by Larry EderWell, what have we today? Sam Jamieson of Australia picked up $40k Australian in winning the richest footrace in Australia, the Post Stawell Gift won by two meters over 120 meters with a six meter mark. His time was 12.09!
Alan Webb will be running Carslbad 5k on April 6. This will be his first race after his stomach issues in the Central Park 8k.
Bryan Clay, the World champ heptathlete, is working on his 400 meter speed this spring-that and staying healthy and that guy could take gold in Beijing!
And the award for draconian practices does not go to China today, but to Senegal, for their continued harassment of Amy Thiam Mbacke, former World Champion, who has been absolutely jerked around for years due to not bowing to the benevolent gentleman who make up the SAF. Wasn’t it just a few years ago that Ms. Mbacke was hailed as the first gold medalist from her country in athletics or was I having a senior moment? Well,I was getting tired of hearing about Chinese security forces beating Tibetan monks to death in non violent protests anway. And while the SAFs’ treatment is not of the same level as our dear friends in the country with five thousand year written history, just the ability to ruin someones’ life that, in this age, is mortifying.
But the real news is the weekend of cross country in Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend. Best wishes to (Steve Jones-mentored) Jorge Torres and Dathan Ritzenhein on a real cross country course!
EME NEWS (MAR 26, 2008)
CLAY PLANS SOME 400 m RACES
ATLANTA (USA): Fresh World Indoor Champion in Heptathlon Bryan Clay is planning to run a few 4×400 m relays in April in California and hopes to improve to the 46 seconds region. His best is 47.78 from Helsinki 2005 Worlds. He is still undecided whether to contest the traditional gala event in Gotzis, Austria end of May or concentrate at US Olympic Trials only. He will do the final decision next month.
SIMPSON AIMING FOR FOUR EVENTS
KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaican IAAF World Cup winner 2006 Sherone Simpson announced after the weekend improvement at 400 m that she wants to target four medals in Beijing. In both individual sprints (100 m and 200 m) and in both relays. Last time at Seoul Olympics 1988 Florence Griffith Joyner won medals in all this events (golds in 100, 200, 4×100 and silver in 4×400 m). Marion Jones was also successful in this combination at 2000 Games (golds in 100, 200 and 4×400 and bronze at 4×100) but already gave back all medals after confessing taking banned substances. From this point of view the historical feat of four golds by Fanny Blankers Koen (Netherlands) at 1948 Games remains untouched. She won 100 m, 200 m, 80 m Hurdles and was part of winning 4×100 m.
EDINBURGH UPDATE
Speaking to the Daily Nation before the departure to Edinburgh, Kenya’s head coach, Julius Kirwa, expressed confidence that his charges will rise up to the occasion and claim glory in Edinburgh. „These athletes have shown their commitment and I have no doubt they will perform and surpass the feat attained by their predecessors. „They have been through sufficient training and I’m confident they will deliver,” said Kirwa, who will be leading Kenya team to the cross country competition for the seventh year. Team manager, Peter Angwenyi, said the team doctors had given all the athletes a thumbs-up and lavished praise on the Government for giving the team enough support while in camp at the Kigari Teachers Training College.
The award winning ScottishPower Pipe Band has been invited to perform at the championships on Sunday. The full 40-strong band will treat the expected crowd of around 15,000 in Holyrood Park to an array of traditional pipe and drum music before the race begins, and a lone piper will play as the races get underway. Informs LOC website.
Change in Portugal Team. National champion Eduardo Henriques withdrew due to illness and will be replaced in men team by Hermano Ferreira.
OTHER NEWS
MELBOURNE (AUS): Sam Jamieson won 40 000 Australian dollars after winning the 127th edition of Australia’s richest footrace, the Australia Post Stawell Gift. Jamieson, running off a mark of six meters and paying $1.30 with the bookmakers, scored a convincing two-metre victory over the 120m race. The 21-year-old first year exercise science student stopped the clock at 12.09 seconds in a memorable victory. Informs Athletics Australia website. In one of minor places also Australian 100 m champion Otis Gowa (12.33).
JOHANNESBURG (RSA): Olympic marathon qualifier Norman Dlomo will run on Saturday the Nedbank Matha Series Half Marathon event in Seshego near Polokwane. His Beijing-bound time 2:10:37 comes from Milano Marathon last year. It will be his first race of the year and he aims to break 1:04 in terms of his full marathon preparations. Later in April he will compete at Rotterdam Marathon with clear goal to better his PB.
SAO PAULO (BRA): The May will be the month of athletics in Brazil. The climax will be IAAF Grand Prix Meet in Belem on May 25. Brazil is having GP fixture since 1995 (initially in Rio de Janeiro and later transformed to Belem). The series of international meetings will start in Sao Paulo Ibirapuera on May 4 and continue on May 11 in Uberlandia, May 18 in Rio de Janeiro and May 21 in Fortaleza. The last three also having Area Permit status for IAAF World Athletics Tour scoring.
KINGSTON (JAM): Commonwealth Games 2006 winner at 100 m Jamaican sprinter Sheri-Ann Brooks who passed the indoor competitions will open the summer racing on April 29 at Guadeloupe International Meeting.
LOS ANGELES (USA): 400 m Hurdles world champion Kerron Clement will not focus on AF Golden League despite the fact that his event is after some years again golden. That means athletes can fight for one million dollar jackpot. But as he explains for IAAF, Olympic success is more than million. He might race in Berlin on June 1, but then will head back to US for Prefontaine Classic on June 8 in Eugene. He will start with relays at Texas Relays and Penn Relays.
CARLSBAD (USA): US media are informing that national mile record holder Alan Webb has entered the April 6 Carlsbad road 5 km. The Carlsbad 5 km which began in 1986, has been dominated by African runners for years. The last American to finish in the top five was Meb Keflezighi, fourth in 2002 and last US winner was Doug Padilla in 1990 (13:30). Last year winner Simon Ndirangu of Kenya clocked 13:28. Sammy Kipketer has the course record with 12:59 in 2000. Prize purse is 70 000 USD.
DAKAR (SEN): The Senegal Athletics Federation is favorably disposed towards considering a suspension lift for former 400 m world champion Amy Mbacke Thiam.”The federation board will look at the case the former 400m champion in a benevolent way” declared Jean Gomis, the federation’s administrative director. The only condition required by the board is the presence of the athlete to respect the procedure. A previous attempt to examine the case wasn’t completed last November because of her absence. Thiam still wants to represent Senegal at Olympic Games. She started her training in November in Paris like the previous years with Hervé Stéphan’s training group. „The difference, this season, is that I cannot schedule my participation to meets, like the past years when I could say myself, at this time there’s the meet in Bamako, then Dakar.”
MELBOURNE (AUS): Paul Jenes is informing that the new Oceania record of Scott Martin in Shot Put during Melbourne IAAF Grand Prix Meet in February was remeasured by steel tape for record purposes and the final distance approved was 21.26 and not 21.27 as initially reported. Martin later confirmed his excellent shape with new Oceania indoor record at World Indoors in Valencia (20.83 in qualification) and seventh place in finals.
RECHBERGHAUSEN (GER): Popular German pole vaulter Tim Lobinger agreed to compete at 5th special jumping meeting in Rechberghausen on May 1. It will be his first meet of the summer season. Year ago he started here his 2007 outdoor campaign with 555 win. During the weekend he will head to South Africa for his traditional training camp.
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