by Larry EderWith the exception of the European Indoor in Torino, the surprises this season are the high level of racing going on indoors at the middle distances, hurdles and pole vault! In the end though, indoor is just the testing ground for the big leagues-elite outdoor, Golden League, and Berlin 2009. Pamela Jelimo was concerned with her fitness and made the right decision for her: get back into training mode.
JELIMO CANCELS INDOOR SEASON
PRAHA (CZE): Olympic 800 m winner Pamela Jelimo canceled her planned short indoor season because of being behind her plans in preparation. All is now set towards the the summer with main goal to be successfull at World Championships in Berlin. She was suppose to run mile in Birmingham and 1000 m in Praha. Now the British organisers changed the event to a 1500 m. In Praha the 1000 m was canceled and instead a 1000 m for men will be organized with Sudanese world junior champion Abubaker Kaki trying for world indoor record. He already had one shot in Stuttgart (world leading 2:16.23) at the 2:14.96 of Wilson Kipketer from 2000. And another one will follow on Wednesday in Stockholm. In Prague 02 arena the 800 m will remain for men with top two from Beijing Games Wilfred Bungei and current world leader Ahmed Ismail beeing the headliners. Also running will be Kenyan Boaz Lalang who lost in Dusseldorf to Ismail but beat Borzakovskiy.
RUSSIAN TEAM FOR TORINO
MOSCOW (RUS): Russian Federation named after the national championships its team for European Indoor Championships in Torino. The headliners are 2004 Olympic winner Yuriy Borzakovskiy for 800 m, European leader Yevgeniy Borisov at 60 m Hurdles and world leader in High Jump Ivan Ukhov on the men side. Stronger as usual is the women part of the team with European leading sprinter Anna Geflikh, world leader at 400 m Antonina Krivoshapka, new star at middle distances Anna Alminova who is entered in both 800 m and 1500 m, jumping world leaders Olga Kucherenko and Anastasiya Taranova-Potapova and pentathlon number one currently Anna Bogdanova. Maksim Dyldin who did not compete at national championships due to illness was named (400 m) and Yevgeniy Plotnir is for the moment a reserve in triple jump. Many top athletes are either passing the indoor season at all (Lebedeva, Silnov, Slesarenko, Chicherova) or did not want to focus on European event (Isinbayeva, Rybakov, Lukyanenko).The team – men – 60 m: Idrisov, 400 m: Alekseyev, Dyldin, plus for relay Aleksandrenko, Krasnov, Svechkar, 800 m: Borzakovskiy, Koldin, 1500 m: Yezhov, Sokolov, 3000 m: Orlov, 60 mH: Borisov, Shabanov, HJ: Ukhov, Shustov, Dmitrik, PV: Gerasimov, Starodubtsev, Chistyakov, LJ: Gataullin, Petrov, TJ: Spasovkhodskiy, Plotnir, SP: Sofyin, Lyuboslavskiy, Sidorov, hep: Drozdov, Kislov, Wom – 60 m: Murinovich, Polyakova, Geflikh, 400 m: Krivoshapka, Safonova, Antyukh, plus for relay Veshkurova, Voynova, 800 m: Savinova, Zbrozhek, Maracheva, 1500 m: Alminova, Zolotova, Yevdokimova, 3000 m: Alminova, Zarudneva, Sidorchenkova, 60mH: Kondakova, Solovyeva, Antonova, HJ: Klyugina, Gordeyeva, Shkolina, PV: Golubchikova, Kiryashova, LJ: Kucherenko, Sokolova, Voykina, TJ: Taranova-Potapova, Udmurtova, SP: Avdeyeva, Omarova, pent: Bogdanova, Kurban
VILI vs. OSTAPCHUK THIS FRIDAY
AUCKLAND (NZL): Valerie Vili’s arch rival in the shot put Nadzeya Ostapchuk arrives from Belarus on Thursday to compete against Vili at The Trusts Stadium Waitakere (Area Permit meet) on Friday evening.
It was Ostapchuk that Vili edged out in the last round to win the world title in Osaka in 2007 and demoralised in the opening round at the Beijing Olympic Games last year. „Excellent,” was Vili’s response on hearing the news that Ostapchuk will be competing in her own country. The Belarus athlete during the weekend won the national title with world indoor leading 19.55 m.
OTHER NEWS
COPENHAGEN (DEN): Danish shot putter Joachim Olsen who is European medalist is now more famous for his dancing. He won the „competition” Vild med dans (Wild with dancing). Together with his dancing-partner they travelled around the country and giving „performances” at shows, supermarkets. Danish TV 2 quickly organized a competition by the name Who can beat Joachim and Mette. Six Fridays on prime time in a row they were challenged by a new couple in different matters and activitites, intellectual and practical. If the two won all, they would receive 200000 Danish crowns (25 000 EUR). If the challenger won, it would receive 100 000 DKK. They lost in the sixth and last encounter.
VALENCIA (ESP): The Valencia indoor meeting, an IAAF Permit meeting in recent years and the venue for the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, is likely to disappear from the winter schedule after 2010, according to local newspaper Las Provincias. The local city council, who are one of the principal sponsors of the meeting, will stop its sponsorship after next year’s meeting and they were even considering ending their involvement after Saturday’s meeting. „It is true, I will not deny that there was a time when were thinking about quitting (after this year),” the council’s sports director Cristobal Grau told the newspaper. Negotiations between Valencia mayoress Rita Barberá and Spanish federation president José MarÃa Odriozola have secured the meeting’s future for one more year. Valencia has staged Spain’s top indoor meeting since 2006, after it moved there from Madrid.
MALMO (SWE): Swedish legendary discus thrower Ricky Bruch who was not only world record holder but also actor, author, singer etc made one of his very rare appearances in public when he witnessed the inaugural Malmö Indoor Meeting in the New Arena. He was sitting in the absolutely last row, and slightly disguised
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Swedish sprinter Lena Berntsson with best of 7,26 from Valencia last year and winner of the Olymp-meeting in Praha recently, has set a Swedish record in weightlifting with 90 + 70 kilos. She will first compete in the in Torino and one month later in the European championships in Bucharest in weightlifting.
LONDON (ESP): Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot has run her last cross country race of the year. „I’m not going to return to Kenya for the World Cross Country Championships trials, I’m running 3000 m instead in Birmingham next weekend. I’m thinking that some indoor races and not doing cross country will be better for what I want to do in the summer,” said Cheruiyot, after winning over 3000 m in 8:42.13 in Valencia on Saturday. Cheruiyot was the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships junior women’s champion and has run in the event eight times, most recently in 2007. She failed to qualify for the Kenyan team last year after finishing eighth in the national championships. She is the 2007 IAAF World Championships 5,000m silver medallist and the third fastest ever over the distance. „This summer I would like to try and break Dibaba’s world record at 5000 m,” added the diminutive 25-year-old.
TUEBINGEN (GER): German sprinter Marius Broening ends his indoors seasons because of an injury at his femoral flexor. His indoors SB is 6.67.
PEANIA (GRE): 21 year old long jumper Giorgos Tsakonas broke his leg on the first day of the Greek indoor championships, Saturday. The athlete had qualified for the European indoor championships with a 7.98m leap earlier this season.
GABORONE (BOT): 2006 world indoor silver medallist California Molefe won’t be competing indoors this winter. The quartermiler is still suffering from a hamstring and knee injury that already forced him out of the Beijing Olympics last summer.
PARIS (FRA): French middle distance runner Mehdi Baala will not compete in the European Athletics Indoor Championships. „I’m just concentrating on having a few indoor races and trying to run some fast times. My focus is on the outdoor season and the World Championships Berlin,” said Baala, who still runs in Stockholm the 1000 m on Wednesday.
RAS AL KHAIMAH (UAE): Olympic sixth placer Viktor Rothlin from Switzerland interrupted his training camp in Kenya and travelled to Dubai. On Friday February 20th he will compete at the half marathon in Ras Al Khaimah which is his first test for the marathon in London on April 26th.
LAUSANNE (SUI): The British and European Athletics Federation have refused an offer from Dwain Chambers (Great Britain) who wanted to write a book, a novel in order to pay back his debts. The 30-year-old still has to pay back price money from the time when he used to dope.
LISBOA (POR): Change of national allegiance reported from Portugal: Ukrainian high jumper Roman Guliy (29, best of 221) will now represent Portugal.
RESULTS
PARIS (FRA, Feb 15) : Renaud Lavillenie and Damiel Dossevi won the mixed pole vault competition organized by 1996 Olympic champion Jean Galfione with a 5.72m clearance, on Sunday afternoon in Charlety stadium. Jérôme Clavier achieved 5.62m, while Romain Mesnil couldn’t do better than 5.42m, two days after his 5.72m from Bercy. On the women’s side Telie Mathiot, Maria-Eleonore Ribeiro Tavares and Marion Buisson all managed to clear 4.32m. Both men and women competed on the same runway with the men given a 1.20m handicap in terms of the height of the bar.
DIEKIRCH (LUX, Feb 15): Ethiopians Mimi Belete and Almenesh Belete dominated the 39th Eurocross in Diekirch (IAAF Permit) with 18:23 and 18:30 at 5.35 km. French Marilyne Pellen was the best European runner as 5th (18:48). Kilson Kiprop from Kenya won the men’s competition (10.2 km, 30:27). Titus Masai (30:30) and Robert Sigei (30:49) followed. French Irba Lakhal was the best European as 9th (31:34).
SCHIO (ITA, Feb 15): Assunta Legnante achieved a SB with 18.64m at the shot event in Schio which is also fifth best result in Europe so far.
JACKSONVILLE (USA, Feb 15): Kenyan Simon Sawe won the 2nd marathon here after 2:20:55. Russian women triumph as Tatyana Titova clocked 2:41:46 win over Svetlana Baygulova (2:42:19).
JAEN (ESP, Feb 15): European walking champion Francisco Fernandez won the Andalusian championships at 10 km with good 39:42. Irish record holder Robert Heffernan was second (42:12).
SYDNEY (AUS, Feb 13-15): Joel Milburn clocked 45.92 at 400 m and Tristan Thomas 50.09 at 400 m Hurdles at the NSW Championships.
CORRECTION
NEUBRANDENBURG (GER): The German junior sprint champion is Robert Hering (not Harting).
Special thanks to Alfons Juck, EME News.
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