FELIX TESTING THE DOUBLE

ROME (ITA): For Allyson Felix the double evening at
200 m
and 400 m
will be a special test before her decision whether to double also at World
Championships in Daegu. “2010 was a more relaxed year. This year my preparation
has been more intense before two big championships years. I have not taken a
definitive decision concerning the 200-400 meters in Daegu but
I am considering to run the 400
meters at the US Nationals,” she was quoted as saying.
Her US rival Sanya
Richards-Ross is returning after break to Europe.
“I am excited to be back again in the European circuit. We have not many
opportunities to double 200 and 400 meters in the same meeting and Rome will offer me the
chance to do a good speed work and to test how my shape is at this point of the
season.” The 400 m
is at 20.30 and the 200 m
at 21.15. Quotes from IAAF.

CHICHEROVA RETURNING WITH 196 WL

SOCHI (RUS, May 25): Anna Chicherova returned to
competition in great style. In her first meet during second day of Russian Team
Championships since September 2009 she cleared world leading 196 cm in second attempt.
Until then she was going over all heights in first. Second Irina Gordeyeva 194
and third Youth Olympic Games winner Mariya Kuchina 192. Yulia Chermoshanskaya
posted second fastest 200 m
in Europe this year 22.81 (+0.5). Svetlana
Klyuka won the 800 m
in European leading 1:59.26 ahead of Yelena Kostetskaya 2:00.39 and returning
Yelena Soboleva 2:03.45. Aleksandr Shustov cleared 230 in high jump and beat
olympic winner Andrey Silnov (224). Anna Kuropatkina improved in triple jump to
14.35, in men competition Aleksey Fedorov 17.01. Sergey Polyanskiy leaped to 800 cm in long jump, Igor
Pavlov cleared 564 in
pole vault. Olesya Syreva won the 5000 m in 15:22.10. New shot put name Aleksandr
Lobynya improved again to 21.00 and beat Ivan Yushkov (20.38). In women
competition Ana Omarova got 19.05.

LEMAITRE DOUBLING IN DAEGU

ROME (ITA): French sprinting star Christophe Lemaitre is considering to
concentrate only on 200 m
next year at Olympic Games 2012
in London.
But this year he wants to double in Daegu. “I am very happy with my preparation
this winter. Last year everything was new for me. This year I am ready to
compete against the best sprinters in the world. This year I am going to run
more 100 metres
but I will be trying to double 100 and 200 metres in Daegu”,
said Lemaitre. In other sprint debate both Lemaitre and Asafa Powell said they
would welcome Dwain Chambers back at big meetings.

MURER OPENING

RIO DE JANEIRO (BRA): IAAF World Challenge continues on
Thursday with last fifth meet of Brazilian Tour in Rio de Janeiro. Home fans are eagerly waiting
on season debut of world indoor champion Fabiana Murer. The current world lead
461 might go. In the indoor season 2011 she started with 474 and last summer
with 475 cm.
Other top names include olympic winners Maurren Higa Maggi in long jump,
Melaine Walker at 400 m
hurdles and sprint duel Dwain Chambers vs. Dexter Lee in the 100 m. Hammer continues with
challenge scoring events for both men and women. More at www.world-challenge.org.

OTHER NEWS

ROME (ITA): Latest withdrawals are Russians.
Steeple world record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina and 400 m runner Antonina
Krivoshapka. Also injured is French sprinter Martial Mbandjock.

MANNHEIM (GER): European 100 m champion Verena Sailer
was forced to withdraw from the meetings in Hengelo
on May 29 and Dessau
on June 1. It is because of her achilles problems, she is under the guidance of
expert doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. Her main aim of the season Daegu
World Championships remain valid.

STOCKHOLM (SWE): Swedish TV website informs that Jenny
Kallur is ending her career at age of 30. Her top position was European indoor
silver 2005 in
Madrid. “This
is absolutely the right thing for me,” she was quoted as saying. In recent
years she had serious injury problems, her last normal season was back in 2007.
Her twin sister Susanna is preparing to be back this year. Her best remains so
12.85 from 2005.

ROME (ITA): Usain Bolt believes Yohan Blake’s
attitude in training suggests that he will be “really good” in the near future.
“This kid is like a beast,” Bolt was quoted by BBC saying. “If you see him in
training, he strives to beat me everyday in training. He works so hard and he’s
going to be really good in the future I promise – that’s one thing I’m sure of.
He tells me ‘I’m going to beat you’. I keep telling him ‘no! It’s not going to
happen’. That keeps me on my toes – because I see how hard that he works.” They
will be together at 50th Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting but in different events,
Bolt runs the 100 m
and Blake the 200 m.

OSTRAVA (GER): German Barcelona silver winner Mathias
De Zordo is the latest top name for 50th jubilee Ostrava Golden Spike javelin
competition. Meeting director Jan Zelezny is satisfied that a kind of
replacement was found after world champion Andresa Thorkildsen got injured. In
the competition also Tero Pitkamaki, Sergey Makarov and home star Petr
Frydrych. Olympic medalist Shawn Crawford runs the 200 m, former world champion
Kim Collins is the latest entry for the 100 m. Women´s 400 m will see this season so
far unbeaten Francine McCorory of USA and Jamaican winner from Sao Paulo
Rosemarie Whyte. Also running is Russian European indoor silver medalist Olesya
Krasnomovets. New guest in terms of the 50th jubilee is the 100 meters javelin
thrower with the old model Uwe Hohn of Germany.

BRUSSELS (BEL): Twitter information says that VRT-SPORZA
acquired the TV rights for world championships in Daegu and Moscow.

PORTLAND (USA): Three-time USA cross country champion and world
half-marathon bronze medallist Dathan Ritzenhein counted himself lucky this
morning after an out of control car grazed his at high speed on an Oregon
highway last night. “I was driving back from dropping the family off at the
airport (they were going to Michigan),
and I was going down the freeway when a big old car came flying up two lanes
over,” Ritzenhein recounted in an e-mail to Race Results Weekly today.
Ritzenhein, who has two children, was unhurt but mentally shaken up. The 28
year-old Ritzenhein, who is coached by Alberto Salazar, is still making his way
back from the foot surgery he underwent earlier this year. Salazar recently
told the Oregonian newspaper that Ritzenhein was planning to run the 10,000m at
the USA Outdoor Championships next month. Informs RRW.

ALBANY (USA):
Officials at the Freihofer’s Run for Women, the only 5K road race in the world
to hold a prestigious (silver) label designation by the International
Association of Athletics Federations, the sport’s worldwide governing body,
today announced that Emily Chebet will return to New York’s capital city on Saturday, June
4th to defend her 5K title. Chebet, winner of last year’s World Cross-Country
title in Poland, will be joined in the lead pack by Aheza Kiros (Ethiopia), who
last month cruised to victory at the speedy Carlsbad 5000 (15:12); Mamitu Daska
(Ethiopia), winner of the 2011 Houston Marathon (2:26.33) and runner-up at the
2009 Freihofer’s (15:30); and, Misiker Mekkonin (Ethiopia), 1st Lilac Bloomsday
Run 12K.

RESULTS

LA
CHAUX DE FONDS
(SUI, May 25): Top Swiss sprinters fought with strong winds. Amaru Schenkel won
the 100 m
with 10.60 (-2.0) and 200 m
in 21.10 (-3.3).

KUNSHAN (CHN, May 25): Chinese female shot putters are improving their
shape. At national GP meet Gong Lijiao with 20.10 and Li Ling with 19.72
improved their season bests.

NIJMEGEN (NED, May 25): Fast 5000 m ended the Nijmegen
Global Athletics Meeting. Ethiopian junior (and fresh African Junior Champion)
Yitayal Atnafu (18) improved to 13:16.30 as the winner ahead of Ugandan Abraham
Kiplimo (13:16.86 also PB). Third another junior Kenyan Japeth Korir with
13:17.18 and fourth Philemon Yator (19) 13:18.35. Interesting to note huge
improvements for Jake Robertson of New Zealand as 7th to 13:22.28 and
Norway´s Sondre Buraas as 8th to 13:28.07. US Craig Miller won the 1500 m in 3:37.56 over
Briton Nic McCormick 3:38.07. Also to note Veerle Dejaeghere achieving 9:51.65
in women steeple, Briton Emma Jackson 4:12.42 in the 1500 m and Martijn Scheepers
1:47.42 in the 800 m.
World junior medalist Annet Negesa of Uganda won the women 800 m in 2:02.38.

BEOGRAD (SRB, May 25): First International meeting
organised by Beograd Athletics Federation (replacing the former EAA fixture) at
the Military Academy Stadium saw Croatian Ana Simic clearing good 192 cm in high jump. Home
shot putters this time could not go over 20 meters. Milan Jotanovic
achieved 19.98 and Asmir Kolasinac 19.25.