Category: Athletic

Somali-born Dutch runner Abdi Nageeye encouraged his friend to keep up the pace moments before the duo finished second and third in Sunday’s men’s marathon at the Olympics in Tokyo.

“Stay with me, we are going to make history! Don’t fall behind,” Nageeye urged Bashir Abdi, a Somali Belgian.

Somalia sent two athletes to the Tokyo Olympic Games, but it was the Somalis running for their adopted countries who made headlines.

Somali-born Canadian Mohammed Ahmed won silver in the men’s 5,000 meters, the first distance medal for Canada in this race. But the event that captured the attention of global audiences came in the final moments of the 42-kilometer marathon, won by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya with a time of 2:08:38.

Footage showed Nageeye encouraging his friend Abdi to cross the finish line with him. The two had trained together in France and in Ethiopia in preparation for the Games.

Speaking to VOA’s Somali service by phone Tuesday, Nageeye said he wanted to help Abdi, who suffered a muscle cramp. With 3 kilometers to go, Nageeye said he again shouted at Abdi to keep up.

“‘Bashir, stay with me. We are making history,'” Nageeye repeated in the interview.

Nageeye said his friend kept pace but fell behind again. He said television viewers only saw the race’s final moments, but he said he encouraged Abdi three times late in the race.

Nageeye said he wanted to sprint for the last 800 meters but held off, waiting for Abdi, until the final 400 meters. Cameras captured Nageeye gesturing toward Abdi to keep up. Nageeye came in second, winning a silver medal with a time of 2:09:58. Abdi came in next, at 2:10:00, earning bronze.

“I was not doing it to be famous but was doing it for my friend and brother,” Nageeye said.

“I risked my position,” he said. “Even Bashir could have overtaken me or the Kenyan” — Lawrence Cherono, who finished fourth — “could have taken advantage of it. But I had that feeling; I did not want to leave him behind.”

Helping his friend and competitor was instinctive, Nageeye said. “I knew something was wrong because he was also a little stronger than me in training, and he is a good athlete. Amazing that I did that. It was a natural reaction from me toward him because of our brotherhood, our heritage. We are both Somali. We are both friends. We train together.”

The public’s response left him happily surprised, Nageeye said.

“After one day, it was crazy. The whole world is talking about it. I just came from the king of the Netherlands — he was talking about it,” Nageeye said of Willem-Alexander. “Every person is talking about that moment and not about my medal. I’m very happy for that.”

Source: Voice of America

The West African country of Guinea has reversed an earlier decision to pull out of the Olympics and will send a delegation of five athletes to the Tokyo Games.

Minister of Sports Sanoussy Bantama Sow made the announcement Thursday after national and international outcries that followed an earlier declaration that Guinea would not send athletes to Tokyo, blaming the coronavirus and its variants.

“The Minister of State, Minister of Sports has the true pleasure of informing the people of Guinea and the whole sports family, that the government, after obtaining guarantees from the health authorities, agrees to the participation of our athletes in the 32nd Olympics in Tokyo,” the minister said in a statement.

Guinea had announced late Wednesday that it was canceling its participation to protect the health of its athletes.

Only days before the statement, Guinean Olympic committee secretary general Ben Daouda Nassoko had told The Associated Press that funds had been released for the delegation to go to Tokyo.

Fatoumata Yarie Camara, a freestyle wrestler, was one of the five athletes affected by the decision.

She confirmed, through tears of joy, that she would be departing for Tokyo. She had earlier questioned the decision to pull out.

“The question I ask myself is why has Guinea decided not to participate in the Olympic Games on the grounds of coronavirus when the organizing country like Japan hasn’t canceled these Games because of this sickness,” she told the AP. “Why? That’s what I ask myself and I still can’t find an answer.”

The other Guinean athletes are swimmers Mamadou Tahirou Bah and Fatoumata Lamarana Toure, 100-meter runner Aissata Deen Conte and judo competitor Mamadou Samba Bah.

Guinea has participated in the Olympics 11 times but has never won a medal. North Korea is the only country to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics, also citing concerns related to COVID-19.

Source: Voice of America

Bahrain’s horse racing program is rapidly evolving due to the unwavering support it continues to receive from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The robust horseracing infrastructure the Kingdom proudly boasts is only one of the wide-ranging attributes that make it an ideal hub for the sport to flourish and expand locally, regionally and internationally.

Building on this development, and the success of the Bahrain International Trophy, a brand-new turf series will begin in Bahrain from December 2021.

Ten new races have been introduced to the Bahrain race program specifically targeting international horses rated 85-100.

The Bahrain Turf Series will be linked together and run alongside the best racing in Bahrain, including the prestigious King’s Cup, Crown Prince’s Cup and National Day Grade One.

The race series will have a total of £550,000 prize money fund. £50,000 is allocated per series race with a minimum of £30,000 to the winner.

The turf series will also have a bonus point system attached depending on where horses finish.

The points will be added and at the end of the series the owner of the horse with the most points in each pot will get £15,000 and the trainer of the horse with most points will get £10,000. This will mean an extra £50,000 in total prize money.

This will not only increase the competitiveness of the races held in the Kingdom, but also make more rewarding the participation of Bahraini jockeys and owners alike. With wider international participation, Bahraini jockeys and owners will be able to add to their rich horse racing expertise and showcase their local talent on a global level.

The Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club will oversee all racing in Bahrain, providing a top class concierge service for owners with horses running and trained in Bahrain. The Bahrain Turf Series will offer exclusive benefits and opportunities to owners ensuring an excellent experience of Bahrain.

Ahead of the new Turf Series starting, the third running of the Bahrain International Trophy will take place on Friday 19th November 2021 at Sakhir Racecourse.

The race has attracted high-quality international entries in its first two years, including five individual Group 1 winners in 2020. Last year’s race was won by the locally-trained Simsir who just edged out Global Giant (John Gosden) and Sovereign (Aidan O’Brien).

The race is open to horses rated over 95 and is run over a distance of 2000 meters (10 furlongs). There will be three races which will grant “Automatic Invitation” to the winners even if not originally entered:

? Friday August 13th The Curragh – Fitzdares Royal Whip Stakes (G3)

? Saturday August 21st York – The Sky Bet and Symphony Group Strensall Stakes (G3)

? Saturday October 9th Newmarket – The Darley Stakes (G3)

Entries for the race close on Tuesday 5th October.

“I am very proud of the Bahrain International Trophy. We have hosted the race for two years and we will be hosting it again in 2021 for the third time having seen a huge jump in the quality of horses and participants in year two,”His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Rashid Equestrian and Horse Racing Club High Committee, said.

“By introducing the new Bahrain Turf Series we hope to further attract great horses to the Kingdom of Bahrain, horses that can add a higher quality of performance to our two most prestigious races, His Majesty the King’s Cup and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s Cup.”

“My own personal goal is to develop the industry of thoroughbred horse racing in the Kingdom of Bahrain and if we are able to facilitate our Bahraini trainers and jockey’s relationships with European connections that will be one of my key goals met.”

“We are delighted to be introducing the new Bahrain Turf Series to our race programme and hosting these races for the forthcoming season,”His Highness Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid bin Isa Alkhalifa, Deputy Chairman of the Rashid Equestrian & Horse Racing Club, said.

“We look forward to welcoming owners and trainers to experience horse racing in Bahrain and everything that the Kingdom of Bahrain has to offer.”

“It is an incredibly exciting time for horse racing in Bahrain. We have been blown away with the amount of quality trainers, jockeys and horses who have come to race in Bahrain since the first Bahrain International Trophy in 2019,”Shaikh Salman bin Rashed al Khalifa, Executive Director of the Rashid Equestrian & Horse Racing Club said.

“To have had five individual Group 1 winners in our second running of the race, including Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Sovereign was very special. Off the back of the race’s success, the Rashid Equestrian & Horse Racing Club are very proud to introduce the Bahrain Turf Series for the 2021/22 season in Bahrain.”

Andrew Balding has sent a horse to each of the two runnings of the Bahrain International Trophy (Pivoine in 2019 & Bangkok in 2020) and is keen to continue to support the Bahrain International Trophy and the new Turf Series moving forward.

“Our experiences with sending horses to Bahrain has been exemplary. The fantastic facilities for the horses and stable staff, coupled with brilliant hospitality means we would love to be returning there this winter for either the Bahrain International Trophy or the new Turf Series. Preferably both!,”Balding said.

John & Thady Gosden have finished 2nd in both Bahrain International Trophy races held (Turgenev in 2019 & Global Giant in 2020). Thady Gosden is full of praise for the set-up in Bahrain.

“Having taken horses to the inaugural, and second running of the Bahrain International Trophy, the race remains firmly as a target. The training and quarantine facilities in Bahrain are world-class, and constantly being improved. The racecourse is also well-suited to the European style of racing, and we would not hesitate to take the right horses there in the future,” Gosden said.

Frankie Dettori has been riding in Bahrain for over five years and has had plenty of success there including four Crown Prince’s Cups. He finished second on Global Giant in the 2020 Bahrain International Trophy for His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

“It is a joy to ride in Bahrain. It is probably one of the best turf courses in the Middle East. His Highness Shaikh Isa has done a fantastic job in creating the Bahrain International Trophy, which has already attracted some incredible horses. It is a very exciting time for horse racing in Bahrain,” Dettori said.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

This could be it for Caster Semenya and the Olympics.

Forced out of her favorite race by World Athletics’ testosterone rules, the two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters took a late shot at qualifying for Tokyo in the 5,000 meters, an event not affected by the hormone regulations. She came up short.

Now 30, Semenya’s hopes of making it back to the Olympics are dwindling.

The South African once said she wanted to run at top track events until she was 40.

Now, her future ambitions depend on a final, long-shot legal appeal of the testosterone rules or transforming from the world’s dominant middle-distance runner into a successful long-distance athlete. That’s going to be hard for her.

Semenya is the athlete that has perhaps stoked the most controversy in track and field over the last decade. If there are no more appearances on the biggest stage, it’s been a career like no other. In 12 years at the top, Semenya has won two Olympic golds and three world championship titles, but her success has come amid near-constant interference by track authorities. She has only competed free of restrictions of one type or another for three of those 12 years.

Why can’t Semenya defend her 800 title in Tokyo

In 2018, world track and field’s governing body introduced rules it said were aimed at female athletes with conditions called differences of sex development, or DSDs. The key for World Athletics is that these athletes have testosterone levels that are higher than the typical female range. The track body argues that gives them an unfair advantage. Semenya is the highest-profile athlete affected by the regulations, but not the only one.

The rules demand that Semenya lower her testosterone levels artificially — by either taking birth control pills daily, having hormone-blocking injections or undergoing surgery — to be allowed to run in races from 400 meters to one mile. Semenya has simply refused to do that, pointing out the irony that in a sport where doping is such a scourge, authorities want her to take drugs to be eligible to run at the Olympics.

“Why will I take drugs?” Semenya said in 2019. “I’m a pure athlete. I don’t cheat. They should focus on doping, not us.”

But she can run the 5,000?

Yes. Strangely, World Athletics decided to only enforce the testosterone rules for track events from 400 meters to one mile, raising criticism from Semenya’s camp that the regulations were specifically designed to target her because of her dominance.

It means Semenya can compete in the 100 and 200 meters and long-distance races without lowering her testosterone levels. Field events are also unregulated. After a brief go at 200 meters, Semenya attempted to qualify for Tokyo in the 5,000 meters, running races in Pretoria and Durban in South Africa and, most recently, at international meets in Germany and Belgium last month. She never came within 20 seconds of the Olympic qualifying mark.

The court battle

Semenya continues to fight against the testosterone regulations in court. She has launched three legal appeals against the rules, calling them unfair and discriminatory, and appears determined to wage her legal fight to the very end. Having failed in appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss supreme court, Semenya has now lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.

Semenya’s first appeal at sport’s highest court revealed a bitter battle between her and track authorities, centered on World Athletics’ claim in the closed-doors hearing that she was “biologically male.” Semenya angrily refuted that, having been identified as female at birth and having identified as female her whole life. She called the assertion “deeply hurtful.”

Other athletes affected

The issue won’t disappear with Semenya. Just this week, two 18-year-old female athletes from Namibia were barred from competing in the 400 meters at the Tokyo Olympics after they underwent medical tests and it was discovered they had high natural testosterone levels. One of them, Christine Mboma, is the world under-20 record holder.

The two runners that finished second and third behind Semenya at the 2016 Olympics, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Margaret Wambui of Kenya, have said publicly they also are affected by the testosterone regulations and have been banned from the 800, too, unless they undergo medical intervention. Niyonsaba has qualified for the Olympics in the 5,000 meters.

What now?

Semenya has been clear that the rules won’t force her out of track and she’ll keep running and keep enjoying the sport, even if she can’t go to the biggest events.

“Now is all about having fun,” she said at a meet in South Africa in April. “We’ve achieved everything that we wanted‚ all the major titles‚ inspiring the youth.”

“For me, it’s not about being at the Olympics,” she said. “It’s being healthy and running good times and being in the field for the longest.”

Source: Voice of America

Swimming caps designed for natural Black hair won’t be allowed at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, with the sport’s world governing body saying they are unsuitable due to them not “following the natural form of the head.”

The British brand Soul Cap sought to have its products officially recognized by FINA, the federation that administers international competitions in water sports, but its application submitted last year was rejected. The company makes extra-large caps designed to protect thick, curly, and voluminous hair.

The caps were barred by FINA on the grounds that to their “best knowledge, the athletes competing at the international events never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration.”

FINA described the swim caps as unsuitable due to them not “following the natural form of the head.”

The Switzerland-based governing body said Friday that it is currently reviewing the situation with Soul Cap and similar products while “understanding the importance of inclusivity and representation.”

FINA said in the statement that it is committed to ensuring all aquatics athletes have access to appropriate swimwear for competition as long as such swimwear doesn’t provide a competitive advantage.

“We don’t see this as a setback, but a chance to open up a dialogue to make a bigger difference in aquatics,” Soul Cap cofounders Toks Ahmed-Salawudeen and Michael Chapman tweeted. “A huge thanks to all who have supported us and our work so far.”

The men founded the company in 2017 after meeting a woman with natural Black hair who struggled with her swim cap. According to the company’s website, it has shipped over 30,000 swim caps to customers worldwide.

“For younger swimmers, feeling included and seeing yourself in a sport at a young age is crucial,” Ahmed-Salawudeen said in an online post. “There’s only so much grassroots and small brands can do — we need the top to be receptive to positive change.”

Alice Dearing, who will compete in marathon swimming in Tokyo as the only Black swimmer for Britain, endorses the company’s caps.

“People used to tell me my hair was ‘too big’ for the cap — never that the cap was too small for my hair,” she said in a blog post on the company’s website.

FINA pointed out Friday that there is no restriction on Soul Cap usage for recreational and teaching purposes. It said it appreciates the efforts of the company and other suppliers in making sure people have a chance to enjoy the water.

FINA said it would speak with Soul Cap officials about using the company’s products at its development centers located in Dakar, Senegal, and Kazan, Russia.

Source: Voice of America

A Saudi rowing team member qualified for Tokyo Olympiad 2020.

Hussein Ridha, the Saudi national will represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the competition of the open weight in addition to his teammate Sultan Al-Shali, as a substitute in the Olympics to be hosted in Tokyo from next July 21 to August 7.

This is the first time for a Saudi rowing team member to qualify for an Olympiad.

Source: Saudi Press Agency