SPIKES magazine
Encyclopedia
SPIKES is an athletics website and magazine published by Haymarket Network
in conjunction with the IAAF and UK Athletics
.
The magazine and website were launched in July 2008 at an event attended by IAAF vice president Lord Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett
, Jonathan Edwards
, Colin Jackson
and Wilson Kipketer
.
The magazine is currently published three times a year is 64 pages in English only. SPIKES is free to households in the United Kingdom
and can be purchased by readers outside the UK. The aim is to raise awareness of the sport and recognition of the athletes by encouraging discussion through challenging features and profiles. Although funded directly by the IAAF, the editorial staff has a free rein with the content – which typically combines serious debate with more light-hearted features and pop cultural references. Giles Richards of The Observer
praised the magazine for its interviews and biographical features: "It's a lot easier to care about a sport if you care about the people involved".
The website complements the magazine and includes different features, videos of world records, descriptions of the main disciplines within the sport and profiles of the heroes of the sport, as well as a public vote on the current top 100 athletes worldwide and previews of the big events.
Haymarket Group
Haymarket Media Group is a privately owned media company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore and the United States....
in conjunction with the IAAF and UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
.
The magazine and website were launched in July 2008 at an event attended by IAAF vice president Lord Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett
Steve Ovett
Stephen Michael James "Steve" Ovett OBE , is a former middle distance runner from England. He was gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R., and set world records for 1500 metres and the mile run...
, Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards (athlete)
Jonathan David Edwards, CBE, is a former British triple jumper. He is a former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995....
, Colin Jackson
Colin Jackson
Colin Ray Jackson CBE is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. Over his career representing Great Britain and Wales he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and...
and Wilson Kipketer
Wilson Kipketer
Wilson Kosgei Kipketer is a Kenyan born Danish former middle distance runner. He holds the current indoor world records at the 1000 and 800 metres distance. While dominating the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time...
.
The magazine is currently published three times a year is 64 pages in English only. SPIKES is free to households in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and can be purchased by readers outside the UK. The aim is to raise awareness of the sport and recognition of the athletes by encouraging discussion through challenging features and profiles. Although funded directly by the IAAF, the editorial staff has a free rein with the content – which typically combines serious debate with more light-hearted features and pop cultural references. Giles Richards of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
praised the magazine for its interviews and biographical features: "It's a lot easier to care about a sport if you care about the people involved".
The website complements the magazine and includes different features, videos of world records, descriptions of the main disciplines within the sport and profiles of the heroes of the sport, as well as a public vote on the current top 100 athletes worldwide and previews of the big events.
List of "Heroes"
The current Spikes athletics heroes are:- Asafa PowellAsafa PowellAsafa Powell C.D is a Jamaican sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres. He held the 100 m world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively. Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of...
– Jamaican 100 metres100 metresThe 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
runner - Kenenisa BekeleKenenisa BekeleKenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
– Ethiopian long-distance runner - Usain BoltUsain BoltThe Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
– Jamaican 100 m and 200 m runner - Blanka VlašićBlanka VlašicBlanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic...
– Croatia high jumpHigh jumpThe high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
er - Haile GebrselassieHaile GebrselassieHaile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...
– Ethiopian long-distance runner - Tirunesh DibabaTirunesh DibabaTirunesh Dibaba also known as Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and the outdoor 5000 metres world record holder. She is the current Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion...
– Ethiopian long-distance runner - Dayron RoblesDayron RoblesDayron Robles is a track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metre hurdles.He won his first major medal in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. He finished the 2006 season having improved his outdoor best to 13 seconds and become the Central American and...
– Cuban 110 m hurdler - Jeremy WarinerJeremy WarinerJeremy Mathew Wariner is an American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals and six World Championships medals...
– American 400 m runner - Yelena IsinbayevaYelena IsinbayevaYelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist , five-times a World Champion, and the current world record holder in the event...
– Russian pole vaultPole vaultPole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
er - Christine OhuruoguChristine OhuruoguChristine Ijeoma Ohuruogu MBE is an English athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres; the event for which she is the current Olympic and former World and Commonwealth Champion...
– British 400 m runner