Track Minute: Parker Valby and Leo Neugebauer Win Bowerman Award

Parker Valby and Leo Neugebauer win the Bowerman Award

At last night’s presentation, Valby (University of Florida) and Neugebauer (University of Texas) were awarded the Bowerman, which is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female track and field athlete in the NCAA and NAIA.

World Athletics implements AI monitoring system to protect athletes

World Athletics has implemented an AI-driven social media monitoring system to protect 25 high-profile athletes from online abuse during the 2024 season. This initiative aims to identify and mitigate harmful content directed at athletes, enhancing their mental well-being and performance. Per the report, “Of the more than 350,000 posts captured for analysis during the Paris 2024 Olympics on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, 809 were verified as abusive, 18% of them racist, 13% sexual in nature, and 17% sexist. Two athletes received 82% of all the abuse.”

Five more stars join Grand Slam Track to round out their roster

The final five athletes were announced to round out the Grand Slam Track roster of racers, bringing their total of core athletes to 48 for the 2025 season. The final slots were filled by Diribe Welteji, Freddie Crittenden, Brittany Brown, Zharnel Hughes, and Caleb Dean. The Grand Slam Track season kicks off on April 4 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Mohamed Katir receives four-year ban for tampering

Katir, a two-time World Championships medalist from Spain, was already serving a two-year competition ban for whereabouts failures which began in February 2024. He has now been given a further four-year suspension, to run concurrently with his existing ban, after he was found to have falsified travel documents submitted during the prior whereabouts investigation.