SHUSTOV
232 IN
SEASON OPENING

YEKATERINBURG (RUS, Jan 7): Barcelona
high jump winner
Aleksandr Shustov started on a high note his indoor season. At 20th
Christmas
Meet in Yekaterinburg he cleared 232
in second attempt and equalled his indoor PB. He then
tried at new meet record height and his overall life-time best 235 cm.
Shustov will open
his international season at second leg of Moravia High Jump Tour in
Hustopece, Czech
Republic on January 29 in direct clash with his
main rival Ivan Ukhov. Second Mikhail Tsvetkov in second attempt cleared
230
and equalled his overall life-time best from 2002. Third European junior
champion 2009 Sergey Mudrov in third attempt also mastered 230, his
life-time
best. Another European Champion Mariya Savinova posted a 2:41.14 win at
the 1000 m. Fast the 300 m races, Roman Smirnov
clocked new meet record 33.41 and World indoor relay silver winner from
Doha
Kseniya Vdovina achieved 37.92. In the 60 m finals Lithuanian Rytis
Sakalauskas was
the best male in 6.70, in women´s race Mariya Bolikova got 7.33 over
Yelena
Mironova (7.34), Yuliya Katsura (7.35) and relay olympic winner
Aleksandra
Fedoriva (7.40). Relay world champion from 2005 Olesya Krasnomovets won
the 500 m in 1:09.40. In close 60 m hurdles Igor Peremota
beat Aleksey Dremin (both 7.82). In longer distances Valentin Smirnov
posted
meet record 7:55.95 at 3000 m.
In women´s 2000 m
Olesya Syreva won in 5:44.89 ahead of Yelena Zadorozhnaya (5:45.40) with
reigning European indoor champion at 1500 m Anna Alminova only 6th
(5:53.60).

BARRAS
NOT SURE FOR EURO INDOOR

PARIS (FRA): European decathlon
champion Romain Barras is uncertain about his participation at the European
indoor championships at home in Paris.
Scans showed that Barras is having a serious inflammation on his pubis. His
coach Jean Yves Cochand confirmed to L’Équipe that his indoor season is in
danger.

RADCLIFFE
BITTEN BY A DOG

MONTE CARLO
(MON): Marathon world record holder Paula
Radcliffe wrote on her twitter: “Spent part of the morning at the hospital
after being bitten by a dog! Luckily its not too bad, felt much worse as my
calf went into spasm. My calf now feels like I have done a track workout three
days in a row.” Telegraph confirms the incident happened while she was out on a
training run on Friday morning near her home in Monaco. Radcliffe, who is set to
fly to the United States in the near future for high-altitude training, is
hoping to compete on the track at the World Championships in Daegu in August.
Her attention will then turn to running an autumn marathon, either in Chicago or New
York, to gain the qualifying standard for next
summer’s London Olympics.

OTHER NEWS

MOSCOW (RUS): New names are included into the
start list of Russian Winter IAAF Indoor permit meet on February 6. In the men´s 600 m also Kenyan Jackson
Kivuna and US Jamaal Torrance will run. Already earlier the participation of
Boaz Lalang and Ahmed Ismail was confirmed for this world-best attempt planned
race. In the men´s 60 m
hurdles top Europeans will fight. Czech list leader 2010 Petr Svoboda against
best Russian Yevgeniy Borisov, Hungarian record holder Daniel Kiss and German
Barcelona finalist Alexander John.

MADRID (ESP): Former European Champion in
the middle distances Reyes Estevez denied for Spanish media any relationship
with that frame of doping and said he never used prohibited substances. His
name was mentioned in the Operation Greyhound summaries and links to doping
practices in collaboration with his now former coach Manuel Pascua. With Barcelona fourth place he
ended his flat distances track career and is concentrating in winter on cross
races and plans to run steeple in summer.

LONDON (GBR): The Canadian Olympic Committee
has hired four new specialist to prepare their Olympic athletes for the 2012
Olympic Games. Dr Julia Alleyne has been named as chief medical officer and
will be supported by chief therapist Marc Rizzardo, lead mental performance
consultant Dr Kimberley Amirault-Ryan and Marnie McBean, specialist in athlete
preparation reports Insidethegames.

BRUSSELS
(BEL): Belgian pole vaulter Kevin Rans is rounding up his training camp in South Africa
with confidence and aims at breaking his Belgian record of 571 during the
indoor season. Rans was sidelined during the 2010 outdoor season with a foot
injury and missed the European Championships in Barcelona. He plans his first indoor
competitions at the end of January.

POTCHEFSTROOM (RSA): Irish
athletes Fionnuala Britton and Mary Cullen have arrived in Potchefstroom for a
training camp in preparation of their indoor season. Britton plans on running a
few indoor meets in Germany
in an attempt to qualify for the European indoor Championships in Paris and in preparation
for the IAAF World Cross Country championships in March. Cullen’s main aim will
be the European indoor championships in Paris.
Also former world indoor champion Derval O’Rourke is currently training in
Potchefstroom informs the Irish Examiner. Sprinters Paul Hession and Brona
Furlong, who have not raced since the European championships in Barcelona, are rounding
off a stint of training at Monte Gordo and both will compete indoors this year.
Two-time European indoor gold medallist, David Gillick, will return to his
training base in the US
today after spending Christmas at home with his family. Jason Smyth and his
coach, Stephen Maguire, arrived there earlier in the week. Writes Irish
Examiner.

ACCRA
(GHA): Ghana
risks to be banned from all IOC related activities as Ghanaian authorities have
failed to pass a sports bill which was one of the requirements of an agreed
road-map in helping solve the current impasse at the Ghanaian Olympic Committee
(GOC). The IOC has warned the GOC that a decision and appropriate measures will
be taken at the next IOC executive board meeting in January.

LAUSANNE (SUI): Genuine acts of
Fair Play in the world of sport are rare, however, on January 27 at the Hotel
Beau-Rivage in the Swiss Olympic city of Lausanne, the International Sports
Press Association (AIPS) together with the International Committee for Fair
Play (CIFP) led by its president Dr Jeno Kamuti (Hungary) will recognise a
number of local and international heroes at a gala awards ceremony to be
attended by International Olympic Committee President Dr Jacques Rogge.

TOKYO (JPN): Japan 400 m hurdles 2001 and 2005
World Championships bronze medalist Dai Tamasue reports on twitter as well as
on his website that he is married. He was not running in 2009-10.

ATLANTA
(USA): Respected agent and
coach Paul Doyle informs about opening of a training center in Atlanta.

PERTH
(AUS): “Perth
had a beautiful Christmas Day. We had breakfast on the beach in the morning. We
didn’t have traditional Christmas fare at lunch; instead we did seafood and
steak. It was a very Australian Christmas,” informs world and olympic pole
vault winner Steven Hooker for IAAF. “I’m doing jumps off the shorter approach.
I’m doing some technical work and a lot of running, more running than I’ve done
in the past, which is good. I’m working very hard on my speed, and that’s
picked up, and working very hard in the gym as well,” said Hooker who is going
to miss the Australian season.

MAINZ
(GER): German former top names are in Mainz
to seek to get the A coaching licence of German Athletics Federation DLV. In
the list Franka Dietzsch, Nadine Kleinert, Charles Friedek and Tim Lobinger
among others. They all got the B-licence last fall.

ANNECY
(FRA): French businessman Charles Beigbeder has been chosen as the new chief
executive of Annecy’s
struggling bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Edgar
Grospiron resigned as bid chief last month, saying he was not given enough
money to compete with rivals Munich
and Pyeongchang. The head of the Annecy Supervisory Board, Christian Monteil,
said that Beigbeder, 45, was nominated as a replacement and accepted the offer.
Informs insidethegames.

DUBLIN (IRL): Talented Irish runner and
silver winner from World Junior Championships Ciara Mageean has secured the
most lucrative sponsorship deal in the history of Irish junior athletics.
Mageean has been snapped up by American sportswear giants New Balance in a
six-figure deal which will run for three years, with the option of a fourth.
Writes Irelan Athletics. In joining Team New Balance, Mageean turned down
numerous NCAA college scholarships and other shoe company offers, following a
brilliant 2010 season. On January 22 she will make her debut for New Balance
competing at one mile at the New Balance Games. She has also confirmed her
attendance at the Irish Indoors in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast later in February.

KINGSTON
(JAM): After months of uncertainty, it appears that The Bahamas will in fact be
stepping in to save this year’s Carifta Games with an announcement expected to
be made by North America, Central America and
Caribbean Athletics Association President Neville ‘Teddy’ McCook as early as
next week. The Games – the region’s premier junior athletics meet – is
scheduled for April 23- 25 and were originally expected to be hosted by St Kitts and Nevis.
However, the eastern Caribbean state withdrew
due to a lack of commitment from its government to meet the financial
obligations, which can run up to US$500,000. Writes Jamaica Gleaner.

GAINESVILLE
(USA): Last season Texas AM sprinter Curtis Mitchell who improved to 19.99
at 200 m
will move to Florida
to continue his training, even though he has a year of eligibility remaining.
Informs Track and Field News website. He is turning pro and as his agent will
work former great UK
sprinter John Regis. His university head coach Pat Henry said that the decision
to leave the school sport was misguided. “It’s often assumed that athletes make
this professional move due to academic ineligibility. Curtis was in good
standing academically, with no problems what so ever, and was ready to go
athletically as well. He leaves with a year of eligibility remaining and his
education unfinished,” said Henry.

LIMA (PER): Long jump and
hurdles national record holder and IberoAmerican champion Jorge McFarlane was
named Athlete of the Year 2010 by his national federation of Peru.

KIGALI
(RWA): Rwanda’s
leading runner Dieudonné Disi was elected the 2nd vice president of Rwanda
Athletics Federation. Informs African Athletics facebook. The 10 000 m national record
holder did not finish the marathon at Commonwealth Games in October.

RESULTS

KULDIGA (LAT, Jan 7): European
long jump champion Ineta Radevica started her indoor season with 13.64 triple
jump win. She wants to concentrate during the indoor season on the triple event
where she has 14.12 life-time best from Athens Olympics qualification. In the 60 m races Lithuanian wins for
Lina Grincikaite in 7.43 and Martynas Jurgilas 6.80. In tactical 1000 m Dmitrijs Jurkevics
beat Lithuanian Vitalij Kozlov (2:30.36 – 2:30.41).

OMSK (RUS, Jan 7): Christmas Half-Marathon
was held in minus 30 degrees. Impressive 1:08:10 in that conditions for winner
Vadim Ulikhov. Best woman was Nina Podnebesnova in 1:22:14.

XERACO (ESP, Jan 6): Moroccan
Soud Kambouchia won the 6th Volta a Peu de
Xeraco at 14.3 km
in new course record 51:12 in 25 degrees temperature. In men´s category also
Moroccan win for Hassane Ahouchar in 42:44.