Madrid 2010, Chaunte Howard Lowe over 2 meters! by Alfons Juck, Note by Larry

EME NEWS (JUL 2, 2010)

MADRID
2010: Two meet records and storm, Jumping mother again 2 meters

MADRID (ESP, Jul 2): In the municipality Moratalaz the 10th this years IAAF
World Challenge Meeting, 28th meeting de Madrid was held in difficult weather
conditions. It included storms, strong winds, wet conditions, time delay for
about 100 minutes and also the timing equipment broke down. Only men´s hammer
had normal conditions at the beginning of the meet. Due to all this the
spectator numbers were not high, but still athletes produced some high level
marks. Two meet records were registered (men hammer, women discus) and the top
event was the women high jump with entertaining Chaunte Howard-Lowe. Spanish
athletics was happy from results of their home athletes before European
Championships to be held later this month.

Event by
event review

MEN

200 m: Devonish 20.4 over Jamaican Shields 20.4, but +2.1, Mullings coming from
injury only fourth

800 m: World champion Mulaudzi fulfills favorite role in 1:45.1.  Best
home Olmedo and Kivuva, both 1:45.4 were close.

1500 m: Kenyan win for Remmy Limo Ndiwa in 3:36.2, second Briton Tom Lancashire
beat solid group of Africans with 3:37.3.

110 m H: Jamaican record holder Thomas lost to US Joel Brown in 13.1 (+3.3),
but in second race Briton Sharman event faster 12.9 but +2.3 ahead of Dutch
Sedoc 13.1.

LJ: French Sdiri 774 (-1.2), weather did not allow more. Mokoena was a non-show.

SP: Jamaican Scott won with 19.64.

DT: Casanas achieved 65.11 to win over Austrian Mayer who got very good 64.47,
Pishchalnikov 64.27 and Cadee 64.10
in solid depth. Sixth Ronald Juliao new Brazilian record
63.09.

HT: Part of IAAF HT Challenge, Slovak world leader Charfreitag lost to
challenge leader Nazarov of Tajikistan by 9 cm (78.40 to 78.49). For the winner also meet
record.

WOMEN

400 m:  Russian Zadorina coped best with difficult conditions in 51.3.

800 m: After Ostrava another strong win for Dutch Hak, now 1:59.2 life-time
best. Moroccan fast finisher Benhassi only 6th, returning world medalist
Martinez 10th.

1500 m: Another Spanish running fiesta with Natalia Rodriguez winning in
4:06.7. Moroccan Lakhouad close second 4:06.8.

3000 m: Kenyan Ines Chenonge won 8:51.3, best European Augusto of Portugal 6th
in 8:54.9.

400mH: European flat champion Stambolova against Morosanu, a Balkan affair
(tie for second in 56.4). But the winner was German Kohlmann (56.0).
.
HJ: Technical hit of the evening, world leader Howard-Lowe cleared two metres
after beeing beaten in Sweden the day before. Hellebaut returned with excellent
195 (also a Barcelona qualifier).  Best Spanish Beitia and in-shape
Spencer of St. Lucia got 192.

PV: Ptacnikova wins after a jump-off over Ryzih, both 451. The decision
came at fourth height of jump-off when she cleared 441.

DT: Cuban Barrios the obvious favorite and won in meet record 64.72.

PRE
CLASSIC PREVIEW (updated)

EUGENE (USA): Prefontaine Classic (The Nation´s Premier Meet) for many years
the top US one day meeting will write history on Saturday becoming part of
Samsung Diamond League. Sold out Hayward Field is expected. In some races great
fields. The races of the day should be women´s 100 m and men´s 5000 m. Interesting
additions in last 48 hours are Tirunesh Dibaba for women 5000 m (she switched
clothing companies from Mizuno to Nike) and Allyson Felix for women 400 m.

Event by
event preview

MEN

200 m: All is set for Tyson Gay to open his track season 2010.  Other name
to watch is Dix, the Golden Gala winner. Meet record 20.14 should go.

1000 m: Kaki wants to attack the world record. Non DL race. Even the meet record
2:14.54 is not easy.

Bowerman Mile: Kiprop the favorite. World champ Kamel is opening the season.
World lead a possibility. Lagat is also there. Also another mile race is
staged with mostly US runners and some overseas participation.

5000 m: There has never been a sub-13-minute time run on American soil.
Merga had so far the best finish in DL races. Solinsky and co. will be home
favorites.

110mHurdles: David Oliver against the clock. Should break Liu´s meet and
stadium record 13.06.

LJ: Dwight Phillips is the clear favorite. But what is the shape of Saladino
and Lapierre?

SP: All current US top names with Cantwell the head-line figure who won all DL
meets so far. The overseas guest is oly champ Majewski.

DT: Here better with European presence as Malachowski, Kanter, Alekna and
Kovago should fight for top honours.

WOMEN

100 m: Fraser against Jeter, but VCB may come from behind. Possibly the women
race of the day. Also NCAA Champ Okagbare, also Jamaican champ Simpson and
improved Moore.

400 m: World leader and US Champ Dunn, with both top Williams´s from Jamaica,
winning on the circuit Montsho and mainly Felix. Not to forget about Russian
Krivoshapka. Sub 50 should be registered.

800 m: Jepkosgei, but the best shape might come from Savinova. A world
lead and first years sub 1:58? Other greats who are not (yet) in top shape are
Jelimo and Jamal. Also 1500 oly winner Langat is running. Even legendary Mutola
meet record 1:57.57 from 1997 could go.

5000 m: Tirunesh Dibaba in her season opener in this non-DL event.

SC: World champion Dominguez with best current Russian Zarudneva and world
leader Chemos. Sub 9:10 possible. This event is first time held at Pre.

400mH: Demus against the clock. Meet record 54.14 will go.

PV: Suhr, Murer, Rogowska, something special could happen.

TJ: Asian record holder Rypakova against Russians Alekhina and
Taranova-Potapova. Meet record for sure (not yet over 14) and most probably
also Hayward Field record (14.38).

HT: Heidler, Lysenko from Europe should rule here. This is not DL event.

JT: World record holder Spotakova, but fresh US record holder Kara Patterson
can cause a surprise.

OTHER NEWS

LAUSANNE (SUI): The month of June saw the outdoor track & field season get
into full swing. Following major competitions such as the SPAR European Team
Championships, European Cup Combined Events and a number of top one-day
meetings, European Athletics is pleased to announce the nominations for the
European Athlete of the Month for June representing 12 countries. The voting
will close on Friday 16 July at noon.

BIRMINGHAM (GBR): UKA announced that Olympic Javelin finalist Goldie Sayers
will miss this summer’s SPAR European Championships with a hip injury.
Sayers picked up the injury at the Aviva National Championships and European
Trials last weekend where she retained her British title for a record
eighth time. She aims to come back for Commonwealth Games in October.

BARCELONA (ESP): For first time in the history of European Championships
athletes will have their names on the starting bibs in Barcelona. Other
innnovations will be in the colours of these bibs. Title defenders will have
orange colour, seasonal leaders black bibs and combined events leaders of the
competition will have yellow bibs.

LONDON (GBR): Australian Jana Rawlinson has decided not to compete in the
Commonwealth Games later this year in New Delhi. Rawlinson underwent minor
surgery to her Achilles tendon in Netherlands and is facing six weeks of rest.
Not competing for Australia in the Commonwealth Games would also mean Rawlinson
will not represent Australia for over three years, which would make a potential
switch to Great Brittan easier. Rawlinson so far denied she would leave her
country to represent Brittan but it was revealed she had raised the possibility
of switching allegiance in an email to London Olympic boss Sebastian Coe writes
The Daily Telegraph.

INDIANAPOLIS (USA):  USATF named Kara Patterson USA track and field
athlete of the week. Patterson set an American Record in the javelin throw
during the USATF national championships last weekend.

DOHA (QAT): Qatar will send female athletes to the Olympic Games for the first
time when they are held in London in 2012. Qatar revealed that they were
already planning to send a small contingent of women to London even before
an announcement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they are to
promote the United Nations goal of equality for women and would be putting
pressure on countries that have never sent female athletes to the Games before.
Qatar’s initiative leaves Saudi Arabia as the only major country still to
exclude women from taking part in the Games writes insidethegames.

MELBOURNE (AUS): Australia’s team for the IAAF World junior championships is
set to depart on a three week trip for the championships. 36 athletes are
selected for the team, with six members also being part of last year’s IAAF
World youth championships. World youth high jump silver medallist Amy Pejkovic
is leading the team along with Kim Mulhall who is lining up for her third
national team.  Also on the team is 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games gold
medallists Sam Baines (110m hurdles).
 
ZURICH (SUI): More than 70,000 young athletes from Switzerland will be provided
a new platform for athletics participation through the newly-formed Kids
Cup, not only during the summer season, but throughout the year as well. Writes
IAAF. The UBS Kids Cup will replace the Erdgas Athletic Cup, an athletics
competition involving three disciplines, in summer 2011, as well as the Rivella
Kids Cup, an indoor team event, in fall 2011.  The UBS Kids Cups play a key
role for the Swiss national athletics federation Swiss Athletics. “Our clubs
recruit a large number of junior athletes through such platforms,” said
Hansruedi Müller, President of Swiss Athletics. “UBS will make a strong
partner to generate new momentum to two well established competitions. This
impetus is particularly inspiring in view of the European Athletics
Championships 2014 in
Zurich.” UBS also renewed until 2014 both long-term sponsoring agreements with
Weltklasse Zürich and Athletissima Lausanne, the two Swiss Samsung Diamond
League meetings. This two-tier support of the sport of athletics allows UBS to
help promote both leisure and professional sport.

MOSCOW (RUS): New athletics child was born. European relay champion Natalya
Rusakova is the mother and former european indoor champion in pole vault Igor
Pavlov is the father. They are a happy couple because their daughter was
born.

CURRENT
RESULTS

TEL AVIV (ISR, Jul 1): During second day of 74th National Championships Dmytriy
Glushchenko clocked 20.98 (+1.1) at 200 m. Russian guest Aleksandr Gripich cleared 540 in pole vault. But the
best result was new national women high jump record 191 in first attempt for 22
years old Danial Frenkel. Also the 189 clearance before was already a national
mark. She had before 186 best.

DONETSK (UKR, Jul 2):  The best result of second day of Ukrainian
Championships was the 45.79 improvement of Dmytro Ostrovskyy in the 400 m as he did not had
before a sub 47 in
his records. Good female jumping by Viktoriya Styopina 192 in high jump and
Viktoriya Rybalko 670 in
long jump. Anna Mishchenko clocked 4:10.98 to win the 1500 m and Dariya Prystupa
won the 400 m
in 52.28 as top favorite Antonina Yefremova had a false start and was
disqualified.  In men technical events Oleksandr Soldatkin leaped to 798
(0.0) in long jump, Andriy Semenov was the best in shot put (20.21) and Oleksyy
Sokyrskyy in hammer 74.75.

GOTHA (GER, Jul 2): 13th Shot put meet in the Gotha Castle. Ralf Bartels beat
young David Storl by 16 cm
(20.38-20.22). Return of Nadine Kleinert with excellent 19.64 ahead of Denise
Hinrichs (18.16). Kleinert´s mark is fourth best in Europe this year, only
three Belarus putters are better.

AVILA (ESP, Jul 1): 34-years old olympic long jump winner Maurren Higa Maggi of
Brasil started her season at a meet in Spain with 636 cm.

HANOI (VIE, Jul 2): Best result in boys long jump from Asian Junior
Championships. Lin Ching Hsuang (18) of Taipei leaped to national junior record
794 and second Sukhasvasti Supanara of Thailand got 784 cm.

SANTO DOMINGO (DOM, Jul 2): World senior finalist Jehue Gordon of Trinidad won
the 400 m
hurdles at CAC Youth and Junior Championships with 50.26. 100 m finals were marred by
head-wind. Jamaican junior winners were Bernardo Bredds (10.64, -1.4) and
Seidayna Palmer (11.88, -1.8). Interesting youth girls high jump where top two
at 15 years age cleared 181
cm. Akela Jones of Barbados and Caterina Nina of home
country.

VENTSPILS (LAT, Jul 2): Eriks Rags achieved season best 82.05 in javelin at a local
meet here.

NIKITI (GRE, Jul 2): At Sithonia throwing meet the hammer win for home
Stamatios Papadoniou 73.51 ahead of Czech Lukas Melich 73.24.

RIED (AUT, Jul 2): Slovak Milan Haborak qualified to Barcelona with a 19.84
shot put at Austrian Top4 meet. Young Austrian Lukas Weisshaidinger achieved
with 6 kg
implement 19.79 but it will not be approved as national junior record due to
the fact that the circle was 10.5
cm above the grass level. Fastest home sprinter Ryan
Moseley after drive from Velenje still clocked 10.54 (-0.5) to win the 100 m.