Athletics

Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has been appointed a Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where he will mentor and inspire the next generation of athletes.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe Kenyan distance-running legend will take part in the first Olympic sporting event to be staged on African soil when the Youth Olympic Games are held in Senegal from 31 October to 13 November 2026.Kipchoge, 41, has competed at five Olympic Games, winning four medals, including marathon gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.##NAJAVA_MECA_9995888##He also won bronze and silver in the 5,000 m at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, respectively, before switching his focus to the marathon.At Dakar, he will share his experience from more than two decades at the highest level of athletics while interacting with athletes from around the world.He will also mentor the Refugee Olympic Team, which will make its first appearance at the Youth Olympic Games.“I’ve been in the ..

Eighteen teams representing six universities will battle for honours at the Open Lanes Grand Finale, set for Saturday, October 3, at Nyayo Stadium.The finalists secured their places after progressing through a series of knockout events held at Riara University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), and the University of Nairobi.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsThey will now converge at Nyayo for a day of track action, with teams looking to cap their Open Lanes campaigns by claiming bragging rights for their respective institutions.Beyond the competition, four standout student athletes will earn an all-expenses-paid opportunity to compete in South Africa’s elite running circuit.The experience will give the athletes an opportunity to compete in a different environment, immerse themselves in South Africa’s running culture and gain exposure beyond the university circuit.Beatrice Murugi’s heartbreaking journey from running for Kenya to fighting for surviv..

Femke Bol has opened up on her decision to switch from the 400m hurdles to the 800m, saying she felt ready for a new challenge after achieving almost everything she had dreamed of in the hurdles.The Dutch star made the transition towards the end of last year, closing a hugely successful chapter in the 400m hurdles after establishing herself as arguably the second-greatest athlete in the event behind two-time Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsBol had been fully committed to the 400m hurdles since 2019, winning Olympic bronze medals at Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, as well as World Championship gold at Budapest 2023 and Tokyo 2025. She also won European Championship titles in 2022 and 2024.##NAJAVA_MECA_9991903##Her personal best of 50.95 seconds is the European record and makes her the second-fastest woman in history behind McLaughlin-Levrone.But after the Paris Olympics, Bol and her coach began reassessing her ca..

British Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson turned heads at the Athlos meet, not only with her performance on the track but also with a striking new speed suit designed to give her an aerodynamic edge.Hodgkinson debuted the specially made black outfit as she stormed to victory in the 800m in 1:56.40, and the futuristic design immediately became one of the talking points of the meeting.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsThe full-length suit, which has been compared to the iconic catsuit worn by Australian sprint legend Cathy Freeman at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, was developed over the past year in collaboration with Nike’s Innovation team.The project was built around one central idea: finding marginal gains that could help Hodgkinson move faster while maintaining the freedom and comfort required over two laps of the track.Designed around HodgkinsonUnlike a conventional racing kit, the suit was developed specifically around Hodgkinson’s body, movement and preferences.The Olympi..

More than 1,000 runners took to the trails of Karura Forest on Sunday as preparations for the 23rd Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon gathered momentum.The Friends of Karura Anniversary Race brought together elite runners, recreational athletes, families and nature enthusiasts across 21km, 10km, 5km and 2km races, combining competition with a celebration of conservation.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsThe event served as one of the key build-up races ahead of the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, which will be held on October 25 at Uhuru Gardens.After the races, participants and their families gathered at Amani Gardens for a celebration and a Berlin Marathon watch party, extending the event beyond the competition itself.Standard Chartered is supporting a series of warm-up races as part of the preparations for this year’s marathon, which has attracted more than 30,000 participants from a record 102 nationalities.Baraza identifies former Shabana striker as best solution to..

There was a time when two laps of an Olympic track were considered too much for women.Today, the women’s 800m is one of the most fiercely contested events in athletics, capable of producing world records, global stars and some of the most compelling rivalries in the sport.Its transformation has taken almost a century.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsThe women’s 800m made its Olympic debut at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, alongside four other women’s track and field events. Germany’s Karoline Lina Radke won the inaugural title, but the event disappeared from the Olympic programme afterwards.Reports at the time claimed that several competitors had collapsed from exhaustion after the race. Those reports were later discredited, but the damage had been done.The event would not return to the Olympics until 1960 (32 years later), leaving women’s middle-distance running to fight its way back into the mainstream.More than 60 years later, the 800m is no longer fighting for recognition. ..

Kenya’s William Nyarondia Morwabe and Sylvia Mboga Medugu were on the 30km podium as Lidingöloppet opened the World Athletics Cross Country Tour season in Lidingö, Sweden, on Saturday, 26 September.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsThe two were eyeing wins on the opening weekend, with Medugu, a winner in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, aiming to become the first woman to win the 30km race five times while Morwabe was out to defend the men’s title after making a remarkable winning return last year, after a six-year absence.However, 2024 champion Ebba Tulu Chala, who lost to the Kenyan by just 11 seconds last year, took charge of the men’s race early, building a 46-second lead by the 15km mark at Fågelöudde and continued to move away. He maintained his lead to win in 1:38:50.##NAJAVA_MECA_9985363##Sweden’s David Nilsson finished strongly to secure second place in 1:40:55, one year on from winning the 15km. Morwabe, who won ahead of Chala last year, narrowly held on to third place in ..

Tigist Assefa looked almost certain to break Ruth Chepngetich’s world marathon record of 2:09:56 in Sunday’s, 27 September, Berlin Marathon but late drama halted her challenge going on to win the race in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history.Her training partner Guye Adola completed an Ethiopian double, winning the men’s contest in a PB of 2:02:50. It was his second victory in Berlin, five years after his first, and finally improved on the personal best (PB) he had set on his marathon debut in the German capital nine years ago.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsAssefa, meanwhile, produced one of the most remarkable record attempts in marathon history. At 40km she was still on course to challenge the world record of 2:09:56 before appearing to suffer a physical problem during the closing stages.Until then, her pace had been relentless. The world and Olympic silver medalist reached 5km in 15:30 and was already well clear of the field by 10km, which she passed in 30:48. Defen..

Kenyan athletics legend Kipchoge Keino believes the 2029 World Athletics Championships will give the country an opportunity to showcase its sporting heritage while opening up new avenues for sports tourism.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsNairobi will host the global championships after Kenya’s bid beats London, Rome, and Munich. The event will be the first edition of the World Athletics Championships to be staged in Africa.Keino views the event as an opportunity to demonstrate Kenya’s ability to host a major global competition while also promoting the country as a leading destination for athletics training.##NAJAVA_MECA_9985331##“Hosting the World Athletics Championships in Kenya is a major opportunity and shows how far the country has come,” Keino said in Eldoret on Friday.“Our athletes have helped put Kenya on the global map, and now we have an opportunity to welcome the world and show that we are capable of hosting an event of this scale. We shall be engaging with the fe..

Berlin Marathon has recorded 13 world records during the race’s history. This is a record in itself because there is no other marathon race worldwide that comes close to such a number.Ok, Sunday, 27 September, Tigst Assefa will go for Berlin’s world record number 14.##NAJAVA_MECA_9985343##The Ethiopian long-distance star wants to get the world record back on Sunday. Three years ago she moved the women’s marathon into new dimensions when she clocked 2:11:53 at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.Download Our MozzartSport App for More NewsHowever, the mark was improved to 2:09:56 by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich. Assefa will be looking to beat the 2:10:00 barrier, the second woman to do so.“I am really looking forward to running on the fast course in Berlin again and hope that I can continue my success story here on Sunday. I am very well prepared and want to run a personal best (PB),” Assefa, whose 2:11:53 PB is still the Berlin course record as well, said.Assefa will face the defending champion Rosem..