^Thanks for the heads up. Really unfortunate for them that the USATF and NCAA Indoor Champs took place on the same weekend. Seems like ridiculous planning, but I guess there just isn't enough time in the season to avoid clashes like that.

Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon with a 58:44 PB. With that performance, he's shot up to third on the all-time list (IAAF press release says fourth but that includes a downhill course).

That's some unique record and one that surprised me but thinking of the great 200 and 400m runners in the past like Johnson who never ran the 100m regularly perhaps shouldn't be.

I know it's horrid to say this but when I hear of these world best times being posted by Kenyans It just washes right over me. That's how the sports has become right now.

Previews for Portland 2016 are now available - not long 'til the next two weekends of global championship athletics.

I wonder if he can break the world record for 400m in Rio? That would be one of the races of the century to watch, I hope it happens!

I'm also really hoping Adam Gemini can run something like 19.75 for 200m. Rio might be his best shot at a medal . Strange to say, but he might be getting a bit old ( 27?) by the time 2020 comes along!

Gemili will be 26 in Tokyo & sprinters tend to peak in their mid-late 20s so he should really be at his peak during the next Olympic cycle. I do think he & Zharnel Hughes represent the best chance for a British individual sprint medal in Rio. Dina has a chance too but the women's 200 is going to be so loaded that it will be tough. With the obvious exception of Bolt I don't think there is anyone else capable of running crazy times on the men's side. I wonder if Van Niekerk may run the 200 as well - the timetable is much better for the men compared to that which Alyson Felix will be attempting

I think Gemili can definitely run 19.8 or maybe a bit quicker. His 19.98 when he won the European title was into a strong headwind on a cold wet night. If it wasn't for the pesky hamstring on that quick Beijing track I think he would have run circa 19.8 there and won bronze.

All entries for Portland now confirmed, you can download the PDF file from the official site:

http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaa...-championships

Interesting to note that Sean Safo-Antwi is listed as an entrant and WILL be competing for Ghana.

Theo Etienne is listed on the entrants list (presumably as a reserve since Dasaolu and Robertson are both listed before him) yet Lucy Hatton and Jenny Meadows aren't.

Men's 800m only has 15 athletes, Learmonth and Rimmer would've been ranked 8th and 10th respectively.

Men's 4x400m has 7 teams entered... wonder how they'll sort that one out. Women's 4x400m will be a straight final I presume since only 6 teams are entered.

Asha Philip has been named as the GB captain for Portland

http://www.britishathletics.org.uk/m...championships/

The World Indoors start on Thursday (or for us Friday morning I suppose!) and I've written a preview for the champs with some predictions! This is part 1 and I hope to do part 2 tomorrow! Enjoy!

http://athleticsappetizer.com/2016/0...review-part-1/

Part 2 of my World Indoor preview:

http://athleticsappetizer.com/2016/0...review-part-2/

Enjoy!

Here are the start lists for the pole vault:
Men (14 entered) / Women (only 10 entered!*)

The women's CR (4.86m) looks ripe for an improvement, though Lavillenie will have to nail his trajectories if he wants to beat the men's equivalent (6.01m). I may not stay up all weekend like I did for Beijing.

[* Lowest PB in the field is 4.51m, which is telling]

Not staying up tonight but will do Fri & Sat.

Reckon the Brits will win 3-4 medals. Best chances of gold will be in the Women's Long jump or men's 60. The men's 60 is wide open for me but Dasaolu looked like he could run sub 6.50 at the trials, if he does that he'll be there or thereabouts.

Both world record holders did the business with championship records of 6.02m* and 4.90m respectively. Nicole Büchler and Eliza McCartney both set national records in the women's comp (in which four cleared 4.80m - which is apparently a first) but fell short of the podium.

Results - Men / Women

[* Lavillenie's first 6m jump in a WAS event]

Lavillenie had three attemps at a 6:17 WR but none of them were anything like convincing.

BBC preview

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/35830530

As long as his form peaks in Rio ...that reminds me, his OR is still 'only' 5.97m, so a mere repeat of this morning would be history in itself.

Just noticed it's a first world indoor title for Suhr...and probably her last as she's 34.

It certainly felt strange watching the two pole vault comps without any other events going on. No other distractions whatsoever.

They should do that more for field events. Sometimes they hold Diamond League shot-putt events out in public places where they can be watched for free. Wouldn't work so well for the hammer, though.

I thought that was what they were planning to do when I first heard about it, at a shopping mall or similar. And if they wanted to jazz it up you'd have thought they'd have had their own personalised music to jump to, like they do at many of the jumping galas in europe.

Off we go...BBC on the World Feed, so no blethering....Morgan Lake last in the B heat so got some ground to make up.

PB for Brianne TE!

I agree.

I really enjoyed it. It made a nice change to watch it uninterrupted from start to finish.

Or start to......almost the end, if you recorded Eurosport overnight.

So, the only real interest in the pentathlon & heptathlon is whether Team Eaton muck it up somehow...

Still, nice to see there's a distinct lack of 'essential' BBC punditry.

, yes well. I did intend to record the latter parts, but became engrossed and ended up watching it all live.