Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i AW - Athletics Weekly Magazine

“If you build it, they will come.” So goes the overused, and misremembered, quote plucked from Field of Dreams, that superb sports movie from the late 1980s. It comes from the ethereal voice that visits the main character, Ray Kinsella – played by Kevin Costner – in a corn field and tells him that he should use some of his valuable farm land to build a baseball field that will attract the presence of a player who has long been dead. Spoiler alert: that player turns out to be Kinsella's late father, and the actual line is: “If you build it, he will come.” Now that we've got that sorted, and if I haven't already lost you, why don't we get to the tortured analogy I'm trying to draw between…

When it comes to being an athlete, the single most important relationship you are going to have is with your coach. When you consider the amount of time you spend together, what you are trying to achieve, the targets you are trying to hit and the improvements you are trying to make, it's absolutely vital. There's an alchemy to making it work – one size certainly doesn't fit all in this case – and it takes effort on both sides. I think, from the outside, many people can just see the coach-athlete relationship as being totally straightforward but it's not like that. It's complex, there are nuances, and finding the right balance… well it's like gold dust. And that's not just true in athletics, either. If you watched any of…

ELITE MEN *Alexander Mutiso (KEN, PB 2:03:11) Eliud Kipchoge (KEN, 2:01:09) Sabastian Sawe (KEN, 2:02:05) Timothy Kiplagat (KEN, 2:02:55) Milkesa Mengesha (ETH, 2:03:17) Tamirat Tola (ETH, 2:03:39) Mohamed Esa (ETH, 2:04:39) Abdi Nageeye (NED, 2:04:45) Hillary Kipkoech (KEN, 2:04:45) Amanal Petros (GER, 2:04:58) Sondre Nordstad Moen (NOR, 2:05:48) Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA, 2:06:06) Andrew Buchanan (AUS, 2:06:22) Emile Cairess (GBR, 2:06:46) Mahamed Mahamed (GBR, 2:07:05) Brett Robinson (AUS, 2:07:31) Jacob Sommer Simonsen (DEN, 2:07:51) Phil Sesemann (GBR, 2:08:02) Adam Lipschitz (RSA, 2:08:54) Jonny Mellor (GBR, 2:09:06) Dewi Griffiths (GBR, 2:09:49) Weynay Ghebresilasie (GBR, 2:09:50) Jake Smith (GBR, 2:11:00) Jack Rayner (AUS, 2:11:06) Marc Scott (GBR, 2:11:19) Kevin Salvano (USA, 2:11:26) Luke Caldwell (GBR, 2:11:33) Marcelo Laguera (MEX, 2:11:54) Dan Nash (GBR, 2:12:59) Andrew Heyes (GBR, 2:13:52) Alexander Lepretre (GBR, 2:15:01) David…

AGE: 31 COACH: JAMES THIE As her England team-mates returned home after the 2024 Copenhagen Half Marathon last September, Holly Archer – who had just clocked her second-fastest ever time for the distance (72:59) – flew directly to South Africa to make her solo Hyrox debut in Cape Town. Hyrox isn't for the faint-hearted. Participants run 1km followed by a functional exercise station and repeat that eight times. Every course is different, but Archer's cumulative run time was the fastest ever recorded in the women's open and professional categories and her total time of 65:54 was good enough to win the women's open division on the day. Her immediate response was one of pride – it was no mean feat to deliver two strong sporting performances in outrageously contrasting events…

SAUCONY TRIUMPH 22 GTX Saucony.com £190 This waterproof version of the popular Triumph road running shoe provides a great solution for training in th wet. The Gore-Tex upper adds waterproof and breathab protection without adding significant weight or reduci any of the comfort. The cushioning is the super-responsive PWRRUN PB foam, which adds a great spring to your stride, and in this 22nd update the deep stack is stable and well-balanced. For those longer road runs, the Triumph soaks up the impact without soaking up the rain and is a great choice for winter running. NIKE PEGASUS TRAIL-5 GORE-TEX Nike.com £144.99 Building on the ever popular Pegasus, this edition takes the road-going model and adds both a Gore-Tex upper and trail outsole. The Gore-Tex adds waterproofing and, with a slightly higher ankle…

Last month's Montane Spine race produced great feats of endurance and countless stories of perseverance, despite also featuring some of the most punishing conditions the event has ever seen. Covering 268 miles along the Pennine Way from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders, competitors faced not only extreme cold but also a punishing total ascent of over 10,700m. Kim Collison claimed overall victory in a time of 82:46:32, the third-fastest time in race history, while Lucy Gossage won the women's race in 87:41:38, finishing fourth overall.…

Of someone took a snapshot of our sport right now, they'd see a pretty attractive picture. One where we have efficient, effective and productive leaders at every level from UK Athletics and the Home Nations to clubs, working to keep pace with change. The UK leadership has turned an economically leaky vessel to a more seaworthy ship, while we have athletes making excellence happen and coaches making excellence possible, from beginners to elite. We have medals being won in the international arena and strategies to tackle attrition of athlete participation in youth and junior age groups through to senior years. Then there's the commitment to physical, mental and emotional wellbeing through athletics which interests local authorities and government. On the other hand, if someone took a longer form video, the…

I'm waiting to go through security at Bologna airport on January 1, a day upon which only the truly obsessed or psychopathic would choose to travel. Some are dressed to nurse their hangovers and some are all business chic, but as I try to keep my gaze low and my people-watching subtle, I notice a pair of On trainers the same as mine in the queue ahead. I look up to find it's only somebody I know, just wearing different kit than he was last year. Federico Riva is on his way to Dullstroom as one of OAC Europe's newest signings. When I land at Charles De Gaulle, I notice more people like me wandering around. A telltale tan line on a wrist, an accreditation pass swinging from a backpack…

The indoor season might have already been up and running for some time but there's no doubting that we're about to head into the teeth of it over the next few weeks when it comes to elite competition. Here are a few reasons to get excited about what lies in store… Music of the track There are few better noises in the sport of athletics than the sound of competitors thundering their way around an indoor track. That unmistakable thud of spikes on boards is music to the ears of many athletics fans. No margin for error With the bends tighter, the laps shorter, the athletes packed that little bit tighter, the crowds closer, there is a particular edge to indoor competition that heightens the senses. Get your start wrong…

It would have been easy, and understandable, for Molly Caudery to allow herself to fixate on an Olympic opportunity missed. The pole vault heartbreak she suffered in Paris was particularly painful and still she hasn't figured out how or why it happened. The 24-year-old arrived in the French capital as the world leader in her event with a height of 4.92m, as well as a world indoor title and European Championships bronze medal to her name. In other words, she was expected to be challenging for her sport's greatest honour. Rather than put herself in podium contention, however, she failed to even make it beyond the qualifying stage in the Stade de France, unable to clear her opening bar of 4.55m – a task she would routinely complete in training.…

Ryan Crouser is starting to listen to the messages his body has been trying to send him. By his own admission, it has taken a while for those messages to get through. There is a difficulty in associating any form of weakness with an athlete who has been such a towering and commanding presence over the shot put, but the 31-year-old is no longer able to ignore the chinks that have begun to appear in his armour. At first glance, 2024 was another year packed with success for the world record-holder as he added a third consecutive Olympic gold (the first athlete ever to complete that medal hat-trick in the shot put), as well as his first world indoor title, breaking the championships record and completing his set of major…

“I've always enjoyed helping people in my group, I think I've always had a good eye for detail and have seen myself as a mentor to other people around me The last time Dai Greene applied for a job, it was at his local McDonald's. So long ago was it, the former world, Olympic and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion cannot recall how the interview went or if he in fact even had one. He did, though, land the job flipping burgers and serving customers. Fast forward nearly 20 years and Greene is sat in one of the offices at Loughborough's HIPAC, fretting slightly. There is no concern over the coaching element of this particular interview, nor any physiological queries or questions regarding resources. “It's funny but the only thing I…

FEBRUARY 7 • INIT Meeting Karslruhe meeting-karlsruhe.de • Air Loughborough lboro.ac.uk/sport FEBRUARY 8 • Millrose Games New York City millrosegames.org • UK Athletics Cross Challenge inc UK Home International & Area Match & Celtic Challenge Leeds FEBRUARY 8-9 • 4J Studios scottishathletics National Indoor Combined Events Championships Glasgow scottishathletics.org.uk • England Athletics U15/U17/U20 Indoor Championships Sheffield englandathletics.org FEBRUARY 9 • Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon hkmarathon.com FEBRUARY 13 • Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas de Calais “Trophee EDF” Lievin meetinglievin.com FEBRUARY 14-16 • BUCS Athletics: Indoor Championships Sheffield bucs.org.uk FEBRUARY 14 • ISTAF Indoor 2025 Berlin istaf-indoor.de/home FEBRUARY 15 • Keely Klassic Birmingham axs.com FEBRUARY 16 • ORLEN Copernicus Cup Torun copernicuscup.pl • Manchester Indoor Open meeting race-results.co.uk FEBRUARY 19 • Newham & Essex Beagles Indoor 2x60m Series London newhamandessexbeagles.co.uk FEBRUARY 22…

3:53.12 Australian teenager Cameron Myers sliced almost two seconds off the world indoor under-20 mile record with 3:53.12 at the Dr Sander Invitational in New York on January 25. In his first-ever indoor race, the 18-year-old held off Festus Lagat of Kenya and Adam Fogg of Britain to win. The US-based Fogg also impressed with 3:53.49, although in coming weeks he will be hoping to get closer to his PB of 3:49.62 which was set last year. Myers’ time improved the 3:55.02 world under-20 record of German Fernandez which was set by the American in 2009. 13:54 Twelve months to the day after running a world 5km record of 14:13 in Barcelona, Beatrice Chebet returned to the same Cursa Dels Nassos race in the Spanish city to improve the mark…

The Geordie relied on natural talent to offset his erratic training regime but, at the inaugural under-20 global championships, his immense promise shone through Steve Cram ran for our club, Jarrow & Hebburn, and he'd won gold at the first world senior championships in 1983 but I wasn't really inspired by that – or anyone, for that matter. I didn't really get into athletics through my own choice. I just had a hell of a lot of natural ability. I was running well through secondary school, even winning the 200m, 400m, 800m, long jump, high jump and triple jump. I remember sports day, and going up to get six or seven gold medals off that ability. I only joined the athletics club because I was at my local youth club…

This winter has already seen a number of events either cancelled or postponed. From the Great South Run in Portsmouth to the English Schools Cross Country Cup in Leeds and South of England Inter-Counties in Croydon, high winds and torrential rain have caused mayhem. It raises the question: is this cancel culture creating a nation of fair-weather athletes or are the decisions taken by organisers simply sensible and, ultimately, the right call? Talk to old-timers and they will tell you that events were hardly ever cancelled 30 or 40 years ago. Yet, in recent years, every time a storm sweeps across Britain there are seemingly a wave of call-offs. The extreme weather events caused by climate change have been cited as the problem, yet event organisers are also under pressure…

There have been a few post-Olympic perks for Keely Hodgkinson to enjoy. Winning 800m gold in Paris opened the door to some more unforgettable experiences, and the one that springs most readily to mind for the 22-year-old follower of fashion is a trip to Milan Fashion Week in September that allowed her to spend some time in the company of one of the world's most famous names. “I went out to Milan with Giorgio Armani and, let me tell you, he is not afraid to spend his money!” she says. “I got to stay in this beautiful Giorgio Armani Hotel. He's the king of Milan and I got to meet him, which was amazing. [Even aged 90] he's still really involved in all his work and I became a real…

Dafne Schippers is thinking about the future and the possibilities that might lie ahead. Having retired from a career as one of the world's best sprinters in September of 2023, the now 32-year-old admits that life outside of the athletics bubble has taken quite some getting used to. The thought of what comes next keeps coming to mind, though, and the two-time 200m world champion has ideas. She has enjoyed the media work in which she has been involved since stepping off the track, for example, while there is also a desire to get the tracksuit back on, roll her sleeves up and help young athletes in the Netherlands to benefit from her extensive top-level experience. “I'm keeping an open mind and I'm still searching for where my next passion…

1 Name the current men's and women's 60m world record-holders (as of January 30)? 2 In which year did USA's Grant Holloway last experience defeat in a 60m hurdles race (correct as of January 30)? a) 2014 b) 2019 c) 2024 3 Who did Keely Hodgkinson replace as British indoor 800m record-holder with her run of 1:57.20 in Birmingham in 2022? 4 Which two world indoor records were broken at last year's World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow? 5 The 2025 edition of the European Indoor Championships will be staged in Apeldoorn but can you name when the event last took place in the Netherlands? 6 How many gold medals did the Dutch team win at the 2023 European Indoors, staged in Istanbul? 7 Who is the reigning women's European indoor champion for 1500m? 8 Great Britain had…