ROTHLIN PLANS NEW MARATHON

ZURICH (SUI): Swiss Marathon European Champion Viktor Rothlin will travel on Thursday to Asia to run the Lake Biwa Marathon on March 3. Before that he announced he will organise the „Switzerland Marathon light” in 2014. As Asics ambassador he will also be guest at Tokyo Marathon this weekend. For fall of this year Rothlin announced he will for first time run the Jungfrau Marathon in Interlaken (September 14). It is staged at mountain and very tough course. He said he needs such a motivation ahead of European Championships 2014 in Zurich. In this fall after Interlaken also a city marathon is in plan.

LESTER FOR DLV

FRANKFURT (GER): German Athletics Federation DLV informed they had contracted British sprint coach Tony Lester (53) for the whole of 2013. Lester will work in the area of sprints and 400 m. He worked in the past with names like Roger Black, Marlon Devonish, Mark Richardson, Mark Lewis-Francis and Nicola Sanders for UK Athletics from November 2000 until last December.

PISTORIUS UPDATE

PRETORIA (RSA): Initial reports of a banned substance being found at the house of Oscar Pistorius have been rejected by the athlete’s defence on the second day of his bail hearing in Pretoria, adding that the ‘testosterone’ found is a legal herbal remedy. Writes Athletics Weekly. Although finding a banned substance at his home is a serious allegation, Pistorius has other more serious matters at hand, with the athlete denying the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, saying he mistook her for an intruder. In evidence given to the court on Wednesday, the prosecution referred to statements from a witness saying they heard “non-stop talking like fighting” as well as another witness saying they heard screams and gunshots from the house. Chief investigative officer Hilton Botha also said Pistorius would face an additional charge of possessing unlicensed ammunition and that police found two boxes of testosterone and needles in the athlete’s bedroom. However, Inspector Botha later admitted that the witness who said they heard the shouting was 600m (later amended to 300m by the Inspector) away from Pistorius’ house, with the defence also claiming that the ammunition in question belonged to the athlete’s father. The bail hearing was initially expected to last two days, but could now reportedly go on until the end of the week. Inspector Botha argues that Pistorius should not get bail as he considers him a flight risk. Writes Athletics Weekly.

OTHER NEWS

NAIROBI (KEN): Kenya’s cross country team reported to its residential training camp in Embu. Most of the 28 athletes arrived expectant of dominating the World Cross. Mercy Cherono, feels an emotional attachment with Bydgoszcz City, a place she has won two gold medals on track and in cross country in as many attempts. Writes East Standard. Head coach Sammy Rono was confident to guide the team to success: “Our target is to sweep clean the medal podium as was the case in 2010. But we have to be cautious because the other countries too have a stake. But after four weeks training in Embu, I believe these athletes will be ready for the assignment.”

LONDON (GBR): British marathon runner Lee Merrien has vowed to prolong his career in order to try and make the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The 33-year-old from Guernsey, who finished 30th at the London Games, is currently recovering from a hip injury. Writes BBC.

RESULTS

YALTA (UKR, Feb 20): On second day of Ukrainian winter throwing championships Alyona Shamotina won junior hammer with 63.21 but was even more successful in senior competition as 4th with PB 66.01 behind Iryna Novozhylova 69.49, Hanna Skydan 68.44 and Nataliya Zolotukhina 66.24. Serhiy Reheda topped junior men (6kg) with 76.98. He also finished 5th in senior event where Yevhen Vynohradov was first with 74.15m before London O
lympic 4th placer Oleksiy Sokyrskyy 73.13. Reigning European champion and national record holder Vira Rebryk won the javelin with solid 63.37m over Hanna Khabina 60.98 and Olympic youth champion 2010 19-year-old Kateryna Derun 55.10. Tetyana Fetiskina was the best in junior category with 55.59 PB.

PRAHA (CZE, Feb 20): The Prague Pole Vault meet saw Jan Kudlicka winning with 555 (and missing 565). Second on count back Michal Balner over Poland´s Przemyslaw Czerwinski, for both 540 means they will not travel to Goteborg. Swedish Fanny Berglund was the top female with 406 cm.

BOLLNAS (SWE, Feb 19): At Nordic Gym Games good women shot put of Anca Heltne of Romania with 18.67 what is her best for the current season.