As a young girl, Marisa Howard dreamed about becoming an Olympian one day. But her focus was on another Olympic sport, gymnastics. She had no idea what the 3,000-meter steeplechase even was.

She also had no idea she鈥檇 be a mom when the dream actually came true.

Over the last two decades, Marisa, 31, has gone through numerous highs and lows, near-misses, injuries, a lack of sponsor support, and joyful life changes鈥攎ost notably giving birth to son, Kai, in 2022. But the steeplechaser from Boise, Idaho, never let go of the dream. Relying on her faith, a strong family support system, and the frugal but full life she shares with her husband, Jeff, the dream came true on June 27 with a third-place finish in the steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

After chipping away at her craft for three Olympic cycles,聽 Marisa ran the race of her life鈥攆inishing with a 15-second personal best of 9 minutes and 7.14 seconds鈥攖o earn a spot on Team USA.

Her dream of running for Team USA in the Olympics officially materialized on August 4 when she lined up to race in the prelims of the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Paris. She ran with the lead pack in her heat as long as she could, but with two laps to go she slid to seventh and finished in that position in 9:24.78, missing the chance to advance to the August 6 final by two places and about seven seconds.

鈥淚 think it just becomes a lot more real when you see people that have been kind of knocking on the door for years and finally break through. It鈥檚 like, 鈥榃ow, we鈥檙e human and we can do it.鈥� Dreams do come true,鈥� Marisa said. 鈥淚 was six or seven or eight years old when this Olympic dream was born, and I plan on competing until he鈥檚 that age, hopefully, to show him what it鈥檚 like to do hard things and chase your dreams. I think it鈥檒l be cool in 10 years when I show Kai these videos and be able to tell him, 鈥淟ook at what Mommy did when you were two.鈥�

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In between making the team in late June and arriving in Paris in late July, Marisa鈥檚 life returned to normal鈥攁s if being a mom with a 2-year-old is ever normal, or at least consistent, on a day-to-day basis. That month included rough bouts of stomach flu for her and her son, the continued day-to-day management of Kai with Jeff, juggling workouts with childcare help from family and friends, reestablishing normal sleep patterns for everyone, and of course, finalizing travel plans to get the family to Paris.

It all came with a humbling reminder of the perspective that has been the bedrock of Marisa鈥檚 postpartum revival as an athlete.

鈥淭he day after I qualified, we were driving back home to Idaho and we were all tired. Kai was exhausted and screaming in the car, and I told my husband, 鈥楬e doesn鈥檛 care that I鈥檓 an Olympian, he just wants food and sleep and, really, I鈥檓 just mom,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling鈥攖here鈥檚 nothing more humbling than taking care of your sick baby鈥攁nd I think as a parent, we鈥檙e humbled every single day, and we come up short sometimes despite doing the best we can, but I鈥檓 thankful that there鈥檚 grace and forgiveness. I think it makes those high moments so much sweeter.鈥�

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Don鈥檛 Call it a Comeback

Marisa is part of a new wave of elite runners that aren鈥檛 putting their family plans on hold due to their career, and one of several moms who competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Stephanie Bruce raced the 10,000 meters just nine months postpartum after giving birth to her daughter, Sophia, in September 2023, while Kate Grace ran strong preliminary and semifinal 800-meter races to advance to the final of that event just 15 months after giving birth to son, River, in March 2023.

Elle St. Pierre gave birth to her son, Ivan, at about the same time, and returned to racing six months postpartum, finishing seventh in a speedy 4:24 at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. That was just the beginning for St. Pierre, who broke the American indoor record in the mile (4:16.41) in January then won the gold medal in the 3,000 meters at the indoor world championships in Glasgow in March. At the Olympic Trials, Pierre won the 5,000 meters and placed third in the 1500, qualifying for Team USA in both events, even though she declined the Olympic entry for the 5,000.

After Howard gave birth to Kai in late May 2022, she began doing pelvic floor therapy along with general strength training and some easy jogging. By the time she started running in earnest that fall, she was surprised at how quickly her aerobic fitness came back to her.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 really surprised me is that I鈥檓 able to run paces that I never hit before pregnancy with the same amount or less effort,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y aerobic engine has just gotten so strong. You do see women come back stronger, but it鈥檚 a wide range of how long it takes them to come back. 鈥�

When she returned to the track, she was aiming for a top-three finish at the 2023 U.S. championships to qualify for the world championships in Budapest. She made it to the final and was in third place with two laps to go, but just didn鈥檛 have the closing speed. However, she did get the Olympic Trials standard by clocking a near-PR of 9:22.73, demonstrating she was just as fast as her pre-pregnancy self despite limited training and two years away from racing.

By late 2023 and early 2024, Pat McCurry, Marisa鈥檚 coach since college, was able to add more volume and intensity to her training, setting up what he thought would be her best season yet. And while Marisa admittedly didn鈥檛 race as well as hoped in her races before the Olympic Trials, McCurry knew she was capable of great things.

鈥淪he was on a different level once we got back to that base fitness post-pregnancy, and I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 paid off in massive fitness dividends,鈥� said McCurry, who has coached Marisa on Idaho Afoot training group since 2015. 鈥淭he racing didn鈥檛 look amazing from the outside. The training was spectacular. We were doing things in training since January that we鈥檝e never done before鈥攋ust the level of intensity and volume we were sustaining was stellar.鈥�

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Bootstrapping It

Marisa picked up running at Pasco High School in Washington, and carried on with the dream at Boise State University. There, she also met Jeff Howard, a Boise State runner who held the school record in the 10,000 meters. But more important than their common athletic passion, they shared the same Christian values that were the foundation of her life. They married in the summer of 2013 just after he graduated. He eventually took a job as a high school teacher at a nearby school, while she blossomed into a three-time NCAA Division I All-American for the Broncos, notching a runner-up finish at the 2014 NCAA championships and fourth-place finish the following year as a senior.

After she graduated, she picked up a small sponsorship deal with women鈥檚 apparel brand Oiselle and set her sights on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials . She got injured and missed the trials that year. But Howard and her husband bought a house in Boise and started their family life in earnest. That added stability, along with the guidance of McCurry, who she began working with in 2016, allowed her to dig deeper into training and continue to make progress in the steeplechase, lowering her personal best to 9:30.92 at a race in Lapinlahti, Finland.

The Oiselle sponsorship evaporated after about three years but that didn鈥檛 seem to matter. She and Jeff were living frugally and loving life, especially because, by then, most of their family had moved to Boise. Marisa had two aunts who had lived in the area before she went to college, and Jeff鈥檚 parents moved to town shortly after they were married. Marisa鈥檚 parents, and later her best friend, Marianne Green, also picked up their roots and relocated to town.

The ensuing years brought a variety of highs and lows鈥攕everal near-miss fifth place finishes at U.S. championships, a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games, a few injuries that delayed her progress, a聽 breakthrough eight-second PR in the semifinals of the 2020 Olympic Trials, and, of course, welcoming Kai into the world in 2022.

What makes Marisa鈥檚 situation especially challenging is that she鈥檚 run competitively without a traditional sponsor since 2017, more or less collectively bootstrapping the dream on her husband鈥檚 high school teacher鈥檚 salary and working part-time as a schol nurse and as a coach. (She will officially join the Boise State staff as an assistant coach after the Olympics.) She often stays with friends when she travels to races and says she鈥檚 grateful to the meet directors who have flown her out to race, put her up in hotels, and also paid her to pace races.

She also earned USATF Foundation grants and in 2022 was the recipient of a $10,000 grant to offset child care expenses from a program sprinting legend Allyson Felix organized through Athleta鈥檚 Power of She Fund and the . Marisa competed at the 2024 Olympic Trials as part of the , which provides a small quarterly stipend, running apparel, and shoes to about 40 athletes in all disciplines of track and field.

鈥淲e鈥檝e found ways to make it work. We drive used cars, and we refinanced in 2020, so thankfully our mortgage is very low,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o really a lot of my expenses are just shoes, a little bit of travel, coaching fees, gym fees, and things like that. But it does add up. But thankfully we live well within our means and are able to do it. As I鈥檝e said before, the Lord always provides.鈥�

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Getting It Done

But even with that support and her continued progress, Marisa entered the Olympic Trials as a dark horse contender to make Team USA. And that鈥檚 despite knowing that Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs, the top stars of the event for the past 10 years, were sidelined with injuries. She hadn鈥檛 run great in her races leading up to the trials, and her confidence was waning, McCurry says.

鈥淚 felt like not having a full contract [from a shoe sponsorship] had kind of eroded away at some of her confidence, and she was starting to have a little bit of imposter syndrome at races,鈥� says McCurry. 鈥淲e just had a really firm talk where I was like, damn it, you鈥檙e better than this,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot we, not the training, you, Marissa Howard, are better than this.鈥�

That pep talk was just what she needed. It helped remind Marisa about her bigger purpose, just as much as packing diapers, toys, and pajamas for Kai did before she and Jeff made the eight-hour drive to Eugene for the Olympic Trials.

In her semi-final heat at the trials on June 24, Marisa ran aggressively and finished second behind Gabbi Jennings in 9:26.38. After the race, she said she was looking forward to the final, but, for the moment, was most interested in making sure Kai got to bed on time.

Running with purpose and caring for her son emboldened her for the final, where she ran with conviction among the top five before moving into the lead briefly with a lap to go. In what was a thrilling final lap, Val Constien retook the lead and sprinted to victory down the homestretch in an Olympic Trials-record 9:03.22, followed by a surging Courtney Wayment (9:06.50) and a determined Marisa (9:07.14) as the top nine finishers all set new personal bests.

 

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鈥淢y husband and I talk about competitive greatness: You want to rise to the occasion when everyone else is at their best. So it鈥檚 like, gosh, I was able to do it! I think a lot of it for me has always been about having my priorities in place. I鈥檓 a Christian first, and then a wife, and then a mom, and then a runner. And I think if I keep those in that line, that鈥檚 where I see success,鈥� Marisa says.

鈥淚鈥檝e sat next to gold medalists and other high-level athletes in chapels before U.S. championship races and they鈥檝e told me, 鈥業鈥檝e won that gold medal and it doesn鈥檛 fill that void in my heart.鈥� And just knowing that a medal or success isn鈥檛 going to change you, ultimately, you have to be secure in who you are. So just remembering where my priorities lie helps to kind of keep me grounded.鈥�

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鈥淚 went to college for four years and I got good at one thing that no one will pay me for,鈥�

says Dan Winn, the protagonist of Limits鈥攁 new tongue-in-cheek 鈥渄ocumentary鈥� about a former NCAA standout who tries to secure a professional running contract. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because the real Daniel Winn was . Limits is his creation; he wrote the film and stars as his eponymous alter ego. The movie is directed by creative content producer , but in another meta twist, the film within the film is directed by 鈥渨orld famous documentarian and track broadcasting personality鈥� Jeff Merrill. The conceit is that Merrill wants to shadow Winn as the young track star navigates the fraught process of turning pro. It is very possible, Merrill informs us early on, that Winn has the 鈥渓ist of accomplishments, character, and satisfactory facial composition鈥� necessary to secure the prospective 鈥渇ive-figure contract of his dreams.鈥�

Maybe it鈥檚 because I鈥檝e become so accustomed to the self-deprecations of (aspiring) professional runners on social media, but Limits, which was earlier this month, makes it seem like there鈥檚 no better subject for a Christopher Guest-style send-up than the naive endurance athlete who is overly bullish about his chances in the professional market. The jokes are so well-calibrated that it鈥檚 kind of shocking that the concept hasn鈥檛 been tried before. Early on, Winn is concerned about whether his eventual sponsor will have the right 鈥減olitics.鈥� He even has the temerity to ask about health insurance on an informational call. (鈥淣o? OK.鈥�) Before long Winn experiences various abasements: He gets ghosted by his agent. His college coach informs him that he has no interest in maintaining their athlete/coach relationship. Eventually he must endure the ultimate humiliation for the wannabe pro distance runner: Getting stood up, last-minute, on a Facetime call with Under Armour.

On the one hand, you could argue that Limits is essentially a 40-minute long inside joke for running dorks. The film includes footage of interviews with actual pros like Nikki Hiltz and Sinclair Johnson about the process of getting to the next level, which are spliced into the faux v茅rit茅 rendering of Winn鈥檚 bumbling efforts to do the same. There are several winking references to some of our favorite cliches. (鈥淚鈥檓 investing in myself,鈥� Winn says while face down during a deep tissue massage and cupping treatment which, alas, he has no PT budget to pay for.) Even the title is a riff on Without Limits, the cloyingly aspirational Prefontaine biopic from 1998. And I suspect that many of the people who watch Limits will be familiar with the accomplishments of the real-life Daniel Winn. When I emailed Winn asking about his film鈥檚 intended audience, he told me that, ultimately, he鈥檇 be satisfied if his project ended up being 鈥渏ust something for the running community.鈥�

But the spoof documentary genre has always thrived on exposing the everyday weirdness of insular worlds and subcultures鈥攆rom This Is Spinal Tap鈥檚 (1984) taking the piss out of the inherent silliness of heavy metal rock, to the immortal Best in Show (2000), whose subject is the mania of hardcore dog show participants. (Part of the charm of these films is that the deadpanning extends to a certain kind of physical humor. Watching Winn go through his dynamic stretching routine in Limits, I was reminded of the prancing handlers in Best in Show.)

It also helps that Winn is very good at playing 鈥淲inn.鈥� He has a knack for pulling off lines like: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been downhill since then. Not in a bad way鈥攋ust downhill.鈥� His talents are on full display in a scene where his character tries and fails to get a 鈥渘ormal person job鈥� and is suddenly confronted with the grim reality that he has staked his future on a dream that might not work out. 鈥淚 put all my eggs in one basket,鈥� Winn says, before extracting a fresh dozen out of his refrigerator and hurling the contents on his kitchen floor. Then he starts quoting Sylvia Plath. Then he goes on a protracted bender and becomes a smoker. Nobody can tell me that this stuff will only appeal to running fanatics.

But to what extent is Winn the writer/comedian just playing a version of himself? There鈥檚 enough biographical overlap between the real and fictional Dan Winn to view Limits as a kind of absurdist biopic. When I brought this up with the real Winn, he pushed back on the notion that his movie is a satirical take on his own running career. (Winn briefly ran professionally for the Boston Athletic Association.) 鈥淎lthough there are a few details that parallel my own experience, at the end of the day it’s mostly fictitious,鈥� Winn says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more emotional truth鈥攖o 鈥攖han actual truth in the film.鈥�

Unlike the recent controversy surrounding Minhaj鈥檚 work, which is in his standup and satirical news shows, nobody is going to mistake Limits for a true account. Nonetheless, and in spite of myself, I felt a twinge of pathos for the fictional Mr. Winn and his thwarted ambitions. Nevermind that the whole thing is meant in jest. Like much of the best comedy, Limits has an undercurrent of melancholy: It鈥檚 a reminder that most youthful aspiration ultimately goes unfulfilled and that the joke, in the end, is always on us.

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If you follow master鈥檚 track and field, it鈥檚 hard to miss聽鈥檚 astonishing accomplishments this season, including eight world records in the 60-64 women鈥檚 age group鈥攕even ratified, one pending.

Having recently snatched world records in the indoor 800 meters (2:25.72) and indoor 1,500 meters (5:08.88), McDonald was unstoppable chasing outdoors records, too: 400 meter (62.34), 800 meter (2:22.52), 1,500 meter (5:04.27), mile (5:28.02), and 300 meter (48.89)聽at several Southern California track meets and the聽聽in July.

To add to her dazzling record collection, on August 13th at Mount SAC College in Walnut, California, McDonald聽finished the heptathlon with a world record point total of 6,269, improving on the previous world record of 5,815. (If you鈥檙e dying to know, here is how you聽.)

鈥淚鈥檓 Not Surprised I鈥檓 Getting Faster in My 60s鈥�

聽is a masters runner, mom, and coach. 鈥淏efore the event this past weekend, I had not competed in the heptathlon for 27 years!鈥� McDonald laughed. 鈥淚 was able to get in one javelin and shot practice session before the competition with Dan Lange, former USC throws coach for 32 years and my college teammate. I also went into the long jump cold, which I don鈥檛 recommend.鈥�

Terry Howell of聽聽is McDonald鈥檚 coach, and he鈥檚 inspired by her ambition. 鈥淪ue has a lot of fun competing, which is why she has such incredible longevity in track and field. She has this kid-like joy for as long as I鈥檝e known her.鈥�

You can clearly see this joy in her fierce, smooth strides going over hurdles at the 300-meter hurdles event at the masters outdoor nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. After crossing the finish line in 48.89 seconds, McDonald smiled in her calm manner. 鈥淚 watched her every race on the livestream and thought, we鈥檙e just getting started!鈥� said Coach Howell.

With eight world records in one season, Sue McDonald felt she could do more.

鈥淚t does seem like the opposite of normal, but I鈥檓 not surprised I鈥檓 getting faster in my 60s,鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淚 spent a few years running marathons and triathlons. I was a high jumper in college. I did a lot of things, and I鈥檓 just doing different events than what I did in the past.鈥�

McDonald and Coach Howell recently appeared on聽听飞颈迟丑听. 鈥淪omeone recently asked me: 鈥榳hen do people slow down.鈥� My answer was: I don鈥檛 know. I guess it happens when it happens,鈥� said coach Howell.

Be Multidimensional

What is the secret to Sue McDonald鈥檚 illustrious track and field career that spans over 40 years?

Sue McDonald first started running in the Parks and Rec league during elementary school. Since her high school didn鈥檛 have a track, she practiced at Los Angeles Junior College, which led her to be recruited to run there. She placed second in the high jump at the Junior College State Championships two years in a row.

By the time she graduated from California State University, Northridge, McDonald nearly qualified for the Olympic trials in high jump. She also competed in the heptathlon, with her strengths in sprints and jumps. After chasing the Olympic Trial qualifier in the high jump in 1988, McDonald retired鈥攆or the first time鈥攁nd eventually moved onto triathlons and road races. She joined a local cycling team in Santa Barbara to challenge herself in a different way and made great friends.

鈥淎fter three pregnancies, I didn鈥檛 have any plans to go back to track and field, until one day, after I turned 50, I looked up to see what the American and World Records were in the high jump for my age group. It was over five feet. And I thought, I used to warm up at 5鈥� 6鈥�! Seeing that record was what pulled me back into track and field. I started training for high jump again. Eventually, I did get the American record [for Women鈥檚 50], but missed the world record.鈥� said McDonald.

鈥淪ue is not a one-dimensional athlete,鈥� said Howell. 鈥淪he has been extremely dedicated, but also having so much fun with these different events鈥攖he high jump, pole vault, shot put, and javelin forces her to move her body in a multitude of ways, making her strong.鈥�

Strength has been a key component of Sue McDonald鈥檚 training consistently. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 lift heavy weights, but I do physical therapy types of exercises every day, and I lift two to three times a week for 30 minutes each time.鈥�

McDonald acknowledged that she had never been a high mileage person, only averaging under 30 miles a week. 鈥淢y definition of an endurance run for an athlete like me is three to four miles with strides at the end. I also do some longer intervals on Wednesdays, and shorter workouts on Saturdays. I also ride my NordicTrack bike at home and aqua-jog at a public swimming pool. When people age, they tend to lose their balance and stability, so I do a lot of single-legged exercises like single-leg Romanian deadlift and single-leg squats.鈥�

鈥淪ue looks for new challenges and never backs away from them. She simply loves what she does,鈥� said Mark Covert, McDonald鈥檚 junior college coach, who was the first athlete to ever cross a finish line wearing the famous Nike Waffles at the 1972 Olympic Trials marathon and has run at least one mile a day for 45 years.

New challenges and a variety of events are what make McDonald鈥檚 athletic career fun. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to having fun with these combined events. That鈥檚 why I do it,鈥� said McDonald. Even after such breakthrough performances, McDonald still does everything for fun.

Up Your Mental Game

David Epstein writes in his book,聽The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic聽Performance, 鈥淚t was a strong clue that one key difference between expert and novice athletes was in the way they had learned to perceive the game, rather than the raw ability to react quickly.鈥�

Sue proves to be a great example of perceiving a game before it happens. Since 2015, she has been revisiting a program called聽聽by Dr. Patrick Cohn. Before major competitions, McDonald would review her sports psychology program and also visualize how the competition might shake out, how she might respond to a tactical race at the championships, and how she might hang on if it鈥檚 a fast or slow tactical race with mixed age groups.

鈥淚鈥檓 a lot less nervous on the start line than five years ago,鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淭his is because of my mental training. I take a few deep breaths to try to calm myself down when I feel anxiety coming on. Fifty percent of my preparation is my mental game. It is easy to brush off because it is time-consuming. I definitely think more people should up their mental game if they have big goals.鈥�

As a fitness coach herself, McDonald also helps other athletes with their mental games.聽, Professor of Mathematics at Western Washington University, mom of three and current Women鈥檚 60 (W60) American record holder in the decathlon, credits McDonald for helping her with her strong psychological state during her decathlon competition.

鈥淎t the most recent meet at Mt. Sac, the pole vault I ordered did not arrive on time. I was then handed an incorrect substitute pole. It was all very stressful, but Sue was there and she helped me reframe my situation. Eventually, I was able to achieve a personal record because of her help,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hat makes multiple events like decathlon very challenging is all the changes. Between events, you have 30 minutes to change clothes and shoes, hydrate, and get ready for the next one. Your adrenaline goes up, and it goes down. Your body鈥檚 chemistry shifts very quickly. You also put your body through different motions. That鈥檚 a lot of transition in a very short time. As a heptathlete, Sue understands all the challenges herself and is capable of helping other combined event athletes like me very well.鈥�

Optimize Recovery and Nutrition

To prepare for the聽, Sue McDonald dialed up her nutrition by doing two seemingly contradictory things: she gave up alcohol, and she went back to eating meat.

鈥淚 really like wine but gave it up because it interferes with my sleep. Now I only allow myself to have two to three of what I call聽Sue Sips聽from my husband鈥檚 glass,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淚 wanted to go into Worlds with no regrets and do everything I possibly could, legally, to boost my performance.鈥� Without wine, McDonald is getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night, which has significantly improved her recovery, especially during multi-day events.

Nutrition has been a big part of her performance improvement. 鈥淚n January, I started to work with a metabolic practitioner,聽, who is the world champion in the 400 meter, a mom, and author. 鈥淚 was largely plant-based before with some seafood for a long time, until I decided to work with Cynthia. Reintroducing meat and poultry into my diet was one of the conditions Cynthia had proposed to me for our partnership.鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淚 felt I wasn鈥檛 getting enough protein in the past anyway. After reincorporating meat and poultry, my recovery has improved.鈥�

McDonald鈥檚 strategy is in line with聽鈥檚 recommendation in her book,聽Roar: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life: peri- and post-menopausal women should aim to stay at the higher end of the recommended range of protein intake (2.2 鈥� 2.4g per kg of bodyweight).

Be in Community

Besides coaching her own athletes and training with younger athletes from Blue Collar Running, Sue McDonald started a USATF track club named the Pursuit of Excellence Track Club (POETs), under the urge of Melissa Chiti, the 2022 W55 National Steeplechase Champion, a mom and librarian.

鈥淲hen we started POETs, we just wanted to have a group of masters athletes to support each other. We all compete in different events, from pentathlon to middle-distance and long-distance. We all strive to set a good example of how you can age with great health and enjoyment,鈥� said Chiti.

Since the founding of POETs, the聽club placed 11th out of 67 women鈥檚 teams and 15th out of 135 combined teams with only six athletes, at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, this past July. 鈥淪ue is always supportive of all the athletes in our club, and ready to share any and all expertise,鈥� said Chiti.

鈥淚 hope Sue sends this message to the track and field world: there is an event for everybody; whether you love to run, jump, throw, there is something for you. For elite runners, she inspires them to stay in the sport for a long time. For adult athletes and everyone else, she proves that age is just a number,鈥� said Coach Howell with conviction.

Looking toward 2024, Sue McDonald is excited to start training for the聽聽in Gothenburg, Sweden. 鈥淢aybe I can lower my own 400-meter world record, possibly break 62 seconds,鈥� McDonald said. With the support of her coach and her teammates, she feels nothing but confident.

This article was originally published on .

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鈥淢ost of the time, we say that when we have success, life gets easier, but I think it gets harder,鈥� says Sifan Hassan. If that鈥檚 true, then life must have been very hard lately for the 30-year-old runner from the Netherlands. How鈥檚 this for a recent racing resume? World champion in the 1,500 and 10,000-meters in 2019. Olympic champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 in 2021, with a bronze in the 1,500-meters to boot. London Marathon champ in 2023. Multiple world records and Diamond League titles along the way. With respect to Eliud Kipchoge, nobody has done more to expand the limits of what might be possible in elite distance running than Hassan.

In some ways, she is the anti-Kipchoge, at least when it comes to her voracious approach to racing. Her range is preposterous; she is the only professional runner capable of producing a world-class performance in every distance from the 800-meters to the marathon. While Kipchoge adheres to a strict diet of two marathons per year with no tune-up races or seasonal dalliances on the oval, Hassan sometimes seems bent on exhausting the possibilities of the pro circuit. Barely a month after winning her first ever marathon in London last April, Hassan won a 10,000 and 1,500 meter track race on consecutive days. At this year鈥檚 World Championships in Budapest, which concluded on Sunday, Hassan ran the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000-meters, replicating her feat in Tokyo. If you include the heats, this means running six races in eight days鈥攁n audacious undertaking that certain superfans have been dubbed the 鈥淗assan-athon.鈥� What鈥檚 more, Hassan was competing in the World Championships as part of her training cycle for this year鈥檚 Chicago Marathon. (To the bafflement of eyewitnesses, she was even spotted in Budapest to bolster her mileage.) The Chicago Marathon, for those keeping track, is in six weeks.

In Budapest, Hassan wasn鈥檛 quite able to reproduce the magic from Tokyo. This time she only came away with a bronze and silver medal and was overshadowed by the brilliance of Kenya鈥檚 Faith Kipyegon, who won gold in the 1,500 and 5,000-meters to cement her dominance in two events where she鈥檇 already run world records earlier in the season.

But while Hassan wasn鈥檛 the best distance runner at this year鈥檚 World Champs, she was, for my money at least, the most fun to watch. A notoriously quick closer, Hassan likes to go right to the back of the pack in the early stages of championship-style races and stealthily move up as things progress. Her famous finishing kick always looks strangely unpolished. Rather than the loping, graceful stride of someone like the 800-meter runner Athing Mu, there鈥檚 a frenzied quality to Hassan at max speed.

In one of the more dramatic finishes in Budapest, Hassan seemed well-positioned to win the on the first official night of competition. After lurking towards the back of the pack for the first 24 laps of the 25-lap race, Hassan swung all the way out into lane three on the back stretch of the bell lap and surged to the front. By the time she came around the last bend and into the final 100 meters of the race, only Ethiopia鈥檚 Gudaf Tsegay had managed to maintain contact. Tsegay seemed to be gaining on Hassan as the two women came down the home stretch, but Hassan was drifting out from lane one to make it difficult for Tsegay to pass. With steps to go it looked to be either woman鈥檚 race, when Hassan suddenly appeared to overstride and crashed to the track, a literal misstep that took her from a guaranteed podium finish to eleventh in a matter of seconds. In an uncanny coincidence, in the very next race鈥攖he mixed gender 4×400-meters鈥擧assan鈥檚 compatriot Femke Bol would also relinquish her lead by falling a few meters short of the finish line, proclaiming that there鈥檇 been a 鈥淒utch Disaster鈥� on the banks of the Danube. For her part, Hassan took it all with a grain of salt. Asked about her and Bol taking a spill at the same critical moment of their respective races, Hassan suggested that maybe it was 鈥淣ational Fall Down Day.鈥�

I have a weakness for any professional athlete who can respond to disappointment with humor. Granted, it鈥檚 easier to be nonchalant about losing out on a world title because you tripped on your spikes when you鈥檝e already had a glittering career. But Hassan鈥檚 levity stood in stark contrast to Jakob Ingebrigtsen鈥檚 to being outkicked by Josh Kerr in the 1,500-meters, an upset that the Norwegian superstar attributed to an untimely illness. Supreme confidence is part of Ingebrigtsen鈥檚 persona鈥攁nd it has admittedly worked pretty well for him so far鈥攜et sometimes you wonder whether he would be even better if he could just lighten up. Ingebrigtsen came back to win the 5,000-meters on the last day of competition in Budapest.聽 Watching an interview with him after the race, he sounded relieved rather than happy. When Letsrun鈥檚 Jonathan Gault asked him if he鈥檇 even celebrated winning the 5,000, Ingebrigtsen looked briefly puzzled . Another gold medal: Whoop-de-doo.

The exchange reminded me of an interview last year in which Ingebrigtsen confessed to feeling unmotivated after achieving his lifelong goal of winning Olympic gold in the 1,500-meters in 2021. Not that he was alone in experiencing a certain listlessness after competing at the Olympics. Even the ever-ebullient Hassan, whose performance in Tokyo was arguably the most impressive we鈥檝e ever seen from a long distance track athlete, says she felt similarly dispirited at the time. She spent most of 2022 just going through the motions; in an episode of the , her coach Tim Rowberry intimated that last year Hassan was racing purely to fulfill her contractual quota. It was only when she committed to becoming a marathoner that Hassan felt motivated again鈥攊nspired, as she explained it to me, to test the limits of a new kind of pain.

鈥淚n Tokyo, I got my dream, and afterwards I didn鈥檛 get any excitement from running,鈥� Hassan says. 鈥淚 needed to come to another chapter to enjoy running again. Once I get what I want, I want to move on and try other things.鈥�

The post What鈥檚 Sifan Hassan鈥檚 Secret? Restlessness. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For the past nine days, track and field was on display at its best鈥攕peed, power, endurance, agility, and some spicy smack-talking鈥攁t the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest.

The top stars of track and field鈥攂oth savvy veterans and newly emerging talents鈥攑ut together a stunning amalgamation of running, jumping, and throwing performances that gave the first real hints to the action we鈥檒l see at next summer鈥檚 Paris Olympics.

If you didn鈥檛 tune into the events, here鈥檚 a quick recap of the brightest moments to know about.

1. Sha鈥機arri Richardson Is a Soaring Super Star

After a few misfires to start her pro career, American sprinter Sha鈥機arri Richardson set the track on fire in Budapest as she launched herself to the center of the world鈥檚 stage. The 23-year-old Dallas athlete not only lived up to the hype, but she exceeded expectations by winning the 100-meter dash (10.65 seconds), earning the bronze in the 200 and turning in a clutch performance to anchor the winning U.S. 4×100-meter relay.

RELATED: Sha鈥機arri Richardson Wins 100-Meter Gold at the World Championships

While her performance in the 100 will get most of the attention鈥攁nd deservedly so after soundly beating top Jamaican stars Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce鈥攈er effort in the 200, with a career鈥揵est 21.92, showed her grit, dedication, and confidence. Plus, her strong relay leg helped the U.S. set a new championship record of 41.03. Although her 2021 suspension for cannabis that caused her to miss the Tokyo Olympics is behind her, it will be interesting to see if Richardson鈥檚 new image as a dream-come-true winner can cash in with endorsement deals.

2. Faith Kipyegon Is Definitely the G.O.A.T.

Prior to 2022, Faith Kipyegon, a 29-year-old runner from Kenya and mother of a five-year-old daughter, was probably already the greatest women鈥檚 middle-distance runner in history. With two Olympic gold medals and in the 1,500 meters and more bling (two gold, two silver) from the past four world championships, she has had few peers on the track.

This year, she cemented her status as the G.O.A.T. by not only setting new world records in the 1,500 meters (3:49.11), one mile (4:07.64), and 5,000 meters (14:05.20) earlier this summer, but she also became the first woman to win both events at a single world championships. On top of all of that, she outran Ethiopian-born Dutch runner Sifan Hassan, the Olympic 5000-meter and 10,000-meter champion, in both events. Kipyegon won鈥檛 be unbeatable forever, but she鈥檒l certainly be the favorite to win Olympic gold in the 1,500 and 5,000 next summer.

3. Noah Lyles Has Become the New Mega Star Sprinter

Noah Lyles entered the world championships as the best 200-meter runner in the world, having won back-to-back titles in the half-lap race. But the 200 doesn鈥檛 carry the same marquee value as the 100, so he lacked hype as one of the world鈥檚 top sprinters. Fellow American Fred Kerley, who had been talking a big game prior to the championships, was the favorite to win the 100-meters after earning the world championships in the event last sumner. However, when Kerley flamed out in the semifinals, it opened the door for the cool and calm Lyles to blaze the field in the 100 final in 9.87 seconds.

After that, Lyles won his specialty event in 19.52 seconds and ran the anchor leg on Team USA鈥檚 gold-medal winning 4×100-meter relay. That made him the first man to pull off that feat since Jamaican legend Usain Bolt did it in 2015. Lyles had an exceptional meet, but he鈥檚 not in the same category as Bolt yet. His times weren鈥檛 nearly as fast, plus Bolt won all three races at three championships, and also at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics.

But make no mistake, Lyles鈥攚ho won all four of his preliminary heats and three finals decisively鈥攊s the world鈥檚 top sprinter now, and heading into next year鈥檚 Olympics in Paris he鈥檒l be chasing the legacy (and times and major endorsement dollars) of the now-retired Bolt. 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e said a lot of times that I want to transcend the sport,鈥� said Lyles, who is currently the subject of two documentaries and arguably the most engaging character in track. 鈥淚 am the guy who wants to move past just being 鈥榯rack famous.鈥欌��

4. British Runner Josh Kerr Slayed a Norwegian Giant

Josh Kerr upset 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the gold medal in the 1,500-meter gold, marking the second straight year a British runner has taken down the world-leading Norwegian. The 25-year-old Kerr trailed his rival until the final 200 meters before cranking up a big finishing kick to win the race in 3:29.38 over the notably outspoken Ingebrigtsen (3:29.65), who qualified for the final after some showy finger-pointing and waves to the crowd in his semifinal race. It was similar to how Ingebrigtsen, 22, acted last year in his preliminary races, only to lose the final to British runner Jake Wightman in identical fashion. Will Ingebrigtsen learn his lesson before the Paris Olympics? (Just like he did last year, he came back strong and dispatched the field of the 5,000 meters to win that event in 13:11.30.)

Kerr, who trains with the Brooks Beast Track Club in Seattle and is coached by American Danny Mackey, earned the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but finished a disappointing fifth at last year鈥檚 world championships. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time coming,鈥� said Kerr, who won Olympic bronze behind the victorious Norwegian in Tokyo in 2021. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite an overwhelming experience. But I just threw my whole 16 years of this sport into that last 200 and didn鈥檛 let up until the end. I’d be proud of giving everything I had in that situation if that was [for] gold, silver or bronze. But I’ve had the bronze鈥攁nd the gold is a lot sweeter.

5. Dutch Sprinter Femke Bol Gracefully Earned Redemption

In the absence of 400-meter hurdles world record holder and defending champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Dutch athlete Femko Bol asserted herself as the new star of the event. But first she had to recover from the frustration and physical pain of falling flat on her face in the mixed 4×400-meter relay. Matching American Alexis Holmes stride-for-stride during the fourth and final leg of the relay, the 23-year-old Bol tripped and fell just a few just meters from the line, dropping the baton and disqualifying her team in the process. Five days later, Bol earned her redemption by flawlessly winning the 400-meter hurdles in 51.70 seconds, the second fastest time in history.

“Everyone thought, of course on paper she’s by far the winner, she’s gonna win it,” Bol said. “But I think the mixed relay showed that it’s not always like this, because I think a lot of people thought that when I got the [baton] we would have gold easily and we didn’t get it. So I knew I needed to be strong, I needed to execute my race.” In one of the last events of the meet, Bol anchored the Dutch women鈥檚 4×400-meter relay team to a gold-medal finish in national record and world-leading time of 3:20.72.

6. Grant Holloway and Karsten Warholm Are Hurdling Legends

American Grant Holloway and Norway鈥檚 Karsten Warholm are as dominant at jumping over hurdles as the legends of each of their disciplines. Holloway, 25, won his third straight 110-meter high hurdles world championship title with a dominating effort that led him to a season鈥檚 best 12.96 seconds. Warholm, 27, also won his third straight world title in commanding fashion, winning in 46.89.

He also won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which means he鈥檚 tied with the great Edwin Moses of the U.S. and Felix Sancez of the Dominican Republic (who each won two Olympic gold, two world championships) with four global titles. Meanwhile, Holloway matched the late Greg Foster, a three-time world champion for the U.S. between 1983-1991, but still trails American Allen Johnson, who won four world titles (1995-2003) and one Olympic title (1996) during his career.

7. Laulauga Tausaga Became The First U.S. Woman to Win the Discus Throw

American discus thrower Laulauga Tausaga was born in Hawaii with Samoan roots, but grew up in San Diego and went to college in Iowa (because, she said, it was 鈥渢ime for me to get, you know, locked in in a snowstorm鈥�) and now trains in El Cajon, California. Tausaga became the first American woman to win a world championship gold medal in discus, with a career-best throw of 69.49 meters in the fifth of six rounds. That throw, which surpassed her old mark by a whopping 4.03 meters (or roughly 13 feet), vaulted her past teammate and world-leader Valarie Allman, the Tokyo Olympic champion, for the gold medal.

鈥淚 just screamed,鈥� said Tausaga, who was only ranked ninth in the world entering the competition. 鈥淚 was like, I don鈥檛 know how to contain this emotion.鈥� Tausaga said she was pained to see the devastation that happened to Maui during the recent wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina that killed more than 100 people and left hundreds still missing. 鈥淚鈥檓 constantly praying for them,鈥� she said. 鈥淧acific Islanders stick together.鈥�

8. There Were Two Champions in the Women鈥檚 Pole Vault

While running races on the track cannot end in a tie because digital timing mechanisms and high-speed cameras can separate finish line times down to the thousandth of a second. But it鈥檚 different in field events like high jump or pole vault, in which athletes are judged on specific heights attained during a competition.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) famously tied for the men鈥檚 high jump title by agreeing to stop jumping at 2.37 meters. That feel鈥揼ood moment created a precedent that allowed American Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy to share this year鈥檚 pole vaulting gold after both cleared 4.90 meters.

鈥淚 kind of looked at her and said, 鈥楬ey girl, you maybe want to share this?鈥� Kennedy recounted. Moon, the Tokyo Olympic champion and last year鈥檚 world champion, certainly did. They both agreed to stop jumping and share the win. 鈥淚t鈥檚 funny because, until the Olympics, I never realized you could split a gold medal,鈥� said Moon, 32, who is from Ohio but trains in Oregon.

There was only one winner in the men鈥檚 pole vault, as Armand Duplantis was once again untouchable. The 23-year-old American-born Swedish competitor, who has been pole vaulting competitively since he was six, won his third-straight global title (the Tokyo Olympics and the past two world championships) with a winning vault of 6.10 meters. Like it did at last year鈥檚 world championships in Eugene, the end of the competition turned into 鈥渢he Mondo Show鈥� as made three three attempts to clear 6.23, which would have broken the world record he set earlier this year. He narrowly missed clearing that height, but chances are he鈥檒l raise the bar again before he gets to Paris next summer.

9. American Shot-Putters Were Best-in-Class

Despite being diagnosed with blood clots in his legs prior to the competition, Ryan Crouser still continued his reign as the world鈥檚 best shot-putter. The defending world champion, two-time defending Olympic champion, and world record-holder retained his title with a massive 23.51-meter throw on his final attempt, falling just five centimeters shy of his own world record.聽 The 29-year-old Crouser, who reworked his throwing technique this year, had earlier already extended his own championship best from last year on his second throw (22.98), and was guaranteed the gold medal before his final attempt.

Meanwhile, U.S. compatriot Chase Ealey successfully defended her women’s shot put title, winning her second successive gold medal. The 30-year-old Ealey, like Crouser, was competing with a new technique, produced her season-best throw in her fifth attempt to win the gold with a chuck of 20.43 meters (just a shade over 67 feet) to edge Canada’s Sarah Mitton, who took the silver with 20.08.

10. Ben Pattison Earned a Medal Three Years After Having Heart Surgery

Not all the best stories were based on athletes who came home with gold medals. British middle-distance runner Ben Pattison turned in the best performance of his young career by racing his way to a bronze medal in the finals of the 800-meter run. After the race, the 21-year-old athlete told reporters he overcame a rare heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, in which an extra signaling pathway between the heart’s upper and lower chambers can cause an exceptionally fast heartbeat.

While he was training in early 2020, he regularly experienced his heart skyrocketing to 250 beats-per-minute and, when diagnosed, doctors told him he had to stop running. During the COVID lockdown, he underwent a surgery in which doctors had to burn off a bit of his heart. 鈥淚t was a bit scary at the time,鈥� he said after the race. 鈥淚t was during COVID, so I didn鈥檛 miss out on racing, but I was awake for the whole thing. It was a bit surreal. I was watching it.鈥�

The post Top 10 Moments of the Track and Field World Championships in Budapest appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

There鈥檚 just three action-packed days of track and field remaining in Budapest, Hungary for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Whether you鈥檝e spent the past six days glued to your streaming service or you鈥檙e just catching up, here鈥檚 a refresher on the top highlights so far, and what we鈥檙e looking forward to most this weekend.

1. Sha鈥機arri Richardson Steals the Show

Sha鈥機arri Richardson proved that she is here to stay by winning the 100-meter final with a new championship record of 10.65. To do it, she had to take down her Jamaican rivals Shericka Jackson, the fastest woman in the world this year, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning world champion and 15-time world medalist.

After a poor showing in her semifinal, Richardson failed to achieve one of the auto-qualifiers and was placed in lane nine for the final. None of that mattered on race day, though, as the 23-year-old showcased the best acceleration over the final 30 meters of any runner in the field to claim gold from the outside lane. Jackson took silver in 10.72, while Fraser-Pryce ran a season鈥檚 best of 10.77 for bronze.

The victory marks Richardson鈥檚 first appearance at a global championship. She won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, but was unable to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo after testing positive for marijuana, a banned substance. In 2023, Richardson said, she鈥檚 鈥渘ot back, [she鈥檚] better.鈥�

Can magic strike twice, and can she earn another medal in the 200 meters? She鈥檒l again face Jackson, the second-fastest woman in world history, as well as American Gabby Thomas, the bronze medalist in Tokyo and the fastest woman in the world this year.

The women鈥檚 200-meter final is on August 25. On Saturday, August 26, Richardson and Thomas will team up to compete against Jackson and Fraser-Pryce in the 4×100-meter relay.

2. Can Noah Lyles Make History in the 200 Meters?

The flamboyant American Noah Lyles has made clear his ultimate goal of breaking Usain Bolt鈥檚 world record of 19.19 in the 200 meters for nearly a year now, ever since breaking the American record, en route to his second world title last summer in Eugene. But to get there, coach Lance Brauman reveals in NBC docuseries 鈥淯ntitled: The Noah Lyles Project,鈥� the 200-meter specialist would need to improve his speed by focusing on the 100m.

Despite never making a U.S. team in the 100 meters before, Lyles muscled his way onto the podium at the USATF Track and Field Championships a week after getting COVID, and executed his race plan perfectly in Budapest to claim gold with a world-leading time of 9.83. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana set a national record of 9.88 to earn silver and become the first African to podium at a world championship, while Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain took home his first bronze medal.

鈥淭hey said I wasn鈥檛 the one,鈥� he said immediately after the race, in what is sure to be one of this world championship鈥檚 most memorable moments. 鈥淏ut I thank God that I am.鈥�

Now his attention turns to a third world title in the 200 meter鈥攁nd a potential world record. Only Bolt has won three straight world titles over 200 meters, and the Jamaican world record holder is also the last man to win the 100-meter/200-meter double back in 2015.

In a bizarre turn of events on Thursday, a golf cart transporting athletes including Lyles to the track for the 200-meter semi-finals collided with another cart. Several athletes had to be seen by a doctor before the race, and Jamaica鈥檚 Andrew Hudson was automatically advanced to the final after competing with shards of glass in his eye. Lyles was reportedly fine.

Tebogo and Hughes will be back for the 200-meter final, as well as Kenneth Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, who completed the USA sweep with Lyles last year, and Tokyo Olympic champion Andre de Grasse of Canada.

The 200-meter finals are on Friday, and the 4 x 100-meter final is on Saturday.

3. Josh Kerr Upsets Olympic Champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1,500 Meters. Can the Norwegian Redeem Himself in the 5K?

For the second year in a row, the best middle-distance runner in the world was outkicked in the world championship 1,500-meter final by a British athlete. This time, it was Josh Kerr who delivered the kick that broke Jakob Ingebrigtsen, winning his first world title in 3:29.38.

For the fiercely competitive Ingebrigtsen, the second-fastest man in world history in the event, silver is hardly any consolation for losing. Yet he nearly lost that as well 鈥斅爃is Norwegian countryman Narve Gilje Nord氓s (who is coached by Jakob鈥檚 father Gjert) nearly beat him to the line, with Ingebrigtsen finishing slightly ahead, 3:29.65 to 3:29.68.

RELATED: Josh Kerr Shocks Jakob Ingebrigtsen for the 1,500-Meter World Title

Kerr, the Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo, seemed to employ a similar tactic as last year鈥檚 upset winner Jake Weightman, who similarly sat and kicked with about 180 meters to go. Kerr and Weightman actually trained together as youth rivals at Scotland鈥檚 Edinburgh Athletic Club. Kerr now trains in the United States with the Brooks Beasts.

Ingebrigtsen revealed after the race that he had a slight fever and some throat dryness. He competed in the preliminary round of the 5,000 meters on Thursday, advancing to the final with the third-fastest time of the day. He is the reigning world champion and will race the final on Sunday.

While the path to victory looks difficult, at least one heavy hitter has removed himself from conversation 鈥� world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who already won the 10K this week, pulled out of the 5K with a foot injury.

4. Dutch Athletes Femke Bol and Sifan Hassan Run to Redemption

On the very first day of competition in Budapest, the Netherlands track and field federation suffered not one but two devastating falls while running within reach of gold.

Femke Bol was leading the anchor leg of the mixed 4×400-meter relay when she fell just meters from the finish line, leaving the Dutch team disqualified while Team USA captured the gold medal.

On the same night, countrywoman Sifan Hassan stumbled to the ground in the final meters of the 10,000 meters, going from first to 11th, while the Ethiopian trio of Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey and Ejgayehu Taye swept the podium positions.

Hassan was the first to get redemption, earning a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters in 3:56.00 behind only world record holder Faith Kipyegon of Kenya (3:54.87) and Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia (3:55.69). , calling it 鈥渘ot a big deal,鈥� and the next morning won her 5,000-meter prelim in a blistering 14:32.29 over Kipyegon, who also owns the world record over 5K (14:05.20). The two will face off in the final on Saturday.

On Thursday, 23-year-old Bol got her redemption run. With the absence of world record holder Sydney McLaughlin in her signature event of the 400-meter hurdles, the gold was Bol鈥檚 for the taking and she left no mercy on the field. She stormed to her first World Championships gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles with a dominant effort of 51.70, with the United States鈥� Shamier Little nearly a full second behind in 52.80. Jamaica鈥檚 Rushell Clayton took bronze in 52.81.

Bol will return to the track for the women鈥檚 4 x 400-meter relay final on Sunday. The Dutch was also disqualified in this event last year at Worlds and will seek to record a result at all expense.

The post 4 Stunning Moments So Far at the World Track and Field Championships appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

After cruising through the semifinal of the 200 meters on August 24 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, American Noah Lyles will aim for gold in the final on Friday at 9:50 P.M. local time (3:50 P.M. ET) alongside teen sprint phenom Erriyon Knighton of the U.S. Lyles ran 19.76, the top time in the field of 27 competitors that competed across three heats.

Lyles and 19-year-old Knighton, the youngest-ever individual sprint medalist in world championships history, will be joined by 100-meter bronze medalist Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain as well as Kenny Bednarek of the U.S., silver medalist in 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Canadian Andre De Grasse, the Olympic champion in the event.

Just 0.12 seconds separate Lyles from tying the world record in his signature event, the 200 meters. He is currently the behind Jamaicans Yohan Blake and eight-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Usain Bolt, who retired in 2017.

A World Record in His Sights

As Lyles prepares for the 200-meter final on August 25, the 鈥渋t guy鈥� is bent on one big quest: to break a record that has stood for 14 years.

Bolt set the mark of 19.19 seconds during the 2009 world championships in Berlin, running at a top speed of more than 23 miles per hour, and improving his previous world record by more than a 10th of a second.

Lyles was just 12 years old at the time and had just started track, initially as a high jumper before he pursued sprinting at age 15. Lyles and his younger brother Josephus bypassed college athletics and turned pro after graduating from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2016, and signed an eight-year contract with Adidas.

RELATED: We Are in a Golden Age of Sprinting

He moved to Clermont, Florida, to be trained by top sprints coach Lance Brauman. That year, Lyles would go on to place fourth in the final of the 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, breaking a 31-year-old national high school record in the process.

One year later, Lyles won his first senior national title, and in 2019, he earned his first of four world titles (including two in 200 meters, one in 4 x 100). Following his bronze medal performance in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the next season he clocked 19.31 at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, a number he had worked for in the build up to that race. He took down sprint legend Michael Johnson鈥檚 25-year American record, which Johnson famously set in 19.32 seconds while wearing golden shoes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Lyles鈥檚 achievement at last year鈥檚 world championships bumped him above Johnson to number three of all-time in the 200 meters.

鈥淚鈥檝e Always Known That I鈥檓 the Fastest Man in the World鈥�

Lyles, 26, is the defending world champion in 200 meters, and is focusing on collecting his third gold in the event as he also aims to revise Bolt鈥檚 world record to 19.10 seconds.

Nine days before the start of the world championships, Lyles had openly declared on social media the times he would run for both the 100 and 200 meters: 9.65 and 19.10, respectively. 鈥淭hey say if they don鈥檛 know your dreams then they can鈥檛 shoot them down. But I have always been more of a guy who loves to hear the screams from the [haters], got a nice ring to it,鈥� Lyles wrote in a captioned photo on his Instagram.

鈥淚鈥檝e always known that I鈥檓 the fastest man in the world,鈥� he said after posting his fastest 100-meter in 9.83 seconds on August 20, at the National Athletics Center, and earned his first world title in the event. 鈥淚n my head, I think I鈥檓 going to break it, but everybody else has their own opinions,鈥� Lyles said.

Taking down Bolt鈥檚 200-meter world record is the subject of an exclusive docuseries, 鈥�,鈥� which premiered on Peacock the day before the start of the world championships. His mother Keisha Caine said in an interview for the docuseries what she wants for her son is 鈥渢o go out there and have fun. And I know when Noah is having fun, he runs really well.鈥�

In a short matter of time, Lyles will let his speed determine what that is.

The post Noah Lyles Is Coming for Usain Bolt鈥檚 World Record听听 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For the second year in a row, Norwegian wunderkind Jakob Ingebrigtsen was upset in the World Athletics Championships 1,500-meter final by a Scot鈥攖his time, it was 25-year-old Josh Kerr, who pulled even with the world鈥檚 best middle-distance runner with 200 meters to go and then beat him to the finish in 3:29.38 to win gold.

The strain was obvious on Kerr鈥檚 face in the final 100 meters, but he continued to drive to the finish while Ingebrigtsen ran out of steam and was nearly passed at the line by countryman Narve Gilje Nordas. Just 0.03 separated the two Norwegians, as Ingebrigtsen took home silver for the second year in a row in 3:29.65 while Nordas, who trains under Jakob鈥檚 father Gjert, ran 3:29.68 for bronze in his first world championships final.

鈥淚 didn’t worry about what was going on earlier in the race, I just made sure I was there with 200 meters to go,鈥� . 鈥淭hen in the last 30 meters, I thought, ‘I want this so badly, I don’t care how much pain I’m in. I’m going to do everything to get to the finish line first’.鈥�

Kerr, who trains with the Brooks Beasts in Seattle, Washington, had to settle for fifth in last year鈥檚 world final after earning Olympic bronze in Tokyo. Now, he is the third British runner in history to win the world title.

Steve Cram won the inaugural 1983 world championships, and it was Kerr鈥檚 fellow Scot Jake Weightman who pulled the upset last summer in Eugene, employing similar tactics over the final 180 meters. Kerr and Weightman actually trained together as youth rivals at Edinburgh Athletic Club, and now both men will be favorites for the podium at the 2024 Paris Games.

For the second straight year, someone in this picture ran down Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the 1500m world title

鈥� Jonathan Gault (@jgault13)

Ingebrigtsen, who is the second-fastest man in the history of the 1,500 meter, will return to the track in Budapest to compete in the 5,000 meters, wherein he is the defending world champion. But the reigning Olympic champion in 1,500 meters hedged on his chances to reporters after the race, saying that he felt ill with a dry throat in the days before the race.

RELATED: WTF Is the World Athletics Championships and Why Should I Care?听听

鈥淚t got worse on the last two days and then a little bit better when I woke up this morning, he said. 鈥淣ot feeling 100 percent feels very unlucky. I will definitely run the 5,000 meters, but I do not know how it will go.鈥�

The preliminary heats of the men鈥檚 5,000 meters are on Thursday evening local time, and the final is on Sunday, the final day of competition.

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Yohanes Chiappinelli, 26, sits on a wooden bench alongside five other international runners inside a small church in the countryside. Soft orange light gleams outside the entrance on this Tuesday evening in Tuscany. The Ethiopian-born Italian marathoner, currently the fourth-fastest in the country, is dressed in blue jeans, a grey hoodie and running shoes. He quietly waits during the golden hour as a priest lights candles at an altar. These athletes are here for a benediction 11 days before the start of the World Athletics Championships.

Italian coach Giuseppe Giambrone likes his runners to be blessed before important competitions. He is a man so religious that he crosses himself to acknowledge God鈥檚 presence multiple times a day, especially when he drives by a church. Once, Giambrone brought a few of his athletes to Rome, where they met Pope Francis during a private service.

Three dozen people file inside for the ceremony. Giambrone鈥檚 hand shakes as he holds a piece of paper scribbled with blue ink and begins to read out loud. 鈥淎i ragazzi che parteciperanno ai mondiali di atletica leggera a Budapest鈥︹�� (To the boys who will participate in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest) I am very proud of you. I would like to offer a prayer in the hope that they can have a great race and be victorious.鈥� Tears stream down his cheeks as everyone claps.

RELATED: WTF Is the World Athletics Championships and Why Should I Care?听听

The athletes he is referring to鈥擴gandan Oscar Chelimo, Burundians Egide Ntakarutimana, Francine Niyomukunzi, Onesphore Nzikwinkunda, Olivier Irabaruta, Amin Mohamed Jhinaoui of Tunisia, and Chiappinelli鈥攁re top professional distance runners who live full-time in the heart of Tuscany. For the past several months, they鈥檝e been preparing to compete in various events, ranging from the 3,000-meter steeplechase to the marathon, at the 19th edition of the World Athletics Championships, which are currently underway as of August 19 and conclude on Sunday, August 27.

The environment they live in is full of lush rolling hills and unpaved white roads made of crushed limestone (referred to as strade bianche) that weave around sunflower fields, Sangiovese vineyards, meadows, and medieval churches.

Come run, and you鈥檒l encounter a dozen routes exceeding the distance of a half marathon, a fluctuation of flat paths and steep inclines, sometimes smooth or else rocky. The terrain is 鈥済ood for proprioception,鈥� Giambrone says. In other words, it鈥檚 a sensory experience that promotes body awareness. For speed work, athletes train on a dirt track nearby or on a synthetic version in Siena, a 20-minute drive away.

In the countryside, there鈥檚 little else to do besides eat, sleep, and run鈥攖ypical of elite training camps. But unlike other elite camps, which are often located at an altitude exceeding 5,000 feet and focus more so on perfecting biomechanics and improving individual race performance, Tuscany Camp is a marriage of expert coaching in an environment that promotes camaraderie as much as it does training and recovery.

Though the elevation in San Rocco hardly tips 800 feet, one reason Giambrone founded Tuscany Camp in this region is due to its environmental conditions. Summer temperatures are often upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in San Rocco, cruel though advantageous on the body. Research suggests that heat training can offer benefits of running at high altitude.

An Incubator for Elite Performance

At any given time, Tuscany Camp hosts elite athletes from all over the world. In years past, that has included South African Olympic champion sprinter Caster Semenya, the Chinese Olympic Team, and high-level runners from Japan. Earlier this year, several runners from the 鈥攃omprising athletes that have fled conflict, violence, and injustice in their home countries鈥攗sed Tuscany Camp as a training base for two months in preparation for competitions.

Currently, there are 21 professional runners from Italy, Tunisia, Uganda, and Burundi that live on-site the majority of the year and are sponsored by On, an athletic shoe and performance sportswear company headquartered in Zurich. The On-sponsored elites live, train, and eat alongside other high-level runners that visit the camp.

The athletes live in a 18th-century restored classical Tuscan villa that was originally built for the Borghesi Bichi, a noble family with close ties to the Vatican. Later, it was home to Alessandro Sanminiatelli Zabarella before he was appointed as Cardinal in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII.

A Dream Realized

Laura Neri, a descendant of the Borghesi Bichi family, now owns the 20-bedroom property, which also includes two apartments. She had been following Tuscany Camp on social media when Giambrone reached out. For years, he bounced around the village training a few Ugandan athletes that lived in a small hotel room with twin-sized beds.

Giambrone paid out of pocket for eight years to keep the camp afloat. Meanwhile, he sought support from major athletic brands, but none were interested. Later, when he wanted to bring in more athletes to coach, his real estate search for a larger space led to dead-ends. Property owners didn鈥檛 want to rent a house for African athletes, Giambrone says, until Neri鈥檚 offer. She agreed to lease at a moderate monthly rate.

At the time, the property was mostly empty, and a couple of rooms were overgrown with plants and infested with mice. Giambrone hand renovated some areas during the pandemic. In January 2022, On became the main sponsor. 鈥淣o big company believed in me until partnering with On,鈥� Giambrone says.

A training camp had been Giambrone鈥檚 dream since he was a teen growing up in Sicily. Giambrone鈥檚 first brush with coaching began when he was asked at age 12 to help mentor a youth running team at his church. A mid-distance athlete during his childhood, Giambrone stopped competing due to health problems. Instead of leaving the sport completely, he studied it closely, eventually earning a technical coaching license, certified by the Italian Athletics Federation. Years later, in January 2014, he traveled to Uganda in search of developing talent, and, in collaboration with the Uganda Athletics Federation, he began his training camp in Tuscany and recruited promising runners.

Giambrone would go on to mentor 50 runners into elites (including eight Olympians) that have collectively amassed 22 international medals and set seven national records for their home countries. He also coached Olympic bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda to a world record (Kiplimo ran at the 2021 Lisbon Half Marathon). Kiplimo鈥檚 younger brother Oscar, a 5,000-meter bronze medalist at last year鈥檚 world championships, is a resident at Tuscany Camp. He will again compete in 5,000 meters at the world championships, the first round of which is scheduled on August 24, day six of competition.

Without the financial means to build a new facility, renting the villa as the training base was a miracle, Giambrone says. The athletes certainly don鈥檛 complain about their ancient abode, the interior of which features marble accents, parquet wood floors and hand-painted ceilings.

The property is equipped to support a runner鈥檚 every need: an indoor and outdoor pool; a cold-water immersion tub; a sauna, and a massage room with a Tecar therapy machine and cryoultrasound. There are also two gyms, one of which is housed in a former wine cellar..

Preparing for the World Stage

Ten days out from the start of the World Athletics Championships, the kitchen bustles at 7:15 AM with a half-dozen runners making shots of espresso. The nutty aroma of freshly ground coffee beans perfumes the room as demitasse cups fill under a De鈥橪onghi machine.

Chiappinelli drizzles olive oil on a small piece of bread layered with peanut butter. He adds a few drops of liquid vitamin D and eats it. Chiappinelli is being cautious of his nutrition as he heads into his second marathon on August 27, the final day of competition at the world championships.

The race will be his third appearance at the most prestigious athletics competition outside of the Olympic Games (he competed in 2017 and 2019 in the steeplechase on both occasions). Chiappinelli debuted in the marathon in February in Seville, clocking 2:09:46. He is aiming for a top-10 finish in Budapest.

Within the hour, Giambrone parks a nine-passenger Ford Transit into a wheat field. He steps onto a cornerless, flat road adjacent to wildflowers and blackberry bushes, and waits for five runners in the men鈥檚 distance group. The speed session calls for 15 x 1,000 meters. Any shade on the road is gone, and there is no breeze to puncture the humid, 80-degree air by the time the group arrives at 9:11 A.M.

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Chiappinelli finishes a three-mile warmup alongside Emanuel Ghergut, 27, a top-ranked middle-distance runner and regional champion in the 5,000-meter, from Florence, who has joined the camp for two weeks. He will attempt to keep up alongside Chiappinelli as well as three-time Olympian Olivier Irabaruta and Onesphore Nzikwinkunda. The latter two will represent Burundi in the marathon in Budapest.

When they arrive, Giambrone briefs the workout before the men line up single file on the side of the road. Giambrone clicks a stopwatch, and the athletes catapult into sprinting as he scrambles back into the van and punches the gas pedal with his foot. Their speed looks as though they are competing with each other, but really they are working together. Each runner will take turns at the front. Though these men represent three countries, all are here to help each other level up.

One hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping a stopwatch, Giambrone shouts, 鈥淎le! Ale!鈥� Come on! Their pace is the equivalent of a sub-4:40 minute mile, and they will maintain it throughout the workout. Ghergut drops behind by a few seconds just three reps into the session. Sweat glitters on his forehead. His clothes cling to his body like a second skin. He will continue in the back for the remaining reps鈥攁nd not on purpose. By rep seven, he can barely catch his breath as he chugs from a water bottle.

鈥淚鈥檓 only human,鈥� he says. The gap between Ghergut and the others will expand to nine seconds. Watching in person looks as though they are performing two different workouts.

鈥淭he boys are crazy horses,鈥� Ghergut says. Despite the challenge of keeping up with elites during each training session, he appreciates learning from their ways, especially how they take care of themselves. 鈥淭hey never underestimate recovery.鈥�

Though Ghergut is a member of an amateur team, Toscana Atletica Jolly, he trains mostly alone in Florence because, as he explains, there aren鈥檛 many others of his caliber in the city. 鈥淭eamwork always pays off,鈥� Ghergut says. 鈥淚鈥檝e come to the right place.鈥�

Synergy is what Giambrone aims to cultivate as runners like Ghergut pass through the training camp. That, in fact, is a core philosophy at Tuscany Camp. Everyone is focused on winning, but the idea is to be united while working toward individual goals.

Ghergut finishes his workout after 10 reps. 鈥淚鈥檓 definitely dead,鈥� he says, gasping for air as he waits for the others, who continue with five more reps. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 so happy.鈥�

Chiappinelli is finally done with the morning workout after running 1,000 meters 15 times. The athletes bump fists as Giambrone shouts from afar, 鈥淢ilk! Drink the milk!鈥� Chiappinelli packed a recovery beverage: 12-ounces of skim milk with two teaspoons of white sugar and a pinch of salt. The elites usually drink the mixture from a sports bottle within three minutes of a tough workout like today, as part of their recovery routine.

He grabs the bottle as the guys pile into the van, their workout clothes dripping. The athletes will shower quickly and put on their swim trunks. A recovery bath is in order in Monticiano, 14 miles away.

At least twice a month, athletes at Tuscany Camp retreat to the Petriolo thermal baths and lay in mineral-rich pools. Part of the water is cold enough to raise goosebumps while another area makes your skin feel like it鈥檚 cooking in 109-degree soup. It鈥檚 a natural version of contrast therapy, a technique used to improve blood circulation in the body鈥攁nd they鈥檒l need this recovery ahead of a second training session in the afternoon.

Later, they will share conversation over plates of herb baked chicken and pesto fusilli. When their stomachs are full and they turn down for the evening, they鈥檒l sign off the night 鈥�buona notte鈥� to each other before they wake up and do it all over again.

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鈥�Most people know me as Mo Farah, but that鈥檚 not my name or my reality.鈥�

Prior to 2022, if you鈥檇 asked any British citizen who Mo Farah is, they likely would have listed off the facts they know about one of the most accomplished athletes in Britain: He made a name for himself as a kid who arrived in the U.K. as a Somalian refugee, worked hard in track and field, and eventually won gold in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in the 2012 London Olympics. He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth, making him Sir Mo Farah.

Except Farah kept a secret for years.

In 2022, Farah revealed that he鈥檇 been lying about who he really was. All the stories he鈥檇 told during press junkets and interviews鈥攖hat he arrived in the U.K. with his family as an asylum seeker鈥攚ere lies. Even his name was a lie. Mo Farah was really Hussein Abdi Kahin.

RELATED: Mo Farah Opens Up About His Tortured Past

鈥楾he Real Mo Farah鈥� Documentary

The BBC produced a documentary about Farah鈥檚 story, now available for the U.S. audience on 国产吃瓜黑料 watch.

In , we hear the real tragic story of how at nine years old, Farah鈥攖hen called Hussein鈥攚as taken from his mother during the Somali Civil War and illegally trafficked into being a domestic servant. He took on the identity of a young boy he’d met from Somalia, whose name was Mo Farah, and made it his own.

Although Farah was moved into a safer home environment after a few years, he continued to live as 鈥淢o.鈥� At thirteen-years-old, he placed ninth in the English schools cross-country championships and the following year won the whole thing. After years of securing championships and records in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, Farah was selected to run for Team Britain in the World Athletics Championships at the age of 14.

And, as most people know, at the London 2012 Olympics, Farah solidified his legendary status by winning two gold medals in the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters.

The Real Mo Farah depicts the weight Farah felt living under false pretenses through all of this success, and the guilt he constantly battled over taking the real Mo Farah鈥檚 name.

In the film, Farah asks , a Rights Lab鈥檚 Health and Wellbeing Programme Trafficking Expert, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the long term effect of this? Do you ever get over it? Or will it always just鈥e there?鈥�

鈥淚 think the very fact that you鈥檙e starting to think about these things 20 to 30 years after they鈥檝e happened shows that it鈥檚 a long and complicated journey,鈥� Garbers responds. 鈥淎nd sometimes with potential victims, they feel guilty as well, because they feel like they were part of it.鈥�

In the documentary, Farah is asked if he is worried about what people will say in regards to his past.

鈥淧eople who love me, who care, like my mom and Kinzi, told me it鈥檚 OK to say my real name,鈥� Farah says. 鈥淚鈥檓 starting to understand me. Me. not Mohamed Farah. Me. Hussein Abdi Kahin.鈥�

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