by Larry Eder
Leonard Chuene, ASA President, photo courtesy of insidethegames.biz
The Caster debacle continues. SASCOC, the Olympic committee of South Africa, suspened Chuene and the board over the mishandling of Caster Semenya. Then, Molatelo Malehopo, the suspended GM of ASA was physically escorted off the federation site, as he had entered the building and tried to disrupt an ASA meeting.
In the end, I believe, SASCOC will find a poorly run organization and that Ms. Semenya was used by the former ASA board to get one more medal for South Africa.
The loop hole that ASA were able to use though, should not have existed. The IAAF must have in place, and should have had in place, a protocal for gender testing, no matter how politically unpopular it is. We hope that the IAAF provides a protocal on how to deal with such situations in the future, as it was the worst kept secret in sports this past summer. In the end, a young athletes life has been shattered, and there are no excuses for that….
JOHANNESBURG (RSA): Molatelo Malehopo, the suspended general manager of Athletics South Africa (ASA), was escorted off the federation’s premises in Houghton in Johannesburg after he refused to leave the building. Ray Mali, who has been parachuted in by the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to run the organisation after the President Leonard Chuene and the Board were suspended for their alleged mis-handling of the gender row involving world 800 metres champion Caster Semenya, stood his ground and locked the doors to the building. Writes insidethegames.biz. Malehopo then secretly returned to the building through the back gate and had tried to disrupt the meeting Mali was about to convene on the organisation‘s poor finances. Two of Athletics South Africa’s board members, Chris Britz and former 400 m runner Hendrik Mokganyetsi, have handed in their resignations.
ALL COMING, EXCEPT HOOKER AND VILI
MONTE CARLO (MON): All finalists of Athlete of the Year awards are heading for the IAF World Athletics Gala in Monaco on Sunday. Many of the world champions from Berlin are invited and expected to take part. From the finalists it is sure that the Australian pole vaulter Steven Hooker will not be there. “It takes over 30 hours each way, that is too much,†was the explanation. Also not coming is the female candidate Valerie Vili of New Zealand. Yelena Isinbayeva is now healthy enough to take part.
JOHNSON INJURED
LONDON (GBR): Jade Johnson, Britain‘s leading long jumper, has put her indoor season in doubt after injuring herself on Strictly Come Dancing. Johnson, a silver medallist at both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2002, suffered a knee injury which forced her to pull out of the competition prior to last night‘s show on BBC1. Writes insidethegames.biz. Johnson‘s knee „popped“ when she tried to get up after dancing during the dress rehearsal and doctors advised her to rest and get treatment.
TAHRI AIMS FOR DOHA
PARIS (FRA): European steeple record holder Bouabdellah Tahri plans a full indoor season. French 3000 m indoor record holder aims to compete at World Indoor Championships in Doha at the distance. He will also compete at meetings during the winter season.
GEBREMARIAM IN PORTUGAL
MONTE CARLO (MON): The series of 12 individual meetings which make up the calendar of IAAF Cross Country Permit Series 2009/10 begin next weekend in Oeiras, Portugal, on Saturday 21 November 2009. The main star there will be the reigning world champion Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia along with full Portugal´s elite in both women and men races. The Permit series concludes in Albufeira, Portugal on Sunday 7 March 2010, and the season as a whole will culminate three weeks later at the 38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Bydgoszcz, Poland on Sunday 28 March 2010. Those championships will mark the first time since the Polish capital of Warsaw hosted the 1987 edition that the oldest IAAF World Athletics Series event will be held in Poland.
OTHER NEWS
FRANKFURT (GER): 2007 hammer world champion Betty Heidler was named the University Sportswoman of the Year 2009 in Germany. Heidler is silver winner from World Championships 2009 in Berlin.
KYIV (UKR): Ukraine confirmed its team for European CC Champioships in Dublin with 21 runners. Multiple champion Sergiy Lebid leads the team with Roman Pasichnik in senior category. Former champion from 2006 Tetyana Holovchenko is the only senior woman named. Both U23 teams are selected, the same for junior teams.
KINGSTON (JAM): The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, has expressed regret at the passing of Mr. Justice Ransford Langrin, retired judge of the Court Appeal who was head of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Appeals Tribunal. Writes TrackAlerts.com. Minister Grange said that she thought that Justice Langrin was “the perfect man for the job†when she appointed him to head the Anti-Doping Appeals Tribunal in August.
ROMA (ITA): Olympic 50 km walk winner Alex Schwazer plans to compete next year at IAAF Walking World Cup in Mexico and European Championships in Barcelona. In January he plans the winter trophy of Italian walking. His girlfriend Alpine skier Carolina Kostner is also ok and planning for good results in future.
NAIROBI (KEN): Athletics Kenya will hold a regional track meeting on April 24 next year as a dry run for the African Athletics Championships three months later, Athletics Kenya secretary general informed per The Nation. Okeyo said the mini championship, which will feature athletics from the Eastern Africa region, will be used to test the equipment which will be used for the continental meeting. This, Okeyo said , was a recommendation of visiting IAAF broadcasting director Ernest Obeng. The event was postponed from April to July after government delayed in releasing its funds. But three months since, the government has done little to meet its part of the bargain in organising the event. As a result the LOC has to send fresh invitations to all the 53 member federation for the championship set for July 28.
BRUSSELS (BEL): Former European Champions sprinter Kim Gevaert and high jumper Tia Hellebaut recieved by Belgian Kin the title of Grand Cross of the Crown, a title of nobility. Both presented their babies, Lotte and Vince. In the past also tennis player Justine Hennin got this title.
HUELVA (ESP): Punta Umbria with city of Huelva is bidding to stage the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2011. It could be the last before the cycle switches to 2 years of organising the event. IAAF council this week could decide about it.
MONTE CARLO (MON): The series of 12 individual meetings which make up the calendar of IAAF Cross Country Permit Series 2009/10 begin next weekend in Oeiras, Portugal, on Saturday 21 November 2009. The Permit series concludes in Albufeira, Portugal on Sunday 7 March 2010, and the season as a whole will culminate three weeks later at the 38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Bydgoszcz, Poland on Sunday 28 March 2010. Those championships will mark the first time since the Polish capital of Warsaw hosted the 1987 edition that the oldest IAAF World Athletics Series event will be held in Poland.
RESULTS
MARSEILLE (FRA, Nov 15): Robert Ndiwa of Kenya won the 10km de La Provence in 28:25. Helah Kiprop was the best woman in 32:34.
PALERMO (ITA, Nov 15): At Palermo City Marathon as Race Results Weekly informs the Ethiopian Mekuriya Abebe Dagne clocked 2:15:58 to win. Also female win for Ethiopia as Antonios Mihiret Anamo achieved 2:45:46.
MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF ratified the world record of junior David Storl with 6 kg implement 22.73 in Osterode, Germany on July 14, 2009.
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