Athletics

AFTER FOOTBALL, WORLD ATHLETICS SET FOR EMPTY STADIUMS

Published

4 years ago

May 17, 2020

BY MIKE ROWBOTTOM

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says meetings may have to take place in empty stadiums as the sport attempts to return to normality in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week the World Athletics flagship series, the Diamond League, announced a new provisional calendar of 11 meetings this year, starting in August and running through to October.

Asked by insidethegames if circumstances may require athletes’ efforts to be viewed via television rather than directly by spectators, Coe responded: “In the short term we may have to compromise on that.

“We can’t be oblivious or tin-eared to what we are being told by local communities and public health authorities.

“It may well mean that.

“It’s clear that football is going to come back quite quickly with the Bundesliga plans.

“And that will be behind closed doors.

“I don’t think anybody is contemplating this as the ideal long-term solution – sport would wither on the vine quite quickly if that were the case.

“But that may well be a compromise we have to make in order to get the athletes back into competition, leagues finished, at least some kind of competition.”

World Athletics has also created a window of opportunity for national championships to be held between August 8 to 9, and Coe reported encouraging signs having spoken at length to members of the European Athletics Council.

Other impromptu events have been held by remote link, such as the self-styled Ultimate Garden Clash, which took place on May 3, involving Renaud Lavillenie, Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis and Sam Kendricks.

The three pole vaulters were connected via a live video as they competed in their own back gardens and the event attracted more than 250,000 live viewers globally, with more than one million people watching the broadcast around the world within 24 hours of it taking place.

Today a second Ultimate Garden Clash of pole vaulters, involving Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, two-time United States indoor champion Katie Nageotte and Canada’s Commonwealth Games champion Alysha Newman, is due to take place.

Meanwhile, Coe has reported that the first meeting between his federation and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the securing its share of revenues expected from the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games had been “very good”.

Several International Federations (IFs) are set to request an early payment of sums they expected to receive from the IOC from the Games, after the postponement created cashflow challenges.

World Athletics – which subsequently shifted its World Championships in Eugene in Oregon from 2021 to 2022, is one of three IFs in the top group for revenue distribution, along with the International Swimming Federation and the International Gymnastics Federation.

Each is expected to receive around $40 million (£32 million/€36 million) from the IOC from revenue secured from Tokyo 2020.

“The teams met the other day,” Coe said.

“It was a very good, very respectful meeting.

“The IOC team have gone away to further deliberate.

“We were very clear about what the main challenges were.

“We also made that point that the cost of moving the World Championships was, to us, not cost-less.

“We were able to adapt very quickly once the Games had been postponed.”

An IOC decision on the matter is not expected until the end of the year.

-insidethegames

Athletics

James, Shambaz win Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10m Race

Published

5 days ago

September 30, 2024

Kunle Solaja

BY DAPO SOTUMINU

Nigeria’s Francis James and Blessing Shambaz yesterday emerged winners of the 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Race to go home with the winners prize money of $1,000 in a race that was officially flagged off by the First vice president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Chief Solomon Ogba, and supported by Mr. Nadin Khan, the president of the World Ultra Running.

James won the men’s race finishing at 30minutes 11seconds to beat all opponents to consolidate on his victory in Abuja when he finished second best in the half marathon held in the Federal Capital Territory middle of the year.

James also emerged the Nigeria’s winner of the World class half marathon.

It will be recalled that James at his last major race in Abuja finished second place in a national half marathon race. He stressed that he used that race to prepare for the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race and he was very happy winning the race.

He stressed that, the victory at Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10m Race has given him the confidence to do better in others races coming up in Nigeria and its an indication, that he’s very close to making history for Nigeria in subsequent marathon races. He added that, Nigerian runners will pull surprise in the others races not minding the attendance of the East Africans.

In second place for the men’s race is Gyang Raymond at a time of 30 minutes 14 seconds. Gyang got $750 for his effort. While the third place winner is Gyang David Boyi at 30 minutes 54 seconds. Boyi got a cash prize of $500.

In the women 10km race, the runners up that placed second was Daylop Patience at a time of 36minutes 98.28seconds to keep her position in last year’s edition. She got $750.

Third place winner is Agofure Charity at 37minutes 88 seconds.She got $500.

The overall 10km also saw the race by special athletes.

The route of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race wore a very active look this morning with the active presence of Febbs table water, a part sponsor of the event.

The volunteers on each points on the route all had Febbs Water on their hands ready to hand them over the runners. The organisers decorated all the runners that crossed the finish line with gold medals, this added to the fanfare and celebrations at the Alake Palace finish line of the race.

Athletics

Diamond League raise 2025 prize money to over $9 million

Published

2 weeks ago

September 20, 2024

Kunle Solaja

The Diamond League will increase its prize money to more than $9 million in 2025, the highest in the history of the series, the organisers have said.

Athletes will make a total of $18 million, with top athletes also receiving promotional fees. Male and female athletes will be paid at the same rate, the Diamond League said in a statement.

“The new total is almost a third higher than the sum paid during the pandemic-affected period of 2021-2024,” the statement said, adding that more will be invested in the athletes’ travel, transport, accommodation, medical and physio services.

Each of the 14 Diamond League meets of the 2025 regular season, scheduled to kick off in April, will award a total prize money of $500,000, with the final in August offering $2.24 million.

“The total prize money per discipline will be between $30,000 and $50,000 at the series meetings and between $60,000 and $100,000 at the final,” the statement added.

The Diamond League’s 2024 season concluded in Brussels last week, with Zurich set to host the 2025 final.

The news comes after World Athletics ended a 128-year tradition by paying Olympic champions at the Paris Games $50,000 each and as rival track events try to muscle in on the circuit long seen as the standard-bearer for professional athletics.

Retired American sprinting great Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track will offer prize money ranging from $100,000 for the winner to $10,000 for the eighth-place finisher at each of four “slams” when the league launches next year.

It will distribute a total of $12.6 million in prize money in 2025.

“In a league of our own,” Grand Slam Track wrote in a post on X, opens new tab on Wednesday, with a breakdown of their prize money.

-Reuters

Athletics

Record 6000 runners register for 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run

Published

2 weeks ago

September 17, 2024

Kunle Solaja

A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.

The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.

Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.

Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.

The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.