by Larry Eder
Mo Farah, photo by PhotoRun.netIt is a few hours before the press conference, and I am looking at the list of potential interviewees, and it is a who’s who of Nike athletics. Friday night is shaping up to be a geek fest of field and track, or track and field. Runblogrun will be tweeting Friday night and live blogging on Saturday. Fun starts at 6 tonight and 11 am tomorrow!EME NEWS (JUN 1, 2012) HUGE TWO DAYS OPERATION IN OREGONEUGENE (USA): Prefontaine Classic (sponsored since 1978 by Nike) as fourth stop of Samsung Diamond League will be this year a huge two days operation with international influence. Kenyan federation will have its 10 000 m men olympic trials on Friday, also in women 10 000 most of the top Ethiopian runners will try for fast times in order to qualify for London. In total 24 events (16 DL and 8 non-DL) will be in two days (8 on Friday and 16 on Saturday). Unfortunately the Cuban athletes headed by Dayron Robles are out because of visa issues. Event by event preview Friday Men International mile: World medalist Centrowitz against some top Africans. 10 000 m: Kenyan olympic trials, who is the hot name for 3 spots? Experienced Eliud Kipchoge or Beijing medalist Micah Kogo or Japan based Paul Tanui or one of the Masai´s (Dennis or Moses). TJ: Great clash of US headliners Taylor and Claye with Briton Idowu, one of two Friday DL events. Women 800 m: US field with Montano and Vessey going for fast times. 1500 m: World champ Simpson, but young Ethiopian Bogale also there. 10 000 m: Ethiopians headed by Tirunesh Dibaba want to achieve fast times to qualify for London. DT: Home oly winner Brown-Trafton against in-shape Europeans Perkovic and Pishchalnikova, the second DL event of Friday. HT: Heidler in super shape, can she be beaten by Wlodarczyk or Lysenko? Saturday Men 100 m: Gatlin vs. Dix, young Jamaican Ashmeade waiting behind. This is non DL. 200 m: Dix vs Spearmon, what did not happen in Ostrava, will at Pre. 400 m: Superb duel James vs. Merritt, also Wariner in the race. 800 m: They showed already the shape Aman and Kszczot, but also Kaki and Borzakovskiy running. Bowerman mile: World lead a must. Kiprop, S. Kiplagat as in Doha, but also B. Lagat, Lomong, Iguider, Birgen. 5000 m: Farah in shape, Bekele for fast time, and group of Kenyans headed by I. Koech and Choge. 110mH: US trio Oliver, Merritt, Richardson vs Liu Xiang, revenge for Shanghai. SP: US elite against Majewski and Armstrong. JT: Czech Vesely after wins in Shanghai and Ostrava is the top favorite. Women 200 m: Jeter vs. Felix, a world lead? 400 m: For first time this year all 3 in one race: SRR – Montsho – NWM. 3000 m: World medalist Kipyego with strong Moroccan Selsouli, world lead very possible. Second non-DL of Saturday. Steeple: Kenyans vs. Ethiopians. Chemos is the world leader. HJ: Lowe at home vs world champ Chicherova. More than two meters would be needed to win. PV: Murer vs. Feofanova, Bleasdale and Strutz. LJ: World champ Reese in her own show. RUSSIAN HURDLES SENSATIONHEROUVILLE (FRA, May 31): Hurdles sensation at the Meeting Elite in France. Russian Sergey Shubenkov won the 110 m hurdles in European lead and national senior record 13.18 (+0.3). He clocked first PB and Russian U23 record in heats 13.33 (+1.3). Shubenkov came to France with 13.42 best achieved last weekend in Sochi at Teams Championships. Last year he won the European U23 Championships in Ostrava. Second US Jeff Porter 13.46 but good 13.34 (+0.7) in his heat. Also women hurdles fast winning time for World indoor medalist Alina Talai of Belarus 12.85 (-1.0) personal best. Her team-mate Natalya Koreyvo won the 1500 m in 4:08.34 over Ethiopian Feyna Gudato 4:09.98. Briton Andy Robertson won the 100 m (10.35, +0.9) and Kenyan Abraham Cherono the steeple (8:31.31 beating last year European junior champion Russian Ilgizar Safiulin 8:32.78 PB). Fabrice St. Jean won on count back the high jump over Youth Olympic Games Dmitriy Kroyter, Osku Torro of Finland and German Mathias Haverney, all 223 cm. Susana Costa of Portugal was the triple winner with lifetime best 14.08 (+1.5, oly winner Mbango only 7th 13.25). STOCKHOLM MARATHONSTOCKHOLM (SWE): ASICS Stockholm Marathon is Europe’s oldest city marathon, dating back to 1979. The 34th edition with a record number of 21 266 runners from 83 nations closed its registrations already Dec 1, more than a half year before the race. However there will be a second marathon this summer, July 14th, to commemorate the centenary of the 1912 Olympic Marathon, with 10 436 runners from 65 nations. The widespread supremacy of East African runners has no exception in the ASICS Stockholm Marathon. Seven runners with PB’s at the 2:09-2:11-level will threaten the old course record, 2:11:37, still standing since Hugh Jones’ victory in 1983. Ethiopia’s Dereje Debele Tulu has the best PB, 2:09.08, from his debut in Vienna, two years ago. Countrymate Sahle Warga Betona has good track credentials (7:41/13:06 on 3000 resp. 5000 meters). Betona has never run slower than 2:12 in his four marathons. Elijah Kemboi may not be the fastest of
the Kenyans, but he won both his marathon races last year (Kosice and Antverp). Deribe Godana with a PB of 2:28 seems to have the best credentials among the women. She is challenged by fellow Ethiopians Teame Shumeye and Tigist Kifle. Experienced Kenyan Joyce Kandie has progressed the last year and is the biggest threat to an Ethiopian victory. The winner of the four latest ASICS Stockholm Marathons, Swedish Record holder Isabellah Andersson has opted out to focus on the Olympics. OTHER NEWS MANNHEIM (GER) : The Bauhaus junior Gala in Mannheim is welcoming this weekend a record number of 550 junior athletes from 21 countries reports leichtathletik.de. The junior competition is considered a last final test for junior athletes ahead of the IAAF World junior championships in Barcelona and is welcoming junior athletes from all over the world. LAUSANNE (SUI): The final entries for the European Cup 10,000m to be held in Bilbao, Spain, on 3 June are available on the European Athletics website. A total of 51 male and 41 female athletes from 22 European Athletics Member Federation countries are set to compete. Germany’s Sabrina Mockenhaupt, French Christelle Daunay and British Jo Pavey are the top contenders in the women’s field while the men’s race is highlighted by Turkish Mert Girmalegese and Italy’s Daniele Meucci. LONDON (GBR): Cathy Freeman believes hurdler Sally Pearson has the head and shoulders to bear the enormous weight of expectation placed on her as Australia’s athletics standard-bearer and is ready to write her own fairytale at the London Olympics. „When I think of those moments I won, my immediate reaction is, ‚Oh, bloody hell, I’m so glad it’s over!'” she told Reuters at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium. LONDON (GBR): Jessica Ennis has ruled out getting involved in pre-Olympics mind games after Tatyana Chernova suggested the weight of expectation in London could be too much for her. Ennis has no interest in engaging in a war of words. „I don’t want to, I think it’s a distraction,” she said. „I think she (Chernova) will be slightly disappointed with her performance” she was quoted by Skysports. ISTANBUL (TUR): Istanbul’s bid to stage the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics has received an early significant boost with the news that a consortium to build a third bridge over the Bosphorus has been selected, which it is hoped will help ease the traffic congestion in the Turkish financial capital, one of the potential problems highlighted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reports Insidethegames. ROME (ITA): Some stats from Compeed Golden Gala from Ken Nakamura. 9.76 by Bolt is the fastest time into the head wind. Aregawi recorded the fastest time in May in the 1500 m. It was 39th (most ever) sub-15 for Defar and 23rd sub-15 for Vivian Cheruiyot. BRUSSELS (BEL): Legendary South African athlete Zola Pieterse (formerly Budd) will run the Brussels Marathon on 7 October. It will be her first marathon in Europe since London 2003. Budd is a former 5000m world record holder, became world champion cross-country running, but is probably even better known as the athlete who ran most of her career barefoot. Earlier this year she ran the Two Oceans Marathon in and around Cape Town and on 3 June she will be at the starting line of the 89 km long Comrades Marathon, also in her homeland. “The Brussels Marathon will be a new challenge”, says Zola Budd looking ahead. “I haven’t had many opportunities yet to run in Belgium and I’m looking forward to discovering the European capital while running. I find a marathon the ideal way of getting to know a city or region.” This year, the Brussels Marathon & Half Marathon will be held on Sunday 7 October. An estimated 11,000 runners from over 30 different countries will be at the starting line of one of the distances. KINGSTON (JAM): Racers TC web informs that sprinter Darrion Bent will face the surgeon’s knife this week to correct a four year old injury. He will be out for about 6 months but definitely for the rest of the season. NEW YORK (USA): Race Results Weekly informs that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the New York Road Runners announced that the Ethiopian marathon runner Ezkyas Sisay had been disqualified from the ING New York City Marathon last November for doping. Sisay, 23, who finished ninth in the race in his marathon debut in 2:11:04, was found guilty of using synthetic erythropoietin, or EPO, and has accepted a two-year suspension. The New York Road Runners confirmed through a statement that Sisay had not received any prize money–payments are always withheld when a doping case is being resolved–and that American Ed Moran (2:11:47) and Swiss Viktor Röthlin (2:12:26) would be promoted to ninth and tenth place, respectively. Both men will receive adjustments in their prize money to reflect their higher placings. All other male finishers in the race will be promoted by one position. Sisay–who can be easily spotted during races with his long dreadlocks–was also disqualified from two races he won last January: the Carlsbad Half-Marathon in California (1st place, 1:04:43), and the Mountain’s T’s Invitational 3000m in Flagstaff, Ariz. (1st place, 8:18.60). At the Carlsbad race he won $1500 in prize money which he is required to return. OSLO (NOR): Running marriage Kjersti Karolin Danielsen and Řystein Sylta (both participated in the European Champs Marathon 2010) married last weekend. FRANKFURT (GER): News from German javelin camp. Matthias de Zordo is ok after back problems and will throw in Oslo next week. On the other hand junior world champion Till Woschler is out because of elbow injury in muscle and tendor area. He will not be ready for Helsinki or London. There is a possibility he could compete at the end of the season. RESULTS STRASBOURG (FRA, May 28): German sprinter Anne Mollinger clocked at regional match PB 23.15 (+0.2) in the 200 m and fulfilled the qualification standard for Helsinki. —
the Kenyans, but he won both his marathon races last year (Kosice and Antverp). Deribe Godana with a PB of 2:28 seems to have the best credentials among the women. She is challenged by fellow Ethiopians Teame Shumeye and Tigist Kifle. Experienced Kenyan Joyce Kandie has progressed the last year and is the biggest threat to an Ethiopian victory. The winner of the four latest ASICS Stockholm Marathons, Swedish Record holder Isabellah Andersson has opted out to focus on the Olympics.
