The IAAF is set to reveal a new rule which is expected to greatly affect middle-distance star Caster Semenya.
The Daily Mail has reported that the world governing body for athletics will implement a move to limit naturally-produced testosterone for women in track races from 400 metres to the mile.
The controversial rule change for athletes with hyperandrogenism is expected to force Semenya either to take medication to reduce her testosterone levels, or change to longer-distance events, the Mail said.
The 27-year-old South African won Olympic gold in the women’s 800m in London 2012 and Rio 2016 and recently easily triumphed in the 800m and 1500m at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
A similar rule on hyperandrogenism was introduced by the IAAF in 2011 but in July 2015 the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the regulations after an appeal by the Indian government on behalf of their sprinter, Dutee Chand, the Mail reported.
The IAAF president, Lord Coe, said last month the organisation wanted to protect the rights of female athletes.
“It is clear that this is one of the toughest subjects the council and I have been discussing,’ he said.
“This is about our responsibility to ensure, in simple terms, a level playing field. It is our sport and it is up to us to decide the rules.”
Source: stuff.co.nz
Caster Semenya to be hit by new rule was last modified: April 25th, 2018 by correspondent
Callum Hawkins does not recall his attempts to carry on after his fall during the Commonwealth Games marathon.
The Scot’s first question for ambulance staff, who had helped the race leader off the course with a mile to go, was a hopeful inquiry about the result.
“I knew the answer before I asked, but I remember asking ‘Did I win?'” the 25-year-old told BBC Scotland.
“I thought there might have been a chance I went on auto-pilot and finished it but nobody answered and I knew straightaway, ‘that’s a no’.”
Hawkins had a two-minute lead when he collapsed on the Gold Coast.
In hot conditions, he managed to continue for another couple of hundred metres before going down again, hitting his head on a roadside barrier.
“I remember thinking ‘If I can just get up and finish, I’ll probably get a medal but if three people go past then I’ll throw the towel in’,” added Hawkins.
“But I don’t remember getting up and actually running those extra metres.
“I’d run the course a few weeks before and when I saw the bridge I knew I had a mile, a mile-and-a-half to go. I just needed to keep going and I’d get the medal.
“Then the next thing I know, my legs are almost switching off on me and I’m starting to stumble.
‘Watching it reminds me of the opportunity I missed’
“I remember falling off the side of the road and trying my best to get back up but my legs were like jelly. Next thing I remember is being in an ambulance.
“I was in Australia for five weeks to get used to the conditions and it had gone really well.
“Even up to the point I collapsed, there was no sign that it was going to happen. I was feeling pretty normal for a marathon at 39km (24.2 miles in).
“There was no point when I thought ‘I’m over heating, I need to slow down’ or anything like that.”
Hawkins has no recollection of getting back to his feet after his initial fall
Watching re-runs of his fall is frustrating rather than distressing for Hawkins, who is already plotting his return to competition.
“It doesn’t affect me too much,” said Hawkins of his reaction to the television footage.
“It’s more annoying that I managed to put myself in that place because, if I hadn’t, I’d have won a medal. It reminds me of the opportunity I missed.
“I put six months of work in to try and get a medal, so to miss out in that manner is frustrating.”
Hawkins, who says he will “definitely do a marathon next year”, believes the incident will make him more determined to succeed and help his future race strategy.
“The conditions in Tokyo (2020 Olympics) will be similar,” he said.
“If anything it’s made me hungrier. I don’t want to be known as the guy who keeled over because of the heat. I want to be known as the guy who’s got a gold medal.”
Scottish team-mate Robbie Simpson took bronze in a race won by Australia’s Mike Shelley.
“To hear Robbie got third actually helped me a lot,” said Hawkins. “I was really pleased for him and it sort of lightened everything.
“Mike sent me a message saying, ‘that’s not the way I wanted to win and that he hopes I get back racing soon’.”
Shelley has been a target for online abuse for racing past the stricken Scot but Hawkins was quick to stress that it was not an issue for him.
He said: “There was a medical person with me so what could he actually do?
“He’s 40km into tough conditions, he’s probably just hanging on and that’s where all his concentration is. By all accounts he was pretty on the edge by the finish.
“He could have looked down and it could have hit him ‘that could be me’ and then he just explodes in similar fashion.”
It took around 90 seconds for Hawkins to receive medical assistance after his second fall
Scottish Athletics and Commonwealth Games Scotland asked Gold Coast organisers why Hawkins did not receive quicker medical assistance.
A statement from Scottish Athletics pointed out that seven of the 24 runners in the men’s marathon failed to finish, adding that they believe six of those needed hospital treatment.
Hawkins initially refused help for fear of disqualification but admits he could have suffered “serious damage”.
“As a competitive elite athlete, I’m always going to say no (to the offer of aid),” he said. “That’s my first instinct – especially in a gold-medal position.
“I just wanted to keep pushing. I probably wasn’t in the right mind to make the right decision.”
Hawkins has already spoken to International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) representatives about his experience, including president Sebastian Coe.
“To have information about the road temperature is going to be a big thing,” said Hawkins. “The weather apps were saying 28C but probably on the road, in the sun, it was 35C plus.
“There needs to be something in place if they know it’s going to be hot. The IAAF say they want to standardize everything, so there is more control.”
Callum Hawkins: ‘Did I win the commonwealth marathon? was last modified: April 25th, 2018 by BBC Sport
The South African Government are reportedly planning to lobby other African countries as they prepare to fight against the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) ruling regarding testosterone levels in female athletes, which could mean double Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya is barred from competing.
The new regulations, which the IAAF Council approved in March and are set to be implemented in November, state that female athletes who have a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD) with circulating testosterone levels of five nmol/L or above and who are androgen-sensitive, such as Semenya, must meet certain criteria in order to compete at international level.
Such athletes may now be forced to take medication to reduce their testosterone levels to remain eligible to compete.
These rules for DSD athletes apply to those competing in races between 400m and the mile and combined events involving these distances.
However, 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles are exempt, as are races over one mile and field events.
Semenya has reacted to the news by posting a series of cryptic messages on Twitter, including one that says “I am 97 per cent sure you don’t like me, but I’m 100 per cent sure I don’t care”.
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) party compared the new regulation to Apartheid-era policies and the South African Government are now said to be considering their options and are likely to lobby other African countries for support.
It has also been reported that the Government intends to contest the matter at the highest level of sport with the possibility of a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport said to be on the cards.
ports Minister Tokozile Xasa confirmed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with Semenya, winner of Commonwealth Games gold medals in the 800m and 1500m at Gold Coast 2018, in the near future to discuss the issue.
“We want to brief the president that we are challenging the international platform,” she said according to Times Live.
“We want a position as South Africa to challenge this regulation.
“Caster has been winning.
“She has not been representing herself, she represents our country.
“We hope to look at other African countries.
“We will approach them and we must also get their support.
“It is not only directed at us, it is going to impact other athletes coming from Africa, nowhere else.”
There have also been calls for the South African Olympic Committee (SASCOC), whose President Gideon Sam is on record as saying his organisation are “disappointed by the IAAF ruling”, to challenge the ruling.
As reported by Eyewitness News, Onicca Moli, a member of the Limpopo Sports’ Executive Committee, has urged SASCOC to do so immediately.
“They should immediately challenge these lousy regulations with the Court of Arbitration for Sport because, clearly, the IAAF is a megalomaniac bully that will stop at nothing to humiliate our golden girl,” she said.
Semenya hails from the Limpopo Province in the North East of the country.
In response to these reports, the IAAF told insidethegames: “Of course new sports rules and regulations can be challenged as they have always been through CAS.
“We stand ready to discuss our rules and regulations and the research and analysis that sits behind them with an organisation or individual if they would like to contact us.”
Support for Semenya has also come from outside of Africa.
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who won an appeal at CAS in 2015 after being banned from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after the Athletic Federation of India claimed her hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete, has labelled the IAAF’s recent decision as “wrong” and has offered legal help to Semenya.
The Canadian Centre of Ethics in Sport (CCES) and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) have also spoken out against the ruling.
CCES President and chief executive Paul Melia said: “IAAF doesn’t place controls or limits on male athletes such as Usain Bolt or those who have genetic differences which may confer an advantage over others, in fact, they are typically celebrated.
“Women, on the other hand, are being scrutinized and forced to comply with policies that are arbitrary, overreaching and invasive.
“The sport community has a duty in this case to promote and protect inclusion and gender equity in sport at all levels.”
In a statement on their website, the CCES said: “The IAAF’s new policy also flies in the face of human rights, and particularly the various United Nations and International Olympic Committee undertakings that sport should be provided to all without discrimination of any kind.”
Source: insidethegames.biz
South African Government to appeal on new IAAF ruling which could jeopardise Semenya’s career was last modified: April 29th, 2018 by correspondent
The European Athletics Council has backed the IAAF’s continuing work on the important issue of athlete transfer of allegiance but called for the minimum waiting period for an athlete to switch nationality to be increased from three to four years.
At its 151st Council meeting in Berlin this weekend, the Council welcomed an update from President Svein Arne Hansen – an IAAF Council member – on the world governing body’s new regulations on transfer of allegiance to ensure the integrity of competitions and athlete welfare, including a minimum waiting period before a transferred athlete can represent his/her country in major championships and the creation of a panel to review the credibility of applications.
President Hansen, sitting alongside IAAF President and ex officio European Athletics Council member Sebastian Coe, said: “The European Athletics Council has agreed that the European representatives on the IAAF Council should insist on a waiting period of at least four years and calls on all members of the IAAF Council to support the proposal.”
The Council also welcomed IAAF’s new eligibility regulations that seek to facilitate the participation in the sport of athletes with DSDs (Differences of Sexual Development) on terms that preserve fair and meaningful competition in the female classification.
In other news, the Council awarded the Polish city of Torun the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
The Council also received reports from the Chairs of the Event and Competition, Development, Strategic Communications and Medical & Antidoping Commissions.
Source: european-athletics.org
Council backs IAAF on Transfer of Allegiance work was last modified: April 30th, 2018 by correspondent
Asbel Kiprop tested positive for the endurance-boosting drug EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) confirmed on Friday, refuting allegations by the Kenyan track star that his sample might have been contaminated.
Kiprop, a three-time world 1500m champion and 2008 Olympic gold medallist, on Thursday “vehemently denied” doping, suggesting an out-of-competition sample he gave could have been contaminated by two anti-doping agents he suspects might have targeted him for extortion.
The AIU, which deals with doping matters for track and field’s governing body the IAAF, responded by saying that 28-year-old Kiprop was notified on February 3 of having tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO).
“On March 16, 2018, Kiprop was charged with violations of the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules and the matter is currently proceeding before the independent IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal,” the AIU said in a statement.
“The AIU is satisfied that there has been no mix-up or tampering with the sample and that the sample collected from the Athlete on November 27, 2017 was the same sample analysed by the Laboratory and reported as an Adverse Analytical Finding,” it said.
However, the AIU confirmed that the doping control agent had given Kiprop advance warning of the test, an act it described as “extremely disappointing”.
But the body argued: “The advanced notice of testing given by the Doping Control Assistant could not reasonably have caused EPO to be present in Kiprop’s sample and, as such, the departure does not invalidate the Adverse Analytical Finding. This will ultimately be a matter for the Tribunal to determine.”
The AIU also rejected Kiprop’s claim that he was offered a “reward” of being an IAAF ambassador on anti-doping in return for admitting to having taken the drug.
Kiprop said on Thursday he had been left “extremely shocked” when informed of the positive test, adding: “I was however very confident the mistake alleging I doped would be noted and I would be cleared. The nightmare has continued.
“I did not dope. I do not labour under the weight of the shame of doping.”
The confirmation of the positive test deals a serious blow to Kenyan athletics, with Kiprop one of the biggest names in the country’s stellar cast of middle-distance athletes.
Kiprop originally came second in the 1 500m final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was upgraded when Rashid Ramzi tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and was stripped of the gold medal. The Kenyan went on to prove his dominance over the distance with three world titles.
Kenya has been fighting intense criticism of its anti-doping efforts after more than 40 athletes tested positive over the past five years.
Three years ago, Kenya was rated “non-compliant” by WADA before being reinstated prior to the Rio Olympics.
Reuters.com
Kiprop tested positive, no mix-up – AIU was last modified: May 4th, 2018 by correspondent
The governing body of world athletics has suspended five Russian race walkers from competition pending further investigation of their participation in a training camp with a banned coach.
The decision to revoke the neutral status of Klavdiya Afanasyeva, Olga Eliseeva, Yuliya Lipanova, Sergey Sharypov and Sergey Shirobokov, a silver medallist from the 2017 world championships, means they will not be eligible to compete at the race walking team championships in China later this week.
Athletics’ governing body the IAAF said the decision had been made pending a probe into “a number of serious issues” related to their participation in a training camp in Kyrgyzstan last month with coach Viktor Chegin, who was banned for life from athletics over the Russian doping scandal.
Russia’s athletics federation was suspended by the IAAF in 2015 following a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report containing allegations of state-supported doping, which Moscow has denied.
The IAAF has cleared some Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes if they demonstrate that their training environment meets the required anti-doping standards.
The IAAF said it would review the race walkers’ status for further competitions this year once it had received more information from Russia’s anti-doping agency RUSADA and knew the outcome of further investigations.
Chegin had coached prominent race walkers including Olga Kaniskina, Sergei Kirdyapkin and Elena Lashmanova. These athletes all won Olympic gold medals but later served doping bans.
5 Russian walkers suspended over coach was last modified: May 4th, 2018 by correspondent
The International Athletics Association of Federations (IAAF) confirmed on Monday (14) that the world record that was set by Ethiopian Netsanet Gudeta on March 24 when she smashed the women’s only race world record at the world half marathon championships in Valencia, Spain.
Gudeta got a record of 1:06.11 to break a former record of 1:06.25 that was set by Dutch Lornah Kiplagat on October 14, 2007.
the 27 year-old got her first success in senior competitions after she had been the 4th place in Cardiff (UK) in 2016.
The winner’s podium was completed by Kenyan Jocyline Jepkosgei (silver medal) and Pauline Kamulu (bronze).
IAAF also ratified the world record by indoors got by the male 4×400 relay team of Poland, composed by Karol Zalewski, Rafal Omelko, Lukasz Krawczuk and Jakub Krzewina on March 4 at the Indoor Championship in Birmingham, UK with 3:01.77.
The Polish quartet won and set their record over US Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler and Calvin Smith, who got 3:02.13 in Sopot, Poland on March 9, 2014.
Gudeta’s World Half Marathon Championships record ratified was last modified: May 15th, 2018 by John Vaseyne
Mo Farah has insisted he had frequent blood and urine tests during high‑altitude camps in Kenya and Ethiopia – and has never seen any of the shady practices exposed by Asbel Kiprop after his positive EPO test.
Kiprop, an Olympic gold medallist and three-times world champion at 1500m, said this month that he had been tipped off in advance before a drug test and had paid money to doping control officers. Those claims, along with his positive test, sent shockwaves through the sport – and raised serious questions about whether athletes in east Africa were being properly tested, with the independent Athletics Integrity Unit confirming that the tip-off took place.
However Farah, who trained in Kenya up to 2014 and has subsequently done much of his winter preparations in Ethiopia, said he has been rigorously tested in both countries.
“When I was in Ethiopia training for the London marathon I was pretty much tested on average every two weeks, and maybe even more than that,” he said. “And when I was in Kenya I was tested a similar amount, although I haven’t been since 2014.”
Mo Farah at a training camp in Kenya in 2010. Photograph: Andy Hooper/Associated Newspapers/Rex Features
When he was asked whether that included both blood and urine, Farah replied: “Yes, and the same in Ethiopia.” Farah also denied ever being asked for money by doping control officers. “No,” he replied firmly. “And for me there are a few things wrong with the Kiprop situation. First, the drug testers are not there to give you warning – they are there to surprise you and to catch you, otherwise what’s the point in testing? Second, why is anyone coming for money? That’s breaking the rules. Third, he failed a test.”
But Farah, who set a British 1500m record of 3:28:85 when finishing behind Kiprop in Monaco in 2013, admitted the latest big-name positive was desperately bad news for athletics. “Yes it is, but that’s our own fault. In this sport, because it has some negative things about it, people do ask questions of someone who has run certain times. The first thing you do is think: ‘Oh, God, has it become normal now?’ But at the same time we have to keep fighting. I just look back and you just hope he wasn’t on it when he beat me, but obviously you question it.”
Some have also questioned Farah in the past, given his former coach Alberto Salazar remains under investigation by US Anti-Doping, and his association with Jama Aden, who has been investigated by the Spanish police, but Farah has always insisted that he has done things the right way. He urged the IAAF to step up its anti‑doping work for the good of the sport. “It is a fact that other African countries are not doing what we do,” he said. “And if we don’t deal with it now, how is it going to be for the next generation?”
Lily Partridge, the first female British athlete home in last month’s London marathon, has also urged the IAAF to consider banning Kenya because of the high number of positive tests in the country in recent years.
Partridge, who finished eighth in London, warned: “We can’t lump all Kenyan athletes in the same bracket but we have to acknowledge that they aren’t under the same protocol as we are. And for a country to be so dominant, and consistently dominant, you do have to say that if they don’t have that anti-doping system in place it is open to abuse.”
Partridge said that she would favour a system similar to the one Russian athletes have to go through – where individual athletes have to be approved by the IAAF. “Until they have a system in place it is very difficult to believe or get excited about performances that come out of those countries,” she said. “I don’t want people excluded, but if that is the only way we are going to sort it out then they have to be.”
Farah, meanwhile, who will compete over 10 kilometres in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday, also confirmed he would be running an autumn marathon, most likely in New York or Chicago. And he insisted that his recent third place in the London marathon had encouraged him to think he could win a medal at next year’s world championships in Doha. “If you look at world championships and Olympics the times are not that fast, so hopefully what I did in London shows I can mix it and hopefully win a medal.”
theguardian.com
Mo Farah disputes Asbel Kiprop story on doping was last modified: May 19th, 2018 by correspondent
The IAAF is saddened to hear that Hungary’s Laszlo Tabori, who held the 1500m world record in the 1950s, died on Wednesday (23) at the age of 86.
Born in Kosice in 1931, Tabori was part of the all-conquering Honved Budapest club. Under the guidance of legendary coach Mihaly Igloi, Tabori enjoyed a rapid rise to international success.
One of Tabori’s first big achievements came when he and training partners Istvan Rozsavolgyi, Ferenc Mikes and Sandor Iharos broke the 4x1500m world record in Budapest in 1954.
He improved significantly in 1955 and became the third man in history to run a sub-four-minute mile, clocking 3:59.0 in London on 28 May. In Oslo later that year, Tabori clocked 3:40.8 to equal the world 1500m record that had been set two months earlier by his training partner, Iharos. Denmark’s Gunnar Nielsen finished a close second to Tabori and was given the same time, meaning three men shared the world record.
Tabori set his third world record at the end of 1955 when he once again teamed up with his same three training partners, this time running in a slightly different order, to take 6.4 seconds off their own world 4x1500m record.
Hungary would have been expected to earn several medals at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne were it not for the fact that the country had just been invaded by the Soviet Union. All of the performances by the Hungarian team in Melbourne understandably suffered, but Tabori’s fourth-place finish in the 1500m and sixth-place finish in the 5000m were highly respectably in the circumstances.
Together with his coach Igloi, Tabori defected to the USA after the Olympics and continued running until 1962. He returned to the sport in 1967 as a coach and went on to work at the San Fernando Valley Track Club and the University of Southern California. Former marathon world record-holder Jacqueline Hansen was one of his most notable pupils.
In 2002, Tabori received the Fair Play Award from the International Olympic Committee for lifetime achievement and outstanding contribution to the sport.
Former 1500m World Record-Holder Tabori Dies was last modified: May 25th, 2018 by IAAF
Former Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop says he has given up trying to prove there was tampering with his positive doping sample.
Kenya’s three-time world champion was found to have traces of erythropoietin (EPO) after a test in November 2017.
In a Facebook post, the 28-year-old maintained his innocence but added he did not have the finances to challenge athletics’ governing body, the IAAF.
“I have let the struggle to prove my innocence go,” he said.
“Not because I doped, but I take the sacrifice because I support the anti-doping campaign.”
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent body which manages all doping-related matters for athletics, found Kiprop was tipped off about the test by a doping control officer who he knew.
The three-time world champion alleged the testers asked him for an unspecified sum of money. He said his sample “turned positive” because he did not give them enough money via an electronic transfer but that claim was rejected by the AIU.
“I do not have money to meet legal fees and find qualified physicians who can give their opinion on my sample and discredit any possible unjust reason to why the sample resulted in an EPO finding,” he added in Wednesday’s Facebook post.
“I’m financially weak to challenge my accuser, the IAAF, whom I have always worked hard for. However, I’m rich in truth and sincerity – this seem to mean nothing.”
Kiprop finished second at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but was upgraded to gold when Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi failed a drugs test.
He added world titles in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and has run the fifth fastest 1500m of all time.
Asbel Kiprop gives up fight to prove innocence was last modified: June 14th, 2018 by BBC Sport
South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya will challenge a female classification rule imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), her lawyers said on Monday.
The double Olympic and triple world 800 metres champion faces having to take medication to lower her higher than normal levels of naturally-produced testosterone, which the sport’s governing IAAF has deemed gives her an unfair advantage.
Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright said in a statement that the legal challenge would be filed on Monday at the CAS in Lausanne.
“Ms Semenya, like all athletes, is entitled to compete the way she was born without being obliged to alter her body by any medical means,” Norton Rose Fulbright said.
Controversy has never been far from the South African, now 27, since her teenage success in the 800m at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, where the pure power of her surge to victory sparked question marks about her sexuality.
Testosterone is a hormone that increases muscle mass, strength and haemoglobin, which affects endurance. The IAAF rule, which comes into force on Nov. 1, is not directly aimed at Semenya but she will be most affected by it.
South African media and politicians have rallied to her defence and called the IAAF actions a “witch hunt.”
“I just want to run naturally, the way I was born. It is not fair that I am told I must change. It is not fair that people question who I am. I am Mokgadi Caster Semenya. I am a woman and I am fast,” Semenya was quoted as saying in the Norton Rose Fulbright statement.
Semenya to challenge IAAF IAAF testosterone ruling was last modified: June 18th, 2018 by correspondent
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has informed the IAAF this morning (19 June 2018) that it has received a request for arbitration filed by Caster Semenya vs/ IAAF.
We await further information and stand ready to defend the new regulations which were introduced to address the following issue in Athletics:
Sex differences in physical attributes such as muscle size and strength and circulating haemoglobin levels give male athletes an insurmountable competitive advantage over female athletes in sports where size, strength and power matter. These advantages (which translate, in athletics, to an average 10-12% performance difference across all disciplines) make competition between men and women as meaningless and unfair as an adult competing against a child or a heavyweight boxer competing against a flyweight. Only men would qualify for elite-level competition; the best female athlete would not come close to qualifying.
The evidence gathered by the experts consulted by the IAAF (both peer-reviewed research and observational data from the field) suggests that having levels of circulating testosterone in the normal male range rather than in the normal female range, and being androgen-sensitive gives a female DSD athlete a performance advantage of at least 5-6% over a female athlete with testosterone levels in the normal female range (which is an enormous difference in events where milliseconds count). The effects are most clearly seen in races over distances between 400m and one mile, where the combination of increased lean body mass and elevated circulating haemoglobin appears to have the greatest combined impact.
IAAF STATEMENT ON CAS ARBITRATION OF NEW FEMALE CLASSIFICATION REGULATIONS was last modified: June 20th, 2018 by IAAF
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has expressed its dismay that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has decided to amend its regulations once again in November 2018.
The new regulations would require female athletes to maintain testosterone levels below 5 nanomoles per litre for a continuous period of at least six months.
This has led to athletes, like Semenya, who are known to produce high levels of testosterone, being placed squarely in the spotlight.
The Commission for Gender Equality believes the new regulations are discriminatory against athletes falling into this category.
The CGE has called upon UN Women, the Department of Sports and Recreation, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to offer their support to Semenya as the Commission believes the IAAF new regulations are discriminatory.
The statement went on to state that ‘It cannot be that female athletes that produce 5 percent of nanomoles are subjected to this unjust and unfair regulations contrary to many conventions and protocols that are there to protect and promote unfair treatment of female athletes/women from abuse and discrimination.’
The Commission reiterated its support for the legal challenge launched by Semenya with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland on Monday against the new regulation in order to ensure that the rights of all women are safeguarded and protected.
We are also making a clarion call to like-minded institutions to unequivocally raise their voices in support of Semenya. The CGE agrees with Semenya’ submission to CAS that the IAAF must set aside the new regulations even before they are implemented pending the finalisation of her legal challenge.
sport24.co.za
Gender Commission fully behind Caster Semenya was last modified: June 20th, 2018 by correspondent
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is seeking a new host for its World Relays event after the Bahamas government opted to end its hosting agreement.
The Caribbean country has been the home of the World Relays since the event’s formation in 2014 and was due to host its fourth edition from May 10-11 next year. However, the government is reported to have taken the decision to end the contract due to concerns over the cost of hosting the event.
While the government has yet to comment on the matter, the news has been widely reported in local media. Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ president Rosamunde Carey, who served as chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the last World Relays in 2017, told The Tribune newspaper: “It’s very unfortunate that after working so hard to make the Bahamas the destination for the World Relays that we won’t be able to host it again.
“Over the years, we have made this one of the premier events hosted by the IAAF, because a lot of the things that were introduced at the World Relays are now being staged at various meets by the IAAF.”
The latest innovation introduced by the World Relays was the mixed relays, which was utilised at last year’s event and has now been added to the programme for the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Carey said she had spoken to IAAF president Sebastian Coe and that a decision on a replacement host country is expected to be announced next week.
“It’s very disappointing, but we understand the consensus of the government,” she said. “As the former chairman, I just want to say thank you to the previous Bahamas government and the IAAF for allowing us to showcase such a prestigious event.
“We have made the Bahamas a global sporting mecca, hosting the event to the high standard that the IAAF expected us to put on. We have been able to put the event as a staple on their calendar and fulfil the confidence that they had placed in our council and the Bahamas in general.”
The Bahamas’ fellow Caribbean country, Jamaica, has already signalled its interest in the 2019 World Relays. Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) president Dr Warren Blake said he is keen on staging the event, but added that it would require financial backing from the government as the National Stadium would need significant upgrades.
“JAAA is willing to take it on, once we have the government’s support,” Blake told The Gleaner newspaper. “We made this position clear months ago, when we became aware that there may have been a vote against it. We are very interested in hosting the World Relays, it just depends on the financial backing of the government.”
sportbusiness.com
IAAF seeking new host for World Relays as Bahamas ends deal was last modified: July 7th, 2018 by correspondent
A city in Europe is due to be recommended to host the 2023 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships later this month.
Budapest is among around three cities that have supposedly expressed serious interest.
The Hungarian capital is still considered the favorite at this stage.
As part of a new and more informal process for selecting host cities, the IAAF have not undergone any structured bidding process for their showpiece event and do not plan to announce official candidates.
They hope to be in a position where one city will be proposed at the Council meeting in Buenos Aires on July 26 and 27.
If this idea is approved by the Council, the choice will be publicly announced.
The chosen city would not, however, be formally approved as host until later this year, with another Council meeting in November currently considered the most likely timeframe for a final decision.
Barcelona is another city that has been rumoured to be interested.
It is possible that some contenders will not get the nod for the World Championships but could be recommended for other IAAF events.
Doha in Qatar is due to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships before Eugene in United States follows suit in 2021.
This will mark the first time consecutive editions of the biennial event have been held outside Europe.
A host in Africa is widely expected to be found for the 2025 edition.
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Budapest favorite as host city for 2023 World Championships was last modified: July 9th, 2018 by correspondent
The IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 get under way on Tuesday 10 July as more than 1400 athletes from nearly 150 teams descend on the southern Finnish city.
Here are some of the ways you can follow all the action from the 17th edition of one of the IAAF’s largest events.
TELEVISION
As part of the IAAF’s broadcasting partnerships and agreements, media rights for the championships were distributed by EBU and ESPN for Europe and Africa and Dentsu Inc. for the rest of the world. Here’s a list of broadcasters per territory where fans can tune in to watch.
LIVE STREAM
Action from the Tampere Stadium will also be available to watch across all the IAAF’s continental areas via a geo-blocked live stream on the IAAF’s Facebook page or YouTube channel. Here’s a complete list of territories and countries where the stream will be available.
LIVE ACTION
We’re providing several ways to get up to speed and stay up to speed. IAAF Radio will broadcast live during each session. We’ll also have a live blog throughout the six days.
IAAF app: App Store, Google Play, Amazon app store If you already have the app, be sure to download the latest update to benefit from all the features.
Athletics will continue its hunt for a fresh megastar when the World Under-20 Championships begin tomorrow in the Finnish city of Tampere.
A total of 1,466 athletes – 782 men and 684 women – are entered spanning 158 federations plus an Athlete Refugee Team and an Authorized Neutral Athletes team of eligible Russians.
This means it is the third largest edition of the showpiece International Association of Athletics Federations-organised junior event.
Only the 2012 edition in Barcelona and the 2016 event in Bydgoszcz have involved more athletes.
Competition is due to take place over six days at the Ratina Stadium.
Major contenders include Ethiopian distance runner Selemon Barega, who finished second over 5,000 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday (July 5) despite his fellow countryman Yomif Kejelcha grabbing him by his shorts and attempting to pull him into lane three with a lap to go.
He will start as 5,000m favourite after winning the 3,000m at last year’s World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi.
Other reigning world youth champions including Jamaica’s 400m rising star Christopher Taylor and South Africa’s 400m hurdles hope Sokwakhana Zazini are being billed as other big hopes to make the step up.
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who has already cleared 5.93 metres, and Cuban triple jumper Jordan Diaz are other headline entries.
Samantha Watson is among top US contenders in the 800m while Kenya’s Celliphine Chepteek Chespol will be the favourite in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase.
Sweden will target more pole vault success courtesy of Lisa Gunnarsson while Moldova’s discus star Alexandra Emilianov is a big throwing hope.
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New generation of rising stars hoping to emerge at IAAF World Under-20 Championships was last modified: July 9th, 2018 by correspondent
The World U20 championships that is happening in Tampere, Finland is producing trailblazers who will light the athletics scene for the next generation while at the same time, controversy on the actual age of Girmawit Gebrzihair raises eyebrows on participants.
How old is 16 years really in Ethiopia because we know what a 16 year old invariably looks like all over the world? Gebrzihair looks older than her purported age of 16 years. To a lay man, she can easily pass for 30 year old but because junior championships are less stringent in terms of checking the veracity of age claims by athletes, such contestants claim an age that might not be truly theirs.
For fairness purposes, if Gebrzihair is not 16 then this is an indictment on IAAF which is supposed to verify athletes ages.
Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia (L) Beatrice Chebet of Kenya (C) and Girmawit Gebrzihair of Ethiopia (R) celebrate with their medals following the final of the women’s 5000m on day one of The IAAF World U20 Championships on July 10, 2018 in Tampere, Finland.
In 2017 according to information from the IAAF athlete profile, Gebrzihair ran an astonishing time of 32:33 in the 10 KM race, such an astounding feat for a young person for a 14 year old. This matter will be left in the court of public opinion until further notice but it does raise some eyebrows as to the fairness of such competitions.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won the race while writing history as Ethiopian duo of Ejgayehu Taye and Girmawit crossed the line in second and third place in 15:30.87 and 15:34.01 respectively.
Ethiopia’s Girmawit Gebrzihair raises AGE issues at the World U20 Championships was last modified: July 12th, 2018 by correspondent
Kenya’s Solomon Lekuta took gold in the men’s 800 metres on the final day of the International Association of Athletics Federations World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland to seal his team’s position at the top of the medals table with six golds.
Lekuta and team-mate Ngeno Kipngetich secured their nation a third consecutive one-two in the event, with the pair coming home in 1min 46.35sec and 1:46.45 respectively.
Lekuta was just the stronger down the home straight in the Ratina Stadium.
“I’m really happy with the gold medal but the competition was really hot because everyone wanted it too,” said Lekuta.
“I’ve been training for this championship for a long time and I want to dedicate the gold medal to my parents.”
Jamaica, inspired by an audacious 100 and 200m double from 16-year-old Briana Wlliams, were second and the United States third – although the latter team had by far the most medals with a tally of 18 and were clear leaders on the placings table.
That said, it was an unusual position for this traditionally dominant nation, and their performance in the concluding event of the men’s 4x400m, where they were expected to win, summed up their Championships.
The US baton crashed to the track at the end of the first leg, and though it was swiftly picked up by lead-leg runner Elija Godwin, the loss of seconds would prove critical.
Italy and Belgium were charging ahead in the race for gold, the Italians seizing command on the third leg after an inspired run by Alessandro Sibilio.
He passed on to Edoardo Scotti who pulled further clear, the European under-20 champions eventually adding the world under-20 title in 3:04.05.
The US did well to salvage second with 3:05.26, with Britain taking third in 3:05.64.
But there was no problem for the US in the equivalent women’s race, where Taylor Manson was able to enjoy an effective lap of honour on the final leg before crossing the line in 3:28.74.
The US had got the final day off to a great start with gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, albeit by even less than thousandths of a second as Tia Jones marginally defeated Jamaica’s Britany Anderson, with both being credited at 13.012.
Has there ever been a closer verdict in athletics?
In the distance events, Ethiopia moved themselves up to fourth on the medal table with a superb brace of gold medals from 3,000m steeplechaser Takele Nigate and 1,500m runner Alemaz Samuel.
In the 3,000m steeplechase, Kenya’s Leonard Bett had been tipped to take gold and continue his nation’s fine, formidable record in the event, with the Kenyans having won gold at every edition from 1988 onwards.
But that run of dominance was put to an abrupt end thanks to a late, irresistible surge by Nigate, who out-duelled Bett in a gruelling home-straight battle to take gold in 8:25.35.
The women’s 1,500m was won in contrasting style by Samuel, who became the third successive champion from Ethiopia.
She made a long drive for home entering the final lap, which she covered in 61.04 to take a convincing win in 4:09.67 over Kenya’s Miriam Cherop and Switzerland’s Delia Sclabas.
Bulgaria’s Aleksandra Nacheva produced a stunning leap of 14.18m in the second round of the women’s triple jump to take her nation’s first gold medal in the event since Tereza Marinova’s triumph in 1996.
While that event may have gone to form, the men’s discus final did anything but, Jamaica’s Kai Chang causing a huge upset by taking gold in 62.36m.
In the women’s high jump, Karyna Taranda of Belarus took gold with 1.92m, with Ireland’s Sommer Lecky taking silver ahead of Colombia’s Maria Fernanda Murillo after both had cleared 1.90m.
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Kenya finishes top at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships was last modified: July 16th, 2018 by correspondent
World 800m record holder David Rudisha, four-time world champion Ezekiel Kemboi and Olympics 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot, will be inducted into the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Hall of Fame.
The three athletes have one thing in common besides their feats at both national and international, they are all Olympic gold medalists in their respective races.
This accolade will be bestowed at the welcoming Dinner for athletes and officials participating at the 21st African Athletics Championships, Asaba 2018.
The event, organised by CAA and Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency is slated for July 31, 2018 at the Event Center, Asaba.
Nigeria’s golden girl, Blessing Okagbare and her team members who won Nigeria’s 4×200 gold at the 2016 IAAF World Relay in Bahamas will be inducted into the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Hall of Fame.
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe, CAA President Kalkaba Malboum and members of his executive committee, State Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and top government officials at Federal and State level, diplomats and the LOC led by its Chairman Solomon Ogba will grace the occasion.
Ethiopia follows Nigeria with the highest number of athletes to be inducted. The list includes world record holder and champion Genzebe Dibabaa, Almaz Ayana an Olympics and World Champions and long distance legend Kenenisa Bekele.
Other Ethiopians on the list are, World Champion Tirunesh Dibaba and former world 5000m record holder Mesert Defar from Ethiopia will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
South Africa duo of Caster Semanya and Wayde van Nieckert both Olympics and World Champions will also be inducted.
Rudisha, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ezekiel Kemboi to be inducted in Hall of Fame was last modified: July 17th, 2018 by John Vaseyne
