The track season is coming to a close and the marathon season is just starting. Japan next weekend, and the Philly Half marathon next weekend! real, Berlin and B of A Chicago within the month! Thanks for your patience this week, have been on vacation, but back on road Sunday night and have been working through some provocative columns for next month!

Need to mention that 2004 Olympic champ, Stefano Baldini is retiring on October 9. After a long and illustrious career, Baldini will retire from racing after a final race in Italy. I also wanted to thank Mary Wittenberg and Carey Pinkowski for giving us two fall U.S. marathons with superb fields. A fun fall marathon season about to unfold! 

(Need to see Rachel Gets Married, an amazing moving with Anne Hathaway and tremendous
cast. Also saw I love New York and Paris, Je t’aime, both on Sundance, both fun series of short vignettes, written and directed by actors and directors who have ties to both cities. Get your hands on Monterrey Pop Festival film (Hendrix doing Wild Thing, then lighting guitar, and Joplin, stunning, Who, well, energetic, but Mamas and Poppas, and well, Otis Redding, phenomenal. Listening to Pete Yorn, Al Green ( I have Al Green and Lyle Lovett duet), Arcade Fire, Allman Brothers, remastered, Eat a Peach, and New Riders of Purple Sage. Also Cat Power, very cool,reminds me of It’s a Beautiful Day. Rereading Gore Vidal‘s Burr, novel about Aaron Burr,one of our more colorful Vice Presidents and a time when there was a bit more political intrigue in the country than the present.)

EME NEWS (SEP 10, 2010)

BATMAN, CANTWELL TO JAPAN

KAWASAKI (JPN): More top names
for Super Meet on September 19
in Kawasaki (south of Tokyo, north of Yokohama) for
men´s 400 m
hurdles with world leader and Diamond race winner Bershawn Jackson who will run
against former hero Felix Sanchez. Ending the season in Japan will be another
Diamond circuit winner US shot putter Christian Cantwell. High quality also in
javelin for Japan´s world medalist Yukifumi Murakami who will clash with former
world champ Tero Pitamäki, his team-mate Teemu Wirkkala, New Zealand´s Stuart
Farquhar and Ukrainian Roman Avramenko. Already earlier announced was the
participation of top European athletes Blanka Vlasic and Christophe Lemaitre.

JAPAN MARATHONS GROWING

TOKYO (JPN): Ken Nakamura
informs about current marathon news from Japan. Over 294 000 runners applied
for 32 000 spots in the 2011 Tokyo Marathon, scheduled for February 27 next
year. Based on this huge interest another four big city marathons are expected
to be established in Japan in the next few years. Kobe Marathon is scheduled
for November 20 next year and as the consequence, the final 10th edition of
Kobe Women’s half marathon will be in November of this year. Osaka Marathon
with around 30 000 runners is planned for Oct or Nov of 2011. Kyoto Marathon is
planned for March of 2012 and Kyoto half marathon was discontinued this year.
Nagoya Women’s marathon will evolve to mass event on March 11, 2012. In addition to the
mass marathon of around 10 000 runners with elite women (no elite men) also
half-marathon for men and women is scheduled.

BOLT PLANS

KINGSTON (JAM): Usain Bolt
revealed for IAAF his plans to start with training early October: “Upon my
return to Jamaica (from Australia), it is back to training on Monday, October
4. I hear Coach Mills has been building a grass hill close to our
track at UWI – I am not looking forward to that. To all my fellow athletes
I hope you enjoy your end of season break. To all the fans I hope you
enjoyed 2010 and are looking forward to great things in 2011 as we prepare for
the IAAF World Championships in Daegu.”

GAY IS BACK

LEXINGTON (USA): Also Tyson Gay
informed fans on his twitter on Thursday: „Just got bac in the states from my
season, haven’t been on twitter in a while but appreciate my team updatin
u all. Thx for all the support.”

BALDINI TO RACE FOR LAST TIME

MILANO (ITA): During
a highly entertaining night of athletics at the Napoleonic Arena Civica
Gianni Brera Athens Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini received an award
named in the memory of Candido Cannavň, the late editor-in chef of the
famous sport daily Gazzetta dello Sport, who died in February 2009. Cannavň,
a keen lover of athletics, was the man who strongly believed in the
re-birth of the Notturna di Milano in 1998 after many years of absence. Baldini
will end his glorious running career on 9 October at the Giro al Sas road race
in Trento. Writes Diego Sampaolo for IAAF.

EUROPEAN RISING STAR
NOMINATIONS

LAUSANNE (SUI): European Athletics announced the
nominations for the 2010 European Athletics Rising Star Awards presented by
Mondo, recognising the future stars of the sport in Europe. Voting takes place
on the European Athletics website until 24 September 2010 from a shortlist
that includes stars from this year’s World Junior Championships and Youth
Olympic Games and other young athletes who performed exceptionally well this
year. Winners will be decided by votes from the general public, media, European
Athletics Member Federations, and a panel of experts, with the results
from each group of voters counting for one quarter of the athlete’s final
score. The winners of the European Athletics Rising Star Awards along with the
winners of the European Athlete of the Year Awards presented by Mondo will be invited
to receive their awards during the European Athletics Convention in Belgrade on
Saturday 16 October. Favorites are world indoor record holder in triple jump
Teddy Tamgho of France and discus star Sandra Perkovic of Croatia. Also in the
nomination in men´s category hurdles world junior champion Pascal
Martinot-Lagarde of France, senior European finalist in long jump Eusebio
Caceres of Spain, another world junior champion Russian pole vaulter Anton
Ivakin, Poland´s Youth Olympic Games shot put winner Krzysztof Brzozowski,
throws world junior champions Till Woschler of Germany (javelin) and Andrius
Gudzius of Lithuania (discus), Youth Olympic Games winner in high jump Dmitry
Kroyter from Israel and in 10
000 m walk Igor Lyaschhenko of Ukraine along with European
junior CC Champion Jeroen D´Hoedt from Belgium. Women selection has world
junior champions British sprinter Jodie Williams, Romanian 800 m runner Mirela Lavric,
Irish 1500 m
runner Ciara Mageean, Norway´s hurdler Isabelle Pedersen, Belarus 400 m hurdles runner Kataryna
Artsyukh, Marija Vukovic of Monte Negro in high jump, UK hammer thrower Sophie
Hitchon, Finland´s javelin thrower Sanni Utriainen. Also world junior gold
winner is Italian walker Antonella Palmisano, but she also won the IAAF Race Walking
Cup in Mexico. Sweden´s Angelica Bengtsson won not only Moncton but also Youth
Olympic Games and improved the world youth best to 447 cm. Russian Darya
Klishina leaped to 703 in
long jump what is national junior record and won Diamond League meetings in
Stockholm and London.

MOROZOV IS BACK

SARANSK (RUS): Russian national walking champion Sergey
Morozov is now free to compete after his two years doping ban ended on
September 8. The holder of the fastest 20 km road time (1:16:43 in Saransk in June 2008)
plans for future and wants to be succesfull at World Championships 2011 and
Olympic Games 2012. Morozov also revealed for Runners.ru that in training was
able to walk 1:17 and continued with full training in last two years under the
guidance of famous coach Viktor Chegin in Saransk, Mordovia. He plans to
compete on Saturday in Russian Walking Cup in Podolsk in his first competition
after the ban. In that 20 km
also another from the group which was banned just before Olympic Games in
Bejing Vladimir Kanaykin should compete. Igor Yerokhin from that group will
contest the 35 km
race. Also for Viktor Burayev and Aleksey Voyevodin the ban ended this week but
they are not scheduled to compete this weekend.

STRONG KENYANA FOR HM WORLDS

NAIROBI (KEN): Kenya announced its runners for IAAF/Sinopec
World Half-Marathon championships in Nanning, China on October 16. Top name in
women team is 2009 world cross country champion Florence Kiplagat who last
weekend debuted at the distance with fast 1:07:40. Also in the team is Olympian
Peninah Arusei, who was second in Lille and improved her PB to 1:07:48. Third
runner is Agnes Kiprop who was fifth in Boston Marathon 2009 (1:08:48). Other
women in the team are Flomena Cheyech, Sarah Chepchirchir and Pascalia
Chepkorir, who is a reserve. Moses Mosop who won bronze in the 2005 World
Championships in Helsinki, Finland, is the male headliner. Also in the team is
last year’s national 10 000
m champion Sammy Kitwara and Silas Kipruto, all with sub
one hour bests. Wilson Kiprop who debuted in Lille last Saturday in 59:39
belongs to the team too. Others are Martin Mathathi and Titus Masai. Kenya will
be out to defend the world team titles for both men and women, which they have
won for the past four years consecutively, Standard Media informs.

OTHER NEWS

KOSICE (SVK): Organizers of the oldest marathon in Europe,
the 87th International Peace Marathon of Kosice announced its first top names
for Sunday, October 3. Trying for 8th Kenyan win will be Augustus Kavutu
(2:11:39) and Jonathan Kibet (2:11:38, second in Kosice in 2008). Surprise
could come from young Ethiopians Fekadu Lema Gemechu (2:10:19) and Tihanu
Woldemariam (2:14:20) who should debut at the distance outside Ethiopia. In
women race Ethiopian favorite will be Goitetum Haftu Tesema (2:43:40) and
Russian Kamila Khanipova (2:41:13). In all races so far confirmed 4867 runners
from 36 countries.

LONDON (GBR): UK Athletics has announced that it will host
the inaugural European Sprints and Hurdles Conference, with the support of
England Athletics, the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and European Athletics, in
London (Heathrow) on 13-14 November. Already confirmed are internationally
renowned sport scientist Dr Ralph Mann, Director of USA Track & Field’s
Elite Athlete Sprint and Hurdle Programme, and UK-based coaches Malcolm Arnold
and Dan Pfaff. The other European Athletics Coaching Summit Series conference
confirmed for this autumn is the European Walks Conference in Leeds, England,
on 6-7 November. Informs European Athletics.

MINSK (BLR): European shot put champion and Diamond League
winner Nadezhda Ostapchuk is not thinking this was her best season. In on-line
discussion with Belta news-agency she pointed out that 2005 was better as she
won all competitions that year. This season her only loss came last weekend at
IAAF/VTB Continental Cup to Valerie Adams. She also commented on the world
record 22.63 by Natalya Lisovskaya from 1987. „I think this record will stay
forever,” said Ostapchuk who achieved during the indoor season her overall best
21.70, in summer season her best was 20.95 and she hoped to go over 21 metres also outdoors.

INDIANAPOLIS (USA): USATF foundation website informs, that
high jumper Jamie Nieto, a USA Track & Field Foundation Elite Athlete
Grant recipient, is forging ahead with a new career in the film industry,
bolstered by two of the Foundation’s high-profile Directors. Through the USA
Track & Field Foundation’s Career Mentoring Program and with the help and
guidance of noted film producer Frank Marshall and best-selling author Nicholas
Sparks, both USATF Foundation Directors, Jamie has been making great strides in
his acting and screenwriting career. In 2009, he appeared in his first film,
Kontrast. Jamie’s latest films, The Encounter and Jerusalem Countdown, are set
to premier at the Greater Boston Christian Film Festival on October 14, 2010.
Nieto jumped this year 228 indoors and 225 outdoors.

PRAHA (CZE): Tesco Grand Prix road race on Saturday in
center of Praha (IAAF Silver) will have as usual strong African presence.
Tanzanian Dickson Marwa is returning for the 10 km distance as title
defender. Kenyan favorites are Wilfred Taragon (27:30) who won in Prague in
2007, Joseph Birech (27:51) and 2:06:14 marathon runner Gilbert Kirwa.
Ethiopians will be represented by 18-years Adihana Gebretsadik (28:03), who was
the silver medallist in the 10
000 m in Moncton this year. European runners will be
represented by Styepan Rahavstov of Belarus, Adam Draczynski of Poland and home
elite Jan Kreisinger and his coach Robert Stefko. Course record of Wilson
Kiprotich is 28:05 from 2006. Women´s 5 km favorite is Kenyan Gladys Otero who is
title defender, last year she clocked here 15:45. Tanzanian Zakia Mrisho and
Poland’s Karolina Jarzynska are also to be noted. Course record of Hungarian
Aniko Kalovics is 15:30 from 2002.

CLES (ITA): Running marriage this Saturday in a small
church of Caltron. Top Italian distance runners, Gabriele De Nard will marry
with Federica Dal Ri. Honeymoon will have to wait as both are in preparation
for the fall cross country season. Another possibility for a holiday will
be discussed again in March next year.

MILANO (ITA): By running 7:28.82 in Milano Alamirew Yenew
of Ethiopia became the 28th sub-7:30 3000m runner in history. Writes Ken
Nakamura.

ADDITION

VILNIUS (LTU): Sources are pointing out that the Lithuanian
10 km
road championships (4 Sep) had actually 9.5 km.