by Larry Eder
Tyson Gay, Gateshead DL, July 2010, photo by PhotoRun.net.
What a difference the month of August meant for Tyson Gay. On August 6, Tyson Gay defeats Usain Bolt. On August 12, Tyson runs 9.78 at AVIVA London. On August 22, at the Weltklasse in Zurich, Gay ran leg three on the fastest 4 x 100m of the year. And on August 27, a 9.79 victory in Belgacom Brussels, in the coolness of a summer night in Belgium.
Tyson Gay says he is ready. He should know. Good conditions in Zagreb on September 1, and
we might hear of a new American record!
EME NEWS (AUG 30, 2010)
GAY IS READY
ZAGREB
(CRO): Co-world leader at 100 m US Tyson Gay was the star of a press
conference two days before the IAAF World Athletics mtiinga Challenge
Zagreb 2010 to be held on Wednesday in Sports Park Mladost. He recieved
a special gift from city mayor.
“I think it is very possible that I will run faster than 9.69 seconds
if it will be good conditions. It will be very balanced and very fast
race.” His main rival will be the other world leader Nesta Carter of
Jamaica. Also from Rieti 100 m Michael Frater, Mike Rodgers and Jaisuma
Saidy Ndure are scheduled to run. Home stars Blanka Vlasic in high jump
and Sandra Perkovic in discus, both European Champions from Barcelona
are the other headliners. World champions competing will be Yargelis
Savigne in triple jump, Dwight Phillips in long jump. Great competition
is expected in shot put, where all top three from recent Samsung
Diamond League finals will fight (Hoffa, Cantwell, Majewski). Lolo
Jones is the star of 100 m Hurdles, sub 11 runner Mershevet Myers in
the 200 m and US Champion Debbie Dunn in the 400 m. Kaliese Spencer can
make for the fall in Rieti with another win at 400 m hurdles, US Nick
Symmonds is the 800 m top name. Belgian record holder Jonathan Borlee
has the fastest 400 m time. Hanzekovic Memorial at 110 m hurdles will
have Jamaican record holder Dwight Thomas, European Champion Andy
Turner and European leader Petr Svoboda running. In men´s hammer the
winner of inaugural IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge will be decided.
Tajikistan´s Dilshod Nazarov is still leading, but Libor Charfreitag
needs a 78 metres to get over him, but Nazarov can also improve. And
waiting behind for his third performance to count is world Koji
Murofushi, another 80+ would secure the win for him most probably. In
men´s discus home top athlete Roland Varga will compete with Asian
record holder Ehsan Hadadi of Iran.
STRONG 100 M, SEMENYA
ROVERETO
(ITA): 46th Palio Citta de Quercia meet in Rovereto (last EA Premium of
the year) will have on Tuesday some special highlights. Justin Gatlin
will run his first race against strong opponents since return. His
rivals will be Jamaican Yohan Blake and improved US sprinter Ryan
Bailey (9.88 in Rieti) and Jamaican Mario Forsythe. In the 400 m Blade
Runner Oscar Pistorius will face Brussels winner Nery Brenes of
Costarica. World champion Caster Semenya runs the 800 m and European
medalist Christina Obergfoll is the top name in women javelin.
Trinidad´s 100 m record holder Kelly-Ann Baptiste is the favorite of
women 100 m. In long jump home star Andrew Howe will fight with French
Kafetien Gomis who is Barcelona silver medalist. Ethiopian Gemma Daba
is the main name in the 1500 m and Kenyan Thomas Longosiwa in the 5000
m. US Jason Richardson and Briton William Sharman should fight for win
at 110 m hurdles. US Jesse Williams and Finland´s Ari Mannio are the
favorites of men´s high jump and javelin. Strong Ethiopian group runs
women steeple, including fresh world junior record holder Almaz Ayana.
Russians Tatyana Dektyareva at 100 m hurdles and Natalya Kutyakova in
triple jump should fight for first place in their events. German
Carolin Hingst is one of the main names in women pole vault but
Anastasiya Shvedova of Belarus and Russian Yulia Golubchikova will make
her position not easy.
DATES FOR SDL 2011
BRUSSELS
(BEL): After first year of Samsung Diamond League the dates for 2011
are as follows. Begining in May again in Asia with Doha on May 6 and
Shanghai on May 15. Then to Europe for Rome on May 26 and Oslo on June
9, but also US meets in Eugene on June 4 and New York on June 11. After
usual championships break return to Europe with Lausanne on June 30,
Paris on July 8, Gateshead on July 10, Monaco on July 22, Stockholm on
July 29 and London on Aug 5-6. Last two final meetings will be staged
after World Championships in Korea. Zurich on September 8 and Brussels
on September 16. Diamond League in 2010 produced world leading marks in
23 events (currently) what is an impressive number. On the other hand
interestingly all three track senior world records were registered
outside the series.
OTHER NEWS
TOKYO (JPN): Japanese media are informing that long distance star
Kayoko Fukushi and two other Japanese athletes have withdrawn from next
week’s IAAF Continental Cup. Fukushi was supposed to run 5000 m, also
out are Kenji Narisako at 400 m hurdles and Sachiko Masumi in women
long jump. Takayuki Kojima will replace the hurdler. For 400 m Asami
Chiba was added. Japanese athletes will compete for Asia-Pacific Team
in Split.
NAIROBI (KEN): Kenyan media are informing, that upon return of
David Rudisha to the country plans are afoot to toast to the world
record holder with 50 bulls reportedly up for slaughter. But before
that Rudisha will run on the weekend for Africa in the IAAF Continental
Cup in Split.
LONDON (GBR): Latest Pat Butcher´s blog at www.globerunner.org – Youth Olympic Games Reviewed.
LINZ
(AUT): New change in background of Linz Indoor Meeting. Meet Director
Peter Hiller stepped down, but the meeting will go on on February 3
next year. Wolfgang Adler remains athletes coordinator. City and
regional government confirmed its financial support. The Austrian city
is still missing the outdoor meeting Gugl which was succesfull in
nineties and had its last version in 2007.
TURKU (FIN): Ken Nakamura informs that Kenyan Josphat Menjo by
recording 26:56.74 in Turku on Sunday became the 32nd runner to crack
27 minutes barrier at 10 000 m. With sub-13 minutes 5000 m 11 days ago,
Menjo became the 22nd runner
to have sub 13 and 27. Incidentally, 11 days between the first sub-13
5000m and the first sub-27 10000m is the second shortest in history.
The record of 9 days is held by Paul Tergat. Very quiet and modest
Menjo said after the Sunday race that this was his last race of the
2010 track season. Menjo’s manager Antti Lähteenmäki said that the
runner had declined an offer to race in the Brussels 1500m and chose to
race in Turku instead. Writes Mirko Jalava.
TOKYO (JPN): Athens Olympic women’s marathon gold medalist Mizuki
Noguchi was quoted as saying that she has made considerable progress on
the road to recovery from a long-term left groin injury and could make
her comeback before the year’s end. Writes Japan Today. Noguchi has not
raced since suffering the injury that robbed her of the chance to
defend her Olympic title in Beijing two years ago because of a series
of setbacks.
RIETI (ITA): TrackAlerts is quoting Nesta Carter after his
life.time best 9.78. “Even though I noticed my times were coming down
and everyone kept saying the Rieti track is fast, I was only expecting
to run and do my best here, not run 9.7 at this time of the season. I
ran a race like two days ago and my body was not fully recovered from
that run as yet, so I was not expecting to do that here. I feel good.
Hard work is the key to success and I have been putting in the hard
work and I am really pleased with the results at the moment. I’ve been
taught to never put a limit on one’s self, so I don’t ever limit myself
… I wanted to PR this year, and I want to PR again next year, so I am
just going to keep working hard,” he said. His next race is in Zagreb
on Wednesday against Tyson Gay.
HAVANA (CUB): Coach Santiago Antunez confirmed that world record
holder Dayron Robles will not compete any more this season. After
cancelling Rieti and Zagreb he was expected to compete for Americas in
Split at IAAF Continental Cup this weekend. “Dayron is competing only
when he is in top shape. And that is not currently the case,” Antunez
was explaining. That means he will end the season with five wins and
two losses and 13.01 best.
BUDAPEST (HUN): Rieti is the best meeting of IAAF World Challenge
in All-Athletics.com one day meetings rankings so far this year. In
overall rankings Rieti is at 12th position.
NEW DELHI (IND):
Concerns about the condition of the Nehru stadium, in which the
Commonwealth Games will be held in October, are not alarming according
to officials. The doubts arose when a cave-in and development of
depressions at various spots in the grassy infield occurred. However,
official agencies assured that everything is “perfectly all right” and
whatever problems had cropped up have already been taken care of writes hindu.com.
LONDON (GBR): IAAF President Lamine Diack is happy about the
solution Sebastian Coe has been able to attain for the Olympic Stadium
after the 2012 Olympics. Coe has been able to ensure that whoever takes
over the Olympic Stadium will have to retain the Olympic track. All the
leading contenders to be given the lease for the Stadium after the
Olympics and Paralympics, including Premier League football club West
Ham United, have promised to keep the track writes insidethegames.
KINGSTON (JAM): In an interview with the Jamaican Observer Asafa
Powell confirmed he is satisfied with the 2010 season but admitted
that, with the rapid improvements by fellow Jamaicans Nesta Carter and
Yohan Blake, 2011 will be a very tough year. Powell’s main aim for 2011
is the World championships in Daegu but acknowledged that never before
so many Jamaicans have run that fast at the same time.
NEW DELHI (IND): Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising
Committee Suresh Kalmadi has claimed that this year’s Commonwealth
Games will be better than the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Kalmadi used the
occasion of the launch of the Games official song “Jiyo Utho Badho
Jeeto” to make his statement and hopes to try to regain the trust of
the Indian people, whose enthusiasm for the Games have been dented by
stories about corruption and contruction delays. “It is going to be the
best infrastructure in the world, It is going to have the best games;
better than the Beijing Olympics. Everybody is working like a team –
Team India.” Kalmadi was quoted.
VIENNA (AUT): Austrian Athletics Federation informs that long
distance runner Günther Weidlinger was named as member of European
Athletics Athletes Commission. He was nominated by EA President
Hansjorg Wirz who has the right to name two more members after the
elections which were staged during European Championships in Barcelona.
LISBOA (POR): The Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola reported that
Ana Dulce Félix would make her marathon debut at the ING New York City
Marathon on Sunday, November 7. Writes RRW. Félix, 27, a former shoe
factory worker who made just 400 euros per month, has become one of
Portugal’s top distance runners, especially on the roads. She has a
10,000m personal best of 31:30.90 set at the IAAF World Championships
last year in Berlin where she finished 13th. On the road, she’s run
49:36 for 15-K, 53:58 for ten miles, and 1:09:48 for the half-marathon.
RESULTS
LIMA (PER, Aug 29): Peruvian Jhon Cusi Huamán won the 101st Half
Marathon of Lima in 1:03:12 and qualified for World Half-Marathon
Championships in China later in the fall. Women win also remained at
home for Jimena Misayuri Camargo who achieved 1:13:32.
HEM (NED, Aug 29): Ethiopian Ayele Abshiro succesfully defended his 2009 title here with 28:11 at 10 km on the road.
NOTE
EME NEWS is publishing meeting rankings from All-Athletics.com
website because this rankings are made and existing. Everybody can have
a look of course if having All-Athletics.com access. There will be
always discussion about the criteria, but EME NEWS is not suggesting
which meeting is the best or so, just purely informing. The rankings
are based on results and participation. There are of course other
things to evaluate – number of spectators, quality of TV production,
quality of event presentation, quality of media services, athletes
services (transport, food, hotel). EME NEWS is not aware that any other
rankings than by All-Athletics.com will be published by IAAF or Diamond
League itself.
