by Larry Eder
EME NEWS (MAY 3, 2013)
Iizuka 20.21 WL at 200 m
SHIZUOKA (JPN, May 3): Another sprint sensation from Japan. At the traditional Shizuoka Meet Olympian Shota Iizuka improved to excellent 20.21 (+1.4) in the 200 m. It is new world lead and 3rd Japanese all-time for the 2010 World Junior Champion with previous best of 20.45 from last year. Iizuka spent the winter training at warm locations in the United States and Australia. If he makes the podium at June’s National Track and Field Championships he will be guaranteed a place on the Moscow team. “Yeah, at Nationals I want to run perfectly and make the team without any questions about it,” he said with determination. Informs Brett Larner on his blog. In previous race of the 200 m 18-years old Akiyuki Hashimoto hugely improved from 20.81 to 20.35 (+0.3). “I was trying to make the team for the World University Games, but since things turned out this way I’m going to have to change gears and go for Worlds,” said Hashimoto the current world junior leader at the distance. Hiroyuki Nakano improved in the 400 m to 45.62 with US Manteo Mitchell third in this race 46.03. Another US star and former World champion Bershawn Jackson won his 400 m hurdles race in 49.62 but was not the overall winner. Mahau Suguimati who runs for Brazil but has Japanese origin won the other race in 48.79. Czech olympic finalist Lukas Melich got the hammer with 76.97 over Dilshod Nazarov of Tajikistan 75.92 and Russian Aleksey Zagorniy 73.74. Foreign women wins for Jamaican Aileen Bailey 23.31 (+1.0) in the 200 m and Australian Lauren Boden 56.54 in the 400 m hurdles.
Rudisha 45.5 at the 400 m
NAIROBI (KEN, May 3): World record holder and Olympic winner David Rudisha started his season with very solid 45.5 at the AK/NBK Track meet. Running from lane 3, Rudisha nosed in front from the gun before motoring past the first, second and homestretch curves to drop his rivals and leave him racing against the clock in the last 100m. “I’m happy to start here at home and to do such time here in Kasarani is good. The last time I competed here was in 2006 in the Trials for the World Juniors and to come here and run that is a good thing. I know my spirit is not bad. I always like doing 400m before starting my main season to be confident with my speed and I’m happy with the time,” he stated ahead of his Diamond League bow in Doha on May 10 for Kenyan media. Rudisha´s 400 m best is 45.50 from 2010 Sydney meet.
USA vs Jamaica in sprints
KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaica’s sprint star Veronica Campbell-Brown flew into Jamaica and declared herself ready for a great 100 metres race against American rival Allyson Felix at Saturday´s 10th staging of the Jamaica International Invitational (JII), an IAAF World Challenge meet. The women’s 100m has earned top billing at the meet following the withdrawal of Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Meanwhile, Felix, the 200m gold medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London said she is also looking forward to Saturday’s race as she has not competed here since the 2002 World Junior Championships where she placed fifth in the 200m. Also expected to line up in the women’s 100 metres are last year’s second-place finisher and World Championships bronze medallist Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago as well as this year’s hottest property on the indoor circuit, Murielle Ahoure, of Ivory Coast who dipped under 7 seconds at the 60 m in winter. Seven athletes led by Jamaica’s Commonwealth and Pan-American Games 100m champion Lerone Clarke and 2008 Olympic Games 100m silver medallist Richard Thompson have withdrawn from the meet. Other withdrawals include Jamaican hurdler Richard Phillips, 400 m runner Shereefa Lloyd and US hurdler Ginnie Crawford with shot putter Cory Martin. Also Melaine Walker the olympic winner at 400 m hurdles will not run the 100 m hurdles as planned. Men 100 m will still have a great field with Tyson Gay, Ryan Bailey, Darvis Patton, Nesta Carter, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Jacques Harvey as latest addition. New name in women 100 m hurdles will be Drake Relays winner Queen Harrison.
Pishchalnikova no future
MOSCOW (RUS): Discus European champion 2006 Darya Pishchalnikova who was banned for 10 years by All-Russian athletics federation told to All Sport news agency she doesn’t know whether she’ll return her silver London Olympic medal. “Nobody told me about that. Now I cannot answer such questions. I really don’t know what will happen tomorrow and after tomorrow. I have been staying in national athletics team for 16 years and everything was interrupted in one minute. I’m absolutely not adapted for life out of the sport and I have no idea what I’ll do in future” said 27-year-old Russian. Pishchalnikova also underlined she has got London silver by fair means. “My London medal was clear and my negative doping samples from last Olympics confirmed that. After 2008 I went through a lot of pain and often trained with tears. That is why I’ll not allow anyone to say some bad things about my Olympic silver. I’m absolutely clean before my parents, coaches, fans and, above all, in front of myself. But how I can argue my innocence concerning positive sample which was collected about one year ago?”
Ryemyen and Povh are ready
ZAPORIZHZHYA (UKR): London Olympic medalists in 4x100m relay Mariya Ryemyen and Olesya Povh whoe are training in the same group informed to FLAU’s web site thay are ready to open competition season. Both girls have been prepared for summer season in Ukraine at training camps in Yevpatoriya and Yalta. 60m European indoor champion 2011 and reigning 100m European silver medalist Olesya Povh missed indoor season because of Achilles surgery but now she is doing well. “I’m making a good show of velocity trainings already. Last winter was the first in my career without competitions so I missed real fight on the track very much and can’t wait when I’ll begin to compete. It should be at National Universiade on May 16-19 in Yalta for both of us” said 25-year-old Povh. Reigning 100m European champion and 60 m European indoor silver medalist Mariya Ryemyen also is fully recovered after injury she has got in March at European Indoor final. “After European indoors I had a little rest with intensive treatment and started my full practices in April. Nothing disturbs me now and I can do all work loadings we have planned. I have already received some invitations for Diamond League events but we’ll complete our competitions schedule for summer depends on results from our first national event at the middle of the May” explained Mariya.
OTHER NEWS
GEORGETOWN (CAY): London Olympics silver medalist in the 400 m hurdles and 2011 World Champion Lashinda Demus has joined the field of outstanding athletes at the 2013 Cayman Invitational on May 8. Demus will join her former collegiate teammates Tiffany Williams of the United States and Shevon Stoddart of Jamaica in what will be an exciting event, the 400m hurdles. Lashinda is excited about competing at the invitational, stating “this is my first time coming to the Cayman Islands and I want the islands first impression of my running to be memorable.”
LAUSANNE (SUI): The European Athletics Council are set to decide on the host cities for the 2014 SPAR European Cross Country Championships and 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships and European Athletics Junior Championships at its meeting in Berlin this weekend. Samokov, a town in Sofia province in Bulgaria, will present its candidature to host European Athletics’ annual cross country championships. Representatives from Tallinn, Estonia, will be presenting their bid to host the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships. Eskiltuna, Sweden, will be presenting their bid to host the 2015 European Athletics Junior Championships. All three are sole bidders for the events.
Informs European Athletics.
MONACO (MON): 122 IAAF Member Federations have entered to take part in the 2013 edition of the IAAF World Athletics Day. Now in its 18th year, the IAAF World Athletics Day, the sport’s annual worldwide festival of youth, is one of the busiest programmes of competitions in the Athletics calendar. Informs the IAAF.
HANNOVER (GER):´Germany’s busy spring marathon season will see its final race of international significance this Sunday: The TUI Marathon Hannover will have the defending champion Joseph Kiptum on the starting line. The Kenyan, who ran a personal best of 2:09:56 in 2012, will be up against the winner from 2011, Lusapho April. The South African also clocked his PB in Hannover when he won with 2:09:25. Five more Kenyans are in the race who have run sub 2:10 times before, making this the best quality elite field in the history of the race so far. The men will be targeting the course record of 2:08:52. In the women’s race Ukraine’s Olena Burkovska is the fastest athlete entered with a PB of 2:28:31. Here organisers hope for a first sub 2:30 time. Adding races at shorter distances a total of around 15,000 athletes is expected to take part in the TUI Marathon Hannover, which is an IAAF Bronze Label Race.
LAUSANNE (SUI): The outdoor season has started in earnest with many European competitors taking part in events at warm weather venues in the United States and South Africa, as athletes start their campaigns towards the big events later this summer on European soil, including the European Athletics Team Championships and IAAF World Championships. There were also two European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meetings during April. European Athletics is consequently pleased to announce that athletes from 13 different countries have been nominated for the April award. The voting will close on 17 May.
KINGSTON (JAM): Racers Water was officially launched during an Outside Broadcast of the Jenny Jenny show. Glen Mills, President & Head Coach of Racers Track Club gave an overview of the club while Dave Myrie, Director, Finance and Fundraising at the Club, gave a synopsis of the Club’s operations and funding, explaining why we should support Racers Water. The club is primarily funded through sponsorship. However, in order to establish a sustainable framework to generate income to ensure the club is equipped and able to facilitate the needs of its athletes and fulfill its obligations, it must explore additional means of income. With this in mind, Racers has partnered with a local philanthropist to produce, market and sell Racers Water.
NASSAU (BAH): Tribune242.com informs that a “rift” has split up the executive board of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations with three members ousted by a “vote of no confidence” at a duly publicised and constituted Extra Ordinary Meeting. But during a press conference on Wednesday, the three members – first vice president Iram Lewis, secretary general Carl Oliver and Harrison Petty, a representative on the Executive Board in his capacity as president of the Bahamas Parents Association for Track and Field Athletes, said they have been “unconstitutionally” removed from office and they intend to remain on board.
LONDON (GBR): After Turkish media reports earlier in last weeks, it is now also confirmed by IAAF. Olympic 1500 m champion Asli Cakir Alptekin of Turkey was charged with doping and could be stripped of her gold medal. Another female Turkish athlete, hurdler Nevin Yanit, also was charged with doping violations and could lose her European indoor title. Alptekin had abnormal blood values in her biological passport, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told The Associated Press on Friday. It will be her second ban when confirmed, could result to life-time. Yanit, meanwhile, had “multiple positive findings following target tests carried out in-competition and out-of-competition” by track and field’s governing body, Davies said. Both cases have been referred to the Turkish athletic federation.
MOSCOW (RUS): Another child coming from an athletics family. European 2006 400 m hurdles champion Yevgeniya Isakova gave birth to a boy (51 cm, 3.1. kg). Father is also medalist from 2006 European Championships in Goteborg. Vladislav Frolov was second in the 400 m.
RESULTS
FIRENZE (ITA, May 3): 2008 Olympic medalist Andrey Kravchenko won the Multistars meet (IAAF CE Challenge) in his first finished decathlon since 2011 scored 8390 world lead, also a new meet record. His Friday results: 14.11-46.04-505-60.59-4:30.11. Second Briton Ashley Bryant personal best 7985 and third Pawel Wiesolek from Poland also life-time best 7727 points. In women heptathlon overnight leader Anouk Vetter of Netherlands won with 5872 points PB (555-53.10-2:30.69). Second Jo Rowland of Great Britain 5638 PB and third 18 years old Nadine Visser 5638 PB.
FIRENZE (ITA, May 3): In special events during second day at combined events meets Italian Yadisleidy Pedroso clocked new Italian all-time best at 300 m hurdles 39.09, what is second fastest ever (Czech Zuzana Hejnova has 38.91 from 2011). Nicola Vizzoni got 74.87 in hammer and Italy 39.03 in men (Collio, Riparelli, Manenti, Cerutti) and 44.24 in women 4×100 m.
WIPPERFURTH (GER, May 1): 2008 Olympic finalist German Carolin Hingst returned from Achiless injury with 431 cm clearance in the pole vault.
PALANGA (LTU, May 3): Lithuanian CC Champions are Justinas Berzanskis at 7 km in 20:46 and Milda Vilcinskaite at 5 km for women 17:21.
MOSCOW (RUS, May 1): Authorities of Novomoskovskiy and Troyetskiy districts of Moscow made a first step for revival of traditional race walk festival holding “New Moscow – new horizons” competitions in Voronovo. 2 miles race walk events became the special appeal inside the great sport occasion. Only photo-finish could identify the winner on women race. Yevdakiya Korotkova took the gold and her sister Tatyana finished second with 13:48 (12:55 and 12:56 at 3km mark respectively). Aleksey Golovin topped men race with 12:21 (11:29 at 3km mark).
