Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Roma 2011,

photo by PhotoRun.net

Phillips Idowu, Jessica Ennis, British Olympic uniforms,

photo by PhotoRun.net

Jessica Ennis, 2011 WC 800 meters,

photo by PhotoRun.net

The week is getting busy. But, still, the Jessica Ennis story, with her rallying from an uber bad high jump, to a studly javelin throw (an event that has provided challenges for her), scoring a Beamonesque 6900 plus points, the kind of scores that JJK used to get!

Mo Farah raced 1,500m and 5,000m within 90 minutes, pulling a Paavo Nurmi (who did same in 1924 Olympics, albeit a bit slower), then, nine days later, won a 10k road race off the kick. Think Alberto Salazar must be preparing him for something big? Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, Dathan Ritzenhein and Matt Centrowitz training in Park City, Utah. Word is that Mr. Centrowitz may have some real talent. (Of course he does).

David Rudisha, in a global press conference today, said the following:” I ran 1:44 in Australia, then 1:43 in Doha, so in New York, I would be happy with 1:42. ” The guy is not kidding. Rudisha can run 1:40. Sooner than any of us think. He also noted that he would love a shot a the 4 x 400m in Kenya, if they make the final. His father was 1968 Olympic medalist at 4 x 400m for Kenya. Rudisha cannot and should not be underestimated: he studies his event like a biblical scholar.

One of the clashes at Nike Pre that I am very excited to see: Phillips Idowo versus Christian Taylor and Will Claye. This will be EPIC. The triple jump is grand sports theater. Who will jump a big one early? Who will wait til round six and drop the bomb? Amazingly technical with huge challenges to the human body, the triple jump, per Sebastian Coe, may be the most challenging event to the human body in the sport of track & field. One other point: all three of these guys (plus Teddy Tamgho), have the capacity to jump 18.50 plus meters (60 feet).

I can not wait until London!

EME NEWS (MAY 28, 2012)

UB IN ROME

ROME (ITA): Usain Bolt is in Rome. The World athletics’ number one landed at the airport of Roma Fiumicino in the early afternoon on Saturday 26 May, in order to get ready for his race at the Compeed Golden Gala of Thursday evening. On that occasion, he will face three of the best competitors on the World sprint scenario: compatriot Asafa Powell, France’s Christophe Lemaitre, and Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Nice and smiling as usual, Bolt reached the ATA Hotel Villa Pamphili, where he will be accommodated and where he will meet the international Media on Tuesday. “I’m OK – said Usain Bolt upon his arrival – and I hope to run fast on the track of the Olympic Stadium. I loved the crowd here last year, so I decided to be back. Ostrava? Well I don’t know what exactly happened there, but I think my time was not that bad at the end. Maybe the long travel, and the fact I didn’t sleep a lot since my arrival in Europe played a role”. In another issue Puma introduced evoSPEED, the groundbreaking performance collection that for the first time in the Sportlifestyle brand’s history, features product offerings for all Puma sport categories. Inspired by the Usain Bolt – the World’s Fastest Man, the collection answers every athlete’s need for speed by taking performance technology and innovations and incorporating them in footwear and apparel developed for running, football, motorsport, golf, cricket and indoor sports. Informs Samsung Diamond League website.

REBRYK 66.53 JAVELIN NR

YALTA (UKR, May 27-28): Some top marks at Ukrainian Cup meet here. Vira Rebryk improved national javelin record to 66.53 m. In throws also Ganna Skidan improved to 74.00 in hammer, men winner was the veteran Oleksandr Dryhol with 77.85. In discus Natalya Semenova 63.56 and former super talent Mykola Nesterenko 63.19. Oleksandr Pyatnytsa won the men javelin (83.44) and Maksim Mazuryk cleared 572 in the pole vault. Good high jumping by Olena Kholosha 195 PB over Vita Palamar 190 and Dmytro Demyanyuk 226 on the men side. Ganna Melnychenko scored 6407 points in the heptathlon. Viktor Kuznetsov won the long jump (810, 0.0) over Sheryf El-Sheryf 805 (0.0). In races fast sprints by Olesya Povkh 11.22 (+1.0) over Mariya Ryemyen also 11.22. Ryemyen won the 200 m in 22.72 (+1.4) over Viktoriya Pyatachenko 22.83. In the 800 m junior Anastasiya Tkachuk in 2:00.78 beat seniors Tetyana Petlyuk 2:00.80 and Anna Mishchenko 2:00.92. But in other races Moldovan guest Elena Popescu was the best 2:00.64. Alina Logvinenko posted 51.47 in the 400 m and Hanna Titimets 55.85 at 400 m hurdles. 10 000 m winners Tetyana Holovchenko 32.10.43 and Mykola Labovsky 28:04.90. In the 5000 m Lyudmila Kovalenko achieved 15:10.28 and steeple winners were Svitlana Shmidt 9:33.43 and Vadim Slobodenyuk 8:22.19.

FRIEDRICH 192, HER BEST SINCE SURGERY

REHLINGEN (GER, May 28): At the traditional Pfingstmeeting German high jump star Ariane Friedrich cleared 192 her best since the surgery. Bjorn Otto won the pole vault with 572, but in women competition Czech Jirina Ptacnikova beat on count-back the home favorite Silke Spiegelburg, both 465 cm. Briton Samson Oni won the menÂ´s high jump (228) and Teemu Wirkkala of Finland was the best in the javelin (80.77). In sprints South African wins for Hannes Dreyer in the 100 m (10.34, -1.4) and Offentse Mogawane in the 400 m (45.80). Abraham Rotich won the 800 m in personal best 1:44.46. Another Kenyan James Kelwon won the 3000 m in 7:44.61. In the 1500 m Kenyan junior Cornelius Kangogo improved to 3:35.72 ahead of Benson Seurei 3:36.06. Best European Mateusz Demczyszak of Poland as 9th got 3:39.66. Diro Neda of Ethiopia won women steeple in 9:28.34 over Antje Moldner who clocked olympics qualifier 9:32.14. Esther Cremer achieved Helsinki qualifier in the 400 m with 51.76 over French Marie Gayot 51.78. Sharolyn Scott clocked national record for Costarica 56.19 in the 400 m hurdles in dead heat with Canadian Sarah Wells.

OTHER NEWS

LONDON (GBR): Latest Pat Butcher blog at www.globerunner.org – Jessica Ennis Throws Her Weight Around.

MADRID (ESP): Spanish javelin record holder and 2006 European Athletics Championships bronze medallist Mercedes Chilla has had to end her season after she tore her left Achilles tendon during her first throw at the European Champions Clubs Cup meeting in the Portuguese town of Vila Real de Santo AntÃ³nio on Saturday. The injury means that Chilla, now 32, will miss both the 2012 European Athletics
Championships and also the Olympic Games in London.

EUGENE (USA): The Prefontaine Classic on Saturday will have also top shot put field. With Christian Cantwell, Reese Hoffa and Ryan Whiting representing the home colours. Also there world medalist and recent Ostrava and Hengelo winner Dylan Armstrong with olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland. MenÂ´s javelin has world champion Matthias de Zordo of Germany, Czech winner from Shanghai and Ostrava Vitezslav Vesely, Russian veteran Sergey Makarov, world leader Stuart Farquhar of New Zealand and Latvian olympic medalist Vadim Vasilevskis.

LAUSANNE (SUI) : European Athletics announced strong broadcast intentions for the Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships. There will be at least 730 hours of television coverage in Europe alone over the five days of the championships, including more than 710 hours of live coverage. The championships take place from 27 June to 1 July.

LONDON (GBR): Kelly Sotherton has admitted to being heartbroken after confirming her retirement through injury two months before she hoped to compete at the London Olympics. â€žSadly it wasn’t meant to be and the body didn’t quite hold out long enough for me. I’m heartbroken if I’m honest but I’m looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead instead knowing that I gave everything I could to make it to what should be one of the greatest Olympics in history.” Sotherton was quoted bysportinglife.com.

LONDON (GBR): Jessica Ennis believes there is still more to come despite smashing the British heptathlon record of former Olympic champion Denise Lewis and laying down an impressive marker in Gotzis. â€žThey won’t want to go into London with a bad score, they will come back stronger, but so will I and I will have a big crowd with me,” a delighted Ennis said. â€žThere is definitely more to come, not hundreds and hundreds of points, little improvements, but I am 26 now and I have always said this is a good age.” Writes sportinglife.com.

LONDON (GBR): Sir Charles Allen, a former television executive, has been appointed so-called â€žMayor” of the London 2012 Olympic Village. Sir Charles will act as a figurehead, welcoming and hosting dignitaries and maintaining a â€žvisible and accessible” presence for residents throughout the Games period reports Insidethegames.

QUEBEC CITY (CAN): Buenos Aires’ bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, if successful, could pave the way for Argentina to make an attempt to stage the Summer Olympics in 2028 or 2032. That was the view of Gerardo Werthein, the President of the Argentine Olympic Committee and of Buenos Aires 2018. Buenos Aires will face stiff competition from Glasgow, the British city hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games according to Insidethegames.

BERLIN (GER): The German Athletics federation confirmed that following the IAAF Combined events challenge meeting of GÃ¶tzis, Pascal Behrenbruch and Rico Freimuth have confirmed their spot for the London Olympic Games. Behrenbruch managed a solid 3 rd place and total of 8433 points, while Freimuth placed fourth with 8322 points. Other German decathlon hope for London Jan Felix Knobel ended the competition after the high jump with pain in his knee.

BRUSSELS (BEL): Belgian hurdler Eline Berings is not concerned about her 13.30 display at the IFAM Meeting in Oordegem last weekend. Berings told Belgian media she has been breaking her personal bests in training and therefore feels confident she can run fast this year reports sporza.be.

BRISBANE (AUS): Last year world athlete of the year hurdler Sally Pearson will compete in the women’s 100m hurdles at Meet 3 of the Queensland Athletics Winter Series on Saturday. The 25-year-old will begin her international campaign at the Bislett Games in Oslo (NOR) late next week, before further competition at the Paris (FRA) and London (GBR) instalments of the Samsung Diamond League. Informs Athletics Australia.

RESULTS

LOKEREN (BEL, May 28): Return of Svetlana Bolshakova in the triple jump here with 14.28 (+0.4) what is an European Championships qualifier over olympic winner Francoise M
bango 14.09 (+1.5).

WESEL (GER, May 28): At jumping meet Sosthene Moguenara leaped to 688 (+0.1) personal best. Second Ksenia Achkinandze leaped to windy 672 (+3.1). European indoor champion Sebastian Bayer got 825 (+0.1) win in the men long jump. Second Alyn Camara 820 (-0.1) personal best and third Nils Winter 803 (+0.6). Katja Demut fulfilled Helsinki triple jump standard with 14.21 (+1.0).

ZEVEN (GER, May 27): Silvio Schirrmeister clocked here new personal best at 400 m hurdles with 49.64. Mark Frank got 80.33 in the javelin and Chinese Lu Huihui achieved 62.07 in the javelin.

FRANKISCH-CRUMBACH (GER, May 27): Betty Heidler continues in winning, at special hammer meet here with 75.78. Asian record holder Zhang Wenxiu was second 74.91. Markus Esser was the best man with 76.62.

BIELSKO-BIALA (POL, May 27): Polish titles in road 10 km race for Iwona Lewandowska 33:34 over Karolina Jarzynska 33:46. In menÂ´s race Allan Ndiwa of Kenya 29:51 ahead of Jakub Burghardt 31:20.

TEHRAN (IRI, May 24-25): At first stage of national Clubs Champs Reza Ghasemi sprinted to 10.38 in the 100 m and second Hasan Taftian clocked national junior record 10.41. Mohamed Arzandeh leaped to windy 805 (+2.1) in the long jump. Mahmoud Samimi won the discus 64.36 and Hapi Sepehrzad scored 7729 in the decathlon what is new national record.

KIGALI (RWA, May 27): Kenyan winners at 8th Kigali Marathon Paul Kibet 2:14:56 and Lilian Chelimo 2:48:17.

BOULDER (USA, May 28): Winners of the 10 km road race here were Allan Kiprono of Kenya 29:53. In women race Ethiopian Mamitu Daska 33:05 ahead of Janet Cherobon-Bawcom 33:22 and Deena Kastor 33:27 over Japanese Kayoko Fukushi 33:32

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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