by Larry EderCBS did a very good job at putting the NCAA championships on. Besides the entire 1,500 meters and relays, I loved the tribute to John McDonnell, the coach of Arkansas and one of the great ones in track and field coaching.
The 1,500 meters with Manzura leading from the start to the finish was, for me a highlight and a revelation. One more piece of the puzzle is being filled in for the Olympic Trials.
EME NEWS (JUNE 15, 2008)
Four under 45 seconds, titles for Lousiana women and Florida men
DES MOINES (USA, June 14): Four sub 45 runners in the 400 m highlighted the last day of NCAA Championships before 11 410 spectators (total of the event 41 187) in partly sunny weather. Louisiana women beat title defenders from Arizona to get the team title (67-63 points) and Florida State got the men title with 52 points as LSU and Auburn tied for second with 44.
Great depth in men´s 400 m final as top four went sub 45 and top three with PR´s. Surprise winner Andretti Bain of Bahamas (44.62) who had before the meet 45.38 best. Title defender Lionel Larry was close second (44.63) and LeJerald Betters beat by 0.003 Jordan Boase for bronze (44.825-44.828). The third spot in US Olympic Team could be possibly taken by a collegian (after Wariner and Merritt). Another great display of running in the 800 m as Jacob Hernandez after front running (50.96 split) improved to 1:45.31 (stadium record) beating Oregon´s Andrew Wheating by 0.01 (1:45.32) and PB also for third Duane Solomon (1:45.71). Walter Dix got his third title at 200 m running 20.40 (+0.8) and beating the 100 m champion Richard Thompson of Trinidad (20.44). Jason Richardson beat Ty Akins for 110 m Hurdles crown, but the times (13.40-13.46) were affected by negative wind -1.0. Baylor continued in 4×400 m tradition after Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner and won with stadium record 3:00.22 beating Texas AM (3:01.78) and surprise Kentucky (3:02.00). Cory Martin won after hammer also the shot put in unusual combination with 20.35 m PB.
On the women side great meet record by Hannah England of Great Britain in 1500 m with PB of 4:06.19 ahead of multitple winner Sally Kipyego of Kenya (4:06.67 PB). Shana Cox got the 400 m title (50.97) and helped as anchor (50.45) Penn State to surprise 4×400 m title (3:27.69) beating favorites of LSU (3:28.33). Wind did not helped sprints. Jamaican Simone Facey got the 200 m title in 22.63 against -0.2 and Tiffany Ofili the 100 m Hurdles (12.84) against -2.8. Short dash winner Kelly-Ann Baptiste was fourth (22.95). In technical events Jacquelyn Johnson won fourth heptathlon title (6053), Erica McLain recorded second best by US athlete triple jump at any conditions (14.60, +3.4) and Jessica Presley won the shot put (18.13).
World lead for Zagorniy in hammer
ZHUKOVSKIY (RUS, June 15): In the national pre-programme of today´s jubilee 50th Znamensky Memorial (European Athletics Premium) Aleksey Zagorniy registered a world leading 81.39 in hammer throw. Behind him Igor Vinichenko (79.80) and Kiril Ikonnikov (79.20, PB). In women hammer former world record holder Gulfiya Khanafeyeva achieved 73.80 m. Yelena Zadorozhnaya won the 1500 m with 4:07.62 beating former world indoor record holder at 3000 m Liliya Shobukhova (4:08.11). Igor Peremota clocked 13.58 (0.0) at 110 m Hurdles and Vyacheslav Sokolov 3:39.74 at 1500 m.
Spotakova and great hammer expected
PRAHA (CZE): Monday´s 15th jubilee Josef Odlozil Memorial in Prague´s Juliska Stadium (European Athletics Premium) will see mainly world champion Barbora Spotakova in women´s javelin as headliner. After beeing beaten in Ostrava on Thursday she will have this time a smoother competition. Men´s hammer is already a tradition at this meet and also this year two Osaka medalists (Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia and Libor Charfreitag of Slovakia) with world leader Krisztian Pars of Hungary and European medalist Vadim Devyatovskiy of Belarus are the top names. Another interesting duel in men´s Long Jump as double Golden League winner and jackpot contender Hussein Taher Al-Sabee of Saudi Arabia is entered with Botswana´s record holder Gable Garenamotse, top Britons Chris Tomlinson and Greg Rutherford and improved home jumper Roman Novotny (recently windy 820 and legal 801). World and Olympic winner Roman Sebrle after his 300 m outing in Ostrava will test himself in Shot Put before competing in Decathlon in Kladno on Wednesday and Thursday. The main name in this event is European Champion Ralf Bartels of Germany. In the memorial race at 1500 m (Josef Odlozil was Olympic silver medal winner 1964 in Tokio) Briton Nick McCormick and returning Kenyan Cornelius Chirchir are to watch. Strong German presence also in Pole Vault with Tim Lobinger, Lars Borgeling and Alexander Straub. High Jump will have on the men side home stars Tomas Janku and Svatoslav Ton clashing with 2005 World champion Yuri Krimarenko of Ukraine and women´s another top Ukrainian name Vita Styopina against Emma Green, Iva Strakova and Nicole Forrester. Fresh Czech record holder from Ostrava Zuzana Hejnova is the 400 m hurdles favorite. Half of the world record field from Ostrava will compete at 110 m Hurdles with US Osaka bronze holder David Payne, Ukrainian world finalist Sergiy Demidyuk and improved Czech runners Petr Svoboda (tied NR in Ostrava 13.48) and Stanislav Sajdok (13.53). Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe who was second behind Usain Bolt in excellent 20.17 in Ostrava is the main name for 200 m. In the 100 m experienced Ucchenna Emedolu of Nigeria and Briton Simeon Williamson are the ones to watch. Women´s 200 m will see nearly South African Championships (Thipe, Le Roux, Wittstock) against African Games winner Vida Anim of Ghana. French Elodie Guegan is the top name in the 800 m and Irish world indoor champion 2006 Derval O´Rourke at 100 m Hurdles. South African Ockert Cilliers and Canadian world finalist Adam Kunkel are the favorites of 400 m Hurdles. Great European field at 3000 m steeple seeking Olympic qualifiers (Buc of Slovenia, Lemoncello of UK, Ghirmai of Germany, Proll of Austria and Skook of Sweden) against solid group of Kenyans.
Russian wins at Comrades
DURBAN (RSA, June 15): Russian defending champion Leonid Shvetsov won the 83rd Comrades Marathon after 5:24:49. That is a new course record for 87 (86.94 exactly) km from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Former best time by another Russian Vladimir Kotov was 5:25:33 in 2000 (he belongs already to masters category 50+ and was 8th with 5:48:44). Poland´s Jaroslaw Janicki was second (5:38:30). Also women race brought Russian triumph. Elena Nurgalieva was the best with 6:14:36, despite having fallen twice during the race and running with a bleeding knee. Last year winner and her twin sister Olesya Nurgalieva was second (6:15:51) ahead of another Russian Tatyana Zhirkova (6:17:44). Winners got 28 600 USD first prize awards.
Mekubo Mogusu and Yuri Kano win Sapporo Half marathon
SAPPORO (JPN, June 15): Two-time defending champion and the course record holder Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu won the 51st annual Sapporo Half marathon on Sunday with 1:00:52, the second fastest time in the history of the race. Mogusu is a Kenyan who runs for Yamanashi Gakuin University in Japan. He covered the opening 5km in incredible 13:43. By then he was twelve seconds ahead of second place Kihara. “I was going after the world record,” explained Mogusu after the race. Although he gradually slowed down, covering 5Km to 10Km in 14:00 and 10Km to 15Km in 14:27, and thus the chance for the world record had evaporate away, Mogusu was still running a course record pace. The Kenyans took top four places, second Harun Njoroge (1:01:04), third Joseph Gitau (1:01:19) and fourth Joseph Mwaniki (1:02:04). Best Japanese Masato Kihara as fifth (1:02:07). 2007 World Championships bronze medalist, Viktor Rothlin of Switzerland finished ninth in 1:02:45. Yuri Kano won the women’s division in 1:08:57, a huge personal best. Chisato Osaki was second in 1:09:16, while Julia Mombi of Kenya was third but more than minute 40 seconds behind (1:10:39). Two-time World Marathon champion Catherine Ndereba was eleventh (1:12:37). But this must not mean anything, last year, eight weeks before she won the second World Championships, she was only tenth in the Sapporo Half marathon.
Kenyan wins in Half-Marathon
ZWOLLE (NED, June 14): Kenyan Ben Kimwole won the Zwolle Half-Marathon with good 1:01:51 ahead of Ethiopians Dereje Tesfaye (1:02:20) and Abiyote Guta (1:02:20). Kenyans dominated also the women race as Flomena Chepchirchir clocked 1:12:42 and Nadja Kurgat 1:13:11.
Goeloe positive
AMSTERDAM (NED): Netherland Antilles sprinter Geronimo Goeloe (member of Rotterdam Athletics) who improved this year in April in El Paso altitude to 10.27 had a positive doping test. The country´s relay project at 4×100 m is so under threat with the second fastest after Churandy Martina beeing out. He refused the B-sample analysis because the positive test has been caused by a medication which he used to treat a injury. In the current ranking of 16 qualified teams at 4×100 m the last spot goes to China with 39.17 average of top two times.
Erm to end career
BERLIN (GER): German race walker Andreas Erm ends his athletics career. The 32-year-old from Potsdam who won the 50 km bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships said that the reason was a too long series of injuries. ‘Now it is over, I really feel kind of free now.’ Erm holds the German records of 20km (1:18:42), 50km (3:37:46) as well as 5000 m indoors (18:22.25).
ADDITIONS
LONDON (GBR, June 14): Dwain Chambers ran his 10.24 into wind of -1.5.
NAMUR (BEL, June 14): To 4×400 m result to add second place for South Africa (3:04.66) and third Ireland (3:04.71).
EME NEWS (JUNE 15, 2008) UPDATE 2
Devetzi world leading 14.92 m
ATHENS (GRE, June 15): At the end of Greek Championships Osaka medalist Hrysopyi Devetzi achieved world leading 14.92 in Triple Jump. The former years best was 14.85 by Slovenian Marija Sestak.
German marks
WETZLAR (GER, June 15): During last day of Regional championships Till Helmke clocked 20.78 at 200 m. In Bremen Christoph Stolz leaped to 797 cm in Long Jump.
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