American marathoner Keira D鈥橝mato continues to break the mold of what鈥檚 possible after choosing to start a family and career in her early 20s, instead of pursuing competitive running right away.

After an eight-year hiatus from racing, D鈥橝mato, 38, returned to training several years ago and has become the world-class, Nike-sponsored marathon runner she always dreamed she would be. She had been an All-American cross-country and track runner at American University, where she earned degrees in mathematics and computer science in 2006. After college, she joined the DC Elite training group coached by Scott Raczko, but was sidelined by a foot injury and retired from competitive running.

Fast forward to last year, and she not only set an American record at the Houston Marathon in 2022 (2:19.12, later broken by Emily Sisson), but she went on to place eighth at the world championships (2:23.34) in Eugene, Oregon, and then sixth at the Berlin Marathon (2:21.48) and 15th in the New York City Marathon (2:31.31). She鈥檚 continued her strong running this year, and is one of the top entrants in the marathon at 2023 World Athletics Championships, which will run through the streets of Budapest on August 26.

Here are 10 things you should know about one of the best distance runners in U.S. history.

1. She鈥檚 a Mother of a Young Son and Daughter

After retiring from competitive running because of a foot injury, Keira and her husband, Anthony,, started a family鈥攖hey have an eight-year-old son named Thomas and a six-year-old daughter named Quin鈥攁nd she eventually began a career as a real estate agent. Even after she finally had foot surgery in 2009, she said she had no interest in mounting a comeback.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I was told, but I just knew that you were first supposed to have your career鈥攅ven if it鈥檚 a professional athletic career鈥攁nd then you can do something else and start a family. But I didn’t do it that way. I did a family first, and then I got into my career,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it’s just opened people’s eyes that there’s not one right way. There’s a lot of different ways to do things. Now we’ve seen women almost have permission to be able to train later and to train through, and after, pregnancy, and we’re seeing the women’s times and amount of women participating听 skyrocket. It’s really been awesome to watch and connect with other women that wanted to have kids and thought their athletic dreams were over. They’re not. It’s really cool to see people realize that and take it and go for it. And it’s just, I mean, I get teary-eyed just just thinking about the whole, the whole thing. It鈥檚 just an awesome time to be a woman.鈥�

2. She鈥檚 Proud to be an Elite Athlete Who鈥檚 a Mom

Last fall, when D鈥橝mato placed 15th at the New York City Marathon, she was proud to be one of nine women among the top 20 finishers to be a mom. It was about that time, D鈥橝mato said, that her daughter, Quin, then 5, asked her what she could become when she grew up.

鈥淚 told her that the great thing about life is you get to pick. You can be whatever you want, pick a goal, work your butt off, and you can do what you want to do,鈥� D鈥橝mato said. 鈥淎nd she says, 鈥榃ell I think I wanna be a mom.鈥� And I’m like, that’s great, you can be a mom! Then she says, 鈥業 want to be a doctor.鈥� And I said, guess what? You can be both! You can be a doctor and a mom. And she said, 鈥極K, that’s awesome.鈥欌��

RELATED: Don鈥檛 Miss These 10 Events at the Track and Field World Championships

While D鈥橝mato admits she gets twinges of 鈥渕ommy guilt鈥� when she鈥檚 temporarily consumed by training or racing, she also knows she鈥檚 providing a strong example to her kids.

鈥淚 feel like we really are seeing a cultural shift, especially with women in sport, and I鈥檓 proud to be a part of that shift,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 really important to switch that mentality and just allow women, especially parents, to have goals outside of their family and support them as they鈥檙e going for it. I feel lucky that I’ve been able to inspire other people, but it takes a village, and I have a very supportive family, so I feel very lucky. I pinch myself all the time.鈥�

3. She Just Set a New American Record in the Half Marathon

Despite a horrific travel experience鈥攚hich included missed flights, canceled flights, and airports full of exasperated travelers鈥擠鈥橝mato made it to the July 1 Gold Coast Half Marathon in Queensland, Australia, and broke Emily Sisson鈥檚 American record by 13 seconds (1:06:39).

鈥淥h my gosh. It was wild. I’ve really never experienced anything that bad,鈥� D鈥橝mato said of the travel experience. 鈥淏ut it was a really good lesson learned that, even though that didn’t go perfect at all, I found a way to stay off my feet and just stay positive and not let it get to me.

鈥淚 think being a mother kind of hardens you a little bit and just changes your perspective on life a whole lot, so I think I’ve reached these new heights because of the perspective that I had when I wasn’t running. Yeah, it’s been a wild ride, but I love every minute of it.鈥�

4. Last Year, She Was a Replacement Runner at the World Championships

Last year, after setting an American record in the marathon, D’Amato was between training blocks in late June when USA Track and Field called her to see if she would take the place of another injured American runner and compete in the world championships marathon in Eugene, Oregon. She accepted the invitation and finished eighth in the race and, along with Sara Hall (fifth) and Emma Bates (seventh), helped the U.S. to the best overall team finish.

鈥淚t’s really hard for me to put into words because wearing a Team USA jersey has been听 a huge dream for my whole life,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I left the sport and started a family, I felt like I said goodbye to that dream. I kind of mourned the loss of being able to represent my country. My husband serves in the military and is able to do that in his way, and I鈥檝e always wanted to have the ability to do it in my own way. So last year when I got the call two weeks before, my coach and agent were like, you don’t have to say yes. But they could just see it in me that I absolutely wanted to do it. If I’m fit and healthy, there’s no way I’m ever gonna turn that opportunity down.鈥�

5. She鈥檚 Prepared for a Fast Race in Budapest

The world championships marathon field is loaded with talented runners, including Ethiopia鈥檚 Gotytom Gebreslase, who won the world championship race last year in Eugene (2:18:11), and countrywoman Amane Beriso, who finished second in Eugene and then won the Valencia Marathon in 2:14:58 in December and finished second in this spring鈥檚 Boston Marathon ( 2:21:50). Also in the field are Kenya鈥檚 Rosemary Wanjiru, who won the 2023 Tokyo Marathon in a world-leading 2:16:28, Ethiopia鈥檚 Tsehay Gemechu (2:16:56), and Israel鈥檚 Lonah Salpeter, last year鈥檚 world championship bronze medalist (2:20:18) and 2022 New York City Marathon runner-up. And finally, representing Team USA with D鈥橝mato are fellow Virignian Susanna Sullivan (2:24:27, 10th at the 2023 London Marathon) and Colorado鈥檚 Lindsay Flanagan (2:24:43, 1st, 2022 Gold Coast Marathon).

D鈥橝mato has been racing shorter and faster road races on the domestic circuit this year鈥攚hich has included a runner-up finish at the USA 25K Road Running Championships in Grand Rapid, Michigan鈥攖o prepare for a more tactical race with pace surges. Most recently, D鈥橝mato placed third at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K (31:58) on August 5, in Maine.

鈥淭he field is going to be extremely competitive like it was last year, but I think the weather is going to dictate what kind of race it is because there’s a potential of being a pretty hot day,鈥� D鈥橝mato said. 鈥淚f that’s the case, it might be a slower race, so we’ll see if it turns into a little bit more of a tactical race than just a race of attrition.鈥�

6. She鈥檚 in the Best Shape of Her Life, Thanks to Changes to Her Training

D鈥橝mato is coached by Scott Raczko, who has helped her continue racing at a high level while running moderate training volume as she鈥檚 reached her late 30s. Whereas she was maxing out at 130 miles per week in 2020 heading into the U.S. Olympic Trials, this year her max mileage has been in the low 80s but also included a lot of fast workouts.

鈥淚 think there’s so many different ways to climb the mountain, and there’s a lot of marathon runners that train at high altitude in the mountains doing really high mileage. That is one way to do it,鈥� D鈥橝mato said. 鈥淚t’s all relative for where you are and how old you are and a lot of other variables, too. I don’t wanna say that my way is the right way, but I just need a little less volume and less time on my feet so I can crush some workouts while also doing a lot of cross-training. I think it鈥檚 a big confidence booster going into Budapest knowing that I’m the fittest I’ve ever been.鈥�

7. She Cross-Trains Multiple Days a Week

In addition to running, D鈥橝mato cross-trains by running in a pool, using an elliptical machine, doing various strength workouts, and rowing on a Hydro rowing machine. She uses the Hydro to warm up before running and to supplement her cardio workouts, but she also uses it for Pilates workouts and strength workouts.

鈥淲hen COVID hit and my Pilates studio shut down, I started using Hydro for all of my Pilates work and some strength and conditioning work,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t’s great because, for me, as I鈥檓 getting older, I can’t do as many miles as I have, so we’ve been supplementing with rowing workouts that can include high levels of intensity without all of the pounding.鈥�

8. She Owns a Running Store In Virginia

In 2022, D鈥橝mato opened a running store in Midlothian, Virginia, called through a business partnership with the Potomac River Running retail running company. D鈥橝mato has lived in and around Richmond for decades and loves running there鈥攅specially at . The running store is both a business investment, but more importantly she says it鈥檚 a way to give back to the local community. The store sells shoes, apparel, and accessories, while offering training groups and hosting various community events.

鈥淪o much of who I am, I’ve learned through running鈥攍ike my confidence, my work ethic, my discipline and just finding joy in mundane things,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I wanted to create a place in Richmond where I could share what I’ve learned with my community and help encourage, inspire, and support people, either through knowledge or gear, and especially the youth. For me it feels more than just a store. We do a lot of high school nights and I’ve given a lot of talks and done seminars and stuff.鈥�

9. She鈥檚 Played a Role in the Rising Tide of Elite American Women Runners

D鈥橝mato was running for American University when Deena Kastor earned the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2004 Olympics, the first global medal in distance running by a U.S. woman in years. During D鈥橝mato鈥檚 collegiate career, from 2002 to 2006, some of her competitors were women who would go on to raise the status of elite U.S. women runners on the world stage. That included Shalane Flanagan, Molly Huddle, Des Liden, Amy Cragg, Lauren Fleshman, and Sara Hall, who would go on to set American records, win major marathons, and earn medals at global championships. Now that she鈥檚 emerged as one of the country鈥檚 best marathoners, she鈥檚 competing against the next generation of American runners that includes Alicia Monson, Elise Cranny, Emma Bates, Susanna Sullivan, and Emily Sisson.

鈥淲hen I left competitive running, I was just a fan of them, but there was a part of me the whole time that wondered in a woulda-coulda-shoulda kind of way what I could have done. But also I was just inspired by everything they did,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then coming back to competitive running, there鈥檚 definitely been a bit of a changing of the guard. Des and Molly and Sara are still around running strong, but we’re seeing all these like newcomers, too, who are doing some really spectacular things. I feel really lucky to have experienced racing with two different generations of American women.鈥�

10. She鈥檒l Likely Skip a Fall Marathon to Prepare for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials

D鈥橝mato has accomplished a lot since she rejuvenated her competitive running career four years ago, but if there鈥檚 one more thing she wants it鈥檚 the chance to run in the Olympics.

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

After the world championships, the next biggest priority is racing in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials on February 4 in Orlando, Florida鈥攁 race in which the top three women will earn a place on the U.S. team that will race in the Paris Olympics. In 2020, when she was only two years into her comeback, she finished 15th in a personal best 2:34:24. Her personal best is 15 minutes faster, and she鈥檚 a much more seasoned marathoner heading into 2024. But to make sure she鈥檚 ready to roll, she鈥檒l likely skip a fall marathon this year.

鈥淚t’s gonna be really interesting to see who goes where and does what because, for people running the New York City Marathon, that’s only just over two months before the trials,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd that’s another reason why running the world championships in Budapest is so enticing to me. It gives me the most time to take a little break and then have a proper build-up before the trials because it’s such a huge goal of mine to become an Olympian.鈥�

The post 10 Things to Know About American Marathoner Keira D鈥橝mato appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Last year, everything changed. I turned into a fan of track and field after following the 2022 World Athletic Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Partially it was because of all the buzz, but also it was a result of being held in the U.S, at Hayward Field. The athletes felt like superheroes, larger-than-life personalities with performances that lived so far from what any 鈥渘ormal鈥� athlete could perform. The specificity! The chest-pumping celebrations! The finish line kick!

When I learned that the 2023 were taking place in Budapest, Hungary, on August 19-27, I wanted to learn everything I could about the event鈥檚 inner workings: why it exists, its special relationship to the Olympic Games, and how I might follow the action.

For those who are veterans to the wonderfully complicated world of track and field, I salute you. But those of us who don鈥檛 understand its allure, I see you. Here鈥檚 a primer to get you up to speed.

What Are the World Athletics Championships?

The whole enterprise of track and field has come a long way since flexing our human might for Zeus and the gods at the first Olympic games three thousand years ago, even though several of the original disciplines remain in today鈥檚 track and field meets. At its most basic, track and field lumps together a slew of athletic disciplines, both of strength and endurance, to demonstrate the full continuum of human potential. In ancient Greece, the events were to impress the gods. These days, track and field events are more a secular pursuit of glory. Even speed walking.

In fact, we have the unusual and extraordinary sport of to thank for the birth of the World Athletics Championships (otherwise known as 鈥淲orlds.鈥� Also, 鈥淎thletics鈥� is a word more commonly used instead of track and field in Britain, New Zealand, and Australia). Sure, you might not take speed walking seriously, but ?

In 1976, the International Olympic Committee dropped the sport of race walking, so a body called the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) started World Athletics to continue, well, walking fast. (Speedy competitive walking was the only event at the first limited Worlds in 1976.)

Luckily, more events expressed an interest in joining the party and, in 1983, IAAF held the first official World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, with a full roster of disciplines. What this also did was keep track and field on people鈥檚 radars, from the Summer Olympics once-every-four-years event to a full-fledged sport. The response was overwhelming. About 1,333 athletes from 153 countries showed up. Not bad, right?

What鈥檚 the Difference Between Worlds and the Summer Olympic Games?

Because the Summer Olympic Games happen every four years, the World Athletics Championships are established as a biennial every two years. Unlike the Olympics, countries and their sport federations, like the USA Track and Field (USATF), can hold their own national championships.

Of course, the Summer Olympics showcases far more events across multiple sports over more days. (The 2024 Summer Olympics, for example, will take place in Paris and include 139 events鈥攊ncluding !鈥攐ver 18 days.)

What鈥檚 really compelling about the World Athletics Championships is that it can offer a strong preview for what to see the following year in the Summer Olympics. You might think of Worlds as a practice round for the greatest track and field athletes to battle it out before they get to the Olympics, but that鈥檚 not exactly right, as Worlds can offer some of the fastest and most dynamic performances ever seen on the track.

RELATED: 10 Things to Know About the World鈥檚 Fastest Man

Because of this, you鈥檒l always see two records in track and field. Perhaps you鈥檝e wondered about it on the screen while watching track and field on TV: the Olympic Record (OR) and the World Record (WR). World records are all-time bests and can be set in the Olympics or any sanctioned event around the world, whereas Olympic records are the best marks ever recorded in Olympic competition. Both coexist and reinforce each other, with Worlds offering top-shelf credibility within the sport, while the Olympics bear the prestige of medals and international glory. Imagine watching your all-time favorite band play at a small downtown venue, up close and personal, and then, months later, seeing them headline at Madison Square Gardens.

Eugene 2022 Worlds: The Most-Viewed Track and Field Event Ever

You might remember a ton of buzz last year over running events in Eugene, Oregon, Track Town U.S.A. That was because the World Athletics Championships was held at Hayward Field, with every national broadcasting channel serving up regular updates. Never had there previously been such a craze in the United States about track. An estimated 18.7 million viewers watched the 2022 World Athletics Championships, making it the most-watched world track and field championships ever.

The 2022 World Athletic Championships was electric. , which is over 20 feet, the height of two NBA basketball hoops stacked atop of each other. We watched as the two-time Olympian Faith Kipyegon dominated the 1,500 meters. And we cheered as the charismatic, 25-year-old former Stanford University track star Grant Fisher pushed his limits of what鈥檚 possible in the finals of the 5K.

The World Athletics Championships is the third-largest sporting event on the planet, in terms of athletes participating, trailing only the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. The event is so large that it has its own mascot, which changes with each edition and host city. This year, in Budapest, it鈥檚 Youhuu the Sheep. Youhuu is a , a beloved animal found all over Hungary. (The country boasts 1.3 million sheep.) Youhuu comes alongside a standing tradition of mascots for Worlds including, in Eugene 2022, Legend the Bigfoot, Falah in Qatar 2022, and Hero the Hedgehog for London Worlds in 2017 ().

Just like the International Olympic Committee is behind the Olympic Games, it鈥檚 World Athletics (formerly IAAF) that鈥檚 behind the World Athletics Championships, along with several other events through the year, including the the , a series of more than a dozen one-day track and field events set around the world, replete with 32 disciplines. Those who win at the Diamond League Finals receive a trophy, a cash prize, and a wild card entry to the next Worlds.

Looking forward, we鈥檒l see the 20th edition of World Athletics next year in Tokyo, Japan. It鈥檚 anyone鈥檚 guess what the mascot will be, but, based on the past several choices, expect something furry, toothy, and goofy.

What Events Are Included in the World Athletics Championships?

The 2023 edition will happen from August 19 to August 27. That鈥檚 nine days jam-packed with 49 track and field events: 24 events for men and 24 events for women, with one mixed-gender relay event. Nearly 2,000 athletes will be representing 180 countries. That鈥檚 a lot of events. It makes it sound like a state fair or something.

In addition to the aforementioned race walk category, one way to wrap your head around the nine-day, 49-event bonanza is to think of Worlds in three main buckets: Run, Jump, and Throw.

Run: Expect electricity. Expect flag-wagging. Expect vomit. For many, sprints and hurdles are some of the most exciting, most dynamic events to watch, while the longer events can squeeze every last drop of endurance out of the runners that鈥檒l leave you, and them, breathless.

• 鈥淪prints鈥� – 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races, both flat and with hurdles
• 鈥淢iddle distance鈥� – 800- and 1500-meter races
• 鈥淟ong distance鈥� – 3K steeplechase (which involves four fixed barriers and a water jump for each lap), 5K, 10K, and marathon

Jump: Here, you鈥檒l find the long jump, high jump, triple jump, and pole vault. You may not have much of a relationship with these niche events, but damn are they fun to watch.

Throw: Javelin. Shot put. Discus. Hammer. Each throwing event demands a different, highly specific and trained technique. Don鈥檛 miss these events, as so often they feel as though throwing disciplines will throw you back in time, to some deep history reverie of Greek sport.

Lastly, there鈥檚 the overachievers, the ones who combine all three categories: the all-mighty decathlon (men), competing in 10 events, and the seven-event heptathlon (women), both over two days. To combine speed, strength, agility, and power into a two-day bender of high performance is something earmarked not for mere mortals but for superheroes. These elites are such fun to marvel at their overall aptitude, to wonder at how in the hell they have time to train for such myriad specialties, and, most importantly, what they eat鈥攎ore than Wheaties, I鈥檒l bet.

Who to Follow from Team USA?

The U.S. is sending 139 athletes, nine of whom are previous world champions. The U.S. just announced its team for the World Athletics Championships, .

RELATED: How U.S. Record Holder Alicia Monson Prepares for a World Title Run

How Can I Watch This Year鈥檚 World Athletics Championships?

If you are a lucky dog and currently in Europe, catch a cheap flight or train to Budapest and be sure and spectate鈥攜ou鈥檒l be glad you did. Each day is essentially chunked up into two halves, morning sessions and evening sessions. For about $50 per session, you can watch a combination of events, and, for $500, you can have access to every event for all nine days. Not bad!

But I鈥檓 guessing you鈥檙e not on a European holiday. (Here鈥檚 me, daydreaming.) If you鈥檙e not planning to be in Budapest anytime soon, be sure and watch or stream the 2023 World Athletics Championships live on , , NBC, and the USA Network. For live updates on the championships schedule, .

The post WTF Is the World Athletics Championships and Why Should I Care?听听 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

American athletes have long dominated the 100-meter dash ever since the inaugural World Championships in 1983, amassing , the most of any nation. But for this year鈥檚 World Championships that kick off this Saturday鈥攖he most prestigious senior track competition outside of the Olympic Games鈥擝ritish record holder Zharnel Hughes wants to change the tally.听

He enters the field with the fastest 100-meter time in 2023 (9.83 seconds), which he achieved in June at the USATF New York Grand Prix. The mark ranks Hughes as the 15th fastest of all time in the event, 0.25 seconds behind the world record held by eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.听

Hughes, who has competed at three World Championships throughout his career, has twice-earned a silver medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. And though he has come close鈥�he was second in the 100-meter dash at the previous world champs鈥擧ughes has never won an individual gold medal. If he is successful at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, August 19-27, Hughes will become the second man ever representing Great Britain to win the men鈥檚 100-meter title, the marquee event of track and field.听

Here are 10 things to know about the fastest man in the world in 2023:

1. He Has Multiple Passports

Zharnel Hughes, 28, was born and raised on the island of Anguilla, a British territory in the Eastern Caribbean that is a mere 16 miles long and three-and-a-half miles wide. He holds dual citizenship for Great Britain and Jamaica. During his youth, Hughes competed for Anguilla, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee. In 2015, he opted to transfer his allegiance to represent Great Britain at international competitions.

2. He Was a Multi-Event Athlete by Age 10听

Hughes hails from a family of runners on his father鈥檚 side, and his two younger brothers ran until high school. He got into the sport at age ten, often running against (and beating) peers. He competed in various track events, including the high jump, long jump, 400 meters, and 1500 meters.听

鈥淭here was an annual sports day [at school], my first competition. At the end of it, I got seven medals鈥攆ive gold, two silver. I got a trophy for being the most outstanding athlete of the day,鈥� Hughes said. It gave him an early and strong impression of what else he might be capable of on the track.

3. He Trained with Usain Bolt

Growing up, Hughes often watched YouTube videos of elite Jamaican sprinters, like world record holder Usain Bolt, as well as Yohan Blake, the third-fastest man in history. As fate would have it, Hughes would train alongside both of them when he moved to Jamaica as a teen to join the Racers Track Club, led by legendary coach Glen Mills.听

Hughes describes his first in-person encounter with Bolt in 2012 as surreal. 鈥淚 was striding on the grass field. I saw Usain on my left. He looked like a giant. He was striding as well. I just started mimicking everything he was doing. I don鈥檛 know why. I was young, 16. I was looking at Usain all in shock,鈥� Hughes recalled. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 the world鈥檚 fastest man. I鈥檓 right next to him!鈥�

4. He Trains with Younger Sprinters

Hughes modified his training schedule to gym work in the morning and a two-hour sprint session in the afternoon and can be seen sprinting alongside 鈥渢he youths鈥� on the Racers Track Club, he says, adding, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e fast, they push me, and I like a challenge.鈥�

5. He Almost Beat the Olympic Champion听

Hughes points to nearly outrunning Usain Bolt in the 200-meter race in 2015 at his debut Diamond League meet鈥攖he Adidas Grand Prix in New York City鈥攁s one of his most memorable races. 鈥�Just before coming off the turn, I realized I was right there with Usain. I started running for my life,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淚 was getting close to the line, and I was still there with him. I tried to lean forward, but his stride was longer than mine. The entire stadium thought that I won. Everybody was like, 鈥楴oooo!鈥欌�� The race made headlines in Anguilla, and Hughes remembers motorcades and banners went up with his name on them.

6. He Is the Current British Record Holder

The morning of June 24, 2023, prior to heading to the starting line of the New York City Grand Prix, Hughes the time he predicted he鈥檇 run: 9.83 seconds. He achieved exactly that, and it was a victory that shaved 0.04 seconds off the British record, previously set by Jamaican-born British Olympic champion at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

7. He Missed His Chance at Earning an Olympic Medal. Twice.

Hughes tore a ligament in his right knee after and consequently was absent from the Rio Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he qualified for the 100-meter final, but he couldn鈥檛 contend for a medal after a false start. Hughes later said while in his set position in the starting blocks.

8. He Is (Mostly) Food Conscious听

Hughes started investing in his nutrition at age 18. To this day, his diet is very conservative, partly the influence of a close friend, who is a bodybuilder. His morning routine includes a fruit smoothie, preferring bananas, pineapples, watermelon, and cantaloupe. He鈥檒l sometimes blend spinach and oats. Boiled eggs, omelets, fish, and chicken are his protein staples. He likes to hydrate with coconut water every day, and he never leaves home without a snack, typically a Nature Valley granola bar. 鈥淣utrition helps a lot, trust me,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淚t helps keep injury away. Because your body is always being fed, it doesn鈥檛 feed on itself.鈥澨�

While he had to wean himself away from his vice, chocolate cake, he maintains a nightly ritual of a bowl of corn flakes, which he says helps him sleep. On a rare occasion he splurges on a Burger King cheeseburger.

9. He Likes to Stretch Mid-Flight

During a flight, Hughes will go to the back of the aircraft to stretch. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care if anyone is looking at me,鈥� he said. As soon as he lands, he tries to do a shakeout run, sprinting 50 meters on a hotel walkway for up to 15 minutes, or else he鈥檒l put on compression boots and later have his physio flush out his legs.

10. He Can Fly a Plane

When he was 11, Hughes flew with a pilot from Anguilla to the British Virgin Islands. He remembers sitting in the cockpit, tempted to play with the instruments inside the aircraft. Only after the plane landed and was switched off did he have the opportunity to grab the control wheel. The experience encouraged his dream of becoming a pilot. He fulfilled his childhood goal of earning a pilot鈥檚 license in 2018, seven months after studying at the Caribbean Aviation Training Center in Jamaica.

So as not to interfere with track, he鈥檇 often arrive at the aviation center as early as 5 A.M.听 鈥�I had to make a lot of sacrifices to make it happen,鈥� he said, noting that on a couple of occasions he reconsidered pursuing the license. Flying is now one way he spends time before mid-afternoon track sessions. At times he has flown a Cessna 172, a single-engine prop plane, up to four days a week for an hour and as far away as Montego Bay in Jamaica.听

Catch Hughes in action when he takes the starting line on August 19, day one of competition, for the first round of heats for the men鈥檚 100-meter dash.

The post 10 Things to Know About the World鈥檚 Fastest Man appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It鈥檚 Saturday evening, July 29, and 25-year-old Alicia Monson is getting ready for her second run of the day in the cold rain.

Life doesn鈥檛 slow down on weekends when you鈥檙e one of the most promising distance runners in America. In fact, it only gets faster.

She is layered in a long-sleeved black jacket and matching pants, white crew socks, and her size-nine feet are tucked into an unreleased pair of purple On running shoes. Her curly blonde hair is braided and mostly hidden behind a black cap. This is not her usual summer look, but it鈥檚 54 degrees Fahrenheit here in St. Moritz, in southeastern Switzerland, and she prefers to keep her sweat rate up.

This is the second consecutive year that Monson has come to the Engadin Valley. St. Moritz鈥攖he world鈥檚 oldest ski station and also the official Swiss Olympic High Altitude Training Base鈥攈as twice hosted the Winter Games (1928 and 1948). Monson uses the town as a high-altitude base in Europe during the summer, as she competes in Diamond League races around the continent.

Monson arrived a week ago with her On Athletics Club (OAC)听after racing the 5,000 meters at the on July 23. Much to her surprise, she broke her third American record this year. She clocked 14:19.45 to finish fifth against a stacked field of women that have run among the in history: Ethiopian-born Dutch Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, Olympic bronze medalist Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, and Beatrice Chebet of Kenya.

After her race, Monson contemplated for several days whether she should run both the 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters at the World Athletics Championships, taking place August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary. Initially, she had planned to compete in just the 10,000 meters, scheduled on the opening day of competition, but she couldn鈥檛 resist the challenge. 鈥淓ven if it is a little intimidating,鈥� Monson says, 鈥淚 want to put the U.S. at the top of the world list. The distance events tend to struggle compared to shorter running events and jump and field events. It鈥檚 a goal to help my U.S. teammates.鈥�

Gunning for the Podium

Monson needs no motivation as she clicks a watch on her right wrist and takes off running three miles alone around Lake St. Moritz at 7:12-minute pace, part of the 80 miles she鈥檒l tally this week. Next week, she鈥檒l bump up to 85. In the thick of her training, Monson tops out at 95 miles.

The route is distractingly beautiful鈥攕till waters illuminate a panoramic reflection of the Swiss Alps. Though the path is flat, training at nearly 6,000 feet doesn鈥檛 make it feel simple, especially when Monson鈥檚 body needs a break.

鈥淪ometimes easy days are the most difficult because I鈥檓 so tired,鈥� she says while eating a margherita pizza. Monson notices the difference of being 800 vertical feet higher than her training base in Niwot, Colorado, on the outskirts of Boulder.

It toughens her mentally and physically as she counts down to August 19, when she鈥檒l toe the starting line for the 10K at the World Championships. As she aims to prove that the U.S. can keep up, she isn鈥檛 afraid of what it will take to get there. Monson, from Amery, Wisconsin, has been running since age 12, and she will run herself into the ground, even at risk of becoming unconscious.

That nearly happened at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2021, in Eugene, Oregon. Her legs started buckling and her vision began to blur during the final lap of the women鈥檚 10,000 meters. After she crossed the finish line in third, earning a spot on the Olympic Team, she experienced near-syncope and was hospitalized for heat exhaustion.

鈥淚 was so committed to making the team,鈥� says Monson. She doesn鈥檛 remember much from the race, but her motivation was more than clear.

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It wasn鈥檛 the first time she has pushed her body into uncomfortable zones. It鈥檚 a necessary normal while Monson strives to maximize her budding talent and represent a country that has yet to produce a world champion in the 10,000 meters, male or female. (Only two in history have: Kara Goucher earned a silver medal in 2007 in Osaka; and Emily Infeld won bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing). Both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters have historically been dominated by Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes.

From the Midwest to the Olympic Trials

Monson turned pro in 2020, following a decorated cross-country and track collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin, during which she became a 听and Big Ten record holder. That year, she signed with Total Sports, a management firm that also represents marathoner and Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel.

Monson would join OAC, a training group of 11 professional distance runners in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 2020 and sponsored by On, the Swiss athletic shoe and performance sportswear company. The OAC, which includes Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, is led by three-time Olympian and former American record holder Dathan Ritzenhein.

Monson moved to Colorado in fall 2020, which was her introduction into altitude training for extended periods. She had visited national parks during summers as a college student and ran along Wyoming’s Grand Tetons and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, but it was more running as part of weeklong camping trips. Training in Colorado was a blank slate. It helped that she had a built-in support system through OAC, which she says is all about team culture, a running co-op.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all trying to make each other better,鈥� says Monson. 鈥淲e have an international team, so we bring a lot of different perspectives. We try to build each other up.鈥�

Monson says her transition from college to pro was natural. 鈥淏eing Midwesterners, Dathan and I understand each other. There wasn鈥檛 much of a cultural shift.鈥�

Ritzenhein, who grew up in Rockford, Michigan, was a national champion runner as a teen, then went on to compete for the University of Colorado and made his first Olympic team while he was still a student-athlete. The four-time All-American began racing professionally for Nike in 2004 and later, in 2009, as part of the now disbanded Nike Oregon Project.

Ritzenhein retired in May 2020, at age 37, with a resume that included appearances in multiple world championship finals, the Olympics, and a marathon best of 2:07:47. After exiting his pro career, he opted to coach full-time.

Ritzenhein鈥檚 enthusiasm and loyalty to the sport as an elite athlete hasn鈥檛 left him. Monson describes him as 鈥渋ntense.鈥� But so is she. 鈥淵ou have to be at this level,鈥� she says, especially in a race like 10,000 meters, which she and Ritzenhein both say is a race of attrition. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not that far off of 5K pace for twice the distance,鈥� Monson adds.

RELATED: Olympian Faith Kipyegon Just Broke Three World Records. She鈥檚 Not Slowing Down.

Running at home in Colorado鈥攐ften twice a day at 5,100 feet above sea level, along with strength work multiple times a week鈥攈as no doubt pushed her athleticism to new heights since she joined OAC.

鈥淓very week it just gets harder,鈥� Monson says, laughing. Some workouts have been so challenging that she has felt as though she wouldn鈥檛 finish, like running four one-mile repeats at 5:05 pace with 400-meter sprints at 67 seconds between each rep.

Challenging workouts like that one are an opportunity for her to visualize race scenarios. 鈥淚 picture being on a train of people, and I have to stick on the train,鈥� Monson says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to feel bad during a race so you have to purposefully be intentional about when you feel bad during a workout and how you鈥檙e going to overcome that.鈥�

Sights Set on Worlds

The morning after Monson鈥檚 easy three-miler, she upgraded to 10 miles, running half of the workout alongside OAC teammate Sage Hurta-Klecker, who is one a dozen On-sponsored athletes here in St. Moritz to train. They run, stride-for-stride, on a dirt path adjacent to Lake Silvaplana with the backdrop of the mountains. The clean air washes their lungs, and only the sound of their shoes stamping the ground cuts the silence.

As Monson builds herself into a potential international medal contender, she hopes her three-week stopover in Switzerland will bring her a step closer as she prepares for her second world championship appearance.

Still, Monson has a bit of catching up to do. Her 10K personal best鈥�30:03.82 achieved in March when she shaved 10 seconds off the previous national record set in 2016 by Molly Huddle鈥攃urrently ranks in the world in 2023. It is 34 seconds behind Ethiopian world record holder Letesenbet Gidey, the 2022 world champion and Olympic bronze medalist.

Monson, who finished 13th at both the 2020 as well as at last year鈥檚 in Eugene, is aiming for a different outcome this time around鈥攁nd she feels ready for it. Her coach is confident in her, too.

鈥淚f you look at it on paper right now, she should be fifth or sixth in either event,鈥� Ritzenhein says, referring to Monson鈥檚 double attempt at the World Championships. 鈥淚f you look at the times, the competition she鈥檚 run against, it鈥檚 hopeful. I think she can medal in the right kind of situation, but that鈥檚 not going to be the barometer for success for her right now.鈥�

The plan for Monson initially was projected to make an impact in the U.S. pro distance scene closer to 2028. But, as Ritzenhein says, 鈥渁 lot has happened in three years.鈥�

Since last summer, Monson has become a faster, more mature version of herself. She is stronger than ever, too, thanks to an upgraded strength program overseen by Dr. Jason Ross, D.C., the OAC strength coach. That continues to help her 鈥渉ang on,鈥� as she puts it, to 17 miles of a fast long run. With Ritzenhein鈥檚 direction, she continues to answer the call for reaching to the top of the sport. After all, Monson set the American record for the 10,000-meters, a mere three weeks after breaking the 3,000-meter American indoor record.

鈥淚鈥檓 surprised I was able to pull off [three] American records this year,鈥� Monson says. 鈥淚t takes a lot to break one American record. I鈥檓 grateful.鈥�

Ritzenhein emphasizes that Monson still has room to grow. 鈥淪he鈥檚 already the fastest [in the U.S.], and she鈥檚 not even in the events I think she鈥檚 going to be the best at one day,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think she鈥檚 going to be an incredible marathoner.鈥�

But until Monson makes that transition, at least a few years from now, she will continue doing听 her part to lay the foundation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just seeing how good I can get on the track before I start moving toward the roads,鈥� Monson says. Come August 19, the world will find out just how good that is.

The post How U.S. Record Holder Alicia Monson Prepares for a World Title Run appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

At this weekend鈥檚 U.S. track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, top American stars , Fred Kerley, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Ryan Crouser will be tearing up the Hayward Field track stadium as they try to earn a spot on the U.S. team that will be heading to the World Athletics Championships next month in Budapest, Hungary.

But for the first time since 2005, the four-day 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships won鈥檛 be broadcast live on NBC Sports. The vast depth of American track and field still will be on full display . The finals of the high-profile track and field events are typically held on Saturday and Sunday between 4-6 P.M. ET, but this year they鈥檙e slated for 9-11 P.M. (NBC is broadcasting the U.S. Open women鈥檚 golf tournament on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, hoping to repeat the strong viewership it received last year.)

While many top athletes, including Richardson, and have called for an athletes-only meeting听 in Eugene to strategize ways to become more involved in key business decisions鈥攁n ongoing power struggle in the sport since the 1970s鈥攖he running, jumping and throwing action at Hayward Field will still be second-to-none.

Regardless of coverage, here are 10 compelling stories that should play out at this weekend鈥檚 championships in Eugene, a.k.a., Track Town USA.

1. Will Sha’Carri Richardson take the next steps in her career?

is undoubtedly one of the world鈥檚 top sprinting talents and one who could eventually threaten the 100-meter dash 10.49 world record of Florence Griffith Joyner set way back in 1988. But despite being one of the world鈥檚 best for three years, she鈥檚 yet to win a global medal. Will this be the year she puts it all together?

Because her 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials 100-meter title was revoked because of her subsequent suspension for testing positive for marijuana, she has never even won a U.S. championship. The remarkable 10.76 she posted on May 5 in Doha (she also ran an eye-popping 10.57 with an over-the-limit tailwind on April 9 in Florida) has only been surpassed by a Lou of the Ivory Coast (10.75). Although Americans Aleia Hobbs (10.81), Twanisha Terry (10.83), Tamari Davis (10.89), and high schooler Shawnti Jackson (10.89) are all stout competitors, should win the U.S. title. (She hasn鈥檛 raced since May 27 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, where she ran a 10.90 in the prelims but skipped the final.)

2. Anna Hall is one of the best female athletes in the U.S.鈥攊n any sport.

Unless you鈥檙e a track fan, you probably haven鈥檛 heard the name Anna Hall yet. But you will, no doubt, especially with the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.

What event does she compete in, you ask? Just about all of them, it seems. Hall specializes in the heptathlon鈥攖he two-day, seven-event competition that combines the high jump, 100-meter hurdles, shot put, long jump, javelin, 200-meter dash, and 800-meter run. It鈥檚 the ultimate test of speed, endurance, power, and agility, all of which Hall possesses in spades.

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She won the event at the NCAA Championships last year while competing for the University of Florida, then parlayed her vast talents into a bronze medal at last summer鈥檚 world championships in Eugene. In March, she won U.S. indoor championships in both the 400-meter dash and the heptathlon, and since then has won an international heptathlon in Austria with a world-leading 6988 points, the fifth-highest score in history. It鈥檚 perhaps inaccurate to call her the second coming of American legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the two-time world and Olympic champion in the event, because Hall is soaring on her own vector and the sky’s the limit.

3. Cordell Tinch has finally emerged as a world-class talent.

Although he bounced around during his college career from the University of Kansas to Coffeyville Community College to Pittsburg State, Cordell Tinch might be the best all-around male athlete on the track in Eugene. After he ran another blazing time in the 110-meter hurdles in late June鈥攁 world-leading 12.96鈥攖he 22-year-old Tinch turned pro last week.

During the 2023 college track season for Pittsburg State, a small school in Kansas, Tinch won the 60-meter hurdles (7.51) and the high jump (7 feet, 1.75 inches) at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in March, then at the outdoor championships he won the high jump (7-3), long jump (26 feet, 9录 inches) and 110 hurdles in a wind-aided 12.87, the fastest time under any conditions in collegiate history and equals the fourth-fastest performance in world history. Tinch will compete at the U.S. championships in the long jump and the hurdles,where he鈥檒l face off with Grant Holloway (12.98), the two-time world champion, and Devon Allen (13.04), the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver who might be the NFL鈥檚 fastest athlete.

4. Fred Kerley鈥檚 lights-out speed will be on display in the 200.

Fred Kerley has proven doubters wrong by dropping from the 400 meters to the 100 meters in recent years, but he wants more鈥攏amely another world title, next year鈥檚 Olympic title, and Usain Bolt鈥檚 9.58 world record.

But because he鈥檚 the defending world champion, he has an automatic entry into the world championships, so despite being ranked third in the world with a 9.88 clocking, he鈥檒l only be running the slightly less glamorous (but equally tantalizing) 200-meter dash. That means the U.S. title is up for grabs in the 100. The favorite is the resurgent Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion who was banned in 2021 for a doping violation. Still the quickest starter in the world, he鈥檚 run 9.91 and looks like he鈥檚 back in top form.

The field also includes Marvin Bracy-Williams (9.93), Noah Lyles (9.95), a two-time 200-meter world champion, and Trayvon Bromell (10.09), last year鈥檚 world championships 100-meter bronze medalist, as well as collegiate phenoms Pjai Austin (9.89) and Courtney Lindsey (9.89). But no matter which three Americans join Kerley on Team USA, Kerley will likely still be the favorite to win in Budapest.

5. Can Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone be the golden girl of the 400?

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been one of the world鈥檚 best 400-meter hurdlers in the world since she was a teenager back in 2016 and won the event at last year鈥檚 world championships in a world record 50.68. At this weekend鈥檚 national championships, McLaughlin-Levrone will be running the open 400鈥攐ne lap around the track sans hurdles鈥攁gainst some of the best sprinters in the U.S.

She hasn鈥檛 run her specialty event at all this year, and there鈥檚 a good chance she will just focus on going for gold in the open 400 at the world championships鈥攁nd possibly the 38-year-old world record of 47.60 later this year. McLaughlin-Levrone is ranked fourth in the world in the 400 so far this year with a personal best of 49.51 on June 24 in New York City, but there are plenty of indications that she鈥檚 capable of running much faster as soon as Saturday evening鈥檚 U.S. championship final.

6. Britton Wilson is just getting started.

If it wasn鈥檛 for McLaughlin-Levrone, Britton Wilson might be one of the headliners of the U.S. championships. The 22-year-old University of Arkansas junior sits atop the U.S. rankings in both the 400-meter dash (49.13) and the 400-meter hurdles (53.23) and could conceivably win (or at least finish among the top three) in either event this weekend and qualify for the world championships. But, like McLaughlin-Levrone, she鈥檚 opting to run only the open 400. (It鈥檚 now one of the deepest events in the U.S., with 14 runners under 51 seconds so far this year.)

Wilson was the top-ranked collegiate runner in each event this spring and attempted the unprecedented feat of trying to win both events at the June 10 NCAA championship meet in Austin, Texas, even though they were 25 minutes apart. She wound up second in the 400 and seventh in the 400 hurdles, but she鈥檚 still one of the brightest young American stars in the sport.

7. Ryan Crouser is already the world鈥檚 best shot-putter. Ever.

Ryan Crouser has been the best shot-putter in the world for several years, having won gold at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, as well as the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. But now that he鈥檚 reinvented how he winds up to throw the 16-pound steel ball, there鈥檚 no telling how far he might be able to heave it.

During the offseason, Crouser changed his technique鈥攔eplacing the typical stepping movement most athletes use to a slide motion at the start of his rotation鈥攁nd the results have been phenomenal. At his season-opening meet at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 27, Crouser broke his own world record by more than seven inches by tossing the shot 77 feet, 3.75 inches (23.56 meters). He鈥檚 won all four of his competitions this year and typically throws his best in front of the vociferous crowd at Hayward Field. Crouser is already a legend in the sport, but his new technique could do for shot putting what Dick Fosbury鈥檚 .

8. There鈥檚 elite-level depth in the men鈥檚 5,000 and 10,000.

For the first time in history, the U.S. has five men in the 10,000-meter run with personal bests under 27:20. American record holder Grant Fisher (26:33.84) leads the way and has proven to be the best of the bunch, but Woody Kincaid (27:06.37), Joe Klecker (27:07.57), Paul Chelimo (27:12.73), Sean McGorty (27:18.15), and Conner Mantz (27:25.23) will be in a dog fight for the three spots that earn a ticket to Budapest.

RELATED: Why Are Runners Suddenly So Fast?

Although Chelimo is a few years older than the others at 32, he owns three global medals in the 5,000-meter run and, like McGorty and Mantz, still needs to run a fast pace to get under the world championship qualifying standard. All five of those athletes are also signed up for the 5,000-meter race two days later, so there should be some serious racing for the top three spots in each event, especially Abdihamid Nur (13:05.17), Morgan Beadlescomb (13:08.82), and potentially Cooper Tear (13:12.73) also in the mix.

9. Will Sumner and Katelyn Tuohy are young stars in the making.

Although he鈥檚 only 19 and a year out of high school, Will Sumner is already one of the 800-meter runners in the U.S. right now. With respect to established pros Bryce Hoppel (1:44.55), Clayton Murphy (1:44.75), and Isaiah Jewett (1:45:10), Sumner (1:44.26) has exceptional genes (his parents were both NCAA champion athletes) and he has been a quick study under Bulldogs鈥� assistant coach Pat Henner.

The University of Georgia freshman just won the event at the NCAA Championships with negative splits (faster in the second 400-meter lap than the first one), ran the fifth-fastest time in NCAA history, and has a good shot to earn a podium finish in Eugene. Meanwhile, Tuohy, a North Carolina State junior, has already made her mark at the NCAA level, with three national championships on the track and another in cross country during the past two school years. She鈥檚 entered in the 5,000 at the U.S. championships, and although her 15:03.12 seed time ranks her only 10th (behind nine professional runners), she鈥檚 shown a gritty competitiveness and will likely find herself among the top five.

10. How fast can Athing Mu run the 1,500?

As one of the world鈥檚 best runners in the 400- and 800-meter events, Athing Mu has been nearly unbeatable on the track since 2019鈥攕he鈥檚 finished first in 52 of her past 54 races鈥� but he鈥檚 only raced once since last summer鈥檚 world championships. That was a solid win in the 800 meters (1:58.73) at the USATF NYC Grand Prix on June 24.

Because she鈥檚 the defending world champion in the 800, she has an automatic entry into this year鈥檚 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, but at this weekend鈥檚 U.S. championships, she鈥檚 running the 1,500 (a.k.a. the metric mile).The 21-year-old Mu has only run that event once in recent years鈥攁 4:16:06 effort during her only season at Texas A&M in 2021, but she also ran a 4:37.99 mile early during the 2022 indoor season. She should be able to advance to the finals Saturday evening, but finishing on the podium against a deep field that includes Heather MacLean (3:58.76), Elise Cranny (3:59.06), Cory McGee (4:00.61), Sinclair Johnson (4:00.77) and Nikki Hiltz (4:01.42) could be a tall order鈥攗nless it winds up being a slower kind of race that will play into Mu鈥檚 closing sprint speed.

The post 10 Things to Get Excited About in the U.S. Track and Field Championships appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

After two years of marathon racing, trail running, triathlon and track and field being under the grip of COVID-19, running came back with enormous force in 2022. Here are some of the brightest highlights of the year.

Once and Forever the G.O.A.T.

Stop if you鈥檝e heard this one before, but Eliud Kipchoge is still the king of the marathon. The 38-year-old Kenyan continued his near-flawless record at 26.2 miles, by winning both the Tokyo Marathon (2:02:40) in March and the Berlin Marathon (2:01:09) in September. Those wins boosted his career total to 15 victories (in 17 races) and his Berlin time shaved 30 seconds off his own world record that he鈥檇 set four years earlier on the same course. In an event where so much has to go right on race day to achieve success, Kipchoge has been nearly untouchable since he transitioned to running marathons in 2013. In the two races he didn鈥檛 win, he placed second in Berlin in 2013 (2:04:05) and eighth in London in 2020 (2:06:49).

If you count the two time-trial exhibitions he ran in 2017 in Monza, Italy, (2:00:25) and and 2019 in Vienna, Austria, (1:59:40) it gives him eight 26.2-mile efforts at 2:03:05 or faster. With two Olympic gold medals under his belt and wins in London and Chicago, the only thing that remains is winning the Boston Marathon (which he鈥檒l be trying to do on April 17) and winning the New York City Marathon (which could very likely be on his agenda come November). He might still become the first person to run a sub-2-hour marathon in a race, but his legacy is already secure, no matter what happens in 2023.

Moms in Motion

In many sports, having a child has, unfortunately, often signaled the end of a professional athlete鈥檚 career. However, there鈥檚 a growing trend in endurance sports of high-profile women athletes pushing back against the trend, in part because sponsoring brands and event organizations have changed maternity policies to become more supportive. At the 2022 New York City Marathon, six of the top nine finishers were moms with young children. Lonah Salpeter (Kenya/Israel), Viola Cheptoo (Kenya), Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Aliaphine Tuliamuk (Kenya/U.S.) and Jessica Stenson (Australia) who finished second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth overall showed their all very strong, very fit and very fast moms. It all seems perfectly appropriate in a year when the New York City Marathon went out of its way to support new mothers before, during and after the race. In partnership with the &Mother non-profit, the New York Road Runners set up private lactation stations at different locations throughout the course, as well as at the race expo earlier in the weekend.

On the track, Jamaica鈥檚 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the 100-meter dash at the World Athletics Championships 鈥� her 11th international medal since giving birth to son Zyon in 2017. The best racing mom of the year? Undoubtedly, that was Chelsea Sodaro, who won the 2022 Ironman World Championships just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter, Skylar.

They Set the Track on Fire

After waiting nearly 40 years for the U.S. to host the world championships of track and field for the first time and then waiting an extra year because of a delay due to the COVID pandemic, the world鈥檚 best runners, jumpers and throwers put on an amazing show during the nine-day World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last July. With three world records and 13 championship records broken, it at least equaled 鈥� and in many ways exceeded 鈥攖he 1984 and 1996 Olympics among the best track meets ever held on U.S. soil.

While the gold-medal performances of American stars Athing Mu (800 meters), Fred Kerley (100 meters), Noah Lyles (200 meters), Michael Norman (400 meets), Katie Nageotte (pole vault) and Ryan Crouser (shot put), among others, as well as those of Jamaica鈥檚 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100 meters), UK鈥檚 Jake Wightman (1,500 meets), Norway鈥檚 Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Brazil鈥檚 Alison Dos Santos (400-meter hurdles) were electrifying, it was the world-record efforts from the USA鈥檚 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400-meter hurdles, 50.68), 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 Tobi Amusan (100-meter hurdles, 12.12) and U.S.-born Swedish star Armand Duplantis (pole vault, 6.21 meters or 20 feet, 4鈪� inches) that provided the most dramatic fireworks. And there was no better way to end the event than with the final performance of American track legend Allyson Felix, who capped her record-setting career by winning a gold medal with the USA鈥檚 4×400-meter relay.

American Prodigy Continues to Soar

After shining as a teenage phenom in high school and as a collegiate runner at Stanford, Grant Fisher has continued to progress to the level of one of the best American distance runners in history and he鈥檚 only 25. Even though he didn鈥檛 win a medal at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July, his tenacious fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters was something to behold. For 23 laps of the 25-lap race, the rising American star went stride for stride with a dozen or so of the best distance runners in the world and didn鈥檛 give an inch. During an all-out sprint around the final lap, he dug deep and finished just 0.71 seconds behind gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei (27:27.43) of Uganda and just 0.31 seconds from becoming the first American man to earn a medal in the 10,000 meets at the world championships. Even though he was fourth, it was a memorable moment to be sure.

After placing fifth in the 10,000 meters and ninth in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Fisher improved to fourth in the 10,000 meters and sixth in the 5,000 meters at last summer鈥檚 world championships. He also won a fast U.S. championships 5,000-meter race and set a new indoor American record in the 5,000 meters (12:53.73) and a new outdoor American record in the 10,000 meters (26:33.84), the later of which ranked number one in the world in 2022 and is number seven on the all-time world list. He鈥檒l be a runner to watch at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and 2024 Olympics in Paris, although he might not truly be in his prime until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Solo Sensations

Trail runners, hikers and mountaineers spent 2022 ripping a lot of speedy solo efforts on trails, ridgelines and peaks enroute to setting new fastest known times. Known as FKTs, they鈥檙e essentially the records for any given route out in the wild. The crew at , which documents those marks, culled 49 efforts out of the thousands of new marks set this year for consideration as the best FKTs of the year that will be announced on December 30. Four of the very best include American Jack Kuenzle rewriting Kilian Jornet鈥檚 FKT for the Bob Graham Round, covering that historic 66-mile route with 42 high points and 27,000 feet of vertical gain in the English Lake District in 12 hours, 23 minutes, 48 seconds.听 Others included Swiss runner and ski mountaineer Remi Bonnet running up Colorado鈥檚 Manitou Incline 鈥斕齛 grueling 0.90-mile stair climb route below Pikes Peak听鈥� in a lung-burning 17-minute, 25-second effort, Jason Hardrath tackling the little known Norman鈥檚 13 line 鈥斕齛 106-mile route with 13 peaks higher than 14,000 feet in California鈥檚 Sierra Nevada Range 鈥斕齣n three days, two hours and 22 minutes and Colorado鈥檚 Andrea Sansone lowering the women鈥檚 mark and recording the second-fastest time on Colorado鈥檚 100-mile Nolan鈥檚 14 line of 14 peaks above 14,000 feet in 45 hours, 52 minutes.

RELATED: Jack Kuenzle Is Coming for Your FKTs

Marathoners on the Move

After 16 years of American women chasing Deena Kastor, a couple finally caught her. Heading into 2022, Kastor鈥檚 U.S. women鈥檚 record in the marathon (2:19:36) had lasted for nearly 16 years. But then Keira D鈥橝mato, a reality and mother of two ran a superb race at the Houston Marathon and lowered the American record to 2:19:12. Nine months later, Emily Sisson shattered the time at the Chicago Marathon, lowering it to 2:18:29 enroute to her second-place finish in the Chicago Marathon on October 9.

鈥淚鈥檓 so happy,鈥� Sisson said after the race, when she was joined by D鈥橝mato, Kastor and previous American record-holder 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing. The women standing here today, they鈥檝e all accomplished so much. To be among them is an incredible honor.鈥�

As further evidence that women鈥檚 distance running is on the rise in the U.S., Sara Hall (fifth, 2:22:10), Emma Bates (seventh, 2:23:18) and D鈥橝mato (eighth, 2:23:34) combined to be the best national trio of runners in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Crazy-Fast Super Shoes

Running shoes got cushier and faster in 2022. Shoe brands ushered in a new crop of speedy racing shoes enhanced with hyper-responsive foams and carbon-fiber propulsion plates, led by the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2 ($275), Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 ($250), and ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+ ($250). Under Armour burst on the scene with its first carbon-plated racer, the Flow Velociti Elite ($250) as Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi made it an auspicious debut by winning the New York City Marathon in a pair of them. Hoka鈥檚 Rocket X 2, although it won鈥檛 officially launch until early 2023, made waves at several marathons as well as the Ironman World Championship.

Carbon-fiber plates have also become prolific in trail running shoes, including the Craft CTM Carbon Trail ($260), Saucony Endorphin Edge ($200), and Hoka Tecton X ($200), the latter of which features a set of parallel carbon-fiber plates in each shoe to enhance stability, protection and propulsion. Meanwhile, 2022 Ironman world champion Gustav Iden of Norway of 2:36:15 at the event鈥檚 return to Hawaii in October wearing a prototype pair of On鈥檚 Cloudboom Echo carbon-plated model with a midsole stack height in excess of 50 millimeters. Although those shoes would be deemed illegal in a marathon according to World Athletics standards, those rules don鈥檛 apply to Ironman triathlons.

RELATED: The Running Shoes We鈥檙e Most Excited to Try in 2023

Nonbinary Acknowledgement and Inclusion

As the running world continues to manage the challenges of fairly and respectfully including nonbinary athletes into competitive events, there was plenty of progress made in 2022. The Chicago, Boston and New York City marathons all continued to move forward with discussion and structure of nonbinary racing divisions. More than 200 road races throughout the U.S. have opened up in similar ways, organized by nonbinary runner, Jake Fedorowski. The New York City Marathon went so far as to offer $9,000 in prize money to the top nonbinary runners at this year鈥檚 race on November 6. Jacob Caswell, a 25-year-old runner from New York City, was the fastest of 46 entrants in the nonbinary division in 2:45:12, which netted the $5,000 top prize.

A week earlier, 27-year-old nonbinary ultrarunner Riley Brady earned a hard-to-get Golden Ticket to the 2023 Western States 100. What made it possible was that Brady ran a stellar race at the Javelina Jundred 100-miler in Fountain Hills, Arizona 鈥� placing seventh overall and second in the women鈥檚 award category in 14 hours, 45 minutes鈥攁nd also because the race allowed runners to register in male, female or non-category gender categories, while still competing for either male or female awards divisions.

Meanwhile Kirsten Beverley-Waters, a 37-year-old queer, nonbinary trail runner (Kirsten uses both 鈥渟he鈥� and 鈥渢hey鈥� pronouns) completed 22nd straight days of running 50 km (31 miles) in late June as a means to raise awareness for , the world鈥檚 largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. Although that effort surpassed both the previous women鈥檚 mark (11 days) and men鈥檚 record (21 days), Kirsten鈥檚 achievement was later recognized as a nonbinary record by Guinness World Records.

鈥淭hey agreed that if they could offer nonbinary as a category in profile it should also be something they honored in records,鈥� Beverley-Waters said. 鈥淚 had pointed out how more major races are also offering a nonbinary category and that the change for them would reflect the progress we are making in the running community. It feels good to see the record reflect me authentically and more importantly let other nonbinary athletes know that even in records space is being created for us. It feels like a big win for the nonbinary community.鈥�

Trail Running Goes Global

The two-decade globalization of trail running came full circle in 2022 with the first combined , the expansion of the new and and the increasing trend of ambitious runners everywhere traveling to explore trails and races around the world. More sponsorship money and bigger cash prizes have followed, helping the sport鈥檚 best athletes鈥擪ilian Jornet, Courtney Dauwalter, Jim Walmsley, Francois D鈥橦aene, Grayson Murphy, Joe Gray, to name a few鈥攂ecome global stars who earn a full-time living in the sport. But it鈥檚 also created a desperate need for a unified governing body and more consistent drug-testing as the concern about doping becomes more real.

At the world championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, athletes from 49 countries competed in five events, ranging from an 8.5K uphill mountain race to an 80K ultra race. Among the top highlights included American Allie McLaughlin earning gold (8.5K mountain race) and bronze (10.5K up-down mountain race) individual medals and helping the U.S. women to team gold and bronze medals, and countryman Adam Peterman running away with the 80K race and helping Team USA to gold.

While most notable American races鈥攖he Western States 100, Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, The Dipsea, Hardrock 100 and Chuckanut 50K鈥攁re still great events with compelling allure, there鈥檚 been a continued shift to a more globally competitive sport since the early 2000s and the new epicenter sits squarely in Chamonix, France. The 171K Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (won this year by Catalan legend Kilian Jornet and American Ph.D candidate Katie Schide) has long been a de facto world championships of ultra-distance trail running in the mountains (along with its 100K CCC and 54K OCC sister races) as well as the ultimate test for tenacious middle-of-the-pack runners, too. Although the expanding UTMB World Series makes it slightly more challenging to earn a spot in Chamonix, with 34 qualifying events around the world, the sport鈥檚 increased international focus is as much about cultural interaction as it is about the universal language of running,听 an appreciation for the natural environment and the joy and freedom of running on trails.

RELATED: Kilian Jornet Isn鈥檛 the G.O.A.T. of Trail Running Just Because He Wins Big Races

Pushing the Pace Even Longer

Camille Herron is one of those runners who found a marathon to be too short. And good for her, because she鈥檚 definitely found her niche as one of the world鈥檚 best ultra-distance runners. In a year punctuated by fast ultra-distance efforts, Herron was one of the best and most relentless in the pursuit of unfathomable records.

In February, the 40-year-old runner from Warr Acres, Oklahoma, seemed to have set a new women鈥檚 100-mile world record after she was the outright winner of the USA Track & Field 100 Mile Road Championships鈥攂eating all of the women and men in the field鈥攁t the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival 100-miler in Henderson, Nevada. She finished the race in 12 hours 41 minutes 11 seconds鈥攁 7:37-per-mile pace鈥攁nd beat the second-place finisher and first male athlete, Arlen Glick, by nearly 30 minutes.

After the course was remeasured twice鈥攊ncluding haphazardly during the race in February and again in October 鈥� it was determined that the course had been slightly altered and was short by 716 feet. As a result, a USA Track and Field committee wouldn鈥檛 ratify the record. That鈥檚 despite Herron鈥檚 GPS watch data reading 100+ miles, as well as those of runner-up , third-place finisher , fourth-place finisher and second woman , and fifth-place finisher .

Although that frustrating matter might still be pursued through litigation, Herron has continued to do her thing. She set on December 11 in Phoenix, including improving her own women鈥檚 American record for 100 miles on a track (13:02:16 or 7:49 mile pace). She also set new records for 50 miles (5:57:46) and 100K (7:35:50), along with multiple age group records before tapping out. (Marisa Lizak, a 43-year-old runner from Marina del Rey, California, was the overall winner of the 24-hour race with an impressive 156.7-mile effort.)

Among the other incomprehensible highlights of 2022, Lithuanian runner Aleksandr 鈥淪ania鈥� Sorokin set new world records for 100K on a track (6:05:41), 100 miles on road (10:51.39) and 24 hours (319.61K, or 198.59 miles), while Belgium鈥檚 Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert ran 421.1 miles in the World Backyard Ultra Championships by running 101 鈥測ards鈥� (loops of 4.17 miles) over 101 consecutive hours October 15 to 19.

RELATED: How Aleksandr Sorokin Ran 100 Miles at a 6:31-Mile Pace

The post The Most Inspiring Moments in Running and Multisport from 2022 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Sydney McLaughlin, Athing Mu, Fred Kerley, Allyson Felix, Ryan Crouser and Mondo Duplantis put on an exhilarating show of epic athletic performances over the past 10 days in Eugene, Oregon.

Did you catch any of the action? Did you see those once-in-a-generation home-grown stars perform at their greatest? Did you even know it was happening?

The World Athletics Championships (aka the world championships of track and field) concluded on July 24 in what was certainly one of the best, most exciting international sporting events ever held on American soil. Amid thrilling performances on a daily basis, track and field was on display in full glory at the University of Oregon鈥檚 Hayward Field as new young stars emerged and several new world records were broken, including McLaughlin鈥檚 on the penultimate night of the event and Duplantis鈥� meet-ending victory in the pole vault.

鈥淚 have been to 14 world championships and this one has made me fall in love with the sport I love the most all over again,鈥� said NBC Sports commentator Ato Boldon, a 200-meter gold medalist from the 1997 world championships and a four-time Olympic medalist for Trinidad & Tobago.

Not only did it include stunning displays of elite-level speed, endurance, power, agility and technique, but it also showed why track and field is capable of reaching a new zenith as it approaches the 2024 Olympics in Paris and, more prominently for a U.S. audience, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. And that鈥檚 especially true from an American point of view. 鈥攊ncluding 13 gold鈥攁nd showed potential to gobble up even more hardware at next year鈥檚 world championships in Budapest.

RELATED: How to Make More People Fall in Love with Track and Field

Yes, the event was that exceptional. If you鈥檙e a track geek like me, you watched every single moment of every single event. I found my way to Eugene for the first several days of the meet, then tuned into every live broadcast session thereafter via the NBC livestream and the NBC Sports app, as well as a couple of tape-delayed network sessions on NBC. But if you鈥檙e a casual fan, you understandably might not have even known it was happening.

As amazing as the event was, there were plenty of unsold seats at Hayward Field each day, it barely made the nightly highlights on ESPN鈥檚 SportsCenter, and it might not have made its way into your Instagram feed. Here鈥檚 a quick summary of the show-stopping results.

*, shattered her own world record and won gold in an eye-popping 50.68 seconds. A year after she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in a record-fashion, the 22-year-old faith-driven athlete from New Jersey outdid herself and what close observers to the sport thought was possible with an impeccable display of speed, timing, and technique.

To put that into perspective, that time would have placed sixth in the open 400-meter race (without hurdles) held earlier in the day. She added to her superstar status in the closing race of the meet, , one of the fastest times ever recorded for a one-lap sprint around the track.听

Expect McLaughlin to challenge the 37-year-old record in the open 400 of 47.60 as soon as this summer and continue to elevate her status as one of track鈥檚 all-time greats.

鈥淚t was unreal,鈥� McLaughlin said of the relay. 鈥淲e had such a young team. All these girls are from teams out of college. It was put together at the last-minute, and to see them all come together after such a long collegiate season, I am so grateful to be part of it.鈥�

* Mu, a 20-year-old sensation from New Jersey, also followed up her commanding Olympic victory in the 800 meters with a resounding world championship win. In what was a stunning display of young stars, and had to lean at the line to win by .08 seconds in a world-leading 1:56:30. Although she鈥檚 yet to reach her potential in the 800 or the 400, Mu hasn鈥檛 lost an individual race on the track in nearly three full years.

* Kerley, a flamboyant 27-year-old sprinter from Texas, continued one of the most amazing transformations in recent track and field memory, . What鈥檚 so surprising is that he did it after starting his career as an elite 400-meter runner who took bronze in the longer event at the 2019 championships in Doha, Qatar. He鈥檚 one of only three men in history to run the 100 under 10 seconds (9.76), the 200 under 20 seconds (19.76) and the 400 under 44 seconds (43.64), and he鈥檒l likely next take aim at Usain Bolt鈥檚 world record in the 100 (9.58 seconds).听

* Felix, who has been an American track legend for years, earned a bronze medal in the mixed (co-ed) 4×400-meter relay to start the meet, then earned gold as part of the U.S. women鈥檚 That extended her career record haul of 20 world championship medals (to go with 11 Olympic medals) and wrap up one of the most decorated careers in the history of track and field.听

After that first race鈥攚hich she thought would be her only event鈥攕he had returned home to Los Angeles, where she was eating hot wings with a root beer float, and got a call from U.S. coaches to come back for the preliminary heat of the all women鈥檚 relay. She jumped at the chance to run again in front of a home crowd and ran a sterling 50.61 split to help the U.S. team qualify for the finals, eventually earning her final medal. She鈥檒l conclude her outstanding career with a unique street race on August 7 in Los Angeles.

* Crouser, who grew up in Oregon, added to his legacy as the greatest shot-putter of all-time . He already owns the world record (23.37m or 76-8) and an Olympic gold medal from last summer in Tokyo, but he鈥檚 only 29 and still on his way up despite a strong group of Americans鈥攎ost notably silver medalist Joe Kovacs and bronze medalist Josh Awotunde鈥攊n hot pursuit.

* Duplantis, a Louisiana-born pole vaulter who competes for Sweden (because of his family heritage), (or 20 feet, 4.4 inches) on the final jump of the night after he defeated American Christopher Nilsen for the gold medal. Pole vault is the most obscure and difficult event in track and field and one of the most technically demanding disciplines of any sport, and the 22-year-old Duplantis is an athletic craftsman well beyond his years.

Those are just some of the many top-tier highlights, but there are plenty of other performances worthy of praise both from athletes who earned gold and those who made significant breakthroughs:

狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 Tobi Amusan set a 12.12 world record in the 100-meter hurdles in the prelims, en route to winning her country鈥檚 first gold medal; Unsung British athlete Jake Wightman upset favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men鈥檚 1,500 meters; China鈥檚 Wang Jia鈥檔an won the men鈥檚 long jump competition with an 8.36-meter jump (27 feet, 5 录 inches) on his final attempt.

For Americans, it was as much of a celebration of champions鈥擝rook Andersen becoming the first U.S. woman to win the hammer throw and the over heavy favorite Jamaica鈥攁s it was feel-good stories and the rising potential in the coming years.

On the last throw of her career, 36-year-old American Kara Winger uncorked one of the best javelin throws in the last attempt of her career (64.05 meters or 210 feet, 1.5 inches) to earn the silver medal behind Australia鈥檚 Kelsey-Lee Barber.

Americans Sara Hall (5th, 2:22:10), Emma Bates (7th, 2:23:18) and Keira D鈥橝mato (8th, 2:23:34) were the strongest trio in the women鈥檚 marathon, earning the first-ever world championship team title for the event.

After years of competing at an international level, American Zachery Ziemek that concluded the 10-event, two-day event.

On the track, American Grant Fisher ran the race of his life in the 10,000m, finishing fourth just 0.17 seconds away from a bronze medal, and then was in position to earn a medal in the 5,000m, but was disrupted amid jostling with 100 meters to go, lost his momentum and wound up sixth, 1.4 seconds from the bronze. The 25-year-old Michigan-born runner didn鈥檛 earn a medal, but did show he鈥檚 poised to run with the best in the world at those events for years to come.

OK, let鈥檚 be real for a moment. It wasn鈥檛 a perfect event by any means. There were far too many empty seats on most days and nights at Hayward Field, marketing efforts to reach casual fans were lacking, and an inane disqualification rule for sprinters and hurdlers needs to be remedied immediately.

American hurdler and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen鈥攖he fastest 110-meter high hurdler in the world this year鈥攚as disqualified from the finals for having a near-perfect start. Keep in mind he didn鈥檛 jump the gun, but the electronic sensors in the starting blocks determined that Allen left the blocks in 0.099 seconds after the starting gun鈥�1/1000th of a second faster than the allowable 0.1 time鈥攁nd officials disqualified from the gold medal race. The standard should become 0.0 seconds and outlaw only athletes who leave the blocks too early. (Allen鈥檚 unfortunate DQ was one of several in the meet.)

Still, the future is bright, both for track and field and for American athletes in the sport. Many of the top performers in Eugene already are international stars (and will be for years to come) but if all goes well, they鈥檒l become household names along the way.

鈥淭his was a good step in the right direction for us in the U.S.,鈥� said NBC Sports commentator Kara Goucher, who was the world championships silver medalist in the 10,000 in 2007. 鈥淲e won the most medals as a team, yet we have a hard time filling stands and getting people out to track meets. It was an important event for the U.S. and now we need to carry this momentum forward. We need to think outside of the box and find a way to inspire the next generation and keep fans involved.鈥�

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