<img style="width: 200px; height: 200px; border-radius: 50%; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg?cachebuster=36d9895b-365f-4c7a-b5f8-6f082ae4b35f" alt="Mara Yamauchi" align="right" />Of all the injuries that are common in distance running, plantar fasciitis may be the most frustrating and debilitating.
A disorder of the plantar fascia &ndash; the thick connective tissue along the bottom of the foot &ndash; it often manifests as heel pain and is usually worst with the first few steps out of bed in the morning. It is frustrating because it often starts gradually, and your feet are the hardest part of your body to rest because staying off them disrupts daily life.
The pain is often relieved with warming up and exercise, so it frequently goes away while running. This can make you think the injury is less serious than it is, leading to more running on it which might make it worse. Like all tendon injuries, finding what makes it recover can be hit-and-miss, and can take time.
While training and competing as an elite athlete, I had plantar fasciitis several times. Sometimes it cleared up quickly; at other times it took many months. The positive outcome from this experience was that I learned a lot about treating, curing, and preventing it.
My top tips for managing plantar fasciitis are below. I am not a qualified practitioner, so always seek professional help if necessary. My tips are based on my experience of having it several times, and experimenting with various remedial measures. 
<h3>1 Treat acute pain quickly</h3>
If plantar fasciitis is severe, the pain can be acute to the point of not being able to put your foot down. In these circumstances, I always iced it to reduce inflammation, and rested it as much as possible. I also used silicon heel cups in my shoes to cushion the painful area. The best form of icing I found was creating a barrel of ice by freezing water in a small bottle, and then rolling my foot over it.
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<h3>2 Load tendons</h3>
Like all tendons, the plantar fascia needs loading with specific exercises to stimulate repair. I was often prescribed eccentric exercises &ndash; loading the tendon while stretching it. An example of this is the downward movement of calf raises; I did these slowly and with extra weight to add resistance. I was also given isometric exercises &ndash; loading the tendon while keeping it still. I used a leg press machine in the gym for this, holding the plate with my forefoot for six seconds before switching sides, and repeating for several minutes.
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<h3> 3 Rear chain conditioning</h3>
This sounds technical but it is simple. Rear chain refers to the muscles on the back of your legs which work together in a chain &ndash; calves, hamstrings and glutes. Excessive stiffness in these muscle groups led to plantar fasciitis for me at least once. Therefore, I made sure to keep all these muscles well-conditioned through stretches, strength &amp; conditioning and massage. I also used a night splint to keep my calves stretched over night. Sleeping with a night splint takes a little time to get used to, but it drastically reduces morning heel pain.
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<h3> 4 Look elsewhere for causes</h3>
It is easy to assume the cause of plantar fasciitis is in your feet since that is where the pain is. But injuries can easily arise because of dysfunction elsewhere. Glutes are always top of my list for possible causes of injuries because our modern lifestyles don&rsquo;t help our glutes to work well. My right glutes have always been lazy and contributed to plantar fasciitis. So keeping them strong and activating well is essential.
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<h3> 5 Work at prevention</h3>
Avoiding the frustration of plantar fasciitis is always worth the effort. This means well-fitting footwear, for running and everyday wear. Be vigilant about sandals in summer and other very flat shoes. Keeping your feet robust and well-conditioned is a must. My article on foot and lower limb care has useful tips on how to do this. Foot massage with, for example, a golf ball, can help to reduce stiffness and improve mobility in your feet.
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&nbsp;
These relatively simple measures can work wonders to fix the dreaded plantar fasciitis. Sometimes, more specialist treatment may be necessary, such as shock wave therapy, an injection or even surgery. In my experience, the tips above can go a long way to curing and preventing it without the need for medical treatment.
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Of all the injuries that are common in distance running, plantar fasciitis may be the most frustrating and debilitating.

Five tips for coping with plantar fasciitis

On 10 April 1896, Spiridon Louis of Greece won the first ever marathon at an Olympic Games, ancient or modern. That that race happened at all 125 years ago owes everything to a Frenchman &ndash; and his name, surprisingly, was not De Coubertin.
The legend of the messenger Pheidippides&rsquo; run in 490BC from Marathon to Athens to carry the news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon is about as epic as they come. &ldquo;Hail, we won&rdquo; were said to have been Pheidippides&rsquo; words, after which he dropped down dead with exhaustion.
Yet that run, and the marathon race on which it is based, had no connection with the ancient Olympic Games, at which the longest race ever contested was the dolichos over 4800 metres.
<img style="width: 200px; height: 253px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60717e78bf3fa73280ac257c.jpg" alt="Michael Breal" align="right" />It was Michel Br&eacute;al, a French linguist and historian, who at a conference held at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1894 proposed the idea of the marathon race. It was there that Br&eacute;al&rsquo;s friend Baron Pierre de Coubertin announced the revival of the Olympics with the first Games to be held in Athens in 1896. To enhance the appeal, Br&eacute;al offered a solid silver cup to the winner of the marathon.
De Coubertin embraced his friend&rsquo;s suggestion. Equally enthusiastic was the endorsement by the organising committee of the Athens Olympic Games, who recognised the symbolic significance the marathon would have to the Greek nation.
<h3>From national disappointment to euphoria</h3>
The athletics programme of the Athens Olympic Games began in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April 1896. There was national disappointment for Greece in the discus, the most classical of all events. USA&rsquo;s Robert Garrett was the winner, ahead of two Greeks. It was a bitter result for the host nation to bear in &lsquo;their&rsquo; event.
After that loss, the marathon, which was scheduled to take place on the final day of the Games on 10 April, took on a greater significance. It was therefore with elation that with less than a quarter of the 40km distance left to be run, a mounted messenger reached the stadium with news which quickly spread around the 100,000 strong crowd, that &lsquo;A Greek! A Greek!&rsquo; was leading the race.
<h2>Liquid stimulation. Cheers!</h2>
Spiridon Louis, more commonly referred to as &lsquo;Spyros&rsquo;, had his strength buoyed up at about 30km into the race by eating half an orange and shortly afterwards drinking a glass of cognac.
Two kilometres later, he passed the leader Edwin Flack. The Australian, already the winner of the 800m and 1500m double at the Games, was running his first marathon and had been in the lead at that point for approximately eight kilometres.
Flack did his best to hang on to the Greek but finally collapsed at 37km and needed to be revived with a drink of egg and cognac. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60717ea4bf3fa73280ac257f.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="554" />
 Louis eventually entered the stadium seven minutes ahead of fellow Greek and national champion Harilaos Vasilakos, crossing the finish in 2:58:50 to become the first ever Olympic marathon champion.
The level of national euphoria was royally illustrated when Prince George and Crown Prince Constantine met Louis at the stadium&rsquo;s gate and ran at his side to the finish line.
<h3>Half a million pounds</h3>
Louis returned to the stadium the following day to collect his prize, the Br&eacute;al Cup. It remained in his family until nine years ago when one of his two grandsons, also named Spiridon Louis, <a href="https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5546193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put it up for auction at Christie&rsquo;s</a> on 18 April 2012.
The cup was secured for the Greek people by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, bought for &pound;541,250 ($861,129 / &euro;655,454) what was at the time a world record price for Olympic memorabilia at auction.
Today the cup is displayed at a distinct area of the Acropolis Museum, Athens, where visitors are not required to buy a ticket, as per the Foundation&rsquo;s commitment to make the cup accessible to all. 
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<h2> Modest man</h2>
After his marathon victory, Louis was showered with offers of gifts from across Greece but he turned them all down &ndash; except for a horse and cart which he needed to transport water as that was his job.
Louis was a modest man, as was revealed in an interview with his grandson Louis, which was conducted by Olaf Brockmann in May 2004 and published in the Vienna paper &lsquo;Kronen-Zeitung&rsquo;. Much of that interview was republished just prior to the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon on the World Athletics website in a story written by J&ouml;rg Wenig.
The grandson never met his famous grandfather in person. He was born in the family town of Maroussi, just 16 days after the death of the Olympic champion. But his father told him all the stories about the family&rsquo;s national hero. Louis&rsquo; job was to transport fresh water to Athens, so he had a sort of daily endurance training.
&ldquo;He was a simple person, and he did not know anything about sport,&rdquo; his grandson explained. &ldquo;After he had won the marathon, his legs were meant to get a massage. But when he was touched, he shouted: 'What are you doing? It is a disgrace. Let me out of here, I just want to go back to Maroussi to celebrate with my friends'.&rdquo; 
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 It has often been reported that Spiridon Louis had a glass of wine during the Olympic marathon but his grandson confirmed this is not correct. &ldquo;His girlfriend gave him half an orange and shortly afterwards he got a glass of cognac from his future father in law. There were eye-witnesses who have confirmed this a number of times.&rdquo; That happened less than 10km from the finish.
<h2>&lsquo;I totally respect all marathon runners&rsquo;</h2>
No member of the family has ever run a marathon since that Olympic race in 1896. &ldquo;I had no opportunity to do sports when I was young,&rdquo; confirmed the grandson. &ldquo;I was born during the war. And it was not easy in those times to settle in and build up your living.
&ldquo;But I am fascinated by athletics, especially the marathon. If I see such a race, I think about the different conditions. In contrast to former times, it looks like luxury today. But I totally respect all marathon runners. If I could, I would congratulate everyone personally. I have learnt that it is already an important step to just participate in such a race.&rdquo;
On the 125th anniversary of the first Olympic marathon race, even though drinking cognac en route during a marathon is not still encouraged today, let us appropriately raise a glass to celebrate the amazing marathon legacy of Michel Br&eacute;al and Spiridon Louis. Cheers!
Chris Turner, World Athletics Heritage
Credits: Acropolis Museum, Olaf Brockmann, Mark Butler, David Wallechinsky and J&ouml;rg Wenig.

125th anniversary of the first Olympic marathon where Spiridon Louis won the Breal Cup

‘A Greek! A Greek!’ 125th anniversary of the first Olympic marathon

On 10 April 1896, Spiridon Louis of Greece won the first ever marathon at an Olympic Games, ancient or modern

In just her second competition of the year, world champion DeAnna Price of the USA added 36 centimetres to her own North American hammer record on Friday (9) at the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Missouri, winning with 78.60m.
Her mark moves her up one place to third on the world all-time list behind world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk and Germany&rsquo;s Betty Heidler. It's also the best throw in the world since August 2018, and the best throw ever recorded within the first four months of the year.
Any one of Price&rsquo;s six throws in Columbia would have been sufficient to win. She opened with 72.52m and then improved in each of the next four rounds, throwing 73.46m, 76.29, 77.20m and then 78.60m. She rounded out her series with 75.53m.
Canada&rsquo;s Jillian Weir was second with 69.81m.
Less than 24 hours later, Brooke Andersen became the second US woman in history to throw beyond 78 metres.
Competing at the Wichita State Open in Kanses, the Pan-American silver medallist sent her hammer out to 78.18m to win the competition by almost 17 metres. The 25-year-old had a previous best of 76.75m.
<h3>Kilga smashes decathlon PB, Williams joins seven-metre club</h3>
Estonia's Karel Tilga produced a nine-second PB in the final discipline to win the decathlon at the Spec Towns Invitational in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday (10).
Garrett Scantling, the 2020 US indoor heptathlon champion, made a promising start in what is his first decathlon in almost five years.
The 27-year-old, who missed out on making the US Olympic team by just one place in 2016 and then moved to the NFL, kicked off his competition with a 10.83 clocking in the 100m before leaping a lifetime best of 7.56m in the long jump, following it with an outdoor shot put PB of 16.20m.
After clearing a solid 2.01m in the high jump, he ended his first day with a 400m PB of 48.61, bringing his score to 4406 &ndash; comfortably his best ever day-one tally.
But Tilga, the NCAA indoor heptathlon champion, was close behind with 4355, having set PBs in the long jump (7.69m) and high jump (2.10m).
Scantling maintained his lead for most of day two, posting the top marks of the field in the 110m hurdles (14.13) and pole vault (5.22m), the latter being held indoors due to torrential rain. Tilga continued to apply the pressure, though, with strong performances of 47.13m in the discus and 66.55m in the javelin.
Scantling went into the 1500m with a 157-point lead over Tilga - about 25 seconds in 1500m terms. Tilga's PB was only nine seconds faster than Scantlings - but that didn't stop him. The 2.00m (6ft 7in) tall Tilga opened up a significant gap on his US rival in the second half of the 1500m to stop the clock at 4:26.95, giving him a winning total of 8484. Scantling finished in 4:53.11, enough to give him a huge PB of 8476.
USA&rsquo;s Kendell Williams produced the highlight of the first day of the meeting, but it wasn&rsquo;t in the heptathlon, her specialist event.
Contesting the long jump, she sailed out to a lifetime best of 7.00m (1.4m/s) in the second round, then backed it up with leaps of 6.77m and 6.94m.
Nineteen-year-old Jasmine Moore, a triple jump specialist, was second with 6.83m while Chanice Porter was third with 6.77m.
NCAA indoor 200m champion Matthew Boling won the men&rsquo;s long jump with 8.02m (1.4m/s).
Anna Hall, who turned 20 just three weeks ago, dominated the heptathlon to win with 6200. She set PBs in the 100m hurdles (13.64), high jump (1.88m), 200m (23.91), and long jump (6.03m) en route to her winning score.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

In just her second competition of the year, world champion DeAnna Price of the USA added 36 centimetres to her own North American hammer record on Friday (9) at the Tom Botts Invitational in Columbia, Missouri, winning with 78.60m.

Price breaks North American hammer record with 78.60m

Italian high jumper Elena Vallortigara, who has a best of 2.02m, is one of the finest exponents of her craft.
Here the 29-year-old international selects five of her favourite sports autobiographies/biographies and explains what they mean to her. 
<h2><img style="width: 150px; height: 231px; margin-left: 20px; align: right;" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51yLwoHveIL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" alt="book" align="right" />Andre Agassi &ndash; Open</h2>
The best sports autobiographies I&rsquo;ve ever read. I have read it many times and it is the most underlined book I have. I usually underline books when I find something useful that I can relate with my story. When I read it, I remember I was hit by the fatigue Andre talks about; I remember the physical pain, but also the figurative fatigue in order to pursue his dreams. Fatigue also leads to knowing himself and finding great things. Since I was enduring a rough time at that point in my life, I was inspired by his capability to rise again after each setback. 
<h2><img style="width: 150px; height: 219px; margin-left: 20px; align: right;" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/414DI9fpCJL._SY346_.jpg" alt="book" align="right" />Mauro Berruto &ndash; Capolavori</h2>
I love volleyball, my father played and coached the sport and I spent a lot of time with him watching the sport as a child. I also played for a short period and I am fascinated by the team sport dynamic. Mauro was coach of the Italian volleyball team that won bronze at the London 2012 Olympics. I loved reading a book from a coach/manager perspective. I was inspired by his winning mentality, his commitment and the ability to frame people and situations in order to make the right decision at the right moment. I admire how he engineered a team culture and his motivational speeches were also very inspirational. 
<h2><img style="width: 150px; height: 239px; margin-left: 20px; align: right;" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510UuDVY7pL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" alt="book" align="right" />James Kerr &ndash; Legacy</h2>
This book about the All Blacks (the New Zealand rugby team) was recommended to me by a friend. I didn&rsquo;t have much knowledge of the subject but I&rsquo;ve been intrigued by the All Blacks and that sense of alliance that they possess &ndash; which is unique to rugby and much of the sporting world. After reading this book I became inspired by the philosophy of the team and the life lessons learned in their journey to become better more successful people. 
<h2><img style="width: 150px; height: 239px; margin-left: 20px; align: right;" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41+5oKQLD2L._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" alt="book" align="right" />Novak Djokovic &ndash; Serve to Win</h2>
I like playing and watching tennis. Reading books from legends such as Agassi and Djokovic makes me have even more respect for their accomplishments because I now understand what difficult sport tennis is. Novak talks extensively about how changing his diet gave him performance benefits. I too went through a period when I was gluten sensitive and I found the book useful for this reason. He also talks about kinesiology. I also regularly went to a kinesiologist mainly to test for food intolerances, so it was interesting to learn that Djokovic also tapped into this kind of support. He doesn&rsquo;t talk a lot about his sport or his private life, but I learned the importance, as an athlete, of listening to my body and that we are all different with different needs. 
<h2><img style="width: 150px; height: 209px; margin-left: 20px; align: right;" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41zo3c8O7rL._SX356_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" alt="book" align="right" />Niccolo Campriani &ndash; Remember to Forget the Fear</h2>
Campriani is an Olympic rifle shooting champion. He writes about fear of failure, of disappointing himself and others, how to deal with his identity and how this fear led to a mental block and how he overcame it. By reading this book, I learned the importance of one&rsquo;s own roots of happiness and to be able to express yourself to the maximum as an athlete. I lived his feelings and his words through myself. It was a very inspiring story.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Steve Landells for World Athletics

The Italian high jumper selects five of her favourite sports autobiographies/biographies and explains what they mean to her.

Vallortigara's top five inspiring sports biographies

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has welcomed decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday in relation to nine cases brought by the AIU against Russian Athletes. The decisions confirm Anti-Doping Rule Violations for all nine Russian athletes in connection with the findings of the WADA-commissioned reports of Professor Richard H. McLaren and the related Evidentiary Disclosure Packages (EDP).
Five athletes had&nbsp;<a title="https://athleticsintegrityunit.cmail20.com/t/t-l-mdlydll-qdjtkidud-y/" href="https://athleticsintegrityunit.cmail20.com/t/t-l-mdlydll-qdjtkidud-y/">previously been found guilty</a>&nbsp;of Anti-Doping Rule Violations in cases brought by the AIU before CAS acting as a First Instance Tribunal and had appealed those decisions to the CAS Appeals Division. The CAS Panel upheld the athlete&rsquo;s Anti-Doping Rule Violation in each appeal and, in one case, upheld the 4-year sanction. In the other four appeals, the 4-year sanction issued at First Instance was partially reduced based on the panel&rsquo;s overall assessment of the aggravating circumstances of each case.
&bull;&nbsp;Lyukman Adams (4 years from 1 February 2019) &bull;&nbsp;Ekaterina Galitskaia (3 years from 1 February 2019) &bull;&nbsp;Ivan Ukhov (2 years and 9 months from 1 February 2019) &bull;&nbsp;Svetlana Shkolina (2 years and 9 months from 1 February 2019) &bull;&nbsp;Yuliya Kondakova (2 years and 9 months from 1 February 2019)
A further four athletes were found guilty of Anti-Doping Rule Violations in proceedings before CAS acting as a First Instance Tribunal and each athlete was sanctioned for a period of 4 or 8 years:
&bull; Natalya Antyukh (4 years from 7 April 2021) &bull; Andrey Silnov (4 years from 7 April 2021) &bull; Oksana Kondratyeva (4 years from 7 April 2021) &bull; Yelena Soboleva (8 years from 7 April 2021 &ndash; 2nd Anti-Doping Rule Violation)
Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU, said: &ldquo;Yesterday&rsquo;s CAS rulings confirm once again that the evidence underlying the McLaren Reports is reliable and is capable of establishing Anti-Doping Rule Violations for use of prohibited substances. The AIU has dedicated significant time and resources investigating and prosecuting these cases both at first instance and on appeal and, encouraged by these rulings, it will continue to investigate and bring forward new cases based on the McLaren evidence.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The AIU will publish further detail regarding the decisions and sanctions in due course, once the athletes have exercised their right to comment on any editorial changes in the decisions. The First Instance CAS decisions, which were adjudicated by a Sole Arbitrator, are subject to appeal to a three-person Panel of the CAS Appeals Division.
NOTE: The following 13 athletes were previously sanctioned in cases brought by the AIU based on McLaren evidence (suspensions in brackets):
&bull; Anna PYATKH (4 years from 15 December 2016).&nbsp; &bull; Lyukman ADAMS (4 years starting from 31 January 2019)&nbsp; &bull; Tatyana Lysenko BELOBORODOVA (8 years starting from 2 July 2016)&nbsp; &bull; Mariya BESPALOVA (Currently suspended since 26 October 2015)&nbsp; &bull; Anna BULGAKOVA (4 years starting from 29 March 2017)&nbsp; &bull; Tatyana FIROVA (4 years starting from 9 June 2016)&nbsp; &bull; Yekaterina GALITSKAIA (4 years starting from 1 February 2019)&nbsp; &bull; Vera GANEEVA (2 years starting from 2 July 2018) &bull; Gulfiya Agafanova KHANAFEEVA (8 years starting from 6 January 2017)&nbsp; &bull; Yuliya KONDAKOVA (4 years starting from 1 February 2019)&nbsp; &bull; Svetlana SHKOLINA (4 years starting from 1 February 2019)&nbsp; &bull; Ivan UKHOV (4 years starting from 1 February 2019)&nbsp; &bull; Ivan YUSHKOV (4 years starting from 2 July 2016)
<a title="https://athleticsintegrityunit.cmail20.com/t/t-l-mdlydll-qdjtkidud-j/" href="https://athleticsintegrityunit.cmail20.com/t/t-l-mdlydll-qdjtkidud-j/">Download press release</a>
Athletics Integrity Unit
About the Athletics Integrity Unit:
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the independent body created by World Athletics that manages all integrity issues &ndash; both doping and non-doping &ndash; for the sport of athletics. The remit of the AIU includes anti-doping, the pursuit of individuals engaged in age or competition results manipulation, investigating fraudulent behaviour with regards to transfers of allegiance, and detecting other misconduct including bribery and breaches of betting rules. It is the AIU&rsquo;s role to drive cheats out of our sport, and to do everything within its power to support honest athletes around the world who dedicate their lives to reaching their sporting goals through dedication and hard work.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has welcomed decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday in relation to nine cases brought by the AIU against Russian Athletes.

AIU welcomes guilty verdicts against nine Russian athletes based on the evidence underlying the McLaren Reports

It took Nawal El Moutawakel 54 seconds, 10 hurdles and 400 metres to win Morocco&rsquo;s first Olympic gold medal in the first ever women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles at the Olympic Games.&nbsp;
In 54 seconds, she became the first African and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold and paved the way for many Arab women to not only take part in sporting activities, but also compete at the highest level.
<h2>Early days</h2>
El Moutawakel was born in Casablanca, Morocco, into a family passionate about sports. Her father was a judoka, her mother a volleyball player, and her siblings also used to do athletics. She started running at the age of 14 and her father used to watch her train.
Like most of the athletes, she started with cross country races before switching to sprints and later the 400m hurdles, an event which was inaugurated at the World Championships in 1980 and was finally added to the Olympic programme in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games.
It was perfect timing for El Moutawakel as she received a scholarship in 1983 to attend the Iowa State University in the USA to pursue her physical education and physiotherapy studies.&nbsp;
A year earlier, she won her first African title and continued her quest for medals the following year, winning gold at the Mediterranean Games in her hometown and making the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki.
Her father, who was her No.1 supporter, had some hard times accepting that his daughter was leaving for a faraway country, but knew that it was the best decision for her future. Before she left, he told her: &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve won everything, you still have to win this Olympic gold.&rdquo; A week later, three months prior to her Olympic race, he passed away.
El Moutawakel, who was in top form, received the news a month later. Despite the huge sadness she felt, the 21-year-old wanted to win this medal for him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I used this as a force, saying to myself in the mirror, &lsquo;you should win for your father because he let you leave, because he believed in you&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said.
<h2>Olympic success</h2>
Once in the United States, El Moutawakel was able to refine her technique and improve on different levels. She won her first NCAA title in California, a great sign that her preparation for the Olympics was going to plan.
&ldquo;It's not joy all the time, when you are very far away from your family, when your father was no longer there &hellip; when you&rsquo;re young and you need to deal with all this, you try to get stronger internally. And you say: &lsquo;yes, I can do this, because this is my time, this is my story, this is my day and I have to make it today,&nbsp;here and&nbsp;now&rsquo;,&rdquo; said El Moutawakel.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed7f1066c178432c4325c.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="861" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed80e066c178432c4325f.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="932" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed872066c178432c43262.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1372" /> 
&ldquo;This is your time, this is the city, this is the hour, you cannot miss it. You have to leave from this country, from this city with something,&rdquo; recalled El Moutawakel in an interview with the International Olympic Committee.
&ldquo;Reaching the Olympic level was a dream, but I never thought that one day it will become a reality. I thought that I was meant for this sport and vice versa, and it was something that was in my DNA,&rdquo; she added.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed88d066c178432c43265.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1217" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed8ab066c178432c43268.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1229" /> <img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606ed8ccf52f75e141b73ed6.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1639" />
On this day, Nawal El Moutawakel became the first Arab, African and Muslim woman to win gold at the Olympic Games. She paved the way for Arab female athletes such as Nezha Bidouane, Zahra Ouaziz, Hasna Benhassi, Ghada Shouaa, Habiba Ghribi and many more.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It is a historical moment that will forever stay in my mind and in my heart. I still have my bib number 272 in my office,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;From there, a wide door opened up to many young girls from Morocco and many Arab and African countries to allow women to compete. Since then we saw a lot of Moroccan girls, and the same from Arab countries whom women never attended the Olympic Games, weren&rsquo;t attending to attend, but attending to win,&rdquo; El Moutawakel said.
Her story still inspires young female athletes from the region today, as they identify with athletes coming from the same background, the same traditions and conditions, and who are able to shine on the international scene.
El Moutawakel&rsquo;s achievement was instantly recognised by the King of Morocco who declared that all girls born on the day of her victory were to be named in her honour.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was wondering whether the Moroccans were following my race because of the time difference, but I could feel it when I returned home,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was a huge celebration from the airport to the highway all the way through my city Casablanca. Arriving in my home was something unique, the crowd was so huge, from every corner of the country people came to greet me including my countryman Said Aouita.&rdquo;
<h2>The next chapter</h2>
El Moutawakel, who was only 22 when she won her Olympic gold medal, retired at just 25 years of age. This was mainly due to knee surgery and lower back pain, but also from two tragedies &ndash; the loss of her father before her Olympic success and her university teammates in a plane crash on the night of 25 November 1985, a year after her gold in LA. Before her retirement, she won at the World University Games and Mediterranean Games for the second time in 1987.
Her career pivoted towards contributing to sport, especially women in sport, by taking decision-making roles in her country. She was minister of sports in Morocco and joined World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the first Arab woman to enter high-ranked managerial positions in sports.&nbsp;
Her highest was her election as vice president of the IOC. She is an active member in various IOC Commissions and has been a World Athletics Council Member since 1995.
On 8 August 1984, Nawal El Moutawakel&rsquo;s life changed in 54 seconds. She showed the world that women could not only overcome 10 hurdles in 400 metres, but also the hurdles of life.
&ldquo;For me the 400m hurdles was always a school of life, it teaches you how to start and finish in a strong way, and to overcome every barrier. This is what gave me energy to continue what I am doing today,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;I have prepared forever for this day, 8 August 1984. It&rsquo;s one day, one event, that impacted me forever. I will never forget the 54 seconds that changed my life forever. I would not be the same person since then, if I couldn&rsquo;t win. I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to support the next generation. Today, when I see women from all countries compete in sports, I feel immense satisfaction.&rdquo;
El Moutawakel won her Olympic title by&nbsp;more than half a second, crossing the finish line in 54.61. The spikes she wore during that race in Los Angeles in 1984 have recently been dipped in silver and are now on display in the <a title="MOWA" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics&trade;</a> &ndash; the world&rsquo;s first 3D virtual sports museum.
Christel Saneh for World Athletics
This piece is an extract from Christel Saneh's digital flipbook, <a title="Competing for a Change" href="http://www.christelsaneh.com/flipbook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Competing for a Change</a>.

The incredible story of Nawal El Moutawakel, who inspired a generation of Arab female athletes.

Nawal El Moutawakel: the 54 seconds that changed her life

Despite the postponement of some events due to the pandemic, Athletics Kenya is wasting no time in reaching across the nation for participants in&nbsp;the &lsquo;<a title="Global Conversation" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/conversation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Conversation for the Future of Athletics</a>&rsquo;.
As one of the sport&rsquo;s giants &ndash; in terms of international medals &ndash; the national federation is steeped in athletics history. But it is embracing new methods to engage audiences in the unprecedented consultation exercise of athletes, coaches, officials, event organisers, fans and anyone with an interest in athletics.&nbsp;&nbsp;
All this week, Athletics Kenya is reaching out across online channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp to encourage people to make their contribution to the Global Conversation this month.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubani Mkimbiaji amesikika, je wewe?<a href="https://t.co/4EjrNhu3ie">https://t.co/4EjrNhu3ie</a><a href="https://twitter.com/WorldAthletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WorldAthletics</a><a href="https://twitter.com/moscakenya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@moscakenya</a><a href="https://twitter.com/AMB_A_Mohammed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AMB_A_Mohammed</a> <a href="https://t.co/sct88B89Qr">pic.twitter.com/sct88B89Qr</a>
&mdash; Athletics Kenya (@athletics_kenya) <a href="https://twitter.com/athletics_kenya/status/1379116984919539713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
Some of the nation&rsquo;s leading athletes are also joining in the campaign, including 10,000m and cross country international Eva Cherono and sprinter Mark Otieno Odhiambo. The latter urged via Instagram: &ldquo;In 10 years' time Kenya can take the major world titles in sprint events and also break world records.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But without the wellbeing of our sport, that won&rsquo;t happen. I want athletics to grow bigger and better for the benefits of the athletes.&rdquo;
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606f75eb541afb8dd697bd83.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="646" />
To have your say on the future of athletics,&nbsp;<a href="https://surveyhub.deloitte.co.uk/wix/p402654971948.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">please complete the survey</a>&nbsp;by the end of April.

Despite the postponement of some events due to the pandemic, Athletics Kenya is wasting no time in reaching across the nation for participants in the ‘Global Conversation for the Future of Athletics’.

Kenya looks online for future

Esi Schimming-Chase, a member of the World Athletics Vetting Panel since 2019, has been appointed as Judge in the High Court of Namibia with effect from 1 April.
Schimming-Chase, who is based in Windhoek, previously served as an acting judge of the High Court in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2020. She is the first female senior counsel to be appointed permanent judge.
A specialist in commercial and constitutional litigation, arbitration and mediation, Schimming-Chase qualified as a barrister in the UK in 1994, was admitted as a legal practitioner in Namibia in 2002, and has been practising law as a member of the Society of Advocates since 2003. The society gave her senior counsel status in July 2017.
She will continue her role on World Athletics&rsquo; Vetting Panel, where she assists in assessing the eligibility of new and existing officials being put forward for roles within World Athletics.

Esi Schimming-Chase, a member of the World Athletics Vetting Panel, has been appointed as Judge in the High Court of Namibia with effect from 1 April.

World Athletics Vetting Panel member Schimming-Chase appointed High Court Judge of Namibia

Athletics Canada has selected 24 athletes to compete at the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21 on 1-2 May.
Canada will field teams in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 4x100m, the women&rsquo;s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m. The women&rsquo;s 4x400m team has already booked its place at the Tokyo Olympic Games, having finished eighth at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, but Canada&rsquo;s three other relay squads will be heading to Silesia hopeful of securing their place in the Japanese capital.
&ldquo;We have a very talented group of women and that group continues to grow,&rdquo; said Sage Watson who has anchored the women&rsquo;s 4x400m team since 2016. &ldquo;With the growth of the group as a whole, we have more depth at every leg of the relay and are comfortable with anyone stepping in compete. I think our initial goal at World Relays is to get us together after a year apart. Going into Poland, we need to take it step by step. The first step is making the final, and the next step is going for a medal.&rdquo;
<h3>Canadian team for Silesia</h3>
WOMEN 4x100m: Khamica Bingham, Leya Buchanan, Crystal Emmanuel, Shaina Harrison, Farah Jacques, Audrey Leduc, Sade McCreath-Tardiel 4x400m: Alicia Brown, Micha Powell, Madeline Price, Zoe Sherar, Aiyanna Stiverne, Katherine Surin, Sage Watson
Mixed 4x400m: Alicia Brown, Austin Cole, Joshua Cunningham, Philip Osei, Micha Powell, Madeline Price, Zoe Sherar, Aiyanna Stiverne, Katherine Surin, Sage Watson
MEN 4x100m: Bolada Ajomale, Andre Azonwanna, Jerome Blake, Bismark Boateng, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, Gavin Smellie

Athletics Canada has selected 24 athletes to compete at the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21 on 1-2 May.

Canada selects squad for Silesia

There is no doubt that regular physical activity is one of the best ways of increasing life expectancy. But while an active lifestyle has many benefits, it doesn&rsquo;t come without risk.
For anyone who participates in sport at any level, there is potential for sustaining injuries or illness. Sometimes training and competing can even unmask underlying health conditions, especially those of a cardiac nature.
This is why World Athletics, along with the IOC and many other sports federations, is trying to highlight the importance of pre-participation medical evaluations (PPME) and periodic health evaluations (PHE) as means to safeguard and monitor athletes&rsquo; health.
A comprehensive PPME should include all aspects of health, including mental health, cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal health, nutrition and dietary habits. A PHE, meanwhile, gives a full assessment of an athlete&rsquo;s current health status and risk of future injury or illness.
In its new Health Promotion Policy Paper, World Athletics Health and Science Department explains how PPMEs and PHEs can help with the prevention of acute unexpected health problems or life-threatening conditions, as well as the detection of asymptomatic underlying diseases.
They can also assist in the management of health conditions, while also supporting athletes&rsquo; physical and mental health, offering a more robust approach to living an active life.
"World Athletics wants to promote safe exercise and healthier lifestyles by encouraging all athletes to have regular medical checks," said World Athletics&rsquo; Medical Manager Paolo Emilio Adami. &ldquo;Periodic health examinations raise awareness of cardiac symptoms, mental health and wellbeing, musculoskeletal imbalances, predisposition to injuries, and poor nutritional habits all of which can lead to illness and injury if not addressed."
<a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/606dd978982babd5af779d48.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download the World Athletics health promotion policy paper on pre-participation medical evaluations and periodic health evaluations</a>

There is no doubt that regular physical activity is one of the best ways of increasing life expectancy. But while an active lifestyle has many benefits, it doesn’t come without risk.

World Athletics endorses regular health evaluations for athletes on World Health Day

<h4><img style="width: 90px; height: 90px; border-radius: 50%; margin-right: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/8a1d4507-5605-49b2-9512-d91eb3b43460.png" alt="Kate Carter" align="left" />If you want to improve your overall health - mental and physical - nothing beats running. A 20-minute jog will give you most bang for your buck.</h4>
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: right;">Kate Carter (<a href="https://twitter.com/katehelencarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@katehelencarter</a>)</h4>
&nbsp;
If you don&rsquo;t know by now that running is good for your health, then you&rsquo;ve not been paying attention in class, and I&rsquo;m afraid I&rsquo;ll have to put you into detention. Stay behind, write &ldquo;running is really good for me&rdquo; 100 times on the blackboard and run four laps of the playing fields.
In fact, the list of health benefits that running can bring is so long it&rsquo;s almost easier to list the things it doesn&rsquo;t do. It absolutely doesn&rsquo;t improve the prettiness of your toenails, for a start. A winter run also doesn&rsquo;t do much for your hair, though if &lsquo;dragged through a hedge backwards&rsquo; ever becomes the new hairstyle du jour, then I will absolutely top the most fashionable lists. And I&rsquo;m certainly the extremely inflexible poster girl for the fact that running a lot probably doesn&rsquo;t do a huge amount for your bendiness. The day after a long run, I could usefully double up as a ruler. But blisters, dodgy or absent toenails and poor Downward Dog form aside, running really is the health gift that keeps on giving.
It&rsquo;s probably obvious that being physically fitter is going to help what you might call the basics: heart health, blood pressure, and so on. Running forces your cardiovascular system to adapt, helping blood flow and lowering your blood pressure.
A &lsquo;meta study&rsquo; (a study of studies) found that running lowers your mortality risk by cancer by 23%, from cardiovascular events by 30% and indeed by &ldquo;all mortality causes&rdquo; by 27%. And don&rsquo;t run away with the idea that you need to do a lot of it to get those percentages &ndash; any amount improves your health, even just once a week, and it doesn&rsquo;t matter what the pace is, as long as you get that heart working. Indeed, taking high doses of that running medicine may not necessarily increase your odds of beating mortality. After all, if it did, Olympic marathon runners would all live forever.
Of course other sports can help you get fit, but purely in terms of time efficiency nothing beats running. If you only have 20 minutes in your day to do something to get your heart rate up, then running gives you the most bang for your buck. 20 minutes into a swimming session I&rsquo;m still getting changed and fiddling with my goggles, and 20 minutes into a bike ride I&rsquo;m, well, probably considerably less far down the road than if I&rsquo;d run, though admittedly that says more about my cycling ability than the sport as a whole.
Then there are all the other gifts running brings us. Personally, I think it&rsquo;s the benefits to the brain that are actually the most fascinating, and &ndash; in terms of how we live, work, and feel, day-to-day &ndash; they might even be the most impactful.
Running is good for your memory (let&rsquo;s ignore the fact that I forgot that until I researched for this article, shall we?) and it can help you sleep better. It could even, according to a study from Northwestern University, help cure insomnia. Research has shown that runners&rsquo; brains have stronger connections between areas associated with planning, decision making and &lsquo;executive cognitive function&rsquo;. No one tell the non-runners, but I think this all means that we might be smarter than them.
In fact, it&rsquo;s only relatively recently been discovered that humans not only can grow new brain cells &ndash; a process called neurogenesis &ndash; but that exercise actually stimulates this process. It improves your attention span, makes you better at concentrating and at multitasking (and yes, naturally, I am writing this while simultaneously juggling, learning Czech and emptying the dishwasher). In fact studies on children have shown it actually helps them learn languages better.
And as much as what it does do to your brain is fascinating, there&rsquo;s also what it stops: when we are bored, or fretting, or stressed, a series of linked area of our brains called the &lsquo;default mode network&rsquo; lights up. That activity is, in turn, often linked to depression. But if we do something active but unstressful &ndash; a nice easy run, say &ndash; then we disconnect those processes.
Oh &ndash; and finally &ndash; if I had a dollar for every time someone said &ldquo;Oh but isn&rsquo;t running bad for your knees?&rdquo; then, well, I couldn&rsquo;t quite retire but I&rsquo;d definitely be able to go out and buy some top-of-the-range running shoes. Of course, if you have dodgy (technical term) knees then pounding the pavements isn&rsquo;t going to help. But for those in fine knee health there is good evidence that running is not just neutral but actually good for them. A study of nearly 75,000 runners and nearly 15,000 walkers found that runners were significantly less likely to develop arthritis than walkers &ndash; the risk was roughly half. There is, concluded the author, &ldquo;no evidence that running increases the risk of osteoarthritis, including participation in marathons&rdquo;.
So there you have it: running &ndash; it&rsquo;s good for your health in ways you might have guessed, and plenty you probably haven&rsquo;t. If you could bottle running into pill form and prescribe it, it really would be the best drug ever invented.

Running is good for your health in ways you might have guessed, and plenty you probably haven’t

The Athletic Life: the gifts of health that come from running

The list of health benefits that running can bring is so long it’s almost easier to list the things it doesn’t do

Marcell Jacobs is keen to forget his first two appearances at the European Indoor Championships.
In Belgrade in 2017 he finished 11th in the qualifying round of the long jump with 7.70m, some 37 centimetres short of the PB he had jumped just a few weeks prior. Two years later in Glasgow, he left the long jump runway in tears after failing to record a valid mark in the qualifying round.
That was his last long jump competition.
He had shown flashes of brilliance in the event earlier in his career, breaking the Italian U20 indoor record in 2013 (7.75m) before going on to leap a wind-assisted 8.48m (2.8m/s) in 2016. But nagging knee injuries prevented him from fulfilling his potential, so he decided to switch full time to the sprints.
&ldquo;The long jump was my first love, but injuries forced to change my discipline,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m now happy with my decision to train only for the sprints, though.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606c9c1cb4427069a5c3c166.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="1265" /> Marcell Jacobs in action in the long jump at the 2017 European Indoor Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
 The decision to focus on the 100m soon paid off. In July 2019 he reduced his PB to 10.03, making him the third-fastest Italian man in history, then he won the national title and reached the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. Last year he won at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Turku and successfully defended his Italian title.
His progress took another big step forward in 2021.
During his first three indoor competitions of the season, he set four PBs over 60m. He clocked 6.56 and 6.55 in Berlin, then improved to 6.54 when winning at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin. Three days later, he improved again to 6.53 in Lodz.
But he still had something left in the tank for the European Indoor Championships in Torun. Following his disappointments in 2017 and 2019, he was determined to come away from the Polish city with a medal.
After breezing through the rounds in 6.59 and 6.56, he stormed to gold in the final with a world-leading 6.47, smashing the Italian record in the process and recording the biggest winning margin in the men&rsquo;s 60m in the history of the European Indoor Championships.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing, this win is a dream come true,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was running well in training but I didn&rsquo;t expect to run 6.47. It was a very fast race. I started well from the blocks and I continued pushing as hard as I could in the final 20 metres. I didn&rsquo;t sleep the night after winning the European indoor title, it still hasn&rsquo;t sunk in.&rdquo; 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RQbltURpUdo" width="100%" height="450" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h3> US roots</h3>
Jacobs was born in El Paso, Texas, to an American father and Italian mother. His parents separated when he was young and he moved to Desenzano del Garda in Italy with his mother when he was one year old.
After a few years of playing basketball and football, his football coach Adriano Bertazzi &ndash; who is also an athletics coach &ndash; spotted Jacobs&rsquo; natural speed and suggested he take up sprinting. Jacobs started training in Desenzano del Garda under the guidance of Gianni Lombardi, the director of the Multsitars Combined Events Challenge meeting, and his talent for sprinting and jumping soon became apparent.
In September 2015, a few months after his first eight-metre leap, Jacobs started training under the guidance of 2001 world indoor triple jump champion Paolo Camossi, first in Gorizia and, from late 2018, in Rome.
&ldquo;I achieved good results during the three years I spent in Gorizia, but I felt I needed more regular medical and physiotherapy support. Rome offered everything I needed, so it was the right choice for me. I am really grateful that Paolo Camossi decided to coach me. He changed his life completely to follow me.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6043fa4f3879a93d019e0d06.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" /> Marcell Jacobs storms to 60m gold at the European Indoor Championships in Torun (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
<h3> Tipped for sub-10</h3>
Stefano Tilli, the 1983 European indoor 60m champion who now works as a commentator for Italian TV, was the first to congratulate Jacobs after his 60m triumph in Torun. Tilli has now tipped Jacobs to become the second Italian man to break the 10-second barrier for 100m.
Doing so would mean that Jacobs would at least equal, if not break, the Italian record of 9.99 set by Filippo Tortu.
&ldquo;Last year I clocked 6.63 in the 60m and then I went on to run 10.10 outdoors,&rdquo; says Jacobs. &ldquo;This year I improved my 60m PB by 0.16, so if I am able to reproduce the same kind of improvement outdoors, I could run about 9.94 for 100m. My main goal for the outdoor season, though, is to reach the Olympic 100m final in Tokyo.&rdquo;
But Jacobs can&rsquo;t currently lay claim to being the undisputed No.1 sprinter in Italy as Tortu leads their career head-to-head record at 5-1.
&ldquo;Filippo is a very good friend,&rdquo; says Jacobs, who narrowly defeated Tortu in their first encounter back in 2016, 10.23 to 10.24. &ldquo;Our rivalry is great for Italian athletics. We push each other and this helps us run faster.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/606c9cd4b10216882e10b13e.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" /> The Italian 4x100m team at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 (&copy; Getty Images)
&nbsp;
They both intend to compete at the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21 on 1-2 May, where they hope to improve on the 38.11 Italian record they set at the World Championships in Doha, narrowly missing a place in the final.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to the World Relays,&rdquo; says Jacobs. &ldquo;Representing Italy in relay competitions is very important to me. The goal is to secure a spot for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and I think Filippo and I can help our team run a fast time.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The work I have done for my 60 metres is also good for the 100m and the relay,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m determined to work hard for the summer season.&rdquo;
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Marcell Jacobs is keen to forget his first two appearances at the European Indoor Championships.

AIU welcomes guilty verdicts against nine Russian athletes based on the evidence underlying the McLaren Reports

Kenya looks online for future

World Athletics Vetting Panel member Schimming-Chase appointed High Court Judge of Namibia

Canada selects squad for Silesia

World Athletics endorses regular health evaluations for athletes on World Health Day

Indian leadership backs campaign

Action returns to Hayward Field

World Athletics Relays Silesia21 preparations enter finishing straight

Global Conversation off to fast start

Looking back at World Athletics’ celebration of diversity and equality

Australian race walk great Tallent announces retirement

One year to go - World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22