VLASIC
IS EUROPEAN FEMALE AOY 2010

LAUSANNE (SUI): High Jump star
and European winner Blanka Vlasic has become only the third women to win the
top European honour for a second time (before in 2007) as she was voted
European Athlete of the Year 2010. Following in the footsteps of the other
two-time winners Yelena Isinbayeva and Carolina Kluft, the Croatian high jumper
was voted as Europe’s top female athlete after
a two year hiatus from the top spot. Her triumph in Barcelona
followed on from an unbeaten indoor season during which she won at the World
Indoor Championships in Doha
in March and also improved her indoor best, which is inevitably a Croatian
record, to 2.06m. The height was not been bettered by anyone in the world in
2010. Outdoors, she won 12 out of her 14 competitions including all seven of
the IAAF Diamond League meetings at which her event was contested and at the
IAAF Continental Cup, which was held in her home city of Split. British heptathlete Jessica Ennis was
second ahead of German 100 m
Eurowinner Verena Sailer. Fourth Poland´s Anita Wlodarczyk who achieved hammer
world record this year, but was not winner in Barcelona, fifth the sensational 200 m winner in Spain Myriam
Soumare of France, sixth Turkish hurdler Nevin Yanit, in positions 7-9 Russian
running gold medalists Tatyana Firova (400 m), Natalya Antyukh (400 m hurdles) and Mariya
Savinova (800 m).
Tenth position for Belarus
shot putter Nadezhda Ostapchuk. In total 19 athletes got votes. It was a
special year for Croatia
as discus thrower Sandra Perkovic was voted European Rising Star of 2010.

DRAMA
AROUND PEARSON, CLARKE WINS MEN´S 100
M

NEW DELHI (IND, Oct 7): In a
dramatic chain of events in the final of the women’s 100m Australian hurdler
Sally Pearson, who was first across the line in a time of 11.28 (+0.2), was
forced to endure an agonising wait for the outcome of a series of protests to
be determined and to learn if she had successfully bagged the first individual
Commonwealth Games medal of her illustrious career. At the end she was stripped
of her victory hours later after a protest was launched against the
Queenslander for an apparent false start. Writes Athletics Australia.
While the electronic timing system showed Laura Turner (ENG) as the first
athlete to have jumped the gun, Pearson’s reaction time of 0.071 meant
technically, she had also false-started. “I guess I’m just numb right now, I
don’t really know what I feel. I’m obviously devastated and disappointed,” she
said. Pearson’s disqualification saw Nigerian athlete Damola Osayomi (11.32)
elevated to the gold medal position. After great start the relay world champion
Lerone Clarke won the 100 m
for Jamaica
in 10.12 (+0.3). Silver for Mark Lewis-Francis (10.20) and close battle for
bronze among Trinidad pair Aaron Armstrong
(10.24) and Emmanuel Callender (10.25). Sprinters were faster in semis (10.14
Callender, Clarke, Armstrong and 10.16 Effah with 10.17 Lewis-Francis).
Expected throwing gold medals for Canada. Sultana Frizell won women
hammer with new games record 68.57. Dylan Armstrong was also impressive in shot
put with another event best in last round 21.02. Silver for Jamaican Dorian
Scott (20.19) and bronze for Australian Dale Stevenson who equalled his
lifetime best of 19.99. The British foursome of Helen Clitheroe, Hannah
England, Stephanie Twell and Ciara Mageean all qualified for the Commonwealth
Games 1500 metres
final. The quartet will now gear up to challenge the Kenyan favourites Nancy
Langat and Viola Kibiwott (4:08.76 the fastest) who looked very comfortable in
their preliminary round outings. England’s Conrad Williams was the
fastest in men´s 400 m
heats with 45.78. Gold medal contender Martyn Bernard was a shock elimination
in the high jump when he failed to clear 216 a height he would normally consider an easy
one. Botswana´s Amantle Montsho was clearly the best in women´s 400 m semifinals after 50.80.
Canadian Jamie Adyetey-Nelson is overnight decathlon leader with 4238 points.
The highlights of Friday programme include women running finals 400 m, 1500 m and 10 000 m. Decathlon will
be ended and heptathlon started.

INJURIES
IN JAMAICAN TEAM

NEW DELHI
(IND):
Jamaican world youth champion Ramone McKenzie ran heats of the 100m at the
Commonwealth Games wearing a batman mask, spikesmag.com reports. The
19-year-old Jamaican athlete said he had a duty to entertain the crowd and
qualified from the heats. Later he did not wear the mask in the quarter-finals
but still advanced to Thursday´s semi-finals. But here he did not take part
because of an hamstring injury. Also not running in finals was Jamaican 100 m champion Oshane Bailey
due to hamstring strain. And another injury blow for Jamaican team was Claston
Bernard, who was in 3rd position of the men’s decathlon, also pulled his
hamstring on Thursday. Confirms TrackAlerts.

KIPCHOGE
VS. SHAHEEN

BELGRADE
(SRB): Former world 5000
metres champion, Eliud Kipchoge was beaten by a whisker
to the Commonwealth on Wednesday by Moses Kipsiro of neighbouring Uganda.
But the Kenyan has an early opportunity to return to winning ways, and to make
another bit of history in the Belgrade Race Through History next Wednesday (Oct
13). But the task won’t be any easier for Kipchoge, because he faces a fine
field for this 6k mix of road, cobblestones and grass around Belgrade’s Kalemegdan Fortress. And the
opposition all comes from Kenya,
albeit the mercurial Saif Saaeed Shaheen now runs for Qatar.
Long-term injuries have blunted Shaheen’s speed, if not his audacious style
and, like Kipchoge, he will have a hard time coping with the two of the
emergent talents of the year – Josphat Menjo, fastest man of the season over 10,000 metres
(26.56.74), and the teenage Dennis Masai, who won the world junior 5000/10000m
double, in Moncton, Canada this summer. Writes Pat Butcher, more on his blog www.globerunner.org.

OTHER NEWS

CHICAGO
(USA):
Continuing the charitable heritage of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon,
Bank of America today announced a $500,000 contribution to the Chicago Youth
Fitness Initiative (CYFI) in honor of Mayor Richard M. Daley and Maggie Daley
who have been longtime supporters of the marathon and youth-oriented
programming. Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan
presented Mayor Daley with the bank’s latest donation to after-school
programming in Chicago at a press conference today kicking off the Bank of
America Chicago Marathon, which takes place this Sunday. Organizers are writing
in a release.

INDIANAPOLIS
(USA): USATF has announced
its team for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Nanning, China
on October 16th. In total three reigning American road champions will be
heading the team: Antonio Vega, the 2010 USA Half Marathon Champion, The 25K US
champion Andrew Carlson and the USA
20K champion Sean Quingley. Also on the team are Ben Bruce and Stephan Shay.
The women’s team is represented by Stephanie Rothstein, Loretta Kilmer, Kristen
Fryburg-Zaitz, Heidi Westover and Samia Akbar.

KINGSTON
(JAM): Jamaica
has named a new board of directors of its Anti-doping commission writes
trackalerts.com. Alexander Williams is the new chairman and he will have
Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) boss Michael Fennell as his deputy. Dr Andrew
Wheatley, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse, Joan Brown, Alveta Knight, Peter Chin,
Professor Rainford Wilks, Aldrick McNab, Drum Drummond, and Dr Kanchana Bandana
are the other members. The previous board was dissolved as it appeared the
members found themselves in a potential conflict of interest and were forced to
resign by the Jamaican Minister of Sports, the new board will serve a three
year term starting from October 4th.

LONDON (GBR): Ed Warner, the chairman of UK
Athletics, has demanded that AEG’s joint bid with Tottenham Hotspur to take
over the London 2012 Olympic stadium is ruled out writes Insidethegames. AEG’s
President Tim Leiweke had stated that it would not make economic sense to keep
the Olympic track if they take over the Stadium after the Games. However,
Warner claims that in numerous previous discussions with AEG they had not
mentioned removing the track. Retaining the track is one of the key
requirements to take over the Stadium after the Olympic Games.

EINDHOVEN (NED): Kenyans Charles Kamathi
(2:07.33) and Alfred Kering (2:07.11) are the main favorites for the Eindhoven
Marathon on October 10th. Also Paul Biwott (2:07.02) could challenge for the
win and the course record (2:07.01). Defending champion Geoffrey Mutai will not
be present to defend his victory from 2009, also not running is Patrick Ivuti
because of an injury. In the women’s race will Ethiopian Atsede Habtamu try to
break the 11 year old course record that stands at 2:28.45.

BRUSSELS (BEL): 10,000 athletes are expected
to compete in different courses during the Brussels Marathon & Half
Marathon on October 10th. In the Marathon William Suparimuk (2:14.51) and
Kenneth Kiprono Korir are aiming for the win while Gino Van Geyte is the main
Belgian favorite.

LONDON
(GBR): The Olympic Park currently being built for the London 2012 Olympics and
Paralympics will be named the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in honour of Britain’s
monarch, it was announced at a special ceremony. Writes insidethegames.biz.

NEW DELHI
(IND): Ken
Nakamura provides some stats from first day of athletics at Commonwealth Games.
Moses Kipsiro won the first medal for Uganda
at 5000m in CWG and his 13:31.25 is the fastest 5000 m in India,
replacing 13:37.07 by Bamber Kosgei in Pune on 13 Sept 1994. The 20.01 by Dylan
Armstrong is the longest throw in the qualifying round of CWG in shot put,
replacing 19.64 by Scott Martin in Melbourne 2006.

TOKYO (JPN): The 1991 world champion in
marathon Hiromi Taniguchi left Tokyo Electric Power track team, where he was
heading the team. He will concentrate on conducting Track clinics.

KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaica
Observer writes, that MVP athletics coach Stephen Francis could face a minimum
four-year ban for allegedly supplying world and Olympic 100-metre champion
Shelly Ann Fraser with a prohibited substance, for which she picked up a six-month
suspension yesterday. Observer sources say the IAAF has written to the Jamaica
Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) requesting information on what the local
body intends to do regarding a possible sanction against Francis, in accordance
with IAAF rules 32.2 h and 40.3 b.

MINNEAPOLIS
(USA): Team USA Minnesota’s
Katie McGregor and Meghan Armstrong will compete at the USA Women’s 10k
Championship in Boston
on Oct. 11. The championship is being held in conjunction with the Tufts Health
Plan 10k for Women, which is the largest women-only 10k in the nation. The
Columbus Day race starts at noon (Eastern time) and features over 6000
participants. Teamusa website informs.

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