Top 10 running stories of 2023

As we tip our cap to the end of the 2023 running season, it’s time to recap some of our most popular running stories of the year. This year, the sport saw a lot of firsts and controversies, especially for 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who had a huge glow-up from being kicked off an American Airlines flight in January to winning her first 100m world championship title seven months later. We also witnessed the year of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who broke three world records on the track, got sick at the worst time ever, and did a beer mile at his bachelor party.

With the Athletics Integrity Unit cleaning up the sport before the 2024 Paris Olympics, it always felt like there were more controversies than triumphs. But in any case, here is a countdown of the top 10 most popular running stories of 2023, according to our readers.

10) Ingebrigtsen brothers speak out against their father and former coach

The world’s most famous distance running family, the Ingebrigtsens, went their separate ways from their long-time coach and father, Gjert Ingebrigtsen, but the breakup came out worse than rumoured. The Ingebrigtsen brothers forced the Norwegian Athletics Association to deny Gjert accreditation for any future major championships and revealed a past marked by aggression, control and physical violence in their household. But the story is more complicated than it looks, since Gjert is still the coach of Jakob’s Norweigan 1,500m rival, Narve Gilje Nordås, who won bronze behind Jakob at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. With the Paris Olympics on the horizon, this story is far from over.

9) WATCH: World 100m champion dusts parents at school race

In one of the funnier stories of the year, we found out Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce takes all competitions seriously… even on “bring your parent to school” day. In the video, the former Olympic and world 100m champion absolutely cooks all the other parents in a 100m sprint. She beat the field by probably 50 or so metres. I guess if you are a “world champion” you have to show everyone why.

8) Italian distance runner given 36-year racing ban 

Italian age-grouper Alessandro Braconi was handed one of the longest bans in the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) database for the use/attempted use, possession and trafficking/attempted trafficking of a prohibited substance. This follows his provisional suspension after a positive drug test in March 2022, after which he continued to compete despite being suspended. The 1:19 half marathoner is ineligible to compete until 2058, when Braconi will be 72. 

7) U.S. track star Sha’Carri Richardson removed from American Airlines flight

It was a rocky start to the 2023 season for U.S. track star Sha’Carri Richardson, who was removed from an American Airlines flight after an argument with a flight attendant. Luckily, Richardson was able to turn it around and have the last laugh, winning USATF Athlete of the Year and three medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

6) 11-year-old runner breaks two world age group records in three days 

The future is bright for Australian rising star Sophie Hall, who, at 11, broke two world youth age-group records in three days at the U14 Victoria Track and Field Championships in Geelong, Australia. Hall wasn’t the only 11-year-old making headlines in 2023—Canada’s Sawyer Nicholson set a new 5K age-group record in the fall, clocking 17:28.

5) High school sprinter beats world champion Noah Lyles in 100m race

This story was fun at the time, but it did not age well. High-school sprinter Issam Asinga eventually got caught for doping, and Noah Lyles became the first sprinter to win the 100 and 200 in the same year at a world championship since Usain Bolt did it in 2015.

4) Norwegian kid runs ridiculously fast 5K

We might be seeing the next Jakob Ingebrigtsen with the rise of the Norwegian youth star Per August Halle. In August, the 13-year-old went sub-16 for 5K, recording a ridiculous 15 minutes and 52 seconds. We can’t wait to see Halle and Ingebrigtsen square off over 5,000m at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.

3) Race winner surrenders victory and prize money to second-place finisher

We report a lot of stories about cheaters; less often do we see people doing the polar opposite of cheating. In this case, at the 2023 Quixote Half Marathon in Ciudad Real, Spain, Moroccan distance runner Mohamed Massat put on an incredible display of sportsmanship, giving the first-place prize money and trophy to the second-place finisher, who went the wrong way. Massat still walked away with some prize money for second place, but his selfless act will long be remembered.

2) South Africa’s fastest sprinter receives six-year doping ban

South African 100m record holder Carina Horn just can’t stop cheating. In August, Horn received her second anti-doping violation, which resulted in a six-year ban from athletics. The worst part is that she tried to deny it, and paid for her B sample to be tested, but it came up positive for the same substance—clenbuterol, which is used by asthmatics and for weight loss.

1) Calgary woman distraught after F-word engraved on marathon medal

Some medals can mean very little, while others can mean a lot. A Calgary woman was in absolute shock after going to get her 2023 Chicago Marathon finisher’s medal engraved, and instead of engraving her name, they engraved the F-word on it. It all ended up being a classic mix-up between one runner and another—a hard story not to look back and laugh about. This was our most popular story of the year, according to our readers.