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BOLT FIT AND READY

KINGSTON (JAM): “I am fit and ready to start my
season.” That is the quote from Usain Bolt published by Jamaica Gleaner. “Yes,
I know that people have been questioning if I am ok, or when I am going to run,
and so on, but so far everything is fine and I’ll be opening my season at the
end of the month, as was originally planned.” His first three races of the
season are planned for Rome on May 26, Ostrava on May 31 and Oslo on June 9. “I think I have lost about
eight to 10 pounds
so, yes, I have trimmed down a little and I believe more muscles have gone on.
I have been working hard to keep my core together and, in doing that, I have
gotten much more muscles, so for me that’s the aim, to try and get everything
together; my start, full power and everything else,” he said. In another issue
just published by SportsPro Usain Bolt tops the list of the 50 most marketable
athletes in the world. SportsPro explains that athletes were ranked “according
to their marketing potential over a three-year period.” From track athletes in
top 50 also Jessica Ennis as 12th, Liu Xiang as 19th and Tyson Gay as 29th.

LIU VS. OLIVER AT PRE

BEIJING (CHN): China Daily informs that next meeting
of hurdles heroes should happen on June 4 at Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. World leader Liu
Xiang will meet with US record holder David Oliver after last Sunday the
Chinese won on home soil in Shanghai.
For coach Sun, Liu’s start and the final two hurdles are where he needs to
improve. “Liu’s skill is now stable when stepping on to the starting line,
which is very good,” Sun said. “His physical condition is very close to during
his peak, but he still has to work hard on his starting and leaping over the
last two hurdles” Sun was quoted by the Chinese paper.

LAALOU FOR 1000 M

RABAT (MAR): More top names for the Meeting International Mohammed VI
d’Athlétisme in Rabat, Morocco, on 5 June (IAAF World Challenge) are local
favorite Amine Laalou who will contest the 1000m where he’ll face Poland’s
Marcin Lewandowski, the European champion at 800m. The 1500m will feature a
battle between Abdelaati Iguider, a two-time winner of the event here, and
Kenyan’s William Tanui and Geoffrey Rono. On the women’s side, Moroccans Hasna
Benhassi, a multiple World and Olympic medallist at 800m, and Halima Hachlaf
will take on Dutchwoman Yvonne Hak and Briton Jeanny Meadows, the silver and
bronze medallists from last year’s European championships. In the 1500m, 2008
Olympic finalist and sub-4:00 ace Btissam Lakhouad will face young Ethiopians
Abeba Arigawe and Genzebe Dibaba. Elsewhere on the infield, local long jumping
star Yahya Berrabah returns to the scene of his 8.38m national record. In the
men’s Discus Throw, Omar El Ghazali of Egypt
will face Erik Cadee of The Netherlands, while Cuba’s former World and Olympic
champion Olisdeilys Menendez will headline the field in the women’s Javelin
Throw. Other top names include Panama’s Alonzo Edward, the 200m World silver
medallist in 2009; Richard Mateelong of Kenya in the 3000m Steeplechase;
Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro in the 5000m; Kenyans Iness Chennonge and Sylvia Kibet
and Ethiopian Wude Ayalew in the women’s 3000m; and Jana Pittman-Rawlinson of
Australia, the 2003 and 2007 World champion in the 400m Hurdles, who is waging
a strong comeback after several years of injury. Informs IAAF.

OTHER NEWS

MADRID (ESP): Spanish former European walking
champion Francisco Fernandez will not compete at European Cup this weekend in Portugal due to
an injury. He hopes to be back in training on time for Daegu World
Championships. Spanish team will be now composed by José Ignacio Díaz, Benjamín
Sánchez, Francisco Arcilla and Miguel Ángel López.

PARIS (FRA): European indoor champion Leslie Djhone confirmed his first 400 m of the year will happen
at adidas Grand Prix in New York
on June 11. Before that he will test himself at 300 m in Forbach on May 29
and Marseille on June 4.

ZURICH (SUI): Best Swiss high jumper Beatrice
Lundmark (31) informed that she will reduce her businnes time in order to have
more space for training as she wants to qualify for London 2012 Games. She
achieved her first major final last year in Barcelona (10th) and improved to 192 cm last summer. She is
working as communication manager in the Lugano City
office and will reduce her working time by 50 percent. To qualify for Daegu she
must clear 192 cm,
her first international meet will be Dessau in Germany
on June 1.

MOSCOW (RUS): European indoor champion 2009 at 1500 m Russian Anna Alminova
changed coaches. She ended the cooperation with Gennadiy Suvorov (coaching also
Gulnara Samitova-Galkina) and started to train under the guidance of Vladimir
Kazarin (coach of Mariya Savinova).

STOCKHOLM (SWE): Former combined events star Carolina
Kluft said for Swedish TV SVT that she wants to qualify in long jump and 4×100
m relay for Daegu World Championships this year. Kluft is currently healthy and
plans to begin with the sprints end of May and continue with long jump later in
June.

NAIROBI (KEN): Kenya’s
world marathon champion Abel Kirui was given the opportunity to defend his
title in the South Korean city of Daegu
this year after other top runners turned down a place on the team. Kenyan media
are informing, Kirui had been left off the provisional list of 10 men and 10
women but, with only six athletes having confirmed their availability to
Athletics Kenya by last Sunday’s deadline, he has now been named on the team.
The selection of the Kenyan team has been overshadowed by the death of Olympic
champion Samuel Wanjiru, who jumped to his death after his wife found him in
bed with another woman last Sunday.

NYAHURURU (KEN): The Nation writes that two women, who claim to be
Olympic champion Samuel Kamau Wanjiru’s wives, joined his widow Triza Njeri in
mourning his death at his Nyahururu home. Ms Judy Wambui and international
athlete Mary Wacera entered the home accompanied by Wanjiru’s mother Ann after
holding an hour-long meeting at another home Kamau built for his mother at
Muthaiga estate.

HALLE (GER): Double marathon olympic gold medalist
Waldemar Cierpinski was running barefoot. But it was not a training run. He was
chasing thiefs who broke into his house during last weekend. The 60 years old
1976 and 1980 olympic winner shouted on them first and when they started to run
he chased them. But was not succesfull and called the police.

EUGENE (USA): Prefontaine Classic 2 miles race is very
special in terms of top names. The 4th stop on the prestigious Samsung Diamond
League circuit offers Bernard Lagat, Eliud Kipchoge, Tariku Bekele, new star
Alamirew Yenew, Edwin Soi, top European Mo Farah, another Briton Chris Thompson, US
record holder Chris Solinsky among others. To win this race, it may take
something faster than Craig Mottram’s 8:03.50 Meet Record at the 2007
Prefontaine Classic, the organizers are informing.

LONDON (GBR): London 2012 revealed details of the 70-day, 8,000-mile
Torch Relay of Britain ahead of the 2012 London Games, starting at Land’s End
on May 19. London 2012 officials announced 74 locations where 8,000
torchbearers will carry the flame after it arrives from Greece in
exactly a year’s time on May 18, 2012. The torch will pass through England’s major cities, the capitals of Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland
as well as remote outposts including the Isle of Lewis. Informs insidethegames.
The flame will spend the week in London
before it is used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony in the Olympic
Stadium on Friday, July 27, 2012.

NIJMEGEN (NED): Organizers for the Nijmegen Global Athletics (May 25)
have announced a strong 5000m field with Italian European bronze 10.000m
medalist Daniele Meucci (13:24.38) and Dutch Michel Butter. Also in the field
are New Zealand’s Jake
Robertson (13:32.92 in Nijmegen
in 2010), Abdi Nageeye, Mohamed Ali Mohamed and Khalid Choukoud.

BRUSSELS (BEL): Former European indoor 60m hurdles
champion Eline Berings reports her surgery to the knee was successful. The
25-year old athlete stays positive and confirmed for Belgian media her recovery
is going well.

LONDON (GBR): BMW has announced the involvement of a
further 10 world-class athletes to its BMW London 2012 Performance Team.
Including the latest recruits to join the 12 athletes earlier announced in
January 2011 is 400m hurdles rising star Perri Shakes-Drayton reports
Insidethegames.

INDIANAPOLIS (USA): USA Track & Field
announced the Team USA women’s marathon squad for the World Championships in
Daegu. Coming off of a fifth-place finish at the 2011 B.A.A. Boston Marathon, Kara Goucher will once again lead the team.
Joining her Tera Moody and 2004 Olympic marathoner Colleen De Reuck. Completing
the five-woman squad will be Kathy Newberry and Alissa McKaig. The men’s
marathon team will be led by Nick Arciniaga, who locked-up his place on the
squad with a second-place finish, running 2:11:30 at the Chevron Houston
Marathon in January. Team USA
will also feature Sergio Reyes and Jeffery Eggleston. Rounding out the men’s
squad will be Mike Sayenko and Mike Morgan. Informs USATF.

PONCE (PUR): Kingston 400
m winner and 2007 World championships medalist Novlene
Williams-Mills pulled up in Ponce at the Grand Prix meet on Saturday with a
quad strain. That means she was forced to cancel her upcoming meets in Europe but hopes to be ready for the National Trials end
of June.

GOTZIS (AUT): Two major withdrawals are reported before the Gotzis Multi
Events hypo meeting (May 28-29). Not coming is title defender Bryan Clay
because of slight muscles injury. Also missing will be world record holder
Roman Sebrle who has problems with stomach muscles. Clay must be ready for US
Nationals and finish in top 3
in case he wants to be in Daegu and Sebrle must fulfill
the necessary standard. Reigning world champion Trey Hardee will be in Gotzis.
He is still uncertain what he may do at US Championships as since he has the
reigning World champ’s wild card for Daegu, so does not have to do the full
decathlon in Eugene.
He may do selected decathlon events, or an individual event.

MONTE CARLO (MON): The IAAF has recently concluded TV
deals concerning the territories of Australia
and Israel.
In Australia, Dentsu, the
IAAF Media Rights Agency for outside Europe and Africa, has concluded a TV free
to air deal with SBS for the IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011, with SBS
offering very strong broadcast guarantees which means at least 35 hours of
transmission in Australia.
SBS is a public broadcaster with national reach. In Israel,
IEC, the IAAF Media Rights Agency for Europe and Africa,
has concluded a TV deal with the public broadcaster IBA. Under the terms of the
deal IBA, who have offered strong broadcasting guarantees, will transmit all
IAAF World Athletic Series events, in the period 2011 – 2013, which includes
the next two editions of the IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011 and Moscow
2013. IBA was the incumbent broadcast partner of the IAAF until 2009 through
the deal the IAAF had with the EBU. Informs IAAF.

OTTAWA (CAN): Around 10,000 participants are expected
at the new Ottawa 10Km course at Canada’s
most popular race destination on 28 May. Ethiopian former Boston marathon winner Dire Tune is the main
women name.Her biggest threat could be fellow Ethiopian Ejegayehu Dibaba, an
Olympic silver medallist. Also competing is 26-year-old Canadian Megan Brown,
who is running her first Ottawa
10K and showing promise on the race circuit. Brown won the Montreal
Half-Marathon in April.?? In the men’s field, Deriba Merga is making a return
to Ottawa to
see if he can improve on last year’s effort and possibly beat the course record
of 27:24 he set in 2009. Organisers are informing in a release.

LONDON (GBR): Pat Butcher´s tribute to Sammy Wanjiru
on his blog: www.globerunner.org.

RESULTS

SUSICE (CZE, May 17): European indoor champion Denisa Rosolova started
well her outdoor season with solo effort at 300 m worth of 37.24 in strong winds.
Zuzana Hejnova posted also good 39.74 at 300 m hurdles.

SOCHI (RUS, May 15): Aleksandra Butvina scored 5830
points to win Russian Cup combined events meet in heptathlon. Top males
competed invididually. Aleksey Drozdov 203 in high jump and Vasiliy Kharlamova 45.38 in discus.

GREENSBORO (USA, May 15): Fast sprints at Aggie
Classic meet. Murielle Ahoure who now represents Ivory Coast clocked in women 100 m new national record
11.06 (+1.9) ahead of Rachelle Boone-Smith 11.21. Ahoure is now in the top ten
of all-time in African women 100
m list and only Nigeria
and Cameroon
have faster national records on the continent. In men´s 100 m Alesio Newman improved
to 10.14 (+1.8) ahead of J-Mee Samuels (10.22). Jamaican Leford Green clocked 45.75 in the 400 m and Vanneishy Ivy
improved to 12.99 (+1.4) at 100
m hurdles.

BRISTOL (GBR, May 15): Edwin Kiptoo won the Bristol 10 km in 28:39, in women race
also Kenyan win for Edinah Kwambai 32:29 (RRW).

MOMBASA (KEN, May 15): RRW informs about 26th
Safaricom Mombasa International Marathon in rain and heat. Winners were Wilson Loyanai in 2:13:00
and Rose Nyangacha clocking 2:39:01. The winners each received KSH 250,000
(about USD 2915)