ATHLETICS Panorama: More world leaders for Kirt and Thompson; 100-200 double for Matthew Boling at U.S. Juniors

Strake Jesuit's sprint star Matthew Boling

The Diamond League won’t resume until this coming Sunday at Stanford, but there was more action over last weekend:

● Estonia’s Magnus Kirt grabbed the world lead in the javelin back in a meet at Kuortane (FIN), setting another national record at 90.61 m (297-3), winning by more than 12 feet!

● Jamaica’s 2016 Olympic champ Elaine Thompson grabbed the 200 m world lead in addition to her 100 m win at the Jamaican nationals, winning in 22.00 over Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, whose 22.22 stands no. 5 on the year list. For Fraser-Pryce, that’s her fastest 200 m since 2013.

● Venezuela’s reigning World Champion in the women’s triple jump, Yulimar Rojas, claimed the world lead with a win at 15.06 m (49-2 1/2) at a meet in Huelva (ESP) on 20 June.

● At the USA Track & Field Junior (U-20) Nationals in Miramar, Florida, Texas prep sprint star Matthew Boling was – as expected – the headliner. He won the 100 m in a wind-aided 10.15 (10.13w in his heat) and the 200 m in a legal 20.36, no. 2 on the World Junior list for 2019. He also finished third in the long jump at 7.71 m (25-3 1/2). You can see the full results here.

Former IAAF President Lamine Diack (SEN) will be tried in France on charges of corruption and money laundering.

After four years of inquiry, during which time Diack has been under house arrest, the French authorities have built a case around bribes paid by Russian athletes to cover-up their doping positives.

Part of the 19 June order to trial seen by the Agence France Presse included “The freeze in sanctions in exchange for financial kickbacks was negotiated by Lamine Diack with Valentin Balakhnichev, who was both president of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) and IAAF Treasurer.”

In addition to Diack and Balaknichev, the defendants include former Russian national middle-distance coach Alexei Melnikov, Diack advisor Habib Cisse (SEN), and the IAAF’s former head of anti-doping efforts, Gabriel Dolle (SUI).

The order also includes Diack’s son, Papa Massata Diack (SEN), who is still in Senegal and protected by the Senegalese government against extradition thus far.

Lamine Diack, now 86, was the head of the IAAF from 1999-2015 and an IOC member; he has further been accused of arranging for bribes for votes in the selection of Olympic host cities in 2016 and 2020.

All of the defendants refute the charges, but now it will be up to the courts to decide.

The IAAF met the 25 June deadline of the Swiss Federal Tribunal with its reply in the Caster Semenya case; its statement noted:

“The IAAF has specifically requested:

● “Reversal of the order to the IAAF to super-provisionally suspend the implementation of the [Differences in Sex Development] Regulations in respect of the appellant.

● “Dismissal of the appellant’s application to suspend the implementation of the DSD Regulations in respect of the appellant pending the outcome of the appeal.

“The IAAF fully respects each individual’s personal dignity and supports the social movement to have people accepted in society based on their chosen legal sex and/or gender identity. However, it is also committed to female athletes having the same opportunities as male athletes to benefit from athletics, be that as elite female athletes participating in fair and meaningful competition, as young girls developing life and sport skills, or as administrators or officials.

“This requires a protected category for females where eligibility is based on biology and not on gender identity. This crucial point was accepted and emphasized by the CAS in its 30 April 2019 decision to uphold the DSD Regulations. To define the category based on something other than biology would be category defeating and would deter many girls around the world from choosing competitive and elite sport after puberty.”

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced two more suspensions for doping:

Mariya Ponomareva (RUS), a race walker, who has only competed domestically from 2016 on, was suspended for four years for use of a prohibited substance, beginning 8 March 2018. Her lifetime best remains 1:26:46 from 2016.

Salome Biwott, a Kenyan women’s marathoner, with a best of 2:30:47 from 2016, was provisionally suspended on 5 June for presence of Norandrosterone.

The complete list of ineligibles is here.