RECORD
NUMBERS OF WALKERS

DUDINCE
(SVK): Record number of 343 walkers from 34 countries is entered for Saturday´s
31st Dudinska Patdesiatka EA Walking Permit meet. The site of next years
European Cup will have huge 110 walkers for the main 50 km event (8.30 am
start). Top entry is olympic winner from Beijing Italian Alex Schwazer who
might attack after 20 km last Sunday in Lugano also another national mark
3:36:04 from 2007. Three Slovak walkers are aiming for the olympic A-qualifier
3:59 (Milos Batovsky, Anton Kucmin, Dusan Majdan). The best home Matej Toth who
is already pre-selected for London 50 km will do the 20 km against European
champion and also last weekend NR breaker Yohann Diniz of France. The Frenchman
is course record holder in Dudince at 50 km with 3:38:45 from last year. The 50
km is also national championships race not only for Slovakia but also for Czech
Republic and Hungary. New 1 km loop will be ready in accordance for the
European Cup 2013 needs.

NESTA
THINKS PB AND WANTS TO RUN IN DOHA

KINGSTON
(JAM): Jamaican 60 m world indoor bronze winner Nesta Carter plans to improve
his personal best of 9.78 in the 100 m this summer. He said that for Jamaica
Observer. Carter was happy with his bronze: „It is my first individual medal at
world stage,” he said in Istanbul. Carter, who is a member of the Stephen
Francis-coached MVP Track and Field Club plans to compete at the Samsung
Diamond League opener in Doha as well as the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene a few
weeks later as preparation for the National Senior Championships in June.

OTHER NEWS

SARANSK
(RUS): 57 countries confirmed the participation at the IAAF Race Walking World
Cup in Saransk, Russia on May 12-13. Informed Russian Federation general
secretary Mikhail Butov. At the recent LOC meeting also IAAF Vice President
Sergey Bubka took part. In total 1000 persons are expected to come to Saransk,
which is the capital of Mordovia Republic. Russia 2 TV Channel will broadcast
and produce the event.

MOSCOW
(RUS): Russian Athletics Federation President Valentin Balakhnichev confirmed
that Russian Athletics Olympic team will prepare for the games in Bath one week
before the competitions will begin.

MOSCOW
(RUS): Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA informed about positive A sample
of walker Dementiy Cheparev (will be 20 in October). He tested positive at
Russian Winter Walking Championships on February 18 in Sochi. Cheparev was 10th
in the 35 km race with 2:39:17. He is last year European Cup junior bronze
medalist and 2009 World Youth silver winner. He was provisionally suspended
until the case be solved.

LONDON
(GBR): VISA started its worldwide olympic campaign and used track athletes. For
example sprinting star Usain Bolt and pole vault queen Yelena Isinbaeva.

GRAND
CAYMAN (CAY): The Cayman Islands announced plans for the first ever Cayman
Invitational. The outdoor meet will comprise of eleven track and 2 field events
and will be held on May 9th. The one day competition will take place at the
Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town, Grand Cayman and will feature over
eighty professional track athletes. The lineup for the inaugural event includes
for example world champion Carmelita Jeter, shot put world medalist Dylan
Armstrong, Jamaican 400 m runner Novlene Williams, Michael Frater, member of
the Jamaican 4×100 meter World Record holder team and World Indoor Champion
2010 Chris Brown at 400 m.

LONDON (GBR):
The Olympic Flame will be carried across the finish line of the World’s biggest
half marathon in South Shields when passing through the town during its
nationwide tour on Saturday 16 June. It was revealed on Monday the Flame will
spend an hour in South Tyneside, initially being driven in a convoy from
Leam Lane in Jarrow and then along Newcastle Road and Western Approach to the
Town Hall. The Flame due to arrive from Greece on 18 May will visit 1,000
cities, towns and villages in the UK over 70 days, and the route has been
mapped so the Flame will come within 10 miles of 95 per cent of the population.
Informs David Martin.

DUBNICA
(SVK): The Slovak city of Dubnica will stage this year European Champion Clubs
Cup B and C groups on May 27 (Sunday). The final number of competing clubs is
still be finalized, but it is expected that B group will be full with 8 men and
8 women teams and C group might have 2-3 teams in each category. Dubnica
already staged the B group in 2009 and 2007. The A group will be held on
May 26-27 in Portugal, Vila Real Santo Antonio.

BRUNSSUM
(NED): The Netherland’s best long distance athletes Jesper Van der Wielen en
Khalid Choukoud are going head to head at the Parelloop in Brunssum on April
1st. Both Dutch athletes will face good competition from Belgian European cross
country champion Atelaw Bekele and countryman Abdi Nageeye writes
losseveter.nl.

ROTTERDAM
(NED): Top kenyan athletes Moses Mosop, Sammy Kitwara and Peter Kirui have been
previously announced for the ABN AMRO Rotterdam Marathon on April 15. But
organizers now also confirm the participation of top Ethiopian runners such as
Getu Feleke (2:05.16) and Yemane Adhane (2:06.29). Both athletes are feeling
very good and are hoping to gain qualification for the London Olympic Games
when running in Rotterdam, what means they are aiming to break the 2:04.23 that
compatriot Ayele Abshero ran in Dubai earlier this year. Also in the race are
Maroccan Rashid Kisri (2:06.28) and Kenyan athlete Stephen Kibet (2:09.27).
Organizer Mario Kadiks added that Moses Mosop is taking his marathon world
record attempt so serious that he has checked the marathon course on March 5th
while taking notes of how to run the course best.

HANNOVER
(GER): Reuben Kosgei finally wants to make a major step in the marathon.
Kenya’s Olympic Steeplechase Champion from Sydney 2000 will run the TUI
Hannover Marathon on 6th May and hopes to significantly improve his personal
best. The 32 year-old, who also was World Champion in the Steeplechase in 2001,
had run his first marathon attempt in Vienna in 2009. In warm conditions he did
not finish the race. In the autumn of that year he had a second go at the
distance and had more success. In Florence he finished second with 2:11:22,
beaten by just one second. There will be strong opposition for Reuben Kosgei
in Hannover. The fastest in the field will be Nixon Kipkoech Machichim. The
Kenyan ran 2:08:22 when placing fourth in the Toronto Marathon in 2010. This
year he has already competed in the Mumbai Marathon, where he placed fifth in
2:11:37. Three more runner with personal bests of sub 2:10 will be in the field
on 6th May: Kenyan Edwin Kutto, who is the brother of the reigning World
Marathon Champion Abel Kirui, has achieved 2:08:57 in Eindhoven last year.
Amos Matui (Kenya/2:09:35) and Botoru Tsegaye (Ethiopia/2:09:57) are the other
two. The two-year old men’s course record from Yussuf Sangoka (Kenya) stands at
2:08:52. In the women’s race the course record will be the target as well: Last
year’s winner Georgina Rono (Kenya) is the holder of this one with 2:31:19.
Ethiopia’s Fatuma Sado will be the favourite on 6th May. The winner of the Hamburg
Marathon in 2011, who has run 2:28:01 in that race, intends to run the first
sub 2:30 time in the history of the TUI Marathon Hannover.

LAUSANNE
(SUI): Czech rising middle distance star Jakub Holuša, who finished fifth over
800m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, told European
Athletics he doesn’t want to miss out on a medal again. “If I stay
healthy, I want to focus on the highest positions in Helsinki and if I succeed,
it will give me the power and confidence to fight in London (at the Olympic
Games) too,” reflected the best European 800m runner in Istanbul. Holusa who
was running in the past both 800 m and 1500 m wants to concentrate only on 800
in 2012. He also plans to run at the top home meet, the 51st Golden Spike of Ostrava
on May 25 (IAAF World Challenge).

LONDON
(GBR): LOCOG boss Sebastian Coe gave assurance that there would not be any
airport chaos during the summer sporting extravaganza as feared by some
airlines earlier this week. „There won’t be chaos, (London’s) Heathrow airport
operates at full capacity all the time,” he told a press conference writes
yahoo.news. Coe also said there would be no changes to the original budgets for
the games. The operating budget of 2.38 billion dollar managed by the
organizing committee and another of 11.1 billion dollar for infrastructure
projects.

PRAGUE
(CZE): Former soccer star Pavel Nedved signed to run the Hervis Prague Half
Marathon on Saturday, March 31. Nedved, now 39 years of age, ran for the first
time here back in 2009 together with his recent team players from Sparta and
the national team, Lokvenc and Votava. „After two years break, I am really
looking forward to taking on the Prague half-marathon course. To the beautiful
race atmosphere and Prague itself because running through the city without cars
isn’t something you can bank on every day. Once again I’ll be taking part with
my friends, Tomáš Votava and Tomáš Pecek. We see the half-marathon as a tough
test in preparation for the May Prague marathon. Depending on our shape, we’ll
take the decision about whether to try the whole one”, he told of his
expectations. Nedved ran in 2009 1:49:44. Last year in September he took part
in the 10 km Mattoni Grand Prix evening race finishing up 511th out of 3299
participants with a time of 46:26. Organizers are informing in a release.

RESULTS

HAVANA
(CUB, Mar 16-17): During first day of throwing former world champion Yipsi
Moreno achieved 72.93 in the hammer. On next day during Jose Godoy High Jump
Memorial solid men competition. First Diego Ferrin of Ecuador, second home
Sergio Mestre and third Brendan Williams of Dominica all cleared 225 cm. For 20
years old Mestre new personal best, for Williams national record.

DAKAR
(SEN, Mar 17): 400 m world champion Amantle Montsho of Botswana made her season’s
debut on 100m (11.64w) at the national Ligue de Dakar. Her 100 m national
record from last year is 11.60.