Flushed with success: NZ’s Kerr pursues Games gold with toilet tactic

Flushed with success: NZ’s Kerr pursues Games gold with toilet tactic

New Zealand high jumper Hamish Kerr aims to add Olympic gold in Paris to his world indoor title -- by deploying tactical toilet breaks to help him mentally reset. The 27-year-old calls himself "The flying Kiwi" and Kerr soared to the indoor crown in March in Glasgow, winning gold with a personal best of 2.36 metres. It remains the highest jump by any athlete this year. "I love […]

June 5, 2024 6

Sport

Australia name Olympic marathon team after ugly selection row

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jess Stenson was named in Australia's Paris marathon team Monday at the expense of four-time Olympian Lisa Weightman after an ugly selection row. Weightman was bidding to become the first Australian track and field athlete to compete at five Olympics and qualified third fastest behind Sinead Diver and Genevieve Gregson for the three-member women's team. But with six runners all under the qualifying time, selectors […]

June 3, 2024 8

Sport

Former Olympic pole vault champion Thiago Braz banned for doping

Brazil's 2016 Olympic champion Thiago Braz will not be able to attempt to regain his title in Paris this year having been banned for 16 months for doping on Tuesday by the Athletics Integrity Unit. "The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Rio 2016 Olympic champion Thiago Braz for 16 months for the presence of ostarine glucuronide," read an AIU statement. The 30-year-old had protested his innocence saying […]

May 29, 2024 12

Namibia

Coach Henk Botha explains Mboma’s return to 100m and 200m events

Christine Mboma, an Olympic silver medalist, will make a comeback to the track after receiving clearance from World Athletics effective 5 April 2024. The sprinter, who was temporarily suspended by the WA Council in March 2023, has had her suspension lifted, allowing her participation in the 100m and 200m events. Here is Mboma’s Coach, Henk Botha with more.

April 10, 2024 60

Africa

Africans showcase the continent’s athletic supremacy at the World Cross-Country Championships

By Stephen Granger, SPNA If you want to get a sense of the level to which African runners dominate distance running right now, look no further than the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, held this year in Belgrade, Serbia. From Kenya to South Africa, Uganda to Ethiopia, different cross-country athletes from the continent recorded remarkable performances. Formerly known as the International Cross Country Championships, the annual event […]

April 8, 2024 15

Africa

Africa’s promising sports future evident at the 13th Africa Games in Accra

By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency After three weeks of intense field and track event actions across multiple venues in Accra, the 13th edition of the Africa Games came to a close this past weekend. The pan-African sporting event has, yet again, showcased Africa's rich and diverse sports talent, with more than 35 countries participating across 23 sports disciplines. Egypt led with 107 gold, 47 silver, and 42 […]

March 25, 2024 11

Africa

After Ivory Coast’s thrilling AFCON 2023 can Ghana’s Africa Games 2023 shape up?

By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency After the eventful, action-filled AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast that concluded last month, West Africa is now hosting another sporting extravaganza, as Ghana hosts the 13th edition of the Africa Games. This promises a month packed with athleticism, passion, and continental unity, with surge in the number of participating countries. The pan-African multi-sport event, organized under the African Union's Sports […]

March 8, 2024 24

Sport

Duplantis retains world indoor pole vault title, no world record

Sweden's Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis battled through an early blip to defend his world indoor pole vault title in Glasgow on Sunday. Duplantis won with a best clearance of 6.05 metres, going close in three efforts at 6.24m in a bid to better his own world record. American Sam Kendricks took silver with a best of 5.90m and Greece's Emmanouil Karalis bronze (5.85). Duplantis came in at 5.65m, sailing over […]

March 4, 2024 3

Sport

Dutch runner Femke Bol breaks own 400m indoor world record

Femke Bol broke her own indoor 400m world record on Sunday as she recorded a time of 49.24sec in the Dutch championships in Apeldoorn. Bol, the double world champion outdoors at 400m hurdles, improved her own record set at the same venue last year by two hundredths of a second. The 23-year-old had demonstrated she was in the form for fast times by opening her season with 49.69sec in […]

February 19, 2024 6