Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i AW - Athletics Weekly Magazine

You know it’s going to be a good event when just being in the venue, well before anyone has run, jumped or thrown, feels special in itself. I had never set foot in two of the great athletics cathedrals - the Bislett Stadium in Oslo and the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm - but to my great fortune that changed last month when I was given the opportunity to cover the Diamond League meetings that are staged there every year. This “Scandinavian swing” (the meetings are scheduled close together so it makes sense to hop straight from one to the other) had been recommended to me on many occasions and, now that I’ve done it, I can completely understand why. Both of these capital cities are well worth a visit in…

A silver medallist in Gothenburg 12 months earlier behind East Germany’s Olympic champion Renate Stecher, the Barbados-born Brit arrived in Poland with Commonwealth silver and an outdoor European bronze over 100m. There was a confidence this would finally be her time to strike gold The 60m was my distance. I knew I could bomb it for that long. After that, I could maintain until the end of the 100m but 60m was when my coach Tom McNab said I would just fly. I knew nobody could catch me over 60m. After that, it’s give or take The summer before, Tom and a few others set up a race at the distance at Crystal Palace and I equalled the outdoor world record with a run of 7.2 when my [indoor] personal…

Switching from the track to the commentary box has proved to be a smooth transition for Hannah England to make. The former middle distance international, a 1500m silver medallist at the 2011 World Championships, might have been retired since the end of 2019, but she is using the lessons learned from her life in the thick of top level competition to progress in her second career. The common thread running through both is that preparation is key but, rather than logging training miles and sessions, many of her working hours are now taken up by gathering information and insight on the athletes about whom she will be commentating. The now 3 8-year-old is no stranger to facts, figures, spreadsheets and highlighter pens, given that she used to organise and research…

Long before the Olympic golds, world titles and world records, Mondo Duplantis was a student of his sport – one with an insatiable appetite for improvement. If he wasn’t on the pole vault runway that his dad built in their back yard in Lafayette, Louisiana, he was often thinking about it, conjuring up ways to hoist his body ever higher. “I daydreamed about it at school all the time, about when I was going to get home and jump,” he says. “I feel like, from a pretty early age, I figured out this is what I was going to do.” Duplantis cleared world age bests every year between seven and 12, all of which still stand, and his 12th senior world record at the recent Stockholm Diamond League showcased again…

DINA ASHER-SMITH The English Schools is fantastic and I’m really proud to sponsor the girls sprint races – last year and this year. The reason why I do that and why I love the English Schools is because it’s an essential pathway. You’ve seen all of our stars come through whether they’ve gone on to do track or football, cricket, rugby or whatever – loads of people have been to English Schools – it’s such a high calibre competition. It’s a great stepping stone and it’s fun. I remember being so nervous for my first one at Sheffield’s Don Valley. There were so many steps in that stadium – it was almost vertical – and I remember thinking: ‘Do I have to climb all these steps and then, like, run!?’…

It’s a conundrum Femke Bol has been forced to consider on numerous occasions. What do you do when, for the majority of your races, you are head and shoulders above the competition but, when it comes to major championships, your biggest rival is virtually unbeatable? Her answer is to get forensic, to find the areas that might bring improvements, however small. It was two years ago that the 400m hurdler relearned her event, taking 14 steps between hurdles one to seven and then 15 for the closing barriers. The work brought her a world title in Budapest and, last summer, she cemented her place as the second-fastest woman in history when clocking 50.95. The problem is that the fastest, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, has run 50.37. That performance came at the Paris…

1 The event is named after the late Steve Prefontaine, who competed at one Olympic Games. Which one? 2 Name the stadium where the Prefontaine Classic is staged. 3 Which university campus hosts the meeting? 4 Which Jamaican athlete broke the 220 yards world record at the first Pre Classic in 1975? 5 How many times in a row did Maria Mutola win the women’s 800m at the Pre Classic? a) 14 b) 16 c) 18 6 Who finished second to Keely Hodgkinson at last year’s Pre Classic 800m? 7 Who was last year’s winner of the Bowerman Mile, contested every year at the Pre Classic? 8 In 2001, Alan Webb broke the American high school mile record and ran one of the most memorable races in Pre Classic history,…

The Olympic Stadium is preparing to welcome athletics, not to mention a capacity crowd, back through its doors for the London Athletics Meet on July 19. As ever, it will be a memorable Diamond League meeting but, 10 years ago, it was a three-day bonanza that went by the name of The Anniversary Games. First staged in 2013 to recapture the spirit of London 2012, the event spanned Friday to Sunday and then, as now, showcased some of the best talent from across the globe. A look into the AW archive of 201S, specifically the issue dated July 30, points out that “some of the athletes who had starring roles in the Olympics were back, with mixed results. “The recently out of sorts Usain Bolt seemed back to near his…

20.02 Gout Gout, the 17-year-old Australian sprint talent, enjoyed victory on his senior international debut in Europe as he clocked an Oceania 200m record of 20.02 (0.0) at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava on June 24. The teenager drew clear of Reynier Mena of Cuba in the closing metres to win in style as Mena clocked 20.19. In doing so Gout took two hundredths of a second off his own area record, set in December. Ostrava was one of Usain Bolt's favourite racing venues and Gout looked strikingly similar to the world record-holder as his tall frame and rangy stride helped propel him to the win. 32.67 The home crowd got the parting gift they were looking for when Karsten Warholm brought the house down in record-breaking style to…

Middle-distance talent Jessica Lark has launched her 2025 season in impressive fashion, delivering major personal bests in both the 800m and 1500m. The 18-year-old from Cheshire, who trains with the renowned M11 Track Club led by Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, shaved a remarkable six seconds off her previous best in the 1500m at the Bury BMC meet in late May. Her time of 4:11.36 not only marked a major breakthrough but also positioned her as the second-fastest British under-20 athlete this year, sitting just behind Innes FitzGerald at the time of writing. Spurred on by that performance, Lark carried her momentum into the 800m two weeks later at the BMC meet in Birmingham. There, she clocked a lifetime best of 2:02.43 - a winning effort that comfortably dipped under…

There are many things that can fuel a person towards a certain goal. Some come from sources within our control, and some as unpredictable external events that are outside of it. The older we get as athletes and the more life that we live, the more likely it is that something is going to happen that breaks our heart, whether that be the end of a relationship or the loss of a beloved pet, friend or family member. Sometimes these kinds of events can prevent us from doing our job to the best of our ability and lead to outwardly inexplicable poor performances which go on to cause even greater distress. Often, however, humans are capable of channeling their grief into intensely focused training that can lead to breakthrough performances,…

Combined athletics events go back a very long way. The first recorded example of one dates back to 708 BC, when the pentathlon (from “pente”, five; and “athlos”, struggle) was added to the 18th edition of the ancient Greek Olympics. Contested exclusively by Greek men on the third day of the five-day programme, the events used then are reasonably familiar to us today: a standing long jump (with hand weights), a discus throw, a javelin throw, a 200m sprint (though in a straight line); and, to top it off, a wrestling match. Captivating the Greek world, the pentathlon remained a favourite sporting spectacle for over 1000 years. Its widespread appeal was such that it featured not only at Olympia, but also at other major and minor sporting festivals. More than…

When the traditional Olympic-style “parade”takes place at the English Schools Track and Field Championships at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on July 12, it will be like no other in the event’s history. Uniquely, the class of 2025 will join gold medallists from yesteryear as the champions of the past meet the talented teenagers of today. It promises to be a proud and emotional moment as multiple generations of English athletes enjoy their moment in the spotlight at a championship which has earned a rich history thanks to what is now a century’s worth of hard work and sacrifice by the school teachers who have volunteered their time to make it happen. They call it the “Kids Olympics” for a reason. For many it will be the highlight of their…

Any lingering doubts have at last been dispelled. Sarah Healy’s victory at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March was the highlight of an indoor season that included Irish (indoor) records in the 1500m (4:01.62) and 3000m (8:30.79). Her remarkable year has continued with Diamond League top three finishes in Rabat (third in the 3000m with a PB of 8:27.02), Rome (first over 1500m in 3:59.17) and Paris (second over 1500m in a PB of 3:57.15). The evidence is irrefutable; Healy has arrived. That’s not to say, however, that she’s unaccustomed to success. A former 1500m and 3000m European under-18 champion, as well as European under-20 and under-23 1500m silver medallist, the 24-year-old was an exceptional junior and knows what it takes to make the podium. Her record of qualification…

BROOKS HYPERION ELITE 5 Brooksrunning.com £240 The Hyperion Elite comes of age in this, its fifth iteration. The shoe now utilises Brooks’ PEBA-based DNA Gold midsole foam to sandwich the Speedvault+ carbon plate. The plate is uniquely sized to each shoe size to optimise the propulsive effect, and it works, with a very precise and effective toe-off. The Hyperion feels super-smooth at any pace, making it a versatile option capable of tackling any distance from 5km to the marathon. At a shade over 200g, it seems to disappear on the feet, with a minimalist, open knit mesh design featuring just a small amount of padding in the heel for fit and comfort. Without doubt, this is Brooks’ best road racing shoe to date and an option certainly worthy of consideration…

I am pretty sure that, when Michael Johnson was plotting out the inaugural Grand Slam Track season, this wasn’t the way he envisaged year one coming to a close. I was in Oslo working at the Bislett Games when rumours started to spread around the athlete hotel that something was up, that there were financial issues and that the LA “Slam” which was due to bring the curtain down on the first Grand Slam series was about to be cancelled. Confirmation duly arrived that there would be no fourth event to follow up on those that had taken place in Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia. The Grand Slam PR machine has gone into overdrive by putting a hugely positive spin on things, insisting that reports of the project’s demise have been…

As the athletics world develops at a faster pace than ever before, the opportunities for athletes to develop a sustainable professional career are also starting to grow. As Michael Johnson said when discussing one of the drivers for Grand Slam Track: “Most of the athletes suffer greatly because they aren’t able to realise any value. Those athletes end up in a situation where, many yearslater, and sometimes even in their careers, they’re wondering: ‘Should I have made this choice? I love this sport, but I’m suffering financially, I’m suffering mentally trying to make a living in this sport. I’m having to rely on friends and family to help.’” Whilst there is now more money making its way into the sport, though, the ability of athletes to properly monetise their careers…

"I go into complete autopilot, so I don’t remember much of the race,” says George Mills. “I rely on instincts, going off internal feelings and all the experience from training and racing. That’s what I look into.” It isn’t quite the answer I had been hoping for as I attempt to find out what it feels like to be in the very thick of a rapid 5000m race, in front of a full house, that propels an athlete to record-breaking feats. Thankfully, it turns out that the European silver medallist’s powers of recall are a little better than he perhaps initially suggested. We are in Stockholm, but our minds are still on Oslo - specifically his run of 12:46.59 in finishing fourth at the Bislett Games that dismantled Mo Farah’s…

Looking back at Steve Cram’s world record-breaking summer of 1985, you could be forgiven for assuming that he was an athlete in peak physical shape. The reality was rather different and, instead, he spent the summer hobbling from one race to another while trying to deal with compartment syndrome in his calf muscles. “I was hardly doing any training between the races,” he says. “The races were almost like training sessions.” The then 24-year-old’s season began inauspiciously, with two DNFs. When he eventually got racing properly, his plans were sometimes dictated by the demands of television. “There was,” he admits, “no grand plan.” Despite this rather imperfect backdrop, on July 16 of that year Cram became the first man to break the 3:30 barrier for 1500m during a thrilling victory…

The rapid acceleration of Scotland’s fastest-ever woman went into reverse at high speed and, almost immediately, she was stopped in her track. The sound of her rivals’ footsteps disappeared off into the distance before, 11 seconds or so later, the crowd in Manchester roared Dina Asher-Smith as she led the field through the finish. The next collective murmur from the stands was sympathetic applause at the sight of Alisha Rees aboard a stretcher, gingerly lifted up from where she had tumbled, being taken away for diagnosis and a future unknown. Her competitive hiatus from the women’s 100m final of die 2023 British Championships to her eventual low-key return in April lasted 661 days and almost every single one, the Aberdonian signals, brought some form of test. Initially, it came from…

Sound Mind, Sound Body is the belief that, every time we push our bodies, we feel better. It is the founding philosophy of ASICS - Anima Sana In Corpore Sano translates from Latin to a sound mind in a sound body - and focuses on the positive relationship between movement and mental wellbeing. With mental health awareness much more prevalent in society, the conversation around positive wellbeing has changed for the better. However, there is still much more to do. To delve more into this topic, AW spoke to Professor Brendon Stubbs, a world-leading researcher in exercise and mental health. He also headed up the most recent ASICS State of Mind Study - published every two years - which surveyed over 26,000 people across 22 countries. What does Sound Mind,…

JULY 4 • The London 5000 Parliament Hill sportonspec.co.uk JULY 5 • Prefontaine Classic Eugene diamondleague.com • National Athletics League Various nationalathleticsleague.org.uk JULY 5-6 • Decastar Talence decastar.fr • 4J Studios Scottish athletics Combined Events Championships Senior, U20 Ayr scottishathletics.org.uk JULY 6 • ASICS Gold Coast Marathon goldcoastmarathon.com.au JULY 9 • Watford Open Graded Meeting watfordharriers.org.uk JULY 11-12 • English Schools Championships Birmingham esaa.org.uk JULY 12 • BMC Grand Prix Watford britishmilersclub.com JULY 13 • Midland Counties League Various midland-athletics.co.uk/tf/league • Northern Track and Field League Various northernathletics.co.uk • Southern Athletics League Various southernathletics.org.uk JULY 15 • BMC Gold Standard Races Manchester britishmilersclub.com JULY 16 • Birchfield Games Birmingham birchfieldharriers.com JULY 17-20 • European Athletics U23 Championships Bergen european-athletics.com JULY 19 • London Athletics Meet diamondleague.com • National Athletics League…