by Larry EderThe deadline for Teams to be entered into the IAAF World Outdoor Athletics Championships is August 9, 2009, Berlin local time. Here are some updates on the top athletes who will be coming to Berlin for the World Champs!
EME NEWS (AUG 5, 2009)
MAJEWSKI FOR ZAGREB
ZAGREB (CRO): Olympic winner Tomasz Majewski is another star of Zagreb Grand Prix planned for Aug 31. New meet director, former hammer thrower Ivana Brkljacic was happy to secure such a star in the throwing area. She also visited the Stockholm DN Galan meet and returned with the plan to stage one day before as in Sweden in the city center shot put, but for the best juniors with 6 kg implement. Because Croatia is having one of the best in the world Marin Premeru. In senior event the day after the organisers are hoping that the meet record of Adam Nelson 21.28 from 2002 will be broken. Already earlier the participation of Cuban world record holder and olympic winner Dayron Robles was announced.
MORE BRAZILIANS POSITIVE
SAO PAULO (BRA): More Brazilian top athletes had positive doping tests. Not only 400 m hurdler Lucimar Teodoro but also new five who were selected for Berlin already. Positive from out of competition tests in June were sprinters Bruno de Barros and Jorge Sena along with female athletes 400 m runner Josiane Tito, 400 m hurdler Luciana Franco and heptathlete Lucimar Silvestre. They returned from training camp in Germany for the analysis of B-sample at home.
SEBRLE IN COPENHAGEN
COPENHAGEN (DEN): Czech olympic winner 2004 and world record holder Roman Sebrle will be the star of Copenhagen Athletics Games on Thursday. He will test his shape in shot put, long jump and at 110 m hurdles. Sebrle is the title defender from Osaka in the decathlon. Russian Berlin-bound high jumper Andrey Tereshin is another top name.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAMS NEWS
FRANCE: 2005 World Champion at 110 m hurdles Ladji Doucoure will miss Berlin due to groin injury which happened during the weekend. He will need at least 10 days rest and miss the global event.
GERMANY: Despite having won the 18th edition of the City Night 10K road race in Berlin on August 1st clocking 31:49min, Sabrina Mockenhaupt has decided only to compete in the marathon event at the World championships in Berlin. The 28-year-old said: ‚The risk is too big and our marathon team has the unique chance to win a medal.’ European indoors record holder in the long jump, Sebastian Bayer, suffers from a slight injury. There are bone chippings in his right jumping foot. This is why he cancelled his 100m test race on August 2nd in Wattenscheid.
RUSSIA: Former world record holder Svetlana Feofanova will not participate at the World Championships due to her injury. In the team for Berlin with title defender Yelena Isinbayeva and national champion Yulia Golubchikova included are Aleksandra Kiryashova and Tatyana Polnova.
GREECE: The Greek team for Berlin will be officially announced on Wednesday, as there are still a few pending cases of athletes who have achieved the standards, but have not confirmed their availability due to injuries or lack of fitness. So far 8 men and 16 women have qualified, but the final number will be smaller. One such example is European Champion Periklis Iakovakis, who announced after the 400m hurdles final of the Greek Championships that he won’t travel to Berlin, because he is not in the best shape he would have wished in order to be competitive enough.
SWEDEN: Swedish triple jumper Christian Olsson, World champion in 2003 and European champion in 2006 announced this weekend that he will not compete at the World championships in Berlin. He achieved 17,24m at the end of July and won last weekend the National championships in Malmo with 16,72 (+3.6) he said: ‚I would have loved to take part and my heart says YES, but my head says NO.’ After injuries he was not ready for a start. ‚ I need more consistancy to reach the final with only one jump and I am not sure if my body can cope with too many jumps in a short time,“ he said.
GHANA: The International Association Athletics Federation (IAAF) has banned Ghanaian athletes from taking part in the World Athletics Championships due in Berlin this month. The decision is as a result of disputed election in June which ushered in Prof Francis Dodoo as new Chairman of the Ghana Olympic Committee. The IAAF says it does not recognize the newly elected executives and has called for the reinstatement of the old executives led by BT Baba, pending the organization of another congress. Ghana’s female sprinter Vida Anim has described the decision as unfair. She has together with Seth Amu, Aziz Zakari been preparing feverishly for the competition which begins on August 15. In an interview with Joy Sports, Anim called on the feuding parties to put the interest and careers of the athletes above their personal interest. Ghana media informs.
GREAT BRITAIN: World Trials 200 m winner and European U23 Champion Toby Sandeman will not travel to Berlin due to ongoing foot problem. Olympic high jump medalist Germaine Mason sustained injury in Stockholm which rules him out for the season and also will not travel to Germany.
OTHER NEWS
NEW YORK (USA): Lornah Kiplagat the reigning world champion has withdrawn with a leg injury from the New York City half marathon on August 16. Now representing the Netherlands she was expected to be one of the main contenders for the title along with former Kenyan teammate and defending champion Catherine Ndereba and the host nation’s Deena Kastor. Kiplagat who has been prevented from racing since last March because of a knee injury, is still not fully recovered for the high profile outing in the 13.1 miles race which passes through Times Square and Manhattan. Ethiopian Tadese Tola will defend his men’s title but Patrick Makau the Kenyan runner-up 12 months ago will also be absent through injury. Makau one of the world’s most consistent half marathoners is suffering minor patella tendonitis of his right knee, and feels he cannot do himself justice in a race which includes US Number One marathon star Ryan Hall. Writes Race Results Weekly.
ZWEIBRUECKEN (GER): U23 pole vault European champion Raphael Holzdeppe ends his season because of problems in the run-up and with his thigh.
BREST (BLR): On Aug 3 respected Belarus hammer coach Yevgeniy Shukevich celebrated his 95th birthday. He coached for example olympic winner Vasiliy Rudenkov in 1960, Romuald Klim in 1964, olympic silver medalist Mikhail Krivonosov (1956). He also wrote a book “Hammer Throwing†and was awarded with many former Soviet Union orders.
RESULTS
MATARO (ESP, Aug 4): Men of Playas de Castellon and women of Valencia Terra i Mar won again the Spanish Clubs Cup. Best individual results by Sergio Sanchez with 7:49.08 at 3000 m and Frank Casanas 63.09 in discus. Polish guest Lukas Michalski jumped 555 in pole vault. Ruth Beitia cleared 190 in high jump.
NORDERNEY (GER, Aug 4): Bjoern Otto won the 16th edition of the Pole vault meeting on the island of Norderney in the North Sea. The 31-year-old cleared 5,71m. Tim Lobinger injured himself at the warming-up.
MALMO (SWE, Aug 3): During last day of Swedish Championships Johan Wissman clocked 20.75 at 200 m. Philip Nossmy beat in nice duel at 110 m hurdles RObert Kronberg (13.72-13.77).
KRAGUJEVAC (SRB, July 28):Late additon from Serbia as veteran Dragutin Topic still cleares heights like here – 231 cm.
LINZ (AUT, Aug 1): Osaka 100 m medalist Derrick Atkins of Bahamas was running out of competition at Austrian nationals with 10.24.
BLACKPOOL (GBR, Aug 2): Carl Myerscough achieved at a local meet 20.33 in shot put.
CORRECTION:
The Italian sprinters havn’t been injured in a car accident. According to FIDAL Emanuele Di Gregorio had muscular problems and decided not to start in the final of the Italian Championships while Fabio Cerutti didn’t finish his semifinal because of a slight pain in the calf.
Special thanks to Alfons Juck, EME News.
