Christopher Kelsall
Runner, writer, race director, coach, website-guy and Lydiard advocate.
Swiss brand “On” signs Kenyan Elsingi Kipruto
The Swiss sportswear brand On has added some legitimate horsepower to its roster, securing collegiate phenom Elsingi Kipruto to a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreement. Kipruto, currently busy rewriting Louisville’s record book as a freshman, arrives with the...
Diamond League: Will Faith Kipyegon approach Beatrice Chebet’s world record in 2026?
© Copyright - 2026 - Athletics Illustrated
Faith Kipyegon opened her 2026 outdoor season Saturday with a performance that raised the question of whether the three-time Olympic champion will target the women’s 5000m world record this year.
She ran...
The 2026 Diamond League got off to a raucous start in Shanghai/Keqiao
The 2026 Diamond League season opened in Shanghai/Keqiao with the sort of meet that usually arrives in August, not May. World leads, national records and meeting records fell in clusters across an evening that often felt closer to a...
African Athletics Championships: A farce of chaos and attempted damage control
The 2026 African Athletics Championships opened in the capital of Ghana, Accra, with world record holder Tobi Amusan headlining the start lists. Day 1 should have been a showcase of continental talent. Instead, it quickly became a case study...
Mattoni Half Marathon Karlovy Vary: EuroHeroes opens with a crowd that doesn’t need saving
The Mattoni Half Marathon Karlovy Vary will open the 2026 EuroHeroes series with something increasingly rare in European road racing, which is a field so balanced it might actually produce tension. On Saturday, May 16, last year’s winner Damián...
Sabastian Sawe’s coach, Claudio Berardelli, was associated with at least five athletes suspended for...
Updated: May 16, 2026, 810 AM PST
Editor’s note: The three primary athletes referenced below were coached by Claudio Berardelli while he worked for Rosa & Associati.
*The earlier-reported Asbel Kiprop association does not directly implicate Berardelli. Kiprop's coaches were...
Shanghai/Keqiao Diamond League: Complete start list
The 2026 Wanda Diamond League season begins this Saturday in Shanghai/Keqiao, where Olympic champions, world champions and world record holders will start their outdoor seasons in earnest. From the sprints to distance races and field events, track fans can...
World record holder Sabastian Sawe to defend Berlin Marathon title in September
Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, the current marathon world record holder (1:59:30), will return to the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 27, the organizers of Germany's biggest marathon race. Just over two weeks ago, the 31-year-old became the first runner...
Ethiopian marathon runner Yebrgual Melese died during a training session in Addis Ababa
Ethiopian marathon runner Yebrgual Melese died during a training session in Addis Ababa. She was 36 and preparing for the Ottawa Marathon. She died on Tuesday.
Melese won several marathons, including Houston, Prague and Shanghai.
According to local media, she experienced...
Kenyan Hillary Kipchirchir Chepkwony has been suspended four years for doping
Hillary Kipchirchir Chepkwony had 17 blood samples taken between September 2022 and January 2025. It was found that his samples, numbers 14 and 15, were taken in August of 2024, which proved he was doping.
It was first reported in...
