Sporting Digest: Athletics

The International Amateur Athletic Association has refused to ratify an 800 metres world indoor record set by Maria Mutola of Mozambique because she ran out of her lane. After reviewing video evidence the IAAF said they would not validate her run of one minute 56.36 seconds in Lieven, France, on 22 February.

Fermin Cacho was a notable absentee from the Spanish team announced yesterday to contest the European Cup this weekend in St Petersburg. The 1992 Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist and 1997 world championship silver medallist has been struggling to regain his best form since injuring an ankle in a training accident last November. Reyes Estevez, who won the world championship bronze medal in Athens last year, takes Cacho's place.