by Larry Eder
Brittney Reese, 2010 Areva Paris Meeting, photo by PhotoRun.net
Image via Wikipedia
AVRAMENKO 84.30 UKRAINAN JAVELIN RECORD
YALTA (UKR, May
17-19): Former junior world and European medalist Roman Avramenko
achieved during National Universiade new Ukrainian javelin record 84.30.
He registered the mark right in the first attempt, also second try
83.13 had a good quality. Former national mark of Oleksandr Pyatnytsa
from last year was 84.11. Second Barcelona finalist Dmytro Kosynsky also
improved his best to 82.72. Another top mark came from heptathlete Inna
Ahkozova who registered European leading mark 2011 in the long jump 683
cm (+1.7, also a huge PB). Andriy Makarchev leaped in men competition
to 809 (+1.2) ahead of triple specialist Sheryf El-Sheryf 799 (+2.0,
also won triple with 16.92 +2.0) and Vadim Adamchuk (will be 17 on May
30) who achieved new national youth record 795 cm (+1.9). Natalya Lupu
won the 800 m in 2:03.45. Fast sprinters from indoor season competed in
the 200 m. Olesya Povh and Mariya Ryemyen clocked identical 23.1 (hand
timed) in separate heats (-1.0 and -0.4) and did not compete in the
finals. Womens sprints winner was Darya Pizhankova with 11.2 hand (0.0)
and 23.32 (0.0). Anna Titimets posted good quality 55.5 hand timed 400 m
hurdles.
MARTINA IS DUTCH
AMSTERDAM
(NED): Olympic sprinter for The Netherlands Antilles Churandy Martina
has decided he will compete for The Netherlands. Martina is following
the lead of sprinters Brian Mariano and Obed Martis who also opted to
compete for The Netherlands after the IOC and IAAF no longer recognized
The Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch athletics federation KNAU has
commented that they are very happy with the decision of Martina and
confirmed they will add him among their elite athletes. In 2009 Martina
was the first athlete on Dutch soil to run under 10 sec. He did this in
the FBK Games in Hengelo, where he will run the 100m again next week
Sunday, May 29.
REESE GRADUATED
OXFORD
(USA): Long jump world champion Brittney Reese graduated from the
University of Mississippi on May 14th with her degree in English and a
minor in Psychology. She was a student in the School of Liberal Arts.
She will now fully concentrate on jumping. Reese is confirmed for
Compeed Golden Gala in Rome on May 26 and New York adidas Grand Prix on
June 11.
BLAKE FOR FAST 200 M, FIELD FOR BOLT
OSTRAVA
(CZE): Jamaican sprinting sensation Yohan Blake will come to 50th
jubilee Ostrava Golden Spike meeting on May 31 to run the 200 m (IAAF
World Challenge). Organizers are hoping he can come close to the meet
record of Usain Bolt which is 19.83 since 2008. “I am very happy with my
training and progress so far this year. I feel confident, and I hope to
remain healthy and injury free for the season. I look forward to
competing in Ostrava for the track and field fans there. The 200m is
still my favorite event. I will be going all out to set a very fast time
in continuing my preparation for the 2011 Outdoor World Championships
this August,” he said in a prepared statement for the organizers. Blake
clocked last year 19.78 and this year windy 9.80 in the 100 m at Jamaica
Invitational in Kingston. Bolt himself will run the 100 m in Ostrava.
The field which will run against the world record holder was revealed.
The roster includes current world leader Steve Mullings (9.90) and
Commonwealth Games winner Lerone Clarke from Jamaica, also in the field
Berlin Worlds fourth placer Daniel Bailey of Antigua with Kansas Relays
winner Ivory Williams of USA. Europe will be represented by two
Barcelona medalists Briton Mark Lewis-Francis and French Martial
Mbandjock. More new names for Ostrava include olympic winner 2004 Koji
Murofushi of Japan and 2008 gold medalist Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia (in
his international return after one year break) for men´s hammer (on May
30). German World medalist Raul Spank adds the high jump field (against
Ivan Ukhov and Jaroslav Baba), Doha and Shanghai 1500 m winner Nixon
Chepseba is new name for the 1000 m roster. Bahamian world medalist
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie comes for the 100 m (vs. Veronica
Campbell-Brown) and another bronze Berlin winner Wude Ayalew will chase
team-mate Meselech Melkamu in women´s 10 000 m. Special guests will be
legendary tennis player Ivan Lendl and one of the current best
ice-hockey players in the world Jaromir Jagr.
HURDLES WARS
ROMA/HENGELO
(ITA/NED): Twice in short time the best female hurdlers will meet
against each other. After Doha and Daegu meets another clash of olympic
winner Dawn Harper, world indoor champ Lolo Jones and world leader
Kellie Wells will happen at the meetings in Rome on May 26 and in
Hengelo on May 29. Interesting European additions will be in Rome
Norwegian record holder Christina Vukicevic and Tiffany Ofili-Porter now
representing Great Britain. In Hengelo German European indoor gold
medalist Carolin Nytra. In both races also former world champion Perdita
Felicien of Canada, US hurdlers Danielle Carruthers and Ginnie
Powell-Crawford along with Swiss Lisa Urech. Current fastest time of the
season 12.58 should not remain on top after this two meets. Concerning
meet records, the 12.39 from Rome is tough, but 12.65 in Hengelo is
definitely beatable.
OTHER NEWS
TOKYO
(JPN): Olympic marathon winner 2004 Mizuki Noguchi has no pain from her
injury, and has been training seriously since early March. Basically
her training is mostly around 20Km run and her total mileage currently
is 1000Km a month. She expressed her desire to run a half marathon in
the summer. Japanese media are informing.
NEW YORK (USA): RRW informs that Kara
Goucher, the 2008 USA 5000m champion, said that although she was named
to the USA team for the marathon for the IAAF World Championships in
Daegu, competing in that discipline is actually her second choice. “I
will compete in the 10,000m at the USA Outdoor Track & Field
Championships,” she wrote on her blog at Competitor.com “If I’m able to
qualify for the World Championships in that event, I’ll run it, and skip
the marathon, passing my marathon slot to current alternate Zoila
Gomez. If I don’t qualify, I’ll go ahead and run the marathon.”
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Swedish superstar
and triple World heptathlon champion Carolina Klüft announced she will
end her athletics career after the 2012 London Olympic Games. The
European heptathlon record holder told Swedish radio station
Radiosporten she is not yet too old for the sport but is looking forward
to trying other things in life. Klüft also added she is not interested
in becoming a coach as she admitted she is getting tired of the sport.
Klüft holds a personal best of 7032 points and was voted European
athlete of the year in both 2003 and 2006.
KINGSTON (JAM): Former Jamaican top
athletes Juliet Cuthbert and Bert Cameron will serve for another three
years on the Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel. Cuthbert, one of
Jamaica’s best sprinters of all-time, won a silver medal in both the
100m and 200m at the 1992 Olympic Games. Cameron won the 400m world
title at the 1983 Helsinki World Championships writes Trackalerts.
EUGENE (USA): The 2011 Prefontaine
Classic has released its fields for the women’s jumping events. In the
women’s pole vault the meet record set by Stacy Dragila in 2002 is
definitely under threat with world number one Fabiana Murer, American
recordholder Jenn Suhr and Russian Svetlana Feofanova in the field. Also
present is reigning world champion Anna Rogowska, up-and-coming Kylie
Hutson and Swedish junior sensation Angelica Bengtsson. Also in the
triple jump the 14.62 meeting record might not stand for long with the
presence of Russian Nadezhda Alekhina, European champion Olha Saladukha,
Anna Pyatykh, Anastasiya Potapova and Yekaterina Kayukova.
NEW YORK (USA): US sources are
informing about retirement of NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol. He had been
President of NBC Sports since 1989 and one of the biggest movers in the
industry for a long time.
BERLIN (GER): Clemens Prokop,
President of the German Athletics Association, warned that the country’s
Interstate Broadcasting Agreement risks turning athletics into a
second-class sport. On Sundays and after 8pm sponsorship for public
service broadcasters has been brought in to protect certain events, such
as German national football matches, from falling into the hands of pay
TV channels. Athletics is not on the list and so Prokop is wondering if
athletics does not have to be protected. “All sports apart from
football are wanted, and we don’t want a situation where just football
is broadcast in colour and everything else in black and white.” Prokop
was quoted by insidethegames.biz.
ATLANTA (USA): Soft drink giant
Coca-Cola has unveiled the eight American athletes that will form the
basis of the company’s US advertising campaign for the London 2012
Olympics. American 110m hurdles record holder David Oliver is part of
the group that will represent the brand. The London 2012 Games become
the third consecutive Olympics for which Coca-Cola has selected
competing athletes to represent the brand, following on from campaigns
for Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Spain’s European
1500m indoor champion Manuel Olmedo will be the star of the Meeting
Iberoamericano in Huelva on June 2nd. Olmedo will be looking to improve
on his personal best of 3:36.98 as the meet is known to always produce
good marks. Another highlight of the meet is the men’s 5000m in which
Spanish athlete Jesus Espana will take on Portuguese Rui Silva.
LOUGHBOROUGH (GBR): World and
European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis is set to compete in two
events at this weekend’s Loughborough International meeting as she gets
ready to contest her first heptathlon of the year in Götzis, Austria, on
May 28-29. Informs Athletics Weekly. One of the events confirmed is
javelin. One of the expected highlights is the men’s 100m where European
silver medalist Mark Lewis-Francis will take on Christian Malcolm,
James Dasaolu, Craig Pickering and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. World silver
medalist Lisa Dobriskey steps down in distance with Hannah England as
the pair clash over 800 m.
NAIROBI (KEN): A Kenyan court on
Thursday temporarily halted any burial plans for Olympic marathon
champion Sammy Wanjiru until investigations on his death are complete.
The athlete’s mother, Ann Wanjiru, went to court to stop the burial
arrangements, claiming that there was a foul play in the death of her
son. Agencies are informing. Mr Justice Anyara Emukule granted a 14-day
injunction after Ms Hanna Wanjiru went to court to stop Ms Teresia Njeri
from burying her husband. The athlete’s body will stay at the Lee
Funeral Home until the court in Nakuru hears both parties. Adds The
Nation.
LONDON (GBR): With one year to go
until the Olympic Flame arrives in the UK, the London Organizing
Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has launched the
‘Moment to shine’ public nomination campaign, which will see 2,012
Torchbearer places on offer. Through the campaign, members of the public
can nominate someone living in the UK who has inspired them reports
London 2012.
RESULTS
TEHRAN (IRI, May): Athletics in Iran is
improving. As Heinrich Hubbeling reports Kaveh Mousavi improved the
national hammer record on May 12 to 75.26. Mohammad Samimi achieved at
the same meeting 64.10 in discus over Mahmoud Samimi 63.98. At another
meet on May 16 Ali Akbar Rabiei clocked excellent 10.32 in the 100 m.
Rouhollah Asghari posted 13.71 in the 110 m hurdles on May 18. At women
championships good quality sprint national records for Maryam Toosi with
11.84 and 23.73 on May 14 and 15.
SZOMBATHELY (HUN, May 18): In the
local club throwing meeting hammer European medalist Krisztian Pars
threw over 80 m (80.17). His club-mate, the 20 years old Dániel Szabó
threw first time over 70 m (70.29). In the shot put Om Prakash Singh of
India set 19.07.
TALLINN (EST, May 18): Former javelin
world champion Andrus Varnik achieved at a local meet 76.20, his best
since 2009. He was third in a competition won by Risto Matas (77.37, his
best since 2008).
LIMA (PER, May 14): 16-years old
walking sensation from Peru Yuli Magali Capcha improved the South
American senior record in 5000 m walking to 21:53.8 at a local meet.
SAMSUN (TUR, May 19): Bekir Karayel (1:04:28) and Bahar Dogan (1:12:05) won the half-marathon here.
CORRECTION
LAUSANNE (SUI): Chris Thompson
(27:27.36) and Dulce Felix (31:33.42) currently hold the European
leading 10.000m times but will not necessarily be on their country’s
team for the European Cup 10.000m in Oslo on June 4th
