Yelena Isinbayeva, 2011 DN Galan Stockholm, photo by PhotoRun.net

Yelena Isinbayeva has joined Andreas Thorkildsen in supporting the Doha 2017 bid for the World Championships. The current world record holder in the pole vault (24 world records so far). Isinbayeva told insidethegames.biz, ” The IAAF World Championships in Doha will certainly set new standards.”

DONETSK IS READY

KYIV (UKR): Ukrainian City of Donetsk is in preparation for the first
athletics global event in the country in the 2013. IAAF VP Sergey Bubka who
comes from Donetsk
commented on the current status: “Everything is going according to the plan.
Stadium RSC Olimpiyskyi is in fact ready to host the competitions, though some
additional improvements are planned. The reconstruction of Kirovets arena is
more important, and its opening is scheduled for the late summer 2012. Kirovets
will be used as a training venue for the 2013 World Championships, but before
and after the event the city gets a fully equipped sport arena for 10 thousand
kids who live in the neighbourhood. Speaking on transport and hotel
infrastructure, we shall inherit it from the UEFA Euro 2012. The legacy of this
historical event for Ukraine
cannot be overestimated. Several national sport federations, including
basketball, fencing, judo, athletics and others, have started bidding to post
international competitions following UEFA Euro. It gives more than venues,
hotels and airports. It helps maintain the worldwide image of Ukraine as a
country eager and ready to host high class sport events. We have full support
of our government in these bidding initiatives.” The 8th IAAF World Youth
Championships will be staged on July 10-14, 2013 in Donetsk.

WHO IS NUMBER ONE

KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaican media are debating who is the
current number one in the world in the 100 m. The incomparable Usain Bolt is the
fastest ever at 100
meters. Asafa Powell is the most prolific producer of
fast times. Those truths are self-evident. There is more room for debate about
who is the top 100-meter sprinter of 2011. There are good arguments for either
Bolt or Powell to be world No. 1, but there is another candidate, world
champion Yohan Blake. Usain was undefeated in races he finished and never ran
slower than 9.91 seconds. Despite nagging injuries, Powell ran the
second-fastest time of the year, 9.78 seconds, won the National Championships
and broke 10 seconds in eight other races. Until September, Powell had won all
the races where injuries allowed a fair effort except one, a close loss to Bolt
in Rome in May.
Missing from Bolt’s seven-race, 100-meter season is top honours in the World
Championships. The winner there was Blake, who kept his head in the confusion
that followed Bolt’s unfortunate exit. Interestingly, though 15 men with sub-10
personal bests assembled in the World Championships semis, only Blake broke the
old barrier with times of 9.95
in that round and 9.92 in the final. After
the Worlds, Blake avenged his Nationals loss to Asafa in Zurich
and also won in Berlin.
Jamaica Gleaner comes close to say it is Blake who will start his preparation
for the olympic year next week. In the All-Athletics.com rankings the current
order in the 100 m
is Blake, Powell, Bolt. Let´s wait for the end of the year rankings of Track
and Field News and Athletics International (published by Athletics Weekly)
where different arguments are considered by groups of experts (positions at
major events, head-to-head stats, quality of marks).

ROBLES IS READY

HAVANA (CUB): Cuban Olympic champion and world record
holder at the 110 m
hurdles, Dayron Robles, on Tuesday stressed the importance of retaining his
title in the upcoming Pan American Games to be held in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Speaking to
Radio Nacional de Venezuela, shortly before leaving for the Aztec nation,
Robles said in an optimal way he will provide a great joy to the Cuban people
and in particular to all his followers on the continent. Robles, who was
disqualified in the last World Championships in South Korea after winning the gold
medal by an interference with the Chinese Liu Xiang, said that this episode is
behind him and now looks forward to the games. He can use the favorable
altitude of Guadalajara
(1567 m)
to a fast time. He is the title defender with 13.25 in Rio 2007, Games
record is 13.17 by Anier Garcia in Winnipeg
1999. Cuban hurdlers won last three editions of the games and this time Robles
is clear favorite with no other hurdler from the top ten in the world
competing.

ADMINISTRATORS HEADING TO ARONA

ARONA (ESP): From Thursday until Sunday the European athletics
administrators will gather at the traditional autumn EA Convention. This year
it will be held in Arona, Tenerife one of the
Grand Canaria islands. Highlight will come on Saturday evening when the
European Athletics Awards Night will be staged with decorating the athletes of
the year (Mariya Savinova and Mo Farah along with Rising Stars Jodie Williams
and David Storl). Before that representatives of European national federations
and meeting organisers will participate in different forums. First on Thursday
will be devoted to EA one day meetings, second on Friday to Head Coaches High
Performance questions and third on Saturday to Member Federations leaders.
Other bodies will be having meetings like Euromeetings, Balkan Association, Small States
etc. The full European
Calendar 2012 will be also finalised.

TITLE DEFENDERS IN ISTANBUL

ISTANBUL (TUR): The 33rd Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul this Sunday has a
total prize purse 1 001 000 USD (marathon winners will get 50 000 USD). The
event is targeting IAAF Gold Label and has 9350 total number of entries for
different races. From this number 3200 are foreigners. For 15 km the figure is 4200, for
8 km 2740
and for marathon 2410. Added to this races is Fun Run where the participation
has been limited to huge 85 000 due to the technical possibilities at Bosporus Bridge. Last year winners and course
record holders with 2:10:39 and 2:27:25 Kenyan Vincent Kiplagat and Ethiopian
Ashu Kasim are returning to run. Second man Dereje Yadete of Ethiopia will also
come along with Tsegay Gebrselassie, Tariku Jifar on Ethiopian side and John
Kipkorir Mutai on the Kenyan. Strong female Ethiopian group will be further
composed by Haftu Goitetom (2:26:21 in Rome this
spring), Alemitu Abera (2:26:33 in Daegu in April), Russians Albina Mayorova
and Lidiya Grigoryeva and Krakow winner in
April with 2:28:14 Ukrainian Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko. In the 15 km races the favorite is
title defender Abayneh Ayele and on the women side local runners, world steeple
finalist Binnaz Uslu and European U23 record holder at 10 000 m Meryem Erdogan.

HAILE FOR BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Ethiopian running legend and the
world’s greatest ever distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, will compete at the
inaugural Bupa Great Birmingham Run on Sunday 23 October. Gebrselassie
confirmed his participation in the international half marathon race earlier
this week while visiting Soweto in South Africa,
where he is doing charity work for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The event is
being organised by Nova International, organisers of the world famous Bupa
Great North Run, with 54,000 competitors.

YELENA SUPPORTS DOHA

DOHA (QAT): Yelena Isinbayeva, Russia’s double Olympic pole vault
champion and world record holder, has thrown her support behind Doha’s bid to
host the 2017 World Ahletics Championships as the race to sign-up big name
celebrities hots up. Informs insidethegames. Isinbayeva’s backing for the
Qatari capital came only a day after London, Doha’s only rivals, unveiled
Ethiopia’s double Olympic 10,000
meters champion Haile Gebrselassie as one of their
ambassadors. “The IAAF World Championships in Doha will certainly set new standards,” she
said.

NEW RACE IN NYC

NEW YORK (USA): The inaugural NYRR Dash to
the Finish Line will draw some big names, including Olympians Deena Kastor and
Dathan Ritzenhein on Saturday, November 5, during ING New York City Marathon
weekend, it was announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary
Wittenberg. To be held the day before the ING New York City Marathon, the race
will offer a flat and fast 3.1-mile course through the heart of Manhattan, starting near the United Nations, crossing
Midtown on famed 42nd Street,
and heading uptown to Central Park for the
last dash across the world-renowned ING New York City Marathon finish line. All
runners are invited, and the race is a key element in New York Road Runners’
strategy of opening up the weekend festivities to more people. Kastor will be
joined by previously announced American 5000-meter record-holder Molly Huddle,
as well as Magdalena Lewy Boulet, who was the runner-up at the 2008 U.S.
Marathon Olympic Trials, and 2011 World Championships 10,000-meter silver
medalist Sally Kipyego of Kenya. Ritzenhein will also be in good company: 2008
Olympians Matt Tegenkamp and Lopez Lomong and two-time USA champion
Ben True are all entered.

OTHER NEWS

PRAGUE (CZE): 2007 pole vault World medalist Katerina
Badurova-Janku gave birth to a girl Ellen Janku last week (2.47 kg, 44 cm). Father Tomas Janku is
2006 European medalist in high jump. Both are already retired from athletics.

LONDON (GBR): West Ham United insisted they still
want to take over the Olympic Stadium despite the collapse of the deal allowing
the club to move in straight after next year’s Games. The Board of the Olympic
Park Legacy Company (OPLC) suddenly ended negotiations because of the concerns
caused by the ongoing legal dispute with Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient.
Both clubs are challenging the process by which West Ham were allowed to secure
a £40 million ($62.5 million/€45.8 million) loan from Newham Council,
describing it as state aid. But in a joint statement with her counterpart at
Newham, West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady said the East London outfit, the
nearest major club to the Stratford
site, still had the best case. “Our bid is the only one that will secure the
sporting and community legacy promise of the Olympic Stadium,” Brady said. The
Stadium will now remain in public ownership and the OPLC will try and find a
range of tenants willing to pay rental on the stadium, which will be reduced to
60,000 seats at a cost of £50 million ($78 million/€57 million) drawn from OPLC
funds. Writes insidethegames.

GUADALAJARA (MEX): The new stadium for track and field for
the Pan American Games has been approved by the IAAF, the athletics world
governing body. The track and field venue, which is just being completed with
the opening ceremony set for Friday, will hold 8,500 fans and was built at a
cost reported at $28 million.

ATHENS (GRE): Greek media are informing that 2000
olympic winner at 200 m
Kostas Kenteris has decided to resign from the Armed Forces and from the
position of Air Force officer. Former Olympic and world champion has been
invited along with other 156 sports representatives to leave the army. All were
ordered by the Minister of Defence who stated that it is necessary in current
situation in the country this officers being paid and not providing services
should leave. Kenteris did not appear in person but sent his resignation,
because in recent years he has been committed into the hotel business.

SOFIA (BUL): Bulgarian national indoor championships of all categories
will be held next winter in Dobrich. It is because the main hall Festivalna in Sofia will be
reconstructed. It will be also tough for Bulgarian athletes to prepare during
the winter months with other provisional possibilities in Sofia. In the same time top home sprinter
Inna Eftimova announced she will not compete indoors.

AMSTERDAM (NED) : A record number of 35.025 athletes has
registered for the TCS Amsterdam Marathon and other distances on October 16th.
Besides the marathon, for which over 12.000 participants are registered, there
will also be a Mizuno half marathon, Echo mini marathon and 1K Runaway staged.
Compared to last year, the marathon has grown by a 20%. Most runners are Dutch
or Belgian but there are also large groups of athletes from Great Britain, France
and Italy.

AMSTERDAM (NED): The Dutch Athletics Federation KNAU has
decided to keep its national records in the women’s marathon age categories as
well as other distances in the road races. The KNAU decided against following
the IAAF’s recent decision concerning the women’s marathon world records as
they feel it is not necessary to implement the rule on a national level.

LONDON (GBR): Carlos Nuzman President of Rio 2016,
has claimed that hosting the Pan American Games in the Brazilian city four
years ago played a major factor in helping it to secure the right to stage the
Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games are due
to begin on October 14th with more than 6,000 athletes from 41 nations set to
compete across 36 sports. The event is the second largest multisport event in
the planet behind the Olympic Games reports Insidethegames.

LONDON (GBR): London’s
Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy has promised the London Assembly that plans
are on track to get all athletes, officials and spectators to their events on
time during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, while also keeping
the city moving. As Concerns are growing that the capital will struggle with
the huge influx of people during the 2012 Games the Transport for London (TfL)
have called on all London Boroughs and businesses to work with them ahead of
the Olympics and Paralympics to help minimise disruptions writes
Insidethegames.

SAN DIEGO (USA):
Olympian Monique Henderson
has officially retired from the sport. Henderson
has not run since 2008 after deciding to take an off-year in 2009 and was
struggling to get back into training. Henderson
has founded the ‘Monique Henderson bootcamps’ and will focus on this project.
The American athletes has won two Olympic titles in the 4x400m in 2004 and
2008.

RESULTS

YAMAGUCHI (JPN, Oct 11): Shizuoka
won the 4×100 m relay with 39.83 at the National Sports Festival. In women
junior 3000 m
race Tomoka Kimura clocked 9:05.81.

TAJIMI (JPN, Oct 10): Good distance times for Kenyans at the district
Corporate team championships. John Thuo clocked 7:46.01 at 3000 m and Edward Waweru
13:24.99 at the 5000 m.

IVANO-FRANKIVSK (UKR, Oct 9): Serhiy Budza won the national 50 km walk title in 4:00:02.