World Athletics to annul 5 records over age fraud
WORLD Athletics has confirmed that several junior global marks set between 2023 and 2024 by three Ethiopian distance runners will not be ratified after an Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) investigation detected irregularities in their dates of birth.
The decision affects Birke Haylom, Melknat Wudu and Medina Eisa, three runners regarded as part of the new generation of Ethiopian distance running and who had posted some of the best under-20 performances in recent years.
As World Athletics explained, the AIU was unable to conclusively verify the athletes’ real ages at the time they competed when they set those records, an essential requirement for a junior record to be officially recognised.
The investigation also concluded that Haylom was older than her documents indicated, although the specific details have not been made public. In Wudu’s case, doubts about her date of birth were enough to prevent the ratification of her indoor record.
Championship regulations state that competitors must be 19 or younger during the season of the competition and must present documentation proving this to their national federation. If the data cannot be confirmed, records achieved in that context cannot stand as category records, although the performances remain valid as competition results in the events in which they were achieved.
The move forms part of a broader age-verification campaign led by the AIU in East African athletics. The aim is to strengthen checks ahead of the next World Under-20 Championships, scheduled for 2026 in Eugene, United States, and to prevent athletes outside the age bracket from competing in events intended for young athletes.
Age manipulation has a direct impact on the competitive standard of junior events, as illustrated by Eisa’s case, whose 14:21.89 mark in the 5,000 metres placed her well ahead of the rest of the under-20 runners. The advantage was almost 20 seconds over the next best athlete in the category outside Ethiopia, a gap that affects qualification standards and perceptions of the competitive level in junior women’s distance running.
World Athletics has not announced sporting sanctions so far against the three runners, although AIU rules provide for bans of between two and four years in cases of age manipulation. In the meantime, the five records have been removed from the official lists, a significant blow to marks that had placed their authors among the brightest prospects. – World
Athletics
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