by Larry EderUsain Bolt was hurt in an auto accident in early April. He then rehabbed and ran the Bupa City Run in 14.53 for 150 meters in the rain! The anticipation for Toronto was even higher, but the rain and head wind, slowed Bolt down a bit. Remember, we have a very long season this year…..
BOLT 10.00 IN RAIN AND INTO HEAD-WIND
TORONTO (CAN, June 11): And the raining streak continued. After Manchester , Toronto didn’t offer better weather conditions for Usain Bolt. The pouring rain that started about at the same time as the elite programme, about 1h30 before the men’s 100m, didn’t damp the spirits of the 5,300 strong crowd of the Varsity stadium but nevertheless had an impact the quality of the performances. And so, the most awaited event “only†produced a 10-flat into a 0.9 headwind after two false starts, as the Jamaicain superstar switched gear after mid-race to get clear of the rest of the field. „For me, it is all right. I got through it injury free, so that is a good thingâ€, Bolt declared after the rain adding “This is a part of the game — some days you have a good day, some days you have a bad day. I guess I will put this down as a bad day for me.“ He will next compete on Wednesday in Ostrava, Czech Republic. American Shawn Crawford and Ivory Williams claimed 2nd and 3rd place in 10..25 in 10.28, as Bolt’s fellow countryman Marvin Anderson was disqualified for false start. The other stars did their job despite the lack of competitors to push them. Olympic champion LaShawn Merrit cruised to win the 400m in 44.83. „I pretty much cleared the field,“ Merritt said. „It wasn‘t the best conditions but everybody ran in the same weather. In a week and a half I have my nationals, so I didn’t want to push to hard, but I got a good race.“ Decathlon Olympic champion Brian Clay won a triathlon made up of the pole vault (5.10m, tying his outdoor best), 110H (14.00) and 400m (49.81). 3000m steeple chase world record holder Saif Saeed Shaheen, left to battle on his own for the biggest part of the race, won the 5000m in 13:22.70 (7.58 at 3k). “I’m a little bit disappointed: I really wanted to run below 13, but the rabbits were not good†declared Shaheen who expressed his pleasure to be back on the track this season “ I really missed the contact with the peopleâ€. Though the Qatari hasn’t made his steeple debut this season, he confirmed the event would be his priority for the Berlin World Championships. Kenya’s Sally Kipyego recorded a world lead in the little-run women’s mile, taking the race in 4:29.64. Canadians scored exciting double in the men’s mile (Nate Brannen 3:55.07 and Taylor Milne 3:56:54 and in the women’s 100m hurdles where Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep 12.86 barely hold off former world champion Perdita Felicien 12.88 into a 1.8m headwind. “I was very excited all day. My legs buckled after the last hurdle, buy whatever happens you have to push for it. You never know what is going to happen. That’s why I love the hurdles†Lopes-Schliep said. Americans Jesse Williams and Tora Harris recorded the best performances in the men’s high jump with 2.25 as vertical jumps failed on the whole to reach big heights. Amy Acuff cleared 191 to win the high jump, Khadevis Robinson the 800 m in 1:45.73.
AFRICANS DOMINATED THE LONG JUMP
FAYETTEVILLE (USA, June 11): Second day of NCAA Championships saw expected Galen Rupp win at 10 000 m with 28:21.45 ahead of Australian Shawn Forrest (28:24.53). Ashton Easton scored his third 8+ of the year and improved his PB in decathlon to 8241 points. He is excellent runner with 10.35w, 46.85, 13.85 and 4:20.75. French Mateo Sossah improved to his first 8+ (8044) ahead of German Moritz Cleve (7937). Georgia´s Mariam Kevkishvili won the shot put (17.79) and Ryan Whiting confirmed his dominance in the same men event (20.11). Olympic medalist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria did not had her day and was only 8th in long jump (618), win went to Jamaican Kimberly Williams (654, +2.2). Africans ruled the long jump. Ngoni Makusha of Zimbabwe retained his title and leaped to 811 (+2.1) and Stanley Gbabeke of Nigeria was second (800, +2.4). Best in qualification Reindell Cole had three fouls. In semifinals solid 55.83 by Nicole Leach and 49.27 by Jeshua Anderson at 400 m hurdles, Andrew Wheating posted easy 1:46.21 in his 800 m semi, Chris Dykes was the fastest in 200 m semis (20.40, -0.3) and Porscha Lucas the same in women 200 m (22.38, +0.5, second fastest of the year). In heats Jason Richardson impressed with 13.41 at 110 m hurdles against -1.9 wind, Craig Miller clocked 3:39.36 at 1500 m and Florida State (including Belgian Borlee twins) 3:03.13 at 4×400 m.
DEAKES OUT OF WORLDS
MELBOURNE (AUS): Reigning world champion Nathan Deakes will not defend his 50km race walk world title in Berlin in August, announcing his withdrawal from the Australian team for the 2009 IAAF World Championships. Writes Athletics Australia. Deakes has been unable to return to competition since undergoing surgery on his left hamstring in July last year, an injury which ruled him out of the Beijing Olympics. Although his recovery and training has been progressing well, the 31-year-old has decided he has not reached a point in his training where he can line up on the start line in Berlin and be competitive. “In terms of the next few years, I want to keep going on again next year, the World Cup in May and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi will be my primary focus. It will be a year-to-year proposition at this stage. London, whilst its still three years off, will roll around very quickly. Whilst the mind is willing it’s probably up to the body at this stage,†he was quoted. Although Deakes withdrawal is a blow to the Australian team, the depth in Australian race walking will stand up to the challenge with the highly-credentialed trio of Olympic silver medallist Jared Tallent, Luke Adams and Chris Erickson set to fly the flag in the 50km event in Berlin. The trio depart for Europe this weekend, ahead of the next leg of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna, Spain on June 20. The walkers will then head to St Moritz in the Swiss Alps for a stint of altitude training before putting the finishing touches on their preparations for Berlin.
OLIVER OUT OF ISTAF
ORLANDO (USA): US hurdles olympic medalist and world leader David Oliver will miss the opening of AF Golden League in Berlin. He writes on his blog: “I was suppose to leave to go race in Berlin this Sunday, but I had some hamstring tightness last week in training and Brooks (Johnson, his coach) said to heck with racing, so I‘m not going to compete. I wish I could have run, but this race in Berlin is not the important race in Berlin. That will happen in a few months. So I‘ve just been training and getting ready for the trials at the end of the month. I will run somewhere next weekend though. I‘m feeling like a caged animal, I want to compete, but I think Brooks knows that and is keeping me locked down.†The main favorites for ISTAF race will be so David Payne and Dexter Faulk. In women pole vault except the multiple champion also competing are South American record holder Fabiana Murer, Russian European indoor champion Yulia Golubchikova and top Poland´s duo Monika Pyrek and Anna Rogowska.
OTHER NEWS
ZURICH (SUI): Organisers of Weltklasse Zurich meeting are informing that Swiss TV SRG SSR will broadcast the AF Golden League this year. SF2 will show Oslo, Paris, Zurich and Brussels live, the TSR2 (West Switzerland) all six live including the start in Berlin. Eurosport will also broadcast the series, but only in German language. The other Swiss top meeting, Athletissima of Lausanne will be also seen live at SF2/TSR2/TSI2. Ticket sales for Zurich are running very quickly, still some are remaining. Both Laureus Award winners Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva are confirmed for Zurich on Aug 29.
ADDIS ABABA (ETH): Ethiopian Airlines has become the new title sponsor for Great Ethiopian Run, a 10 km road race scheduled for Sunday, November 21. It will be the 9th edition of the popular race; organizers reported 31,500 participants last year. The event‘s operations and marketing manager, Ermias Ayele, reported via e-mail this morning that the 2009 race would have 33,0000 entry slots available. Informs Race Results Weekly.
PEORIA (USA): The flat-as-a-pancake Steamboat Classic 4 Mile, set for Saturday, June 20, will feature Olympic Marathon gold medalist Constantina Dita of Romania and defending women‘s champion Kim Smith of New Zealand, organizers reported via Running USA Wire. Other top women include South Africa‘s Rene Kalmer, Kenya‘s Millicent Gathoni and Jane Wanjiku Gakunyi, and Ethiopia‘s Meskerem Legesse. Defending champion, Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco, headlines the men‘s field. John Korir (Kenya), Martin Fagan (Ireland) and Boaz Cheboiywo (Kenya) will be his key challengers. A $22,000 prize money purse is on the line, plus time and record bonuses which could increase the event‘s payout to more than $40,000. New York Road Runners professional athletes manager recently called the course „lights-out fast,†writes Race Results Weekly.
MONTREUIL (FRA): British hurdler Andy Turner who despite no longer receiving lottery funding is determined to compete at the 2012 London Olympics, had to withdraw from the 110m hurdles after a mishap on the warm up track at the meet on Thursday. Turner the 2006 Commonwealth and European bronze medallist who has had a great start with four victories to his season, hurt his back and pulled out of the race as a precautionary measure.
MONTREUIL (FRA): European champion at 1500 m French Mehdi Baala has resumed training. He should make his return to competition in mid-July, his agent Alain Blondel announced to French media. On 24 May, he first sprained his left ankle in training during his period of preparation in Font-Romeu. A few days after resuming training, still in Font-Romeu, he felt pain in a muscle and another injury was confirmed.
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