Yelena Isinbayeva will be busy in February! On February 6, Yelena jumps in Moscow, on February 12, Yelena jumps in Donetsk and on February 22, Yelena Isinbayeva competes in Stockholm!

KINGSTON (JAM): Sprinter
Veronica Campbell-Brown and 400
m runner Jermaine Gonzales, were named Jamaica’s track
& field athletes of the year, while Bertland Cameron (former 400 m world champion) took
the coach’s award, at Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) Scotiabank
sponsored Golden Cleats Awards Luncheon, held at the Terra Nova hotel in
Kingston. Gonzales, who enjoyed his best year ever, lowering Roxbert Martin’s
13-year-old 400m record from 44.49 to 44.40 secs, was selected ahead of World
and Olympic triple gold medalist Usain Bolt; who last year ran 19.56, the
fourth fastest time ever over 200m. Nesta Carter, the 4th fastest Jamaican
ever, over 100m, with 9.78 secs and Commonwealth Games 100m Champion Lerone
Clarke, were also mentioned. Writes TrackAlerts. “I am very appreciative of
this award and to be selected as the JAAA Athlete of the Year,” Campbell-Brown
commented, “This is an honor, because its a lot of hard work that goes into our
preparation.” Diamond League 400m hurdles winner, Kaliese Spencer; Commonwealth
Games triple jump champion Trecia-Kay Smith; and Sheree Francis, the high jump,
Commonwealth Games and CAC Games silver medalist, were mentioned for their
outstanding performances in 2010.

GREAT
FIELDS AT ITALICA CC

SEVILLA (ESP): Reigning world
champions Joseph Ebuya and Emily Chebet headline brilliant fields for the ’29th
Cross Internacional de Itálica’ in Sevilla (IAAF Permit) on Sunday. Ebuya will
be seeking to score another victory over Tekelmariam Medhin having beaten the
silver medallist behind him in last year’s IAAF World Championships in Alcobendas on December 5 a month after losing to the
Eritrean in Atapuerca. The outstanding line-up also features Kenya’s Leonard Komon the World road running 10 kilometres and
15km record holder who is defending his title and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele a two-time
runner up at the Spanish meeting. Also announced are steeple world record
holder Saif Saeed Shaheen, Kiprono Menjo and Vincent Chepkok making it the best
men´s field so far this terrain season. Chebet faces a daunting task against
her fellow Kenyan world champions,defending champion here Linet Masai and
Vivian Cheruiyot.

ISINBAYEVA
FOR STOCKHOLM

STOCKHOLM (SWE): Multiple pole vault world
record holder Yelena Isinbayeva confirmed her third meet of the indoor season.
After Russian Winter in Moscow
(Feb 6) and Donetsk Pole Vault Stars (Feb 12) she will jump at the XL-Galan in
Ericsson Globe on February 22. ” I look forward to start competing again. I am
motivated and healthy, and I feel that the training went well” said Yelena on
her website and added: ” It will be exciting to compete in the Globe for the
first time. I have heard from other athletes that it is a nice arena.” She will
have the chance for a revenge with last years number one Fabiana Murer of Brazil, also
jumping will be Swedish 17-years old Youth Olympic Games and World Junior
winner Angelica Bengtsson. Swedish stars Emma Green and Christian Olsson also
earlier confirmed the Stockholm
date.

BOLT
AND FARAH SUPPORT

KINGSTON (JAM): Worlds fastest man Usain Bolt
joins the group of supporters of olympic track legacy after London 2012 Games.
He said on his twitter: “London
needs to keep the track in the Olympic Stadium after 2012. It would be good to
run there after. Keep the track.” Another voice of support came from double
European Champion Mo Farah who wrote on the twitter: “Olympic legacy for
Olympic Stadium. Save the Stadium and say YES to West Ham’s bid.”

OTHER NEWS

DUBAI (UAE): Ethiopian athletes Chala Dechase
and Eshetu Wendimu after a titanic battle last year will renew rivalries when
they go head-to head at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 21.
After last year’s three-way battle with eventual winner and compatriot Haile
Gebrselassie, the two are no longer unknown quantities in international
distance running and will be among the favourites to lift the $250,000 first
prize. Just thirteen seconds separated them in Dubai in 2010 with Dechase taking second in
2:06:33 just 24 seconds behind Ethiopian legend Gebrselassie.

BELFAST (GBR): Charlotte Purdue after her
excellent fourth place in last weekend’s Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country
faces another stiff test in Antrim on January 22 at IAAF CC Permit race. Purdue
is scheduled to go head-to-head with Kenya’s Commonwealth Games 10000m
gold medallist Grace Momyani who is also a very experienced cross country
performer. Purdue coached by Mick Woods will also face Kenya’s Esther
Chemtai, the IAAF World Cross Country junior bronze medallist and fellow Brits
Louise Damen and Gemma Steel. Kenya’s
Mike Kigen will defend his title against Andy Vernon and the Irish duo of
Michael Mulhare and Joe Sweeney.

LONDON (GBR): Ed Warner, chairman of UK
Athletics, has explicitly denied the suggestion made this week by those
handling Tottenham’s bid to redevelop the 2012 Olympic Stadium that his
organisation has refused to engage with them on their plans for an athletics
legacy elsewhere. Writes insidethegames. Warner said he had a one-to-one
meeting with Sir Keith Mills, the former chief executive of the London 2012 bid
committee who now sits on the Spurs Board, at which he was promised access to
their legacy proposals, but has not subsequently been offered any access to
them. Warner was reacting to recent statements in the press about Tottenham’s
plans to knock down the Olympic Stadium after the Games and redevelop the site
as a 60,000-seater football stadium if their bid is chosen above West Ham’s
plan – which will incorporate an athletics track – by the Olympic Park Legacy
Company on January 28.

LAUSANNE (SUI): Sprinter Churandy Martina
will not compete for The Netherlands in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Martina
and other athletes from The Netherlands Antilles who will qualify for London will compete as
independent athletes under the Olympic flag. The Netherlands
Antilles are no longer recognized by the IOC but due to a period
of transition the athletes will only start to compete for The Netherlands after
the London Olympic Games. Similar arrangements were made in past Olympics for
athletes from Yugoslavia and
East Timor. The situation causes confusion for
the athletes and federations involved as the President of The Netherlands
Antilles Olympic Committee Remco Tevreden believes this means Martina will
still be able to compete for The Netherlands Antilles at the IAAF World
Championships in Daegu, while the Dutch Athletics federation claims the
athletes will compete for The Netherlands until the London Olympic Games
reports Dutch newspaper pzc.nl.

LAUSANNE
(SUI): The IOC also announced they have suspended Ghana
which means Ghana’s Olympic
Committee (GOC) will no longer receive IOC funding, its officials are banned
from attending any Olympic events and Ghana’s athletes are barred from
competing in the Olympics. The sanctions could be lifted before the London
Games if Ghana complies with
IOC regulations and assures the complete independence of the national body.The
IOC has complained in particular that Government officials in Ghana are
appointing the Presidents of national sports federations. The decision had
reduced the number of countries eligible to compete in London from 205 to 202. Kuwait was
already suspended last year for political interference by the government. India have also been warned that unless they
resolve several issues they face the risk of being banned from competing at London next year reports
Insidethegames.

EINDHOVEN
(NED): The marathon of Eindhoven
wants to become among the world’s top 10 running events by 2013. The
organization wants to improve the course record to 2:05 in the men’s race and
2:23 in the women’s race. Currently the course records stand at 2:07.01 and
2:25.35. For the organization 2011 means a year of making the event more
international with the Eindhoven
airport near by. The Eindhoven Marathon attracts about 2000 foreign runners
each year.

BERLIN (GER): German vaulter Silke
Spiegelburg is focusing on the German indoor championships and the European
indoor championships. Spiegelburg had to rely on alternative training for some
weeks following a small injury but believes she is still as strong as ever. The
European silver medalist from Barcelona
will start her indoor season at local championships this weekend confirms
leichtathletik.de.

NEW YORK
(USA):
Kara Goucher will run the New York City Half Marathon on March 20 reports
trackfocus.com. The New York City Half Marathon will be Goucher’s second
competitive race after giving birth to her son last September. It will also be
her last preparation before running the Boston Marathon in April. Goucher is
making her return to the sport on Sunday at the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona. However, on her
blog Goucher explained the difficult situation with her son Colt who is
currently in the hospital. The Goucher family will only be able to travel to Arizona when Colt is
feeling better and is being released from the hospital.

LAUSANNE (SUI): IOC President Jacques Rogge
favours West Ham’s bid to take over the London Olympic Stadium over Tottenham’s
because he wants a running track to remain at the venue after the 2012 Games.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) is due to make a decision between the
two bids before March and Rogge said he will not intervene on the issue. “If a
solution could be found for the track we would be happy but don’t expect the
IOC to intervene in an issue where we are not responsible.” Rogge was quoted on
sportinglife.com.

LINZ
(AUT): Long jump world indoor champion 2008 Naide Gomes of Portugal signed
for Linz International Gugl Indoor on February 3. Meet organizer Wolgang Adler
said her motivation was backed when she heard about excellent results last year
at the arena.

NASSAU (BAH): TrackAlerts informs that the
2011 Carifta Games was thrown into further doubt when the Bahamas Association
of Athletic Association (BAAA), decided at a meeting that they would not be
hosting the event. According to a highly placed trackalerts.com source, the Bahamas decision to not host the Games, was
because with less than three months to go, they have not yet received a written
commitment from North America, Central America
and Caribbean (NACAC).

LONDON (GBR): A children’s charity which has
Madonna as chairman of its board of directors has signed up British sprinter
Dwain Chambers as an ambassador for 2011. Success for Kids (SFK), which
describes itself as “the largest international social emotional learning
organisation in the world” announced that the current world and European 60 metres champion – who
was banned for two years in 2003 after a high profile doping case – will
represent it “in cities across the globe to share his life experiences with the
students that SFK serves”.

PARIS (FRA): The organizers of
European Indoor Championships in Paris
are informing that the event should be like no other. The originality of the
event isn’t solely restricted to the colours of its stands however. Indeed
there is something new for both the public and the athletes on the track. A
team of around 20 people will be entirely dedicated to providing entertainment
during the three days of competition. It will notably include an on-the-field
entertainer, a mascot and a group of cheerleaders … the opening ceremony at
15:00 hours on Friday 4 March is likely to set the tone. In addition to the
delegates’ parade of nations, it will have a surprise for the public. An artist
of some kind will be its project manager and the French capital its central
theme.

MUMBAI (IND):
Every year the people of Mumbai join together for a celebration in mid-January
as Mumbai Marathon becomes one of the festivals in India’s financial capital. The
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon will be held on Sunday. Fresh from his
Commonwealth Games victory, Kenyan John Kelai look stronger to recapture his
title in the men’s race. Kelai was a back-to-back winner at Mumbai in 2007 and
2008. He had a third place finish in the 2009 race when his compatriot Kenneth
Mungara sets a course record 2:11:51. In the women’s side, defending champion
Bizunesh Urgesa is return to take her title. The Ethiopian, a medalist in
distance track races in both World Youth and World Junior championships in the
past, set her foot on the road only two years ago and already tasted success
through victories in Istanbul
(2009) and Mumbai (2010).

KOBE (JPN): Triple European
sprint gold medalist Christophe Lemaitre just a few days before taking off for
a training session in Miami, Florida (Jan 14-29) headed off to Japan, between 4
and 9 January, after accepting an invitation from his equipment manufacturer
Asics. Accompanied by his coach, Pierre Carraz, the triple European champion
2010 (100m, 200m and 4x100m) spent two long days immersed in the brand’s
Research and Development centre in Kobe. The aim was to carry out a highly
detailed series of tests and measurements, intended to come up with a design
for a new pair of entirely custom-made sprint shoes, boasting all the latest
technological innovations. All of this was geared towards providing Christophe
with the very best preparation for competition. He should receive the first
prototypes of his new shoes this winter and they are set to be more suited to
training rather than actual competition. An even more well-designed model will
then be supplied for the upcoming summer season, which he is likely to wear at
the World Championships in Daegu.

DUBNICA (SVK): After 16 years
of hurdles career Slovak record holder Miriam Cupakova (formerly Bobkova) at
age of 31 ended her active involvement in athletics. The holder of 25 national
records at 60 m
hurdles and 100 m
hurdles (bests 8.04 and 13.04) competed at one Olympic games, World
championships and two European indoor and outdoor championships. She will be
missed in Slovak athletics and by her club Spartak Dubnica. There is no
replacement seen in Slovak athletics in her event. She is now expecting her
first child to be born in August and then wants to continue work as coach.

RESULTS
(Ptacnikova 460, Finley 20.71)

PRAHA (CZE, Jan 14): World
indoor and European outdoor finalist Jirina Ptacnikova started her season at
high note. She cleared 460 in
first attempt at local meet in Strahov Hall and equalled so her indoor PB
already so early. Then she tried at 466 what would be new national indoor
record (465 Katerina Badurova in 2007). Her next meet is in Wuppertal on January 21. Excellent early shape
also for Moncton
200 m
finalist and Czech Junior Athlete of the Year Pavel Maslak. He improved the
Czech all-time 300 m
best to excellent 33.30.

VILNIUS (LTU, Jan 13): World junior silver
medalist Airine Palsyte cleared good 190 at local meet. Lina Grincikaite
sprinted to 7.42 at 60 m,
multi-eventer Austra Skujyte got 636
in long jump. In men jumps Raivydas Stanys cleared 223 in high jump and Darius
Aucyna 785 in
long jump.

HOUSTON (USA, Jan 14): Former
US Champ Mike Rodgers opened with 6.66 at 60 m and Aries Merritt confirmed solid early
shape at 60 m
hurdles with 7.63 (also 7.68
in heats). Ukrainian Barcelona 4th placer Viktoriya
Rybalko jumped to 661 and beat Funmi Jimoh (642). Alexandria Anderson clocked
in heats and finals the same 7.31 at 60 m during Leonard Hilton Memorial meet.

ALLENDALE (USA, Jan 14): Mark Hollis got over 562 in pole vault at Bob
Eubanks Open. Hurdler Jeff Porter started with 7.79 and equalled his 60 m best 6.82 from 2006.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY (USA,
Jan 14): Kylie Hutson cleared 440
in pole vault here. Solid 60 m was won by Jeremy Dodson
(6.64) ahead of Joe Morris (6.65). Jenny Simpson (formerly Barringer) the US
steeple record holder won the 800
m in 2:07.79.

LUBBOCK
(USA, Jan 14): Hammer world
number one Libor Charfreitag of Slovakia
started his weight throw indoor campaing which should contain four
competitions. At Texas Tech Open after fouls got 23.45. “Technically not bad, I
think I have lot more in myself,” said the European Champion who is the holder
of European all-time best in this event (25.68 in 2005). Russian
olympic relay medalist Anton Kokorin clocked at oversized track here 1:09.32 at
600 y (slower than laswt year at the same meet 1:09.20).

LINCOLN
(USA,
Jan 14): Sub 10 sprinter Ivory Williams clocked in heats of Holiday Inn
Invitational 6.74 at 60 m.

LEXINGTON
(USA, Jan 14): Garland
Porter (28) improved his weight throw best during first day of University of Kentucky
Invitational to 23.97 and was so even better than Euro Champ
Charfreitag in Lubbock.

NEW YORK
(USA,
Jan 14): Reggie Dixon achieved 6.65 at 60 m during Gotham Cup meet. In other races
solid times for Ugandan Julius Mutekanga 1:02.59 at 500 m and Aaron Younger
1:18.91 at 600 m.

BLACKSBURG
(USA,
Jan 14): The 2009 NCAA Indoor Champion Lakya Brookins clocked solid 7.25 at 60 m in her opener. Amber
Campbell got good 23.05 in
weight throw. Darius Law posted 33.28 at 300 m.

FAYETTEVILLE
(USA,
Jan 14): Jamaican Tarik Batchelor leaped here to his second best career mark 798 in long jump.

LAWRENCE
(USA,
Jan 14): Sensational improvement for 20-years old shot putter Mason Finley (203 cm, 150 kg per Tilastopaja) to
20.71 at the dual meet here. His former best from US Championships last summer
in Des Moines
was 19.74 (8th place). In discus he is US junior record holder with 1.75 kg implement (65.34 in 2009).