Written by Len Johnson
Graham Crouch, an Olympic finalist, an Australian record holder, a participant in two of the greatest middle-distance races ever, passed away on 28 November after a battle with a particularly aggressive form of cancer.
Crouch was rarely referred to by his full name. Most commonly he was...
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...
But, suddenly, a new contender has emerged.
A classic Seinfeld punchline which, because it is from an episode which references the New York marathon, is relevant here.
In the episode in question – The Apartment – the scene is a marathon-day party where Jerry and George are debating which of them...
It’s getting to the end of the year, that time when you start to reflect on your favourite things of the previous 12 months.
Of course, we’ve only had just short of 11 months of 2019, which is one of the perils of end-of-the-year reflection. One of my perennially favourite...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
In the world or precious stones, cut diamonds are more precious than raw, uncut diamonds.
The cutting process – expensive in itself – adds value. Expertly cut diamonds will always have more value than raw, uncut diamonds of the same carat, colour and...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
The men’s shot put at the world championships in Doha was acclaimed by many as the best-ever shot put competition and perhaps the best-ever field event competition.
In the latter category, Joe Kovacs, Ryan Crouser and Tom Walsh are up against stiff competition....
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
When I boarded a plane bound for Alice Springs a couple of weeks ago, the following things held true: no-one had run a marathon in under two hours; Paula Radcliffe’s world record marathon remained almost a full two minutes outside the reach...
Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
It’s high time we re-evaluated the worth of a relay gold medal, or rather, its relative value versus an individual gold medal.
One of the talking points during and after the world championships was that, in winning gold medals in two relays, the mixed...
After Joshua Cheptegei won the world cross-country title in Aarhus earlier this year he said that his aim was to succeed Mo Farah as the world’s pre-eminent track distance runner.
OK, that meant winning at least a title in Doha (Mo started with one in Daegu, remember), or maybe even...
By Len Johnson (reporting from Doha) - Runner's Tribe
Hassan completes 1500/10,000m double; Obiri bounces back; Rojas ‘scares’ triple WR
In another night of superlatives at the world championships, the men’s shot put reached a standard never before approached, much less seen, at a worlds or Olympics, while Sifan Hassan and...
