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Independent Singapore
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
High hurdler Cordell Tinch aims for a spot in this year's World Championships
SHANGHAI: American hurdler Cordell Tinch continued his breakthrough season with a stunning win at the Shanghai-Keqiao Diamond League, clocking a final time of 12.87 seconds in the 110-m hurdles. The 24-year-old's time not only secured him back-to-back Diamond League victories in consecutive weeks, but he also tied as the fourth-fastest man in history, alongside 2008 Olympic champion Dayron Robles. Tinch, although having an unconventional path to the elite level, says he's staying focused on his improvement as he aims to make the US team for this year's world championships. The athlete said: 'I'm just happy to come out compete again and honestly, just build off of last week, so as we continue to go through this season, I just want to get better each week… Technically, last year was my first full season as a pro. They say, your first full year as a pro, it's a learning process. You got to learn things, so there's a lot of things that I had to learn.' In a social media post made by Athletics Weekly, it stated: 'What a start to the season for Cordell Tinch 🔥 Off the back of times of 12.97 (3.4) and 13.06 (0.3) in the last couple of weeks, he clocks an incredible 12.87 (0.6) to win over 110m hurdles at the Shanghai Diamond League 🇨🇳 It puts Tinch joint-fourth on the 110m hurdles all-time list ⚡️' A netizen commented on the post and said: 'Such a strong start to the season! I truly believe you are a shoo-in @ to make the US Team! I truly believe you have a great shot to win gold!! Your technique and ability to maintain top speed is what separates you from the other 110mh!' Tinch's sporting background Just two years ago, Tinch was selling cellphones in Green Bay, having stepped away from a football scholarship and a potential Division I track career at the University of Minnesota. He then returned to athletics through a Division II programme at Pittsburg State (Pitt State), where he quickly made headlines with standout performances in the high jump, long jump, and especially the 110-m hurdles. Tinch went on to become a professional in 2024 as he made a strong start. However, a mid-season surgery set him back. He narrowly missed a spot on the US Olympic team after finishing fourth at the trials in 13.03 seconds. Recently, he beat world record holder Grant Holloway at the Diamond League opener in Xiamen last week with a time of 13.06 seconds. He followed this win with his remarkable 12.87-second performance at the China Textile City Sports Centre in Shanghai. Moreover, Tinch's recent 12.87-second run in Shanghai now puts him among the sport's top contenders, and his eyes are set firmly on making the world championship team later this year. 'I'll be honest, I kind of felt like I was going to run something fast… I'd been getting out very well all week, but it's a matter of trying to finish those races when I get out well, because I'll get out well and I'll get a little relaxed towards the end,' he added. He further stated: 'I don't want to miss any more USA teams, so regardless of what I got to do, I thought (13.03) last year was fast enough, but it's not, so sometimes you got to go run 12.8 and figure it out from there.'
Irish Independent
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Andrew Coscoran secures big payday with runner-up finish at Grand Slam Track in Miami
After winning the 3000m on Friday, Coscoran sat atop the points standings and was in the mix for the top prize of $100,000, but the 5000m was always going to be a trickier challenge, facing US star Grant Fisher, the indoor 5000m world record holder who won two Olympic medals in Paris last year. Coscoran, the Irish mile and 1500m record holder, had utilised his speed to outkick Fisher in a slow 3000m race on Friday night but in the longer event, Fisher ensured it would be a proper test of strength and injected a big surge with just over three laps to run. That carried him clear of the field and Coscoran opted out of chasing, knowing he would secure second place overall if he finished in the top four. 'I was like, 'What do I want to do?'' Coscoran told Athletics Weekly. ''Do I want to go and win it? But you're up against the likes of Grant Fisher and his 5K PB is over 20 seconds faster than mine so it's like, 'If he decides to start running hard, I've got to make a decision about whether to let him go.' I knew fourth place was enough and once he made a move early, it was an easy decision to make.' Fisher hit the line in 13:40.12 with US athlete Cooper Teare second in 13:46.25 and Coscoran third in 13:46.30, having run a blazing 11.77 seconds for his last 100m – by far the quickest in the race. 'It was a tough race, it's definitely an area I'm quite inexperienced in but I thought it went well,' said Coscoran, who will race another 5000m at the Track Fest in Los Angeles on 24 May. He will hope to secure qualification there for the World Championships in Tokyo, where he could potentially double in the 1500m and 5000m. 'I think my speed is something I worked really hard on the last couple of months and it's in a really, really good place,' he said. 'My endurance is strong, but it's probably not as strong as my speed at the moment, so it's the next thing to work on.' Grand Slam Track is the new professional series co-founded by US star Michael Johnson, with prize money that dwarfs that of the Diamond League. The series features four 'racers' in each event category, who compete at every meet, and four 'challengers', with Coscoran receiving a call-up as the latter. After his strong showing in Miami, he said he hopes to receive an invite for the remaining Grand Slam Track events this year in Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Andrew Coscoran sprints to runner-up finish at Grand Slam Track in Miami
Andrew Coscoran produced another excellent performance to secure a runner-up finish in the long-distance category at the Grand Slam Track event in Miami on Sunday – the Dubliner finishing third in the concluding 5000m to net the biggest payday of his career with $50,000 in prize money. After winning the 3000m on Friday, Coscoran sat atop the points standings and was in the mix for the top prize of $100,000, but the 5000m was always going to be a trickier challenge, facing US star Grant Fisher, the indoor 5000m world record holder who won two Olympic medals in Paris last year. Coscoran, the Irish mile and 1500m record holder, had utilised his speed to outkick Fisher in a slow 3000m race on Friday night but in the longer event, Fisher ensured it would be a proper test of strength and injected a big surge with just over three laps to run. That carried him clear of the field and Coscoran opted out of chasing, knowing he would secure second place overall if he finished in the top four. 'I was like, 'What do I want to do?'' Coscoran told Athletics Weekly. ''Do I want to go and win it?' But you're up against the likes of Grant Fisher and his 5K PB is over 20 seconds faster than mine so it's like, 'If he decides to start running hard, I've got to make a decision about whether to let him go.' "I knew fourth place was enough and once he made a move early, it was an easy decision to make.' Read More Rhasidat Adeleke sprints to second place at Diamond League Fisher hit the line in 13:40.12 with US athlete Cooper Teare second in 13:46.25 and Coscoran third in 13:46.30, having run a blazing 11.77 seconds for his last 100m – by far the quickest in the race. 'It was a tough race, it's definitely an area I'm quite inexperienced in but I thought it went well,' said Coscoran, who will race another 5000m at the Track Fest in Los Angeles on 24 May. He will hope to secure qualification there for the World Championships in Tokyo, where he could potentially double in the 1500m and 5000m. 'I think my speed is something I worked really hard on the last couple of months and it's in a really, really good place,' he said. 'My endurance is strong, but it's probably not as strong as my speed at the moment, so it's the next thing to work on.' Grand Slam Track is the new professional series co-founded by US star Michael Johnson, with prize money that dwarfs that of the Diamond League. The series features four 'racers' in each event category, who compete at every meet, and four 'challengers', with Coscoran receiving a call-up as the latter. After his strong showing in Miami, he said he hopes to receive an invite for the remaining Grand Slam Track events this year in Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).
Telegraph
06-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Meet the Greta Thunberg of UK Athletics – who attends Extinction Rebellion rallies
When Innes FitzGerald emerged two winters ago as the outstanding young British distance runner of her generation, it was not long before she became even more widely known as the 'Greta Thunberg of sport'. She had performed magnificently to finish fourth in the Under-20 European Cross Country Championships in Italy – aged just 16 – following a 20-hour coach and train journey from Devon to Turin that involved even cycling across Paris on a fold-up bike to make a rail connection. She then promptly turned down the chance to travel to Australia for the 2023 World Cross Country Championships. 'I would never be comfortable flying in the knowledge that people could be losing their livelihoods, homes and loves ones as a result,' she wrote in an open to British Athletics. Innes FitzGerald enjoys a runaway victory in the U20/17 women's race at the Cardiff Cross Challenge. — AW (@AthleticsWeekly) November 9, 2024 FitzGerald would then follow up winning the London Mini Marathon by joining Extinction Rebellion activists who had gathered in Parliament Square. Now 18, the environmental campaigning continues – and her running has gone from strength to strength – but the realities of pursuing her athletics dream has also prompted some deeply uncomfortable choices. She will make her senior international debut at the European Indoor Championship in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands this week, where she has travelled with the rest of a near 50-strong British team by air. 'Unfortunately, this time, I haven't managed to sort it out logistically – it's been quite complicated,' she explains. 'I've been very busy with uni stuff and other different family issues. I do feel like I should be getting the train there, and that's definitely something I'm going to be doing in the future. 'For me, it's quite gutting that the whole team aren't going together on the train, considering it's so close and so easy to do. Even though I might be doing the wrong thing, just still saying that it's wrong is better than just doing it and not saying it's wrong. 'Whenever I'm getting on a flight, it's never easy. I'm always thinking, 'Oh, I shouldn't be doing this', but I know that I've got to go to these championships to fill my dreams as a professional athlete. So it's just about balancing that and trying to do as much as I can in other areas of my life to try and make up for it, and also just speak out.' A winner of the BBC Green Sport Award in 2023, FitzGerald is flattered by the Thunberg comparison. 'I think Greta is very inspirational,' she says. 'She kind of managed to mobilise so many young people. I think it's a compliment to be associated with her. If I can do anything near to what she's done, then I'll be very happy. I strongly believe that we, as athletes, have a responsibility.' After growing up on a farm in Devon, FitzGerald's interest in climate change stemmed from her father and she now tries to make environmentally friendly changes in her life and will look into how she can carbon offset in the future. She has also been talking with a sports-focused group called Champions for Earth, which is trying to organise mass participation running events with a low carbon footprint. 'I feel like I have a responsibility to look after the people who are in the Global South, or directly affected by extreme weather events,' she says. 'We're not, in the UK, affected by it, but I feel the pain they're feeling, and I feel like it's my responsibility in a more privileged position to help them, and raise awareness for the situations they're in as a result of our actions.' Since her running breakthrough two years ago, FitzGerald has dominated the European Under-20 Cross Country Championships with back-to-back wins. She then set a European indoor 3,000 metres age-group record of 8min 40.05sec earlier this year. Her strength and bold front-running style has prompted comparison with Paula Radcliffe. She got into running as part of her sister's Duke of Edinburgh award and then built up to five 20-minute runs a week during the Covid lockdown. FitzGerald was soon then breaking 18 minutes at her local Seaton Parkrun before persuading her dad to start taking her training at Exeter Harriers, where she has since been mentored by Gavin Pavey and his wife Jo, a former European 10,000m champion and the only British athlete to have competed at five Olympic Games. After completing A-Levels last year in biology, physics and maths, FitzGerald is now studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at the University of Exeter. 'I don't like bigging people up too much, but Innes is very good,' says Gavin Pavey. 'We never know what's going to happen in the future, but it looks promising. She's doing things that other young athletes at this stage haven't done. What's good about what we're doing is her [weekly mileage] volumes aren't very high.' FitzGerald is also emphasising a long-term approach. 'I never really thought I'd have this opportunity – I don't think there's too much pressure on me,' she says. 'I just want to go out there, enjoy it, soak it all up, and hopefully get into that final. That's where I believe I belong. Hopefully compete for one of those medals, but just getting close. There's lots more years of my career left. I don't want to jump into anything too soon, because I'll have nowhere to progress to. It's just about building up that mileage and intensity gradually.'
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Radcliffe runs first marathon in 10 years aged 51
Former world record holder Paula Radcliffe ran her first competitive marathon in a decade on Sunday in Tokyo. Radcliffe, 51, finished in a time of two hours, 57 minutes and 26 seconds - 10 years after ending her glittering athletics career at the 2015 London Marathon. The Briton held the world record for 16 years from 2003 with a time of 2:15:25 before it was broken by Kenya's Brigid Kosgei in 2019. And her former record was still faster than that recorded by Sunday's winner, Ethiopia's Sutume Asefa Kebede, who defended her Tokyo title in 2:16:31. Kenya's Winfridah Moraa Moseti was second in 2:16:56, with Ethiopia's Hawi Feysa third in 2:17:00. The men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tadese Takele in a time of 2:03:23 for his first major marathon title. Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta was second in 2:03:51, with Kenya's Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich third in 2:04:00. Uganda's double Olympic track champion Joshua Cheptegei came ninth. Radcliffe will also take part in next month's Boston Marathon as she aims to compete in all six major marathons. She recently told Athletics Weekly: "I turned 50 last year, am now 51, and thinking about the goals I've got left one of those was always to tick off the six marathon majors. "For most of my career it was five and then Tokyo was added so I never really had the opportunity to race Tokyo. And Boston I never did because it was so close to London." In addition to London, Boston and Tokyo, the other major marathons are Berlin, Chicago and New York.
