RUDISHA AND FELIX BY AI

LONDON (GBR): David Rudisha and Allyson Felix were voted world athletes of the year by readers of Athletics International, the newsletter that is edited by Peter Matthews and Mel Watman. Rudisha, winner of the Olympic 800m title in a world record of 1:40.91, finished ahead of triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, while Allyson Felix – also winner of three gold medals in London – was voted number one ahead of Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis. Rudisha got 783 points ahead of Bolt 739, third is Aries Merritt 633 with Mo Farah fourth 585 and Ashton Eaton fifth 577. The second half of top ten is headed by Robert Harting (6th, 315) ahead of Renaud Lavillenie (242), Yohan Blake (207), Kirani James (206) and Krisztian Pars (88). On the women side Felix got 801 points clearly over Ennis 705 and distant third Sally Pearson (474). Close fourth Sanya Richards-Ross (436) only two points ahead of Valerie Adams (434). Sally-Ann Fraser-Pryce is 6th (402) and Tirunesh Dibaba 7h (278). Last three positions in top ten for Barbora Spotakova (201), Yulia Zaripova (188) and Anna Chicherova (168).

CHEROP AND W. KORIR RETURNING

BOSTON (USA): Reigning Boston Marathon champions Sharon Cherop and Wesley Korir have both committed to run in the 2013 edition of the race next April (15), organizers announced. The athletes, both from Kenya, survived an unusually hot edition of the Boston race this year where temperatures soared to 31C to finish first in 2:31:50 and 2:12:40, respectively.

SHOT PUT NEWS

COLUMBIA (USA): Not only world champion David Storl but also triple world indoor champion Christian Cantwell will miss the indoor season 2013. „He had a surgery on his throwing elbow that was successful in removing some damaged tissue. He will pass on the indoor season as there is no major international competition in 2013 and will concentrate on the outdoor season. The plan is to open up throwing at the University relay competitions such as the Kansas and Drake Relays,” informs his agent John Nubani. Also double olympic gold medalist Tomasz Majewski underwent end of November an elbow surgery and will most probably pass the indoor season too. It was on the right elbow and performed in Poznan. He would be able to be back in training after four weeks since the surgery.

BOLT AND HIS SONGS

KINGSTON (JAM): The year 2012 has been very special for Usain Bolt and as busy as he has been for the period, he has found time to listen to his some of his favorite songs. The fun loving Bolt opens with Chris Martin’s Chill Spot and emerging talent Chronixx has two inputs on the list of 16 with Warrior and Behind Curtain. I-Octane has the only other double play with My Story and Love Vibe. The Caribbean features too with Rihanna (Diamonds) and with Nicki Minaj and Beenie Man’s Gun Shot. Other Jamaican artists featured, include Konshens – Girl Siddung and Aidonia’s Run Road. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys; Jump by RDX and We are Young by Fun are also on the list along with Clique – Kanye West; Mirror by Lil Wayne. Flo Rida’s Whistle and Who You’re Around with Meek Mill and Mary J Blige’s Who Your Around round out the list. Writes Trackalerts.

MOROZOV FOR LIFE

MOSCOW (RUS): Russian walker Sergey Morozov has been banned for life by All-Russian Athletics Federation’s anti-doping commission after analyses of blood’s hematological profile in athlete’s biological passport where his hemoglobin levels had abnormal measures. All results of Sergey Morozov including two national titles (2011, 2012), 12th place at Daegu World Championships and 15th position at European Cup in Portugal at the 20 km distance were canceled as his ban starts from February 25, 2011. Canceled is also his 5th place from this years World Cup in Saransk, but Russia still wins the team trophy as Andrey Ruzavin finished just behind him and will now score as third team member. Morozov also clocked in 2008 in Saransk the fastest ever 20 km race 1:16:43 but his time was never ratified as world record due to missing doping control and necessary number of international judges.

BRITTON VS. COULSON

BRUSSELS (BEL): Last this years IAAF Permit CC Race the Iris Lotto CrossCup in Brussels on December 23 will have top clashes. For women 6 km entered are both European champions from Hungary. Senior winner Fionualla Britton of Ireland and British U23 winner Jessica Coulson. Also competing Belgian Almensh Belete who was 4th in Szentendre. In Germany living Ethiopian Elini Gebrehiwot with Mol winner Sifam Hassan are other top contenders with steeple specialist Lydia Chepkirui heads the Kenyan challenge. In the men´s 10.5 km top European duel. Fresh European Champion Andrea Lalli will compete against French Hassan Chahdi who was second in Hungary and Briton James Wilkinson who won recently silver medal at European CC event in the U23 category. Kenyans will be headed by Kenneth Kipkemoi who is sub 27 track runner and 59 minutes half marathon runner. Mol and Tilburg winner Dame Tasama is the top Ethiopian and home squad will be headed by Atelaw Bekele and Bashir Abdi.

OTHER NEWS

LONDON (GBR): UK Sport have unveiled their goal for Britain to become the first host nation to better their medal performance at the next Olympics and Paralympics as they unveiled record funding of 347 million GBP for Rio 2016. The big winners from the announcement are athletics, boxing, canoeing, cycling, rowing, equestrian and taekwondo and, in Paralympics, athletics and cycling, who all receive major funding increases following a successful London 2012. Indeed, the vast majority of Olympic and Paralympic sports have received a significant increase in funding. Informs insidethegames.

MINSK (BLR): Belarus Athletics Federation announced as Athlete of the Year the bronze medalist from World Indoor Championships at 60 m Hurdles Alina Talai. She also won silver at European Championships in Helsinki. From young athletes the top award goes to high jumper Andrei Churila who won the World Junior Championships in Barcelona. Top coach award for Viktor Myasnikov who prepared Talai and Valentin Kudryuk the coach of Churila.

ZURICH (SUI): Swiss Athletes of the Year are heptathlete Ellen Sprunger and marathon runner Viktor Rothlin. In the poll participated record number of 2200 persons in an online voting. Sprunger was 19th at Olympic Games and Rothlin 11th. The young athlete award went to Noemi Zbaren who was silver winner at World Junior Championships in the 100 m hurdles. Rothlin won the award for the 6th time.

INNSBRUCK (AUT): The Golden Fly Series announced its events for 2013. This street jumping events will be held on June 1 in Innsbruck (Golden Roof Challenge), June 4 Jump and Fly in Munich, June 16 Buderus Kolner Rheinspringen in Cologne, August 2 Golden Fly Series in Bolzano and August 24 another new event in Vienna. The series was created by former Austrian national athletics coach Armin Margreiter. His dream was to bring the most spectacular disciplines of athletics to the heart of some of the World’s most beautiful cities, delivering attractive elite sports events to the public.

HAVANA (CUB): IAAF informs that Cuban pole vault record holder and olympic silver medalist Yarisley Silva is still savouring her Olympic silver, the best performance by a Cuban athlete at the London Olympics, but she is already looking forward to new exciting challenges in 2013. With that in mind, the 25-year-old trains Monday to Friday at Havana’s Estadio Panamericano under the guidance of her coach Alexander Navas. “I had a good rest after a long year, which included my first indoor season, the Samsung Diamond League and the Olympics. London capped my best year so far and I would like to continue that success,” said Silva after her training. Silva is currently in training for the indoor season as part of the first phase in her preparation for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. She plans to compete in four or five meets and aims at maintaining her competitive level. “This will be my second indoor season and I will have less pressure than 2012 when we had the World Championships,” said Silva, who plans to make her season’s debut on February 2 in Karlsruhe.

MOSCOW (RUS): Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) again declared that London Olympic silver medalist Darya Pishchalnikova was tested on May 20, 2012 on WADA request. Her samples A and B from this test were sealed by her personally. Analysis from Moscow laboratory was negative but after retesting in Lausanne in October 2012 it turned out as positive for anabolic steroid Oxandrolone. RUSADA also informs “at the moment Pishchalnikova’s case is in the stage of preliminary investigation. Sample B was opened in Lausanne with Pishchalnikova’s representative on her inquiry. Investigation is going keeping all rights of the athlete.”

LAUSANNE (SUI): European Athletics announced that Portuguese duo of Ana Dulce Felix and Jose Rocha have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for November. Felix, the 2012 European Athletics Championships 10,000m gold medallist, won at the European Athletics Cross Country Permit Meeting in Tilburg, the Netherlands, on 25 November. Rocha was equally impressive when he battled through tough conditions to win over 9.6km in 33:12 at the Cross de Torres Vedras in Portugal. Switzerland’s 22-year-old Fabienne Schlumpf , who registered a good win at the Darmstadt cross country race in Germany on 25 November was voted second in the women’s poll. British prodigy Jess Coulson, who was the leading European in third place at the IAAF Cross Country Permit Meeting, Cross Internacional de Atapuerca, in Spain on 11 November and also a winner at the UK trials for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Liverpool on 24 November, was voted third. Frenchman Hassan Chahdi, the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships under 23 winner, who was the first European home when he finished third at the Cross Le Maine Libre, in Allones, France, on 18 November, finished second in the men’s poll. While Italy’s Stefano La Rosa was voted third after his win at the famous Cross della Volpe race on his home turf on 11 November.

LONDON (GBR): The
Olympic Stadium in London will host the 2017 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships. It will be in 2017 a month before the same venue plays host to the IAAF World Athletics Championships. London will become the first city to host the two championships side-by-side, recreating the summer of sport which transformed the capital in the summer of 2012. UK media are informing.

COTTBUS (GER): Olympic bronze winner Svetlana Shkolina confirmed her appearance at the Jumping indoor meet in Cottbus, Germany on January 30. She is also title defender here from 2012. The meet has two events on the programme, men pole vault and women high jump.

MOSCOW (RUS): European champion and Russian national record holder at 110 m Hurdles Sergey Shubenkov confirmed in his quotes forrusathletics.com he’ll have competitive indoor season. “One of my problems at 110m Hurdles is slow start. To compete at 60m Hurdles is good possibility to improve my speed on the first part of summer distance.” 22-years London Olympic semi-finalist aims to set new personal record this winter (7.56 from March 2012) and want to compete at ‚Russian Winter’ on February 3, 2013. “Last year I have finished second there but now, I think, it’s time to win,” he said.

WARSZAWA (POL): Former top 400 m runner Piotr Dlugosielski (35) was named new general secretary of Polish Athletics Federation PZLA. He was one of five candidates. He was before marketing director of PZLA. He was Edmonton Worlds 2001 relay bronze medalist, his best at the 400 m is 45.67 from 2001.

MOSCOW (RUS): Athens Olympic champion in hammer throw Olga Kuzenkova said to Russian media she was informed about positive retest of her sample A from Helsinki World Championships at the beginning of this month but not in October. On December 5 Kuzenkova refused to test sample B and also to take part in the hearing. “I’m not to blame and not going to justify myself. I had many negative doping tests at different major events including European and World Championships and Olympic Games. In Helsinki 2005 I was among selected few who had the most modern blood test and it was clean. To start very expensive elitigation with WADA now will mean for me to acknowledge my defeat,” Kuzenkova said. 42-years old former thrower is a deputy in Smolensk Regional Duma. “I’m interested in life of people in my region much more than in my own sport life from the past and I hope inhabitants of Smolensk will not change their opinions on me because of belated ‘doping scandal'” Olga added.

BERLIN (GER) : After receiving the award for German Athlete of the Year, Robert Harting confirmed to leichtathletik.de he is feeling very well and recovered well from the past season. He is looking forward to celebrating the end of the year festivities and added he is ready for the upcoming season.

MOSCOW (RUS): High Jump Olympic champion Anna Chicherova didn’t change her plans for indoor season. She just begun her practices and isn’t aiming to perform this winter. „I will start my technical trainings at best in February. It won´t be enough time to gain the shape I need for competitions. But changes are possible.” 30-years old Russian also told to news agency All Sport she just had a lot of rehabilitations after very important and difficult season without any surgeries. Chicherova also denied all speculations about her possible retirement after World Championships in Moscow. “I’m not going to finish my career after home champs. The question is will I be able to reach Rio? I would like to do it with pleasure but everything will depend on my health and my possibilities to perform at the highest level”.

LONDON (GBR): Lord Sebastian Coe has tipped 800 meter runner Andrew Osagie for World Championship success next summer following his London 2012 springboard. Osagie finished eighth in the 800m final in London. Osagie’s time of 1:43.77 was more than a second and a half quicker than his personal best at the start of the year, and 2012 marked an impressive breakthrough with a world indoor bronze early on in 201 reports Skysports.

CHARLOTTE (USA): Legendary hurdler olympic gold medalist and multiple world champion Allen Johnson has completed his bachelor’s degree in Sociology this December. Johnson put his education on hold to pursue his dreams on the track, but earning his degree was always a goal. His daughter, Tristine Johnson is a current junior on the team and Johnson says earning his degree while his daughter earned hers was something truly special. He ended his career in 2010.

MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF confirmed two years ban for Greek javelin thrower Yervasios Filippidis who competed at the European Championships in Helsinki, but his result there will be canceled (did not advance into the finals). He was banned for using prohibited substance for 2 years (from June 14 2012 until June 13 2014). The best of the 25 years old athlete is 82.38 from 2011.

OSAKA (JPN): Brett Larner informs on his blog about names confirmed for the January 27 Osaka International Women’s Marathon. It will be also next year’s Moscow World Championships selection race. Osaka will be an historic showdown between Japan’s
number one long distance woman Kayoko Fukushi, marathon national record holder and Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi, and 10 000 m national record and former marathon national record holder Yoko Shibui. Others in the field include three-time World Championships team member Mari Ozaki, Beijing Olympian Yurika Nakamura, 2011 Tokyo Marathon winner Noriko Higuchi and London Olympics marathon 5th-place finisher Tetyana Gamera-Shmyrko from Ukraine. From Europeans to mention also Romanian Mihaela Botezan and Poland´s Karolina Jarzynska. Australian Lisa Weightman is another top athlete in the field. High quality pacemakers will be Kenyan 2:24:20 runner Philes Ongori, Russian Alevtina Ivanova and home runners Azusa Noguchi with Tomomi Higuchi. „I started marathon training in November. I have run lot of 30-40Km runs. I caught cold just before the JPN Corporate Women’s Ekiden, so I am not in good shape now. However, I have no injury at the moment. I think it will take 2:22-2:23 to win,” said Noguchi.

TOKYO (JPN): Ken Nakamura informs that the 2006 Asian Games bronze medalist and five time national champion at 110 m hurdles Masato Naito ended his career. His best 13.43 is from 2007.

MONACO (MON): IAAF confirmed change of eligibility for Kenyan marathon runner Martha Komu who is Paris Marathon winner from 2008 with 2:25:33. From December 27, 2012 she can represent France as her new country, she changed the citizenship already in 2011. Komu was also 5th at Beijing Olympic marathon in 2008.

RESULTS

DUBAI (UAE, Dec 12-15): More results coming from West Asian Championships. 100 m winner was Oman national record holder Barakat Al-Harthi in 10.39 (-0.9) ahead of Reza Ghasemi of Iran 10.43. Ghasemi won the 200 m (0.0) in 21.04. Fast 13.68 (-0.1) at 110 m hurdles for Kuweiti Abdulaziz Al-Mandeel. Also please from earlier results cancel the 225 mark from men high jump of Rashid Al-Mannai (this result does not exist). Informs Heinrich Hubbeling.

VIENTIANE (LAO, Dec 18): The best result at the final day of the ASEAN University Games was achieved by Maria Natalia Londa of Indonesia with 651 in the long jump. It was only 4 cm short of her national record from earlier this year.

CHIANGMAI (THA, Dec 11-16): The best performances at the Thai National Games in the 100 m with national junior record for Jirapong Meenapra 10.39. Senior national record in the pole vault 524 cm by Kreetha Sinthawacheeva and solid 46.78 in the 400 m for Suphachai Chimdee. From Heinrich Hubbeling.