''SPIKES'' is an

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

website and magazine published by Haymarket Network in conjunction with the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

History and profile

The magazine and website were launched in July 2008 at an event attended by then IAAF vice president

Lord Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, inc ...

Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metre ...

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became w ...

and

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

. The aim of SPIKES 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 Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, somet ...

references. Giles Richards of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' 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".Richards, Giles (21 August 2010)
Review: Spikes magazine breathes new life into athletics
''The Observer''. Retrieved 21 August 2010. In 2014 SPIKES moved to its new home on the IAAF website (spikes.iaaf.org) and with digital taking over the magazine format to ensure content is available to everyone and everywhere around the worl

SPIKES is universally known as the fun, relaxed and engaged voice of athletics and has established itself as one of the most influential voices in the sport of track and field. It publishes stories from athletes and events around the world to bring fans closer than ever to the sport they love and to inspire the next generation of athletics enthusiasts.

References

External links

SPIKES website
2008 establishments in the United Kingdom Athletics magazines Sports magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2008 Magazines published in London {{sport-mag-stub