by Larry Eder
photo by PhotoRun.net
Senor Pedroso won many medals over his career, and his speeches, sparkling with Marxist ideology, were pleasantly consistent-the guy loves his country and his country’s leader. Besides being a good Marxist, Ivan Pedroso is one of our sports’ most talented long jumpers.
Now, Senor Pedroso is coaching Monsieur Teddy Tamgho, one of the most talented long jump and triple jumpers on this planet. Ivan Pedroso believes that Teddy Tamgho can break Jonathan Edwards WR in the triple jump of 18.29 meters. Senor Pedroso is targeting London 2012 for this huge effort. In his conversations, Ivan Pedroso is quite accurate: Teddy Tamgho will have to be in excellent shape to even venture into the same stratosphere as Jonathan Edwards.
Monsieur Tamgho just broke the WR indoors for the triple jump twice during the European Indoors on March 5, 2011. What was more fascinating to me was his long jumping. Tamgho long jumped like a new jumper, preferring safe jumps over taking chances. In fact, two of his jumps warranted at least the silver medal in the Euro indoors, except that he jumped so far in front of the plasticine barrier that he missed the bronze medal by 2 cm and the silver by 5 cm!
Teddy Tamgho will have his hands full in both Daegu and London. First, there is Phillip Idowu, who is just talented enough and fast enough to challenge Tamgho inch for inch. And if Dick Booth, the U.S. coach who is considered one of the world’s top jump coaches, continues to develop his two young triple jumpers, it could be very crowded in London on the medal stands.
Phillip Idowu, 2010 AVIVA Gateshead, photo by PhotoRun.net
Some believe that World records are for small, quiet meets at the end of the season. World Champs and Olympic events are all about the competition. But, it could be, with one, two or, four exceptional jumpers, that both Daegu and London have very exciting triple jump competitions! In Goteborg, in 1995, when Jonathan Edwards broke the world record for the triple jump twice, the crowd went absolutely crazy.
I dream of great triple jumps in Daegu and London…..
SAVIGNE 14.95 IN TRIPLE JUMP
HAVANA (CUB, Mar 18-19): World triple jump champion
Yargelis Savigne is already in excellent shape when she achieved world leading
14.95 at Copa Cuba
meet. She was quoted as saying that her target for summer is to break the world
record 15.50 by Ukrainian Inessa Kravets from 1995. Second Mabel Gay also in
solid shape with 14.65 (just 1
cm shy of her best) and third Yusmay Bicet 14.20. In
men´s triple Alexis Copello won with 17.22 over Yoandri Betanzos (17.18) and
David Girat (17.16). Victor Moya won the high jump with 225 cm clearance. Arasay
Thondike with 70.16 beat surprisingly former world champion Yipsi Moreno in
hammer (69.56). Misleidys Gonzalez was the best in shot put (18.72). In men´s
throws two new meet records. Carlos Veliz achieved 20.18 in shot put and
Guillermo Martinez 84.64 in
javelin.
ZAGREB AND SOPOT FOR WORLD INDOORS
ZAGREB (CRO): Two cities are bidding for IAAF World
Indoor Championships 2014. It is Croatian Zagreb with Arena Hall and Polish
city of Sopot near the Baltic
Sea. IAAF Council will decide in November this year. Both halls
were not used for athletics so far.
BIG INTEREST IN OSAKA
MARATHON
OSAKA (JPN): The organizers of the first running of
the Osaka Marathon, scheduled for October 30, announced that 171,744 people
applied for the new race by the Mar. 15 application deadline, 5.7 times the
number of available spots. 154,822 people applied for the 28,000 places in the
full marathon, while 16,922 people applied for the 2000 places in the 8.8 km challenge run. Among
areas affected by last week’s earthquake and tsunami disasters, 440 people from
Miyagi prefecture, 144 from Iwate, 290 from Fukushima
and 977 from Ibaraki
applied for the race. Informs Brett Larner on his blog.
PLANS FOR D. ENNIS
ORLANDO (USA): Jamaican sprint hurdler
Delloreen Ennis has set the bar high for the 2011 season. Higher than ever
before. She turned 36 years old on March 5, says she is expecting to exceed all
she has done in the past after changing coaches at the start of this season,
plus she has started working with a group for the first time in her long
career. In Orlando
she is part of Brooks Johnson camp . She skipped the Indoors season this year
to continue “working out some technical stuff” and also to correct “some
things” as the whole package is about strength and speed. The Florida Relays at
the start of April could be where she opens, she hinted, but said her main
early season meet will be at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 7.
Writes Jamaica
Observer. Ennis won so far three world championships medals at 100 m hurdles in three
editions in a row. Silver in 2005 and bronzes in 2007 and 2009, her best is
12.50 from 2007. She is also double olympic finalist.
PEDROSO HOPES FOR TAMGHO WR
HAVANA (CUB): Former long jump world champion Ivan
Pedroso is currently is coaching one of the biggest hits of the sport, French
triple jumper Teddy Tamgho. Pedroso was quoted as saying for agencies that he
sees in Tamgho the potential to break Jonathan Edwards world record of 18.29
from 1995. But first goal is London 2012. “He must be 100% for London,” said Pedroso who added that this
year the main goal is Daegu and Diamond League circuit.
Paris loves Teddy Tamgho, March 5, 2011, photo by PhotoRun.net
PUNTA UMBRIA
FLASH BACK
CHERUIYOT: “I have won everything now, save for that elusive Olympic
medal. Well that is a year from now and let me now focus on World Championship
and that I can start worrying about it next year. I will now see how best to
defend my 5000 m
title in Daegu in September,” said the women race winner Vivian Cheruiyot.
MERGA: “I have not established my programme for the summer but the
possibility of doubling over 5000m and 10,000m at the World Championships this
summer is there for me. Perhaps I will have one race at the end of April and
then I will start running in the Diamond League again,” added men race
dominator Imane Merga. He, and his manager Gianni Demadonna, are currently
looking around for fast 10,000m races so that he can establish his credentials
for Daegu. Writes IAAF. And he has still one more CC race, this Sunday the
Cross Alà Dei Sardi in the eponymous Sardinian town (Tariku Bekele should be
his main rival).
STATS: In women junior race Ethiopia won two individual medals
first since 2008. In
men´s junior race every year since 2006 both men and women’s junior races were
won by runners from same country. In women senior competition Linet Masai won
third consecutive silver, matching Mariano Haro who won three consecutive
silvers from 1973 to 1975 in
men´s race. Kenyan women finished one-two for the third year in a row. US won
team bronze for the second year in a row. Vivian Cheruiyot became the sixth
women to win both junior and senior gold. For the first time since 2007 Kenyan
men won two medals in senior race. Uganda achieved team bronze after
finishing 4th in the last two years.
FIGHT: The Ethiopian Abera Kuma and Eritrean Samuel Tsegay were
disqualified after they started to beat each other in the home straight in the
men race. Kuma accused Tsegay to step on his heel on the purpose.
OTHER NEWS
BALTIMORE (USA):
Agent Mark Pryor confirmed on his twitter that long jump world champion
Brittney Reese will travel to Europe prior to
US Championships serving also as Daegu Trials. The olympic fifth placer from Beijing should compete at
Samsung Diamond League meet Golden Gala of Rome on May 26. It will be her first
European appearance since winning the Weltklasse of Zurich in 2010.
ZURICH (SUI): Delegates of the assembly of Swiss
Athletics approved a change that will allow current president Hansruedi Muller
remain as head of the organisation also for 2014 when Zurich will host the European Championships.
As per statutes after two election periods he would no longer be able to bid
again and this time will end in 2013. But because of the European Championships
and his role in the preparation the period was enlarged by two more years. The
assembly was held at Letzigrund Stadium of Zurich.
LOS ANGELES (USA):
Markos Geneti became the 74th sub-2:07 marathon runner ever after his Los
Angelese marathon win and debut. Informs Ken Nakamura.
NEW YORK (USA):
New York City half marathon winner Caroline
Rotich ran to a new course record of 1:08.52 last weekend but admitted her
heart felt heavy after the recent disasters in Japan. Rotich has spent her teenage
years in Sendai
after earning a scholarship to Sendai Ikuei Gakuen, the same high school that
Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru attended, when she was 14 years old. After the
race Rotich was quoted “I remember how things were when I was there and to see
how they are now breaks my heart.”
CASABLANCA (MOR): The Moroccan city of Casablanca
could be launching a bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has Morocco’s
Sports Minister Moncef Belkhayat revealed. Casablanca
is the country’s largest city, with a population of three million, and has long
been considered as a possible candidate to be the first in Africa
to host the Games. Belkhayat has now confirmed that serious planning has
already taken place about a possible bid reports Insidethegames.
ELDORET (KEN): Swedish marathoner Isabellah Andersson has sustained an
injury to her left knee that will keep her from competing until at least the
end of May. The former Kenyan athlete, who now competes for Sweden, started
feeling pain in her knee after a training run and requires small surgery.
Andersson holds personal bests of 2:23.41 for the marathon (Swedish record this
January in Dubai)
and 1:10.02 for the half marathon reports Hardloopnieuws.
AMSTERDAM (NED): As in previous years the organizing
committee of the FBK-Games in association with the Dutch Athletics Association
KNAU, will organize a FBK-Challenge before the start of the top one day meet
FBK-Games (IAAF World Challenge competition). The FBK-Challenge has to give
opportunities to young talents from The Netherlands, Belgium
and Germany
to compete.
SUNDERLAND (GBR): The University
of Sunderland is to be the training
base for Grenada’s
Olympic team ahead of the 2012 London Olympics writes Insidethegames. The
announcement comes three months after a Grenadian National Olympics Committee
(GNOC) delegation spent a day touring the university’s facilities. One of top
talents will most probably be sprinter Kirani James who recently clocked indoor
junior all-time best at 400 m
(44.80) and is multiple IAAF World junior and youth champion.
LONDON (GBR): Following a new report published by Laureus World Sports
Academy sports projects
are highly effective when it comes to tackling youth crime and anti-social
behaviour and can save the government money writes Insidethegames. The report
‘Teenage Kicks’ was commissioned by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and
produced by charity think tank and consultancy New Philanthropy Capital (NPC).
SEOUL (KOR): Korean figure skating Olympic champion Kim Yu-Na will attend Tuesday´s
opening ceremony of the 74th AIPS Congress in Seoul. “Smart Korea
– Sports Korea”
is the theme given by the organizers.
RESULTS
KINGSTON (JAM, Mar 20): Defending champion Shericka
Jackson took the U20 girls 200m title in 23.85 during second day of Carifta
Jamaican Trials. Celia Walters of Racers TC was second (24.04). In the boys 200 m Kemarley Brown achieved
21.14 to win. The Carifta Trials came a week after the Gibson Relays, while the
ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ & Girls’ Athletic Championships are set to begin
next week Wednesday. The 2011 Carifta Games will be held at the Montego Bay
Sports Complex from April 23 to 25. Informs Jamaica Observer.
GENT (BEL): 8th European Indoor Masters Championships ended on Sunday in the
Flanders Sports Arena. Some 3000 participants from 44 countries were
registered. Spanish Miguel Angel Prieto achieved new world masters indoor
record in category 45+ at 3000
m walk with 12:14.77. He was 20 km bronze medalist at
European Championships 1986
in Stuttgart.
Sweden´s Mattias Sunneborn scored 4302 points in pentathlon (age 40+), another
world indoor masters record. He is still national indoor and outdoor record
holder in long jump (820 and 821
in 1996 and 1995) and European Indoor Champion in 1996.
CORRECTION
LUGANO (SUI): Hassanine Sbai didn’t set a new Tunisian record at 20 km here as reported on
Sunday. Hatem Ghoula clocked 1:19:02 in 1997 what is also the current African
record.
