by Larry Eder
As the World Junior Championships get going, Alfons Juck keeps RBRers updated
on all things track & field on the global front! European champs are one week away!
(Please pass on to your teams and friends that our SauconyATF XC 2010 Summer
training program is online (www.american-trackandfield.com/sauconyxc2010), and
at twitter.com for daily training updates (www.twitter.com/americantf).
One more thing. Be careful in the heat right now! Make sure you are drinking enough water before, after and during the run or walk. Wear a hat, sunscreen, the right clothes, all very
important!
Image via Wikipedia
CHERONO
DEFENDED, AUSTRIAN RECORD
MONCTON (CAN, Jul 19): Kenya’s Mercy Cherono in a thrilling finish
brilliantly defended her World Junior Championships 3000 metres title from
Bydgoszcz in Moncton during first day of IAAF World Junior Championships. As
David Martin writes, Cherono in a race which went to the wire, won in a world
leading time for the year of 8:55.07 when although finishing very quickly
herself, she had to withstand blistering finishes from Ethiopian Emebet Anteneh
who clocked a personal best 8:55.24 and Layes Abdullayeva (of Ethiopian
origin) who set a Azerbaijan record of 8:55.33. Next best European was
Austrian Jennifer Wenth as 7th in new national junior record 9:09.20. „It feels
so good, I was so happy because I defended my gold,” said Cherono on
a hot and humid Moncton evening. „The best part was that I felt so
comfortable out there. My plan was to defend my gold, but the race was
difficult because of the weather,” added Cherono. Now she is also this year’s
IAAF World Junior Cross Country champion on a second return to Bydgoszcz
and her future career looks exceedingly bright and already she is being groomed
for stardom by her inclusion the Samsung Diamond League circuit (7th in
Shanghai 14:47.13 at 5000 m).
On Tuesday evening local time two more titles will be given, boys 10 000 m and girls shot
put.
MBANGO
CHANGES NATIONALITY
PARIS (FRA): Cameroonian double Olympic triple jump medallist Françoise Mbango
Etone has changed nationality and is now a French citizen. Mbango Etone
has defended the Cameroonian colours at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games but now
has opted for the French nationality after living in Paris for most of her
life.
KIPROP
ADDED INTO 1500 M
MONTE CARLO (MON): Latest high quality new name for Herculis Samsung Diamond
League meet on Thursday is Kenyan 1500 m olympic winner Asbel Kiprop. He won DL
race in Oslo, Eugene and Gateshead and was second in Shanghai and leads the
Diamond Race with 14 points. His main rivals will be former world champion
Bernard Lagat of USA, group of Kenyans headed by Shanghai winner Augustine
Choge and top Morrocan Amine Laalou. In the women´s 3000 m Bahraini miler Maryam
Jamal was added and Shanghai 5000
m winner Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia, along with already
announced Anna Alminova they would be able to attack the world lead 8:34.58 of
Vivian Cheruiyot.
AL-GASSRA
BANNED
MONTE CARLO (MON): In latest IAAF Newsletter in the latest confirmed doping
cases also one of the fastest Asian women Rukya Al-Gassra of Bahrain (she
clocked 11.12 and 22.65 in
2008). She had positive out of competition test in Italy last year and is
banned for two years until September 16, 2011. She was Beijing Olympics and
Berlin Worlds 200 m
semifinalist. Another interesting name also from Bahrain is long distance
runner Mimi Belete. She was disqualifed as winner at Eurocross in Diekirch in
Luxemburg in February this year at 5.35 km. Because the substance found was not
major she got only public warning. Winner is so French Marilyne Pellen.
DIACK
HOPES FOR AFRICA
MONCTON (CAN): Media are informing that IAAF president Lamine Diack
has said that South Africa’s successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup has
proved to the world that Africa is ready to host any international sporting
event. “At first, many believed that the World Cup would not take place. But
what South Africa did proved them wrong,” Diack told the press in Canada. Diack
said that Africa’s good people, stadiums and weather were all rich landmarks to
prove how ready Africa was. Africa has only hosted one-day World Cross country
championship in Mombasa (2007) and Morocco (1998), but never the world junior
or senior track and field event. “Morocco put in their bid for 2013 but
afterwards pulled out. South Africa has proved to the world that we are ready
and what we are waiting for is a city to bid for the hosting rights,” said
Diack.
DECATHLETES
ADDED
MOSCOW (RUS): Changes in Russian Team for Barcelona as confirmed by head-coach
Valentin Maslakov for All-Sport. New name in men´s javelin is Ilya Korotkov,
also two more decathletes have been selected Aleksandr Pogorelov and Vasiliy
Kharlamov. Sprinter Vyacheslav Kolesnichenko was added to 200 m. Unfortunately
Yevgeniya Polyakova is injured and so the olympic winning 4×100 m team will not
be able to have the same composition. Maslakov also said medals could be
expected in nearly all women events, but in men´s only in six to seven events.
He also revealed that last days of preparation are spent by some in Cheboksary,
another group is in Podolsk and also one in Moscow.
OTHER NEWS
BARCELONA (ESP): Over a thousand hours of TV couverage will be broadcasted
during the European championships in Barcelona. All European broadcasters as
well as some major broadcasters in Asia and America have bought the rights for
the six day championships.
BARCELONA (ESP): The final entries for the European championships are in, in
total a list of 1626 athletes will be competing over de six days. 50
European federations have at least 1 athlete in Barcelona. The total of 891
male and 735 female athletes breaks the record number of 1288 athletes that
competed in Gothenburg. A massive group of 69 athletes will compete at the
male Marathon, while 44 women will start at the 42,195km race.
LAUSANNE (SUI): In an interview IOC president Jacques Rogge has claimed the
United States Olympic committee (USOC) has learned it cannot live in isolation.
Rogge praised the new leadership at the USOC, which is trying to rebuild the
organisation’s damaged international reputation following rows over revenue
sharing which culminated in Chicago being humiliatingly overlooked for the 2016
Olympics. The IOC president also mentioned to have been impressed with the USOC
chairman Larry Probst and chief executive Scott Blackmun, who have made a determined
effort recently to build bridges with the Olympic Movement writes
insidethegames.
NAIROBI (KEN): Kenyan 800m athlete Janet Jepkosgei and 400m runner Anderson
Mureta have received the Kenyan flag from the country’s President as captain’s
of the Kenyan team at the upcoming African Championships. The President pointed
out that there was no reason for the Kenyan team not to win the overall team rankings
writes nation.co.ke.
CARDIFF (GBR): Sports Wales has the ambitious aim to become the best small
nation in the world in coming sporting events. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games
in Glasgow they have even targeted no less than 35 medals. Wales has a population
of under three million but have also targetted between six and 10 medals across
the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games and at least 30 medals in the next
two Paralympic Games confirms insidethegames.
BARCELONA (ESP): Among the team officials at the European Championships also
some interesting names such as Igor Astapkovich, a five time silver
medallist hammer thrower, Javelin world record holder Jan Zelezny, decathlete
legend Thomas Dvorak, German discus world record holder Jurgen Schult, former
double European pole vault champion Alex Averbuch, Olympic Gold medallist
Gabriela Szabo and double world indoor champion in the pole vault Radion
Gataulin.
BOSTON (USA): US 100 m
record holder Tyson Gay announced his new official facebook Fan Page. At the
Official Fan Page of Tyson Gay to find: videos from Tyson’s competitions,
photos of Tyson, latest news and results on the fastest man in American
history, updates on upcoming competitions.
BARCELONA (ESP): The opening ceremony of the European athletics championships
will contain different assests then in the past. The ceremony will take place
on Monday evening July 26th in the surrounding areas of the Olympic stadium and
closer to the city center. Hansel Cereza has created a ceremony around the
Magic Fountain of Montjuic. The presentation of the 50 teams participating at
the event will be supported by the official Barcelona 2010 Anthem ‘Anthem for
Europe’ created by Nacho Cano.
BARCELONA (ESP): Sports apparel company Joma will pay tribute to the anonymous
athlete during the European championships in Barcelona. The brand is an
official partner of the event and will showcase three statues of European
paratriathlon champion Iñaki Castañeda.
LONDON (GBR): Pat Butcher´s latest blog at www.globerunner.org: Memories of South Africa’s ‚Lost’
Distance Runners
CASTELBUONO (ITA): RRW writes, that the The 85th Giro Podistico Internazionale
di Castelbuono, Italy’s oldest competitive road race, will feature Olympic
Marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru and defending champion Vincent Kipruto.
The race is scheduled for Monday, July 26. The invitation-only race is held on
a 1130m loop, which athletes cover 10 times for a total distance of
11,300m. The event record is 33:46 by Kenyan Martin Lel set in 2004.
NEW DELHI (IND): India’s Sports Minister M.S Gill has claimed that Commonwealth
Games Federation President Mike Fennell should do more to stop the world’s top
athletes like Usain Bolt and Sir Chris Hoy withdrawing from the Commonwealth
Games later this year in October. There are growing frustrations in India over
the lack of interest with certain top stars as the country’s government has
invested a lot of money into the event. Fennell was asked by the Indian
Sports Minister to stop sending officials and send more of the top athletes
confirms insidethegames.
RESULTS
ARGOS ORESTIKO (GRE, Jul 14): 3rd stage Greek Grand Prix meet saw Mihail
Mertzanidis-Despoteris improved to 805 (+1.3) and qualified for Barcelona. He
is European junior bronze medalist 2005 and Barcelona will be his first senior
championships. Adonia Stergiou cleared 191 in high jump.
