Athletics
SEMENYA RUNS AT DIAMOND LEAGUE THIS SUNDAY
BY MIKE ROWBOTTOM
Caster Semenya is set for a return to the International Association of Athletics Federations Diamond League circuit in Stanford, California today after a Swiss court reportedly extended the suspension of their ruling concerning athletes with differences in sexual development.
Earlier this month, the Swiss Federal Tribunal put on hold the IAAF’s ruling that obliges athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) to take drugs to medically reduce their naturally-occurring testosterone if they want to compete at events ranging from 400 metres to a mile.
The “superprovisional order” was considered a major boost for South Africa’s world and Olympic 800m champion in her challenge against a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision in the IAAF’s favour.
South Africa’s ewn.co.za website cites a claim by Semenya’s lawyers that, yesterday, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court extended its deadline for submissions relating to the IAAF’s DSD regulations until July 1.
The court’s deadline extension means the IAAF’s regulations remain suspended until the Swiss court receives submissions from CAS and arrives at a decision.
The IAAF’s rules, which came into force on May 8, mean DSD athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone who wish to participate in events between 400m and a mile must medically limit that level to under 5 nmol/L, double the normal female range of below 2 nmol/L.
They were described as “discriminatory” by the CAS when it ruled in favour of the IAAF and against Semenya but it also said the policy was “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to protect the fairness of women’s sport.
Semenya has not raced in the Diamond League since winning the opening meeting of the season in Doha in a meeting record and 2019 world-leading time of 1min 54.98sec.
After the IAAF’s initial attempt to lift the superprovisional order was rebuffed earlier this month, Semenya was officially – but belatedly – invited to take part in the last IAAF Diamond League meeting that took place in Rabat, Morocco on June 16.
However, she had already flown back home from racing in Europe when the invite arrived and had insufficient time to change her plans.
The seventh of this year’s IAAF Diamond League meetings takes place, temporarily, at a new venue – Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field in Palo Alto, California – and will showcase a new talent in the shape of 19-year-old home sprinter Sha-Carri Richardson.
The change of location is due to the fact that the traditional home of the Prefontaine Classic meeting – Hayward Field, in Oregon, is being substantially rebuilt ahead of hosting the IAAF World Championships in 2021.
Fresh from setting world 100m and 200m under-20 records of 10.75sec and 22.17sec at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships, Richardson will make her professional debut in Stanford against a women’s 100m field that includes the resurgent 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion at that event, 32-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 10.73 at the recent Jamaican Championships.
Home world champion Tori Bowie, national champion Aleia Hobbs and double world silver medallist Marie-Josée Ta Lou are also in the line-up.
The women’s 200m is also stacked with talent, including Jamaica’s Rio 2016 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson, who last week won the Jamaican 100m and 200m titles in 10.73 and 22.00.
She will face Britain’s European 100 and 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, who convincingly beat her in Stockholm, two-times world champion Dafne Schippers and world 400m number one Salwa Eid Naser.
Another rising US sprint star, Michael Norman, has already run 43.45sec for the 400m this season, but he will not take lightly the challenge of compatriot Fred Kerley, the Diamond League champion, who in Shanghai last month and recently ran 44.49 in Kingston.
Meanwhile, the Beijing 2008 champion, LaShawn Merritt, will be contesting his first 400m race since the 2017 World Championships.
In the men’s 100m, home sprinter Christian Coleman, who ran 9.86sec in Shanghai and improved it with a 2019 world-leading 9.85 in Oslo, headlines the field.
The world indoor champion will take on world champion Justin Gatlin, Mike Rodgers, European champion Zharnel Hughes and Italian record-holder Filippo Tortu.
Ethiopia’s world and Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana will be making her first competitive appearance on the track since 2017 in a women’s 3,000m that also includes her compatriot, world 1,500m record-holder Genzebe Dibaba, and Kenya’s world 5,000m and cross-country champion Helen Obiri.
Others to keep an eye on will be European 5,000m champion Sifan Hassan, who ran 3:55.93 to finish runner-up to Dibaba over 1,500m at the last Diamond League meeting in Rabat, and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen.
The women’s 1,500m features world and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, returning from maternity leave, and Britain’s European champion Laura Muir.
Kenya’s world 1,500m silver medallist Tim Cheruyot will defend his Bowerman Mile title against a field that includes training partner and world champion Elijah Manangoi, and Ethiopia’s world indoor mile record-holder Yomif Kejelcha.
Lingering bursitis has prevented world number one Abderrahman Samba from competing in the 400m hurdles, meaning USA’s Rai Benjamin will start as the clear favourite.
Benjamin, the third-fastest man in history in this event, won in Rome earlier this month in a season’s best of 47.58.
He will face world number three and two-times Diamond trophy winner Kyron McMaster, who ran 49.12 in Oslo, world silver medallist Yasmani Copello and Olympic champion Kerron Clement.
In the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, Kenya’s world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech will try to fend off the challenge from home world champion Emma Coburn and North American record-holder Courtney Frerichs.
– insidethegames
The Future Olympian Athletics Classic has been rescheduled from the first quarter of 2026 to the last quarter of the year, as organisers move to transform the meet into a truly national developmental programme spanning Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
In a statement signed by Bruce Ijirigho, a former quarter-miler and Team Nigeria captain to the 1976 Summer Olympics, the postponement was described as a strategic decision aimed at broadening participation and ensuring that young talents across the country are discovered and nurtured systematically.
The competition is being organised by the Youth Sports Renaissance Foundation (YSRF), a non-profit organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission by Ijirigho, Godwin Obasogie and Charlton Ehizuelen. The foundation’s primary objective is to revive athletics, particularly at the secondary school level, and rebuild Nigeria’s once-thriving grassroots sports culture.
Ijirigho, who serves as Project Lead, explained that the initiative is not about creating something entirely new but about restoring a proven system that once produced champions.
“This competition is not about reinventing the wheel,” he said. “It is about bringing back the culture that ensured that my contemporaries and I were discovered early in secondary school, received the right coaching and academic support, and went on to earn scholarships while combining sports with education. Many of us later became national, continental and global champions.”
He identified early exposure and modern, age-appropriate coaching as the missing links in youth development across Nigeria and much of Africa.
“The bane of sports in Nigeria and many African countries is that our youth don’t get opportunities early enough and lack modern coaching techniques that accelerate their development,” Ijirigho stated.
According to him, the Future Olympian Athletics Classic will go beyond competition by incorporating international coaching clinics designed to transfer contemporary skills and knowledge to Games masters and grassroots coaches nationwide.
“The Classic will not only discover talents in their early teens but also upgrade the capacity of our coaches. That way, we will nurture them properly to become Olympians and world beaters in their late teens and early twenties. This programme is strictly for high school students because it is developmental.”
The decision to expand the event to all six geopolitical zones, he noted, reflects a commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity.
“Talents abound in every nook and cranny of the country. There are middle- and long-distance runners, sprinters, quarter-milers, jumpers and hurdlers who were either not discovered at all or discovered too late. With this postponement, we can widen the tent and give every Nigerian child a fair chance.”
Ijirigho expressed confidence that with proper planning and sustained grassroots investment, Nigeria can reclaim its place at the summit of global athletics.
“We have what it takes to dominate athletics worldwide. All we need is to get our development programme right. The Future Olympian Athletics Classic will lay that foundation for our youth and for the country when it begins in the last quarter of 2026.”
With its expanded national scope and emphasis on structured youth development, the initiative signals a renewed push to reposition Nigerian athletics for long-term global success.
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Kenya’s Ezra Kipchumba Kering delivered a commanding Valentine’s Day performance to win the 11th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday.
Kipchumba surged to the finish line at Eko Atlantic City in an impressive time of 2:11:55, clinching the $50,000 winner’s prize in one of Africa’s most prestigious road races. His decisive kick in the closing stages sealed a memorable triumph in a fiercely contested men’s elite race.
Uganda completed a strong showing on the podium, with Lomoi Samuel finishing just four seconds behind the winner in 2:11:59, while compatriot Namutala Kephar Lumbasi secured third place in 2:12:25 to underline East Africa’s dominance in the men’s event.
The Gold Label marathon, organised by Nilayo Sports Management Limited under the leadership of Managing Director Mrs Yetunde Olopade, once again lived up to its billing as a premier long-distance spectacle, attracting top-tier athletes from across the continent and beyond.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Dinke Meseret Meleka claimed top honours, crossing the line in 2:37:36 after a determined run. Kenya’s Daniel Flomena Cheyech followed closely in 2:37:43, while Ethiopia’s Getaw Wgagen Zewdalem finished third in 2:38:59 to complete a tightly fought podium finish.
With another thrilling chapter added to its history, the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon reaffirmed its growing stature as a leading destination for elite runners and a major highlight on Africa’s athletics calendar.
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By Kunle Solaja.
The organisers of the gold-labelled Access Bank Lagos City Marathon have described Saturday’s 11th edition as an iconic milestone that ushers in a new decade for one of Africa’s most prestigious road races.
Speaking at a press conference held at the headquarters of Access Bank in Lagos, the Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Mrs Yetunde Olopade, said the 2026 edition represents growth, resilience and renewed ambition for the marathon.
“This 11th edition is symbolic for us. It is not just another race; it signals the beginning of another decade of excellence, impact and global recognition for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon,” Olopade said.
She expressed appreciation to Access Bank, corporate sponsors and the Lagos State Government for their unwavering support and commitment to the annual event.
“We are deeply grateful to Access Bank, our valued sponsors and the Lagos State Government for their consistency and belief in this vision. Together, we have built one of the most revered road races in Africa, and this year’s event will be nothing short of world-class,” she added.
Olopade assured runners, partners and spectators of a top-quality race that would further consolidate the marathon’s international standing and enhance its global profile.
Also speaking at the event, the Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, commended the organisers for their professionalism and dedication, noting that the marathon has continued to elevate Lagos’ image globally.
“The Lagos State Government remains fully committed to supporting the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon because it continues to put Lagos on the global map in a positive light,” Fatodu said.
“This race is more than a sporting event; it is a celebration of our culture, resilience and capacity to host world-class events. We will continue to provide the enabling environment for it to thrive.”
Adding his voice, Dr Nadeem Khan, President of the International Association of Ultra Runners, described the marathon’s evolution over the years as remarkable.
“The progression I have seen at the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is truly phenomenal. Year after year, the race keeps improving in standards, organisation and global appeal,” Khan said.
The 2026 edition is expected to attract elite athletes from across the world, further reinforcing the marathon’s reputation as one of Africa’s leading road races and a flagship sporting event for Nigeria.
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