by Larry EderThe Compeed Golden Gala Roma meet is held in the grand setting of the 1960 Olympic stadium. Last year was my first attendance, and it was tremendous. This year’s meet, held on May 31, will feature a battle between Vivian Cheruiyot and Meseret Defar! Should be a great competition!
Vivan Cheruiyot, Meseret Defar, Edith Masai, 2011 WC, photo by PhotoRun.net
Vivian against Defar
ROMA (ITA): World champion Vivian Cheruiyot will clash at the Compeed
Golden Gala meet of Rome with former olympic winner and world champion
Meseret Defar of Ethiopia at the 5000 m. Also in the race Kenyan world
medalist Sylvia Kibet and former top miler Gelete Burka. This could come
close to world record. Another distance highlight on May 31 will be
women 800 m with Pamela Jelimo, Caster Semenya along with world champion
Mariya Savinova and 2007 world champion Janeth Jepkosgei. Women´s 1500 m
will see new star and world indoor winner Genzebe Dibaba in duel with
3000 m world indoor winner Helen Obiri and former world champion Maryam
Jamal. In expected excellent Rome weather also men´s steeple could very
special with world champion Ezekiel Kemboi, Olympic winner Brimin
Kipruto, always fast Paul Kipsiele Koech, another world medalist Richard
Mateelong and European Champion Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad of France.
Richardson vs Merritt
NEW YORK (USA): World champions from Daegu hurdler Jason Richardson with
high jumper Jesse Williams along with world indoor champion Aries
Merritt and 2009 world gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross are the latest
additions into the field for adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 9.
They joined previously announced
2011 World Champions Yohan Blake (100 meters), Carmelita Jeter (100
meters), and David Rudisha (800 meters), giving the event seven
current World Champions with many more athletes yet to be announced.
Also added to the field are Jamaican stars Sherone Simpson, the 2008
Olympic silver medalist at 100 meters and 2004 Olympic gold medalist
in the 4×100-meter relay, and Jermaine Gonzales, 2011 World
Championships bronze medalist in the 4×400-meter relay.
Questionmark over men´s 200 m
KINGSTON (JAM): RJR news reports that Asafa Powel is doubtful for the
men’s 200 metres at Saturday’s 9th staging of the JN Jamaica
invitational (IAAF World Challenge). It’s understood that Powell is
nursing a minor groin injury and a decision on his participation in the
200 metres will be made over the next few days. He confirmed that on his
twitter saying: “Had a rough week in training!!! Everyone wants to know
about this weekend but still undecided.” Powell was set to meet with
Yohan Blake over the 200 m. Season debut in the women 100 m is set for
for Trinidad´s record holder Kelly-Ann Baptiste. The Daegu bronze winner
in the 100 m will meet with a strong field headed by world champion
Carmelita Jeter along with Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson. Usain
Bolt competes in the 100 m against Richard Thompson, Nestar Carter,
Michael Frater. Jermaine Gonzales the Jamaican record holder is in the
400 m, top high hurdles clash with world indoor champion Aries Merritt,
British European champion Andy Turner, Jamaican record holder Dwight
Thomas. Brigitte Foster-Hylton will run in the 100m hurdles, with world
champion Brittany Reese leading the long jump field. 2009 World champion
Christian Cantwell is the star of the shot put.
Big throws at Pre
EUGENE (USA): Prefontaine Classic is promising not only top sprints or
distances. The best in the world will also meet in technical events. For
example in women hammer best two in history of the event German Betty
Heidler and Poland´s 2009 World champion Anita Wlodarczyk. Also throwing
will be current world champion Tatyana Lysenko and multiple global
medalist Zhang Wenxiu of China. Pre Classic will be the only Diamond
League meet of the year staging also the hammer, but of course not as
Diamond event. Women discus will be part of the series with olympic
winner Stephanie Brown-Trafton, European champion 2010 Sandra Perkovic
and former Eurowinner Darya Pishchalnikova of Russia.
Spearmon (100 m) and Dix (150 m) at City Games
MANCHESTER (GBR): Top American sprinters Walter Dix and Wallace Spearmon
are both hoping to produce record breaking performances when competing
at next month’s Powerade Great CityGames, Manchester. The pair, whose
major task this year will be upsetting the gold medal ambitions of Usain
Bolt and other high profile sprinters at the Olympic Games in August,
will join other top stars competing at the fourth staging of the unique
street athletics event on 20 May. Dix recently flew to a slightly windy
9.85 seconds over 100m in Walnut, California, suggesting he could
attack the US record of 14.51sec achieved by Tyson Gay last year when he
takes on the 150 metres contest on the straight track in the city’s
Deansgate. Before that he runs the 200 m in Doha and 100 m in Daegu. Dix
25, will line up against Trinidad’s Richard Thompson the Olympic 100m
silver medallist and Marlon Devonish who is the fastest Briton over the
distance Now the 27-year-old former World 200m silver medallist Spearmon
is hoping he can give the Powerade Great CityGames Manchester its first
ever sub 10sec performance when stepping down to 100m in a couple of
weeks’ time. Against him Britons Mark Lewis-Francis and Christian
Malcolm and French talent Jimmy Vicaut.
Farah for Crystal Palace
LONDON (GBR): Reigning World and European 5000 m champion Mo Farah
confirmed that he will use the 5000m at the Aviva London Grand Prix on
13 July, as a crucial part of his preparation for this summer’s Olympic
Games. Last year, Farah stormed to victory in the 3000m on the Friday
night of the two-day Samsung Diamond League meet to a rousing standing
ovation, with a time of 7:40.15. Farah, who currently trains in
Portland, Oregan, is looking forward to returning to London for his last
meet in Britain before the Olympic Games. He also plans to run the
5000m at Pre Classic in Eugene on June 2.
Majewski, Mulaudzi, sprinters
OSTRAVA (CZE): Fresh father Tomasz Majewski, the reigning olympic winner
from Beijing, is the latest addition into the fields of 51st Ostrava
Golden Spike meet on May 25 (IAAF World Challenge). In the shot put he will face
reigning world champion David Storl, previous gold medalist Christian
Cantwell and Daegu silver winner Dylan Armstrong. Majewski´s son Nikolaj
was born last week. In the men´s 800 m added into the field with David
Rudisha are 2009 World Champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and last year European
indoor and U23 Champion Adam Kszczot of Poland who plans to come to
Ostrava directly from his training camp in St. Moritz. Men´s 100 m field
with world record holder Usain Bolt will have four more sprinters with
sub ten personal bests. US world medalist Darvis Patton has 9.89,
Zimbabwe´s long jump world medalist Ngoni Makusha also 9.89, British
world indoor champion 2010 Dwain Chambers 9.97 and Commonwealth and
Pan-Am Games winner Lerone Clarke 9.99.
W. Korir confirms Chicago
CHICAGO (USA): The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced that
Wesley Korir, the newly crowned Boston Marathon champion, will return to
run Chicago’s fall classic for the fifth consecutive year. Korir is the
first elite athlete announced for the 35th running of the Bank of
America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 7. Korir, a native of Kenya
who attended the University of Louisville in Kentucky and still lives
and trains there, was runner-up at the 2011 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon in a personal best 2:06:15. Organizers are informing.
Prague against Istanbul with Spotakova
weekend´s council meeting of European Athletics in Sofia. Prague is
bidding to stage the European Indoor Championships 2015 in the modern
multifunctional O2 arena. The only other bidder is Istanbul, the recent
organiser of World Indoor Championships. The third candidate Beograd
withdrew earlier. In the Czech presentation team among others javelin
world record holder Barbora Spotakova, deputy minister for school and
sports Jan Kocourek and federation president Libor Varhanik. The
ministry and the city of Prague are guaranteeing support for the bid.
The Czech capital city already twice before wanted to bid for European
Indoor Championships, but this time all is ready for a top bid with all
advantages according to the needs of indoor athletics and current technological
possibilities. In 2009 Prague Indoor top meeting was held in the arena
with Meseret Defar clocking still valid two miles world best and Yelena
Isinbaeva attacking her world indoor record before nearly 10 000
spectators.
Athletics fans as co-meet directors in Brussels
BRUSSELS (BEL): In this Olympic year, Belgian and international track
and field fans will get a unique opportunity to participate in the
organization of the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme. Fans are invited to
choose the athletes they would like to see in action on Friday, 7
September at the King Baudouin Stadium, during the final leg of the
Samsung Diamond League. From now until 1 June, they
can make their choice from a list of world class athletes in
each event. Organizers are informing in a release. First responses
were promising as thousands of fans send their wishes. The athletes on
this list were pre-selected based on their performance and track record.
From June onwards, the athletes chosen by the fans will be invited to
participate in the Belgian Diamond League meeting this year. Out of all
the completed forms, five people will receive a nice surprise: a unique
meet and greet package for 2 persons including an overnight stay at the
official athletes hotel.
OTHER NEWS
LONDON (GBR): The London Olympic Stadium will be officially opened this
weekend in the presence of IAAF President Lamine Diack and 40,000
spectators, one of whom will be plucked from the crowd on Saturday
evening to perform the formal opening rites. Informs IAAF.
DUBLIN (IRL): Independent.ie informs that it has always been a bone of contention for some in Irish athletics
that the official records of the IAAF, the governing body, show that
this country was first affiliated in 1938. Yet, Ireland competed in the Paris Olympics in 1924, won a gold
medal four years later in Amsterdam, and two gold medals in Los
Angeles in 1932. Ireland also organised its first national
championships in 1873, making it the second oldest national body in
world athletics after England. Now, though, it appears the record has been corrected. Former Irish
walker Pierce O’Callaghan has undertaken the mammoth task of
compiling a complete list of national champions in all events from
1873-2012. In the course of his painstaking research, he recently
came across a document which showed that the IAAF first recognised
Ireland as an independent nation on November 1, 1924 when JJ Keane,
Ireland’s first International Olympic Committee member, was
association president. The IAAF has amended its records accordingly.
RABAT (MAR): Next Sunday Nezha Bidouane, Moroccan former double 400 m
hurdles world champion and olympic medallist is holding her annual
Women Road race
named “COURSE FEMININE DE LA VICTOIRE”. It will be the 6th edition,
more than 20 000 women are expected to compete.
MONACO (MON): IAAF informs that the IAAF World Challenge Meeting 2012 de
Dakar in Senegal has changed its date and it will be staged on 15
September
2012. Initial date was June 16. Dakar was usually held in the past
in April and May time, now is moved to the end of the season.
DIJON (FRA): In an article from Le Dauphine it is reported that walking
European champion Yohan Diniz will most probably not compete at IAAF
Race Walking World Cup in Saransk in two weeks. He’s suffering from a
light fracture in the 6th rib and won’t be able to do walking sessions
for at least 2 weeks.
DESENZANO (ITA): The IAAF Combined Events Challenge starts this weekend
with the 25th Multistars meet in Desenzano del Garda. In the entry lists
25 men for decathlon and 37 women for heptathlon. Best Italian William
Frullani wants to attack the Helsinki (7800) and London (8200)
standards. The title defender from last year Brazilian Luis
Alberto de Araújo is entered along with last year second placer
Brent
Newdick of New Zealand. Among favorites Asian record holder Dmitriy
Karpov of Kazakhstan, Nicklas Wiberg of Sweden was 7th at World
Championships 2009. In heptathlon world medalist and African record
holder Margaret Simpson of Ghana will compete against Briton Kelly
Sotherton who is returning to heptathlon. Also to name Czech Eliska
Klucinova coming back after injuries, Norway´s Ida Marcussen and French
Blandine Maisonnier.
AMSTERDAM (NED) : Dutch Hilda Kibet has confirmed she will continue her
Olympic preparations by running the Göteborg half marathon on May 12.
Kibet does not expect a PB in the Swedish city as she understands the
course is very tough. Kibet also confirmed to Dutch media that she will
do her final preparations for London in the American city Boulder, where
she hopes to be able to fully focused on training.
BRUSSELS (BEL): Belgium’s Lindsay De Grande has written on her blog she
is not likely to qualify for the London Olympic Games. De Grande was
diagnosed with chronic leukemia last summer but was confident she could
continue training for the Olympic Games. Although the 22 year old
athlete responds well to the treatment, she is still too weak to
properly train for the 1500m.
BERLIN (GER): Heptathlete Jennifer Oeser has had to return from a
training camp in Lanzarote due to a minor injury reports
leichtathletik.de. Oeser currently cannot run and therefore has
cancelled her participation at the combined events meeting of
Bernhausen. Oeser continues to prepare for the IAAF combined events
meeting in G̦tzis on May 26 Р27.
BERLIN (GER): Susanne Hahn has confirmed her participation at the BIG 25
Berlin 10K on May 6th. Over 10.000 athletes are expected to run at the
32 nd edition of the event. In the men’s 25K race Kenyan athlete Dennis
Kimetto is the favourite to win the race.
LAUSANNE (SUI): With less than two months before the Helsinki 2012
European Athletics Championships, and barely three months before the
London Olympics, European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz addressed
the relationship between the two events reports European Athletics.
“Helsinki 2012 will be a spectacular opening act for what will happen in
London a month later,” said President Wirz. “The vast majority of
European athletes who will go on to win medals in London will be on
display at our Championships, the showpiece of our sport on the
continent.
LUBBOCK (USA): As part of a two-year long documentary project entitled
`World Olympic Dreams’ the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC will
film a segment at the Red Raider Open meet hosted by Texas Tech. A group
of 12 athletes from the Belgium national team will compete this weekend
at the Red Raider Open. The BBC has been following the Belgian twin
brother Kevin and Jonathan Borlée in their quest for an Olympic medal.
LONDON (GBR): Hélder Ornelas, 38, a long distance runner from Portugal,
has become the first competitor to fall foul of the Athlete Biological
Passport instituted by the IAAF and has been banned from competition for
four years. It is the first time that the Athlete Biological Passport
has been used in athletics as sole evidence in support of an anti-doping
rule violation reports IAAF.
PALO ALTO (USA): After his tenth place finish over 5000m at the Payton
Jordan Cardinal Invitational last Sunday in Palo Alto reigning Olympic
1500m silver medalist Nick Willis has decided that he will focus on his
medal-winning distance for the 2012 season, including the London
Olympics. “Great meeting with my coaches and wife today,” he posted to
his Twitter feed last night. “The 5000m was a nice idea, but decided
that we don’t need to keep chasing ‘A’ standard.” Willis, 29, from Lower
Hutt, New Zealand, clocked 13:29.56 at the Palo Alto meet, just two
seconds off of his career best but more than nine seconds off of the
Olympic Games “A” standard of 13:20.00. Trained by former University of
Michigan head coach Ron Warhurst, Willis thinks that the 1500m provides
his best chance for Olympic success. Informs Race Results Weekly.
LAUSANNE (SUI): April saw the 2012 outdoor season get underway and many European
athletes have started their summer well and impressed at early
season meetings in the United States. European Athletics is subsequently pleased to announce that athletes
from 12 different countries have been nominated for the April award. The voting will close on 16 May at noon CET.
STANFORD (USA): Two-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein still needs a pair of 2012
Olympic “A” track standards and he has plans to pursue them. He’ll
race 5,000 meters at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on June 2 and
hopes to be in a 10 000 in Hengelo on May 27 (IAAF World Challenge).
Ritzenhein’s first track race of 2012 was a 28:21.40 victory in the
10,000 at the Stanford Invitational on April 6. Informs Runnersworld.
RESULTS
SHIZUOKA (JPN, May 3): Australian men’s 4x100m relay team has moved
closer to securing a lane in
London after clocking 38.84 at the Shizuoka International Track
& Field Meet. Winning Japan got 38.69 and second China 38.71.
Australian winner here was Lauren Boden 55.85 at 400 m Hurdles. Men´s
400 m hurdles winner Takayuki Kishimoto clocked a life-time best 48.88.
Yuzo Kanemaru was the best in the 400 m flat (45.47). Ryota Yamagata was
the top sprinter at the 200 m (20.66, -0.3). Japan won the 4×400 m in
3:05.52 ahead of Australia 3:07.97. World champion Amantle Montsho
improved Botswana national record at the 200 m to 22.89 (0.0) ahead of
Japanese record holder Chisato Fukushima (23.12). Yuki Ebihara just
missed her Japanese javelin record with 61.14 (top mark is 61.56 from
winning the Asian Games in 2010).
BUENOS AIRES (ARG, May 2): At Hugo La Nasa meet first day solid throws
by Argentinian athletes. German Lauro achieved in ths shot put 20.32,
Jennifer Dahlgren 71.16 in the hammer. Here second Canada´s Sultana
Frizell 68.83. 16-years old talent from Peru Zulema Arenas won the 3000 m
in 9:51.81. Federico Bruno achieved new Argentinian junior record at
1500 m with 3:43.68.
TEL AVIV (ISR, May 2): Kenyan guest Jacob Chesari won the 10 000 m
staged as national championships for Israeli runners in new all-comers
record 27:59.05. Second and national title holder is Tasama Moogas
28:31.96.
BIALYSTOK (POL, May 3): Discus European champion Piotr Malachowski
started the season at the opening meet here with good 66.56. Second
Przemyslaw Czajkowski improved his personal best to 64.88. In the women
hammer throw European U23 silver winner from last year Joanna Fiodorow
bettered to 71.51 m.
