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Latest feature articles, blogs, interviews and news from the world of track and field

What a race that was last week (Thursday 22). Cameron Myers leads home a stellar 1500 metres field - including 2022 world champion Jake Wightman – runs the fastest time ever by an Australian man on Australian soil, leads six other Australians and four internationals, under 3:40.c
I enjoy the majority of sports and not because I have a physical education background. For example, kicking or hitting a ball around can be quite a lot of fun and good to watch (and not to mention all the physical and psychological benefits that go with it). Why...
The nineteen eighties decade was a rich one for middle distance running. In Britain the likes of Cram, Coe and Ovett dominated, whilst in Africa, Said Aoutia was the man. Down under, there was one man who had a stranglehold over Australian 1500m and mile running for most of the eighties, his name, Michael Hillardt. Mike won eight Australian titles for 1500m and two for the 800m. He also was the victor at the 1985 World Indoor Athletics Championships 1500m which was the highlight of his career. He finished with a personal best of 3:33.39 for the 1500m (2nd on all time Australian list. ED: Michael is now 4th on the all time list. Since 2008 both Ryan Gregson and Jeff Riseley have bettered his mark), 3:51.82 for the mile, 2:17.49 for 1000m and 1:45.74 for the 800m.
Busier than santa's elves | A Column By Len Johnson Ron Clarke won three successive Zatopek 10,000s at the start of the 1960s, setting his first world records in 1963. Clarke likewise won the last two Zatopeks as the decade concluded. Which prompts the question – what happened in the years...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe The IAAF has announced a partnership to create an official world rankings system as a qualification mechanism to drive the sport’s annual competition system. A short press release from IAAF HQ indicated a memorandum of understanding had been signed with Elite Ltd (the...
When it comes to distance running, Oslo’s Bislett Stadium seems to be the gift that keeps on giving for Australians, Georgia Griffith the latest beneficiary with a national record in the 3000 metres on Thursday (30 May).
Paula Radcliffe’s world marathon record was considered by many as one of the hardest world records of them all. The Briton’s mark of 2hr 15min 25sec had stood unchallenged for 16 years. In steps Kosgei, and boom, that once insurmountable time has been slashed by 81 seconds . Kosgei is also the fastest woman ever over the half marathon distance with her 64:28 at the Great North Run, although the race is not an official course and the time is therefore not classed as a world record. Back to the marathon. Wearing Nike’s ZoomX Vaporfly Next% running shoes the 25-year-old Kosgei bounced her way to 2hr 14min 4sec – a time that was once considered impossible. Astoundingly, Kosgei believes that she could can go quicker. “I think 2:10 is possible for a lady.  I am focused on reducing my time again.”
The World Athletics Athlete of the Year is determined by a vote of administrators, a (loosely defined) athletics ‘family’ and fans (that is, members of the general public). The administrators – aka World Athletics Council members – count for 50 percent; the family – including media, coaches, agents and meeting...
By Mark Tucker - Runner's Tribe “I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.”  (David Benioff, City of Thieves) Most of us have had it...
In 1998, a young runner from New South Wales lay shattered on the Olympic Park track in Melbourne. His name was Martin Dent, and moments earlier he had come to a grinding halt, his panic-stricken face awash with realisation. It was the Australian junior steeplechase final, and while leading the race, he had forgotten to hurdle the all-important water jump. His race was over, and there was nothing he could do. It was his fault, and he knew it. Rising slightly from the track, he began to pummel his fist into the ground, his frustration released in a brief, yet unforgettable tirade. It was this fierce passion that would one day take him to the Olympic Games, and make him one of the toughest runners in Australian history.