David Rudisha has made it clear all summer. First, he will run the Olympics and second, he will run very, very fast over the 800 meters. Most people thought his 1:41.72 was fast, and then, his 1:41.58 was very fast. RBR thought both of those races, which we saw, were quite fast.
Now, David Rudisha wants to run real fast, after London. My guess? That world record will be put away…
Selsouli reportedly positive
PARIS (FRA): Several news outlets, including France’s L’Equipe, are reporting that
Moroccan middle distance runner Meriam Alaoui Selsouli has tested positive for a banned
substance and, as a repeat offender, faces a possible lifetime ban. Writes Race Results
Weekly. The British Athletics Weekly said that the 28-year-old current 1500 m world leader
(3:56.15 at Paris Diamond League) has previously served a two-year doping suspension
between 2009 and 2011 after testing positive for EPO. Under IAAF and WADA rules, a
second doping offence would mean that Selsouli would no longer be permitted to compete in
athletics. She returned to the sport late last summer and won in Rieti, followed by a
1500m PB of 4:00.77 in just her second race back. That form continued this year and
she took the 1500m silver medal at the World Indoor Championships. In June she ran a
world-leading time over 3000m with 8:34.47, then earlier this month came her most
surprising performance when she obliterated her 1500m lifetime best at the Diamond
League meeting in Paris with a national record of 3:56.15. According to L’Equipe,
Selsouli’s urine sample from Paris tested positive for the diuretic furosemide.
Blessings from Pope
CASTEL GANDOLFO (ITA): Pope Benedict XVI blessed the Olympics starting in London
this week in his traditional Sunday address and said he hoped the spirit of the
Games would encourage peace in the world. “We pray that with the will of God the
Games in London will be a true experience of brotherhood between the peoples of
the world,” the pope told thousands of pilgrims at his summer residence of Castel
Gandolfo near Rome. Agencies are informing.
Rudisha for Weltklasse
ZURICH (SUI): The 800 m world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya is the latest top
name confirmed for Weltklasse Zurich on August 30. Already earlier the participation
of Usain Bolt was announced. “First I want to concentrate on the Olympics. Then I want
run a really fast race,” said Rudisha. For Zurich he will prepare at his German base in
Tubingen. Rudisha also promised to be part of Youth trains with Weltklasse kids clinic.
In men pole vault confirmed is the duel of top European vaulters Renaud Lavillenie
versus Bjorn Otto.
Devyatovskiy no for London
MINSK (BLR): Belarus hammer thrower and olympic silver winner from Beijing Vadim
Devyatovskiy announced he will not compete in London because of a back injury.
“I was hoping that the injury from June competition in Staiki will be ok. But
I will not make it, I have the standard but I do not want travel as a tourist
without a chance for good result,” said 35-years old thrower with 79.60 from
June. On the other hand former world champion Ivan Tikhon is supposed to travel.
Other two hammer team members should be Pavel Krivitskiy and Valeriy Svyatokho.
OTHER NEWS
BRUSSELS (BEL): After winning the Samsung Diamond League meeting of Monaco Jonathan and Kevin Borlée travel to London full of confidence. Jonathan told Belgian media he was not focused enough for the race and made some mistakes, while the race still resulted in a win. Also Kevin Borlée is happy with the progress they are making before going to London.
KINGSTON (JAM): In four years after creating a Facebook fan page, Usain Bolt has racked
up to 7,018,290 fans and counting. Bolt’s page was officially created June 1, 2008 and
since then he has had consistent growth over the period. Usain is the only track and
field athlete with this kind of following on Facebook and since beginning of May he
has added 420,000 fans. Bolt’s biggest fan base, according to Facebook, is from the
UK with just under one million while the countries rounding out the top ten are
India, USA, France, Italy, Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Germany and Chile. His
most popular fans are the 18 – 24 male, 13 – 17 male and 25 – 34 male; his most
popular female fans are from the 18 – 24 reports Trackalerts.com.
LONDON (GBR): Germany’s Claudia Bokel has been elected as the new chair of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission. Bokel replaces outgoing
chair Frank Fredericks of Namibia reports Insidethegames. The IOC Athletes’ Commission
itself serves as a consultative body and is the link between active athletes and the IOC.
It is composed of 12 athletes with eight Summer Olympians and four Winter Olympians elected for eight years by the athletes participating in the Olympics. London 2012 will see four
new members join at the end of the Games because from July 16 to August 8, all athletes
participating in the Olympics are eligible to vote for four of the 21 candidates running
for election to the Athletes’ Commission. After approval by the IOC Session on August 12,
the four elected athletes will become IOC members for an eight-year term of office. They
will replace current Athletes’ Commission members Fredericks, Hicham El Guerrouj, Rania
Elwani and Jan Zelezny who are all finishing their terms of office.
TONBRIDGE (GBR): Steve Hooker is placing his faith in a sports psychologist to help him
evade a return of the yips in the final rundown to the Olympic pole vault competition.
Hooker will consult the Australian team pyschologist Kevin Hayter at their training base
in Tonbridge, and then when they relocate to the Olympic village in east London, in a bid
to successfully fight mental demons in one of the Games’ most dangerous events reports
The Brisbane Times.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Jamaican olympic winner 1976 and one of the team leaders Donald Quarrie believes that Jamaica can continue its dominance in the men’s 4x100m relay and stand a good chance of overwhelming the Americans in the female equivalent at the Olympic Games in London. Quarrie says despite having limited time to work on baton exchanges and other technical details with the squads, Jamaica’s sprint relay teams should be well-prepared
for a show in London writes The Jamaica Gleaner.
MELBOURNE (AUS): Former world indoor 800m champion Tamsyn Manou says she will hang up her racing spikes this year. Manou, who has won an amazing 17 Australian middle distance titles, said she was on the verge of retirement. She could not hit the Olympic A qualifier for the 800m, but recorded several B qualifiers and won the Australian selection trials
however still has not been selected by the Australian Athletics federation reports
Courier Mail.
LONDON (GBR): British sprinter Dwain Chambers said he feels like a gold medal-winner
already as he prepares to return to Olympic competition despite an earlier drug ban.
The 34-year-old 100m runner said it was a “dream come true” to compete in London, after
being fitted for his Games kit at the British athletics team’s base in central England
writes The Jamaican observer.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Reigning World and European 5,000m Champion Mo Farah will run in the 2 mile race at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on 26 August at Birmingham’s Alexander
Stadium, two weeks after his attempt to win double gold at the London Olympic Games
announces UK Athletics.
WARSZAWA (POL): Despite jumping only 542 on Saturday at Kusocinski Memorial pole vault
world champion Pawel Wojciechowski still has the chance to jump in London at the Games.
Polish Athletics Federation plans to propose his selection to the national olympic
committee. He did not achieve this year the standard of 572 but has the mark from 2011.
TEDDINGTON (GBR): The Olympics only come once every four years, and it is the fortunate
athlete who is one hundred percent healthy in advance of the Games. Many, like Irish
miler Ciaran O’Lionaird, are keeping a nagging injury at bay while still trying to add
strength, fitness and speed and keep their Olympic hopes alive. O’Lionaird’s inflamed
left Achilles isn’t fully healed, but he simply can’t waste time worrying about that
now: the show must go on. “People say to me all the time, ‘you’re healthy now, it must
be great to be healthy,'” O’Lionaird told Race Results Weekly in an interview here today
as he sipped a large cup of hot chocolate in a hotel cafe. “I kind of laugh at it
because healthy is really a relative term. When O’Lionaird, 24, who grew up on a dairy
farm in County Cork, moved to the Oregon Track Club Elite under coach Mark Rowland
last May, the pair knew they were racing against the clock to get him ready for the
London Games. At the time, they thought his preliminary round at the Olympic Games
might be his first outdoor race of the season. But his Games build-up has gone well
enough that he was able to race in the Cork City Sports meeting last Tuesday, finishing
fifth in the mile in a respectable 3:58.84, and he will run another mile in Dublin on
Wednesday at the Morton Pre Games.
FRANKFURT (GER): After only 184 on Saturday in Pergine Valsugana German high
jumper Ariane Friedrich admitted she will still think about her olympic participation.
“She will start in London only when she will be able to jump well,” said her coach and
agent Gunther Eisinger. He also said she will still think to compete once again before
the Games to see her current shape.
RESULTS
HYVINKAA (FIN, Jul 22): Russian Aleksandra Butvina scored here 5654 points in heptathlon
and Ivan Grigoryev 7507 in decathlon. Informs Carles Baronet on his TrackinSun blog.
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