by Larry Eder
Mariya Savinova, 2010 European Champs, photo by PhotoRun.net
DIX 20.02 AT THE 200 M
LUZERN (SUI, Jul 21): US Champion Walter Dix showed impressive shape
when winning the jubilee 25th edition of Spitzenleichtathletik meet in Luzern
with new meet record 20.02 (0.0) at the 200 m over Jamaican Marvin Anderson 20.54 and
another US Daegu bound sprinter Jeremy Dodson 20.58. Another meet record for
Mexican Juan Luis Barrios at the 3000
m in 7:42.82 over US Ben Blankenship 7:49.70 (PB). From
two double olympic winners only one competed. Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway won the
javelin with 84.12 over Turkish record holder Fatih Avan 82.54. Pole vault star
Yelena Isinbayeva injured her hand in the warm-up and was not able to compete.
“I hurt my hand while falling, I will be unable to jump. I really regret having
to pull out and I will return next year,” she was quoted by the agencies. Win
went to US Mary Saxer ahead of Ana Katharina Schmid jumping Swiss U23 record
and Nicole Buchler, all three 440. Big Swiss win for Lisa Urech at 100 m hurdles in 12.94 (-0.8)
over a high quality field including reigning World and European champions.
Trinidad´s Paris DL winner Kelly-Ann Baptiste won the 100 m in 11.11 (-0.4) beating
US Alexandria Anderson 11.22. More US wins for Alice Schmidt at 800 m (1:59.74 ahead of
Maggie Vessey 2:00.51), Lashinda Demus at 400 m hurdles (54.18 beating fresh European U23
champion Anna Yaroshchuk of Ukraine 55.46) and Miles Smith at 400 m (45.19 ahead of Yusif
Rabah of Sudan 45.63 and fast B-race winner Briton Martyn Rooney 45.63). Jamaican
wins for Nickel Ashmeade at 100
m in 10.24 (-0.2) over US Trell Kimmons 10.27 and Travis
Padgett 10.28 and Dwight Thomas who clocked 13.29 (-0.1) at 110 m hurdles beating Ty
Akins of USA
13.30. US
record holder Jill Camarena-Williams won the shot put 19.74 beating German
Nadine Kleinert 19.12 and Michelle Carter 18.79. Briton Barbara Parker won the
steeple 9:35.46 ahead of Ethiopian Almaz Ayana 9:36.46. In the jumps Moroccan
record holder Yahya Berrabah leaped to 818 (+0.2) beating Briton Greg Rutherford
809 (+0.4) and CAC champion Tyrone Smith of Bermuda
806 (+0.6). US Jamie Nieto was the high jump winner on count-back over Briton
Samson Oni (both 223) and the same in women competition for Svetlana Radzivil
of Uzbekistan over fresh European U23 Champion Esthera Petre of Romania (both
189).
SAVINOVA 1:58.03 WL
CHEBOKSARY (RUS, Jul 21): European Champion Mariya
Savinova clocked during afternoon session of Russian Championships first day
world leading 800 m
1:58.03 in the heats. In her heat second Yelena Kofanova qualified with
1:59.14. Also fast Svetlana Klyuka winning heat one in 1:58.77 and Yevgeniya
Zinurova getting another race in 1:59.94. Out from known names Tatyana
Andrianova and Svetlana Cherkasova. European lead for Antonina Krivoshapka 50.19 in 400 m semifinal number three.
Here second Kseniya Vdovina 50.74 personal best. In semi two Anastasiya
Kapachinskaya also impressive 50.48 ahead of Lyudmila Litvinova 50.99. In the
first from three races European champion Tatyana Firova clocked 51.23 ahead of
Yelena Migunova 51.26. The remaining two qualifiers for the final were Kseniya
Zadorina 51.08 and Marina Karnaushchenko 51.49 PB. Out Olesya Krasnomovets
51.86 and last year Barcelona
silver winner Kseniya Ustalova 52.03. In the only final of the day excellent
personal best 8:17.74 for Ildar Minshin winning the 3000 m steeple race ahead of
Andrey Farnosov 8:24.89 and Nikolay Chavkin also lifetime best 8:26.78. High
quality in women long jump qualification as Anna Nazarova got 688 (+0.7) and
Yelena Sokolova 676 (+1.2). From top names no qualifiyng former European
champion Tatyana Kotova (628). Darya Klishina with a bye jumps in Monaco on
Friday. In the men´s 800 m
heats fastest 2004 olympic winner Yuriy Borzakovskiy 1:47.28, in 400 m semis Denis Alekseyev
46.29 and in javelin qualification Sergey Makarov 79.86 m.
WINS FOR POLAND AND SPAIN
TALLINN (EST, Jul 21): Poland
and Spain won the other two
gold medals from the first day of 21st European Junior Championships in hot Estonia.
Youth Olympic Games winner Krzysztof Brzozowski of Poland won the shot put (6 kg) with new national junior
record 20.92 ahead of Italian Daniele Secci 20.45 and German Christian Jagusch
19.80. Gabriel Navarro was the clear 10 000 m winner for Spain in 30:02.18 (due to hot
temperatures over 30 degrees). Dutch world junior champion from Moncton Dafne
Schippers leads the heptathlon after first day with 3702 points (she was best
at hurdles 13.27 +0.3 and in the 200
m 22.91 -0.4, only 163 in high jump and solid 13.47 in the shot put). Second
German Sara Gambetta has 3608 points (14.85-181-14.74-24.73). Very Ãmpressive
improvement for French Jimmy Vicaut in the 100 m semifinal with 10.12
against -1.8 wind. World junior champion Jodie Williams of Great Britain
was best in girls semis with 11.33 (-1.3). Russian Nikita Uglov posted the
fastest in the boys 400 m
semifinal with 46.36 ahead of Hungarian Marcell Deak-Nagy 46.44. Adelina Pastor
of Romania
was the fastest in girls 400 m
heats and advanced into the final with 52.77. Ukrainian Anastasia Tkachuk
(2:03.58) and Briton Adam Cotton (3:50.80) posted the best times in girls 800m
and boys 1500 m
heats. Gulsat Fazletdinova of Russia
was the fastest in girls steeple preliminary round 10:01.88. In technical
events no sensations in boys high jump and girls pole vault. Russians dominated
the other jumps, Sergey Morgunov in the long jump qualification 780 (0.0) and
Yana Borodina in the triple jump (13.61, -0.8). Ukrainian Viktoriya Klochko was
the best in discus qualification (54.54, PB) and Belarus Pavel Mialeshka in
boys javelin 77.52 ahead of world junior record Zigismunds Sirmais 76.69.
OTHER NEWS
TULSA (USA):
Agencies are informing that former Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Marion
Jones has been cut by the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock, bringing her future in basketball
into question. The Shock announced Thursday they had waived Jones to make room
for former Oklahoma
center Abi Olajuwon.
MONACO (MON): World champion at 200 m Allyson Felix said she would decide
“soon” over a 200-400m double at next month’s world championships in Daegu,
South Korea. “The 200m is my perfect distance, that’s my best race, my body
likes this race,” she said ahead of Friday’s Diamond League meet here. I’ll
decide really soon if I do the double. I’ll sit down with my coach at home and
decide,” she said. Monaco
200 m is
her last race before Daegu.
LONDON (GBR): Guardian informs that the 100 m Olympic gold medallist
Linford Christie has been disqualified from driving for 15 months and fined
5000 GBP after he crashed his car going the wrong way on a main road. The Barcelona 1992 winner was
found guilty of careless driving after he crashed head-on into a taxi carrying
a bride and groom to their wedding reception.
NAIROBI (KEN): News from Kenyan team for Daegu. The
Nation reports that Daniel Kipchirchir Komen has been included in the Kenyan
team for Daegu. Komen replaces Nixon Chepseba in the team expected to start
residential training at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, on
Monday, in preparation for the championships. Komen finished the 1,500m final
race third in a time of 3:32.37 at the Nationals and was shocked to find his
name missing in the team to Daegu. Chepseba, who finished the race fifth in a
time of 3:33.96, had been included in the team. Komen had instead been included
in the team to represent the country at the All AfricaGames in Maputo. “We would like to take this early
opportunity to swap the athletes. Chepseba will represent the country at the
All Africa Games and Komen at the World Championships,” said a Kenyan official.
In another action steeple world leader Paul Kipsiele Koech has petitioned
Athletics Kenya to look at his consistency and international performance and
award him the wildcard for the World Championships. “I have been in athletics for
11 years. I have never finished in the top two at the national trails, yet AK
has always picked me and many other athletes with similar problems to compete
in international championship,” he said. “I have a problem with running at
altitude and AK knows this. If at all I’m out of form, then how come I have
been at the top of the world for the past 11 years?” Kipsiele said. He is
running on Friday in Monaco.
NASSAU (BAH): Track Alerts informs that Bahamas Junior Pan Am
Championships team left the island, but without their star athlete World junior
and youth champion Shaunae Miller, something her coach and dad described on
live radio as a ‘national disgrace’. She was not selected, because according to
reports, “her dad who is her coach requested for her not to run the 400m
because of physical complications.”
