Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i AW - Athletics Weekly Magazine

FEBRUARY 2023 AW Editorial Director Lynsey Sharp knows the Emirates Arena in Glasgow well. She has been based there for much of the winter and has run countless laps of the indoor track. Despite how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, though, the former European 800m champion knew this time it was different. Why? Because she was racing. “I have trained there twice a week for however many weeks but I was still so nervous. It didn't feel like training at all,” she tells Katy Barden in the interview on p38 of this issue. The pre-competition anxieties were entirely understandable because the 600m which lay ahead of her on that January day represented more than a race. It was the end of one journey and the beginning of another.…

DIGEST KATHARINE MERRY Having been told for so long that the athletes’ voices will be listened to, I can completely understand why many people were disappointed following the release of World Athletics’ “preferred option” on the issue of allowing transgender women who have gone through any part of male puberty – and athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) – to compete in the female category at elite level. This position surprised many after they had heard Seb Coe say last summer that “biology trumps gender”. Those comments had suggested athletics would be going down the same road as other sports – such as swimming, triathlon and rugby – in either creating a separate category for or banning trans athletes who are biological males but now identify as women. No final…

INTERVIEW RICHARD KILTY What your hardest but most rewarding training session? I do have a very specific session for that. We usually do this session in the middle of November and December, then I would repeat that session at the end of March before the start of the outdoor season. We would do six repetitions of 150m sprints, broken down into two sets of three, and have five minutes recovery between the reps. After the third rep we would go for a 10-minute rest and the last three would be a five-minute rest. The target times for each of the reps would have to be under 16-and-a-half seconds. I used to run the session with long jumper Chris Tomlinson and he was one of the best jumpers we had in Europe.…

As well as Neeraj Chopra's world silver medal, India had a number of reasons to be cheerful in 2022 In Oregon, Paul Eldhose became the first Indian to qualify for the World Championships men's triple jump final, before creating more history by winning the event at the Commonwealth Games Abdulla Aboobacker won Commonwealth silver in the men's triple jump Murali Sreeshankar won Commonwealth silver in the men's long jump Priyanka Goswami became the first Indian woman to win a major medal in her event when she took Commonwealth silver in the women's 10,000m race walk Avinash Sable won Commonwealth silver in the men's 3000m steeplechase Tejashwin Shankar won Commonwealth bronze in the men's high jump Sandeep Kumar was a Commonwealth bronze medallist in the men's 10,000m walk Annu…

INDOORS LYNSEY SHARP As most new parents will testify, time is of the essence. For athletes specifically, no longer does there exist a great chasm between day and night, empty hours filled by training and the luxury of uninterrupted recovery. With a young child in tow, the work-life dynamic changes. Any pre-disposition to selfishness – a necessary characteristic in many elite sportspeople – has potential to shift to an entirely selfless existence. As Lynsey Sharp's interview with AW commences, she laughs ironically when asked if her 16-month-old son Max is sleeping. “He's so much fun to be around, but he's just very high energy,” she says, relieved that her husband and fellow international athlete Andrew Butchart – they were married in December – has taken him out for a walk. “I…

BATHURST 2023 ETHIOPIA On September 29, 2019, while doing research in Ethiopia, I was invited to the Ararat Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to come and watch the Berlin Marathon with several members of the Ethiopian national team. The athletes there (Diamond league champions Getnet Wale and Hagos Gebrhiwet, among others) were preparing to leave for the World Championships in Doha. One year previously, Eliud Kipchoge had been perfectly paced to a world record of 2:01:39 in the German capital and many had already come to the conclusion that the Kenyan would be considered the greatest distance runner of all time. At the start of the 2019 race, several journalists and fans had written Kenenisa Bekele out of contention, casting the three-time Olympic champion and 5000m and 10,000m world recordholder in…

SPOTLIGHT SPINE RACE The Montane Winter Spine Race has become known as one of the most brutal ultra marathon events out there and the 2023 edition saw it live up to that reputation. Ultra-runner and AW contributor Damian Hall crossed the finish line in Kirk Yetholm alongside fellow competitor Jack Scott, having covered the gruelling, 268-mile long course which follows the Pennine Way on just over two hours’ sleep. Scott finished runner-up, however, due to incurring a 40-minute penalty for a navigational error mid-race. Both runners beat the previous men's course record, with Hall clocking 84hr 36min 24sec – taking three hours off the mark set by John Kelly of the United States. However, the overall course record of 83:12:23, is still held by Jasmin Paris. The Spine Race first took…

PERFORMANCE NEWS MAKING MENTHOL WORK FOR PERFORMANCE The use of menthol gels or drinks as a performance-enhancer of endurance in hot weather has been known to science for a few years, even though it has gone a little under the radar for most of us. The obstacle to common usage has been palatability and the potential for gastrointestinal issues. Put simply, using menthol at sufficiently high concentrations imparts a bitter taste on the tongue. However, a recent study has suggested a way around that problem, using flavouring to mask the intensity of the menthol. L-menthol, which is derived from the mentha plant, includes peppermint and corn mint and has been shown to be ergogenic (performance enhancing) for endurance due to positive effects on the perception of temperature. It has been shown…

PERFORMANCE PERIODISATION What is periodisation? It's a blueprint of predetermined sequential periods of focused training which guides the coach and runner in the acquisition of specific characteristics of fitness. It is not a static blueprint, but rather a dynamic one which is used to formulate an optimal training plan. There are, however, a few different strategies to choose from, so let's look at the options. Linear periodisation The traditional periodisation model of training that many elite runners and coaches have adopted and which has trickled down to non-elite runners is rooted in Soviet Union training theory, which was based on the premise that general (aerobic endurance) training should precede specific (anaerobic speed) training. This is in part because it was believed that a welldeveloped foundation of endurance, achieved by high-volume/low-intensity training,…

DIGEST LONDON MARATHON There will be some notable firsts but also one very significant last at this year's London Marathon, after organisers unveiled the elite fields for the 2023 edition, which takes place on April 23. While two-time Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan prepare to make their debuts over 26.2 miles, Sir Mo Farah will be readying himself to say an emotional goodbye to the marathon in what he has revealed will be the final year of his athletics career. There would appear to be little chance of the multiple Olympic and world gold medallist challenging for victory in a field which contains four of the five fastest men in marathon history, but it was only last autumn that the British record-holder insisted he had been…

Athletics is filled with individuals who devote their lives to the sport and have an impact way beyond what happens on the track, in the field or on the roads. Three such people who made extraordinary contributions – John Bicourt, George Harrison MBE and Rod Lock – were sadly lost last month. Harrison was coach to scores of world-class athletes, including British 3000m steeplechase record-holder Lizzie Bird, Commonwealth silver medallist Kyle Langford and Olympic bronze medallist Marilyn Okoro. Tributes poured in from around the world for the former marathon runner and leading light in the British Milers’ Club, who ran for Highgate Harriers and coached at Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. He coached thousands of runners over the years, many of whom credit him with turning their lives around. “I was coached…

There is an art to approaching injury. I've had my fair share of stresses and strains over the years, but currently it's a spot of sciatica that has come along to complete the trio in true alliterative style. Like many a previous injury, it took a frustratingly long time to diagnose correctly and the healing process has sometimes taken one step forward and two steps back. Still, the more experience I gather of this inevitable aspect of elite athletics, the more adept I get at handling it, and here is what I've learnt. Facts are important. It is imperative to understand the true what and why of the injury as quickly as possible, if I am not to waste precious time on misdiagnosis rather than effective treatment. This can create…

Last year could barely have gone better for Sam Lunt. The 17-year-old enjoyed victories at the England Athletics Indoor U17 championships 400m as well as both the 400m and 400m hurdles at the Northern Championships to name but a few. The icing and cherries on the cake came in the form of a British U17 400m hurdles record, seven championship records, two club records and the third-fastest U18 400m hurdles in the world. He now has his sights set on breaking more records, winning more titles and achieving greater success on a career path which he hopes will lead to more international vests and the chance to compete for Great Britain at the Olympics. How did you get into athletics? I've always loved sports and was the fastest kid in…

It didn't quite tally up for Jeremiah Azu. Whenever he had talked to his fellow sprinters about the experience of being in a major 100m final, they had spoken about the weight of the occasion, of feeling the pressure and the tension. Yet here the 21-year-old was, preparing to line up at Munich's Olympic stadium in the biggest race of his life at the European Championships, and realising he was experiencing happiness rather than apprehension. “Before the race I was just really enjoying myself”, he says. “It wasn't that I didn't feel nervous but I didn't feel fear. I was just enjoying it, hearing the crowd scream, and a feeling like that, I kind of crave it. It was a very different experience from how I'd heard it from others.…

BATHURST 2023 OLLI HORAE For Olli Hoare, the city of Boulder in Colorado feels a long way from home. It's over 8000 miles away, in fact, from Caringbah in New South Wales. The Australian won't deny feeling a sense of detachment at times but he also accepts it's part of the deal which comes with being a professional middle-distance runner and a member of the On Athletics Club group (OAC), which is based in the shadow of the Rocky mountains. Having gone to college on a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin, the 26-year-old has lived in the US since 2015 and gets home when he can. He did spend some time back down under with his family over Christmas, but it's an upcoming trip to his native state which he…

PERFORMANCE HOW TO PEAK Peaking strategies vary, and one of the main reasons why is that they reflect the type of training plan used. The “periodisation” method will determine how the peak can be constructed, how long it will last, and how many potential peaks there will be. Block/undulating periodisation models are often the preferred planning method used by coaches, particularly at the elite level of the sport in the throws, sprints, jumps and hurdles events. Endurance athletes may favour traditional periodisation – with long, higher volume build-up training phases and relatively long tapers (you can read more on running periodisation models on p78). When I looked at some of the sports science on peaking and tapering on the PubMed database I was struck by the variations and limitations of the…

PERFORMANCE Is there a test to judge whether you're strong enough to start speed work? If you want to start speed work you have to make sure you have equilibrium between the left and the right limbs. A good way to check this is via a hop test. Imagine you have a start line in your living room with a bit of space. Hop as far as you can with the right leg and measure that. Go back to the start line and then repeat that in the left leg. There shouldn't be anything more than 10 per cent between the two distances. If there is then you have a slight weakness on one side. Repeat the test a couple of times to make sure. If that's okay then do…

GET IN TOUCH: Email us at haveyoursay@athleticsweekly.com or via our social media channels TV coverage turn-off I was very excited to watch the opening meeting of the World Indoor Tour in Karlsruhe and had been looking forward to watching the official stream. You can imagine my dismay then, to find it geoblocked in the UK, meaning I couldn't see any coverage unless I signed up to a provider charging £14.99 per month for the privilege. I understand this process is because the rights had been paid for and I understand World Athletics do need to make money where they can in a difficult sponsorship climate. However, surely making events harder and more expensive to watch is not the most sensible way forward during a time when fans are finding other…

DIGEST TRANS INCLUSION We are only a handful of weeks into 2023 and already it feels like we are on the brink of a decision which will have huge ramifications for the future of athletics – and women's sport. The controversial and delicate issue of trans women and athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) competing in the women's category is not a new one, but it has been thrust back into the spotlight. In looking to establish their long-term policy, World Athletics circulated documents last month which contained a “preferred option” that would allow transgender women and DSD athletes to compete in the female category at the top level. They would only be able to do so by reducing their amount of blood testosterone from the current maximum of five…

MY GREATEST RACE MAURICE GREENE Tsikliteria International, Athens, June 16,1999 100m, first place, 9.79 seconds (WR) I was a reigning world champion but I was really just coming into my own. I'd gone to the World Championships in Athens in 1997 and won but I was still learning a lot about my race pattern and I really thought I could work on perfecting everything. That's all I was really thinking of: perfecting the race. It wasn't about how to get a whole lot faster. When I was going to Athens for the meet, I wasn't even supposed to run the 100m. I was going to go there and run a 200m but then, when I got there and I saw who was in the 100m, I was like: “Man, something is…

INTERVIEW NEERAJ CHOPRA The doors of the arrivals hall opened and life changed forever for Neeraj Chopra. When he walked out into New Delhi airport, Olympic gold medal in hand, he could see the thousands of well-wishers waiting outside the terminal to acclaim their new national hero. It didn't take long for him to be engulfed. “The point when I started doing the javelin was a life-changing moment in itself,” he tells AW through an interpreter. “But when I saw the crowds at the airport that day, I thought: ‘I've done something’. People started recognising me, wanted to be with me, wanted autographs with me. It has given me the motivation to keep trying to get better and to achieve more.” “THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CHANGE AND GROWTH IN…

BATHURST 2023 TIM HUTCHINGS The World Cross Country Championships was long known as the greatest footrace on earth, for the reason that it brought together the whole world of elite running, from the middle-distance specialists up to the marathon legends. It was a unique clash of the biggest names from all surfaces. Today, the strength in depth of distance running has never been greater but it is now a very different world. In case you haven't heard, the 44th World Athletics Cross Country Championships is soon to be with us (it's 50 years since the first one) and, for the first time in many years, it's taking place in mid-February – Saturday 18 to be precise – about a month before its traditional late March slot. This fifth edition of the…

MARATHON GEORGE SCHWIENING When George Schwiening took five minutes and seven seconds from her marathon PB to go to seventh on the UK all-time list in December, the Cambridge athlete's reaction was refreshingly humble. She tweeted her delight at her 2:26:28 in Valencia but asterisked it with: “I was in super shoes and half the top 10 all-time runs were without springs.” Uncomfortable with sporting the carbon-plated footwear which have been responsible for a radical overhaul in elite road running standards in recent years, Schwiening did eventually give in last year. She might not like it, but rightly wants to be on a level playing field with everyone else. That great leap forward in Spain was not just down to what she had on her feet, though. Her previous best, set…

AGE: 46 COACHES: TOM CRAGGS AND DAVE EVANS Kirsty Longley has two young daughters and works full-time as a teacher. Yet she still finds the time and energy to run 60-70 miles per week and such training has led to her topping the UK rankings in the W45 age group last year in the 3000m, one mile, five miles, 10km and half-marathon, plus the parkrun. Amazingly she did not start running seriously until she was 30, either, but has knocked chunks off her PBs and is still improving aged 46. “I wasn't that talented,” she says. “I was a little bit overweight. I was binge-drinking and used to smoke in my 20s, so I had to start at rock bottom.” Apart from a little ballet and dance at school, Longley…

MIZUNO Emea.mizuno.com WAVE INSPIRE 19 £140.00 Featuring updates to the Wave plate, midsole and upper, the new Inspire manages to remain familiar yet rejuvenated with this new iteration. Now featuring a full-length ENERZY midsole which is also two millimetres thicker, the shoe has a little more spring which gives it a softer, smoother ride that's still stable and able to control pronation. The Wave plate, which in this model helps reduce over-pronation, is redesigned and now follows the shape of the foot more. We found it highly effective and less intrusive than the previous model, making it a good choice for those requiring some control. The one-piece engineered mesh upper offers a nice degree of padding and fits well. Overall, this is a good update to a serious workhorse shoe…

FIXTURES FEBRUARY 10 • ISTAF Indoor Berlin istaf-indoor.de FEBRUARY 11 • Millrose Games New York millrosegames.org • Meeting de Paris worldathletics.org • Adelaide Track Classic worldathletics.org FEBRUARY 11-12 • England Athletics Age Group Championships Sheffield englandathletics.org FEBRUARY 12 • Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon hkmarathon.com FEBRUARY 15 • Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Lievin meetinglievin.com FEBRUARY 16-18 • USATF Indoor Championships Albuquerque usatf.org FEBRUARY 18 • World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst worldathletics.org • Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon therakhalfmarathon.com FEBRUARY 18-19 • UK Athletics Indoor Championships Birmingham britishathletics.org.uk • 4J Studios Scottishathletics Indoor U13/U15/U20 Championships Glasgow scottishathletics.org.uk FEBRUARY 19 • Zurich Maraton de Sevilla en.zurichmaratonsevilla.es FEBRUARY 22 • World Indoor Tour Madrid madridindoorathletics.as FEBRUARY 25 • Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final britishathletics.org.uk • All-star Perche Clermont-Ferrance allstarperche.net • Saucony English National…