After hosting various continental competitions in recent years, Albufeira will once again welcome its most prestigious event on Sunday (22): the Almond Blossom Cross Country, the penultimate fixture on the IAAF Cross Country Permit calendar.

The Zurich Maraton de Sevilla, once again an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race, will take place on Sunday (22) boasting one of the flattest circuits worldwide, with barely 10 metres of difference in altitude between the highest and lowest points.

The ninth edition of the Tokyo Marathon will be contested on Sunday (22) with both Olympic champions on the startline of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

Hot sun and hot competition is expected as Adelaide launches the 2015 edition of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge on Sunday (22).

The IAAF, together with the Abbott World Marathon Majors, will create a pool of championship-eligible marathon runners who will undergo additional out -of- competition drug testing.

The Russian Indoor Championships, held in Moscow at the CSKA hall, saw three athletes perform a double, but the star performer over the three-day event, which ended on Thursday (19), was pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova.