Justyna Swiety-Ersetic was born on December 2, 1992, in Raciborz, Poland. She started in athletics as a kid and showed great talent and skills.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic started her competitive career in 2009, winning the 400m silver at the Krakow Polish U18 Championships and also competed at the Bressanone IAAF World Youth Championships in 1,000m sprint medley, where she finished 6th.

In 2010, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m bronze at the Bialystok Polish Junior Championships and the silver at the Spala Polish Junior Indoor Championships. In the 4x400m relay, she competed at the Moncton IAAF World Junior Championships but unfortunately failed to overcome the heats. However, in the event she won the silver at the Bydgoszcz POL-GER U23 Match.

In 2011, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won her first international honor, winning the 4x400m silver at the Tallinn European Junior Championships. Meanwhile, she won the 400m bronze at the Torun Polish Junior Championships and the 800m gold at the Spala Polish Junior Indoor Championships.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won her first senior national title in 2012, winning the 400m gold at the Spala Polish Indoor Championships. During the season, she won the 400m bronze and the 4x400m relay gold at the Bielsko-Biala Polish Championships. The season was quite remarkable for Justyna Swiety-Ersetic who made her Olympics debut, competing at the London 2012 Olympics in 4x400m relay, but did not overcome the heats. She also competed at the Helsinki European Championships in 400m and 4x400m, where missed the honors for a while.

In 2013, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic was established as one of the top 400m sprinters. She won the 4x400m gold at the Tampere European U23 Championships, where also earned the bronze in the 400m individual event and the Bydgoszcz Polish U23 Championships. In the same event, she earned the silver at the Torun Polish Championships and also competed at the Moscow IAAF World Championships. In the 400m event, she won the gold at the Torun Polish Championships and Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, as well as the bronze at the Spala Polish Indoor Championships.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic started the 2014 season by winning the 400m gold at the Sopot Polish Indoor Championships and finished 4th in 400m and 4x400m relay at the Sopot IAAF World Indoor Championships. During the outdoor season, she won the 400m and 4x400m relay silver at the Szczecin Polish Championships, as well as the 400m silver Turku Paavo Nurmi Games, and the 400m gold at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial and Goteborg Folksam GP. She competed at the Zurich European Championships, reaching the semi-finals in 400m and finished 5th in the final in 4x400m relay. Meanwhile, she competed in the 4x400m relay at the Nassau IAAF World Relays but remained 5th.

In 2015, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m and 4x200m relay gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships and 400m gold at the Torun Copernicus Cup, as well as the 400m silver at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial and Bydgoszcz European Athletics Festival, as well as the bronze in 400m and 4x400m relay at the Krakow Polish Championships. She competed at the Beijing IAAF World Championships and Gwangju Universiade but missed the medals.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic made a fantastic 2016 indoor season, winning the 400m gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships and the 4x400m relay silver at the Portland IAAF World Indoor Championships. During the outdoor season, she won another two national titles at the Bydgoszcz Polish Championships in 400m and 4x400m relay and competed at the Amsterdam European Athletics Championships and Rio 2016 Olympics, improving her results but again missing the honors. Meanwhile, during the season, she won the 400m gold at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, Forbach Meeting National, and Sopot Sopot Janusz Sidlo Memorial, and the 400m silver at the Hengelo FBK Games, as well as the 400m bronze at the Meeting Stanislas Nancy.

In 2017, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won another European Indoor title at the Beograd European Indoor Championships in the 4x400m relay but also earned the bronze in the 400m individual. She also won the 400m gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships and Czech Indoor Gala, as well as the silver at the Torun Copernicus Cup. During the outdoor season, she made her Diamond League debut at Shanghai IAAF Diamond League, finishing 5th. Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m gold at the Hengelo FBK Games, Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, and Dessau Anhalt 2017. Her biggest achievements during the season, were in the 4x400m relay, winning the gold at the Taipei Universiade and bronze at the London IAAF World Championships in Athletics, as well as the silver at the Nassau IAAF World Relays.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic proved to be one of the top 400m sprinters during the 2018 season. She started the indoor season by winning the 400m gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships and the 4x400m relay silver at the Birmingham IAAF World Indoor Championships. During the outdoor season, she won the 400m and 4x400m relay gold at the Berlin European Athletics Championships, a well as the 400m gold at the Osaka Golden Grand Prix 2018. She won the 400m silver at the Lublin Polish Championships, Goteborg Folksam GP, and Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, as well as the 400m bronze at the FBK Games and London Athletics World Cup.

In 2019, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 4x400m gold at the Glasgow European Indoor Championships and the 4x400m relay silver at the Doha IAAF World Championships in Athletics. In the 400m event, she silver at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships, ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Folksam GP, Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, and ORLEN Memorial Janusza Kusocinskiego, as well as the bronze at the Radom Polish Championship, and Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais. Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m and 4x400m relay gold at the Bydgoszcz European Athletics Team Championships and the 4x400m relay gold and 400m bronze at the Wuhan CISM Military World Games. She finished 4th at the Diamond League’s final Weltklasse Zurich.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic dominated the national championships in 2020, winning the 200m, 400m, and 4x200m relay gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships, as well as the 400m gold and 4x400m relay silver at the Wloclawek Polish Championships. During the season, she earned the gold at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Villa de Madrid, and ORLEN Copernicus Cup, the silver at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial and Muller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow, as well as the bronze at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in 400m.

The season 2021 was remarkable for Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, winning the Olympics gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 4x400m mixed relay, but also the silver in the 4x400m relay. Meanwhile, she won the 400m silver at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships, Irena Szewinska Memorial / Bydgoszcz Cup, and 67° ORLEN Janusz Kusocinski Memorial. At the national championships, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the 400m silver at the Poznan Polish Championships and the 400m gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships. Meanwhile, she won the 4x400m relay gold at the Chorzow European Athletics Team Championships Super League.

In 2022, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic started the season by winning the 4x400m relay bronze at the Istanbul World Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as the 400m gold at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships, World Indoor Tour Madrid 2022, and PSD Bank Indoor Meeting in Dortmund. During the outdoor season, she won the 400m bronze at the Suwalki Polish Championships and 68° ORLEN Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, as well as the 400m silver at the 24. Internationales Leichtathletik Meeting “Anhalt 2022”. She competed in the Diamond League but again missed to win her first honor from the top-rated competitions. However, during the season she won the 4x400m relay silver at the Munich European Athletics Championships.

In 2023, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic competed only in 400m, winning the bronze at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships, the silver at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting Dortmund, and the 12th International Meeting “Citta’ Di Savona”. She competed at the Doha Diamond League but finished 7th.

In 2024, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic targets to compete at her 4th Olympics. She won the 400m silver at the Torun Polish Indoor Championships and ORLEN Copernicus Cup, but also competed at the Glasgow World Athletics Indoor Championships, but failed to overcome the heats.

Justyna Swiety-Ersetic photos

Keely Hodgkinson was born on March 3, 2002, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. She started in swimming and joined Leigh Harriers at the age of nine, but later devoted herself fully to running. Keely Hodgkinson first made an impression in 2012. Competing among 70 finalists at the British Schools Modern Biathlon Championships in London, she finished second in the 500m run and also swam 50m for an overall eighth place.

Keely Hodgkinson started her competitive career in 2014, winning the 1,500m gold at the Wigan Mid Lancashire League and Lancaster Mid Lancashire League. During the season, she conquered another gold in 1,500m at the Liverpool Meeting.

After a year of developing her skills, in 2016, Keely Hodgkinson returned to the track and field, focusing on 800m. She won the bronze at the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships and Gateshead English Schools’ Championships.

In 2017, Keely Hodgkinson proved to be the best young middle-distance runner in the UK. She won the 800m gold at the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, as well as the gold in 800m and 1,500m at the Stretford U17 Meeting. IN 1,500m, she also triumphed with the gold at the Loughborough School Games.

Keely Hodgkinson made her first international breakthrough in 2018, winning the 800m gold at the Gyor European U18 Championships with 2:04.84 min. During the season she dominated the local junior events, winning the gold at the Bedford England U23/U20 Championships and the Bedford England U17/U15 Championships, but also triumphed at the Loughborough UK School Games. At the Watford BMC Grand Prix, she finished 4th but set a personal best of 2:04.26 min.

In 2019, Keely Hodgkinson made another strong international achievement and won the 800m bronze at the Boras European U20 Championships, where again improved her personal best to 2:03.40 min. She also earned the silver at the Bedford England Athletics U20 / U23 Championships and the gold at the BMC Gold Standard Race.

Keely Hodgkinson won her first national title in 2020, triumphing with the 800m gold at the Glasgow UK Indoor Championships. During the indoor season, she also won the gold at the Indoor Track & Field Vienna. In the Summer, Keely Hodgkinson also won the 800m outdoor title, winning the gold at the Manchester British Championships. She also triumphed with the silver at the Goteborg Friidrott GP and finished 5th at the 56th Palio Citta della Quercia, where again set a personal best of 2:01.73 min.

In 2021, Keely Hodgkinson recorded her biggest achievement so far, winning the 800m silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, clocking at 1:55.88 min. Earlier in the season, she became the European Indoor champion by winning the gold at the Torun European Athletics Indoor Championships. Meanwhile, she won the gold at the 60th Ostrava Golden Spike and Manchester British Championships, but also debuted in the Diamond League, finishing 5th in Doha and Eugene and 4th in Stockholm. At the end of the season, Keely Hodgkinson won her first Diamond League honor earning the silver at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Bruxelles and at the Diamond League Final’s Weltklasse Zurich, triumphed with the gold. Thus, she marked her most successful season and showed her great skills in middle-distance running.

In 2022, Keely Hodgkinson won the Munich European Athletics Championships title and the Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games silver. At the Eugene World Athletics Championships, the English athlete earned the silver and dominated the Diamond League events, winning the gold in Birmingham, Eugene, and Oslo, as well as the silver in Stockholm.

Keely Hodgkinson continues dominating the 800m event worldwide and started the 2023 season by winning the gold at the Istanbul European Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, and Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final. During the outdoor season, she won the gold at the Paris Diamond League and the silver at the Lausanne Diamond League, before winning the national title at the Manchester UK Athletics Championships. She continued the season by winning the silver at the Budapest World Athletics Championships and the Diamond League’s final Prefontaine Classic Eugene, where she set her new personal best of 1:55.19 min.

Keely Hodgkinson photos

For the American tennis player, who reached No 5 in the world rankings a few years ago, it was her eighth straight first-round exit and ninth straight loss overall. Since the beginning of 2024, she has only one victory.

In the second round, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who so far had two losses in two matches with Sofia Kenin, will face the 8th-seeded Ons Jabeur (Tunisia). The Tunisian won the title at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open in 2022.

Nadia Podoroska (Argentina), the former Roland Garros semi-finalist, started the tournament with a victory. The Argentinian tennis player, who was included in the main draw at the last moment, prevailed by 2-0 (6:2, 7:6) over Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic). In the next round, Nadia Podoroska will face the 19th-seeded Emma Navarro (USA).

Two other Czech tennis players were also knocked out in the first round of the tournament. Sisters Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova suffered losses.

Linda Fruhvirtova lost by 0-2 (4:6, 6:7) to Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania), while Brenda Fruhvirtova lost by 0-2 (5:7, 3:6) to Arantxa Rus (The Netherlands).

In the second round, Irina-Camelia Begu will face Madison Keys (USA), while Arantxa Rus will play versus the 3rd-seeded Cori Coco Gauff (USA).

The prize money of the tournament in Madrid is more than 8.7 million USD.

The Olympic and World silver medalist won gold at the 2022 Munich European Athletics Championships.

“I would like to win as many medals as possible in my career. And I think if I miss Rome 2024, it will be a missed opportunity”, said Keely Hodgkinson.

In her short career so far, the British athlete already has ten medals at major women’s championships, in the under-23, under-20 and under-18 categories.

“I have a title to defend. It would be a second outdoor, but also a fourth European indoor and outdoor title (ie there are European indoor titles from Torun 2021 and Istanbul 2023). So it’s a really good goal for me now”, added she.

Keely Hodgkinson missed the winter season due to injury, but now she is ready for new feats: “It’s a good time for me. I didn’t have a winter season so I’m fresh for the outdoor season. And mentally more ready. I’m ready to attack anything”.

According to the official reports of the Athletics Union, the laboratory in Lausanne has identified the presence of testosterone and its metabolites—Androsterone, Etiocholanolone, 5α-androstane-3α,17 diol, and 5β-androstane-3α,17 diol.

“Ms Celestine Chepchirchir did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption that would justify the presence of these substances”, confirmed the AIU. “The athlete did not reply within the initial deadline but subsequently signed an Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form”, adds the statement.

Thus, all Celestine Chepchirchir results from February 9, 2024 will be cancelled, and all prizes and prize money won after that period will have to be returned.

The athlete, who reached the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and narrowly missed the podium at last year’s World Championships, admitted to an anti-doping rule violation after samples she gave showed traces of testosterone and erythropoietin (APO), the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a ruling.

Zerfe Wondemagegn finished eighth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and fourth at the 2023 Budapest World Championships. Two of the three tests were taken while she was in Hungary for the competition and she was therefore disqualified.

The AIU’s decision said it had received emailed testimony from a doctor who said she had been taking EPO as a drug to treat severe anemia and a kidney infection, but that it “remains valid” that she violated anti-doping rules. The organization added that it received a signed acknowledgment from the athlete last week.

Also, the AIU announced today that it had imposed a three-year ban on Kenyan runner Celestine Chepchirchir, who tested positive for testosterone.

“At Indian Wells, the doctors told me it would be very difficult to continue my career”, said Paula Badosa, who fell to No 101 in the WTA rankings this week, admitted for the first time on a podcast. “I told them I needed a solution, something. We tried cortisone injections. They told me there was nothing else they could offer me and maybe I should continue with the injections. The pain is constant. Sometimes it’s unbearable, sometimes I can bear it”, explained the 26-year-old Spanish tennis player, specifying that she is treated daily.

She estimates that if she can play for another 3 or 4 years, “it will be great”. She does not set any goals, but she wants to return to the Top 30 in the world, and “in a year or a year and a half and in the Top 10”. The difficulty is that she has to play in fewer tournaments on the advice of doctors.

“Playing on clay is fine, on grass – it’s fine, but on hard courts I suffer the most”, said Paula Badosa.

Since the 2023 WTA 1000 Rome Open, where she suffered the fracture, she has missed many competitions – including Roland Garros and the US Open – and has not recorded three consecutive victories.

In Stuttgart last week, she was forced to retire in the second round with a left thigh muscle injury. Paula Badosa will play at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open.

The former Wimbledon and French Open champion won a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and her four-year doping ban was reduced to nine months. She returned for a tournament in Miami, where she was eliminated in the first round after losing to Paula Badosa.

“Unfortunately my body needs a little more time to be ready and I have made the tough decision not to play in Madrid. Tough because I want to be back on tour asap, but experience tells me not to rush. Thank you to WTA 1000 Madrid Open who offered me the wild card and to my fans”, wrote Simona Halep on social networks.

Former women’s tennis number one was banned from tennis in October 2022 for four years after testing positive for roxadustat, a banned drug that stimulates red blood cell production, in a sample at the US Open that year. The tennis player appealed this decision and in March the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that her sanction would be reduced to nine months.

“It was so surreal beating Sha’Carri. I didn’t even notice I beat them until I saw the replay and I was like, ‘Holy Crap!’ So surreal! My goal was to just hold on as long as I could. I was in lane nine so I knew they would all be in front of me by 50 or 60m, but I just wanted to do as well as I could”, said the Australian fastest woman. “I’ve come here straight from the nationals, knowing this was my opponents’ season-opener so I knew I had an edge coming in, but I just wasn’t entirely sure because I had never raced those athletes before”, added she.

Despite running a strong bend, Sha’Carri Richardson was behind Anavia Battle for most of the race but moved ahead inside the closing 20m.

Out in lane nine, 19-year-old Torrie Lewis finished fastest of all to take the win in 22.96 sec with Sha’Carri Richardson second ahead of her USA World Championship sprint relay team-mate Tamara Clark and Anavia Battle in fourth place. Just six-hundredths of a second separated the top four.

Torrie Lewis is an Australian track and field athlete who competes as a sprinter. She has won Australian national titles over 100m and 200m. She set a new Australian 100m national record of 11.10 sec in January 2024.

The 30-year-old sprinted into the lead in the final 300m, crossing the finish line outside Buckingham Palace in 2:16.16 hours to beat the Mary Jepkosgei Keitany’s record of 2:17:01 hours from London 2017. This is a women’s only world record, given that there are no males in the running.

Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia), who clocked 2:11.53 hours at the Berlin Marathon in September to set a women’s world record in the event alongside men, was second in 2:16.23 hours.

London 2021 winner Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya) remained third with 2:16.24 hours.

Peres Jepchirchir is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competitions. She won the gold medal in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Peres Jepchirchir was the champion at the 2016 and 2020 World Half Marathon Championships. She claimed victories at the 2021 New York City and 2022 Boston Marathon and finished third at the 2023 London Marathon. Her best time for the half marathon of 1:05:06 hours, set on 10 February 2017 in the UAE, is a former half marathon world record. She holds the women’s only half marathon world record of 1:05:16 hours set at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, which was an improvement on her own previous record.