Athletics
Anju Bobby George listed among '40 women who changed Athletics', Russians cry foul at non-inclusion
World Athletics celebrated a list of 40 women on the 40th anniversary of the World Athletics Championships. The list included 6 athletes from USA, 5 from Kenya and none from Russia.
Anju Bobby George and Yelena Isinbayeva
India's Anju Bobby George featured in the list of 40 women celebrated by World Athletics on the 40th anniversary of the World Athletics Championships in 2023, but no Russians did.
USA had six athletes in the list and Kenya had five. Canada, Australia, Norway and China were the other countries to feature more than one woman in the list.
India's Anju Bobby George is the only woman from southeast Asia to feature in the list. China is the only other Asian nation to feature.
The one notable exclusion from the World Athletics list was Russia, a fact which has not eluded Russian athletes.
Russian three-time pole vault world champion Yelena Isinbayeva shared a video of her winning her first world title at Helsinki in 2005 with a world record of 5.01 metres, accusing World Athletics of attempting to write her out of history.
"I remind to the re-elected President of World Athletics of the influence that Yelena Isinbaeva has had on the development of athletics in the world over the past 20 years," she wrote on Instagram.
"It’s just funny to me that not a single one of our athletes is on this list. Isinbayeva has already made a much greater contribution than Stacy Dragila." former Russian high jumper Anna Chicherova told Russian state-run news agency TASS, referring to an American inclusion.
List of 40 women who changed World Athletics
USA - Gail Devers, Stacy Dragila, Allyson Felix, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Brittney Reese
Kenya - Sally Barsosio, Vivian Cheruiyot, Janeth Jepkosgei, Faith Kipyegon, Tegla Loroupe
Canada - Lisa Ferdinand, Abby Hoffman
China - Gong Lijiao, Liu Hong
Australia - Cathy Freeman, Dani Stevens
Norway - Ingrid Kristiansen, Grete Waitz
India - Anju Bobby George
Bahamas - Shaunae Miller-Uibo
Portugal - Susana Feitor
Great Britain - Donna Fraser
New Zealand - Valerie Adams
Namibia - Ans Botha
Ethiopia - Tirunesh Dibaba
Morocco - Nawal El Moutawakel
Uganda - Dorcus Inzikuru
Jamaica - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Peru - Kimberly Garcia
Sweden - Carolina Kluft
Bulgaria - Stefka Kostadinova
Switzerland - Barbara Moser-Mercer
Cuba - Ana Quirot
Colombia - Ximena Restrepo
Venezuela - Yulimar Rojas
Brazil - Claudia Schneck
Netherlands - Sifan Hassan
Czech Republic - Barbora Spotakova
Poland - Anita Wlodarczyk
