medallist

Olympic medallist Jenny Simpson is making “encouraging improvement” in hospital after collapsing at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The 39-year-old American was pacing a mile group at a Sir Walter Miler pop-up event on Tuesday when she reportedly collapsed and needed CPR.

Her employer Fleet Feet says she is recovering well.

They said, external: “Jenny received immediate medical attention and was transported to a nearby hospital. Fleet Feet CEO Joey Pointer was also at the event, and stayed with Jenny at the hospital throughout the night as her family traveled to be with her early Wednesday morning.

“While Jenny remains under medical care, she has shown encouraging improvement and continues to exhibit the strength and resilience that have long defined her.

“True to form, she has already asked about her mile time and whether she won.”

Simpson, who retired from competitive running at the end of the 2024 season, won gold in the 1500m at the 2011 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Simpson also won silver medals in the 1500m at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships.

Wiffen said that he was “already planning” on moving to Dublin even before the Irish Open.

He had targeted a time of seven minutes 42 seconds in the 800m, but came in at 7:58.08 on his way to winning gold in Bangor and also said his performance in the 1500m was “confirmation in my head that I wasn’t in the shape I wanted to be in” and that he should switch to Dublin.

“In 1500m I got to the 1000m mark in a second off PB [personal best] pace and I could feel it fading and it was all down to the training,” he added.

“I wasn’t doing the right type of work I used to do, so when it came to the decision, I sat down with Andy Reid [National Performance Director at Swim Ireland] and talked to him. We had talked of the back-up plan if California didn’t work when he was first appointed, so this was already in the thinking.”

Reflecting on his time in California, Wiffen was critical of the training in the US and says he “feels a lot fitter” since he started training in Dublin.

“In California it felt like you kind of didn’t know what you were doing. You were having to push yourself, there wasn’t much guidance or criticising technique.

“They didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion is what I felt. They were trying to do what they wanted to do, not what’s good for me.”

Wiffen is now gearing up for a big summer with the Commonwealth Games and European Championships on the horizon and hopes a solid block of training in his new surroundings can get him up to speed to break more records.

“I don’t know how fast I’m going to be in the summer, but I have two benchmark meets before that I can compare to other years.

“I need to see how those go and how the training works. I have eyes on the world record in the summer, but if not I need to readjust some things.”