Runner's Tribe

Melbourne, Australia; 8 February 2024 -  As the clock counts down to the Olympic Games, the intensity of the Australian middle distance scene is only ramping up, with the stage set for a battle between national record holder Catriona Bisset, Commonwealth medallist Abbey Caldwell and an all-star cast at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne next Thursday.

It won’t be easy making the team to represent Australia in the men’s middle-distance events at the World U20 championships in Lima, Peru later this year.

Jake Wightman, the current 1500-meter champion, found himself on a different track of humility — at his local bike store – as the fastest racers in the world prepared for last summer's world championships in Budapest. With his competitive spirit stifled by injuries, Wightman turned to cycling in an exercise that took place away from the running track.

Conner Mantz won the US Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:09:05, alongside training partner Clayton Young, confirming their places in the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon. Leonard Korir was third in 2:09:57, though his actual place in the US Olympic Team is currently unsecured. Fiona O’Keefe won the women’s race in her debut marathon in a trials record of 2:22:10, ahead of national record holder Em Sisson in 2:22:42 and Dakota Lindwurm third 2:25:31 to make their Olympic team.

Adelaide, Australia; 7 February 2024 -  The biggest names in Australian athletics will descend upon Adelaide for the opening meet of the 2024 Summer Series, with Saturday’s Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational lighting the flame for a season of high-stakes competition as all roads lead to Paris 2024.

Defending champion and course record holder Bernard Koech will return for the 38th edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg on 28th April. The 36 year-old Kenyan, who improved the course best to 2:04:09 last year, will face very strong opponents in Germany’s major spring marathon. Samwel Mailu of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Abdisa Tola, who both produced breakthrough performances in 2023, will challenge the defending champion. In Martin Musau there will be another former winner of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg returning to the race: The Ugandan was the winner in 2021.

Establishing himself as Africa's fastest man, Omanyala displayed his prowess from the outset, delivering an impressive semifinal performance with a commanding time of 6.62, ensuring his advancement to the final. In the ultimate face-off, Omanyala clocked an impressive 6.52, not only claiming the top spot but also shattering the national record previously set at 6.54. This previous record was set by Omanyala at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in France last year.

Conner Mantz and Fiona O'Keeffe, who was competing in her first marathon, won the US Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday in Orlando, securing their spots in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with impressive displays of skill.

Femke Bol, the world 400m hurdles champion, opened the 2024 season with a bang, showcasing her incredible skills in the Metz Moselle Athleor, a prestigious World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting that took place on Saturday (3). Bol stunned onlookers by breaking the 50-second barrier in her season debut 400-meter race.

Melbourne, Australia; 5 February 2024 -  Idols will turn into rivals at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne as USA's Queen Harrison Claye lands down under to meet Australia’s own hurdling royalty, with Olympians Liz Clay and Michelle Jenneke bound for the spotlight at Lakeside Stadium next Thursday, February 15.