretches of his career. Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsHe has produced consistent world-class performances while embracing a new mindset away from the pressure that once defined his approach to sprinting.The South African sprint star began 2025 in historic fashion at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, where he secured the first individual global medal of his career after claiming bronze in the 60m in 6.53 seconds.##NAJAVA_MECA_9734980##That success sparked an outstanding outdoor campaign in which Simbine became the first man in history to run sub-10-second 100m races for 11 consecutive years, surpassing the record previously held by Usain Bolt.He rem..

Olympic champion Noah Lyles and Australian teenage sensation Gout Gout are set for a blockbuster showdown at the 2026 Ostrava Golden Spike, where the pair will clash over the 150m distance on Tuesday, 16 June, at the Mestský Stadion in Czechia.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe race is already shaping up as one of the meet’s headline attractions, pitting one of track and field’s biggest stars against one of its fastest-rising talents.Lyles heads into the race as one of the sport’s most decorated sprinters. The American is the reigning Olympic 100m champion after striking gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics and has dominated the 200m scene, winning the last four world titles over the distance.Sabastian Sawe fends of strong opposition to bag World Athletics awardDespite his global success, the Ostrava meeting will mark Lyles’ first appearance at the famed event.For Gout, however, it will be a return to familiar territory. The 18-year-old lit up Ostrava last year when he stormed ..