One of the coolest things about the ING NYCM week is that they have something fascinating going on each day of the week. The Abebe Bikila Award has been a high point for me each year and this year, it goes to Paul Tergat, former WR holder and the man who pushed Haile Gebrselassie so close in Sydney!

Also, on Friday, November 5, Dick Patrick will receive the George Hirsch Award for Running Journalism. Congrats to both deserving individuals!

                            Paul Tergat in Lake Biawa, 2009, photo by PhotoRun.net.

CROATIA AIMS FOR TOP EVENTS

ZAGREB (CRO): Croatian Athletics Federation
is planning to bid for two important events in future. That is the result of
succesfull end of the last season with Zagreb Grand Prix Meeting (Tyson Gay
competing) and IAAF Continental Cup in Split.
First is World Indoor Championships 2014 in Zagreb
and second European Championships 2016 (the shorter version) in Split. Croatia currently has no indoor
track and with the bid also the need for high quality training and competition
for the local athletics will be fulfilled.

SHAHEEN
FOR MORE ROAD RACES

PORTSMOUTH
(GBR): Steeple world record holder Saif Saeed Shaheen of Qatar contested his longest race of the career
on Sunday in Portsmouth.
And the result was excellent, second place with 46:37. His next plans are
including road or cross country races after Christmas in Europe.
The 2003 and 2005 world champion plans for summer 2011 to be back in top shape.
Asian Games in November are not in his plan.

TERGAT
WILL GET BIKILA AWARD

NEW YORK
(USA):
Rivals will meet again. But not in direct clash. Haile Gebrselassie will debut
on the course of New York City Marathon and his Kenyan rival Paul Tergat will
receive the New York Road Runners Abebe Bikila award for his contributions to
distance running at the start of the Continental Airlines International
Friendship Run on Nov. 6. The New York Road Runners has presented the Bikila
award since 1978. New York Times writes.

IOANNOU
PLANS FOR PARIS

ATHENS
(GRE): 2009 high jump world medalist Kyriacos Ioannou of Cyprus did not had a good 2010
season. Early July at Athletissima in Lausanne
he cleared 230 and was third, but from then on battled with injury and missed
European Championships and Commonwealth Games. But currently he is in fourth
week in good preparation and aims towards European Indoor Championships in Paris. His coach Dimitris
Efthimiou confirmed that Paris
is the main goal in the coming winter. At last European Indoor Championships in
Torino 2009 Ioannou won the silver medal.

PITKAMAKI
AND KORPELA

HELSINKI
(FIN): Javelin thrower Tero Pitkamäki who won bronze in Barcelona was named Finland´s Athlete of the
Year 2010 by the national federation. His coach Hannu Kangas is the coach of
the year. Female athlete of 2010 is hammer thrower Merja Korpela (8th in Barcelona).

OTHER NEWS

LONDON (GBR): Dunsar Media Company Limited,
the publishing house behind insidethegames.biz, insideworldparasport.biz and
insideworldfootball, has been awarded the regions’ Chamber of Commerce Business
Excellence Award for the Most Promising New Business 2010.

ACAPULCO
(MEX): Agencies are informing that Panama’s Olympic Commission faces
suspension in a dispute over the leadership of the body, IOC president Jacques
Rogge said. Two groups are battling for control of Panama’s Olympic Commission,
leading Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli to demand the resignation of
the committee’s members. This situation already resulted to fhe fact that Panama lost the
chance to organize the 2013 Bolivarian Games. If valid problems in 2012 that
could bring difficulties for top stars like long jumper Irving Saladino and
sprinter Alonso Edward in connection to their participation at the London 2012
Games.

SHANGHAI (CHN): China Daily
informs that hurdles former world record holder Liu Xiang is targeting his
third successive victory at the Asian Games next month, one of his biggest
events during a prolonged comeback from an Achilles’ tendon injury. “I want to
win at my third Asian Games and add one gold medal for China. I’m in
good form recently and I want to get the right feeling back gradually,” Liu was
quoted. His coach Sun said he can run between 13.30-13.40. Exactly 13.40 is the
best time of the year for Liu in 2010. Only one hurdler achieved faster time
this year in Asia, his team-mate Shi Dongpeng
13.39 when he beat him at Shanghai Diamond League meeting.

DUSSELDORF (GER): German 100 m olympic winner from 1976 in Montreal Annegret
Richter who just recently celebrated her 60th birthday supported the
cancellation of current world records. For German Sports News Agency SID her
quote confirmed the view to start from zero with the records.

GOTEBORG (SWE): European Athletics concluded
a successful (and first) visit to Gothenburg for the kick-off meeting of the
2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in the Swedish city.
European Athletics Director General Christian Milz led the delegation from the
office in Lausanne
which met with Swedish Athletics Federation President Lennart Karlberg and key
members of the “Göteborg 2013”
Organising Committee. The European Athletics delegation visited the
Scandinavium arena where the 32nd edition of the event will be hosted 1-3 March
2013. Informs European Athletics.

NAIROBI (KEN): Sunday will give over 14,000
people who have registered for this year’s 8th Standard Chartered Nairobi
International Marathon a chance to become instant millionaires should they win
the 42-kilometre road race. The Nation writes. Last year, the race attracted
about 13,000 people and has Standard Chartered Bank funding it until 2012.

LANSING
(USA):
Three time World participant and 2004 Olympian Paul Terek (31) confirmed his
retirement. The multi-eventer is ending with 8312 best decathlon score from
2004 Olympic Trials. Despite excellent results he may be a little more known
for his Ninja Warrior appearances, as he strutted his stuff on the popular
Japanese game show. This year he was not competing, but in 2009 was still 5th
at US Nationals.

ACAPULCO
(MEX): IOC informs that the 5th International Athletes’ Forum will be held in Colorado Springs in
October 2011. Led by the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, the event will bring
together sportsmen and women from all continents as well as from International
Federations to discuss the current matters affecting their career and lives
after their years of high-level competition. It was also agreed that Los Angeles, USA, will organise the 5th IOC
World Conference on Women and Sport in February 2012.

KINGSTON (JAM): News from Racers TC (Usain
Bolt Club) as presented by TrackAlerts. Coach Glen Mills said that because of
recent injuries the 2007
200 m world finalist Marvin Anderson might switch to 400 m in 2011. His bests of
2010 were 10.21 and 20.48. Beijing
Olympic women 400 m
finalist Rosemarie Whyte is battling with a career threatening injury. “In the
case of Rosemarie”, Mills said, “you don’t want to put the blame on anyone, but
the facts are, she suffered a major injury in 2006. An injury that was
partially healed and because she did not receive proper treatment, became
chronic over the years.” Mills further said the injury is causing her great
pain and discomfort and added “I know she is under great stress, because it’s
career threatening.”

MOSCOW (RUS): Readers of
Rusathletics.com website decided that Russian Athletes of the Year 2010 are 800 m European champion
Mariya Savinova with 1386 points and with a tie high jumper Ivan Ukhov and 400 m runner Vladimir Krasnov
in the men section (both 842 points). In total 4167 persons voted. In women
ranking second 400 m
hurdler Natalya Antyukh (511) ahead of walker Olga Kaniskina (490). In men
situation third High Jump Euro winner Aleksandr Shustov (662) ahead of 800 m star Yuriy Borzakovskiy
(329). The official title Russian Athlete of the Year will be decided by the
Russian Athletics Federation on October 29. The results from the website
readers will be counting towards the ranking along with the opinion of the
federation representatives.

TUNIS
(TUN): African Athletics United informs that the Tunisian federation is
recruiting a foreign technician to take the job of national technical director
and has set its choice on Jean-Patrick Thirion of France.

ROMA (ITA): Dates and sites for
key senior Italian Championships in 2011. The indoor ones will be held
in Ancona on February 19-20 and the outdoor champs in Torino June 25-26.