GREAT
HURDLES EXPECTED

SHANGHAI
(CHN): Jamaican star sprinter Asafa Powell said before Saturday´s race that he
remains certain he can win the gold medal in the 100m at the London 2012
Olympic Games – provided he runs his best race. „I know for sure if I go
out and do what I’m supposed to do, I will be very hard to beat,” said
Powell of his London chances. In the expected hurdles duel World champion Jason
Richardson will have lane 4, home hero Liu Xiang 5, world indoor champ Aries
Merritt 6 and US record holder David Oliver 7. All four hurdlers met in one
race only once at last year World Championships. Liu Xiang will be under
pressure as he will carry the expectations of 1.3 billion people to the line in
London 2012. Aries Merritt will carry few expectations other than his own if he
makes the Olympic final, but he reckons he is just one of nine men who can make
the U.S. Olympic team. Daegu 2011 World champion Jason Richardson and David
Oliver gave similar replies. „There’s always pressure to make the U.S. team,”
Oliver said, „but I have qualified for several teams. Liu express the hope
that more Chinese hurdles would get down near 13 seconds „to make the event
even more interesting.” Looking forward to the race Liu Xiang said that „all
the US hurdlers are very competitive, so the competition will be fierce. I want
to fulfil what I’ve been doing in training so I can be satisfied.”
Richardson might be able to dodge the rain, but there will be no dodging the
pressure in the 110m Hurdles, not in Shanghai and not at the US Trials. In
another hot duel of the meet, the women´s 200 m Veronica Campbell-Brown will have
her first race at the distance since last World Championships in lane 5 and 100
m world champion Carmelita Jeter lane 6. They met just twice previously at this
distance and in both cases the Jamaican sprinter was better. With the help from
the IAAF.

THROWING
CLASHES IN HALLE

HALLE
(GER): The traditional throwing meet in German city Halle will have some great
line-ups. In men´s shot put World Champion David Storl will clash with Olympic
winner Tomasz Majewski. In discus similar duel world champ Robert Harting
against Eurowinner Piotr Malachowski and world medalist Ehsan Hadadi of Iran.
In women discus world champion Li Yanfeng (not competing at home SDL meet) will
clash with her main European rival Nadine Muller. In shot put similar situation
Gong Lijiao versus Nadine Kleinert. Home elite is in javelin with Christina
Obergfoll and Linda Stahl. In women hammer season debut for 2009 world champion
Anita Wlodarczyk against world medalist Zhang Wenxiu. Men´s hammer will see old
guard Esser, Charfreitag, Ziolkowski against Polish newcomer Pawel Fajdek.

FINAL
OF BRAZILIAN TOUR

RIO DE
JANEIRO (BRA): The 3rd edition of IAAF World Challenge goes quickly with 6th
meet of the season at the 28th Grande Premio in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It
will be on Sunday also the fifth and last meet of the Brazilian Tour in May.
IAAF Hammer Throw challenge continues here with men (Nazarov and international
return of Vadim Devyatovskiy of Belarus) and women (Klaas, Dahlgren, M.
Marghieva and Cosby). Home stars are competing, olympic winner Maurren Maggi in
the long jump and world champion Fabiana Murer in the pole vault with the
chance for revenge to Cuban Yarisley Silva who beat her on Wednesday in Sao
Paulo. From international athletes interesting entry is the former 400 m hurdles
world champion Kerron Clement who opens the season in the flat 400 m race.
Men´s 100 m will see Gerald Phiri, Dexter Lee, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender
against best Brazilians. In women 100 m Lauryn Williams and Bahamian talent
Sheniqua Ferguson with home elite. US Nichole Denby is the 100 m hurdles
favorite as is Ethiopian Mekdes Bekele in women steeple. Cuba vs. Brazil is the
headline for men´s triple jump. Kenyans, home runners and Rafith Rodriguez of
Colombia will clash in men´s 800 m. Jamaican Richard Phillips and Colombian
record holder Paulo Villar are the favorites in the high hurdles. Short and
long relays will be staged for men and women.

OTHER NEWS

BRUSSELS
(BEL): Belgian triple jumper Svetlana Bolshakova is aiming for a return
from injury on May 28th in a local meeting in Lokeren. Bolshakova had
ruptured her Achilles tendon when jumping at the meeting in Rabat last year and
has since been rehabilitating the injury. The former Russian athlete still has
hopes of competing at the London Olympic Games if all goes well in the her
upcoming meetings.

PARIS
(FRA): French hurdler Ladji Doucouré has been named French athlete of the month
April by the French website athle.com after clocking a very solid 13.37 in
the 110m hurdles in Florida in April. He is scheduled internationally next week
at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting on May 25.

MONTE
CARLO (MON): Poland’s Irena Szewinska, the multiple Olympic champion and World
record breaker is the latest athletics legend to be named as one of the 24
inaugural Members of the IAAF Hall of Fame reports the IAAF. The announcement
of this honour comes ahead of this weekend’s Samsung Irena Run on Saturday 19
May, a 5km run for men and women in the Polish capital of Warsaw, an event
of which Szewinska, an IAAF Council Member, is Patron.

NEW YORK
(USA): Olympian Kara Goucher will test her fitness for the upcoming Olympic
Marathon at the inaugural Rock ‚n’ Roll Portland Half-Marathon writes David
Monti. Goucher, 33, has been training at high altitude in Mammoth Lakes with
Oregon Track Club teammate Shalane Flanagan and is excited to test out her form
in Portland.

NEW YORK
(USA): Participation in half-marathon races in the United States has exploded
over the past five years, according to industry group Running USA. In 2011
there were an estimated 1.6 million half-marathon finishers in the United
States, up 16.2% from 2010. In a recent report, Running USA called the
half-marathon the „juggernaut distance” of American road running, the
fastest-growing race distance since 2003.

EUGENE
(USA): American distance star Bernard Lagat has confirmed he will commit to the
5000 m at this year’s USA Olympic Trials in Eugene. Lagat is the American
record holder over 5000 m and at last year’s IAAF World championships was edged
out by Mo Farah, who took the win.

LONDON
(GBR): Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has sought to talk up the benefits of
London 2012 for ordinary Londoners by highlighting the impact of this summer’s
Games on the local jobs market. A release from the recently re-elected
Mayor says that 37,000 previously workless Londoners have „gained access to
employment through London 2012 related activity”, adding that 8,000 additional
permanent jobs are planned for the Olympic Park after the Games writes
Insidethegames.

ROMA
(ITA): Italy announced its selection for the European Cup 10 000 m in Bilbao on
June 3. Full teams will run, on the men side Daniele Caimmi, Simone Gariboldi,
Stefano La Rosa, Andrea Lalli, Ruggero Pertile and in top shape running Daniele
Meucci. Women team is composed by Federica Dal Ri, Nadia Ejjafini, Claudia
Pinna, Elena Romagnolo, Valeria Straneo and Silvia Weissteiner.

MANCHESTER
(GBR): Two-time Olympic 10 000 m champion Haile Gebrselassie, who has announced
plans of making a serious challenge to compete over the distance at this
summer’s London Games after failing to gain a place in Ethiopia’s
three-man marathon team, defends his Bupa Great Manchester Run title on Sunday.
The last minute ambition of the world’s greatest ever distance runner, who won
the first of his brace of gold medals at Atlanta in 1996, then retained his
title four years later in Sydney, suggests he will be looking for another
impressive performance when chasing a fifth Manchester victory.
Gebrselassie, the former world marathon record holder, returns to the North
West’s capital city where his incredible record saw him win the first of his
four titles in 2005 at a venue where he has also clinched victory for the
last three years. Now having decided a week after Manchester he will chase
a position in his country’s 10,000m squad at the FBK-Games in the
Netherlands, which is hosting Ethiopia’s official trial race, he will be
looking for a razor sharp display in his bid to lift a fifth
Manchester title.

ZURICH
(SUI): After Viktor Rothlin also the top Swiss female marathon runner Maja
Neuenschwander was selected for the Olympic Games after she clocked at Zurich
Marathon 2:31:56.

RESULTS

YALTA
(UKR, May 17-18): European leading sprint times were registered at the
Ukrainian University Championships. Olesya Povkh clocked 11.22 (-0.9) to win
the 100 m and Mariya Ryemyen the 200 m in 22.77 (-2.0) over Viktoriya
Pyatachenko 22.98. Also to note 55.42 at 400 m hurdles by Anna Yaroshchuk.
Vitaliy Korzh won the men´s 200 m in 20.89 (+0.3). European U23 Champion Bohdan
Bondarenko cleared 225 in the high jump and Krystyna Grushtina achieved 660
(+0.9) in the long jump.

MINNEAPOLIS
(USA, May 17): Craig Miller and Heather Kampf took the respective men’s and
women’s titles at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships. Warm, windy conditions met
the competitors for the fourth annual championships, causing both fields to
take a conservative approach to the early stages of the race. Kampf used a late
burst to outrun the field in the last 400 meters, propelling herself to a decisive
win over Alisha Williams. Kampf was timed in 4:36.9 with Williams following in
4:39.6. Danielle Tauro took third in 4:40.0. The men’s race saw the majority of
the field still tightly packed with 250 meters to go when Aaron Braun made his
bid for his first U.S. title but Miller, who Braun outkicked for second in
2011, had one more gear, pulling ahead of Braun in the final 100 meters. Miller
took his first U.S. title, running 4:04.3 with Braun less than a second
behind in 4:05.1. Scott Smith took third in 4:06.9. Informs USATF.

HAYS
(USA, May 17): Maximiliano Alonso of Chile improved the national discus record
to 60.22 m.

PARDUBICE
(CZE, May 16): Czech shot putter Antonin Zalsky achieved 20.01 at a local
meet.

LEVELLAND
(USA, May 17): During first day of JUCO Championships Bahamian Shavez Hart
clocked 10.28 (+1.4) in the 100 m heats. Trinidad´s Reyare Thomas at age of 24
achieved 100 m personal best 11.30 (+0.4) in women heats. Janeil Belille of
Trinidad won the 400 m hurdles in 56.00.

TUCSON
(USA, May 17): Hyleas Fountain set the facility record in the women’s long jump
with a mark of 675 while competing in the Tuscon Elite Meeting at the
University of Arizona. That mark is tied for No. 6 in the world and also meets
the Olympic „A” Standard. The record was previously held by Jamaican Elva
Goulbourne, she jumped 655 on March 18, 2000. US record holder Jill
Camarena-Williams achieved 19.75 in the shot put over Michelle Carter 18.52 and
Canadian Julie Labonte 18.19. Bosnian Kemal Mesic achieved 20.11 in the shot
put and Kara Patterson got 59.66 in the javelin.

ST.
BRIEUC (FRA, May 17): Abdoulaye Diarra cleared at the meet here 221 in the high
jump and Adriana Lamalle clocked 13.74 at 100 m hurdles against -3.8 wind.