POWELL WINS THE TITLE, VCB TOO

KINGSTON (JAM, Jun 24): Former world record holder
Asafa Powell qualified for a fourth successive World Championships appearance
with his 100 meters
victory at the Jamaican Championships. Unfortunately head-wind -1.8 did not
allow to go sub 10 in
the finals with 10.08. Second Yohan Blake 10.09 and third Steve Mullings 10.10
qualified to run in Daegu with Usain Bolt the 100 m. For Blake first worlds
ever, for Mullings first 100 m
at worlds. For relay remained fourth Nesta Carter 10.12, fifth Michael Frater
10.19 and sixth Dexter Lee 10.31. Faster times were achieved in the semifinals.
In first Mullings 9.96 (+0.6) ahead of Blake 9.97 and Frater 9.98. Fastest
non-qualifier to the finals was from this race Kimmari Roach (10.14). In second
race Powell improved his season best to 9.90 (+0.6) ahead of Carter 9.98 and
Lee 10.13. Olympic 200 champion Veronica Campbell-Brown took the 100 m crown in fast 10.84
(+0.3) from World silver medallist Kerron Stewart and newcomer Jura Levy who
clocked 10.97 and 11.10 (PB for Levy). They will run with Shelly-Ann
Fraser-Pryce the women 100 m
in Daegu. Olympic medalist Sherone Simpson as fourth (11.15) and Aileen Bailey
as fifth (11.18, faster 11.15
in semis) remained for the relay. VCB also ran sub 11 in semis (10.95, +1.8).
Kaliese Spencer fulfilled the favorite role in the 400 m hurdles with 54.15 over
18-years old Ristananna Tracey who improved to excellent 54.58. She missed the
world junior record of Chinese Wang Xing from 2005 only by 0.18 (54.40). It is
second best junior time ever and continental junior record. Third Nickiesha
Wilson 55.95. In the men´s 400
m hurdles top three places for Leford Green 49.19, Josef
Robertson 49.64 and Roxroy Cato 49.66. Veteran Danny McFarlane missed the
podium as fourth in 49.77 and will not be able to run individually in Daegu.
Kenia Sinclair won the 1500 m
in 4:18.00 and Jovanee Jarrett the long jump (644, -0.4).

SPRINTS: GAY OUT, TITLES FOR DIX
AND JETER

EUGENE (USA, Jun 24): US record holder
Tyson Gay pulled out of the 100
meters semifinals in the US Championships because of a
hip injury, agencies are informing. That means he will not be able to run in
Daegu at World Championships. The showdown race with Usain Bolt will so not
happen. As he was preparing to warm up Friday for the semifinals, the hip
locked up on him. About a half-hour before the start of his race, he said he
was pulling out of the meet. After the announcement, as he hobbled around on
the perimeter of Hayward Field, he was downcast. “It’s all I know, it’s all I
love. It’s what I study every day,” Gay told The Associated Press. “I’ll
probably go home today and watch film. This is what I do. I enjoy watching the
races. I just love it. I’m just bummed, period.” Gay confirmed also he will not
run the 200 m.
Remians to see whether he will be ready for his next planned race in Birmingham on July 10 in a duel with Asafa
Powell. Because he competed in nationals (heat), he is technically eligible for
the 4×100 m relay. In his absence Walter Dix got the title with 9.94 (+1.3)
with two other spots going to returning former world and olympic winner Justin
Gatlin 9.95 and Mike Rodgers 9.99. For Dix first worlds, for Gatlin return
after 2005 and Rodgers was a 2009 Berlin
semifinalist. For relay remaining fourth Trell Kimmons 10.04, fifth student
Jeff Demps 10.05 and sixth Darvis Patton 10.09. Ivory Williams was dq for false
start (although running the finals under protest) and Travis Padgett a
non-starter. Windy sub 10 in
semis for Gatlin (9.99 +2.6) and Williams (9.96 +2.9) with Padgett (9.97,
+2.9). Carmelita Jeter confirmed her position with 10.74 (+2.7) women 100 m win over Marshevet
Myers 10.83. Third place in the team Miki Barber 10.96 beating Lashauntea Moore
11.04. For Jeter third worlds after two bronzes (2007 and 2009) and for Myers
and Barber first ever worlds at 100
m. In the semis out was former world champion Lauryn
Williams (5th in first race 11.23, +1.6).

DECATHLON: WL FOR EATON, CLAY IS
OUT

EUGENE (USA, Jun 24): Olympic decathlon
winner Bryan Clay crashed out of the decathlon in a 110m hurdles fall, but said
he hoped to make the World Championships team. Clay strained his right calf
when he hit a hurdle and fell. Because he holds the ‘A’ qualifying standard
(8200, and he has 8483 last year in Gotzis), such an appeal could succeed,
specially when second Jon Harlan has only B-standard (8011) and third Miller
Moss (7878) is without the standard. USA can have four athletes in decathlon,
title defender Trey Hardee competed on Friday in two decathlon events (44.91 in discus and 505 in pole vault) and also
equalled his 110 m
hurdles PB in individual heats (13.69, +0.6). Clay is unlucky in last two World
trials, in 2009 he withdrew from the trials without competing because of a hamstring
injury. World indoor record holder Ashton Eaton was the hero of the day as he
scored 8729 points, what is new world leader, personal best and 5th best US
all-time. He started Friday with best US decathlon time ever 13.52 (+1.6) at 110 m hurdles (and second
best globally, only German Frank Busemann 13.47 in Atlanta at 1996
Olympics was faster), continued with 41.58 discus, 505 pole vault, 56.19
javelin PB and ended with fast 4:24.10 in the 1500 m.

OTHER FINALS: LAGAT 5TH TITLE

EUGENE (USA, Jun 24): Bernard Lagat got his
5th national title in the 5000
m (13:23.06) ahead of Chris Solinsky 13:23.65 and Galen
Rupp 13.25.52. This trio separated clearly from the rest. Lagat still runs the 1500 m and Rupp qualified
already for his second event for Daegu after winning the 10 000 m. Women´s 5000 m saw clear win for US record
holder Moly Huddle 15:10.01. Second Amy Hastings 15:14.31 and third Angela
Bizzarri 15:16.64 are having only B-standards and one of them needs the A one.
Jenn Rhines who is 10k qualifier was fourth 15:19.92. Solid number of good
runners were non-starters here (Flanagan, Goucher, Simpson, Rowbury). Also
fifth title for Mike Hazle in javelin (78.22) over Sean Furey (77.99), no one
from them has the A qualifier 82.00 so for the moment only Hazle is Daegu
bound. Even worse situation in women´s triple jump, winner Amanda Smock (14.07,
+1.2), here nobody has even the B-standard (14.10). Brigetta Barrett won the
high jump with lifetime best 195 and is the only one with A or B qualifiers.
National record holder Chaunte Lowe returned quickly after giving birth in
April and managed 9th (178). In prelims no major casualties in men and women 800 m semis (best times for
Charles Jock 1:45.80 and Alysia Montano 2:01.37). Lashinda Demus was the best
in 400 m
hurdles semifinals (55.35) with olympic finalist Tiffany Williams being a
non-qualifier (57.24). Francena McCorory (50.77) and Allyson Felix (51.52) were
the 400 m
semifinals winners, Sanya Richards-Ross as announced was a non-starter (goes
for 200 m).
In men´s 400 m
semis student Tony McQuay clocked US leading 44.79, title defender Greg Nixon
won the second race (45.24). Olympic medalist David Neville was out (45.85).
Jeshua Anderson was the fastest in 400 m hurdles first round (49.53) when all
favorites advanced. Fast times in 110
m hurdles first round. David Oliver clocked 13.08 (+1.0)
and took Jason Richardson to 13.15 PB. Ronnie Ash (13.25, +1.5), Ty Akins
(13.31, +0.6) and Aries Merritt (13.27, +2.1) were the other heat winners.

RUDISHA GETS WL COMEBACK

NANCY (FRA, Jun 24): World record holder is back. Kenyan David Rudisha
in his first race since March in Australia
clocked an good looking world lead 1:43.46 at the 800 m during the French Pro
Tour meet “Stanislas” in Nancy.
Pacemaker Tangui got 49.90 with Rudisha right behind and had 1:16.3 600 m split. “I m quite
satisfied with my run last night. After the problems with my ankle I have
trained well this month and I wanted to test myself before running in Lausanne. My aim was to
run a world lead so I m happy,” said Rudisha. His next race is Athletissima in Lausanne on June 30.
Second French Jeff Lastennet improved his best to 1:45.56. Another Kenyan
Augustine Choge won the 1500
m in 3:36.23 ahead of Algerian Imad Touil 3:37.58 and
Australian Craig Mottram 3:38.12. Surprise loss for European pole vault
champion Renaud Lavillenie. He cleared 553, passed 563 and had three fouls at
573. The winner was so Jerome Clavier with 563 cm. European walk
champion Yohan Diniz got 18:45.98 in the 5000 m on the track. In the women 100 m Veronique Mang clocked
windy 11.21 (+2.2) beating Briton Anyika Onuora (11.32) and another top home
runner Myriam Soumare (11.46). In men 200 m sprint Christian Malcolm beat in 20.76
(+0.5) in close race Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe (20.77). Dimitri Bascou
won the 110 m
hurdles in 13.46 (+0.3) over US Fred Townsend (13.48) when former world
champion Ladji Doucoure had technical problems and was 8th (14.36). German
Kathrin Klaas was the best in hammer (71.12) and Ukrainian Vita Styopina in
high jump (189) over home record holder Melanie Melfort (186). Nicolas Gomont
won the long jump with windy 807 (+2.5, legal 790) over Lithuanian record
holder Povilas Mykolaitis 804 (+2.3 and legal 791).

VLASIC FIRST 2 METERS

SPLIT (CRO, Jun 24): World and European high jump
champion Blanka Vlasic cleared for first time this year two meters. In second
attempt at the Slobodna Dalmacija special high jump meet in the center of the
city. It is also new world leading mark and her 99th competition with 2 meters or more. She
started with 188 and continued with 191 and 194 all in first. In second she got
198. After that Vlasic tried at 202
cm. Before last attempt on 202 she received medical
treatment on her knee. Afterwards she said: “Everything is hurting: ankle, eye,
knee… In a first warm-up jump I twisted my ankle a bit. It didn’t hurt much,
just irritated. Don’t know what is with my knee, I think it is nothing serious.
I showed everybody that New York
had nothing to do with reality. I told myself I have to jump over 2m and win.
This victory is sign that everything is going in right direction.I don’t know
what would I do if I jumped under 2m for a fifth competion in a row. I am
always too nervous in Split,
more then during any other competition including World or Olympic finals. I was
relaxed only after I secured victory with 2m, then I said to myself that I can
go home freely. Technically best jumps were after that, on 2,02. Tha atmosphere
was crazy, I hope the other girls enjoyed as much as I did. I hope we will have
similar competition next year.” Second Venelina Veneva cleared season best 198,
third Svetlana Shkolina of Russia
196 and fourth second best Croatian jumper Ana Simic 191. Late withdrawal due
to achilles problem was Emma Tregaro-Green from Sweden. The weather was very nice
and hot before sun went down. Organizers are speaking about 5000 spectators,
there were 800 seats in total on two sides, but many people watched from two
other sides (Riva and Marmont
Street).

WJR FOR SIRMAIS

BAUSKA (LAT, Jun 22): New world junior record is reported from Latvia.
At Janis Lusis javelin competition Zigismunds Sirmais improved his own mark
from March in Sofia
at European Cup Winter Throwing by 22 cm from 84.47 to 84.69. The 19-years old
athlete achieved the record in his first attempt. In following throws he did
not went over 80: 75.52 – 78.34 – 78.29 – f – 78.99. But he got 80.28 in the junior
competition on the same day. That means he had 12 attempts during one day.
Sirmais was not the winner of senior competition where Vadim Vasilevskis
achieved second best throw of the year 87.11 m. Only he himself was better this year
with 88.22. Women winner Madara Palameika registered 61.72 m.

OTHER NEWS

BERLIN (GER): Marathon world record holder Paula
Radcliffe of Great Britain
is the top female entry at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON on September 25th. With her
and Haile Gebrselassie on the starting line, both marathon record holders are
competing in the same race – a premiere on German soil. Thirty-seven year old
Radcliffe set her mark of 2:15:25 hrs 2003 in London.
The BMW BERLIN MARATHON will be her first marathon after giving birth to her
second child in September 2010. Her foremost goal in Berlin
is to qualify for the Olympic marathon 2012 in London.
The fast course in the German capital is the major reason for Radcliffe to run
here. The stiffest competition for Radcliffe should come from German Irina
Mikitenko, double winner of the Virgin London Marathon in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 she won the Berlin race clocking a
German and course record of 2:19:19 hrs. “Yes I am aware Berlin is fast and a lovely course and this
was a factor, but it has been on my wish list a long time,” she said of the
venue. “I was thinking of running Berlin
since I was pregnant with Raphael, because I did not want to wait too long
before returning to the marathon.” she revealed. Radcliffe also has ruled out
competing over 10,000m or the marathon at the World Championships starting in
Daegu on 27 August “What I can’t do is speed work on the track. That is because
of the bends, which would put too much stress on the hips. But for a marathon I
am of course able to do fast sessions on the road instead.” From the organizers
and David Martin.

AMSTERDAM (NED): Dutch hurdler Gregory Sedoc (29)
received a one-year suspension for three whereabouts failures. The former
European indoor champion missed two anti-doping tests and failed to fill in his
whereabouts on one occasion after being called in last minute for an indoor
meeting in Stuttgart.
Sedoc’s suspension starts on June 22nd 2011 and will end June 22nd 2012. Sedoc
had missed tests on December 1 last year and February 4 this year. In a first
reaction he was seriously disappointed with the sentence. He plans to continue
with his career afterwards. He was competing still last weekend in Izmir at European Team
Championships and improved his season best to 13.39. It was the best mark from
all leagues of the event last Sunday. Due to the fact that his ban is more than
6 months he might be also out from London 2012 Games. IOC introduced several
weeks before the 2008 Beijing Games a rule which bars athletes who receive
doping bans of more than six months from competing at the next Summer or Winter
Games. USOC is challenging this rule in dispute with IOC (related to case of
LaShawn Merritt) and a CAS decision is expected by this September. The decision
could have influence also on cases in other countries like Sedoc in Netherlands.

LAUSANNE (SUI): The Olympic Day celebration in Lausanne included the presentation of the IOC’s 2011 Women
and Sport Awards, with Tegla Loroupe (38) from Kenya winning the world trophy. The
world-class athlete, former marathon world-record holder and first African
woman to win the New York marathon, has also been a champion off the running
track: she founded and heads the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, which
educates, empowers and gives opportunities to women and communities in
conflict. For instance, she has organised numerous peace races for warring
communities with the aim of building trust and breaking down stereotypes.
Increasing numbers of women and girls are taking part. The cash prizes they win
empower them economically and allow them to become equal partners with men in
caring for their families. The Foundation has also created opportunities for women
and girls to be trained and coached for both local and international sport.
Informs IOC. She won 3 world half-marathon titles in 1997-99.

OTHER RESULTS

FREEPORT (BAH, Jun 24): World medalist Debbie
Ferguson-McKenzie won another national 100 m title with 11.34 (-0.3). Adrian Griffith
was the best male 100 m
runner in 10.41 (-0.8). Raymond Higgs won the long jump (780, +0.3) and another
top veteran with multiple national titles is javelin thrower Laverne Eve with
50.47 at age of 46 years. Demetrius Pinder posted fast 45.49 in 400 m heats.

CALGARY (CAN, Jun 24): Sam Effah won the Canadian 100 m title in 10.23 (+1.9)
ahead of Jarred Connaughton 10.31. Another favorite Justyn Warner
false-started. In the women 100
m Crystal Emmanuel clocked 11.45 (+2.4) beating Toyin
Olupona 11.49. Krysha Bayley got the long jump (654, +2.4) and Scott Russell
the javelin (77.46).

CHIASSO (SUI, Jun 23): New Swiss long jump record for Irene Pusterla
first with 677 in
second attempt and then 681 (+0.5) in the last attempt. Her previous national
mark from last year was 676.

CASTELLON (ESP, Jun 22): Good jumping by Concepcion Montaner 665 legal
(+1.1) and windy (+2.3).

SOMERO (FIN, Jun 24): Eemeli Salomaki cleared 560 in pole vault at a local
meet.

SAN JOSE (CRC, Jun 24): Nery Brenes clocked meet record
45.85 to win the 400 m
during first day of Central American Championships. Rolando Palacios of Honduras
won the 100 m
in 10.57 (-0.7).

YERINO (RUS, Jun 24): During first day of Russian U23 Championships
Konstantin Shabanov clocked new U23 Russian record at 110 m hurdles 13.36. He leads
so the list of favorites for the European Championships in Ostrava. Dmitriy Zhelyabin cleared 550 in pole vault. Marina
Panteleyeva was the best in the 100
m (11.45, +0.5). Solid 5000 m by Yekaterina
Gorbunova 15:19.94 ahead of Yelena Korobkina 15:22.14.

BUCURESTI (ROU, Jun 24): Claudia Stef won the Romanian 20 km walk championships with
1:36:05.

EUGENE (USA, Jun 24): Excellent 11.12
(+1.1) lifetime best in girls 100
m of Aurieyall Scott highlighted the junior US
Championships Friday´s programme. National record holder English Gardner was
second 11.18. Marvin Bracy won the boys 100 m in windy 10.05 (+2.2). Eddie Lovett
clocked in 110 m
hurdles heats (junior height) second fastest by an American 13.23 (+1.8) and
won the finals in 13.33 (+1.9). US record with junior implements for Kevin
Lazas in decathlon (8016 points). Trinity Wilson got 13.15 (+1.6) in girls 100 m hurdles. From technical
events to note 220 in
high jump for Edward Dudley and 73.52 (junior HT) in hammer for Alec
Faldermeyer.

ADDITIONS

FAMILY JUMPING: More family jumping from Norway. Father/daughter is Terje
Haugland 207 and Hanne Haugland 201. And later we can also add husband of Hanne
Hakon Sarnblom 231 cm.

KINGSTON (JAM): Danny McFarlane would be having 10th
World Championships (not 11th), but he did not qualify individually. He still
might be selected in the 4×400 m relay.

EUGENE (USA): Remarks to non-qualifier of
discus thrower Becky Breisch. She had a hospital emergency the evening before
competition.