by Larry Eder
Sanya to race over the weekend
FORT WORTH (USA): The weekend´s TCU Invitational will see the return to
racing of reigning 400 m world champion Sanya Richards-Ross. She last
time competed at US Nationals in June 2010, but only two races at 400 m.
Apart of this only 800 m in spring, her last full season happened in
2009. Now she is back and awaits her return. She will contest the 200 m
per her twitter. Also scheduled to compete in Texas is 400 m last year
world leader Jeremy Wariner.
Simon stranded in Nagoya
NAGOYA (JPN): Former marathon world champion Lidia Simon of Romania
was (with husband and son) in Nagoya preparing for Sunday marathon which
was cancelled after the major earthquake and following tsunami hit
Japan. In an interview with prosport.ro
some 600 km away from the
epicenter she was saying on Sunday: “We are in a hotel room in Nagoya,
we try to get back, we’re scared. When we felt the earthquake those
seconds seemed never-ending at the 17th floor of our hotel. I never was
so scared before in my life. Now I realized how important is life and
health. Since the news about nuclear power, we are very worried,
especially my son. And I prefer to stay in a hotel room.” The Simon
family had tickets for later departure from Nagoya, now they are trying
to fly on Monday or Tuesday. Also other foreign female runners already
beeing in Nagoya remained in Japan for the moment. In other development
in Japan Ken Nakamura says that the Japanese Corporate team Half
Marathon championships, which was scheduled for this coming Sunday, is
cancelled. Furthermore, the meeting to decide the marathon team by
JAAF, which was scheduled on Tuesday, was also postponed.
Abramovich to help
VOLGOGRAD (RUS): Help from a rich man. Russian media are informing that
one of the richest men Russian Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea
football club, will be ready to help Yelena Isinbayeva to improve the
conditions for training in Volgograd. The pole vault queen will now
spend more time in Russia as before and mainly will have her coach
Yevgeniy Trofimov in Volgograd. In the past years she was mostly
training in Formia, Italy where Vitaliy Petrov leads the IAAF pole vault
center. Isinbayeva met with Abramovich last December in Zurich at the
FIFA World Cup voting. Now discussions are already going on with
Abramovich team about possibilities to modernise mainly the Volgograd
indoor hall.
PUNTA UMBRIA NEWS
JAPAN: Agent Stephen Mayaka, who is now a Japan citizen, is expected to
join the Japanese team to the World Cross country championship as an
assistant coach and he remained pessimistic, his side will be able to
make it to Punta Umbria. “We are due to leave
here on March 16, but nothing is confirmed yet following this
earthquake. So we will wait and see what they top officials of athletics
say,” he added for Xinhua.
KENYA: On paper, the senior women’s 8km squad is Kenya’s best offering
for Sunday. Focus is on world 10,000m champion, Linet Masai. “I have
been working on my finishing,” she said. Her main rival will be 5000 m
world champ Vivian Cheruiyot. Lineth Chepkurui, who missed a medal in
Poland last year, returns to complete her mission in Spain in her third successive
appearance. “I made a tactical mistake in Poland and I will not repeat
it. This time, I will run my own race,” she said. Informs East
Standard. Paul Tanui who has been added into the team replacing Leonard
Komon has been ordained as the team pastor and will lead his congregate
in prayers whenever it is required.
IAAF: The world governing body confirmed its usual prize money for this
event. A sum of 280 000 USD in prize money will be paid by the
IAAF for the two senior races. The 30 000 USD prize is available for
each individual winner of the
men’s and women’s senior races with money filtering down to 6th
position where the reward is 3000 USD. For best team 20 000 USD is
ready going down to 6th (4000 USD). Junior races do not have prize
money. Informs IAAF in a release.
ITALY: Italy selected one full team, the women one with Nadia Ejaffini,
Veronica Inglese, Fatna Maraoui, Elena Romagnolo and Laila Soufyane.
Others are individuals. Two men (Ahmed El Mazoury, Patrick Nasti), three
junior boys and one junior girl.
IRELAND: Ireland sends to Spain three runners. Fionnuala Britton and Ava
Hutchison for women competition and Shane Quinn for junior boys
contest.
OTHER NEWS
WANGAREI (NZL): Two Chinese athletes coached by Kirsten Hellier are
currently in New Zealand. Li Ling is Asian Games shot put champion and
has a best of 19.94, Liu Yang has 18.40. They will both compete at the
New Zealand championships in Dunedin at the end of the month.
SYDNEY (AUS): Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop has been
announced to take on 800m world record holder David Rudisha at the
Sydney Track Classic on March 19th. Kiprop runs the 800m only on a
few occasions and has a personal best of 1:43.17. Also in the field
is Australian national champion Lachlan Renshaw (1:45.66).
LONDON (GBR): British sport have the target of winning more medals
this year to help set-up them for next year’s Olympics and
Paralympics than at the equivalent point before the 2008 Games in
Beijing, when Team GB enjoyed their best ever overseas performance.
A range of 30 to 61 medals is targeted at World Championships this
year by Olympic sports, and 34 to 52 by their Paralympic
counterparts, Government agency UK Sport revealed reports
Insidethegames.
LONDON (GBR): Iran will complain to the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) after British Prime Minister David Cameron called
them “paranoid” but have ruled out boycotting next year’s Olympics
in protest over the controversial London 2012 logo, which they have
claimed is racist writes Insidethegames.
AMSTERDAM (NED): Dutch marathoner Koen Raymaekers was preparing his
marathon season in Iten, Kenya and wrote a diary for the
organizers of the Rotterdam Marathon. Raymaekers managed a time of
1:02.29 PB at the Den Haag half marathon this weekend and believes he
is on course to run 2:10 at the Rotterdam Marathon on April 9th.
Raymaekers main aim is to qualify for the London Olympic Marathon
writes All Track Press.
BERLIN (GER): German Sabrina Mockenhaupt has announced her
participation at the Berlin half marathon on April 3rd. Mockenhaupt
finished 3rd in 2010 and managed the win in 2009. In the men’s race
Leonard Langat (59:52) from Kenya is announced as the man to beat.
ATHENS (GRE): Agencies are informing that Christos Tzekos the former
coach of doping-connected sprinters from Greece Katerina Thanou and
Kostadinos Kenteris has testified in court over charges of supplying
banned substances and denied any wrongdoing. The sprinters did not
attend the hearing.
NEW YORK (USA): For the first time in its six-year history,
the NYC Half will be broadcast live on the New York Road Runners
website on Sunday, it was announced by NYRR president and CEO Mary
Wittenberg. In addition to the race-day broadcast, New York Road
Runners Live
and New York Road Runners Daily Cool Down, beginning on Thursday,
March 17, will preview all of the action. Powered by Livestream,
NYRR will host the broadcast on their channel, tv.nyrr.org.
Organizers are informing in a release. With a host of U.S. stars
including
Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Galen Rupp, and Kara Goucher, ready to
race against tough international competition including reigning ING
New York City Marathon champions Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia and
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, as well as Great Britain’s Mo Farah and Jo
Pavey, it will be a race not to miss.
AMSTERDAM (NED): French air carrier Air France is new partner of
Amsterdam Marathon, informs Le Champion. The date for this years 36th
edition is October 16.
PRETORIA (RSA): South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has become
the new face of A*Men by Thierry Mugler and stars in the promotion
for the men’s fragrance. As part of the promotion for the new men’s scent, Pistorius shot a
futuristic advertising campaign in Ali Mahdavi in Paris which saw
brand new, futuristic blades designed for him to use in the trailer. Media are informing.
RESULTS
NOMI (JPN, Mar 13): Korean Kim Hyun-Sub clocked new national record
1:19:31 at 20 km to win the Asian Walking Championships. Japanese Kumu
Otoshi was the best in women 20 km in 1:30:44 after fast begin (44:32 at
10 km).
VAXJO (SWE, Mar 12): Interesting addition to the World Indoor
Throwing meeting was the win of Danish shot putter Kim Christensen. For
first time in his career he got a 20+ result with 20.39.
NYIREGYHAZA (HUN, Mar 12): Talented 16-years old Bence Pasztor improved
with 5 kg hammer to 78.78 at Hungarian Winter Throwing Championships.
CHANDIGARH (IND, Mar 13): Kenyans dominated the 2nd Chandigarh
Marathon. James Mutua won in 2:17:22. Second Patrick Kamau achieved
2:19:57 and third best Indian Arvind Yadav 2:20:55.
ADDIS ABABA (ETH, Mar 13): Mamitu Deska set a new course record to win
the 2011 Choice Women First 5 km race in 15:44. Daska is in preparation
for Paris Marathon. Defending champion Sule Utura dropped out after
leading for most of the race. Around 9000 athletes took part in the 8th
edition of the race with four-time Ethiopian world indoor 3000m champion
Meseret Defar and Haile Gebrselassie on hand to award prizes to podium
finishers. Ethiopian media are informing.
SYDNEY (AUS, Mar 14): Nicholas Hough also shone on day five of
Australian Junior Championships adding a fourth gold medal (third
individual) to a stellar weekend of performances. Finishing atop the
podium in the boy’s under 20 100m, 110m hurdles and 4x100m relay prior
to Monday, Hough is now also the 200m champion after clocking 21.62
(-0.6). Looking ahead to the Sydney Track Classic next Saturday night,
Hough has confirmed his selection to the 200m where he will take his
chance to line up alongside triple Olympic gold medallist US Angelo
Taylor.
HAVANA (CUB, Mar 3-4): In late addition results from Cuba to note the
73.77 of Ypsi Moreno in women hammer and 18.27 of Misledys Gonzalez in
women shot put. In men events Yoandri Betanzos achieved 16.95 in triple
jump and Roberto Janet 76.00 in hammer.
STATS
DEN HAAG (NED): Ken Nakamura points out that at Den Haag Half-Marathon
Azmeraw Bekele (59:39), Peter Kirui (59:40), Ayele Abshero (59:42) and
Lucas Rotich (59:44) became 69th, 70th, 71st and 72nd runner to go
under 60 minutes. Rotich also became the 8th fastest half marathon
debuting runner
CORRECTION
KRAGUJEVAC (SRB, Mar 12): Men´s race at Balkan CC Championships was at 10 km, not 12 km.
SAD NEWS
MOSCOW (RUS): At age of 71 died after long and heavy illnes bronze
olympic winner 1968 in shot put Eduard Gushchin. He was first at that
time Soviet 20+ shot putter. After ending his career he was working at
Russian Sports Committee.
