by Larry Eder
Ca
Nesta Carter, Steve Mullings (in green), Mike Rodgers, 2011 Nike Pre Classic,
photo by PhotoRun.net
Phillips Idowu, 2011 Compeed Golden Gala, Roma, photo by PhotoRun.net
Teddy Tamgho, 2011 Doha DL, photo by PhotoRun.net
THORKILDSEN PLANS RETURN FOR
KUORTANE
OSLO (NOR): Norways
biggest athletics star Andreas Thorkildsen was not in the stadium during the
Bislett Games. But the injury is improving and his management confirmed his
first appearance after the break at the Kuortane meet in Finland on June
25. He will meet there his Finnish rivals headed by Tero Pitkamaki. After that
Lausanne Athletissima on June 30 is on the agenda.
GAY VS. MULLINGS, TAMGHO VS.
IDOWU
NEW YORK (USA): Samsung Diamond League enters
the Big Apple. Icahn Stadium will see the current fastest man at 100 m against Steve Mullings.
Another top clash is Tamgho vs Idowu in the triple jump. Special also the women
200 m
(Felix-Jeter-Fraser). Three athletes won twice their events in SDL and are
having good positions for a third one (Van Zyl, Chemos, Vlasic). Meet is
surrounded by interesting youth and kids competitions.
Event by event Preview
Men
100 m: Tyson Gay in his first international 100 m of the year against
training group mates Ashmeade, Bledman and mainly Eugene winner Mullings.
400 m: World leader Bartholomew enters big meet stage, Wariner back in
sub 45 shape? Gonzales included, Blade Runner Pistorius and one of top
Europeans K. Borlee also running.
800 m: Kaki for another fast time. World champ Mulaudzi and Rome winner Robinson
behind him.
5000 m: US record
holder Lagat is ready, Kenyans led by young Isaiah Koech, Ethiopia is
represented by Tariku Bekele.
400mH: LJ Van Zyl undefeated so far, goes for another one, attacking from
behind “Batman” Jackson and Eurowinner Greene.
Pole Vault: Lavillenie vs. German Mohr and US elite.
Triple Jump: The duel of the day. Teddy Tamgho vs. Philips Idowu. 18 meters possible.
Women
200 m: Allyson Felix should be recovered from Eugene loss, against her 100 specialists
Jeter and Fraser-Pryce.
1500 m: Gelete Burka representing African group, Jamaican Kenia Sinclair
ready for fast time and of course top US runners.
Steeple: Milcah Chemos plans for third win within SDL, world record
holder Gulnara Galkina is now returning to the stage.
100mH: World champ Foster-Hylton returns after long break and will debut
in the SDL, but this year fast are Kellie Wells and Lolo Jones. Watch also
Jessica Ennis.
High Jump: Blanka Vlasic debut in USA, finally the two meters?
Long Jump: World champ Reese, US indoor champ De Loach, Barcelona winner Radevica (and Ennis). First
legal seven of the year?
Discus Throw: Olympic winner Trafton-Brown, Glanc of Poland – the top
names.
Javelin Throw: Obergfoll looks clear, but Patterson wants to return to
last year shape.
Non DL events
100 m: Solid US field with Myers, L. Williams and Lee.
400 m: McCorory against Spencer, the hurdler from Jamaica. Too
good to be called a national race.
800 m: Hoping for sub 2 minutes within home runners and Briton Simpson.
1500 m: It is called national race, but plenty of good runners. Kenyan
junior talent Ndiku is the man to watch.
Pole Vault: US vaulters, Suhr still not ready.
OTHER NEWS
HERZOGENAURACH (GER): Puma announced it has entered into new
partnerships with the Grenada Olympic Committee and the Grenada Athletics
Association. Through these partnerships, Puma will provide both organisations
with the latest innovations in Puma track and field apparel and footwear for
all major championships until the end of 2016, a period that will
see Grenadian athletes compete in two Olympic Games in London
and Rio, and 3 IAAF World Championships. These
new partnerships will strengthen the presence Puma has in Caribbean
track and field athletics, the sportlifestyle brand also having long term
partnerships with the Jamaican Olympic Association (JOA) and Jamaican Amateur
Athletics Association (JAAA). The company informs in a release. The strongest
event of Grenada
athletics is currently men´s 400
m with world junior champion Kirani James and current
world leader Rondell Bartholomew.
LISBON (POR): Portuguese walker Susana Feitor, now 36 but the 1990 world
junior champion two decades ago when she was just 16, is on course to enter the
history books after being selected for the World Championships in Daegu, South
Korea, this summer. Feitor is set to compete in her 11th World Championships,
having not missed one since 1991,
a feat no one else has managed. Her best World
Championships result has been winning the bronze medal at the 2005 World
Championships. She was also fourth and fifth in 1999 and 2007 respectively. The
Portuguese federation named Feitor, along with Inês Henriques and Ana
Cabecinha, to contest the women’s 20km walk on Wednesday. This means there is
no place for fifth from Berlin Vera Santos, who misses her first major
championship since the 2004 Olympic Games.
STRASBOURG (FRA): Sunday´s Meeting National D1 will have
some good fields. In the men´s 100
m Caribbean stars Yohan Blake and Daniel Bailey will run
against Dwain Chambers (he is listed also in Istanbul the day before) and ever fast Kim
Collins. Belgian Jonathan Borlee is the top name at 400 m. Kenyans are well
represented in the 3000 m
against Australians Collis Birmingham
and Ryan Gregson. Czech javelin throwers Vitezslav Vesely and Jakub Vadlejch
are the favorites here. Ukrainian sprinters Olesya Povh and Mariya Ryemyen are
the women 100 m
top names, in the 200 m
European champion Myriam Soumare runs against Povh. In the 400 m Russian favorite
Antonina Krivoshapka with home Muriel Hurtis. Germans Carolin Hingst and Anna
Battke will battle with Russian Aleksandra Kiryashova (second in Oslo) and Cuban record
holder Yarisley Silva.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): The British team for the Spar European
Team Championships in Stockholm
18-19 June is having two new selections. Conrad Williams (coach Linford
Christie) and James Shane will line up in the 400 m and 1500m respectively,
filling the final team spots. Informs UK Athletics.
BERLIN (GER) : The German Athletics federation (DLV)
is outsourcing all procedures in the anti-doping fight to the German national
Anti Doping Agency (NADA). DLV President Dr Clemens Prokop is delighted about
the move and suggests it will help make the anti-doping fight as neutral and
effective as possible.
BERLIN (GER): Betty Heidler has been named German
athlete of the month of May by fellow German athletes. Heidler was named before
Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel for her world hammer record performance of
79.42 writes Leichtathletik.de.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Martin Brockman
and UK number one Daniel Awde will lead the Aviva Great Britain and Northern
Ireland men’s team as they bid for promotion in the European Cup Combined
Events First League in Italy on 2-3 July, while Grace Clements also a bronze
medallist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will hope to lead by example for the
women in the Super League in Poland. Informs UK Athletics.
OSLO
FLASH-BACK
BOLT: It was 21st sub 20 for him in first race at the distance since
Shanghai Diamond League on May 23, 2010. He is unbeaten at the distance since
2008, his last loss was in Brussels
on Sep 14, 2007 with 20.14. The winning streak has now 14 finals in 2008-11.
5000 M: 36th sub-15 min 5000m for Meseret Defar. She now lead Tirunesh
Dibaba by 2 (in number for sub15). The average of top 5 performances since 2009
for Meseret Defar is now 14:32.3, now faster than Vivian Cheruiyot’s average
(since 2009) of 14:32.9. Also, 15th sub-15 for Sentayehu Ejigu, 19th sub-15 for
Meselech Melkamu and 17th sub 15 for Priscah Jepleting.
POINTS: Despite bad weather superb 90 909 points for the meet, means
currently number 3 in
the All-Athletics.com rankings 2011.
RAIN: Athletes competed with courage despite bad conditions. Long jump
winner Mokoena remained he trains often in such conditions, Ioannou likes to
jump in rain (medal in Berlin 2009), Bolt is also used to it (in past Lausanne and Ostrava).
WORLD IS SMALL: Athletes are preparing in places different to their
homes. Valerie Adams of New Zealand
in Magglingen, Switzerland. Ivet Lalova of Bulgaria in Rieti, Italy.
Fabiana Murer from Brazil in
Formia, Italy.
NORDIC SKIING: This sport is the number one in Norway, so it was logical that two
big names were presented. Multiple world medalists competed in the mile with
roller skies. Home Petter Northug clocked 4:00.16 to beat Sweden´s Marcus
Hellner 4:00.88. Rematch is planned for DN Galan in Stockholm.
AUSTRALIA: Australian Jeff Riseley is happy with his
3:52.53 performance in the dreammile in Oslo
but believes there is a lot more to come in the next months. Riseley is now
heading back to Australia to
intensify his training and has the Herculis Meeting in Monaco next on
his competition schedule reports athletics.com.au.
RESULTS
DES MOINES (USA,
Jun 9): Bad weather and storm so that some events of the second day of NCAA
Championships were delayed for Friday. For example Ngoni Makusha had completed
5 attempts in the long jump final, with superb national record for Zimbabwe 840
(0.0) in round four. Damar Forbes has 823, Will Claye 820 and Marquise Goodwin
816w. German Alexander Ziegler beat in hammer Slovak Marcel Lomnicky (72.69 to
72.35). In the 200 m
heats Marek Niit improved his Estonian record to 20.43 (+1.1), but faster were
Rakieem Salaam (20.29, +1.2) and Maurice Mitchell (20.39, +1.1). Omo Osaghae
was the fastest of the 110 m
hurdles heats (13.32, +0.9). Kimberlyn Duncan improved to 22.39 (+1.2) in the 200 m heats and missed the
world lead of Allyson Felix only by 0.01. Nia Ali was the fastest in the 100 m hurdles heats with
12.82 (-0.6).
SIEDLCE (POL, Jun 9): At 11th Henryk Gut Memorial Dariusz Kuc posted
solid 20.83 (+0.8) in the 200
m. Malgorzata Trybanska leaped to 656 (+0.7) in the long
jump.
KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL, Jun 9): Fast but windy 10.29 (+3.6) at 100 m by Barakat Al-Harthi,
the Oman
national sprint record holder.
ADDITION
FLORO (NOR): The Norwegian T&F Federation will not accept the
unofficial hand timing performances in Florø on June 4 in the 1000 m races. The problem
was that the automatic timing system was by a mistake installed 8.36m after the
actual finish line so they all ran in fact 1008.36m. The results remaining
2:36.31 for Maracheva, 2:37.93 for Arzamasava and 2:39.09 for Makestad Bovim.
