LONDON: All world records in track and field should be reset and lifetime bans should be imposed on serious drug cheats to clean up the sport amid its global doping crisis, the governing body of British athletics said Monday.
UK Athletics published “A Manifesto for Clean Athletes” containing 14 proposals aimed at restoring credibility to a sport battered by allegations of widespread doping, cover-ups and corruption.
“The integrity of athletics was challenged as never before in 2015,” UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said. “Clean athletes and sports fans the world over have been let down. Trust in the sport is at its lowest point for decades.”
One of the federation’s proposals is to ‘investigate the implications of drawing a line under all pre-existing sport records ... and commencing a new set of records.”
Triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards and marathon runner Paula Radcliffe are current British world-record holders.
UK Athletics also proposed a lifetime ban for British athletes guilty of a serious anti-doping violation, rather than the current standard of four-year suspensions.
The British Olympic Association previously had a lifetime ban for drug cheats, but the policy was struck down after the World Anti-Doping Agency found the rule non-compliant with its code.
“Greater transparency, tougher sanctions, longer bans — and even resetting the clock on world records for a new era — we should be open to do whatever it takes to restore credibility in the sport,” Warner said.
UK Athletics also proposed:
— creation of a public register of athletes being tested.
— sponsors should withhold support of athletes caught doping.
— member federations should be accountable for loss of prize money to athletes of other nationalities if their own athlete’s medal winning result is later annulled.
— minimum bans for serious doping offenses should be extended to eight years to ensure cheats miss two Olympic and Paralympic cycles.
— the supply or procurement of performance-enhancing drugs should be criminalized.
“UKA believes the time has come for radical reform if we are to help restore trust in the sport,” Warner said. “Athletics needs to act very differently if we are to move on from the crisis facing the sport.”
Russia is currently banned from international track and field after a report commissioned by WADA alleged widespread doping and cover-ups in the country. Last week, two Russian officials and the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack were banned for life last week for engaging in blackmail, bribery and extortion to cover up a Russian doping case.
Lamine Diack also is under criminal investigation in France over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats.
The IAAF said it welcomed the proposals from UK Athletics, adding: “We look forward to reviewing the recommendations in full over the coming days.”
Dick Pound, chairman of the WADA’s independent commission, will announce the second part of the findings of his investigation on Thursday.
UK Athletics: Reset world records amid doping crisis
UK Athletics: Reset world records amid doping crisis
Briton Hudson-Smith crowned Grand Slam’s first champion, Bednarek dominates
- The start-up’s super-sized purses have lured some of the sport’s top competitors, including 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
- Ethiopia’s world silver medalist Diribe Welteji surged through the final turn of the 1,500m to win in 4:04.51 and clinch the women’s short distance group
KINGSTON: Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith was crowned Grand Slam Track’s first-ever Grand Slam champion in the men’s long sprints group on Saturday, as he won the 200 meters on day two of the novel circuit’s debut meet in Kingston, Jamaica.
Hudson-Smith was second in the standings after Friday’s 400m and he won the group outright with a total of 20 points after reeling in the field in the back half of the shorter distance on Saturday, crossing the line in 20.77 seconds.
“Great to get the first one, I’m really excited and grateful,” the Paris 400m silver medalist said in televised remarks, as he leaves Kingston $100,000 (77,579.52 pounds) richer.
“I’m getting to the end of my career so it’s time to start saving,” the 30-year-old said.
American Kenny Bednarek, a twice Olympic champion, built up an enormous lead around the turn and stumbled through the tape to win the 200m in 20.07, three-tenths of a second ahead of Briton Zharnel Hughes, and clinch the men’s short sprints slam.
He won Friday’s 100m as well, for a point total of 24.
The new circuit fronted by retired American sprinter Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, off its first of four meets this week with an aim of making Grand Slam Track the “Formula One of athlete racing.”
Athletes in 12 groups — men’s and women’s short sprints, long sprints, short hurdles, long hurdles, short distance and long distance — compete over two races per meet with the point totals from those runs determining the champion of each group.
The start-up’s super-sized purses have lured some of the sport’s top competitors, including 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who each notched wins on the meet’s opening day.
The trickier task, so far, has been filling the stands at Kingston’s National Stadium, as empty seats were abundant on Saturday after online critics slammed Friday’s even more sparsely attended opening night.
Thomas finished first in Friday’s 200m and was crowned the slam champion for the women’s longer sprints after finishing second in the 400m on Saturday in 49.14 behind Bahrain’s Olympic silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser (48.67), for 20 points total.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been more tired in my life,” said Thomas, who nearly let the second-place spot slip through her fingers in the final meters under threat from the Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino (49.35).
“I heard them on the home stretch — ‘$100,000 on the line’ — and so it really motivated me.”
Ethiopia’s world silver medalist Diribe Welteji surged through the final turn of the 1,500m to win in 4:04.51 and clinch the women’s short distance group, after notching a second-place finish in Friday’s 800m race.
Kenya’s 800m Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi provided one of the more entertaining finishes of the night as he held off all three of the men’s 1,500m Paris podium finishers down the final straight in the metric mile in 3:35.18.
Americans Yared Nuguse (3:35.36) and Cole Hocker (3:35.52) will hope to make up ground when they compete in Sunday’s 800m.
The Kingston Grand Slam Track meet ends on Sunday.
Barcelona held by Betis, miss chance to extend league lead
- The draw moves Hansi Flick’s Barca on to 67 points, four ahead of rivals Real Madrid who slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home by Valencia earlier on Saturday
- Gavi: If we won we would be higher up the table, but in the end it’s football
BARCELONA: Barcelona spurned the chance to extend their lead at the top of the LaLiga standings when they were held at home 1-1 by Real Betis on Saturday, with visiting defender Natan canceling out Gavi’s early opener.
The draw moves Hansi Flick’s Barca on to 67 points, four ahead of rivals Real Madrid who slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home by Valencia earlier on Saturday, while Betis climbed to fifth on 48 points.
The hosts had been given further motivation by Real’s shocking loss and had a great start when Gavi opened the scoring from close range, brilliantly assisted by Ferran Torres in a great team play seven minutes after kickoff.
However, Natan headed the equalizer from a corner in the 17th minute and though they dominated, Barca could not find a way past 38-year-old goalkeeper Adrian who made a string of saves later on to frustrate the hosts.
Adrian’s brilliant performance started even before Barca opened the scoring, when he palmed away Pedri’s strike from inside the box, but there was nothing he could do to keep Gavi from scoring moments later.
Barca kept up the pressure after taking the lead but Betis equalized from a Giovanni lo Celso corner which Natan jumped higher than defender Ronald Araujo to meet and head into the back of the net.
Adrian came to the rescue again as he made a stunning one-handed save from a Lamine Yamal curling strike from inside the box in the 38th minute.
Coach Hansi Flick subbed on Raphinha in the second half and Barca came back even stronger, dominating more than 75 percent of possession but wasting too many chances.
The Brazilian forward was a constant menace and missed with a curling strike from the edge of the box, with Adrian making two great efforts to deny a Jules Kounde strike in the 55th minute and a Fermin Lopez shot in the 85th.
“If we won we would be higher up the table, but in the end it’s football,” Gavi told Movistar Plus.
“We’re bitter about the result, because we couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had throughout the match, but we have to accept it and move on.”
Trinity Rodman scores early in return from 8-month injury absence, and US women beat Brazil 2-0
- Played before a lively crowd of 32,303, this game was billed as the first professional women’s sporting event at SoFi Stadium, the nearly 5-year-old home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams
- The Americans had been 15-0-2 since Hayes took over in June 2024
INGLEWOOD, California: Trinity Rodman drilled her shot into the bottom corner of Brazil’s net and promptly got mobbed by her teammates. She broke away from the goal celebration and grabbed her lower back, pretending to seize up with pain — only to stand up tall and laugh while flipping her pink hair over both shoulders.
After eight months of recovery from back woes, Rodman is feeling close to her old self again. The US women’s national team also showed signs of their top form while coolly handling another world power.
Rodman scored in the fifth minute of her return from a lengthy injury absence, and the Americans beat Brazil 2-0 Saturday in a friendly rematch of the Paris Olympics gold-medal match.
Rodman, the 22-year-old star and Orange County native, delivered her 11th goal for the US by finishing off a brilliant run by Alyssa Thompson. Rodman hadn’t played for the US since the Olympic final due to persistent back problems — hence her cheeky celebration.
“The medical staff was freaking out, but I felt like I had to do it,” Rodman said with a grin. “It felt so good to be in this atmosphere again, to be with the team. The stadium was crazy.”
Phallon Tullis-Joyce made six saves while keeping a clean sheet in the 28-year-old goalkeeper’s US debut. Captain Lindsey Heaps also scored a second-half penalty goal in the first of two California friendlies in four days against Brazil, who lost 2-1 in Paris as the US secured its fifth Olympic gold medal.
“I think it shows where this group is going,” Heaps said. “Our group is just getting better and better, and there’s not massive gaps between players. These young guns coming in ... it’s such a cool thing for us to see.”
Played before a lively crowd of 32,303, this game was billed as the first professional women’s sporting event at SoFi Stadium, the nearly 5-year-old home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.
The teams meet again Tuesday night in San Jose, California.
In their most recent outing in late February, the US women took their first defeat of coach Emma Hayes’ tenure, falling 2-1 to Japan in San Diego in the final of the SheBelieves Cup. The Americans had been 15-0-2 since Hayes took over in June 2024.
Back at it in SoFi, the Americans struck early — and with style.
Studio City native Thompson got a midfield touch and made an impressive run through Brazil’s formation, sending one defender to the grass in confusion before pushing a perfect pass to Rodman for her cool finish.
Rodman’s celebration was a treat as well — for most observers, anyway.
“Except I didn’t think she was pretending,” Hayes said with a grimace. “I will have a word with her, because that was like a ‘cry wolf’ moment. I turned to the physios and said, ‘Her back’s hurting,’ instantly. And then I realized she was tricking us.”
Later in the first half, Rodman appeared to be dealing with actual pain, which she blamed on a charley horse from getting kneed by an opponent. She still played 16 minutes into the second half before coming off.
The US was awarded a penalty when substitute Lily Johannes was tripped in the box. Heaps hammered it home for her 37th goal.
The depleted US defense had several rough moments in front of goal. The Seleção carried significant stretches of play and forced Tullis-Joyce to work hard, but the Long Island native who plays for Manchester United handled every chance capably.
Tullis-Joyce is competing for the first-string job after the retirement of Alyssa Naeher. Her parents and brother attended the match, but they didn’t know she would start until the lineup was announced an hour before kickoff.
“I love a clean sheet,” Tullis-Joyce said. “Happy for my teammates as well. That back line, they really gritted it out. Everybody was putting their body on the line. Credit to Brazil.”
The Americans will be without starting center backs Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson for the near future. They were replaced by Emily Sonnett and Tara McKeown, who only broke into the US lineup earlier this year.
Two weeks after the Mexico men’s team won the CONCACAF Nations Cup at SoFi, this friendly match was another early chapter in a series of upcoming soccer events in the Los Angeles area, including the 2026 men’s World Cup, the Los Angeles Olympics tournament and probably the Women’s World Cup in 2031.
Benzema breaks Al-Ahli hearts in Sea Derby Special
- For the 60,000 fans at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, there was plenty of excitement
- There was some worrying news for Al-Ittihad fans as goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic picked up an injury
JEDDAH: It was honors even in a thrilling Sea Derby on Saturday as Al-Ahli drew 2-2 with Al-Ittihad who twice came back to earn a precious point.
A 95th minute strike from Karim Benzema broke the hearts of home fans and put the leaders five points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League.
For the 60,000 fans at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, there was plenty of excitement and entertainment in a game that could have gone either way.
There was some worrying news for Al-Ittihad fans as goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic picked up an injury in the thrilling King’s Cup semifinal win over Al-Shabab on Tuesday but stand-in Mohammed Al-Mahasneh showed his worth early in the first start of the season.
In the eighth minute, he saved from Firas Al-Buraikan’s low shot from inside the area and then got down quickly to deny Ivan Toney from the rebound.
At the other end, Edouard Mendy returned to the number one position and returned to fitness for Al-Ahli, who had not played a competitive game for three weeks. There is no doubt however that his opposite number had more to do in the early exchanges. It could have been worse as Ittihad survived two penalty appeals turned down late in the first half.
The Tigers were, however, starting to look dangerous and just before the break, N’Golo Kante broke into the area, went around the goalkeeper but pulled his shot just wide.
The miss became more painful four minutes after the restart as Al-Ahli took the lead with a simple set piece. Riyad Mahrez swung over a corner kick from the left and Brazilian defender Ibanez climbed high on the edge of the six-yard box to head the Greens into a deserved lead.
It was all looking good for the hosts but then, with 15 minutes remaining, the fans in yellow and black were celebrating. Saleh Al-Shehri dropped deep and his slide rule pass found Moussa Diaby on the right side of the area and the French winger made no mistake with his first time shot.
Then, in the 82nd minute, Al-Ahli were back in front. Kante tried to block a cross but succeeded only in finding Ivan Toney and the England striker shot home from close range.
That strike looked as if it had won a famous victory for the home team but for the second time in four days, Al-Ittihad hit back deep into added time. Abdulelah Al-Amri found Benzema with an exquisite pass to the back post and the former Real Madrid star was never going to miss.
The goal takes the leaders onto 62 points from 26 games, five clear of Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr are third with 54, two and five ahead of Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ahli respectively.
Qatar’s Hit Show wins the Dubai World Cup at Meydan
- Horse owned by Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Racing ridden to triumph by jockey Florent Geroux
LONDON: American horse Hit Show, owned by the Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Racing, clinched victory in the Dubai World Cup’s main event on Saturday, topping a world-class field at Meydan Racecourse in the $12 million feature race.
Trained by Brad Cox, Hit Show was ridden to triumph by jockey Florent Geroux, completing the race in 2:03:50 minutes and securing the $6.96 million winner’s prize with just over a half-length lead.
American contender Mixto, owned by Calumet Farm and ridden by Frankie Dettori, finished second for trainer Doug O’Neill, earning $2.4 million.
Japan’s Forever Young, owned by Susumu Fujita and trained by Yoshito Yahagi, placed third under jockey Ryusei Sakai, collecting $1.2 million.
Saudi Arabia’s Walk of Stars, representing Athbah Racing, finished in fourth place.
