Try as he might, Jeremiah Azu just can&rsquo;t take himself seriously on the start line for a sprint.
In the past, when he employed such a tactic, the times were not reflective of what he was showing in training. So instead, he flicked a switched and decided wholeheartedly to simply emulate his practice approach.
&ldquo;I try to take things really seriously and to get in the zone, but it just doesn&rsquo;t work for me and I&rsquo;m not sure why,&rdquo; he explained.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But when I&rsquo;m being myself and treating a race like training and having fun, I find my best results. What you see is what you get, there&rsquo;s no fakery, no facade.
&ldquo;In my head, I&rsquo;m being paid to do what I love and get to race against the fastest people in the world. I get to test my nerve and it&rsquo;s just so enjoyable. How could I not be happy?&rdquo;
Whatever the approach, the early signs in 2025 indicate his approach is working. He has won world, European and British 60m titles indoors already this year and is aiming to replicate the speed and results outdoors.
And, in conversation in the build-up to the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25, there is an infectiousness to his personality.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6818a736f5478c1436c0dce8.jpg" alt="Jeremiah Azu wins 60m gold at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing" />
Jeremiah Azu wins 60m gold at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Despite the confidence and results, there is also a deep-seated humility, which was reflected on his return in his first service back in Wales at the church where his father is the pastor.
&ldquo;It was on Mothering Sunday &ndash; a Mother&rsquo;s Day special,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to get a little attention but I didn&rsquo;t want to take away from the mothers, so I tried to be as low key as possible. Naturally with my father being the preacher, there&rsquo;s going to be a mention of me, but I tried to keep the focus on the mothers.&rdquo;
Motherhood is front and centre in his thinking. Currently on a stint in China, he made his 100m season debut in Xiamen and finished third in a time of 10.17 before running 10.19 in Keqiao, and is now fine-tuning his preparations for Guangzhou.
But, at the same time, he has left his partner Terri back at home with their baby son Azaire, who was born just before Azu&rsquo;s European gold for what has proved a life-changing spring on and off the track.
He admits to missing the pair but, as a young parent, he is also not ashamed to have embraced the sustained unbroken sleep.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been teasing my partner a bit on that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I get some messages in the night that I wake up to, or else I get them when I&rsquo;m awake and say to her &lsquo;you should be sleeping&rsquo; but she&rsquo;s like: &lsquo;we&rsquo;ve got a baby and one of us has got to look after him!&rsquo;
&ldquo;So, it&rsquo;s been a bit of fun on that front. And when I get back, I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s back to a rollercoaster, it&rsquo;s drop the bags and straight into it,&rdquo; and he imitates having a baby being thrust instantaneously into his arms on his return.
His son&rsquo;s arrival has meant that immaterial of his track results, it was always going to be the springtime of his 23-year-old life. And nothing in racing can eclipse what&rsquo;s happened in his family life.
Although he argues it has helped his running cause.
&ldquo;Now every single thought process includes my family, and it&rsquo;s helping me to focus on my track in a different way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I leave the track, I have so many other big things to worry about so I don&rsquo;t let a bad session get to me too much, as I have a whole new life depending on me.&rdquo;
As a parent, life has changed immeasurably but, as an athlete, he insists life remains relatively the same despite his golds in Apeldoorn and then Nanjing. He can go to the shops unnoticed, in fact only in recent days in China &ndash; the scene of his biggest triumph &ndash; has he noticed the volume of recognition for his achievements.
His indoor season has been a sliding doors moment. He was 48 hours away from pulling out of his national trials because of an injury niggle, which would have negated his selection for the British team.
&ldquo;We nearly had to scrap indoors, I was two days away from not competing at the British trials so, with that, it&rsquo;s been a surprise,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;In that moment, I could have lost hope, but I stuck through it. That 48 hours could have changed everything.&rdquo;
His breakthrough arguably came outdoors after the blow of disqualification at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the individual 100m, when he bounced back to be part of the British 4x100m quartet that won bronze.
And he is relishing the opportunity to reunite with his national colleagues in Guangzhou, albeit in a new-look line-up with just one of his fellow medallists from Paris in Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6818a87bf5478c1436c0dcee.jpg" alt="Jeremiah Azu and his GB 4x100m teammates Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Louie Hinchliffe in Paris" />
Jeremiah Azu and his GB 4x100m teammates Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Louie Hinchliffe in Paris (&copy; Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics)
</div>
&ldquo;GB&rsquo;s always in there in the relay mix so it&rsquo;ll be great to be back in the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to have individual success but as a team it means a lot. In 20 years&rsquo; time, I&rsquo;ll look back to the guys I ran with. Athletics is such an individual sport so to be able to share those moments in the relay, those moments stay with you.&rdquo;
Even with a change in personnel, he believes the British quartet will once again be podium contenders in Guangzhou thanks to the current sprint strength in depth. And he is similarly confident he can translate his explosive indoor form to outdoors with targets of winning the national championships later this summer and being in the medal mix come the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more motivated than ever,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s given me confidence to know I&rsquo;m part of the world&rsquo;s best. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve always known but now the world knows it and week in, week out, I&rsquo;m getting to race the best in the world.&rdquo;
Last year, Azu was finishing off a second year training with Marco Airale&rsquo;s group out in Italy before making the decision to relocate home and reunite with the coach who first inspired him to take up the sport at the age of 17, Helen James.
He is grateful for and feels enriched by his Italian journey but has clearly been inspired by the reunion.
&ldquo;Starting to work with Helen changed my life initially,&rdquo; he admitted. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to be back where I started and I&rsquo;m so grateful to her.
&ldquo;She didn&rsquo;t give up on me. She was always so welcoming to me, checking up on me, and when I think about it I do get a bit emotional as she&rsquo;s truly been like a mother figure to me. She&rsquo;s got a lot of love and time for me becoming the best version of myself.&rdquo;
That best version materialised during the indoor season, and Azu argues a better version might still be on the horizon.
Matt Majendie for World Athletics

World Athletics Relays

Try as he might, Jeremiah Azu just can’t take himself seriously on the start line for a sprint.

World indoor champion Azu takes sprint ambition from Nanjing to Guangzhou

Mujinga Kambundji won a thrilling 60m showdown to regain the 60m crown at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 on Saturday (22).
The Swiss sprinter had finished 0.01 behind Italy's Zaynab Dosso at the European Indoor Championships earlier this month &ndash; Dosso winning in a world lead of 7.01 &ndash; but this time the roles reversed and Kambundji clocked 7.04 to hold off Dosso by 0.02.
Patrizia van der Weken finished third behind them in Apeldoorn and she did the same in Nanjing, making even more history for Luxembourg. Her bronze, secured in 7.07, is her nation's first ever world medal, indoors or out.
On the eve of the championships, Dosso explained the significance of her European indoor title win. &ldquo;Mujinga is not just a great competitor for me but also a great inspiration and a person that I admire,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Being able to defeat her was also an inspiration.&rdquo;
Kambundji&rsquo;s performance in Nanjing was also inspired and it took the 32-year-old to the top of the world indoor podium for the second time, following her 60m win in Belgrade in 2022. This latest gold is her third world indoor medal overall, as she got bronze in 2018, and it adds to a CV that also features world 200m bronze from 2019 and two European 200m titles.
&ldquo;I'm really happy, really relieved,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This was a lot like the Europeans. Zaynab was also coming from that, and I knew she was going to be fast.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This means a lot, for this title to come at this stage of my career. I see it with other sprinters, with the older sprinters &ndash; they are also motivating me a lot to see that they're still running PBs, and running really fast at 35, 36 years old. It shows me that my best time can still be ahead of me.&rdquo;
While Kambundji said her technique &ldquo;just felt off&rdquo; in the earlier rounds, she used it as motivation for the final. She ran 7.20 to win her heat and 7.12 in her semifinal, compared to Dosso&rsquo;s 7.09 heat win and 7.07 semifinal &ndash; those times leading each of the rounds.
Dosso was disappointed with her start in the final and while she very quickly made up ground she was passed by Kambundji in the closing stages.
&ldquo;I'm pleased, but at the same time a little bit disappointed, because I know I can do better than this,&rdquo; said Dosso. &ldquo;In the 60m, you need a good start. I'm very curious to see what else I can deliver this summer, especially because I improved so much this season.&rdquo;
Van der Weken is another athlete who has made great strides this season and her 7.07 for bronze is just 0.01 off the PB she set at the European Indoor Championships.
In Glasgow last year she achieved the best placing by an athlete from her country in the history of the World Indoor Championships. Now she has become Luxembourg&rsquo;s first ever medallist on this world stage.
Jess Whittington&nbsp;for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 60m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Mujinga Kambundji (SUI)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">7.04</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Zaynab Dosso (ITA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">7.06</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Patrizia van der Weken (LUX)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">7.07</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/nanjing25/results/women/60-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

World Athletics Indoor Championships

Report on the women's 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25

Kambundji regains world indoor 60m title in Nanjing

What a month March has been for Jeremiah Azu.
The British sprinter became a father for the first time, won European indoor gold and is now a global champion after fending off the threat from Australian rising star Lachlan Kennedy to win gold by just 0.01 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 on Friday (21).
Azu marked 60m gold in Apeldoorn by returning home to 1am nappy changing duty for son Azaire. In contrast in Nanjing, his immediate celebration following a tight finish was to roar out loud and start sprinting euphorically around the track.
Only a hundredth of a second had separated the winners of the semifinals: Azu, Eloy Benitez and Ronnie Baker, teeing up a mouth-watering final in the last event of the first night of action in Nanjing.
Come the final, Puerto Rican Benitez pulled up very early on, grimacing in pain, while Baker was another injury casualty in the latter stages of the final.
In contrast, the athlete named &lsquo;Azoom&rsquo; immediately got out of the blocks well and went on to match his personal best of 6.49 to fend off a fast-finishing Kennedy at the line.
South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbine, a six-time global fourth- and fifth-place finisher, got the first major international individual medal of his career, clocking 6.54 for bronze.
&ldquo;Just raw emotion,&rdquo; said Azu, who is unbeaten this season and becomes the first British champion in the event since Richard Kilty 10 years ago. &ldquo;I was a bit emotional before the final with my coach. The last three years have been very difficult for me.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about the final and doing it when it matters. I&rsquo;m glad I&rsquo;ve got the ability to do that &ndash; the ability to win.&rdquo;
His performances indoors make amends from the Olympics last year when he was disqualified in the heats of the 100m before going on to get bronze in the 4x100m. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, he would later call the Games &ldquo;bittersweet&rdquo;.
The Welsh athlete made the decision to relocate from his previous training base in Italy to return to Cardiff to renew his old partnership with coach Helen James, who had encouraged him to take up athletics in the first place as a teenager. He was quick to dedicate his latest gold to her.
The 23-year-old has cut a calm and confident figure all season. In his semifinal, which he won in 6.52, he sung to the camera on the start line and was similarly effusive come the preamble in the final.
Despite that earlier win, the final still seemed wide open with the likes of Kennedy, the fastest man over 60m this season, as well as Baker, Benitez and Simbine in what was his World Indoor Championships debut. In the end, it was a highly successful introduction as the South African rounded off the podium.
Matt Majendie&nbsp;for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 60m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Jeremiah Azu (GBR)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">6.49 =PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Lachlan Kennedy (AUS)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">6.50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Akani Simbine (RSA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">6.54</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/nanjing25/results/men/60-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Report on the men's 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25

Azu storms to 60m title in Nanjing

Jamaica&rsquo;s Kishane Thompson got his indoor season off to a winning start at the Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes &ndash; the opening World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of 2025 &ndash; in the Kazakh capital on Saturday (25).
But there was a slight fright as the 23-year-old grimaced over the line in the 60m and limped momentarily in the aftermath of a final he won in a time of 6.56.
The Olympic 100m silver medallist, denied agonisingly by just 0.005 by Noah Lyles last summer in Paris, had marked himself out as a serious threat to the US sprinter yet again in 2025 with a season-opening 6.48 outdoors back in Jamaica last weekend.
A week on after a 32-hour journey to the Kazakh capital, he was less assured, struggling with his start in the heats and again looking forced in his running but it was still enough to take a deserved win.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q4fXnUvqOtU" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
In the heats, Thompson was slow out of the blocks but still booked his place in the final comfortably with 6.58. He let out a roar as he was announced to the crowd for the meeting&rsquo;s finale, so too as he was called to his marks, and then he used his power to take a clear win.
Hopes of a duel with 2021 Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse were denied. The Canadian had always warned that 60m was probably too short a distance for him and he had to make do with fifth place in the final as Oman&rsquo;s Ali Anwar Baluchi was second to Thompson and Japan&rsquo;s Shuhei Tada third in 6.60 and 6.62 respectively.
De Grasse&rsquo;s partner Nia Ali had, on paper, been the star attraction in the women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles but, despite qualifying for the final, did not take up her place in the eight-woman line-up because of injury.
In her absence, Yuri Tanaka clocked a personal best 8.05 with a big dip to the line ahead of Finland&rsquo;s Nooralotta Neziri and Klaudia Wojtunik of Poland.
In the other 60m final, Tia Clayton broke the meeting record, clocking 7.18 for a comfortable win while twin sister Tina, a double world U20 champion, who matched her in the opening 20 metres, struggled in the latter stages and had to make do with third. The siblings, like compatriot Thompson coached by Stephen Francis, were separated by Portugal&rsquo;s Lorene Bazolo.
The women&rsquo;s 3000m was a testament to youth as a 16-year-old Marta Alemayo out-kicked her fellow Ethiopian Shito Gumi, herself just 17, to shatter the world U18 best for the distance.
The world U20 cross-country champion sliced more than six seconds off the mark, which had stood for 12 years, to cross the line in 8:39.80.
The teenager had tried to force her way into the lead by going up the inside but, when she found that blocked by Gumi, and Axumawit Embaye, the third Ethiopian in the field, she showed age-defying maturity to go round the outside to take the win.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6794e69ba921caa8eb25c008.jpg" alt="Marta Alemayo wins the 3000m in Astana" />
Marta Alemayo wins the 3000m in Astana (&copy; Alexey Gubanov)
</div>
As a two-time world champion outdoors, Chase Jackson had looked a class apart going into the shot put and so it proved, the only athlete capable of throwing beyond 19 metres.
Her second-round effort of 19.13m was an early world lead and proved a strong start to 2025 having endured the disappointment of failing to qualify for the final of the event at the Paris Olympics last year.
Britain&rsquo;s Alex Haydock Wilson, a double Olympic relay medallist last year, held off the challenge of Chidi Okezie to win the 400m. His time of 46.47 was an improvement of half a second of his run in Luxembourg just a few days earlier.
World and Olympic medallist Sada Williams of Barbados navigated her way through the field on the second lap of the women&rsquo;s 400m to win in 53.51.
Just two centimetres separated the top three in the men&rsquo;s long jump, as Lester Lescay&rsquo;s 7.91m took the win ahead of US duo Marquis Dendy and Isaac Grimes.
Local favourite Nadezha Dubovitskaya, who cleared two metres back in 2021 and was a 2022 world indoor medallist, could only finish fourth in a women&rsquo;s high jump competition which Japan&rsquo;s Nagisa Takahashi won with a clearance of 1.88m. The men&rsquo;s event, meanwhile, was won by Luis Castro for Puerto Rico after clearing 2.15m.
Astana is one of nine Gold level World Indoor Tour events in 2025, with the series also taking in the likes of Boston, New York, Madrid and Belgrade.
Matt Majendie for World Athletics

Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson got his indoor season off to a winning start at the Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes

Thompson, Alemayo and Jackson victorious in Astana

US sprinter Ronnie Baker will compete in the 60m at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting, part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold, at the Athletics Hall in Banjica on 29 January.
Baker, the 2018 world indoor bronze medallist, is one of the fastest 60m sprinters in history. The PB of 6.40 he set in Albuquerque in 2018 places him third on the world all-time list, while he has dipped under 6.50 another 10 times in his career so far.
He won the overall men's World Indoor Tour 60m title in 2020 and his 100m PB of 9.83 was set at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The&nbsp;Belgrade Indoor Meeting will be the second&nbsp;World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of 2025. Another Gold meeting &ndash; the&nbsp;Copernicus Cup in Torun on 16 February &ndash; has announced that home star Natalia Bukowiecka will contest the 400m.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/world-indoor-tour-2025-calendar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Indoor Tour Gold 2025 calendar</a>

US sprinter Ronnie Baker will compete in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting on 29 January

Baker announced for Belgrade Indoor Meeting

The two big favourites for the title ended up taking the top two spots in the women&rsquo;s 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
While Ewa Swoboda had been the fastest in the heats and semifinals, Julien Alfred shone when it mattered most, clocking a season&rsquo;s best of 6.98 to equal Swoboda&rsquo;s world lead from the semifinals.
But there was unfortunate drama before the final even got under way as US champion Aleia Hobbs &ndash; the second-fastest woman in history at this distance &ndash; picked up what looked to be a calf injury on the startline, just moments before the gun sounded.
She tried her best to stretch it out, but ultimately she had to surrender to the pain and was stretchered off the track, leaving just seven starters.
Once the gun fired, Swoboda was out fastest and held a slight edge over Alfred, Italy&rsquo;s Zaynab Dosso and New Zealand&rsquo;s Zoe Hobbs.
Swoboda held her form well, but so too did Alfred, who was a picture of composure as she charged through the closing stages to win in 6.98.
Swoboda crossed the line in 7.00 to take silver, her first ever senior global medal, and Dosso took bronze in 7.05, finishing 0.01 ahead of Hobbs, who set an Oceanian record of 7.06 in fourth.
USA&rsquo;s Mikiah Brisco, silver medallist in Belgrade two years ago, this time finished fifth in 7.08. Belgium&rsquo;s Rani Rosius was sixth (7.14) and Patrizia van der Weken was seventh in 7.15, becoming Luxembourg&rsquo;s highest ever finisher in a women&rsquo;s event at a senior global championships.
Before these championships, St Lucia had never had a medallist at a senior global championships. Now the tiny Caribbean nation has a global champion.
"I think losing last season at the World Championships and coming that close to a medal in both the 100m and the 200m gave me a boost," said Alfred, who was fifth in the 100m and fourth in the 200m in Budapest. "I was very hungry coming into this season.
"My coach came all the way from Austin to be with me here, so I wanted to make him proud. I'm just going to keep hungry and train hard and keep chasing what I want. I'll trust in my coach and me."
Swoboda was satisfied with silver, but was open in her appraisal of the outcome. "I know that every medal counts, but my feelings are mixed," she said. "I feel half and half - half happy and half upset. After the semifinal, I was a bit tired already and I told myself: 'I wish this day was going to an end finally'. But I think this result is still quite good. The silver medal, national record - this makes me feel very satisfied."
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 60m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Julien Alfred 🇱🇨 LCA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">6.98 =WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Ewa Swoboda 🇵🇱 POL</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">7.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Zaynab Dosso 🇮🇹 ITA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">7.05</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/glasgow24/results/women/60-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The two big favourites for the title ended up taking the top two spots in the women’s 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.

Alfred makes history for St Lucia with 60m win in Glasgow

Noah Lyles, world 100m and 200m champion, did all he knew to try and win a first world indoor 60m title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 on Friday (1). But for all his confidence, buoyancy, charm and talent he could not get round the fact that his US rival Christian Coleman completed the distance in 6.41, the fastest time run this season and 0.2 faster than he had ever recorded.
It would be tempting, but unfair, to say that while the exuberant Lyles talked the talk, the relatively taciturn Coleman walked the walk.
A silver medal in 6.44, just 0.01 off the personal best he had produced to beat Coleman to the US indoor title earlier this year, represented a serious statement of intent for a runner who has come down to this distance from 200m running, where he has three world titles to his name.
&ldquo;It was a great run,&rdquo; Lyles insisted. &ldquo;Right up among my best runs. To run 6.44, I am very impressed with myself. I&rsquo;ve run three rounds today. And what a great indoor season!
&ldquo;The thing is &ndash; this is the weakest part of my race.&rdquo;
He later added: &ldquo;It feels like one of my best performances - 6.44, I'm never going to be dissatisfied with that. Last year I was running 6.51 and this year I've put down multiple 6.4s, and these are not small 6.4s either, I'm deep into 6.4 territory and talking about 6.3 at some point.
&ldquo;This is all with training that hasn't really changed. It's so exciting because now I finally get to do an outdoor season. The 60m is not my favourite race but now you can't say I'm not one of the greats in it. I'm very excited for Paris because it has all my favourite events.&rdquo;
Coleman commented:&nbsp;&ldquo;I had a lot of confidence in myself coming in. You have to feel confident in yourself. I set my mind on letting my body do what I have been doing in practice and I came out with a win. I can look forward to the rest of the summer. I've got so many things to work on and I am just looking forward to these opportunities When you get these opportunities, you have got to take them.&rdquo;
Lyles will surely benefit from his boldness later this season as he strives to add Olympic titles to those he has already earned at the World Athletics Championships.
What this means for the Olympic ambition of Coleman, who won the world 100m title in 2019, is less certain.
What is not in doubt is that the man who set the world 60m record of 6.34 in 2018, the year he won the world indoor title, has reclaimed his natural territory.
His winning time matched what he ran at the last World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, although on that occasion he lost narrowly to Italy&rsquo;s Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs.
Bronze in Glasgow went to Jamaica&rsquo;s Ackeem Blake in 6.46, with Kenya&rsquo;s Ferdinand Omanyala, who had lived dangerously in the heats and semifinals by drifting towards the lane to his right, finishing fourth in 6.56.
Cameroon&rsquo;s Emmanuel Eseme, who had set consecutive national records of 6.54 and 6.52 in reaching the final, was unable to progress further, settling for sixth place in 6.68.
Coleman had sent out an ominous warning with a semifinal victory that looked good from start to finish, ending in a time of 6.43, thus equalling the fastest time run up to that point of the season.
Lyles worked the crowd as he was introduced ahead of a semifinal which took the form of a large question mark as far as he was concerned. How would he respond to the pumped-up earlier contribution of his diminutive fellow-US rival?
The response was there &ndash; and after winning in 6.47 he produced the first genuine grin of the day. Coleman still looked favourite &ndash; but Lyles was heading in the right direction.
It seemed, however, that the only way he might win would be to put doubt into Coleman&rsquo;s mind. Standing next to him before the final began, he gave it 100%, roaring and bouncing and grinning next to his impassive rival.
But very soon afterwards it was Coleman, watched from the stands by his parents, who found himself centre stage.
In the wake of his victory, he walked back down the newly-laid Glasgow Arena track, shrugged, and then bowed.
Lyles, first congratulating the Stars-and-Stripes bedecked shot put gold medallist Ryan Crouser, continued walking to offer his congratulations to the winner.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 60m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Christian Coleman 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">6.41 WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Noah Lyles 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">6.44</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Ackeem Blake 🇯🇲 JAM</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">6.46</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/glasgow24/results/men/60-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Noah Lyles, world 100m and 200m champion, did all he knew to try and win a first world indoor 60m title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24

Lyles has to give best to Coleman over 60m in Glasgow

<h2>Women&rsquo;s 60m</h2>
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/glasgow24/timetable/bydiscipline/women/60-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a> | <a href="https://worldathletics.org/records/toplists/sprints/60-metres/all/women/senior/2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 world list</a> | <a href="https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/sprints/60-metres/all/women/senior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a> |&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/world-rankings/100m/women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>
History beckons St Lucia&rsquo;s Julien Alfred this year as she seeks to become the first athlete from her country to win an Olympic medal &ndash; and, before that, a world indoor medal.
The 22-year-old, in her first year as a professional after sweeping the board indoors and out in the US college scene last season, is the only woman in the world this year to have bettered 7.00 for the 60m.
Her time of 6.99 on 11 February at the Millrose Games in New York &ndash; a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting &ndash; came despite a relatively slow start. Her potential looks heady given that she set a national record of 6.94 in March last year.
Alfred&rsquo;s performance in Albuquerque saw her move to joint second on the all-time list along with Aleia Hobbs of the United States, who had earned that distinction the previous month in the same arena.
Both are just 0.02 off the world record of 6.92 set in 1993 by Irina Privalova of Russia. And both are entered for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24, with Hobbs having a season&rsquo;s best of 7.02 to her credit after another fine showing in Albuquerque on 17 February.
Not that they will have things remotely their own way given the presence of Poland&rsquo;s 26-year-old Ewa Swoboda, second on this year&rsquo;s top list after clocking 7.01 &ndash; 0.02 off her personal best &ndash; to win the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting on her home track of Torun.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65d5ea0ec2444cebc4fc7b35.jpg" alt="Ewa Swoboda at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22" />
Ewa Swoboda at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Swoboda finished sixth in the women&rsquo;s 100m at last year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, clocking 10.97. But it is indoors that she has made her main impression on the sport so far.
She was fourth over 60m at the last World Indoor Championships two years ago in Belgrade, missing a bronze by just 0.002.
Her chances of bettering that performance two years on look strong, especially as she has fond memories of the Glasgow Arena, where she won European indoor gold in 2019 &ndash; adding to a silver in 2017 which she replicated in Istanbul last year.
Swoboda can also count on some guaranteed home support as her brother lives in Edinburgh.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big event for me,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I want to win a medal and a PB.&rdquo;
Other strong medal contenders include Italy&rsquo;s 24-year-old Zaynab Dosso, who currently stands joint third on the world list with Hobbs after finishing 0.1 behind Swoboda in Torun, and Mikiah Brisco of the United States, who has run 7.06 this season and who clocked a personal best of 6.99 to win silver at the last World Indoor Championships as an unsponsored runner.
Others to watch out for include Jamaica&rsquo;s Shashalee Forbes, who has run a personal best of 7.03 this season, and 21-year-old Briana Williams, the 2018 world U20 100m and 200m champion who earned an Olympic 4x100m gold in Tokyo three years ago.
&nbsp;
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 60m</h2>
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/glasgow24/timetable/bydiscipline/men/60-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a> | <a href="https://worldathletics.org/records/toplists/sprints/60-metres/all/men/senior/2024?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;windReading=regular&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;maxResultsByCountry=all&amp;eventId=10229683&amp;ageCategory=senior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 world list</a> | <a href="https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/sprints/60-metres/all/men/senior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a> |&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/world-rankings/100m/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2024-02-18&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>
This is the year when Noah Lyles, world 100m and 200m champion, plans to complete his title collection. And while his overarching ambition is an Olympic upgrade from bronze to gold later this year, his immediate challenge lies in Glasgow, where he will seek his first world indoor medal.
Guess which one he has in mind.
The 26-year-old from Gainesville, Florida &ndash; 2023 World Athlete of the Year in men&rsquo;s track &ndash; is in the ideal position to further adorn&nbsp; his CV with a 60m victory at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 as he tops this year&rsquo;s world list with a personal best of 6.43.
Also in the lists, thrillingly, is the fellow US sprinter who he beat by 0.01 in setting that time at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, Christian Coleman, who had run the world record of 6.34&nbsp; in the same arena six years earlier.
The re-match between the current world 100m champion and the 2019 world champion will be one of the highlights of these championships, with hopes of further fast times soaring given the recent completion of a new track at the Glasgow Arena, which was built for the city&rsquo;s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Lyles had already made clear the winter work he had done on his start &ndash; supposedly the weakest part of his racing &ndash; by reducing his personal best to 6.44 in winning at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on 4 February, where those in his wake included the 2022 world 100m champion Fred Kerley.
&ldquo;My confidence has now skyrocketed," Lyles said after that race. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go get a world indoor medal.&rdquo;
His confidence is now in orbit following his Albuquerque exploits. &ldquo;This is my weakest event,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So come outdoor, whew, fireworks."
But it would not do to rule out the prospects for Coleman, a classic bullet from a gun over 60m, who went on to win the world indoor title in Birmingham soon after setting his world record.
And neither man will be able to rest easy given the presence in the field of the 22-year-old Jamaican Ackeem Blake, who has a best of 6.42 and who clocked 6.45 in finishing just 0.01 behind Lyles in Boston to place himself third in this year&rsquo;s world list.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65dc927d6e76875c07703e6e.jpg" alt="Jamaica's Ackeem Blake" />
Jamaica's Ackeem Blake (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Meanwhile, the runaway train that is Kenya&rsquo;s Ferdinand Omanyala is gathering speed. The 28-year-old Commonwealth Games 100m champion took 0.03 off his own national 60m record in clocking 6.51 to win in Bercy on 11 February.
Look out too for Japan&rsquo;s Shuhei Tada, who has clocked a personal best of 6.53 this season, plus Liberia&rsquo;s Emmanuel Matadi and Britain&rsquo;s Jeremiah Azu, winner of the fourth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Torun in 6.57 which helped him to earn a wild card entry to Glasgow.
And do not ignore Italy&rsquo;s European indoor champion Samuele Ceccarelli, who has only run 6.65 this season but has a best of 6.47; and Ireland&rsquo;s 21-year-old Israel Olatunde, whose best this year is 6.71 but who ran a national record of 6.57 last season.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Expected highlights in the women's and men's 60m

WIC Glasgow 24 preview: 60m

The package Noah Lyles had awaited for weeks was delivered on 3 February at the Boston office of his agency, Global Athletics &amp; Marketing.&nbsp;
Inside was a ring made by a New York jeweller, designed by Lyles and as unapologetically statement-making as its new owner.
As wide as two fingers and covered in diamonds, it is topped by an oval, hand-painted to look like a red, five-lane track that surrounds two letters. If there were any confusion behind the meaning of &lsquo;WC&rsquo;, golden lettering jutting out of one side reads &lsquo;World Champion 2023&rsquo;, and the other &lsquo;three times&rsquo;.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65d4b75a26645f497e6ad4ef.jpg" alt="Noah Lyles' ring" />
Noah Lyles' ring (&copy; Andrew Greif)
</div>
Accustomed to the tradition of US leagues commemorating titles with championship rings, Lyles ordered the piece to remember his own last year, when he claimed not only the 100m and 200m titles, but ran a leg on the victorious US 4x100m team at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest. Only 26, he has become the self-styled greatest showman of his sport behind his knack for timing &ndash; both his quickness to the line, combined with his instinct to create a scene. It was why after Lyles had shown off his new jewels the day of its arrival, he returned the ring to his agent for safe keeping, with one instruction.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Give me the ring,&rdquo; Lyles said, &ldquo;after I win.&rdquo;
The next day, when Lyles crossed the finish line to win the 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in 6.44, he retrieved the ring and began flashing it to every camera he passed as a global television audience watched. The performance at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, a PB by 0.07 that broke Maurice Greene&rsquo;s 25-year-old meeting record and edged a field including 2022 world 100m champion Fred Kerley, surprised Lyles.
It also reinforced his own goals for 2024, when he expects to add even more jewellery to his collection.
&ldquo;My confidence has now skyrocketed," Lyles said. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go get a world indoor medal.&rdquo;
Lyles ensured that he will be in contention for gold at his first World Athletics Indoor Championships next month in Glasgow after following his victory in Boston with another personal best at the US Indoor Championships in New Mexico on Saturday to win in a world-leading 6.43 and edge a field that included world record-holder Christian Coleman.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/65d148656c58a0550bab2228.jpg" alt="Noah Lyles wins the 60m at the US Indoor Championships" />
Noah Lyles wins the 60m at the US Indoor Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
"This is the only team I've yet to make, and I just made it, and I came in first, and I&rsquo;m a world leader," Lyles said after his US title victory. "I mean, all things that I didn&rsquo;t expect to be, honest. I was just ready to make the team and be like, I'm gonna do like I did Worlds in 2023 in the 100. But no, it&rsquo;s a different ballgame. This is my weakest event so come outdoor, whew, fireworks."
Lyles edged Jamaica&rsquo;s Ackeem Blake by 0.01 in Boston, and Coleman by the same margin two weeks later, behind race plans that acknowledged that his starts, both indoor and outdoor, can be &ldquo;sluggish&rdquo;. As recently as the day before his New Balance victory, he&rsquo;d been beaten out of his blocks during his final tune-up practice. Lyles focused instead on taking control between 10m and 20m. In Boston, it helped him beat Kerley in Kerley's indoor debut at 60m. At the US Indoor Championships, he beat Coleman, a 60m veteran and one of sprinting's elite starters.&nbsp;
"I have waited and worked for eight years to see the numbers I have produced this year in the 60m," Lyles wrote on social media after his US Championships win. "I'm so glad it's finally here."
Despite Lyles&rsquo; Glasgow goals, he and his coach are not tailoring his training toward indoor results, the sprinter said, because his biggest ambitions remain fixed on the Paris Olympics and filling one of the only other holes on his otherwise glittering credentials: earning the gold that eluded him during his Olympic debut in Tokyo. To get there, Lyles re-assessed his training programme and increased his lifting regimen, and said he now carries 10 pounds of muscle more than last year.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Last year we went after three gold medals,&rdquo; Lyles said, when asked what defined success for him in 2024. &ldquo;This year, I want to go after four. Or if I don&rsquo;t get four, go after three world records.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64ea5b6f184c3ee07f84f49e.jpg" alt="Noah Lyles anchors USA to win the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23" />
Noah Lyles anchors USA to win the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
That means Lyles is targeting not only 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles, but is serious about running a 4x400m leg, as well, believing that if US officials who determine the relay pool &ldquo;feel that I'm the man for the job, I'm here for it.&rdquo; He teased the possibility of running an open 400m in April, when he has a gap on his competition schedule.
&ldquo;To be honest, I can run a 43 (second relay split) for certain,&rdquo; Lyles said in Boston. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just, don't put me on last leg, and don't put me on first.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Put me on second or third. I need something to chase. If you give the baton to me in first, I'm gonna keep it there. But if I have somebody to chase, or if I'm on second leg and I'm going first (place) and I know that if I create a huge gap and give it to the person in third, like that's what motivates me.&rdquo;
Lyles is chasing times. On 4 February, he reiterated his long-stated belief that Usain Bolt&rsquo;s 100m and 200m records are not untouchable. But if his improving times have been a pleasant surprise &ndash; his 60m PB entering this season was 6.55 &ndash; they are also a secondary motivation to winning.&nbsp;
It is why the six-time world gold medallist, coming off a year when he became the first man since Bolt in 2016 to win both the 100m and 200m at a world championships, is now targeting his first indoor world medal. And it explained why he prioritised winning four golds in Paris ahead of three world records. Winning four times would make Lyles the first to do that in athletics in a single Olympics since Carl Lewis, in 1984.&nbsp;
Adding his name next to history&rsquo;s most accomplished sprinters? To Lyles, that has a ring to it he likes.
Andrew Greif for World Athletics

The package Noah Lyles had awaited for weeks was delivered on 3 February at the Boston office of his agency, Global Athletics & Marketing

Making history, and getting gold in Glasgow, has a ring to it for Lyles

Olympic champion Andre De Grasse will kick off 2024 by competing at the &lsquo;Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes&rsquo; &ndash; the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of the year &ndash; in the Kazakh capital on 27 January.
In his first indoor season since 2021, Canada&rsquo;s De Grasse will contest the 60m, an event for which he holds a PB of 6.60, set in 2015.
De Grasse claimed 200m gold, 4x100m silver and 100m bronze at the Olympics in Tokyo and the 29-year-old will have the opportunity to defend his title in Paris in August.
After finishing sixth in the world final in Budapest he won the Wanda Diamond League 200m title in Eugene in September, clocking 19.76 &ndash; the fourth fastest time of his career &ndash; to return to winning ways.
De Grasse joins his fellow global gold medallists Mondo Duplantis, the world pole vault record-holder, and Gudaf Tsegay, the world 5000m record-holder, in Astana.
A total of 60 meetings currently feature on the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour calendar, including seven Gold level events. The first of those Gold meetings is in Astana &ndash; the first ever World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Asia.

Olympic champion Andre De Grasse will kick off 2024 by competing in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting 

De Grasse set for Astana 60m

Seeing an Italian sprinter on top of the podium hasn&rsquo;t been an unfamiliar sight in recent years.
At the recent European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, the Italian flag was once again raised during the medal ceremony for the men&rsquo;s 60m. But Marcell Jacobs &ndash; the Olympic, European and world indoor champion &ndash; was not the athlete standing atop the podium.
&ldquo;Before the Italian Championships, Jacobs was on another planet for me,&rdquo; says Samuele Ceccarelli, the 23-year-old who scorched to victory in the short sprint in the Turkish city in early March.
His 6.48 triumph in the final, following a 6.47 PB in the semifinals, was considered something of a surprise, but it shouldn&rsquo;t have been. Ceccarelli had beaten his esteemed compatriot by 0.01 at the Italian Championships just two weeks prior, clocking a then PB of 6.54.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/644fea6db647321239ce0b73.jpg" alt="Samuele Ceccarelli celebrates his 60m victory at the European Indoor Championships" />
Samuele Ceccarelli celebrates his 60m victory at the European Indoor Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
&ldquo;Winning my first Italian title and beating the Olympic 100m champion is something that I cannot describe; I did not expect that,&rdquo; says Ceccarelli. &ldquo;There are no words to express my feeling.
&ldquo;I thank Marcell for giving me the chance to compete against him in such a great race,&rdquo; Ceccarelli adds. &ldquo;I knew that my physical form was good, as I demonstrated in the races before the Italian Championships, but the idea of competing with Marcell and beating a champion of this calibre is something that I cannot compare to anything else.
&ldquo;Beating him in Ancona, I felt the same joy I had when Marcell won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.&rdquo;
When Ceccarelli repeated that feat on a championship stage in Istanbul, it made the rest of the athletics world sit up and pay attention.
But when he woke up on the day of the 60m rounds &ndash; all three taking place on the same day &ndash; with a temperature of 37.5C, Ceccarelli feared he may not be at his best.
&ldquo;I had a fever but the Italian team doctors gave me aspirin to keep my temperature under control, and my coach helped me remain calm,&rdquo; says Ceccarelli.
&ldquo;It was a long day with three races (heats, semifinal and final) in just a few hours,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;When I received the blue bib as European seasonal leader before the final, I felt some expectations, but I tried to remain relaxed. It wasn&rsquo;t easy to control these emotions, but I tried to keep the energy and give my best.&rdquo;
He advanced through the first round with 6.62, then set a lifetime best of 6.47 in the semifinals before coming within 0.01 of that to take gold in the final.
&ldquo;It will take a month to sink in what happened,&rdquo; he said at the time. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the most beautiful medal that I have in my bedroom. It&rsquo;s a bit strange to share the podium with Jacobs. I cried on the podium because I couldn&rsquo;t hold back my emotions.
&ldquo;Ever since I started my athletics career, I have always dreamed of being on such a big stage. The biggest dream for any sportsman is to sing the national anthem. I couldn&rsquo;t be happier than this.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/644febfebc5416f117cf26da.jpg" alt="Samuele Ceccarelli and Marcell Jacobs at the European Indoor Championships" />
Samuele Ceccarelli and Marcell Jacobs at the European Indoor Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Jacobs was the first to congratulate Ceccarelli.
&ldquo;I may not have won the medal that I wanted, but at least the European title remains in Italy,&rdquo; said the Olympic 100m and 4x100m champion. &ldquo;The 100m at the Italian Championships will be very competitive, and together we will achieve great results in the relay.&rdquo;
<h2>Frequent injuries a thing of the past</h2>
Beyond the Italian sprinting world, few people in athletics had heard of Ceccarelli before 2023.
He had a 60m PB of 6.72, set while he was still an U20 athlete back in 2019, and his 100m best was &ndash; and still is &ndash; 10.45. He had represented Italy at the continental level as an U20 and as an U23, but had never reached a final.
Persistent injuries and frequent micro-fractures were the main barriers to Ceccarelli&rsquo;s progress in previous years. And before he turned his attention to athletics, karate was his main sporting focus up until the age of 15. But that, he says, helped with his discipline when he switched to athletics at age 16.
&ldquo;I credit karate with giving me a grounding of how to behave as a sportsperson because it taught me respect and fair play,&rdquo; says Ceccarelli, whose grandfather Gastone Giacinti played as goalkeeper for Foggia in the Italian Serie A Football league in the 1970s.
Ceccarelli won several medals at the national U20 level between 2018 and 2019, but injury curtailed the final two months of his career in that age group. He suffered a similar fate in 2021, when his participation at the European U23 Championships in Tallinn was hampered by a stress micro-fracture in his right fibula.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/644fec20bc5416f117cf26dd.jpg" alt="Samuele Ceccarelli at the 2021 European U23 Championships" />
Samuele Ceccarelli at the 2021 European U23 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
But just a few weeks after returning home from Tallinn, Ceccarelli watched with awe as Jacobs won Olympic gold in Tokyo.
&ldquo;I was watching the race on TV with my parents,&rdquo; Ceccarelli recalls of the Olympic 100m final. &ldquo;Jacobs&rsquo; win gave me an incredible feeling and a lot of energy. He achieved a historic feat and inspired many people, contributing to making athletics popular in Italy.
&ldquo;Marcell is a good guy,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;We are rivals on the track but our relationship is very good. He is like a big brother to me. When he hugged me after my win in Ancona, it was like a moment of recognition.
&ldquo;It was an incredible feeling to be part of a national team together with many great athletes who I&rsquo;d only previously known by watching them on television. They created a very relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, which helped me remain focused and made me feel like I had been part of the team for a long time.
&ldquo;I built this result (European indoor gold) with patience and sacrifice,&rdquo; adds Ceccarelli. &ldquo;I had so many injuries before. But for the first time this past winter, I could complete a training cycle with my coach and that was the key to achieving these great results this year.&rdquo;
<h2>Looking ahead to the future</h2>
Ceccarelli credits his recent success to his coach Marco Del Medico, who was a guide runner for 2000 Paralympic T11 100m champion Lorenzo Ricci.
&ldquo;I owe my win in Istanbul to my coach,&rdquo; says Samuele, who trains five days a week in Pietrasanta. &ldquo;Without Marco, I would be a Ferrari car without petrol.&rdquo;
After his incredible indoor breakthrough, many are now keen to see what Ceccarelli can do outdoors.
&ldquo;My first goal is to improve my PB of 10.45, which has stood since 2021, but I don&rsquo;t want to think too far ahead,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The extra 40 metres between 60m and 100m means I have to work more on speed resistance to be competitive outdoors.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/644feabc7c6a260967acc816.jpg" alt="Samuele Ceccarelli at the European Indoor Championships" />
Samuele Ceccarelli at the European Indoor Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
He has also been added to the Italian 4x100m squad. Following their surprise relay triumph in Tokyo, the Azzurri failed to reach the final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, so Ceccarelli hopes to help turn their fortunes around.
&ldquo;It would be an honour to be part of the Italian relay,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I will be prepared, but I will respect whatever (selection) choice is taken.&rdquo;
Outside of athletics, Ceccarelli is a keen linguist and a fan of rap music. He is also currently combining his sports career with law studies at the University of Pisa.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy combining athletics and university,&rdquo; says the 23-year-old, who is now in his fifth year of studies. &ldquo;I study during the morning and I focus on training during the afternoon. The key to balancing all of this is to organise my time well.&rdquo;
In future, Ceccarelli would like to follow in the footsteps of his father by working as a lawyer, or in human resources, as he likes to get to know new people and cultures.
&ldquo;But for now,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;athletics is my priority.&rdquo;
And if he manages to stay ahead of Jacobs outdoors, Ceccarelli may well find himself on more major championship podiums in the near future.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Seeing an Italian sprinter on top of the podium hasn’t been an unfamiliar sight in recent years.

Indoor surprise package Ceccarelli adds to Italy’s growing sprint prowess

Aleia Hobbs has an instant response when asked for the message she would give her younger self: &ldquo;Keep going&rdquo;.
The 27-year-old has been sprinting for almost two decades and despite being hit with some setbacks between her many successes, she refused to give up. The signs have always been there, and now &ndash; happy and healthy &ndash; she&rsquo;s in the form of her life.
&ldquo;Ever since I went pro, I had some kind of injury. I couldn&rsquo;t have a complete fall (off-season),&rdquo; says Hobbs, who sprinted for Louisiana State University (LSU) &ndash; her home state &ndash; before turning professional in 2018. &ldquo;Before last year I had a first full fall, which gave me a PR, and before this year I had a good fall and another PR, so that was the main thing &ndash; staying healthy.
&ldquo;I came to the point where I was like, &lsquo;am I ever going to run as fast as I ran in college?&rsquo; Because it had been so long. Then again, you&rsquo;ve got to keep on doing it. I kept telling myself: &lsquo;if I can get healthy, I can run fast&rsquo;. I had moments where I was really doubting it, which is frustrating because I knew I could, but I kept getting hurt.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/643feaea8238a421a3f58c40.jpg" alt="Aleia Hobbs wins the US 100m title in 2018" />
Aleia Hobbs wins the US 100m title in 2018 (&copy; Getty Images)
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Hobbs started running at the age of eight, after she demonstrated her speed while sprinting &ndash; terrified &ndash; from a dog near her home in New Orleans.
&ldquo;I was running for my life!&rdquo; she laughs now. &ldquo;I was running as fast as I could run. People kept saying: &lsquo;you need to run track&rsquo;. I went to the playground in my neighbourhood and started running, and I&rsquo;ve been running literally ever since.&rdquo;
Her early career included a second-place finish at the US U20 Championships in 2015 and she claimed silver at the Pan American Junior Championships in Edmonton, during a season that featured a 100m PB of 11.13 for the teenager. But then, in the August, she required surgery on her left knee. Hobbs made a comeback the following year and in 2017 she stormed under 11 seconds for the first time, clocking 10.85 for a 100m PB that would remain her best until 2022.
In 2018 she went sub-11 in 10 of her 12 races, including heats and semifinals, and she won at the US Championships and NCAA Championships, where she added 100m gold to the 60m crown she had claimed indoors three months prior to close her collegiate career in style. But then injury struck again and Hobbs needed the same surgery as in 2015, this time on her right knee.
Again, she worked her way back, and major senior team places were just around the corner.
Hobbs competed at her first senior international event in 2019, anchoring the victorious US 4x100m quartet at the World Athletics Relays in Yokohama, and she made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, again running the final leg in the heats of the 4x100m. She then finished sixth in the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, having improved her five-year-old PB to 10.83 in New York and then 10.81 during the semifinals of the US Championships where she claimed silver to secure her World Championships team place.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/643febe88238a421a3f58c43.jpg" alt="Aleia Hobbs at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Aleia Hobbs at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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Then came that second consecutive healthy off-season.
Hobbs opened her 2023 campaign at the LSU Purple Tiger meeting on 13 January and two weeks later she blazed to a 6.98 win at the Razorback Invitational, dipping under seven seconds for the first time to move to equal ninth on the world indoor 60m all-time list.
&ldquo;A couple of days before we left, my coach said: &lsquo;you&rsquo;re going to run fast&rsquo;,&rdquo; she explained after the race. &ldquo;I was like, &lsquo;okay, he&rsquo;s probably just telling me that!&rsquo; I felt good, healthy. I literally just went out there and ran. It was the easiest race I&rsquo;ve ever ran and my coach always says: &lsquo;when the race feels easiest, that&rsquo;s when you know you&rsquo;re fastest&rsquo;. And that&rsquo;s exactly what it felt like.&rdquo;
It felt similar in Boston and New York. And Albuquerque.
Hobbs clocked 7.02 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, and 7.04 at the Millrose Games in New York one week later. Those performances helped her to win the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour, the prizes for which include the offer of a wild card place at next year&rsquo;s World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61f5d7a63e1a70d20aa9c67c.jpg" alt="Aleia Hobbs wins the 60m at the Millrose Games" />
Aleia Hobbs wins the 60m at the Millrose Games (&copy; Kirby Lee)
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But the best was yet to come. At the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, Hobbs ran 6.94 &ndash; a national indoor record and a time that moved her up to second on the world all-time list, just 0.02 shy of the world record. 
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<h2>Women's world indoor 60m all-time list </h2>
6.92 Irina Privalova (RUS) Madrid 11 Feb 1993 6.94 Aleia Hobbs (USA) Albuquerque 18 Feb 2023 6.94 Julien Alfred (LCA) Albuquerque 11 Mar 2023 6.95 Gail Devers (USA) Toronto 12 Mar 1993 6.95 Marion Jones (USA) Maebashi 7 Mar 1998 6.96 Merlene Ottey (JAM) Madrid 14 Feb 1992 6.96 Katerina Thanou (GRE)&nbsp;Maebashi 7 Mar 1999 6.96 Mujinga Kambundji (SUI) Belgrade 18 Mar 2022 6.97 LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (ISV) Stuttgart 6 Feb 2010 6.97 Murielle Ahoure (CIV) Birmingham 2 Mar 2018 6.98 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) Sopot 9 Mar 2014 6.98 Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) Birmingham 18 Feb 2017 6.99 Ewa Swoboda (POL) Torun 5 Mar 2022 6.99 Mikiah Brisco (USA) Belgrade 18 Mar 2022
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 Hobbs puts part of her development down to being able to do more weight training, including squats - something she had to avoid previously because of the problems with her knees. As it was, she was again unable to do a full weight programme, nor block starts, in between her 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons, as she broke a bone in her hand in a fall after her sensational 60m in Albuquerque.
But with the hard work already banked, Hobbs wasn&rsquo;t going to let it stop her. She did what she could and prepared for her outdoor campaign, making her season debut at the Lloyd Wills Invitational on her home track in Baton Rouge.
She won the 100m in 10.87 &ndash; her joint fourth-fastest ever time.
&ldquo;From breaking the American record to breaking a bone my hand. From not being able to do all my weights or block starts in over a month. So thankful for my fastest 100m opener and meet record,&rdquo; she later wrote in a social media post.
It wasn&rsquo;t just the weight programme and training consistency that led to that remarkable breakthrough, however. Life had changed for Hobbs off the track, too, as <a href="https://worldathletics.org/spikes/news/aleia-hobbs-my-son" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she and her partner adopted their son, Amir, last year</a>. He&rsquo;s now 10 months old.
A smile fills Hobbs&rsquo; face.
&ldquo;Me going to training and knowing I&rsquo;m not just doing this for myself, but for my family at home. &lsquo;This is for you, too. I&rsquo;m 110% every day,&rdquo; she beams.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy to balance life. For one, the sleep schedule. Amir was sick, he got RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) when he was about five months, so that was bad. I didn&rsquo;t know what sleep was.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t sleeping but I knew I still had to go out and do this &ndash; I&rsquo;m not doing it just for me.&rdquo;
Amir has already been trackside to watch Hobbs race.
&ldquo;He came to LSU,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;As soon as I finished, I cooled down and then I went up and got him and brought him down to everybody and coach Shaver - his pawpaw.&rdquo;
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Family is hugely important to Hobbs, at home and on the track. She has been guided by LSU coach Dennis Shaver since she joined the university in 2014 and her training group currently includes world indoor 60m silver medallist Mikiah Brisco, who Hobbs has been running with since the age of 10 or 11, plus two-time world indoor 60m hurdles champion Lolo Jones and 2016 world U20 100m gold medallist Candace Hill.
The support from both families and fans &ndash; it&rsquo;s key.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the support system I have and the fans, they really keep me going,&rdquo; Hobbs says. &ldquo;People DM (direct message) me and say: &lsquo;hey, just wanted to let you know you&rsquo;re inspiring my daughter so much&rsquo;, or people are like: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got hurt so many times, but I know your story, you keep me going&rsquo;. And that keeps me going, knowing that people are really looking up to me.&rdquo;
So, what to do, other than keep on going? Especially when there&rsquo;s another World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games taking place within the next 16 months. Hobbs also shared a short message written on a shoe in a photo posted to social media before the outdoor season: &lsquo;10.7 or bust&rsquo;.
&ldquo;The focus is 100% there because I have still not reached my full potential,&rdquo; says Hobbs, the smile still there but behind it, a look of steely determination. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve not got an individual medal at the World Championships or anything yet, so I&rsquo;ve got to keep it going.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Aleia Hobbs has an instant response when asked for the message she would give her younger self: “Keep going”.