Oscar Pistorious, 2011 Nike Pre Classic, photo by PhotoRun.net

Talk about pressure! Oscar Pistorius, the Blade Runner, as he is referred to in the media and by his fans, handled the pressure and delivered. On the last day of the qualifying period, Oscar Pistorious ran a blistering 45.07 to hit the A standard for both Daegu and London. This performance by a man with artificial limbs from the knee on both legs is unheralded. However, in listening to one of his interviews, it became quite clear that Oscar sees this a just another part of his journey.

Oscar Pistorius, 2007 Rome GL, photo by PhotoRun.net

Neither his mother, nor his brother or sister ever gave him any sympathy. He was expected to do all the things that the other kids could do. He does tell the story about his brother’s go-cart, where both Oscar and his brother were flying down a hill near their house, hell bent to reach the end of the road, but with no way to stop the go cart from hell. Oscar was asked by his brother for one of his artificial legs, which had a pair of sneakers on the foot.

The brother took the artificial leg, placed it between tire and road, and as the smell of burning rubber enveloped the two young boys, the go cart, which was on a course from which some damage would have occurred to the two occupants, came to a screeching halt. At that time, Oscar recollected, he learnt the value of his artificial limbs. (Watch for upcoming feature in SPIKES USA Summer.)

Yelena Isinbayeva, 2009 WC, photo by PhotoRun.net

Yelena Insinbayeva no heighted at 4.60m. That happens in the world of the pole vault. The big deal for Isinbayeva right now is to get some competitive experiences before Daegu.

Teddy Tamgho, 2011 Doha, photo by PhotoRun.net

Teddy Tamgho injured his ankle at the U23s last week. An MRI showed that his injury is more severe than expected and he will not be able to compete in the World Champs in Daegu.

PISTORIUS QUALIFIES 45.07,
ISINBAYEVA NH

LIGNANO (ITA, Jul 19): Oscar Pistorius achieved his A-standard for Daegu
and London in
last possible moment. At the 22th Meeting Internazionale here he clocked more
than impressive personal best 45.07
in the 400
m. In the 100
m Steve Mullings of Jamaica in his first race since
Jamaican Champs clocked 9.98 (+0.6) winning over Darvis Patton 10.07 and Mike
Rodgers of USA 10.09. In the other race here Richard Thompson of Trinidad got 10.06 (-0.7) over Jeff Demps (European
debut) 10.14 and Trell Kimmons 10.16. In the 4×100 m relay USA clocked world leading 37.90 (Kimmons,
Rodgers, Gatlin, Dix) beating an All-Stars Team (Ndure, Mitchell, Dobson,
Thompson) 38.20 and Jamaica
with Barbados
(Waugh, Barnes, Harvey, Hinds) 38.66. The other US team (I. Williams, Padgett,
Patton, Demps) did not finish. In women 100m Shelly-Ann Fraser clocked 11.11
(-0.1) at the 100 m
over Carrie Russell 11.20. Barbara Pierre won the other heat in 11.22 (-0.4).
Big sensation in the pole vault when Yelena Isinbayeva no-heighted at 460,
winner Becky Holliday 440 over Mary Saxer also 440. Morgan Uceny won the 800 m in 1:58.37 PB over
Alice Schmidt 1:58.61, Molly Beckwith 1:59.12, Maggie Vessey 1:59.17 and Geena
Gall 1:59.62. Kellie Wells won the 100 m hurdles in 12.81 (-1.9) and Elisabeth
Moloy the 5000 m
in 15:15.34. Khadevis Robinson scored 800 m win after 1:44.45. In the 1500 m Harok Legesse of Ethiopia
achieved 3:36.45. In the women 4×100 m US team (Knight, Young, L. Williams,
Pierre) was super fast with 42.25. The other US teams could not finish, the best
one (Mik. Barber, Felix, Myers, Jeter) and another one (Tarmoh, L. Moore,
Solomon, Anderson).

SOUTH AMERICAN RECORD

CASTRES (FRA, Jul 19): At the National Meeting D1 new South American
triple jump record for Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia with 14.66 (+1.7). Second
Baya Rahouli of Algeria
also impressive 14.39 (+1.7). Sandra Gomis (12.97, +3.1) and Carim Louami
(11.25, +3.3) clocked fast windy times. Another top result came from former
olympic and world winner Szymon Ziolkowski in hammer with 79.02 season best
over Russian Sergey Litvinov 77.41. US Fred Townsend clocked windy 13.40 (+3.3)
at 110 m
hurdles and another US win for Miles Smith 46.14 at 400 m. In the 100 m Ben Meite got 10.25
(+2.5) and South African Offentse Mogawane legal 20.65 PB (+1.2) at 200 m.

YELENA FOR STOCKHOLM

STOCKHOLM (SWE): World record holder Yelena Isinbayeva
will make her long-awaited Samsung Diamond League series debut at Stockholm’s DN Galan
Meeting on 29 July. “Yelena is a magnificent athlete and it’s a pleasure to
welcome her back to DN Galan and Stockholm Olympic Stadium,” said Meeting
Director Rajne Söderberg. The World record holder at 5.06m, Isinbayeva holds
the meeting record of 4.85m set in 2008. In Stockholm, Isinbayeva will face
Brazil’s Fabiana Murer, last year’s inaugural Diamond Race Trophy winner in the
event; Germany’s Martina Strutz, currently the world leader at 4.78m; and
Sweden’s rising star Angelica Bengtsson, the 18-year-old who set several World
junior records last winter, the most recent at 4.63m.

TAMGHO IS OUT

PARIS (FRA): World indoor triple jump champion and world record holder
Teddy Tamgho will not compete at World Championships. He injured his ankle last
Saturday in Ostrava.

SA TEAM FOR DAEGU

JOHANNESBURG (RSA): The provisional team for the World
Championships in Daegu has been announced and consists of 21 of the best
athletes of South Africa.
Most have qualified during the local athletics season, whilst others have
reached the standards while competing overseas at international events. Thuso
Mpuang and Simon Magakwe will represent South Africa in the 100m sprint.
Mpuang is also included in the 200m after he ran 20.56sec in Stellenbosch
during the Student Championships. Wayde van Niekerk will join him in this
event. Lebogang Moeng is the 3rd athlete that has reached the standard to
compete in Daegu with his 20.58sec run in Germiston earlier this year. Moeng
will also compete in the 400m after LJ van Zyl, who qualified with an
A-Standard, decided to focus on the 400m hurdles only. Defending world
Champion, Mbualeni Mulaudzi has yet to run an A-qualifying standard, but has
been included on the IAAF rule that allows any athlete who is a current world
champion to compete, and defend their titles. Elroy Gelant waited until
recently to qualify for the 5000m. He competed in Uden on July 2 where he was
timed at 13:25.09, a B-qualifying time. SA Champion Stephen Mokoka will
represent South Africa
in the 10 000m. Ruben Ramolefi qualified for the 3000m steeplechase in Durban when he became the
SA Champion for the 7th time, clocking 8.14.06 for the victory. Lehann Fourie
will represent South African in the 110m hurdles. After his brilliant
performances at home as well as on the international curcuit, SA Champion and
record holder in the 400m hurdles, LJ van Zyl, was never in doubt. Joining van
Zyl is Cornel Fredericks who also reached the A-Standard with his 48.14sec
during the Yellow Pages SA Championships in Durban. Fredericks
is ranked 5th position in the world. Stalwart and Olympic and World
Championship silver medalist Khotso Mokoena and Luvo Manyonga both jumped
A-Qualifiers to ensure their inclusion in the team for long jump. The SA
Champion triple jump, Tumelo Thagane, already qualified for the World
Championships in March in Germiston after his 16.97m jump. Robert Oosthuizen
will represent South Africa
in the javelin throw after his massive throw at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May. The last man
to join the team is Willem Coertzen who will be competing in the decathlon.
Amongst the ladies to join the team is former 800m World Champion Caster
Semenya. Semenya will defend her title in Daegu after she rose to stardom two
years ago in Berlin.
Wenda Theron, qualified in Germiston in March in the 400m hurdles when she
crossed the line in 56.24sec. Simone du Toit reached a B Standard qualifier in
the ladies shot put when she reached 17.49m during an event in Houston. Team South Africa will have two athletes
in the women’s javelin throw as both Sunette Viljoen as well as Justine
Robbeson reached the A Standard for inclusion in the team.

OTHER NEWS

CASTELBUONO (ITA): US
marathon record holder Ryan Hall has withdrawn from the Giro di Castelbuono,
preferring to continue his training, instead. He said that on his twitter.

KYIV (UKR): Ukrainian Athletics
Federation gave green light to a 14 top
athletes and they are not forced to compete at the National
Championships from
August 1 to 5 in
Donetsk. They
all have already secured their participation at World Championships in
Daegu.
High jumper Dmytro Demyanyuk, pole vaulter Maksim Mazuryk, javelin
thrower
Dmytro Kosynskyy on the men side. On the women side sprinters Olesya
Povh,
Mariya Ryemyen and Natalya Pogrebnyak. Also Antonina Yefremova at 400 m,
Lilya Lobanova at 800 m, duo for 1500 m Anna Mishchenko and
Natalya Tobias. In the technical events Vita Styopina in the high jump,
Olha
Saladukha in the triple jump, Katerina Karsak in discus and Natalya
Dobrynska
in heptathlon.

KYIV (UKR): Pole vault Olympic champion and world record holder,
President of the NOC of Ukraine, IOC Member and Senior IAAF Vice-President
Sergey Bubka initiates research on the history of global integration of the
Olympic Movement into all aspects of life – social, economic, geopolitical,
etc. The research extends to all periods of Olympic history – from Ancient
Greece and Rome
until modern times. This research is conducted as an application for the
“Doctor of Sciences” academic degree (post-doctoral degree, analogue of
Habilitation in Europe) in the National
University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine. Sergey Bubka expects to
finish the research by the end of 2012 to include the impact of the 2012 London
Olympics. ‘It was not a one-day decision for me’, Bubka says. ‘I’ve been
preparing for 10 years, since I’ve completed my PhD degree. Much of the
analysis has been done and a number of articles have been published. The
integration of the Olympic ideals to society grows essentially from year to
year’. Bubka already holds a PhD degree for his study on “educating students’
individual abilities by physical culture and sports” in 2001 in The Academy of
Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine.

LONDON (GBR): A consortium of Delancey and Qatari
Diar have begun exclusive talks with the Government to take over the Olympic
Village after London 2012, it has been reported. Minsiters have accepted a
recommendation from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is deciding on
a shortlist of three to buy the 1,439 homes that are part of the athletes’
accommodation, to work exclusively with the joint consortium, the Financial
Times reported. Delancey are a London-based specialist real estate investment
run by Jamie Ritblat, while Qatari Diar, the sovereign real estate arm of the
Qatari Royal Family, specialising in local and foreign investment, founded six
years ago to manage the extra oil and natural gas surpluses that the Qatar
Government were receiving. Informs insidethegames.

UTRECHT (NED) : Newly crowned European U23 champions
Sindre Buraas and Sondre Moen have confirmed their participation at the ABN
AMRO Utrecht Singelloop on September 25th. Last year Leonard Komon broke the
world 10K record in Utrecht.

PARIS (FRA): Double European champion Yohann Diniz will support
political figure Martine Aubry in the French presidential elections in 2012. In 2007 Diniz had
publicly supported Ségolène Royal.

KINGSTON (JAM): The father of Jamaican 110m hurdles
record holder Dwight Thomas has been murdered in his home in St. Catherine in Jamaica.
Men tried to enter the house in an attempt to steal his car and shot 62-year
old Ashton Thomas.

PORTLAND (USA):
University of Oregon
Lukas Verzbicas has set his sights on the 2012 Olympic games
in London where
the athlete is looking to compete in the triathlon. Verzbicas sees the 2012
Olympic Games as preparation for winning a gold medal in 2016.

LONDON (GBR): In an interview with The Guardian
Jessica Ennis admitted she is not yet thinking about the 2012 London Olympic
Games and wants to focus on the 2011 World Championships first. Ennis hasn’t
envisioned the Olympic stadium yet and will not pay a visit to the stadium
until the Olympics start. The heptathlete added she also doesn’t talk about the
subject with her friends and family.

KINGSTON (JAM): Neville McCook, President of the North
America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC)
Track & Field association disclosed that a world Relays Championships could
soon form a part of the IAAF calendar. According to McCook, IAAF President
Lamine Diack wants the NACAC to organize the championships that would include
all the relays, 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m and 4x800m as well as junior events
writes Trackalerts.com.

ROME (ITA): The Italian
Olympic Committee (CONI) has announced that native
fashion designer Giorgio Armani will outfit the Azzurri for the Games
next year
in London.
Armani has a strong presence in the world of sport, having designed the
Italian
flag bearers’ outfits at the opening ceremony for the 2006 Winter
Olympics in Turin, as well as designing suits for the players of London
club Chelsea
since 2007 and twice for the English national football team writes
Insidethegames.

SAD NEWS

NAIROBI (KEN): Former Kenyan sprinter Kennedy Ondiek
died on Jul 14 at the age of 44. He competed at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic
Games, going out in the heats of the 100m and 200m at each, and was a 200m
quarter-finalist at the 1991 Worlds. At Commonwealth Games he was 8th at 200m
and a semi-finalist at 100m in 1990, also reaching the 100m quarter-final in
1994. Pbs: 100m 9.9A Kenyan record & 10.38A (1991), 200m 20.1A (1989) &
20.73 1991).