by Larry EderIn a stunning announcement, Tom Jordan of the Nike Pre Classic announced that Kenenisa Bekele, World record holder at 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, will attempt to break his own world record of 26:17.53 at a special race on Sunday morning, June 8, just before the regular event schedule of the Pre Classic. This will be Bekeles’ tenth attempt at the distance, where he has nine wins! More details to come!
EME NEWS (MAY 13, 2008)
BEKELE TO RUN HIS JUBILEE 10th 10 km AT PRE
EUGENE (USA): World and Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia after winning the African title plans two races currently. He is going to run 5000 m at FBK Games in Hengelo on May 24 and then 10 000 m at Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on June 8. The organizers announced that as world record attempt and are planning to stage it already in the morning at 9.30 am with the whole meet going to be held early afternoon. His world record from Van Damme Memorial 2005 is 26:17.53. It will be his jubilee 10th race at the distance after nine wins including three world championships, one Olympic games, two wins in Hengelo and Brussels and one in Ostrava. His slowest from this nine is 27:08.33 from Helsinki 2005 worlds and not under 27 are only the championships races. He should clearly run the fastest 10 km in USA as the all-comers record is 27:04.20 by Abraham Chebii of Kenya from Stanford on May 4 2001. He should also clearly improve the Hayward Field record 27:29.90 by famous Henry Rono from 1982 and Pre meet record 27:56.74 by Mexican Jose Gomez in 1983. His agent and mentor Jos Hermens was quoted as saying: “The record is not easy. But this is an absolutely serious attempt. His training is going well, and he is 100% ‘go’ for the record.”
Bekele´s nine winning 10 km track races:
1)26:53.70, Hengelo, 2003
2)26:49.57, Worlds, 2003
3)26:20.31, Ostrava, 2004, WR
4)27:05.10, Olympics, 2004
5)26:28.72, Hengelo, 2005
6)27:08.33, Worlds, 2005
7)26:17.53, Brussels, 2005 WR
8)27:05.90, Worlds, 2007
9)26:46.19, Brussels, 2007
10)????, Eugene, 2008
SPRINTING WARS – NEXT ROUND THIS WEEKEND
LOS ANGELES (USA): Sprinting wars before Olympic Games are continuing also this weekend. World Champion Tyson Gay will have two big races on Sunday in Carson at Home Depot Center. In his first 100 of the year he will face second from Osaka Bahamian Derrick Atkins. Later at the 200 m his main rival will be Xavier Carter who has a pb just 0.01 behind the world champion (19.62-19.63). World´s fastest Usain Bolt of Jamaica runs on Sunday at Hampton Games in Port of Spain, Trinidad. And world record holder Asafa Powell is back in training after chest injury. His Olympic preparation is so not in danger. His next competition could be Jamaican Championships end of June.
OLSON BACK IN JUNE
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Reigning Olympic winner in triple jump Christian Olsson had successful training camp in Makarska, Croatia and plans his first competition of the year for June. His coach Yannick Tregaro said for Swedish media that one appropriate date could be European Cup on June 21-22. Sweden competes in First League Group B in Istanbul.
SEASON OPENINGS AT HOME DEPOT
LOS ANGELES (USA): Some of the world´s top athletes are opening their seasons on Sunday at Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. For example world silver medallist at 110 m Hurdles Terrence Trammell. World Champion Allyson Felix will run her first 200 m of the year. Sisters Melisa and Mikele Barber will also compete for first time this year at 100 m. World champion Bernard Lagat runs his first summer 1500 m.
MAKAROV PLANS FIVE MEETS
MOSCOW (RUS): World champion 2003 in javelin Russian Sergey Makarov will open the season at Dessau Meeting in Germany on May 30. Double Olympic bronze holder plans together five competitions until Olympic Games. After training camps in South Africa and Adler near Black Sea he is now in Podolsk, informs All-Sport. He is not planning to be at first Golden League meeting in Berlin, but wants to compete at other legs of the series. He thinks that nobody is able to win at all six meetings in his event. Makarov plans to end his career after this season.
DINIZ POSTPONES HIS PLANS
PARIS (FRA) – 50 km walk European Champion and Osaka World Championships silver medallist Yohan Diniz withdrew from the 20 km of Gran Premio de La Corun~a to be held in Spain on June 7, initially planned as a major step in his competition schedule towards Beijing. The racewalker is however recovering well from a virus caught during a training camp in South Africa. He also missed the IAAF World Cup last weekend in Cheboksary.
OTHER NEWS
DAKAR (SEN) – Senegalese athletics lost one of its key figure as Mamadou Ndiaye – nicknamed „Tokyo” following a memorable 4x400m leg at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics – passed away, aged 65. After serving as a long time national coach and technical director, he was still the African Athletics Confederation competition director at the recently ended African Championships in Addis Ababa.
ABUJA (NGR) – The status of Nigeria sprinter Mercy Nku has been unclear since a positive drug test at the 2006 National Sports Festival in Abeokuta. The case could never be confirmed as The Athletics Federation of Nigeria is still waiting final information on the B-sample. „We would have loved to do something about Mercy’s case, but our hands are tied over this matter. The IAAF has not been forthcoming with information about her current situation. I believe it’s simply because WADA will have to make a final declaration about her B Sample before we get a definite picture,” the president Violet Odogwu-Nwajei” explained for Nigerian media.
MANCHESTER (GBR): Former Olympic 10 000 meters champion Derartu Tulu has joined a star-studded women’s field for next weekend’s Bupa Great Manchester Run at 10 km. Tulu joins world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba who clocked an impressive 32minutes 44seconds for second place over the distance in New Jersey on Saturday. Ndereba’s fellow Kenyan’s Rose Cheruiyot runner-up in the recent Bupa Great Edinburgh Run plus Margaret Okayo a past Flora London Marathon winner also compete. Home star will be Jo Pavey who has just returned from an altitude training camp in South Africa, will also lock swords with Aniko Kalovics the Hungarian she defeated by a second in a sprint finish last year. Informs David Martin.
NEW YORK (USA): Morrocan marathon national record holder Abderrahim Goumri (2:05:30 in London this year) will compete at next Saturday’s Healthy Kidney 10-K. He was second last year at both the Flora London and ING New York City Marathons. Informs Race Results Weekly. Lining up against Goumri will be a very strong field, including 2006 ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships silver medalist Patrick Makau of Kenya, reigning USA 15-K champion Andrew Carlson, 2008 USA 8-K third placer Jason Hartmann, Kenyan road running aces Linus Maiyo and Richard Kiplagat.
REHLINGEN (GER): Winner of the 1500 m in Doha at Qatar Grand Prix last Friday Abdelaati Iguider from Morocco announced that he wants to run a sub-3:31min time at Rehlingen Meet, Germany on May 24. Other middle distancers from Spain, France, Italy, Algeria, Morocco and Kenia want to seize the occasion to meet the Olympic standard. In the 800 m event, Luxemburg´s Vice European Champion, David Fiegen will attack the standard after a long break due to an injury. Young German talent, Robin Schembera hopes to run a sub-1:45.50 time with the help of pace maker David Karonei from Kenia, a training colleague of Fiegen.
HALLE (GER): Four of the eight finalists of the women´s discus final in Osaka are on the starting list of the throwing meeting in Halle, Germany on May 24th.. The field is headed by World Champion Franka Dietzsch from Germany and European Champion Darya Pishchalnikova from Russia. Romanian Nicoleta Grasu, 4th at last year´s World Championships and winner of the European Winter Cup also confirmed her participation. The men´s hammer competition is also very promising with Germans Markus Esser and Karsten Kobs facing Igor Sokolovs from Latvia and David Söderberg from Finland.
COPENHAGEN (DEN): World class shot putter Joachim Olsen of Denmark is still struggling with his shoulder (he missed the indoor season) injury and it is unclear when he will start to compete. His national record 21.61 m is from last year.
RESULTS
KIGALI (RWA, May 11) – Kenyans swept the podium of Kigali marathon with victories for Jacob Kenfagor in 2:18:06 and Risper Kimaiyo who clocked 2:55.22. Tanzanian’s Martin Sulle won the half-marathon in 1:04:21 while Rwanda’s Angeline Nyiransabimana took the women’s race in 1:16:16 just a week after her DNF at the 10,000m of the African Championships.
KIMCHUN (KOR, May 5-9): Solid results at 37th National Divisions Championships. Choi Yun-Hee went over 411 in women pole vault what is new national record. Sprinter Jeon Duk-Hyung clocked good 20.98 (+0.1) at 200 m and triple jump record holder Kim Duk-Hyung achieved 16.73 (0.0).
IXTAPA (MEX, May 11): Carlos Cordero and Edilberto Mendez as top two from 30 km Olympic Marathon trials for Mexican runners qualified for Beijing. They clocked the same 1:35:37 in warm and humid weather. Informs Race Results Weekly. Third selected is 37 years old Procopio Franco who finished also third in the race after 1:36:28. Also top three on women side were selected with national record holder Madai Perez (1:45:05), Dulce Maria Rodriguez (1:46:23) and Patricia Retiz (1:47:33).
SITTARD (NED, May 12): Dutch decathlon champion is Ludo van der Plaat who scored 7706 points. He missed his PB from 2006 when he won the title also by 24 points.
ZOFINGEN (SUI, May 12): Long Jumper Julien Fivaz achieved exactly eight meters (+1.5). Still needs to add 20 cm to qualify for Beijing.
HULST (NED, May 12): Belgian javelin thrower Tom Goyvaerts improved to good 79.65 m. Erik Wijmeersch clocked 10.42 to win the 100 m, he is also from Belgium.
ULM (GER, May 11): Kenyan wins at 2nd city 10 km road race. Patrick Kimeli clocked 28:40 and Susan Kurui 34:30.
DRAZEVINA (MNE): Addition from April 28 but worth to mention. Bosnian shot putter Hamza Alic improved at this shot put meet to new PB and as first European achieved 21+ mark in the outdoor season with 21.07 m.
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