Burundi&rsquo;s Rodrigue Kwizera and Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw are the star names at the Cross Internacional de la Constitucion, the sixth Gold level event in this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour, to be held in Alcobendas on the outskirts of Madrid on Sunday (26).
Kwizera kicked off his cross country campaign with a third-place finish in Atapuerca against a mouth-watering field and the 23-year-old maintained the momentum with another third place in Seville two weeks later. Last year&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour victor was eager to triumph for the first time this season and he managed to do so in Soria last weekend after a thrilling final sprint with Kenya's Hillary Chepkwony.
The Castellon-based ace reached the finish line unchallenged at the past two editions of this race but he was disqualified in 2021 for not wearing the vest of his Spanish club, Playas de Castellon. He made amends last year with a commanding win.
Kwizera's fiercest opponent should be Martin Kiprotich as the 22-year-old Ugandan has shown great fitness, firstly in Seville where he came sixth, 20 seconds behind the Burundian, and also in Soria last Sunday when he fought for the win until the closing stages to finally finish fourth, some four seconds adrift of Kwizera.
Eritrea's Filmon Kibrom should also be in the hunt for victory. He showed that intent in Soria where the 20-year-old achieved arguably his finest ever race to take fifth place, seven seconds behind Kwizera. Having placed fourth in Amorebieta last month, Kibrom will be eager to claim his first podium place on the international senior scene and he will be joined by the much more experienced Aron Kifle, who is still rounding into form following a long halt due to an injury.
Watch out too for Celestin Ndikumana. The Burundian opened the cross country season in style with a convincing win in Amorebieta and he went on to finish fourth in Atapuerca the following week. However, the 21-year-old couldn't go beyond 13th place in Soria and will try to bounce back in Alcobendas.
With many of Spain&rsquo;s top distance runners preparing for the European Cross Country Championships on 10 December, Sergio Paniagua looks to be the best local hope. The 28-year-old has shown great consistency this season, with four top-10 finishes in Amorebieta, Atapuerca, Seville and Soria. Paniagua came second last year and will fight hard to manage another podium place over the 10,060m circuit in front of his home crowd.
<h2>Amebaw and Ayichew clash again</h2>
The women's 8040m race witnesses a rematch between Amebaw and Asayech Ayichew. The Ethiopian athletes battled hard for the victory last weekend in Soria, with the win eventually going to the former after a close sprint finish.
Amebaw has raced four times this cross country season with three podium places to her name in Amoberieta and Soria, where she won, plus her Cardiff runner-up spot. The Spain-based athlete will turn 26 years of age next week and will compete in Alcobendas fully recovered from the fever she suffered just before the Soria event. Having enjoyed an average training week at the altitude (1350m) of her base in Peguerinos (Avila), she will hope to be successful again on Sunday to improve on her 2021 third place.
As for Ayichew, the relatively unheralded Ethiopian will try to prove that her brilliant performance in Soria was no fluke.
Both will have stiff opposition provided by Kenya's defending champion Lucy Mawia. Last season's Cross Country Tour winner will aim to retain her 2022 title after being unable to finish in Soria last Sunday when she dropped out the race before reaching the closing kilometre.
The European response will come from Italy's Nadia Battocletti, the multiple European cross country medallist who finished fifth in the 5km at last month's World Road Running Championships in Riga. The Italian will run in the company of her compatriot Anna Arnaudo, the 23-year-old 32:09.54 10,000m performer, while France's Alessia Zarbo completes the international line-up.
Notable past winners here include Eritrea's former world half marathon record-holder Zersenay Tadese (2005), Kenya&rsquo;s Joseph Ebuya (2007 and 2010), Ethiopia&rsquo;s former world marathon champion Tamirat Tola (2015), Uganda&rsquo;s world half marathon record-holder Jacob Kiplimo (2018), Portugal's 1993 world cross country champion Albertina Dias (1996), Ethiopia's Meselech Melkamu (2005 and 2006), Kenya&rsquo;s Vivian Cheruiyot (2009) and her compatriot Linet Masai (2008 and 2015).
Weather forecasters predict a sunny and windless day on Sunday with temperatures ranging between 12-14&deg;C.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera and Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw are the star names at the sixth Gold level event in this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour

Kwizera and Amebaw the athletes to beat in Alcobendas

Assaults on both the men's and women's course records are expected at the Shanghai Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (26).
A total of 12 runners in the men&rsquo;s field have personal bests inside the 2:07:14 course record set by Kenya&rsquo;s Paul Lonyangata&nbsp;back in 2015.
Kinde Atanaw of Ethiopia is the fastest entrant courtesy of his 2:03:51 PB set four years ago in Valencia, where he staged a convincing victory in his debut over the classic distance.
The 30-year-old went on to register two sub-2:06 marks in 2021 and 2022 respectively, including a fourth-place finish at the London Marathon last year, but he failed to finish the race in London this year in what has been his only outing of 2023 so far.
Elisha Rotich will lead the Kenyan charge. The 33-year-old won the Paris Marathon two years ago with a career best of 2:04:21 and he also has five other marathon victories to his name, but he has yet to prove his shape so far in 2023.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Abayneh Degu, a 2:04:53 performer, will chase his first career marathon title in Shanghai. He clocked 2:08:28 in Osaka in February and finished fifth in China&rsquo;s Lanzhou in 2:12:57 five months ago.
Fellow Ethiopian Tadu Abate is one of the most in-form runners in the men&rsquo;s field. He has achieved sub-2:06 results in both of his two races of the year so far, including improving his PB to 2:05:38 to finish sixth in Tokyo.
Like Abate, Kenya&rsquo;s Enock Onchari will also arrive in Shanghai with high spirits. The 24-year-old achieved his PB of 2:05:47&nbsp; in Seville in February and celebrated his first-ever marathon victory in 2:07:52 one month later in Wuxi.
The field also includes three other sub-2:06 runners, all from Kenya: Nicholas Kirwa (2:05:01), Moses Kibet (2:05:20) and Eric Kiptanui (2:05:47). The field of local athletes is headed by Jia Erenjia, third-place finisher in Shanghai last year and winner of the 2020 race. He improved his PB to 2:09:54 in Berlin two months ago.
<h2>Teshome heads women&rsquo;s field</h2>
In the women&rsquo;s race,&nbsp;a quintet of sub-2:21 runners will be gunning for the course record of 2:20:36 set by Ethiopian Yebrgual Melese in 2018.
The 22-year-old Tadu Teshome of Ethiopia, owning a PB of 2:17:36, is the favourite in Shanghai. The 2022 Copenhagen Half Marathon champion, who is also a former winner of marathons in Barcelona and Riyadh, achieved her career best mark last year in Valencia. She clocked 2:20:04 to finish fifth last month in Chicago.
Bahrain&rsquo;s national record-holder Eunice Chumba and Selly Chepyego of Kenya could be the biggest threats to Teshome. The 30-year-old Chumba, a 2:20:02 performer, has remained unbeaten after two races in 2023, clocking 2:20:31 to win in Rotterdam in April and winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou early last month.
Apart from her victory in Hangzhou, Chumba has gained vast experience of winning in China, claiming titles in Dongying and Liupanshui, and at the 2019 Military Games in Wuhan.
Now aged 38, Chepyego is still making progress. The 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist set a PB of 2:20:03 to finish second in Barcelona in March and clocked 2:27:09 to place seventh at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Other title contenders include Ethiopian Etagegne Woldu, who set her PB of 2:20:03 last year in Valencia, and Eritrea&rsquo;s Nazret Weldu, who finished eighth, one place behind Chepyego, in 2:27:23 in Budapest. Before that she improved the national record to 2:20:29 to finish fourth at the World Championships in Oregon in July 2022.
Defending champion Zhang Deshun of China is also toeing the line. Last year Zhang produced a 2:28:17 victory in Shanghai. In March, she improved her PB to 2:24:05 to finish fourth in Nagoya before finishing second behind Chumba at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2:27:55.
Vincent Wu for World Athletics
<h3>Elite fields</h3>
Women Tadu Teshome (ETH) 2:17:36 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:02 Selly Chepyego (KEN) 2:20:03 Etagegne Woldu (ETH) 2:20:03 Nazret Weldu (ERI) 2:20:29 Siranesh Yirga (ETH) 2:21:08 Betty Chepkwony (KEN) 2:23:02 Zhang Deshun (CHN) 2:24:05 Emily Arusio (KEN) 2:25:22 Bai Li (CHN) 2:26:33 Ding Changqin (CHN) 2:26:54 Zhang Xinyan (CHN) 2:26:56 Chernet Misganaw (ETH) 2:27:17 Jackline Sakilu (TAN) 2:37:55 Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei (KEN) debut&nbsp;
Men Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:03:51 Elisha Rotich (KEN) 2:04:21 Abayneh Degu (ETH) 2:04:53 Nicholas Kirwa (KEN) 2:05:01 Moses Kibet (KEN) 2:05:20 Tadu Abate (ETH) 2:05:38 Eric Kiptanui (KEN) 2:05:47 Enock Onchari (KEN) 2:05:47 Kenneth Keter (KEN) 2:06:05 Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:06:19 Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) 2:06:24 Victor Kipchirchir (KEN) 2:06:54 Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba (KEN) 2:07:28 Moses Kemei (KEN) 2:09:26 Jia Erenjia (CHN) 2:09:54 Wu Xiangdong (CHN) 2:10:02 Su Guoxiong (CHN) 2:11:28 Sammy Kosgei (KEN) 2:11:54 Nianzhe Ati (CHN) 2:13:14 Guan Yousheng (CHN) 2:13:25 Yang Dinghong (CHN) 2:13:40 Yang Xiaohua (CHN) 2:13:54 Guan Siyang (CHN) 2:13:56 Boki Diriba (ETH) debut Cameron Avery (NZL) debut

Assaults on both the men's and women's course records are expected at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race

Course records under threat at Shanghai Marathon

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on US sprinter&nbsp;Noah Lyles.
&nbsp;
In 2023, Noah Lyles cemented his place as one of the top sprinters of all time.
After winning the 200m at the previous two editions of the World Athletics Championships, the US 26-year-old not only retained his half-lap crown in Budapest but also added 100m and 4x100m titles to his haul, ending the championships as a six-time global gold medallist.
He maintained his position as world 200m leader for the sixth consecutive year and was undefeated in six 200m finals. Further proving his versatility, he also closed the season as the joint world leader in the 100m.
Lyles opened his campaign at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Boston, where he improved his PB to 6.51 to win the 60m final.
Outdoors, Lyles tested his early season form with some races in Florida and he made a statement with a 19.67 200m win at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston. It was a time that only one other athlete &ndash; double world medallist Letsile Tebogo &ndash; would beat during the rest of the season.
Lyles then won the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris and the 200m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event in New York, before turning his attention to the US Championships, where he secured his spot to target a sprint double at the World Championships in Budapest by finishing third in the 100m.
The US record-holder improved his 200m world lead at the Diamond League meeting in London, clocking 19.47 for the third-fastest performance of his career in his final race ahead of the World Championships.
Once in Budapest, he first won the 100m in 9.83, a personal best that made him the joint world leader in that discipline. Five days later he completed the double, retaining the 200m crown in 19.52, and just one day after that he became a treble champion, running the anchor leg as USA regained the men&rsquo;s 4x100m title.
He held up three fingers in celebration.
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&ldquo;This is the third gold for me here,&rdquo; Lyles said. &ldquo;It's sensational, amazing. You can't do better. It's out of control.&rdquo;
With his performance in Budapest, Lyles became the first man in seven years to complete the sprint treble at a global championships.
He already knew he had made history after doing the double.
&ldquo;It is a great feeling to know I did something not a lot of people have done,&rdquo; Lyles said after his 200m triumph. &ldquo;In my documentary I talked about wanting it to be done, being different from anybody else, and winning double golds was one of the things on my list. I wanted to show I am different. Today I came out and showed it. I am double champion.&rdquo;
But Lyles didn&rsquo;t stop there. Another sub-20 200m win followed at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich and he closed his campaign with a runner-up finish in the 100m at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, running 9.85.
"Yo I just realized 9.85 is my second fastest time ever in the 100m," he wrote on social media. "Next year going to be scary."
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on treble world sprint champion Noah Lyles

Focus on finalists: Noah Lyles

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on&nbsp;Venezuelan triple jumper&nbsp;Yulimar Rojas.
&nbsp;
Yulimar Rojas continued her reign as the queen of the triple jump in 2023. It wasn&rsquo;t all plain sailing for the Venezuelan superstar, but she further proved her class by overcoming a setback on the biggest stage of the year to win her fourth successive world title.
Rojas made her season debut in June, winning in Madrid and then again at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo.
She got gold at the Central American Games in San Salvador, soaring beyond 15 metres for the first time of the year with 15.16m. That was a world lead that she improved to 15.18m when winning at her next competition, the Diamond League meeting in Silesia.
She switched to the long jump in Monaco, leaping 6.61m in the Diamond League event there, and then turned her attention back to the triple jump and the prospect of winning a record fourth world outdoor title in Budapest.
After cruising through qualification, Rojas returned to the runway for the final on 25 August.
The Olympic champion had improved her world record to 15.74m when winning her third world indoor title in Belgrade last year, while her outdoor best is the 15.67m she soared to secure gold at the Games in Tokyo. In Budapest, however, Rojas struggled to find her rhythm and was sitting in eighth place going into the final round.
Her competition to that point had featured three fouls and marks of 14.33m and 14.26m from the second and third rounds, respectively.
But Rojas wasn&rsquo;t defeated.
Taking to the runway for the final time, she engaged the crowd once more and then hopped, stepped and jumped 15.08m &ndash; a performance that put her into the lead by eight centimetres.
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The emotion was clear.
&ldquo;The fact that I won the competition with my last attempt makes it very special and memorable,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This is my seventh world championship gold in a row (outdoors and indoors), but this is the most special of all of them.
&ldquo;My last attempt was proof of the hard work I have done, my mental state and my self-confidence. I didn't care about the distance, the only thing I had in mind was to win the gold.&rdquo;
With an eighth global gold medal added to her collection, Rojas returned to the Diamond League circuit and jumped 15.15m to win in Zurich.
She then headed to Eugene to defend her Diamond League title and, saving her best for last, she improved her world lead to 15.35m &ndash; just 39cm off her own world record &ndash; to take the trophy for the third consecutive year.
Rojas has now taken her tally of 15-metre-plus performances to 49 and remained unbeaten in finals in her specialism for the second year in a row.
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas

Focus on finalists: Yulimar Rojas

Men&rsquo;s world shot put record 23.56m Ryan Crouser (USA) Los Angeles 27 May 2023
Men&rsquo;s world pole vault record 6.23m Mondo Duplantis (SWE) Eugene 17 September 2023
Women&rsquo;s world 5000m record 14:00.21 Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) Eugene 17 September 2023
Men&rsquo;s world U20 mile record 3:48.06 Reynold Cheruiyot (KEN) Eugene 16 September 2023
&nbsp;
World records set this year by Ryan Crouser, Mondo Duplantis and Gudaf Tsegay have been ratified, while the world U20 record by Reynold Cheruiyot is also now official.
Crouser&rsquo;s was the first of these recently ratified marks to be set, as he launched the shot 23.56m at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, the season&rsquo;s sixth World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on 27 May.
With that performance, the world and Olympic champion added 19cm to the previous world record of 23.37m that he achieved at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in June 2021.
The world record mark came in the fourth round and his series also included throws of 23.31m, 23.23m, 22.94m, 22.86m and 22.80m.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited because it didn&rsquo;t feel polished,&rdquo; Crouser explained. &ldquo;It felt like I had a tonne of power, and I caught a big one.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The world records by Duplantis, Tsegay and Cheruiyot were all achieved at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene on 16-17 September.
First, Kenya&rsquo;s world U20 1500m champion Cheruiyot clocked 3:48.06 to finish fifth in the Bowerman Mile, improving the world U20 mile record by more than a second. The previous record of 3:49.29 was set by Ilham Tanui Ozbilen in Oslo on 3 July 2009.
The race featured a host of fast times, including the winning mark of 3:43.73 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, just 0.6 of a second off the senior world record.
The following day, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tsegay set the second senior world record of her career and her first outdoors, improving the world 5000m record with her remarkable 14:00.21 run.
That performance took almost five seconds off the previous world record of 14:05.20 that Faith Kipyegon set in Paris in June as part of a record spree that also saw her set global marks for the 1500m and mile.
"I was really angry to not bring back two medals from the World Championships, but I knew from our training I had a lot of potential to do something with my fitness," said Tsegay. "Even though the conditions weren&rsquo;t perfect (in Eugene), we thought we could do it.&rdquo;
Duplantis also made history in Eugene. Back in the stadium where he broke the world record to win his first senior world title in 2022, the Swedish pole vault star set the seventh world record of his career, clearing 6.23m on his first attempt.
That mark is one centimetre higher than the world record height he achieved indoors in Clermont-Ferrand in February.
"The limit is very high, and I hope that I can continue to jump well and keep jumping higher than I did today," said Duplantis. "But, for now, I&rsquo;m not really thinking about anything except enjoying this moment and enjoying what I just did."
World Athletics

World records set this year by Ryan Crouser, Mondo Duplantis, Gudaf Tsegay and Reynold Cheruiyot are now official

Ratified: world records for Crouser, Duplantis, Tsegay and Cheruiyot

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Kenyan marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum.
&nbsp;
This time last year, Kelvin Kiptum was a couple of weeks away from making his marathon debut. He has since achieved three of the six fastest times in history, capped by the remarkable world record of 2:00:35 he set when winning the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 8 October.
It was in Valencia last December that Kiptum&rsquo;s marathon journey began. There, the Kenyan distance running star &ndash; who turned 23 two days before that race &ndash; ran 2:01:53 for the fastest ever marathon debut and a mark that placed him third on the world all-time list behind only his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Kenenisa Bekele.
It set the tone for an incredible year ahead.
Kiptum returned to training, with the TCS London Marathon his next target. Lining up for the second marathon &ndash; and the second World Athletics Platinum Label road race &ndash; of his career on 23 April, he was just a couple of hours away from making history again.
While he later explained that the world record had not been on his mind, he was clearly a man on a mission and he ended up winning in a course record of 2:01:25 &ndash; a performance that elevated him another place on the world all-time list, to second behind the world record of 2:01:09 set by Kipchoge in Berlin in September 2022.
Kiptum&rsquo;s run included a 5km split of 13:49 between 30km and 35km and a 4:23 24th mile, helping him to win the race by almost three minutes and miss Kipchoge&rsquo;s world record by just 16 seconds.
&ldquo;My plan was to run maybe 2:03 or 2:02, but I was not thinking about the world record,&rdquo; Kiptum said later. &ldquo;I was just focused on running a good time. I&rsquo;ll go back home, have a little rest and talk with my team. Maybe then we will think of the world record.&rdquo;
Those thoughts turned into reality in Chicago.
After passing half way in 1:00:48, Kiptum ran another blistering 30-35km split of 13:51 and was on sub-2:01 pace. He picked up the tempo yet again and reached the finish line in 2:00:35, becoming the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon and securing his second major marathon win of the year.
He won the race by almost three and a half minutes. The result was an improvement of 50 seconds on Kiptum&rsquo;s&nbsp;previous best and it took 34 seconds off Kipchoge&rsquo;s world record.
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&ldquo;I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record &ndash; I am so happy,&rdquo; he said.
Could there be more in store? Kiptum has already voiced his intention to attack his record &ndash; and the two-hour barrier &ndash; at the NN Rotterdam Marathon in April.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll try at least to beat my world record here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m capable of doing that, if my preparation works out well and the conditions are OK. And in that case, I will get close to the two-hour barrier, so why not aim to break it?
&ldquo;That might look ambitious, but I&rsquo;m not afraid of setting this kind of goals. There&rsquo;s no limit to human energy.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum

Focus on finalists: Kelvin Kiptum

Noah Lyles will make his sixth appearance at the&nbsp;New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, while Jake Wightman will continue his comeback at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Boston on 4 February.
USA&rsquo;s multiple world champion Lyles opened his 2023 campaign with a PB of 6.51 to win the 60m in Boston and never looked back, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and becoming the first man in seven years to complete the sprint treble at a global championships.
Those titles add to the world gold medals he won in the 200m in 2022 and the 200m and 4x100m in 2019, as well as the Olympic bronze medal he claimed in 2021. The equal fastest man in the world this year at 100m, Lyles is also, for the sixth straight year, the fastest man in the world at 200m.
Leading the women&rsquo;s sprints in Boston will be world 200m silver medallist Gabby Thomas.
Thomas won the 2023 US title in a lifetime best of 21.60, making her the fourth-fastest woman in history. In addition to her 200m silver, she also formed part of USA&rsquo;s gold medal-winning 4x100m team in Budapest, and she also owns 200m bronze and 4x100m silver medals from the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Making his debut at&nbsp;the TRACK at New Balance&nbsp;will be Britain&rsquo;s 2022 world 1500m champion&nbsp;Wightman. Having missed the 2023 season due to injury, the&nbsp;New Balance Indoor Grand Prix&nbsp;will be Wightman&rsquo;s first major race in almost 13 months.
More than 50 meetings feature on the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour calendar, including seven Gold level events. The first of those Gold meetings is in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 27 January &ndash; the first ever World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Asia.
Organisers for World Athletics

Noah Lyles will make his sixth appearance at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, while Jake Wightman will continue his comeback at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting

Lyles to return to Boston for Indoor Grand Prix

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon.
&nbsp;
Faith Kipyegon started 2023 as one of the most decorated middle-distance runners in history.
She ended the year with even more global gold &ndash; and a clutch of world records to her name.
The first race of her season gave a glimpse as to what was to come. Competing at the Sirikwa Cross Country in Eldoret, Kipyegon won the women&rsquo;s 10km event by more than a minute, beating some of Kenya&rsquo;s leading distance runners. It was clear that she&rsquo;d been working on her strength in the off season.
She opened her track campaign three months later with a comfortable 3:58.57 victory over 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha. That was merely a warm-up of what was to come one month later.
She lined up for the 1500m at the Diamond League meeting in Florence with the intention of breaking the world 1500m record of 3:50.07, having got within 0.30 of the mark last year. This time she stayed level with &ndash; and then ahead of &ndash; the wavelights that circled the inside of the track. Tearing away from the rest of the field, Kipyegon won in 3:49.11 to take almost a full second off the world record, winning the race by the staggering margin of eight seconds.
Having finally achieved one of her big career goals at 1500m, Kipyegon set her sights on a new challenge: the 5000m.
Despite having completed just two races at that distance before, both of them back in 2015, Kipyegon took on some of the world&rsquo;s best at the Diamond League meeting in Paris. She wasn&rsquo;t on world record pace until the final couple of laps.
With a final kilometre of 2:43.2, Kipyegon charged through the finish line in 14:05.20, taking 1.42 seconds off the previous world record and finishing two seconds ahead of Letesenbet Gidey, the now former world record-holder.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think about the world record, I don&rsquo;t know how I made it,&rdquo; said a delighted and surprised Kipyegon. &ldquo;I just focused on the green light and tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the race. When I saw that it was a world record, I was so surprised.&rdquo;
After winning the 5000m at Kenya&rsquo;s World Trials, clocking 14:53.90 at altitude in Nairobi, Kipyegon returned to the Diamond League circuit for an attack on another world record, this time taking on the mile in Monaco.
In a stunning run, where she passed through the 1500m point in 3:51.41, Kipyegon crushed the world record by five seconds, clocking 4:07.64. Numerous national and area records were broken by the rest of the field, but even they were way behind the outstanding Kenyan.
Kipyegon then took a break from competition for a month as she geared up for the World Championships in Budapest, where she was taking on the 1500m and 5000m double.
The shorter event &ndash; a distance at which she already owned four global titles &ndash; was up first. After navigating her way through the rounds with ease, she dominated the final and won in 3:54.87.
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She had no time to rest, though, as her 5000m heat took place the very next day. She qualified comfortably, then returned to the track for the final three days later. Up against Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and world 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay, Kipyegon once again rose to the top and took the title in 14:53.88.
&ldquo;This has been an amazing year for me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Making history, winning two gold medals in a championship, is what I was dreaming for this season. I have been patient, waiting to be able to break world records and win double golds. But my dream just came true, it is amazing.&rdquo;
After being undefeated in all finals during the track season, Kipyegon turned her focus to the roads towards the end of the year and added another global medal to her collection, taking bronze in the mile at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23.
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world 1500m and 5000m champion Faith Kipyegon

Focus on finalists: Faith Kipyegon

The three finalists for the Photograph of the Year award have been selected, with less than a month to go until the World Athletics Awards 2023.
From the 134 images that were submitted, a panel of judges &ndash; comprising Valerie Adams, Raquel Cavaco Nunes, Joel Marklund, Pascal Rondeau and Blanka Vlasic &ndash; narrowed the entries to 10 shortlisted images before deciding on the three finalists.
Photographers from 47 countries across all six continental areas submitted entries.
The shortlisted images will form part of a digital exhibition on the World Athletics website that will go live later this month.
The winning photograph will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; platforms in early December, as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.
<h2>The finalists</h2>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c94396b41caad899bab0c.jpg" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Alexis Holmes and Femke Bol in the mixed 4x400m in Budapest" />
Alexis Holmes of USA, left, on her way to winning the mixed 4x400m as Femke Bol of Netherlands falls at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Sam Barnes / Sportsfile) 
</div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c94836b41caad899bab0f.jpg" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Gianmarco Tamberi celebrates his high jump victory in Budapest" />
Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy winning gold in the high jump at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images) 
</div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/655c96306b41caad899bab12.JPG" alt="Photograph of the Year finalist - Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon pole vault in Budapest" />
Leo Neugebauer of Germany in the decathlon pole vault at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Mattia Ozbot, World Athletics Photography Workshop)
</div>
&nbsp;
<h2>About the photographers</h2>
Sam Barnes An award-winning sports photographer currently based in Dublin, Ireland, working as full-time staff for Irish agency Sportsfile. Originally from Reading, UK, Barnes has been based in Dublin for almost 10 years and has covered a broad range of sporting events including multiple World and European Athletics Championships, and the Tokyo Paralympic Games. His work was also shortlisted for the Photograph of the Year award in 2022.
Anton Geyser A passionate and dedicated sports photographer, Geyser has covered a wide range of events, from grassroots competitions to international championships, and has contributed work to renowned sports publications and websites. Committed to mentoring aspiring sports photographers, he also often uses his photography to support charitable causes related to sports and youth development.
Mattia Ozbot A freelance photographer based in Milan, Ozbot specialises in sports photography and has a passion for capturing all the emotions sports can bring. In 2023 he was selected for the inaugural World Athletics Photography Workshop, held during the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
World Athletics

From 134 images that were submitted, the three finalists for the Photograph of the Year award have been selected

Finalists announced for 2023 World Athletics Photograph of the Year

As the World Athletics Awards 2023 draws near, we&rsquo;re shining a spotlight on the 10 finalists &ndash; five men and five women &ndash; for the World Athlete of the Year awards.
Today the focus is on Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis.
&nbsp;
Just when it seemed like Mondo Duplantis couldn&rsquo;t possibly have had a better season than last year, along comes 2023.
The Swedish superstar pole vaulter improved on his world record indoors and outdoors, successfully defended his world title, and racked up another 20 clearances at 6.00m or higher.
His year started with a bang as he scaled 6.10m on home soil in Uppsala. After winning in Berlin (6.06m) and Lievin (6.01m), Duplantis capped his indoor campaign with a world record of 6.22m in Clermont-Ferrand.
Duplantis opened his outdoor season at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in California at the end of May, clearing a world-leading 5.91m. He returned to six-metre territory just one week later, vaulting 6.11m at the FBK Games in Hengelo, then notching up victories in Oslo (6.01m), Ostrava (6.12m) and Stockholm (6.05m).
After winning in Silesia with 6.01m, Duplantis suffered a rare defeat in Monaco where he placed fourth with 5.72m.
It was just the fire he needed heading into the World Championships.
After making easy work of the qualifying round, Duplantis returned to the runway three days later for the pole vault final. He didn&rsquo;t put a foot wrong, clearing all of his heights on the first attempt, up to and including his winning vault of 6.10m.
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That&rsquo;s not to say it was a complete walk-over, though. In a high quality competition, Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines took silver with 6.00m, while Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall and USA&rsquo;s Chris Nilsen shared the bronze with 5.95m.
&ldquo;I'm really happy about all these consecutive golds,&rdquo; said Duplantis, who had won world titles indoors and out in 2022, as well as taking Olympic gold in 2021. &ldquo;I don't know where this one ranks, but I'm happy to keep winning. This was maybe the craziest atmosphere I've ever competed in so it meant a lot to be able to turn on a pole vault show for them.
&ldquo;I'll be ready for Paris and the Olympics but right now I want to live in the moment and enjoy these World Championships and this title.&rdquo;
Having ticked off his biggest goal for the year, Duplantis then set his sights on his stretch target for 2023: another improvement on his own world record.
He won in Zurich (6.00m) and in Brussels (6.10m), both times taking good &ndash; but ultimately unsuccessful &ndash; attempts at the world record.
Then at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene &ndash; his final competition of the year, and back on the runway where he had broken the world record in 2022 to win the world title &ndash; Duplantis ended his season in the best possible way.
He soared over 5.62m, 5.82m and 6.02m to secure victory. And then, with his first attempt, he got over 6.23m to add a centimetre to his own world record.
&ldquo;The limit is very high, and I hope that I can continue to jump well and keep jumping higher than I did today,&rdquo; said Duplantis. &ldquo;But, for now, I&rsquo;m not really thinking about anything except enjoying this moment and enjoying what I just did.&rdquo;
By the end of a long season, Duplantis had won 16 of his 17 competitions. He cleared six metres in 13 of those competitions, notching up a combined total of 20 six-metre vaults.
He now owns the top eight vaults in history and a total of 74 six-metre vaults &ndash; which translates to 36% of all the six-metre vaults ever achieved in the history of the sport.
&nbsp;
&bull; The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on World Athletics&rsquo; social media platforms on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023 &ndash; and you and a friend can be part of the celebrations.
One lucky person and a companion will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Monaco during the annual World Athletics Awards.
The winners of the fan VIP trip will get to spend three nights (9-11 December) in Monaco and meet the best athletes of 2023 in person. Flights, accommodation and evening meals will all be included.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/news/news/win-a-vip-trip-to-monaco?utm_source=Editorial&amp;utm_medium=Web&amp;utm_campaign=VIP-Trip&amp;utm_content=Bannerads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enter now</a>

Shining the spotlight on world pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis

Focus on finalists: Mondo Duplantis

Burundi&rsquo;s Rodrigue Kwizera and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Likina Amebaw were triumphant at the Cross Internacional de Soria &ndash; the fifth Gold level meeting of this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour &ndash; held at altitude (1100m) in Soria, Spain, on a sunny and pleasant Sunday (19).
As was the case last weekend in Seville, both races had thrilling sprint finishes and the winners prevailed by the narrowest of the margins.
In the men's 8.8km contest, Kwizera and Spain's Ouassim Oumaiz led the large lead pack through the opening 1.5km circuit in 4:18 with Uganda's Martin Kiprotich, Kenya&rsquo;s Hillary Chepkwony and Spain's Nassim Hassaous also in close attendance.
The 24-year-old Oumaiz, winner in Atapuerca in 2019, maintained his relentless pace, and by the end of the first 2.5km lap &ndash; covered in 7:11 &ndash; the lead group had been whittled down to 10 men. During the second lap, Kenya's Peter Kariuki, Eritrea's Aron Kifle and Burundi's Amorebieta winner Celestin Ndikumana began to slip out of contention for a podium finish.
Following another 7:13 lap, seven men reached the bell with Oumaiz, Kiprotich, Chepkwony, Kwizera and Eritrea's Filmon Kibrom at the helm while Spain&rsquo;s Hassaous and Sergio Paniagua ran at the back of the group.
Just 300 metres into the closing lap, Hassaous and Panigua started to lose ground, as did Kibrom. The lead quartet &ndash; Oumaiz, Kwizera, Chepkwony and Kiprotich &ndash; entered the final kilometre completely level. In the thrilling closing stages, pre-race favourites Kwizera and Chepkwony finally managed to leave Oumaiz and Kiprotich behind as they fought for victory.
Spain-based Kwizera eventually got the verdict by a narrow margin to achieve his first win of this cross country season after third-place finishes in Atapuerca and Seville. As was the case in Seville last week, Chepkwony had to settle for the runner-up spot with both men being given the same time (25:36).
"I&rsquo;m so happy as this is my first win this season,&rdquo; said Kwizera. &ldquo;I decided to take a risk on the last bend but that was the key as I managed some valuable metres on Chepkwony and could resist his late attack. I'll next race in Alcobendas if I solve some visa issues.&rdquo;
Oumaiz kept Kiprotich at bay to finish third, a timely confidence booster ahead of the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels in three weeks&rsquo; time.
Defending champion Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Kwizera's training partner, sustained an injury last month while training in Kenya, so in the circumstances was relatively pleased with his 10th-place finish, 36 seconds behind the winner.
In the women&rsquo;s race, also held over 8.8km, two-time winner Lucy Mawia took the early lead in the early stages with just five athletes following her: Amebaw and fellow Ethiopian Asayech Ayichew, Italy's Valentina Gemetto, France's Alessia Zarbo and Argentina's Fedra Luna.
The pace of the lead group slowed down in the following kilometres, and the pack had grown to 20 women by the time the clock read eight minutes.
To the delight of the home crowd, Spanish steeplechaser Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano moved to the front after the first 2.5km lap (covered in 8:30), closely followed by Gemetto and Mawia. Soon after, Mawia once again took control of the rhythm but her lead was short-lived as S&aacute;nchez-Escribano and her training-mate Carolina Robles, an Olympic finalist in the steeplechase in 2021, regained the lead midway through the penultimate lap, which was covered in a slightly quicker 8:28.
At the bell, seven women remained in contention. Somewhat surprisingly, Mawia was among the first of those to fade on the last lap and she eventually dropped out. The leading Spanish contenders, meanwhile, couldn&rsquo;t maintain the pace being set by Gemetto but Ayichew and Amebaw stayed in close contact.
In an exciting finish, Ayichew upped her pace in the closing kilometre as Gemetto was finally left behind. Amebaw still had something left in the tank, though, and came through to win by one second in 29:44, achieving her second victory of the season. Gemetto held on for third place, five seconds ahead of fast-finishing Spaniard Marta Garc&iacute;a.
&ldquo;Before the start, I didn't feel at my 100% so I decided to see how the race would develop and not push too hard at any time,&rdquo; said Amebaw, who will likely race in Alcobendas next weekend. &ldquo;Luckily my tactics paid off.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Likina Amebaw (ETH) 29:44 2 Asayech Ayichew (ETH) 29:45 3 Valentina Gemetto (ITA) 30:06 4 Marta Garc&iacute;a (ESP) 30:11 5 Carolina Robles (ESP) 30:18 6 Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano (ESP) 30:28 7 Cristina Espejo (ESP) 30:46 8 Marta P&eacute;rez (ESP) 30:54 9 Esther Navarrete (ESP) 31:02 10 Lli Anna Vincis-Toth (HUN) 31:04
Men 1 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 25:34 2 Hillary Chepkwony (KEN) 25:34 3 Ouassim Oumaiz (ESP) 25:40 4 Martin Kiprotich (UGA) 25:40 5 Filmon Kibrom (ERI) 25:41 6 Peter Kariuki (KEN) 26:00 7 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 26:04 8 Sergio Paniagua (ESP) 26:04 9 Fernando Carro (ESP) 26:11 10 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP) 26:12

Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera and Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw were triumphant at the Cross Internacional de Soria

Kwizera and Amebaw claim victory in close finishes in Soria

World cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo continued his return to racing with a stunning performance at the NN Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen on Sunday (19), equalling the world 15km best with 41:05.
The Ugandan was forced to miss the World Championships in Budapest and World Road Running Championships in Riga through injury, but returned to action at the end of last month with a convincing win at the Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Atapuerca.
Today he notched up another victory, winning by 99 seconds to equal the world best set five years ago by his compatriot Joshua Cheptegei.
He started out at a relatively conservative pace, mindful of the fact there was a big climb to come between 3.5km and 5km. He reached 3km in 8:42 &ndash; 23 seconds down on Cheptegei&rsquo;s pace from 2018 &ndash; and got to 5km in 14:24, by which point compatriot Rogers Kibet was already struggling to stay in touch.
Shortly after, Kiplimo was out in front alone and he passed through 8km in 22:31 with a 24-second leading margin. He hit the 10km checkpoint in 27:49, the exact same split Cheptegei recorded during his landmark run. From that point on, Kiplimo&rsquo;s pace fluctuated slightly; sometimes ahead of course record pace, sometimes behind it.
A 2:31 final kilometre &ndash; his fastest of the race &ndash; brought him home in 41:05. Kibet held on to second place in 42:44, securing a Ugandan 1-2.
Although 41:05 is the fastest ever performance in a standalone 15km race, Kiplimo recorded a 15km split of 40:27 en route to his half marathon world record in Lisbon in 2021.
World steeplechase record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech was a convincing winner of the women&rsquo;s race, crossing the line in 47:12 to finish 43 seconds ahead of Israel&rsquo;s Lonah Salpeter.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) 47:12 2 Lonah Salpeter (ISR) 47:55 3 Stella Chesang (KEN) 48:01 4 Isobel Batt-Doyle (AUS) 48:20 5 Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 49:06 6 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 49:19
Men 1 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 41:05 2 Rogers Kibet (UGA) 42:44 3 Amos Serem (KEN) 43:07 4 Filmon Tesfu (NED) 44:00 5 Mike Foppen (NED) 44:01 6 Mustefa Kedir (NED) 44:04

Jacob Kiplimo clocks 41:05 at the NN Zevenheuvelenloop

Kurgat seeks redemption on return to Austin

Ratified: USA’s world mixed 4x400m record

Digital exhibition: 2023 World Athletics Photograph of the Year shortlisted images

Kwizera and Amebaw stamp their authority in Alcobendas

Kipchumba sets Chinese all-comers’ record in Shanghai