Year on year improvement should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed the progress of Abbie Donnelly. It’s a plan 12 years in the making.
Category: Athlete Interviews

Adjustment over, Marc Scott seeks Olympic marathon spot
At a gym by the M23, world indoor medalist Marc Scott finishes up an elliptical session. He is surrounded by fitness fans who notice nothing but a lean man who enjoys his cardio. A typical day in a 2023 season that stands in stark contrast to the five that came…

From 800m men to marathon stars, Patrick Sang on building a world-class group
The winner of three global medals as a steeplechaser, it is an indication of the success of Patrick Sang as a coach that it is for this that he has gained wider recognition. The 1992 Olympic silver medallist has, for the last 25 years, slowly and incrementally built up a…

Victor Chumo – Out of the limelight and into the fire
As Eliud Kipchoge broke the two hour barrier, striding down the Hauptallee and pointing to the assembled crowd, one man knew he had played his part. Victor Chumo has spent his career racing throughout Europe. More race wins in Italy than most Italians, he has dominated in France too. You’ve…

Geoffrey Kamworor – a journey no book could teach
Books and pens not fortunes first brought Geoffrey Kamworor to the sport of athletics. A keen reader and elegant speaker, at high school the two were offered as prizes, ones which Kamworor would pick up with ease: “I could defeat everyone but it was just for fun. I could run…

Faith Kipyegon – a journey of joy
There’s a notion in athletics that the best have some mental fortitude that mere mortals lack.
They get out the door when others can’t, they grind when others give up.

Abdi Nageeye – a lonely pursuit of world championship perfection
Fortune favours the bold or so it goes. The best training group in the world. The home of Eliud Kipchoge, three more world champions and under the guidance of one of the planet’s most-renowned coaches, Patrick Sang. Your home for almost four years and a base that has taken you…

“Trust is like cement” – Eliud Kipchoge’s special relationship with Patrick Sang
Gliding along the compacted dirt, Eliud Kipchoge is a boy full of hopes and dreams, but like any first taking up the sport, one with more questions than answers.

A 20 year exercise in self-belief – Kaan Kigen Özbilen bids for World Championship glory.
Nine weeks is a long-time in marathon running. Kaan Kigen Özbilen knows that better than most. Mike, as he’s known to family and friends, is in a bullish mood. At the age of 37, the Kenyan-born Turkish international is in the form of his life. Earlier in the day Kigen…

Stephen Scullion – Unfinished business
I find Stephen Scullion in a coffee shop in Teddington. Barely a mile from the same track on which he’s plied his trade for almost 16 years, the same Bushy Park where shoeprints have left their mark from mile after mile of tempos, easy runs and the soul-searching in between….