Latest news with #WorldIndoor
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caudery wins pole vault at Diamond League in Doha
Britain's Molly Caudery began her 2025 outdoor season with victory in the pole vault at the Diamond League meeting in Doha. The 25-year-old cleared 4.75m in warm and windy conditions at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar to finish top of the standings. Neither Roberta Bruni of Italy nor USA's Katie Moon could clear the height as they finished second and third with vaults of 4.63m. "I absolutely have a lot of fire in me and that's a good thing ahead of the new season," said Caudery. She won the World Indoor title last year to become Britain's first world champion in the discipline. However, Caudery failed to make the final of the event at last summer's Olympic Games in Paris. In the 1500m, Scotland's Jemma Reekie finished a credible third with a time of four minutes 7.33 seconds as Nelly Chepchirchir strode clear in 4:05.00, ahead of Kenyan team-mate Susan Ejore. Elsewhere, Amy Hunt finished third in the 100m in a time of 11.03 as she took .09 seconds off her personal best. The race was won by Tia Clayton, who outshone two-time Olympic 100m champion and Jamaican compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The 38-year-old Fraser-Pryce was competing on the Diamond League circuit for the first time in three years, but could only finish fourth as Clayton, 20, won easily in a world-leading time of 10.92. Clayton's twin sister Tina was second in 11.02, while Fraser-Pryce, competing in possibly her final season, clocked a season's best 11.05 for fourth. Reigning men's Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo produced a lacklustre performance for success in his signature event as he was almost caught on the line by Courtney Lindsey. Botswana's Tebogo ran a smooth bend but seemed to lack fluency in the home straight and glanced to his right at Lindsey as he crossed the line in a modest 20.10, one hundredth of a second ahead of the American. In the men's 800m, Tshepiso Masalela chased down Wycliffe Kinyamal to clock 1:43.11, the fastest time in the world this year. Meanwhile, Lawrence Okoye finished sixth in the discus with a throw of 65.01m, while fellow Briton Laviai Nielsen finished seventh in the 400m with a time of 52.02.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How 'sub-10 king' Simbine shed his nearly man tag
Akani Simbine is the first South African man to win a World Indoor medal with bronze at this year's championships [Getty Images] Having anchored his nation to a relay silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and become the first South African man to win a World Indoor medal in March, Akani Simbine exudes a quiet confidence in his abilities. As the world leader over 100m this year, the 31-year-old's attitude is understandable. It marks a shift in mentality for a sprinter who became known as the 'nearly man' of global athletics after missing the podium with three fourth-placed finishes at major championships - twice at the Olympics and once at the World Championships. "Having that tag as the nearly man, it's noise at the end of the day," Simbine told BBC Sport Africa. "I don't see it like that, I see it as an action that's never given up on trying to be the best. I always show up. "I get disappointed, but my family says to be disappointed being fourth in the world is a bit crazy - because you are the fourth fastest person alive." Although he may have missed out on some medals, Simbine is content with his achievements throughout his career. "I have literally put myself to the surface and I proved myself to be an elite athlete," he said. "I don't need a medal to prove that. The medal is just the cherry on top." Bettering Bolt Simbine's success with South Africa in the 4x100m relay at the Games last year provided a resounding dismissal of that 'nearly man' label and also served as a reward for the consistency he has displayed over the past decade. That continued when he clocked 9.90 seconds in Botswana last month and became the first sprinter to run under the 10-second barrier in the 100m for 11 straight years. His achievement broke all-time great Usain Bolt's record of 10 consecutive sub-10s seasons and brought Simbine a new moniker: the 'Sub-10 King'. The season may still be in its infancy, but Simbine has triumphed in all three of his outings over 100m this year, including in the opening two Diamond League events in Xiamen and Keqiao. It is a promising start to a year which includes the World Championships in Tokyo in September. However, Simbine is not buying into talk of being the man to beat over 100m at this stage. "I'm getting into my races, I'm winning my races and that's all that needs to be done," the former African record holder said. "I'm running well for the beginning of the season. This is not like a peak. "Once I get into June, I've been training well, and I can build up to August and September." Simbine has won all three of his 100m races so far this year, including two Diamond League victories [Getty Images] Simbine credits the buzz around his winning streak to a solid foundation from having a "good" campaign indoors. Foremost among that was picking up a bronze medal in the 60m at the World Indoors in Nanjing and creating a slice of history for his country. "We were using indoors more of training because there was a thing that we figured out I need to work on, that I can only work on when I am in a race," Simbine explained. "Setting up myself for the indoors has put me in the position to run what I'm running now." All of that means that Simbine is a man on form as he leads South Africa's charge in the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, this weekend. Simbine is the senior most member of his country's 4x100m team at the competition, but is relishing his role as the older statesman. "I think it helps because I come with the experience of being in the circuit," Simbine says. "If I say 'Guys, just calm down', the guys would take my word for it. "They respect what I say and look up to what I say. So I think it does have benefit." Over 700 athletes will compete in the two-day event, with 74 of them from eight African countries. A Simbine-Tebogo rivalry A growing rivalry between Simbine and reigning Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo from Botswana is a sign of Africa's sprinting growth [Getty Images] Simbine may have been Africa's leading sprinter for a long time, but he now faces stiff competition from younger stars like Botswana's 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. The exciting growth of sprinting across the continent has set the scene for a southern African rivalry on the global stage. "I think that's already started. There is a rivalry between Letsile and I - it's a friendly rivalry," Simbine admits. "But we are competitors, and one wants to beat the other when it's competition time." "Ferdinand [Omanyala] is also a big name of sprinting. He's done well for himself and Kenya as well. "It's really great that we are being noticed as a sprinting continent and it's inspiring more kids to want to be sprinters and not just tap into the distance events." The Sibine-Tebogo rivalry will not be renewed at the World Relays after the Botswanan withdrew from competing in China. LA 2028 Olympics? After the World Relays, Simbine's focus will turn to the World Championships and his bid for a first podium spot at the event. Simbine will turn 32 on the final day of competition in Japan, but expects to continue lacing up his spikes for years to come. "I'm not thinking about age," he said. "I don't think about how long I've been in the game, I just take every year as it comes. "It's just having and building a really great system around me that is keeping me in the game for so long. And 2028 is the plan, but it might be my last Olympics." Simbine's relentless pursuit for sprinting success is balanced off the track with hobbies that include supporting Chelsea and Kaizer Chiefs, entrepreneurial pursuits and spending time with his family. At this stage of his career a passion for his sport is what drives Simbine forward. "I think the body will decide if it still wants to run fast, then I will definitely stick around," he said. "I love running, I love travelling. "I love pushing my body to being fast and being in this space. It's really, really fun."
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Akani Simbine: South African sprinter on shedding 'nearly man' tag
Having anchored his nation to a relay silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and become the first South African man to win a World Indoor medal in March, Akani Simbine exudes a quiet confidence in his abilities. As the world leader over 100m this year, the 31-year-old's attitude is understandable. It marks a shift in mentality for a sprinter who became known as the 'nearly man' of global athletics after missing the podium with three fourth-placed finishes at major championships - twice at the Olympics and once at the World Championships. "Having that tag as the nearly man, it's noise at the end of the day," Simbine told BBC Sport Africa. "I don't see it like that, I see it as an action that's never given up on trying to be the best. I always show up. "I get disappointed, but my family says to be disappointed being fourth in the world is a bit crazy - because you are the fourth fastest person alive." Although he may have missed out on some medals, Simbine is content with his achievements throughout his career. "I have literally put myself to the surface and I proved myself to be an elite athlete," he said. "I don't need a medal to prove that. The medal is just the cherry on top."
The Herald Scotland
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Ovens: Athletics is, and has been for some time, our leading sport
It comes, then, as little surprise that Ovens believes athletics is, as things stand, Scotland's leading sport. 'Athletics is clearly Scotland's most successful sport at the moment and, in my opinion, has been for the past decade or so,' he says. 'There's a range of factors that go into athletics being such a strong and successful sport but, from my perspective, the most important thing is that the foundations are really solid so it develops from there.' One of the most headline-grabbing moments so far of 2025 was Neil Gourley's silver medal-winning performance in the 1500m at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March. It was an impressive performance in itself but even more impressive was its contribution to one of the most remarkable statistics in Scottish sport; Scottish athletes have won medals at nine of the past ten major athletics championships, with Olympic silverware and world titles included in that streak. For Ovens, Gourley's run was satisfying to watch not only because it extended the run of success of Scottish athletes at the highest level, but also because it was, at the grand old age of 30, the Glaswegian's first global silverware. 'Another major medal was fantastic and I'm really pleased for Neil because that medal has been coming for quite some time,' Ovens says. Neil Gourley won World Indoor 1500m silver earlier this year (Image: Getty Images) 'Neil is part of a generation where there's an ingrained mentality that they will be competing on the world stage for medals and so it was great for him, and the sport, to see it happen.' Gourley's world indoor silver medal came just weeks before what could be considered an even more significant development; the confirmation that Grangemouth Stadium would remain open. For several years, Grangemouth Stadium, which is used regularly for junior, senior and masters Scottish athletics competitions, has been under the threat of closure but finally, a solution has been found that will ensure at the very least, the short-term future of the venue and also, hopes Ovens, the long-term future too. David Ovens (Image: Bobby Gavin/Scottish Athletics) From the 1st of June, the Grangemouth Community Sports Trust will take over the facility and given the venue's significance for the sport in this country, Ovens is barely able to mask his relief that closure has been prevented. However, he also notes his disappointment that there's hasn't been greater understanding from those at the very top of quite how valuable sports facilities are to this country and its population. 'Grangemouth has been earmarked for closure for a number of years so we've worked hard to reduce what was a significant financial deficit when it was in the hands of the council to a place where it should break even,' he says 'It's a huge thing for the sport to keep Grangemouth open. It's our most important stadium geographically because 50 so many of our athletes can get there within an hour. It's our main national competition venue and it's a really busy stadium so it would have been a tragedy if Grangemouth had closed. 'Our chief executive, Colin Hutchison, put in a power of work and we got very good support from Falkirk Council as well as sportscotland and I think that was because Grangemouth is such a significant stadium for athletics both nationally and locally. 'But I don't think though that there's enough recognition at government level of the importance of these kind of facilities, and it's not just athletics facilities, it's swimming pools, hockey pitches and the rest. 'It goes back to the point that the reason athletics has been so successful in recent years is because of the foundations that are in place and facilities are a big part of that strong foundation. The danger for so many sports is that the foundations are starting to become shaky I don't think, at government level, there's a strong enough recognition of the importance of these facilities. 'Yes, these venues are important from a sporting perspective but I also think they're hugely significant in a societal sense for things like health and well-being and so I would like to see a change in the government's attitude towards this.' It is, justifiably, Scotland's current crop of world-class athletes such as Laura Muir, Josh Kerr, Eilish McColgan and Jake Wightman who dominate the media coverage afforded to athletics but given these athletes are all in their late-twenties and beyond, it's understandable that the question has begun to be asked as to who, if anyone, is going to fill the boots of these individuals when they inevitably retire. Ovens, however, is quietly confident that there is a wave of athletes coming through the ranks who will ably back-up the success Kerr, Muir et al have so regularly achieved on the global stage and particularly with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow just 14 months away, he is keen for some of Scotland's younger athletes to begin to make their presence felt on the international stage. 'This summer, I'm really looking forward to seeing Scottish athletes achieve the qualifying times for next year's Commonwealth Games and I'm looking forward to seeing who's going to emerge,' he says. 'There's Sarah Tait, Brodie Young and Rebecca Grieve who are all out in America and are edging towards world class and there's also the sprinter Dean Patterson who's developing very well so there's a list of names who are looking very exciting. We've got very good depth and so that talent coming through, combined with the fact they can look up to these world-class athletes, makes me feel very optimistic for the future.' First thing's first, though, and before the Commonwealth Games there's this year's World Championships in Tokyo in September. Scottish athletes have enjoyed remarkable success at recent editions of the event, including two 1500m world champions in the shape of Wightman in 2022 and Kerr in 2023 and while Ovens would never be complacent about extending Scotland's medal-winning streak at major events, he remains quietly confident of yet more success this summer. 'We can never take for granted how many medals Scottish athletes have won in recent years,' he says. 'Having said that, there is yet another excellent chance this season of more silverware. 'I'd love to see Jemma Reekie get a gold medal and I'd love to see any of Jake (Wightman), Josh (Kerr) and Neil (Gourley) get a medal and continue that run in the 1500 meters. 'I'm confident that we will get some silverware at the World Champs.'
NBC Sports
23-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Sekgodiso runs world-leading time to win 800m gold
Prudence Sekgodiso wins South Africa's first women's World Indoor medal, taking gold with a time of 1:58:40 in the 800m in Nanjing, China.
