by Larry Eder
This is just a few days since Kara and Adam Goucher had their first, a boy, who was born last Friday, September 24, in Portland, Oregon. Their boy’s name is Colton Mirko Goucher.
Congrats to both families!
EME NEWS (SEP 30, 2010)
Radcliffe second child
MONACO (MON): World Marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe gave birth to
her second child in Monaco on Wednesday night. Son Raphael was born at
7.28pm and Radcliffe’s husband Gary Lough said both “are doing good.”
The pair who married in April 2000 had their first offspring Isla who
was also born in Monaco on 17 January 2007 and on that occasion
Radcliffe was in labour for 27 hours. Radcliffe will now resume her
athletics career where the major aim will be winning the 2012 Olympic
Marathon title on home soil in London. Writes David Martin.
Mokoena ok
NEW DELHI (IND): Commonwealth Games updates. In Australian team last
minute cancellations are discus title defender Scott Martin and female
hurdler Hayley Butler, both because of the injuries. Australian team
athletes believe Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker should be
given the honour of carrying the national flag at the Commonwealth Games
opening ceremony. Good news from South African team. Green light was
given to long jumper Khotso Mokoena who will be a medal candidate. He is
world indoor champion 2008 and silver winner from Olympic Games 2008,
World Championships 2009 and World Indoor Championships 2010. Kenyan
media are reporting that Amos Mutai and John Kelai are ready to deliver
for the country as they continue fine-tuning ahead of Commonwealth
Games. As the second group of the national team left the country, the
duo took their training to the serene plateau wheat land well aware of
the task ahead of them. They will be Kenya’s representatives in men’s
marathon after 2007 world champion Luke Kibet withdrew following an
injury he suffered while training. Marathon team coach David Letting
said the team would continue with training until on October 8 and leave
for New Delhi, India the following day via Doha.
Channel 4 deal with IAAF
MONTE CARLO/LONDON (MON/GBR): IAAF confirmed in a press release what was
reported by British media. World governing body for athletics announced
the conclusion of a free to air terrestrial deal in the UK with Channel
4, which gives it exclusive media rights to the IAAF World Athletics
Series for the period 2011 to 2013. The package includes two world
championships as main events in Daegu 2011 and Moscow 2013, also one
world indoor championships 2012 in Istanbul and other IAAF Championships
in that period. Channel 4 has confirmed it will show almost 50 hours of
coverage of Daegu 2011, including all evening sessions and a daily
highlights programme in prime time. Channel 4 has also committed
marketing and promotional support to its broadcasts and has agreed to
produce a high quality domestic feed from Daegu. Channel 4’s status as a
commercially funded terrestrial channel will also provide additional
commercial opportunities for IAAF’s marketing partners for the duration
of the contract. British media are writing that this deal is ending
BBC’s long association with the event and deliver another blow to the
corporation’s self-proclaimed role as the Olympic broadcaster. Daegu
2011 will be the main athletics showcase event before Olympics 2012
which will be broadcasted by BBC. Prominent athletics presenters
including Steve Cram, Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson will be
expected to remain at the BBC for London 2012 but will be without two
world championships. On the other side news are expected from BBC about
their Samsung Diamond League coverage for 2011.
ROAD NEWS
CHICAGO (USA): The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced on
Thursday its complete 2010 men’s and women’s elite field. The additions
of Ethiopians Deriba Merga and Feyisa Lilesa to the men’s competition
significantly strengthen what was already shaping up to be the top field
in the event’s 33-year history. Merga, the 2009 Boston Marathon
champion, and Lelisa, who has a personal best 2:05:23, will join forces
with defending Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru
of Kenya, London Marathon champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and Boston
Marathon champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya. A trio of
Ethiopian athletes will take the women’s competition to new heights as
well: Atsede Bayisa, the two-time Paris Marathon champion, Askale Tafa
Magarsa, runner-up at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, and Mamitu Daksa, the
2010 Dubai Marathon champion, have been added to a field that already
includes defending Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Liliya
Shobukhova of Russia, London and Berlin Marathon champion Irina
Mikitenko of Germany, and top American Magdalena Lewy-Boulet. The
welcoming of Merga adds even more intrigue to the race’s impact on the
2009-2010 World Marathon Majors series standings as third-ranked Merga
(35 points) is one of the only athletes in reach of surpassing
top-ranked Wanjiru and Kebede (50 points each) before the series
concludes in November in New York. Additional entrants in the men’s
field include Kenya’s Shadrack Biwott for debut, former standout at the
University of Oregon and brother of Duncan Kibet, the second fastest
marathon runner of all time; Kenya’s Wesley Korir, two-time Los Angeles
Marathon champion; Ethiopia’s Negari Terfa, third place finisher at the
2009 Berlin Marathon; and American Nick Arciniaga, who ran 2:11:46 at
the San Diego Marathon, the fourth-ranked time in the U.S. for 2010.
Organizers are informing in a release.
FRANKFURT (GER): With half a dozen runners featuring personal bests of
sub 2:08 and another eight runners having achieved sub 2:10 times so far
the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon promises to produce yet another
thrilling and high-class men’s race. If weather conditions are suitable
on 31st October the course record of 2:06:14, which was established by
Kenyan Gilbert Kirwa a year ago, will be attacked. Germany’s oldest city
marathon, which is an IAAF Gold Label race, could well see its first
sub 2:06 result. A record field of around 13,000 runners is expected to
take part in the race. The two men that could be the strongest in a deep
field are Kenyans Sylvester Teimet and Wilson Kipsang. Four more
runners signed for the Commerzbank Frankfurt-Marathon have sub 2:08
times. The fastest in the field will be 27 year-old Elijah Keitany. The
Kenyan has a personal best of 2:06:41, which he achieved in Amsterdam in
2009 as second. David Mandago is just twelve seconds slower so far. The
32 year-old clocked 2:06:53 in Paris last year, but since this was an
extraordinary strong race he finished only sixth. While the three-time
winner of the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon Wilfred Kigen (2005 to 2007
/ PB: 2:07:33) had been announced earlier a new addition to the field
is Francis Kiprop. At least four more runners could be in the race for
victory at the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon: Elias Chelimo
(Kenya/2:08:15), Yared Asmerom (Eritrea/2:08:34), Siraj Gena
(Ethiopia/2:08:39) and Henry Sugut (Kenya), who won this year’s Vienna
City Marathon with 2:08:40.
PORTSMOUTH (GBR): Swiss Marathon European Champion Viktor Rothlin who
was 13th at Lisbon Half-marathon last Sunday will have another tough
test before running the New York City Marathon on November 7. He will
run at the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth on October 24 (10 miles).
In the women field olympic winner Constantina Dita of Romania is the
latest top entry, but since her Beijing win she is struggling to find
the right shape in 2009 and 2010.
KOSICE (SVK): Oldest European Marathon which will be held on Sunday in
Kosice, Slovakia closed its registration at 5448 number for all races.
Increase is reported in women representation and also in the
accompanying half-marathon. Number of countries is 40. More than 1000
runners will compete in marathon itself. Seven Kenyans will fight
against three Ethiopians in men elite field. Two of them are having sub
2:10 bests, Kenyans Peter Chebet (2:08:43) and Solomon Bushendich
(2:08:52). In women elite four Ethiopians are the main names, headed by
Rotterdam 2006 winner Gishu Mindaye (2:28:30).
VIENNA (AUT): The duel of Gunther Weidlinger and Michael Schmid will be
the highlight of Austrian 10 km road race championships which will be
held on Sunday in the famous Vienna Prater Park.
OTHER NEWS
BERLIN (GER): The athletics federations of France, Germany, Hungary,
Spain and Italy will be involved in a project to promote a healthy
lifestyle with children. The project is funded by the European
commission and will allow clubs affiliated with the federations to
receive free information and material.
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): The USA Track & Field Foundation has presented
an Elite Athlete Development Grant to Brenda Martinez they announced in a
press release. Martinez is an 800m/1500m athlete who graduated from the
University of California Riverside, the grant is worth 4000 dollars.
She is 2:00.85 and 4:09.52 runner from 2009.
LAUSANNE (SUI): The executive board of the IOC will meet in Acapulco,
Mexico from 24 to 26 October 2010. The board will have meetings with the
National Olympic Committees and will go over reports for the
preparations of the upcoming Olympic events.
LOS ANGELES (USA): Distance runner Meb Keflezighi and thrower Seilala
Sua will be inducted in the UCLA hall of fame during a ceremony on
October 1st. Both athletes are considered some of the most successful
UCLA athletes in history the university announced in a press release.
LAGOS (NGR): Vanguard newspaper informs that Nigeria may be missing from
all international athletics competitions as speculations are rife that
the sport’s ruling body IAAF, is on the verge of penalising the
Athletics Federation of Nigeria over debts owed to athletes.
Since 2009, the international and local athletes who participated at the
Abuja grand prix are still being owed their entitlements and their
agents have lodged complaints with the IAAF. It was gathered that the
IAAF and the Confederation of Africa Athletics Association have reached a
point, when they felt that Nigeria should be banned, if the debt owed
the athletes are not settled.
RESULTS
YALTA (UKR, Sep 28-30): Hanna Shelekh cleared excellent 430 in pole
vault what is new Ukrainian U17 record. It was during the National
Championships of Sports Schools and it is third best result in the U17
category in the world in 2010. World junior bronze medalist Ihor
Lyashchenko won the 10 000 m walk in 43:01.00. Also to note the 49.88 at
400 m by 15-years old Oleksiy Pozdnyakov.
