https://www.scmp.com/rss/324874/feed The World Athletics Championships is a biennial competition organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). They started in 1976 and were originally held every four years before switching to a two-year cycle in 1991. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Usain Bolt said Australian sprint sensation ⁠Gout Gout must ⁠surround himself with ⁠a strong support team to stay focused on his career and avoid the distractions that will come with track and field success. Gout has earned ‌comparisons with the Jamaican sprinting great and the 18-year-old is already being talked about in Australia as a potential gold medallist when Brisbane hosts the Olympics in 2032. He clocked 19.67 seconds to win the 200 metres title ⁠at the Australian Athletics... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3350895/usain-bolt-hopes-australian-sprint-sensation-gout-gout-has-strong-support-system-place?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3350895/usain-bolt-hopes-australian-sprint-sensation-gout-gout-has-strong-support-system-place?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said Saturday that the decision to hold the next two world indoor championships in Asia was “strategic”, with both venues having come through tough evaluations. The city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha state in eastern India will host the world indoors in 2028, while the Kazakh capital Astana was chosen for the 2030 edition. Coe, speaking to reporters at the ongoing world indoors in Torun, Poland, justified the decision to move the global three-day competition to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3347457/world-athletics-makes-strategic-decision-award-championships-india-kazakhstan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3347457/world-athletics-makes-strategic-decision-award-championships-india-kazakhstan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 03:06:33 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara He will aim for a seventh global title to go with his two Olympic golds this weekend, but pole vault maestro Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis is accompanied by a fear of failure every time he steps on the track. Duplantis, who last week broke his own world record for the 15th time, has won 38 straight competitions; an invincible streak stretching back to July 2023. But ahead of defending his World Indoor Championships crown in Torun, the Polish city where he originally relieved Renaud Lavillenie of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3347004/mondo-duplantis-always-has-fear-failure-despite-multiple-world-records-olympic-golds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3347004/mondo-duplantis-always-has-fear-failure-despite-multiple-world-records-olympic-golds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters The perennial battle between adulation and scepticism summed up the year in athletics as fans were treated to some mind-blowing performances against the usual depressing backdrop of doping that left everyone unsure whether to clap or cry. On the positive side, the blip caused by Covid meant the sport held a third world championships in four years and the 20th edition in Tokyo delivered an almost constant stream of brilliant performances and incredible finishes, as well as delivering medals to 53... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3337682/year-athletics-mondo-duplantis-shines-us-enjoy-stellar-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3337682/year-athletics-mondo-duplantis-shines-us-enjoy-stellar-year?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 02:00:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse China’s world champion long-jumper Wang Jianan was cleared of doping after hospital video camera footage showed he had inadvertently inhaled a banned substance. Wang became the first Asian man to win the world championships long jump gold when he leapt 8.36m at the world event in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022. The China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) had said this week that Wang, 29, had not been negligent or at fault after failing an out-of-competition test last November and would not be banned. Wang... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3334346/hospital-video-footage-helps-clear-chinese-long-jump-world-champion-wang-jianan-doping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3334346/hospital-video-footage-helps-clear-chinese-long-jump-world-champion-wang-jianan-doping?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 12:00:17 +0000 Ishani Sarkar Ishani Sarkar Pole vaulting is rarely high on anyone’s list of must-watch sports. But Armand Duplantis, a Swedish-American vaulter known almost universally as Mondo, is changing all that. At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo back in September, he broke his own world record by clearing 6.30 metres (20 feet 8 inches). This was the athlete’s 14th world record since February 2020 when he first surpassed previous record holder Renaud Lavillenie. The highest jump by another vaulter so far this year is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3328787/who-mondo-duplantis-who-just-set-another-pole-vault-world-record?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3328787/who-mondo-duplantis-who-just-set-another-pole-vault-world-record?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Kenyan athletes may have shone at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, winning seven gold medals, but persistent allegations of doping still cast a shadow as the global anti-doping agency threatens to sanction the East African country. The warning is anything but trivial for a nation whose runners embody Kenyans' hopes for lifting families out of poverty, a desperate desire that can drive some over the line. Over the years, and following numerous scandals, Kenya has repeatedly promised... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3326406/kenyan-athletes-shine-tokyo-world-championships-doping-remains-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3326406/kenyan-athletes-shine-tokyo-world-championships-doping-remains-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 10:25:47 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara The ongoing exile of distance runner Wong Wan-chun from the Hong Kong athletics team began after decisions he made about sponsorship and World University Games accommodation. His relations with the Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates (HKAAA) soured to the extent that communication broke down in the lead-up to last year’s Olympics in Paris, from which Wong was absent. Meetings this year with HKAAA officials have yet to result in the city’s marathon, half-marathon and 10km record... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3326209/why-hong-kongs-fastest-marathon-runner-was-exiled-athletics-chiefs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3326209/why-hong-kongs-fastest-marathon-runner-was-exiled-athletics-chiefs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 01:00:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is “box office”, according to World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, but so rarely did the American compete until recently that she resembled the late, reclusive Swedish film legend Greta Garbo. The 26-year-old admits she organises her season around championships, although this year she did take part in the Grand Slam Track meetings. It is hard to argue with her decision to race sparingly when, once again, she delivered on the global stage on Thursday in Tokyo. She came... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3326139/world-athletics-championships-rarely-seen-mclaughlin-levrone-certainly-worth-wait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3326139/world-athletics-championships-rarely-seen-mclaughlin-levrone-certainly-worth-wait?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Sep 2025 07:58:07 +0000 dpa,Reuters,Agence France-Presse dpa,Reuters,Agence France-Presse Armand “Mondo” Duplantis successfully defended his pole vault title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Monday, before celebrating in style by breaking his own world record. In another totally dominant display, Sweden’s Duplantis was the sole athlete to clear 6.15 metres while Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver with a best of 6.00m and Australian Kurtis Marschall claimed bronze with 5.95m on countback from American Sam Kendricks. Duplantis was not finished there, and cleared... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3325634/german-beaten-amazing-marathon-photo-finish-tokyo-dedicates-silver-mum-ethiopia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3325634/german-beaten-amazing-marathon-photo-finish-tokyo-dedicates-silver-mum-ethiopia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 13:04:53 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australian schoolboy sprinter Gout Gout has said he would consider his first world championships a success if he ran a personal best in the 200m in Tokyo, regardless of where he finishes. The big-striding 17-year-old earned comparisons with sprinting great Usain Bolt after breaking the long-standing Australian 200m record and running a string of other fast times over the past year. He improved his 200m record to 20.02 seconds in Ostrava in June and said he was excited about the prospect of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3325583/tokyo-world-championships-test-australian-sprint-star-gout-gout-school-exams-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3325583/tokyo-world-championships-test-australian-sprint-star-gout-gout-school-exams-next?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:50:36 +0000 Lars Hamer Lars Hamer Asian Games bronze medallist Vera Lui Lai-yiu will fulfil her childhood dream this weekend when she becomes the first Hong Kong hurdler to compete at the World Athletics Championships in 14 years. Hong Kong was handed a wild card to compete at the event in Tokyo, and Lui was only told two weeks ago that she would be her city’s sole representative. The championships open at the National Stadium on Saturday and end on September 21. The 30-year-old will race in the 100m hurdles on Sunday. “To be in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3325293/world-athletics-championships-hong-kongs-vera-lui-fulfil-dream-after-surprise-call?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3325293/world-athletics-championships-hong-kongs-vera-lui-fulfil-dream-after-surprise-call?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo said on Tuesday he would let his “legs do the talking” in his battle with brash American Noah Lyles at the world championships in Tokyo. The softly spoken Botswanan won his country’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport in Paris last year, when Lyles finished third. Tebogo labelled his flamboyant American rival “arrogant” after the race, and Lyles’ outsize character was likely to command the global spotlight again when the world championships begin on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3324888/tokyo-world-championships-letsile-tebogos-legs-do-talking-noah-lyles-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3324888/tokyo-world-championships-letsile-tebogos-legs-do-talking-noah-lyles-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Josh Ball Josh Ball After almost 10 years in the international wilderness, Russia’s track-and-field athletes appear little closer to a return to competing under their country’s flag than they were at the height of their doping ban. That suspension – imposed on Russia in November 2015 after state-sponsored doping was uncovered – was lifted in 2023, but it has remained ostracised over the invasion of Ukraine. And it was only in March that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said sanctions would stay in place... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3321775/doping-damaged-goods-russian-athletics-long-road-reintegration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3321775/doping-damaged-goods-russian-athletics-long-road-reintegration?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 23:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sebastian Coe has two years left as World Athletics president and it promises to be lively, as he said next year’s inaugural Ultimate Team Championship would remind the world the sport was “big and punchy and still there.” The 68-year-old Englishman has shrugged off the disappointment of finishing third in the International Olympic Committee presidential election in March, saying he was not “not one for rear view mirrors”, adding he had “conceded and moved on”. Moved on he certainly has. The old... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3315692/big-and-punchy-world-athletics-chief-coe-looks-future-final-2-years-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3315692/big-and-punchy-world-athletics-chief-coe-looks-future-final-2-years-role?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:30:14 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Team GB Olympic medallist Toby Harries has said that Hong Kong provided the perfect setting to prepare for this weekend’s World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou. Harries is embarking on the second phase of his career, having switched last year to running the 400 metres after considering quitting because he felt “down and out” after a period of stagnation in the 200m. He documented his bid to qualify for Great Britain’s 2024 Olympics 4x400m men’s team for more than 20,000 social media followers, who... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3309549/hong-kong-perfect-base-team-gb-athletes-they-embark-world-championships-quest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3309549/hong-kong-perfect-base-team-gb-athletes-they-embark-world-championships-quest?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 May 2025 09:30:08 +0000 India’s Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra said it was now “completely out of the question” that rival Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan would attend his meet in Bengaluru next month following Tuesday’s deadly Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir. Relations between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have plummeted to their lowest level in years after the killing of 26 tourists on Wednesday. A day before the attack, Chopra had announced that the world’s top throwers, including... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3307917/indias-chopra-withdraws-invite-pakistani-javelin-rival-after-kashmir-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3307917/indias-chopra-withdraws-invite-pakistani-javelin-rival-after-kashmir-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Apr 2025 08:08:44 +0000 No one has bettered Usain Bolt’s 100 metres world record of 9.58 seconds since he clocked it 16 years ago, but that could change if an athlete-turned-entrepreneur from Hong Kong has her way. Groundbreaking speeds could be just around the corner, if a high-performance running track developed by Feldspar Sport – a UK-based technology company founded by Hongkonger Alvina Chen – is accepted for use by governing body World Athletics. Months on from what was said to be the fastest track yet being used... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3307656/100-metres-9-seconds-usain-bolts-record-may-fall-thanks-hongkongers-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3307656/100-metres-9-seconds-usain-bolts-record-may-fall-thanks-hongkongers-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 23:30:14 +0000 Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis will head up a stellar cast of athletes kicking off the 16th Diamond League season in Xiamen on Saturday amid a changing landscape that has seen Michael Johnson launch his Grand Slam Track series. Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny said he welcomed competition, but that the 15-meet circuit he oversees was the “backbone” of global athletics, with a record US$9.2 million in prize money on offer. “You will get the most comprehensive coverage on the highest possible level of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3307402/diamond-league-ceo-bats-away-concerns-over-rival-grand-slam-track-series?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3307402/diamond-league-ceo-bats-away-concerns-over-rival-grand-slam-track-series?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 05:30:07 +0000 Not content with her national record-breaking women’s 60 metres hurdles performance at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, Wu Yanni has her sights set on bigger and better things. The 27-year-old, who has more than 3 million social media followers, is targeting a new China best in the 100m hurdles, as well as charging towards the long-standing Asian record. Wu clocked a time of 8.01 seconds in the semi-final in Nanjing on Sunday, missing out on the final by just 0.01 seconds. Still, she... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3303797/chinas-wu-yanni-wants-asian-100m-hurdles-record-admits-olympics-step-too-far?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3303797/chinas-wu-yanni-wants-asian-100m-hurdles-record-admits-olympics-step-too-far?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:00:09 +0000 Wu Yanni’s failure to reach the final of the women’s 60 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing on Sunday ignited a furious debate on social media. Despite setting a new national record time of 8.01 seconds, the 27-year-old missed out on the final by 0.01 seconds. Her time was the fourth fastest ever run by an Asian woman, but was only good enough for sixth in her semi-final and, while some slammed Wu for not challenging for a medal, others leapt to her defence,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3303600/tearful-wu-yannis-60m-hurdles-failure-world-champs-sparks-furious-social-media-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3303600/tearful-wu-yannis-60m-hurdles-failure-world-champs-sparks-furious-social-media-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Mar 2025 07:30:08 +0000 Australian sprinting prodigy Gout Gout ran the fastest men’s 200m in the world this year on Sunday, with the 17-year-old saying he felt “literally free”. The youngster rose to prominence in December when he clocked the quickest time ever by a 16-year-old. That mark broke Usain Bolt’s personal best at the same age, with his 20.04 secs also bettering Peter Norman’s Australian record of 20.06 from the 1968 Olympics. He turned heads again on Sunday with a 20.05 in the heats of the Queensland State... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3302581/literally-free-17-year-old-australian-sprinter-gout-gout-clocks-world-leading-200m-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3302581/literally-free-17-year-old-australian-sprinter-gout-gout-clocks-world-leading-200m-time?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Mar 2025 11:00:10 +0000 Hong Kong will invite some of the best female runners to attempt to break the 10km world record in a race held on the city airport’s new runway, organisers announced on Tuesday. The race – officially known as the Hong Kong International Airport/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon: Three-Runway System 10km International Race – will take place on November 17 on the centre runway, which is expected to open at the end of the year. Officials hope more than 12,000 runners will take part, with 50... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3278907/elite-female-runners-be-lured-break-10km-world-record-new-hong-kong-airport-runway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3278907/elite-female-runners-be-lured-break-10km-world-record-new-hong-kong-airport-runway?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Sep 2024 10:40:51 +0000 Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen shattered the long-standing 3,000 metres world record by more than three seconds, while Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record by clearing 6.26m at the Silesia Diamond League meeting on Sunday. Ingebrigtsen finished in seven minutes and 17.55 seconds, erasing the record set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen in 1996, when he ran 7:20.67. It was the longest-standing men’s athletics world record in individual track events. The 23-year-old Norwegian was in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3275855/ingebrigtsen-smashes-3000m-world-record-duplantis-soars-new-pole-vault-mark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3275855/ingebrigtsen-smashes-3000m-world-record-duplantis-soars-new-pole-vault-mark?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:15:17 +0000 United States athletics great Michael Johnson on Tuesday announced the launch of a new track league that will see the “best of the best” compete against one another at four elite meetings every year from 2025. Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medallist turned commentator for the BBC, said Grand Slam Track would debut in April of 2025 with two three-day meetings in the US and two international stops, with prize money of around US$3 million on offer at each meeting. One US venue will be in Los... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267187/athletics-great-michael-johnson-launches-best-best-circuit-top-track-runners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267187/athletics-great-michael-johnson-launches-best-best-circuit-top-track-runners?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 05:38:09 +0000 World Athletics has launched a new three-day global championship starting in 2026 in Budapest to attempt to ensure track and field has a global audience in the years between world championships. The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will take place every two years, with the first on September 11 to 13, 2026. Gold medallists are set to receive US$150,000 (HK$1.17 million) each from an overall prize fund of US$10 million, the largest prize pot in the history of the sport. The event will be... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3265239/world-athletics-launches-richest-competition-ever-3-day-championship-will-have-us10-million-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3265239/world-athletics-launches-richest-competition-ever-3-day-championship-will-have-us10-million-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jun 2024 15:00:08 +0000 Tiffany Yue Nga-yan knows exactly what she needs to do to become the first woman to represent Hong Kong at the Olympics in the long jump – and it will mean matching her personal best at least three times over the next several weeks. As the 26-year-old enters the final stretch of a crucial qualifying campaign for the Summer Games in Paris later this year, her focus is entirely on breaking into the top 32 in the world. Fortunately, Yue is not that far removed from the 6.50 metres with which she... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3260375/how-hong-kong-long-jumper-tiffany-yue-will-leap-paris-olympics-match-her-personal-best-3-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3260375/how-hong-kong-long-jumper-tiffany-yue-will-leap-paris-olympics-match-her-personal-best-3-times?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:00:35 +0000 Beijing will host the 2027 World Athletics Championships, track and field’s governing body said on Wednesday. China last hosted the event in 2015 and the mainland Chinese city of Nanjing will host next year’s World Athletics Indoor Championships. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the choice of Beijing was partly commercially driven, stating that the country’s broadcast consumption of the elite Diamond League circuit in 2023 was top, at 368.9 million. “With a population of more than... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3253591/beijing-host-world-athletics-championships-2027-coe-hails-massive-opportunity-boost-sport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3253591/beijing-host-world-athletics-championships-2027-coe-hails-massive-opportunity-boost-sport?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:44:16 +0000 Marathon world record-holder and Paris Olympic favourite Kelvin Kiptum died in a car crash in western Kenya, police said on Monday. The 24-year-old was driving from Kaptagat to Eldoret around 11pm on Sunday when the car rolled, killing the young sensation and his Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana. “The car had three occupants, two died on the spot, while one was taken to hospital. The two are Kiptum and his coach,” said Peter Mulinge, police commander for Elgeyo Marakwet County in western Kenya... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3251715/marathon-world-record-holder-kelvin-kiptum-coach-killed-car-crash-western-kenya?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3251715/marathon-world-record-holder-kelvin-kiptum-coach-killed-car-crash-western-kenya?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Feb 2024 03:10:12 +0000 My competitive experiences of World Championships have been abysmal. I was injured for the first one, injured for the second one, and was retired by 1991 in Tokyo. So I did not actually compete in a World Championships. But I am fully making up for these omissions now. Budapest was a very special World Championships because it was the 40th anniversary of the first one in 1983 in Helsinki, and it was also the first one that gave me the opportunity from the outset to decide what it should look... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3235986/sebastian-coe-world-athletics-president-considers-what-future-sport-will-be-final-4-years-his-tenure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3235986/sebastian-coe-world-athletics-president-considers-what-future-sport-will-be-final-4-years-his-tenure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:00:17 +0000 Hong Kong will send a squad of 20 to this week’s Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, testing the city’s medalling potential in the biggest regional competition ahead of September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou. Most of the team members will be part of the squad for the multi-sport Games, pending approval from the local Olympic committee. “This is a prelude to the Hangzhou Games because all teams are eager to gauge their progress with slightly more than two months to go,” Simon Yeung Sai-mo,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3227149/hong-kong-athletics-stars-test-waters-regional-championships-ahead-asian-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3227149/hong-kong-athletics-stars-test-waters-regional-championships-ahead-asian-games?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jul 2023 07:36:06 +0000 Asia’s fastest man Su Bingtian raised questions over his long-term future on Monday after saying he would not compete again this year. China’s top sprinter announced his decision on social media, a move that means he will not race at the World Athletics Championships or the Chinese-hosted Asian Games. Su, who said his decision was for “personal reasons”, previously denied rumours he planned to retire after he became the first Chinese runner to qualify for a men’s 100 metres Olympic final at the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3223822/asian-games-chinas-top-sprinter-su-bingtian-rules-out-running-hangzhou-prolong-career?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3223822/asian-games-chinas-top-sprinter-su-bingtian-rules-out-running-hangzhou-prolong-career?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2023 10:46:42 +0000 Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s London Marathon on Sunday in the second-fastest time in history, while Sifan Hassan staged a remarkable rally to win the women’s event in the Olympic track champion’s first race over the distance. The 23-year-old Kiptum broke the course record with an astonishing time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds. Having broken clear of the field, Kiptum, who became the third fastest male marathon runner of all time on his debut in Valencia in December, faded towards... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3218060/london-marathon-kenyas-kelvin-kiptum-runs-second-fastest-official-time-history-misses-record-18?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3218060/london-marathon-kenyas-kelvin-kiptum-runs-second-fastest-official-time-history-misses-record-18?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Apr 2023 11:43:04 +0000 World Athletics has said transgender athletes will no longer be allowed to compete in elite female track and field events regardless of their levels of testosterone. The governing body’s president, Sebastian Coe, cited fairness over inclusion as a reason for the decision, which means no transgender athlete who has gone through male puberty can compete in female world-ranking competitions from March 31. Speaking after a meeting of the global track and field federation’s decision-making body, Coe... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3214663/world-athletics-bans-trans-athletes-elite-female-track-and-field-events-says-decision-best-interest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3214663/world-athletics-bans-trans-athletes-elite-female-track-and-field-events-says-decision-best-interest?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2023 04:30:10 +0000 Another significant sporting event has fallen foul of China’s zero-Covid policy, with World Athletics announcing that the team relays scheduled for May next year have been postponed until 2025. It is the third major event the governing body has had to reschedule because of the country’s approach to the coronavirus. World Athletics said the decision was taken with the agreement of both the Guangzhou organising committee (LOC) and the Chinese Athletics Association, because of the “ongoing pandemic... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3197941/world-athletics-relays-guangzhou-falls-foul-chinas-zero-covid-policy-postponed-until-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3197941/world-athletics-relays-guangzhou-falls-foul-chinas-zero-covid-policy-postponed-until-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Nov 2022 01:31:45 +0000 Tobi Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to win a World Athletics Championship gold as she stormed to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles in Oregon on Sunday, obliterating the world record twice in the process. Amusan, who set a world record in an astonishing semi-final where she clocked 12.12sec, powered over the line at Hayward Field in 12.06sec. Her winning time did not set a new mark, however, because of a strong following win of 2.5 metres per second. Jamaica’s Britany Anderson took... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3186445/world-athletics-championships-nigerias-amusan-obliterates-womens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3186445/world-athletics-championships-nigerias-amusan-obliterates-womens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jul 2022 03:13:19 +0000 American Sydney McLaughlin shattered her own 400 metres hurdles world record to clinch her first individual World Championships gold, while compatriot Michael Norman claimed the men’s 400m crown and Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the women’s event. McLaughlin blazed home in 50.68 seconds to set the first world record at this year’s championships, finishing well clear of silver medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands. Defending champion Dalilah Muhammad finished third. “The time is absolutely... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3186340/sydney-mclaughlin-smashes-400m-hurdles-record-win-gold-miller-uibo-norman-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3186340/sydney-mclaughlin-smashes-400m-hurdles-record-win-gold-miller-uibo-norman-win?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jul 2022 07:02:58 +0000 China’s Feng Bin put up the performance of her life to stun the women’s discus final at the World Championships on Wednesday, as Olympic champion American Valerie Allman settled for bronze. Feng won off of her 69.12-metres opener, a personal best and her strongest performance of the season by a wide margin, as Croatia’s twice Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic secured the silver in a 68.45-metres second attempt. “I am so excited and I have to say all opponents did a very good job today,” Feng... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3186029/world-athletics-championships-chinas-feng-bin-stuns-womens-discus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3186029/world-athletics-championships-chinas-feng-bin-stuns-womens-discus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Jul 2022 03:55:57 +0000 Briton Jake Wightman took a superb world championship 1,500m gold as he outkicked Olympic champion and hot favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the final lap, with his proud father Geoff calling him home as the stadium announcer. Wightman’s father and coach, used to the combination by now but never previously seeing such a victory, somehow kept his emotion in check as he called his son home on Tuesday (US time), though he did allow himself a moment to announce to the Hayward Field fans: “That’s my... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3185894/world-athletics-championships-briton-wightman-takes-surprise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3185894/world-athletics-championships-briton-wightman-takes-surprise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:26:29 +0000 Hong Kong’s star marathon runner Christy Yiu Kit-ching is ready to call it a day after finishing with a personal best World Championships time in Oregon on Monday. The 34-year-old, who made her worlds debut in 2015, finished 29th in 2 hours, 43 minutes and 13 seconds – 0.15 seconds faster than her time seven years earlier. The city’s marathon record holder revealed she had only been able to fully train for a month leading up to the race, after receiving acupuncture treatment for a series of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3185770/hong-kongs-christy-yiu-calls-it-day-after-world-athletics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3185770/hong-kongs-christy-yiu-calls-it-day-after-world-athletics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jul 2022 05:27:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s sole representative at the World Athletics Championships, Christy Yiu Kit-ching, is hoping a 777 bib number will help her channel the power of an airliner in the women’s marathon on Monday. Yiu will race at 6.15am in the United States (9.15pm Hong Kong Time) and is looking to improve on her previous best time at the worlds of 2 hours, 43 minutes, 28 seconds, which she set in 2015. The Hong Kong record holder can certainly go much faster, posting a 2:31:24 last May at the Milan... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3185645/world-athletics-championships-hong-kongs-christy-yiu-targets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3185645/world-athletics-championships-hong-kongs-christy-yiu-targets?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jul 2022 06:37:50 +0000 Wang Jianan produced a last-round leap of 8.36 metres to snatch China’s first ever long jump gold at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene after Tentoglou Miltiadis of Greece looked to be cruising to victory. The 25-year-old Wang had produced a best of only 8.03m in his first five attempts and was out of the medal contention. But Wang was waiting patiently for his time to shine. Miltiadis was on course to complete the full house of major titles after previously winning the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3185564/world-athletics-championships-chinas-wang-jianan-snatches-long-jump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3185564/world-athletics-championships-chinas-wang-jianan-snatches-long-jump?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Jul 2022 04:10:15 +0000 Britain’s double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has revealed she is gay, saying she was nervous and excited about coming out in a move that could have saved her years of heartache. The 52-year-old, who won gold in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2004 Games in Athens, said on Saturday she had known she was gay since she was 17. “I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I’m nervous about saying it. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement,” Holmes told the Sunday Mirror... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182289/kelly-holmes-52-british-olympic-athletics-champion-comes-out-gay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182289/kelly-holmes-52-british-olympic-athletics-champion-comes-out-gay?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jun 2022 12:55:22 +0000 Long-jumper Tiffany Yue Ya-xin is aiming for a spot at the World Athletics Championships after breaking the Hong Kong record in Portugal. The 24-year-old recorded a jump of 6.49 metres in Lisbon on Friday – 18cm further than her own previous city mark of 6.31m. It was enough to earn her second place at the Meeting Cidade De Lisboa, and now she is setting her sights on the United States, which will host the global event in Oregon next month. “I’m pleased with the distance, despite the fact that... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3181403/world-athletics-championships-oregon-range-tiffany-yue-after-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3181403/world-athletics-championships-oregon-range-tiffany-yue-after-her?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jun 2022 09:12:44 +0000 Hong Kong marathon queen Christy Yiu Kit-ching has been handed a place at next month’s World Athletics Championships, crushing the dreams of several of the city’s top athletes in the process. The 34-year-old qualifies courtesy of her world ranking of 99th, after organisers increased the field for the event in Oregon to 100, 30 more than in the previous competition in Doha in 2019. Yiu was unlikely to reach the qualifying standard for the event, with her Hong Kong record of 2 hours 31 minutes 24... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3180288/hong-kongs-christy-yiu-handed-world-athletics-championships?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3180288/hong-kongs-christy-yiu-handed-world-athletics-championships?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jun 2022 07:30:13 +0000 The US$1.4 billion Tokyo National Stadium, built by the Japanese government for last year’s Olympics, is being viewed as a site for track and field’s world championships. An inspection team from World Athletics – the governing body of the sport – met with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Wednesday and was to tour the stadium on Thursday. Eugene, Oregon is the venue in July for the next World Championships, which were postponed from 2021 to make way for the Olympics. Budapest, Hungary, is set for... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3179077/world-athletics-look-tokyo-national-stadium-host-track-and-field?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3179077/world-athletics-look-tokyo-national-stadium-host-track-and-field?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 May 2022 09:15:13 +0000 Vera Lui Lai-yiu was unable to clock the “Hong Kong record” she had set out for at the World Athletics Indoor Championships on Saturday, but hailed her race as a “great experience”. The 27-year-old finished eighth in her women’s 60m hurdles heats, and 40th overall, earning a season-best time of 8.45 seconds but failing to qualify to the finals in the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Lui was just milliseconds off her personal best of 8.41 seconds in the event, in which won gold at the Asian... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3171117/world-indoor-championships-hong-kong-hurdler-vera-lui-narrowly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3171117/world-indoor-championships-hong-kong-hurdler-vera-lui-narrowly?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Mar 2022 11:33:14 +0000 “Asia’s Fastest Man” Su Bingtian burst into the wider public consciousness during the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer. That was when the 32-year-old ran the 100m in an Asian record 9.83 seconds to break his own record as the fastest man from the continent. It secured him a place in history as the first Chinese runner to compete in the men’s Olympic 100m final, the showpiece event of the Summer Games. Su also entered the race as the fastest qualifier among the field with... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3151539/who-su-bingtian-china-sprint-star-asias-fastest-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3151539/who-su-bingtian-china-sprint-star-asias-fastest-man?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Oct 2021 23:00:20 +0000 Yohan Blake is quite literally the second-fastest man on the planet with his 100-metre and 200m personal bests just milliseconds behind former Jamaica teammate Usain Bolt. There was a time when the two-time Olympic gold medallist was considered to be even more promising than his countryman, as Blake is still the holder the Jamaican junior national 100m record and is the youngest-ever 100m world champion. In 2008, Bolt told fans to “watch out for Yohan Blake” because he “works like a beast and is... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3139315/yohan-blake-biography-top-speed-jamaican-national-records-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3139315/yohan-blake-biography-top-speed-jamaican-national-records-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:45:13 +0000 Hong Kong-raised runner Jake Smith has announced he will represent England in future Commonwealth competitions, apologising to disappointed fans who watched him compete under the Welsh flag. In a heartfelt social media post, the 22-year-old Team GB star explained the change was necessary because he “hadn’t thought it through properly”, having broken the Welsh national half-marathon record held for 35 years. “I hope this doesn’t disappoint people but I have decided to go back to represent England... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3113227/hong-kong-raised-jake-smith-apologises-switching-wales-england-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3113227/hong-kong-raised-jake-smith-apologises-switching-wales-england-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2020 00:00:05 +0000