Making it easier (& way more fun) to be a track and field fan. Stories and commentary about your favorite sport.
USA
- Tweets 39,959
- Following 4,371
- Followers 74,692
- Likes 12,601
According to Agence France-Presse, 🇪🇹 Tigst Assefa successfully underwent surgery today in Munich to repair the fully torn Achilles tendon that she suffered en route to her 2:11:04 victory in Sunday’s Berlin Marathon — the third-fastest women’s marathon in history.
Her manager, Gianni Demadonna, said she started feeling pain around 31K and it escalated after 40K.
“The tendon was completely gone when she ran the last two kilometers,” Demadonna told AFP.
He expects her to miss about seven months of training ahead of a long recovery. ⬇️
Just spoke to Tigst Assefa's manager on the phone who confirmed she ran the last 2 kilometres of the Berlin Marathon yesterday without an Achilles after a tear. Madness. And still the third best time ever. Unbelievable. She's doing well after surgery. rfi.fr/en/sports/20260928-be…
1
24
154
27,351
“I’ve allowed my brain to anchor on the fact that I can run 2:04. It’s physically possible — and that’s as good as it gets as a signal. Now let’s go find out what the trend looks like.” – Charles Hicks before the 2026 Chicago Marathon
citiusmag.com/podcast/citius…
3
17
2,712
CITIUS MAG retweeted
You can also watch my full interview with Charles Hicks on The CITIUS MAG YouTube channel.
piped.video/9DXQ9Ame54E?si=7jKy…
1
2
2,654
CITIUS MAG retweeted
🇺🇸 “I was second American in New York. I was second American in Boston. I want to be first American in Chicago.”
Two weeks out from the Chicago Marathon, Charles Hicks isn’t quite ready to call his shot at breaking the American record like Conner Mantz did last year or how Clayton Young has for this year.
Instead, heading into just the third marathon of his career, his focus is on competing: finish as high as possible, be the first American across the line and continue closing the gap toward the podium.
After strong showings in New York (2:09:59, 9th place / 2nd American) and Boston (2:04:35, 7th place / 2nd American) gave him two encouraging data points, Hicks views Chicago as the next step in what has already been a rapidly accelerating marathon journey.
🎙️ Charles joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast from Park City, Utah, to break down his Chicago build, his goals for race day and why he’s keeping the American record talk in perspective.
FULL INTERVIEW ⬇️
🎧 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/29i…
🎧 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
1
3
41
6,775
The AIU has banned Kenya's Philemon Kiplimo Kimaiyo, a 2:04:01 marathoner, for 2 years after a urine sample came back positive for chlortalidone, which is a diuretic that can be used to mask the presence of other banned substances.
Kiplimo told the AIU he didn't know what chlortalidone was. About a week before the out-of-competition test, he claimed he had taken painkillers belonging to his wife for post-long-run soreness, but couldn't recall the name or appearance.
He later provided a photograph of a box labeled "OLMECURE-CT 40 — Olmesartan Medoxomil with Chlortalidone Tablets."
His two-year ban started Sept. 1, 2026, the date he signed his admission of guilt. All results since July 19, 2026, have been disqualified. He finished 3rd at the Bogotá Half Marathon in Colombia on July 25th.
Last year, he ran his marathon PB when he finished 2nd at the Hamburg Marathon. That fall, he finished 8th at the Chicago Marathon in 2:06:14.
4
19
101
43,046
CITIUS MAG retweeted
Looks like we had five American men run under the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying standard of 2:16:00 at today's Berlin Marathon.
🇺🇸 Charlie Sweeney – 2:09:33 (Had already qualified with his 2:11:28, Boston 2026)
🇺🇸 Will Nation – 2:11:08 (Had already qualified with his 2:11:13, CIM 2025)
🇺🇸 Lars Dewall – 2:12:13 (Had already qualified with his 2:12:30, Boston 2026)
🇺🇸 T-Roy Brown – 2:12:38 (Had already qualified with his 2:15:22, Rotterdam 2026)
🇺🇸 Brendan Martin – 2:14:36 — OTQ ✅
St. Louis will be Brendan Martin's third U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
8
148
13,997
CITIUS MAG retweeted
Looks like we had eight American women run under the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying standard of 2:37:00 at today's Berlin Marathon.
🇺🇸 Rebecca Schmitt – 2:27:38, 17th overall (Had already qualified with a 2:28:46 at CIM 2025)
🇺🇸 Jacqueline Gaughan – 2:27:43, 18th overall — OTQ ✅
🇺🇸 Allie Kieffer – 2:30:41 — OTQ ✅
🇺🇸 Savannah Berry – 2:31:31 (Had already qualified with a 2:34:27 at the LA Marathon 2026)
🇺🇸 Katja Goldring – 2:31:55 — OTQ ✅
🇺🇸 Rachel McCardell – 2:35:57 (Had already qualified with a 2:34:31 at Chicago 2025)
🇺🇸 Tessa Barrett – 2:36:04 (Had already qualified with a 2:30:10 at CIM 2025)
🇺🇸 Gabriella Smith – 2:36:44 off her chip time vs. 2:37:42 gun time, which will count! — OTQ ✅
7
64
6,401
FINALLY A PB‼️
🇪🇹 Guye Adola won the Berlin Marathon in a personal best 2:02:50, completing an Ethiopian sweep of the pro races and improving on his personal best that had stood since his marathon debut in the same city nine years ago.
His win takes almost a full minute off the PB he set in Berlin in 2017 when he made his debut over the distance and he finished second to Eliud Kipchoge.
Adola also won Rotterdam in April in 2:03:54.
5
32
3,152
NO. 3️⃣ ALL-TIME WOMEN’S MARATHON PERFORMANCE‼️
🇪🇹 Tigst Assefa won the Berlin Marathon on Sunday in 2:11:04, the third-fastest women’s marathon in history, after running inside world record pace until the final 2.2 kilometers.
At 40K she was projected to finish in 2:09:44, which was under Ruth Chepngetich’s controversial world record. Then her stride broke down and she visibly limped over the closing mile and across the finish line.
Assefa covered the last 2.2K in 8:04 (more than 30s per kilometer slower than any previous split in the race). Still, Assefa now owns the third- and fourth-fastest performances ever. The run also broke her own Berlin course record.
𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝙒𝙊𝙈𝙀𝙉’𝙎 𝘼𝙇𝙇-𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙉 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏
1 – 🇰🇪 Ruth Chepngetich – 2:09:56 (Chicago 2024)
2 – 🇪🇹 Fotyen Tesfay – 2:10:51 (Barcelona 2026)
3 – 🇪🇹 Tigst Assefa – 2:11:04 (Berlin 2026)
4 – 🇪🇹 Tigst Assefa – 2:11:53 (Berlin 2023)
Note: Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 still stands as the world record despite her three-year ban for a positive diuretic test in March 2025 (five months after the record) and her admission of the doping violation. The mark was set before the positive test, so it remains atop the history books.
13
44
4,021
CITIUS MAG retweeted
🗣️ “In Budapest, there was a winner and everybody else — no top three medals, no podium. I just wanted to win. But also: I knew that if I was hurting, everybody else was hurting too. And that’s just belief in your fitness and what you’ve done.”
One of the best races of the World Ultimate Championships was when 🇵🇱 Klaudia Kazimierska and 🇬🇧 Georgia Hunter Bell went stride-for-stride over the final 200m of the women’s 1500m, but the former Oregon star would NOT give up the lead. She held off the Olympic medalist all the way to the line to take the World Ultimate title and $150,000 in 3:57.55 to cap a dream finish to her breakout season.
This came one week after dominating the Diamond League Final in a 3:54.05 world lead and lowering her own Polish record.
▶️ On The CITIUS MAG Podcast, Klaudia takes us inside that thrilling final lap, the battle with Hunter Bell, and what was going through her mind as she fought for the biggest win of her career + stories from her development in Poland and what she learned in the NCAA.
FULL INTERVIEW ⬇️
🎧 SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/episode/26e…
🎧 APPLE PODCASTS: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
1
2
23
3,521
CITIUS MAG retweeted
Did a COMBINED Women's 100/200 career ranking.
Criteria: Olympics, Worlds, marks, longevity. (everyone here has at least 2 medals).
NOT Factored: 60, 400, 4x1, 4x4, Indoors, World Cup, Commonwealth, Euros, USAs, Diamond, etc.
Got live feedback so not 100% my list (but like 90%)
36
15
172
27,673
The Athletics Integrity Unit has announced that Olympic 100m hurdles silver medalist 🇫🇷 Cyréna Samba-Mayela has been provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures.
Under anti-doping rules, three whereabouts failures (missed tests and/or filing failures in any combination) within a 12-month period constitute an anti-doping rule violation and can result in a suspension of up to two years.
News of Samba-Mayela’s case was first reported last month by L’Équipe. At the time, her agent, Maka Haïdara, responded to the report with a statement: “Cyréna Samba-Mayela has never had a positive anti-doping test. The ongoing proceedings before the AIU relate exclusively to administrative whereabouts requirements and not to the use of any substance. She responded within the required timeframe and is cooperating fully. Out of respect for the proceedings, she will not make any further comment.”
Samba-Mayela last raced in July and later withdrew from the European Championships in Birmingham due to a calf injury. If she were ultimately handed the maximum two-year sanction, her suspension could extend into the lead-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
4
12
68
38,464
🔴 How Klaudia Kazimierska Became The Breakout 1500m Star Of 2026 + World Ultimate Champion
piped.video/mcMA3wl2UtA?si=rCcM…
3
18
4,240
🔴 Emma Grace Hurley On Her Upcoming Chicago Marathon Debut & A Historic 5-6-7 Finish For Team USA At The World Road Running Championships In Copenhagen ⬇️
piped.video/DYHBuKGiOak
5
4,053
RANKING THE BEST TRACK ATHLETES OF 2026
Unlike “normal” global championship years, this professional season ended with three championships of a sort: the Diamond League final, World Ultimate Championships, and World Road Running Championships. 🏟️
As its name implies, the “ultimate” championship feels like the closest thing we had this year to a be-all-end-all determination of who’s the best athlete in their respective events, but it’s easier to look at the calendar and suggest that success in other forays—whether it’s the European Championships, regular-season DL circuit, Commonwealth Games, or something else entirely—could mean the same or more than a trophy in Budapest.
As always, there’s a healthy dose of subjectivity that goes into these rankings. How do you compare a single-event specialist against a more generalized sprinter or distance runner? How much does consistency over the regular season matter compared to winning when it “counts?” How much does the top-end talent of an event or event group like the women’s 800m elevate a star who didn’t win all that much? 🤔 💭
Congratulations in particular to the great @masai_russell , who took issue with her #12 mid-year ranking and proceeded to break the world record, win WUC, and cap an undefeated season just to prove us wrong. 🫡
FULL RANKINGS HERE ⬇️
thelapcount.substack.com/i/2…
19
5,860
✍️ 2:05:54 marathoner Vinny Mauri has officially signed with ASICS ahead of the 2026 Chicago Marathon.
He made his debut and won the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio with the fastest debut by an American marathoner and moved to No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list.
He’ll be up against an American field that includes Clayton Young (who has said he wants to go after Conner Mantz’s 2:04:43 U.S. record) and Charles Hicks (who ran 2:04:35 at the Boston Marathon in April).
1
10
136
26,589
The Fleeting Joy Of World Road Running Champs 🛣️
"With the road mile global championship going the way of the dodo—maybe forever—the results in Copenhagen as a perfect example of why the race should stay on the calendar. Two extremely capable but underappreciated middle distance runners showed up, represented their countries, and were finally rewarded for years of top-tier running with their moment in the sun."
📫 Read more via @TheLapCount: thelapcount.substack.com/i/2…
3
34
3,363
2025 vs. 2026: The State Of The Sport 🗓️
"But when looking at the competition scores of how the best invitationals stacked up in comparison to the prior year, it gives a clear picture of just how good this year was. In a head-to-head comparison of the best meets in 2026 vs. the best meets in 2025, this year was far and away more competitive. That’s reflective of the fact that the best athletes were showing up to race each other more frequently."
📫 Read more via @TheLapCount: thelapcount.substack.com/i/2…
6
2,506