by Larry Eder
OLYMPIC GAMES
QUOTE OF THE DAY
„In Beijing I was not able to defend my title. I had a few injuries and I got the news the morning of the first round that my grandmother passed away and that really affected me. It was very emotional, I cried all day and ran terribly. I made a promise that I would win a medal for her before I will retire. I brough a picture of her here and had it also on the track,” crying winner Felix Sanchez.
„Maybe I will still continue to Rio 2016 after I did not win this medal. Im like a pair of twins, Today I wake up and say I will stop and next day I will say I will continue,” Yelena Isinbaeva.
RESULT OF THE DAY
Grenada with less than 100 000 people gets its first ever olympic medal (in any sport) and that with the first non-American sub 44 and the second youngest sub 44 Kirani James 43.94 (also UK All comers record taken from Michael Johnson). He is also the second youngest 400 m winner ever (after Steve Lewis).
In the same line Felix Sanchez and his world leading (UK All-Comers) 47.63 at 400 m hurdles, his fastest since Olympic final 2004 and 6th fastest of the career at age of 34 (will be 35 on Aug 30).
SURPRISE OF THE DAY
Yelena Isinbaeva getting only bronze, she was flying over the bar, could not manage technically. That was her last Games. Nadezhda Ostapchuk confirming her results from home in the shot put.
FAVORITES FALLS
World leader Javier Culson stumbled at hurdle 7 and was only third, his first loss of 2012 at 400mH (still first athletics medal for Puertorico ever). Title defender Melaine Walker out of 400mH women semifinals (only 55.74), also out Eurowinner and part-time world leader Irina Davydova of Russia. Milcah Chemos unbeaten this year so far, only fourth in women steeple.
SPECTATORS
80 000 1st day morning and evening
75 000 2nd day morning and 80 000 evening
80 000 3rd day evening
80 000 4th day morning and evening
AGENTS RANKING (by gold medals)
Jos Hermens, Ricky Simms and Mark Wetmore 2, Czeslaw Zapala, Adrian Laidlaw, Daniel Wessfeldt, Tony Minichiello, Jon Regis, Enrico Dionisi, Attila Spiriev, Sharon Richards, Valentina Fedyushina, Renaldo Nehemiah, Tony Campbell, Aivar Karotamm, Pavel Voronkov each 1
BEIJING DEFENDERS
yes (4): Majewski, T. Dibaba (10k), Fraser-Pryce, Bolt (100)
no (15): K. Bekele (10k), Saladino, Borchin, B-Trafton, Dita, Dobrynska, L.Merritt, Kipruto, Kozmus, Ohuruogu, Taylor, M. Walker, Galkina, Adams, Isinbaeva
nc (3): Mbango, Bungei, N. Langat
DAEGU WINNERS
yes (3): Kemboi, James, Zaripova
no (14): Storl, V. Cheruiyot (10k), Borchin, Jeter, Li Yanfeng, Chernova, E. Kiplagat, Murer, Blake, Murofushi, Montsho, Saladukha, Greene, Adams
nc (2): Jeylan, D. Phillips
WORLD LEADERS 2012 (6): Ennis hept, Bolt 100 m, Sanchez 400mH sf, James, 400 m, Sanchez 400mH f, Zaripova steeple
EUROPEAN LEADERS 2012 (3): Majewski shot put, Pavey 10k, Martina 100m
OLYMPIC RECORDS (3+3): 20 km walk men, marathon women, 3 heptathlon marks, 100 m men
NATIONS:
Medals: GBR 3-1-0, USA 2-3-4, JAM 2-1-1, ETH 2-0-2, KEN 1-2-2 (27 countries)
Points: USA 99, ETH 55, KEN 52, GBR 49, RUS 48, JAM 42, CHN 39 (49 countries)
STATS
400 m: First junior athlete gets a medal in London – Luguelin Santos at 400 m. Five Caribbeans in the final.
Steeple: Third fastest ever Zaripova in the women steeple. First female olympic athletics medal for Tunisia (Ghribi), best 4th place time ever (Chemos).
SP: 21.31 and then 21.36 are fourth longest SP in Olympic Games, better throws than this are two from Moskva (1980) and one from Seoul (1988). Slupianek in 1980 & Lisovskaya in 1988 had all their 6 throws over 21m.
PV:0 cm margin of difference is the smallest ever in WPV; previous min was 5cm by Dragila in 2000. 4.75 is the lowest winning height since 2000 when 4.60 won it.
TUESDAY MORNING
WJT qualifying: 66.19 by Spotakova is the third longest qualifying round throw in the history of the Olympics (new Javelin only). The longest qualifying round throw is 67.69 by Spotakova from 2008. From top ones out Eurochamp Rebryk and injured Sayers.
110mH: Liu Xiang after crashing into hurdle one was out. Home Pozzi also not qualified. Both looked like also injuries played a role. 13.07 by Merritt is the fastest heat time at 110mH in Olympics. Previously the fastest first round was 13.10 by Colin Jackson from 1992. French Ladji Doucoure was allowed as 25th into the semifinals after he was obstructed by other runner.
TJ: 16.62 made the final; that is the shortest TJ to make the final since 1988 when 16.29 made the final. Out Idowu, El-Sheryf, two Cubans.
W5000m: 15:06.38 was the slowest to make the final. Except for 2004, it(15:06.38) would have made the every final of w5000m. All medalists from 10 000 m competed.
200 m heats: NR by Quinonez 20.28 the fastest heat time, fastest olympic 1st round Dzingai 20.25 in Beijing. Only 3 finalists from 100 m competed (Bolt, Blake, Martina).
OTHER NEWS
SEMIFINAL: In the 200 m semifinals on Wednesday interesting clashes, in first Blake, Lemaitre and Spearmon, in second Bolt with Quinonez and Young and in third Weir, Mitchell and Martina.
LIU XIANG: The Chinese team leader Feng Shunyoung said: According to first diagnosis, we are not sure, could be an achilles tendon rupture.” Interestingly he had the same number as in Beijing 1356.
BOLT: His post-Games schedule was already announced with 3 meets in Lausanne, Zurich and Brussels. The events will be confirmed later. All three meets are offering both 100 m and 200 m.
ADAMS: The New Zelander lost last time to Ostapchuk in August 2010 in Zurich and then won next 9 competitions. The overall head-to-head is still now 17:16 in favor of Adams (since first duel in 2003), Ostapchuk for first time in their head-to-heads went over 21 m (from Tilastopaja).
POWELL: After injury in the 100 m final (groin tear) Asafa Powell ended his season. He will be most probably replaced in relay (Bolt, Blake, Frater) by Nesta Carter.
OLDEST: Oldest competitors in athletics were Ukrainian hammer thrower Oleksandr Dryhol (46) who was out in qualification and on the women side marathon 2008 winner Constantina Dita of Romania (finished 86th 2:41:34).
5000 M: Tirunesh Dibaba replaced in the 5000 m Genet Yalew, the same will not happen in the men 5000 m Kenenisa Bekele already flew home from London.
ITALY: Alex Schwazer, the title defender in the 50 km was sent home from London due to doping case. The Italian delegation is outraged at the news that Olympic champion has been caught doping with the blood booster EPO. Worst of all, Schwarzer knew exactly what he was doing and had been planning this deception for months, writes Gianni Merlo, president of AIPS.
GATLIN: The 100m bronze winner will compete first after Games at the Decanation meet in France on August 18 followed by Gugl Games in Linz on Aug 20 (EA Classic).
LAALOU: Moroccan miler and one of the candidates for the final Amine Laalou was barred from entering Britain a day before he was to compete at the Olympics, Morocco’s sports minister said Friday. He has reportedly failed a doping control for diuretic.
MAKHLOUFI: After medical evidence he will be allowed to compete in the 1500 m final.
OTHER NEWS
LONDON (GBR): The International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to criticize NBC for not showing the men’s 100 meters live even though the broadcaster is the IOC’s official partner in the United States and paid $1.2 billion (Å772 million/€971 million) for the rights to show the Games. While a majority of countries are showing the Olympics live – the BBC is providing 2,500 hours of programming for instance – NBC’s tape-delayed broadcasts, notably including the showpiece Opening Ceremony, are causing consternation in some quarters. Some 20 million viewers in the United Kingdom tuned in to watch Jamaican Usain Bolt’s victory (pictured above, lane seven)live but, given the time difference, NBC are primarily concentrating their efforts on edited prime-time packages that are shown at the optimum time to attract advertising. However, IOC spokesman Mark Adams stressed it was not for others to dictate how NBC operated. Writes insidethegames. NBC are setting record figures for its coverage of London 2012 despite the intense criticism.
LONDON (GBR): IOC informs that US basketball superstars Kobe Bryant and James Harden were pictured posing in the starting blocks on a warm-up track. “Easy win for me!” Harden joked. Anticipating the most rapid of showdowns, Olympians past and present delivered their predictions with hundredth-of-a-second accuracy. “Ok, I’m going to push my luck and make a prediction for the 100m time. I reckon it’ll be won in 9.70” mused five-time cycling Olympic Champion Sir Chris Hoy, who had correctly predicted teammate Ed Clancy’s time in the 1km time trial earlier in the day. The Jamaican’s turn of speed left many speechless, with four-time tennis Olympic Champion Serena Williams just tweeting: “Bolt!!!!!!!” Even Michael Phelps was taken aback: “@usainbolt does it again!”
