World champions Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay and Mondo Duplantis are the first star athletes confirmed for the ‘Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes’ – the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of 2024 – in the Kazakh capital on 27 January.
Ethiopian distance runner Gudaf and Swedish Pole-Vaulter Duplaintis enjoyed superb seasons in 2023. They both won their second world titles in Budapest, having struck gold in Oregon one year prior.
Just a few weeks after the World Championships, both athletes went on to triumph at the Wanda Diamond League Final, where they each broke world records, Gudaf clocking 14:00.21 for 5000mand Duplantis vaulting 6.23m.
Another similarity between both athletes is that they excel indoors.
Gudaf has set a world U18 best, a world U20 record and a senior world record for the indoor 1500m during the course of her career while Duplantis has set five world records indoors. They both also won world indoor titles in 2022.
In Astana next month, Gudaf will compete in the mile, an event in which she holds an indoor PB of 4:16.16, making her the second-fastest woman in history for the distance behind world record-holder Genzebe Dibaba (4:13.31).
More than 50 meetings feature on the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour calendar, including seven Gold level events. The first of those Gold meetings is in Astana – the first ever World Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Asia.
Ethiopian Gudaf and Swedish Duplantis confirmed for Astana
Ethiopian Diribe Welteji new record ratified
World records set in the road mile by Diribe Welteji and Hobbs Kessler at the World Athletics Road Running Championships Riga 23 have now been ratified.
Ethiopia’s Welteji headed to the Latvian capital off the back of taking world 1500m silver in Budapest. World record-holder and world champion Faith Kipyegon started as the overwhelming favorite, and looked to be on course for victory for most of the way.
But in the second half of the race, Kipyegon started to look as though she was struggling to maintain the pace. Meanwhile, Welteji and her fellow Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu were poised to strike just a few strides behind.
In the closing stages of the race, Welteji and Hailu made their move and went past Kipyegon with Welteji kicking to victory in 4:20.98. Her performance took almost seven seconds off the previous ratified world record of 4:27.97, set by USA’s Nikki Hiltz in Des Moines on 25 April 2023.
USA’s Kessler emerged victorious from a wide open and competitive men’s mile in Riga.
Kenya’s Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot led during the early stages and reached the first turn before anyone else, but the teenager was soon caught by the rest of the field. South Africa’s Ryan Mphahlele and Kenya’s Kyumbe Munguti then edged into the lead and passed the 1km marker in 2:29, but there were still about 20 runners in close contact.
Mphahlele continued to lead as the clock ticked over to 3:00, but more than a dozen men were still packed close behind, ready to strike. The South African eventually dropped into the pack as Kessler made a move on the outside.
With about 20 seconds of running left and the finish in sight, Kessler proved to have the better sprint finish as he broke the tape in 3:56.13, breaking the previous world record of 4:01.21 set by USA’s Sam Prakel in Des Moines on 25 April earlier this year.
Giorgis Vs Mechal much anticipated 8th week fixture
The defending champions Kidus Giorgis’ showed an amazing recovery to crush Hawassa Ketema thus the next showdown against old rival and in strong form Mechal is highly anticipated among football fans. Abel Yalew is going strong in topping the goal scorers chart.
The 2-1 defeat at the hands of title aspiring Baherdar was said to be the beginning of the down fall for the record champions that are currently facing a huge financial chaos since the imprisonment of club Board chairman Abnet G/Meskel.
But an amazing rebound from their first defeat of the season, Kidus Giorgis hammered Hawassa to 3-nil score line courtesy of a hat trick from in top form goal hunter Abel Yalew. It was not just a win rather it was full time total domination by the Horse Riders. Six goals in six matches,Abel is the hottest cake in the league season.
On the other hand the unbeaten side Mechal appeared back into old glory days claiming the table top after four wins in a row. A heavy handed 1-0 win over strong side Ethiopian Insurance followed by a 2-1 and 2-nil victory over Adama and Wolkite respectively, the Army side rubbing shoulders along the recent time heavy weights.
A strong back four led by experienced central defender Aschalew Tamene, a hard working midfield orchestrated by veteran international Shimeles Bekele and the strike force spearheaded by Kenan Markneh, Mechal is currently the most consistent team ready to write a new chapter.
Giorgis versus Mechal 8th week clash is much expected to bring about a great sensation among football fans.
Who will own Hilton Addis next?
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Hilton Worldwide conducts an evaluation about the future of Hitlon Addis Ababa, its inaugural brand in Africa, which debuted more than fifty years ago.
Hilton Hotel, a renowned hospitality brand, is in charge of the facility, which debuted in 1969 with cutting-edge architectural design in the center of Addis Ababa, in accordance with a 50-year management contract with the government.
Although the hotel’s rating was reduced from five stars to three stars by the regulatory body a few years ago, Capital discovered that the hotel is still run by the international luxury brand after the contract time expired.
When the management contract was about to expire, the government started searching for other options, such as investing more money with other partners or selling the historic site, in which a number of businesses, including well-known domestic and foreign investors, had expressed interest.
The hotel is now one of the strategic state companies under Ethiopian Investment Holdings, a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) that was established in late 2021 with the goal of maximizing the potential of significant and strategically important public assets for the sake of the general people and the economy.
In accordance with the plan, EIH has also been searching for ways to increase the benefits of the site close to the National Palace, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the Menelik II Palace, which serves as the office of the prime minister.
The CEO of EIH, Abdurehman Eid Tahir, told Capital that following a conversation with the current hotel management, the international chain had decided to evaluate the future of the Hilton Addis Ababa, which has 372 guest rooms and apartments spread over 60,000 square meters.
“With regards to Hilton, it’s in good shape, but the Ministry of Tourism downgraded its standard rating to three stars a few years ago due to its downgraded service,” Abdurehman stated, adding, “However, in the last two years, we have improved its service and advancements are still being carried out, but it needs huge investment.”
“So we are looking for investors to take advantage of the opportunity that Ethiopia’s first international chain hotel has to offer,” the CEO explained.
Abdurehman went on to say that Hilton International is collaborating with SWF to find a solution for the facility’s future.
“They are expected to come with the report by the end of this month whether the investment continues with them or other partners,” cited the management, which has now engaged a consultant to identify prospects and potential solutions.
In the event that Hilton Worldwide is unable to operate the hotel, he said, they have pledged to make it easier to carry out future development with alternative partners.
Opened by Emperor Hailesilase on November 3, 1969, Hilton has been a prominent hotel and popular destination in the city. Until the opening of Sheraton Addis in early 1998, it was the only international chain hotel in the country.
This led to a hotel boom as more people sought lodging to meet the increasing demand of visitors and conference goers traveling to the continental capital.
At the time, the Hilton Addis Ababa was the first hotel for the global brand on the continent. To the larger extent, Hilton Worldwide is a global hotel chain based in the United States that operates a large number of hotels and resorts via franchise agreements.
An investment policy that guides the SWF’s commercial expansion and partnerships with prospective private sector actors, including international investors, was ratified by EIH around a year ago.
The eight procedures outlined in the policy will determine how the investment will be handled moving forward and how it will strategically benefit the nation.
Additionally, it has established the requirements for conducting due diligence on businesses interested in collaborating with EIH on Greenfield projects or already-existing 26 public enterprises totaling 2.4 trillion birr in assets.
The CEO clarified, “Up until now, the Ethiopian Investment Commission has created the nation’s investment policies; our policy is created for investments that we will handle.”
He said, “With regard to future development, we have chosen a few public enterprises to search for partners to revitalize their capacity.”
Some public businesses already have partners, while others are in the process of finding new ones. One of the companies chosen to do investment work in tandem with a skilled investor, which may be local or foreign, is the hospitality portfolio.
“We are seeking investors for all of our investments in hospitality,” stated Abdurehman, adding, “The only thing that would be different is that all types of clients would be included in the Spa Service Enterprise (Fil Wuha) that EIH needs.”
“Serving more than two million patrons in the previous year demonstrates the facility’s appeal to everybody. We want it to keep helping everyone in society as a result,” he said.
“In any other case, we’re hoping to build more, high-end hotels that are at least five stars. For example, we are aiming to make a large investment on this premise at Genet Hotel since it is an asset in a prominent location that is close to the African Union by foot.”
The second major possibility that EIH is looking for is investors to help expand the facility at Gihon, which is well-known for its garden, conveniently located right next to the National Palace in the center of the city.
