RETURN OF MUROFUSHI

OSAKA (JPN): Return of home star Koji Murofushi is
the main issue in first men IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge event, part of Osaka
IAAF World Challenge meet. He last time competed at international meeting in
September 2008. Other 8 competitors are top throwers, three of them are world
finalists from Berlin. Bronze winner Aleksey Zagorniy of Russia, also Italian
Nicola Vizzoni and Tajikistan´s Dilshod Nazarov. Also throwing other Europeans
Marco Lingua, Artem Rubanko, Yuri Shayunov and Igors Sokolovs. Another Asian
entry is Kuwaiti record holder Mohamed Al-Zankawi. More detailed event by event
preview at www.world-challenge.org.

DUNN
IN PUERTO-RICO
PONCE (PUR): Also sprints will have excellent line-ups at Ponce Grand Prix meet
in Puerto-Rico on Saturday. 2007 world medalist Derrick Atkins of Bahamas will
clash in the 100 m
with US Shawn Crawford and Netherland Antilles star Churandy Martina. In the 200 m US Xavier Carter and
Rodney Martin are the top names. African record holder Gary Kikaya runs the 400 m against olympic
medalist David Neville and World indoor relay champion Jamal Torrance. In women
sprints world indoor champion Debbie Dunn is the star of 400 m. In the 100 m Melissa Barber competes
with Gloria Asumnu and Gabun record holder Ruddy Zang-Milama along with
Bahamian veteran Chandra Sturrup, for whom this is the last season.  Both
relays could also bring fast times.

LAPIERRE AND WATT FOR SHANGHAI

SHANGHAI (CHN): Current top Australian male athletes are
confirmed for second IAAF Diamond League meet in Shanghai on May 23. Not only
pole vault world and olympic winner Steve Hooker who is also series ambassador
but also both top long jumpers. World indoor champion Fabrice Lapierre and last
year world medalist Mitchell Watt.

PAVEY AIMS FOR BARCELONA

MANCHESTER (GBR): Jo Pavey will test herself fully for the
first time since the birth of her son Jacob last September at the Bupa Great
Manchester Run on May 16. The IAAF Gold Label event will also see Jelena
Prokopcuka and Susan Chepkemei making their first major international
appearances since themselves becoming proud mums. Pavey will be chasing a third
win in one of the world’s leading 10 kilometre road races where she scored the
first of her two successive victories three years ago. „It was nice to get the
legs working again but Manchester is going to be a lot harder,” said
Pavey, whose major aim this summer is qualifying for the European Championships
over 10 000m. She will try to achieve the necessary time at Ostrava Golden
Spike meet on May 27.

TAMGHO
CHANGES COACHES

PARIS (FRA): Triple jump world indoor champion and record
holder Teddy Tamgho is changing his coach. French media are informing. After
working last four years with Jean-Herve Stievenart he is changing to fomer
sprinter Laurence Billy. She already helped him in short period from September
2008 to early summer 2009. Tamgho did not specify reason for the change for
media.

FELIX READY FOR RIVALRY
LOS ANGELES (USA): Allyson Felix plans challenging the 400 metres domination of
fellow American Sanya Richards-Ross starting in the first ever IAAF Diamond
League meeting of track and field’s new concept in Doha next Friday. Felix who
has already shown massive global potential overe the distance will compete at
the star-studded opener in a race which also includes Britain’s Olympic
champion Christine Ohuruogu. Writes David Martin.  The trio should provide
a lively start to the summer season and Felix acknowledges that Qatar is
no longer somewhere you go for a „low keey meet” with its new found status.
Also running will be Berlin silver winner Shericka Williams of Jamaica. „We’ve
been racing against each other for a while and in championship years I guess
we don’t meet up that much, but I feel like this is a unique year and
I’m sure we’ll be facing each other multiple times in both distances, 400m and
200m, and so I’m looking forward to the rivalry,” said Felix who might
concentrate more at 400 m
towards 2012 Olympic Games.

RELAY A POSSIBILITY
KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaica Gleaner informs, that the
Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) remains silent about the possible
return of an adverse analytical finding of the ‚A’ sample of a member of
the country’s team to the recent IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha. However,
informations available by Gleaner strongly suggest that the athlete in question
is a female and formed part of the 4x400m quartet that won bronze at the
meet. Members were Bobby-Gaye Wilkins, Clora Williams, Davita Prendergast and
Novlene Williams-Mills. In the race USA won ahead of Russia, Jamaica was third,
Czech Republic was fourth and Great Britain fifth. 

JELIMO FOR DAEGU
NAIROBI (KEN): Olympic 800
m gold medalist Pamela Jelimo had in last days good 1000 m time trial despite
running in rain. She plans to compete in the local series on May 14 in Mombasa and then should
have her first international meet of the year. The young Kenyan who had a stunning
season in 2008 should compete at Daegu IAAF World Challenge Meet on May 19 in Korea.  

HOOKER VS. LAVILLENIE
PARIS (FRA): IAAF Diamond League confirms that ambassador Steven Hooker will
jump at Meeting AREVA on July 16. His main rival will be home European indoor
champion 2009 Renaud Lavillenie. Hooker ranks as the favourite, but Lavillenie
is fearless and will be performing on home soil.

OTHER NEWS

LONDON (GBR): Victoria Ohuruogu the younger sister of
reigning Olympic 400
metres champion Christine, has been included in the
British team for the European Youth Olympic Trials (EYOT) in Moscow on 21-23
May. Ohuruogu, who stepped up from 300m to 400m this year and proceeded to win
the Aviva England 400m indoor U20 Championships, will travel to the Russian
capital, as part of a 22 strong side. The trials act as the qualification
meeting for the IOC Youth Olympic Games (YOG), in Singapore from 14-26 August.

SINGAPORE (SIN): The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
2010, held on December 6, has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with
the Japanese athletic equipment company Asics, as the official apparel sponsor.
The Asics brand sponsors 52 marathons around the world including the
prestigious New York City Marathon, Paris Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Mumbai
Marathon and Seoul International Marathon said sportspromedia.com.

NAIROBI (KEN): Local Organising Committee of the Senior Africa Athletics
Championship unveiled the official mascot of the event, “Shujaa”, a lion
depicting the rich wilderness that the country boast of. “The lion is in the
national emblem, a symbol of Kenya, and is the toughest animal in the
wilderness that is found in Kenya, the home of athletics,” said Kiplagat for nation.co.ke

AUSTIN (USA): Statesman.com informs that freshman sprinter
Chalonda Goodman (19) suffered an injury to her left Achilles tendon while
running in her heat of the 100-meter at the Texas Invite track meet May 1 and
will not compete again this season. Goodman as a high school senior was
first in the world junior rankings in the 100 and 200 meters this year.
Her best from last year is 11.22 at 100 m and 22.94 at 200 m.

DUBAI (UAE): The UAE athletics association is planning to
gather the world’s best road runners for its inaugural 5K road race in Dubai in
October. The international road race is another event geared towards promoting
the sport in the country and the region, and will also be open for local
residents. The UAEAA is especially aiming at inviting and encouraging women to
participate in the sport writes gulfnews.com.
 

FRANKFURT (GER): Kenyan athletes Edwin Kibowen and Hosea
Kiplagat who were number one and two at the Frankfurt half marathon on March 14th,
as well as compatriots Emmily Biwott and Lilian Jepkosgei who were second and
third in the women’s race, are all disqualified. The athletes ran for their
club LAC Olympia 88 Berlin but did not have a valid entry and will
therefore not be awarded with the prize money. Winner of the men’s race is
Churai Abderrazzak in 1:09:06.  
 

DOHA (QAT): Qatar media are informing that Asian 100 m record holder Samuel
Francis willl head home athletes at inaugural IAAF Diamond League meet on May
14. It will also include long distance runners James
Kwalia, Ahmed Hassan Abdulla and Issa Ismail Rashid (5000m), Hamsa Darwish and
Mussa Abdulla (800m) and Khalid al-Suwaidi (shot put).

DESENZANO DEL GARDA (ITA): IAAF informs that Italian-based
heptathlete Hanna Melnychenko from Ukraine is the top name at the 23rd edition
of the Multistars Trofeo Zerneri Acciai meeting set for this weekend (8-9) in
Desenzano del Garda, the first leg of the annual IAAF Combined Events
Challenge. Jake Arnold from the USA will be looking to score a back-to-back
win in Desenzano after winning last year with 7994 points. The other stand-out
name in the Heptathlon competition is Marina Goncharova from Russia, who had a solid
2010 indoor season with a seventh place at the World Indoor Championships
Pentathlon in Doha last March, and a 4605 indoor PB set in Penza. Another
man to watch will be Austria’s Roland Schwarzl who had a solid 2010 indoor
season in which he scored 6065 points in the Heptahlon. Schwarzl set his PB of
8102 points in 2004 when he finished tenth at the Olympic Games in
Athens. 

LUANDA (ANG):  African
Confederation website informs, that a contract of partnership providing
for advertising and marketing of the 55th edition of the year-end race (São
Silvestre) was signed in Luanda by the Angolan Federation of Athletics and the „Samanyonga
Communicação Integrada” company. Signed the three-year contract were
Federation chairperson, Carlos Rosa, and the director-general of Samanyonga
firm, Cíntia Oliveira.According to Carlos Rosa, the initiative will give new
dimension to the event so that it attracts more sponsorship and partners to
ensure profitability. 

For more on the sport of athletics, please click on www.american-trackandfield.com.