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Well, dear friends, the nightmare is over! London 2012 has a beer sponsor! And not just any beer, dear friends, but that brew in the green bottle, Heineken. This information came to use from our friends at insidethegames.biz! My blood pressure has already dropped! I was concerned that I might have to settle for Guinness or Smithwicks! (So I do not get castigated, or perhaps, condemned, I love both brands
mentioned above).

Some astute followers of the global sports marketing world will remember that the green bottle pulled off one of the savviest sponsorships in beer history when they become the beer sponsor of the local city of Athens in 2004, when this other beer was an Olympic sponsor (based in St. Louis, purchased by InBev, I walked through their headquarters on way to St. Agatha‘s as a kid, with a pretzel from Gus’ Pretzels in my hand).

So kudos to Heineken! I sure hope that their sponsorship includes keeping the media area well supplied in London. May have to ask Lord Coe about this one!

(this is a picture of  Heineken lager produced in China. One night, purchased several cases of the green bottle in Beijing for pricing of a quite modest nature. It was for a minor celebration of one of the pagan gods I am fond of. I have forgotten the name of said god, however, Mr. Pat Butcher or perhaps Mr. James O’Brien might remember).

On other notes, David Oliver and Liu Xiang are duking it out at BW-Bank Meeting in Karsrulhe, Germany on February 13. RBR would sure have liked to see that one, but we will make our yearly pilgrimage to AVIVA Birmingham NSI for the February 19, 2011 event!

And Galen Rupp is running a 10,000 meters on February 26 in New Zealand. Finally, Chris Solinsky and Matt Tegenkamp will be running the 5,000m in Melbourne on March 3! 

LIU VS.
OLIVER

KARLSRUHE
(GER): Duel of hurdles heroes is the latest highlight of the BW-Bank Meeting on
February 13 in
Karlsruhe (IAAF
Indoor Permit). Chinese superstar Liu Xiang will run against last year fastest
US record holder David Oliver. Liu will run two days before in Dusseldorf against Dayron Robles.

MARINOVA
IS MOTHER

SOFIA (BUL): Triple jump 2000
olympic gold medalist Tereza Marinova gave on Monday birth to a daughter named
Darina. The little baby wieghts 3.450 kg.

SALADINO
AIMS FOR DL

PANAMA (PAN): Olympic long jump
champion Irving Saladino confirmed the Diamond League meetings are going
to be
a priority for him this year. Saladino hopes to be present in most of
the long
jumps in the series. He will debut in his first 2011 Diamond League
meeting in Rome on May 26th and is also going to jump in Hengelo on May
29th and in Eugene on June 6th. Informs Prensa Latina.

OTHER NEWS

AMSTERDAM (NED): Olympic marathon champion
Constantina Dita hopes to clock a time of 2:28 when competing in the London
Marathon this spring. The Romanian athlete also hopes to run again in London for the 2012
Olympic Games. Dita, who was in The Netherlands to open a new Asics
flagshipstore in Amsterdam,
said she thinks it would be hard to keep her Olympic title but believes that in
a good day she might win a medal.

LONDON (GBR): Dutch brewer Heineken is set to
be revealed as the latest sponsor for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Heineken will have the pouring rights to the hospitality outlets at the London
2012 outlets and also have the marketing rights to the Olympics and
Paralympics. Heiniken’s sponsorship of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games was worth
54 million dollars, London 2012 has not yet revealed any figures reports
Insidethegames.

RIO DE
JANEIRO (BRA): The Rio 2016 organizing committee has launched a new
Facebook app that needs to help supporters around the world to get involved in
the preparations for the Rio Olympic and
Paralympic Games. The new application ‘Goal Track’ invites people to set a
series of goals and win medals for each victory writes Insidethegames.

AUCKLAND
(AUS): Galen Rupp will travel with his coach Alberto Salazar to New Zealand
to compete in a special 10,000m on February 26th. Rupp, who has a career best
10,000m time of 27:10.74, is likely to shatter the New Zealand Allcomers
record, set by Dick Tayler (27:46.4). Top competition is expected from the
leading male distance runners in Australia and New Zealand, many of whom will
be preparing for the World Cross Country Championships in Spain four weeks
later.There will also be several athletes on both sides of the Tasman looking
for an opportunity to chase the 2011 World Athletics Championships qualifying
standards of 27:40 (A) or 28:00 (B), after humid conditions prevented fast
times at the Zatopek 10,000m in Melbourne in December writes nzrun.com.

MELBOURNE (AUS): Chris Solinsky
(12:55.53) and Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56) will highlight the 5000m at the
Melbourne Track Classic on March 3th (part of IAAF World Challenge). The
American athletes will take on home stars Craig Mottram and Commonwealth Games
5000m representatives Collis Birmingham and Ben St Lawrence
in what promises to be one of the strongest ever 5000m fields in Melbourne.

MOSCOW (RUS): Taimuraz Bolloyev has resigned
as the chief executive of Olimpstroy, the company responsible for the 12
billion dollar construction programme of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games,
following growing claims of corruption linked to the Winter Olympics and
Paralympics reports Insidethegames. He has been replaced by Sergei Gaplikov,
the deputy head of the Executive Office of the Government of the Russian Federation.

BRUSSELS (BEL): The Belgian
national combined events championships feature a highly anticipated clash
between Belgium’s best decathlete, and European Championships fifth-placer,
Hans Van Alphen (5711) and European junior decathlon champion Thomas Van der
Plaetsen. Last year Van Alphen just narrowly missed out on improving the
national indoor heptathlon record of 5837, for Van der Pleatsen it will be the
first heptathlon of his still young career. Belgian decathlon record holder
Frédéric Xhonneux is back in good shape after a career threatening injury
slowed him down over the last year. Also competing is World junior representative
Jeroen Vanmulder and European combined events cup team members Cédric Nolf and
Bruno Carton-Delcourt.

MANAUS
(BRA): The World indoor champion in the pole vault Fabiana Murer, will travel
directly to Europe after her first meet at the
2011 Millrose Games. Her first European competition will be on February 5th at
the traditional Meeting of Stuttgart in Germany, informed her official
team. Her next step will be on February 12th in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Then the Brazilian will compete in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where she will face the world outdoor
champion from Poland,
Anna Rogowska. Her final step in Europe will be on February 22nd in Stockholm, Sweden.
After that she will return back to Brazil.

DESSAU
(GER): The jumping meeting in Dessau
will have on Wednesday evening two events. In pole vault Malte Mohr will attack
the meet record of Danny Ecker 582
in 2002. Also jumping Alexander Straub, Fabian Schulze
and Bjorn Otto. From foreign jumpers to note Italian Giuseppe Gibilisco and
Czech Michal Balner. In women high jump Italian record holder Antonietta Di
Martin will debut into the season in duel with Spanish record holder Ruth
Beitia. Meet record is a tough one, 201 by Ariane Friedrich from last year.

RESULTS

MELBOURNE (AUS, Jan 29):
Olympic hurdles medalist Sally Pearson tested her speed with 11.46 and 23.32 at
100/200 m.

KIENBUAM (GER, Jan 29): Discus
world champion was impressive at German Winter Throwing Championships. Robert
Hartwing achieved 64.02 m.

CLEMSON (USA, Jan 30):
Miller Moss scored the best heptathlon so far in the season at Clemson
Invitational 5903 points.

GAINESVILLE
(USA,
Jan 30): Kellie Wells clocked huge fourth all-time performer 7.37 at 55 m Hurdles.

BORDEAUX
(FRA, Jan 29): Additionally from Bordeaux
meeting women 400 m
hurdles indoor world best of Hayat Lambarki from Morocco with 58.66.

RABAT (MAR, Jan 29): Morrocan CC Champions
are Najim El Gady at 10 km
in 32:29 and Rkia El Moukim in 25:09 in women´s 7 km, informs Athletics
International.

FUNERAL

MALMO
(SWE): Daniel Wessfeldt informs that the funeral for Kenth Andersson will take
place on Thursday, February 10 at 12:15 in Nicolai Church in Trelleborg (40
minutes by car from Copenhagen
airport).

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