by Larry Eder
Usain Bolt, Berlin World Championships, August 15-21, 2009, by PhotoRun.net.
Usain Bolt will take it reletively easy on the racing side in 2010, notes our global minister of track information, Alfons Juck. Read on, dear readers…
EME NEWS (OCT 21, 2009)
Bolt confirms 2010 should be an easy year
KINGSTON (JAM): Triple Olympic and World champion and world record holder Usain Bolt has not completely ruled out running at next year’s Commonwealth Games, but again said he will leave the final say to his coach Glen Mills. Informs TrackAlerts.com, with also video answers from Bolt available. With next year being a low-key campaign because there are no major championships on the calendar, Bolt pledged to take things easy in terms of breaking world record so as to stay fresh to defend his world and Olympic titles in 2011 and 2012. In the meantime IAAF informed, that on Sunday 22 November, the prestigious annual World Athletics Gala will be hosted at the Salle des Etoiles of the Sporting Club d’Eté, Monte-Carlo by International Athletic Foundation (IAF) Honorary President HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and IAF & IAAF President Lamine Diack. Bolt is again top favorite for the Male World Athlete of the Year 2009. He won the award also last year. The process of selecting the winner already started whereas the world athletics family members were asked to pick their top three (without order) and public to pick the one male and one female. From the experts opinion the finalists will be selected. The Gala will also give the global Athletics family the opportunity to honour other outstanding athletic achievements via a number of other awards. And Bolt played not only cricket, but also football as he on Monday scored a goal in a celebrity football match in Kingston. In the match, Bolt, playing for the Master and Celebrity team scored the second goal in his team’s 3-3 draw against St. George’s College Invitational at Winchester Park.
Gong Lijiao improves to 20.35
JINAN (CHN, Oct 21): The athletics at 11th National Games started with second best women shot put mark of the year. World Championships bronze winner Gong Lijiao improved to 20.35 in her last round effort. Only World Champion Valerie Vili of New Zealand achieved this year a better result. Beijing and Berlin finalist second Li Meiju registered also life-time best 19.38. Third Osaka 2007 fourth placer Li Ling got 18.97. Beijing and Osaka hammer bronze winner Zhang Wenxiu won with season best 74.25 what is sixth best perfomer of the year 2009. Olympic finalist Xue Fei clocked 15:11.72 to win the 5000 m ahead of 2:31 marathon runner from Liaoning province Zhang Xin (15:13.30 career-best). In men´s 10 000 m top 3 clocked sub 28:20 with winning Tian Mengxu (will be 20 in November) getting a very solid PB 28:15.06. Also in the men´s steeple career fastest for winning Sun Wenli with 8:25.11. Interesting to note the improvement of female hurdler Sun Yawei to 13.12 (+0.5) in the 100 m hurdles heats. Top Chinese athlete Liu Xiang is scheduled to run heats on Saturday and finals on Sunday (110 m hurdles). Olympic 2004 gold medalist at 10 000 m Xing Huina pulled out of the games due to a nagging injury. She was recently training in USA with Bernard Lagat´s coach James Li. Results from Tilastopaja.
OTHER NEWS
DAEJEON (KOR, Oct 21): South Korean marathon Olympic silver medalist 1996 Lee Bong-yu put his 20-year career in an end after winning at the 90th National Sports Festival. The South Korean record holder also won the Boston Marathon in 2001 and Asian Games gold in 1998 and 2002.
SYDNEY (AUS): The world pole vault champion Steve Hooker has been rated the early favorite for the third annual Sports Performer Awards, after previously awarded cycling star Cadel Evans (2007) and Olympic diving gold medalist Matthew Mitcham (2008). The awards, hosted by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in conjunction with Colonial First State, have risen to become one of the most prestigious honors in Australian sport, paying tribute to the best sporting performances of the past 12 months. Voting for the 2009 Sports Performer Awards opens on Friday, October 30 and closes on Friday November, 20. Informs athletics.com.au.
YOKOHAMA (JPN): Beijing Marathon winner Constantina Dita of Romania is scheduled to run the Yokohama Women Marathon on November 15. Also in the field is the olympic silver winner and double world champion Kenyan Catherine Ndereba. Both were running earlier in April the London Marathon as their only outing at the distance so far this year. Ndereba was 7th and Dita did not finish. This year Seoul winner Ethiopian Robe Guta (PB 2:24:35) is another top name. Trio of strong Europeans will be also present. Russian reigning 10 000 m European Champion Inga Abitova who ran her fastest marathon this spring also in London (2:25:55) together with Lithuanian Zivile Balcuinaite (2:25:15) and Italian Bruna Genovese (2:25:28). Sapporo Kiyoko Shimahara (2:25:10 this August) is to be considered from the home elite, experienced Hiromi Ominami and Takami Ominami and debut for Hiroko Miyauchi with 1:09:54 half best.
MONTE CARLO (MON): Latest approved transfer of nationality is young US thrower Michael Putman (20 years, 18.35 and 57.20) switching to Peru.
MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF writes in its latest newsletter that the 10 000 m times from women´s world championships race in Berlin should not be eligible for statistical purposes including personal best or season best. That is valid for nine runners who started in the outside stagger and did not cover the entire distance. That was already revealed during the world championships. Among the nine runners is also the winner Linet Masai, third placed Wude Ayalew and fourth Grace Momanyi. In this top group only Momanyi will lost her initial personal best (30:52.25). The same for seventh Yurika Nakamura (31:14.39) and 10th Ana Dulce Felix of Portugal (31:25.67).
BUDAPEST (HUN): Kenya is the leading male middle-distance nation in the world. Says All-Athletics.com in summary countries ranking in that category. Kenya scored 7969 points ahead of USA (7532) and Morocco (7307), best European country is Spain as 6th (7151). In women section the leaders are from USA (7655) beating Great Britain (7642) and Russia (7612), here Kenya only fourth (7275) ahead of Poland (7234). In individual events rankings (top 3 taken into account) Kenya leads both 800 m and 1500 m in men section, women of Great Britain are the best in the 800 m and USA in the 1500 m. More on www.all-athletics.com.
BUDAPEST (HUN): All-Athletics points out that in latest rankings after the weekend, the Amsterdam Marathon is the 5th in the world, but even that is not enough for being the number one event in the country. Rotterdam Marathon is taking the 3rd position in the same ranking, as the highest ranked Dutch marathon. With Eindhoven, Utrecht and Enschede the country has three more marathons in the Top 50. That shows the strength of marathons and running scene in the country. More at www.all-athletics.com.
RESULTS
KOFU (JPN, Oct 18): Interesting improvement at Japanese junior championships as Takayuki Kishimoto clocked 49.86 at 400 m hurdles. It is sixth best junior mark of the season in the world.
SAD NEWS
OSLO (NOR):IAAF informs about the death of former press chief of Bislett Games Meeting Klaus Faerevaag who passed away on Monday after long battle with cancer.
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