While RBR applauds the IOC, USOC, USADA and WADA's robust protection of the Olympic brand name in regards to banned substances, the concern is where common sense should come to play. Testing and protocols done with just the hint of peer review, minute numbers used in controls and testing, which may or may not stand up in an international court of law, and the concern that, for the four groups mentioned, to stop the biggest players in the use of banned substances, one must get as dirty as the players to catch cheats must cause some thinking readers just a hint of alarm.
RBR does not have answers, and believes that a vigorous defense of sports is important. RBR's fear is that, weathly athletes and sports federations will be able to, too soon, develop protocols that can engineer human DNA. Sport has become much too complicated. Putting a line in the sand for the start and a line in the sand for the finish, asking all to line up, and say, Go! looks better and better each day.
EME NEWS (JAN 13, 2011)
Live transmissions from Daegu not planned
FRANKFURT (GER): German public TV stations ARD/ZDF will not show live the World Championships in Daegu. That was confirmed by the stations and rights-holders IEC. Discussions are going on about possible summaries in the evening in Europe. IEC also mentioned that the negotiations concerning the German territory are not finished. That is the sign they might discuss it with other stations. German public has as other option the sports channel Eurosport which broadcasts in German language but also here the rights situation is not finalised yet. German top athletes are disappointed. For leichtathletik.de Christian Reif, Betty Heidler and Christina Obergfoll expressed their negative feelings about the fact that live transmissions from Daegu in Germany are not possible.
Merritt case
LAUSANNE (SUI): 2009 400 m world champion LaShawn Merritt will not be able to defend his Olympic 400 metres title at London next year after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to back down from its new tough anti-doping stance. The IOC's ruling Executive Board and Athletes' Commission threw their weight behind the rule, which bars any athlete with a doping suspension of at least six months from competing in the next Olympics. Informs insidethegames. As title defender from Berlin he will have the wild card for Daegu World Championships this year. On the other side USATF asks wild card holders to compete at national championships but his ban ends after the trials in July. Still a tricky situation. Euromeetings is not inviting athletes who are harming the image of the sport, the line goes for bans two years or more. That would mean Merritt will be invited to top meetings and could compete on the circuit.
GERMAN MEETINGS
DUSSELDORF (GER): Steeple specialist Paul Kipsiele Koech returns to 6th PSD Bank Meeting in Dusseldorf (EA Indoor Permit) to run the 5000 m. Last year he clocked impresssive 13:02.95. He will clash on Feb 11 with US Galen Rupp and Italian Barcelona medalist Daniele Meucci. Very fast could be also the 1500 m race with Kenyans William Biwott, Geoffrey Rono, Augustine Choge, Nixon Chepseba against Ethiopian Gebremhdin Mekonnen, twice world indoor finalist.
CHEMNITZ (GER): European pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie commited to jump also in Chemnitz on January 27 after competing the day before in Cottbus. He will clash with German stars Malte Mohr and Tim Lobinger.
STUTTGART (GER): Chinese top star Liu Xiang plans to compete at 60 m hurdles in Stuttgart on Feb 5 and Karlsruhe on Feb 13. The Diamond League in Doha in May and the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, are also on his schedule. To prepare for the upcoming season, Liu went to Los Angeles for a physical check and a short period of training last week. The results satisfied Liu and his coach. He last time competed indoors in Germany in 2007 when he clocked Asian record 7.42 at the 60 m hurdles distance.
BOLT NEWS
KINGSTON (JAM): Worlds fastest man Usain Bolt recieved a clear view of the project, well underway at Marketplace. Bolt stopped in to visit the construction site on his way from practice. The partnership is a US$1-million investment -- a unique business and dynamic entertainment partnership between Bolt's UB Brand and the KLE Brand. The partnership will result in the roll-out of a series of high-end sports bar products called Usain Bolt's Tracks & Records, which will have its flagship location in Kingston, Jamaica, but which will also find a place in major metropolitan areas, such as London, England, as well as in other regional territories and in North America. Informs TrackAlerts. Bolt also sent his wishes to Haiti. "We hope that the recovery process goes smooth and the country to return to normal operations as soon as possible. I am using this opportunity to urge people to offer as much assistance as they can. Caribbean unity is necessary at this time and I am sure that we are all rallying to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Haiti needs our support. I urge you to continue the efforts. May God continue to bless the people in Haiti," Bolt concluded. In other developments agencies informed about his possible participation at Golden Gala Rome Samsung Diamond League meet on May 26. "I am still in negotiations with the organisers for his participation in Rome," his agent Ricky Simms told trackalerts.com. Brussels Diamond League organizer Wilfried Meert said for De Standaard that Bolt should run on September 16 at Van Damme Memorial. "He has an agreement in principle with us. If he remains in one piece, he comes to Brussels," said Meert. His only officially confirmed meeting for 2011 so far is Oslo Bislett Games at 200 m on June 9.
OTHER NEWS
APELDOORN (NED): European decathlon silver medalist Eelco Sintnicolaas will compete in the international indoor combined events in Tallinn on February 5th and 6th. Sintnicolaas takes Tallinn over the CE International match on January 29th and 30th and the Dutch national combined events championships. Sintnicolaas will for sure compete at the Dutch national indoor championships, most likely in the pole vault writes De Stentor.
LAUSANNE (SUI): A European Athletics delegation headed by President Hansjorg Wirz successfully completed a visit to Finland as part of preparations for the Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships reports European Athletics. "Helsinki 2012 will be a new dawn for European Athletics as it is the beginning of the cycle of having a European championships every two years, and so we are working hard with the LOC on forward-thinking ideas for these innovative championships," said President Wirz.
LAUSANNE (SUI): The International Olympic Committee's executive board warned India on Thursday that it could bar the country from the Olympics unless a spat over Indian sports chiefs is resolved. Agencies are informing.
NAIROBI (KEN): The first four athletes across the finish line at the Kenyan national trials will gain automatic selection to the Kenya team for the World Cross Country Championships in Spain. For the Africa Cross Country Championships in South Africa no selection criteria have been finalized yet by Athletics Kenya. The Kenyan national trials will be held at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on February 19 reports The Daily Nation.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Former 200 m world champion and current IOC member Frankie Fredericks has spoken in favour of the hard line on doping cheats taken by the British Olympic Association (BOA). As chairman of the IOC athletes' commission Fredricks was quoted "I like the BOA rule and if every country could adopt that it would solve many things; we would know that everyone who competes at the Olympic Ganes is clean". Fredericks refused to be drawn over the ongoing case of LaShawn Merritt. However, the former athlete also urged the London 2012 Organizing committee to make sure the Olympic track stays in place after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games writes sportsfeatures.com.
ATHENS (GRE): Cyprus world medalist high jumper Kyriacos Ioannou is seeking help from German prominent doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. The discomfort in the left heel have urged him to see the expert specialist. Despite the inadequate preparation for the European Indoor Championships in Paris he remains positive: "Of course I think I have to be ready by March but still do not know if I can manage."
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): In an interview with New York media hurdler Queen Harrison confirmed she aims at qualifying for the IAAF World Championships in both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles. Harrison explained that she continues to train in Virginia with her coach Charles Foster and will make her professional indoor debut at the Millrose Games in New York. Harrison plans to compete indoors to build strength for the outdoor season. In 2010 Harrison became the first athlete to win both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the NCAA championships.
LONDON (GBR): The IOC has announced the timetable for the bidding process of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC plans to circulate the 205 National Olympic Committees before the end of this month to see if they are interested in putting forward a candidate. So far there has already been strong interest from several cities, including Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo writes Insidethegames. National Olympic Committees have until May 16th to submit the name of a bidding city. Applicant cities will have until July 29, 2011, to inform the IOC if they propose to hold the Games outside the normal Olympic Games window, which is between July 15 and August 31.
LONDON (GBR): World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis has confirmed to Athletics Weekly she is becoming increasingly aware that the world indoor record may be within reach. Ennis won the world indoor pentathlon title last year, breaking the championship record with 4937, the third-best score of all time. One year on from that and with another good winter under her belt, Ennis is feeling very confident ahead of the European Indoors in Paris where she aims at adding another gold medal to her name."It's hard to say because you've got to get everything right, but I think if I can keep my training going the way it is and perform well on the day, it would be nice to get closer to the world record," Ennis was quoted. The world record belongs to Irina Belova who scored 4991 in 1992. Carolina Kluft has cracked 4900 points three times, but fell short of the world record each time, her best attempt being in 2007 with 4948, Athletics Weekly adds.
NEW YORK (USA): RRW informs that the New Balance Games, scheduled at the Armory for Saturday, January 22, will include six invitational events in addition to the central high school program, according to Ian Brooks who coordinates elite athletes for the meeting. In total 14 women will lin up for the invitational mile, led by former NCAA star Jenny Simpson, the former Jenny Barringer, who will be making her Armory debut. Others entered in the women's mile include Canadian Olympians Carmen Douma-Hussar and Megan Wright; Ireland's Ciara Mageean, the reigning IAAF World Junior Championships silver medallist at 1500m; Serbia's Marina Muncan, the 2009 World University Games 1500m champion; and Americans Frances Koons, Lindsay Gallo and Brenda Martinez. In the programme also 800m invitational for women, a new event, led by two of the seven USA women who broke two-minutes for that distance last year, Maggie Vessey (1:57.84 PB) and Phoebe Wright (1:58.22).
BUDAPEST (HUN): All-Athletics.com announced the 2010 Middle-distance Runners of the Year in the World as well as in the different Areas. It is interesting to note that nobody kept his/her title from last year. The rankings of the countries in the track long distances are very similar to the one of last year. Kenya, however, strengthened the first position while Ethiopian men were nearly overtaken by the USA. Kenyan men and Ethiopian women take the number one positions respectively in the special All-Athletics.com Road Running/Marathon Countries Rankings. USA and Germany defended their first positions in the men's and women's countries Throwing Rankings respectively.
PHOENIX (USA): Former Bupa Great North Run champion Kara Goucher will return to action when competing at the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona on Sunday. Goucher who gave birth to her first child Colt last September will race for the first time since competing at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Long-distance track and road runner, former world champion and global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights, and education, Tegla Loroupe is among the legends of sport, both high and low profile and sporting organisations who will gather in Lausanne later this month for the AIPS-organised World Fair Play Awards.
PERTH (AUS): Star Australian pole vaulter and olympic winner Steve Hooker concedes he has to take a more cautious approach with his workload if he is to successfully defend his world championship and Olympic crowns. A hectic 2010 campaign took a heavy toll on Hooker, who was forced to pull out of Australia's 2011 domestic season after his dodgy knee flared up. Australian media are informing.
ROSTOCK (GER): European marathon champion from 2006 Ulrike Maisch gave birth to a boy. The 33 years old runner plans to return to running. Father is also a runner, Richard Friedrich.
SEATTLE (USA): At Saturday's UW Indoor Preview meet at the Dempsey Indoor the biggest name on the accepted entry list is 2008 Olympic 10 000 m bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan, who is entered in the women's 3000 meter run, along with the reigning NCAA women's champion in both the 5000 and 10000 meter runs outdoors and 2010 Bowerman Award finalist, Lisa Koll. 2009 World Championships team member Maggie Vessey of New Balance, who owns a personal best of 1:57.84, is entered in the 800 where she'll face USA outdoor championships competitor Lauren Johnson and Oregon's Zoe Buckman.
TOKYO (JPN): Businnes news: IAAF Marketing partner Dentus has December net sales up at 6.3 % level. Writes Sportscal.
RESULTS
AUCKLAND (NZL, Jan 11): Kim Smith easily broke the record at the O'Hagans 5 km running 14:59 as third overall. Marathoner (2:16 level) Scott Winton won in 14:54.
HAIFA (ISR, Jan 9): Ma´ayan Foreman cleared outdoors 185 in jump-off over Barcelona finalist Danial Frenkel (180) at a local meet. In men´s contest Niki Palli (215) beat Youth Olympic Games winner Dmitriy Kroyter (210).
--
Live transmissions from Daegu not planned
FRANKFURT (GER): German public TV stations ARD/ZDF will not show live the World Championships in Daegu. That was confirmed by the stations and rights-holders IEC. Discussions are going on about possible summaries in the evening in Europe. IEC also mentioned that the negotiations concerning the German territory are not finished. That is the sign they might discuss it with other stations. German public has as other option the sports channel Eurosport which broadcasts in German language but also here the rights situation is not finalised yet. German top athletes are disappointed. For leichtathletik.de Christian Reif, Betty Heidler and Christina Obergfoll expressed their negative feelings about the fact that live transmissions from Daegu in Germany are not possible.
Merritt case
LAUSANNE (SUI): 2009 400 m world champion LaShawn Merritt will not be able to defend his Olympic 400 metres title at London next year after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to back down from its new tough anti-doping stance. The IOC's ruling Executive Board and Athletes' Commission threw their weight behind the rule, which bars any athlete with a doping suspension of at least six months from competing in the next Olympics. Informs insidethegames. As title defender from Berlin he will have the wild card for Daegu World Championships this year. On the other side USATF asks wild card holders to compete at national championships but his ban ends after the trials in July. Still a tricky situation. Euromeetings is not inviting athletes who are harming the image of the sport, the line goes for bans two years or more. That would mean Merritt will be invited to top meetings and could compete on the circuit.
GERMAN MEETINGS
DUSSELDORF (GER): Steeple specialist Paul Kipsiele Koech returns to 6th PSD Bank Meeting in Dusseldorf (EA Indoor Permit) to run the 5000 m. Last year he clocked impresssive 13:02.95. He will clash on Feb 11 with US Galen Rupp and Italian Barcelona medalist Daniele Meucci. Very fast could be also the 1500 m race with Kenyans William Biwott, Geoffrey Rono, Augustine Choge, Nixon Chepseba against Ethiopian Gebremhdin Mekonnen, twice world indoor finalist.
CHEMNITZ (GER): European pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie commited to jump also in Chemnitz on January 27 after competing the day before in Cottbus. He will clash with German stars Malte Mohr and Tim Lobinger.
STUTTGART (GER): Chinese top star Liu Xiang plans to compete at 60 m hurdles in Stuttgart on Feb 5 and Karlsruhe on Feb 13. The Diamond League in Doha in May and the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, are also on his schedule. To prepare for the upcoming season, Liu went to Los Angeles for a physical check and a short period of training last week. The results satisfied Liu and his coach. He last time competed indoors in Germany in 2007 when he clocked Asian record 7.42 at the 60 m hurdles distance.
BOLT NEWS
KINGSTON (JAM): Worlds fastest man Usain Bolt recieved a clear view of the project, well underway at Marketplace. Bolt stopped in to visit the construction site on his way from practice. The partnership is a US$1-million investment -- a unique business and dynamic entertainment partnership between Bolt's UB Brand and the KLE Brand. The partnership will result in the roll-out of a series of high-end sports bar products called Usain Bolt's Tracks & Records, which will have its flagship location in Kingston, Jamaica, but which will also find a place in major metropolitan areas, such as London, England, as well as in other regional territories and in North America. Informs TrackAlerts. Bolt also sent his wishes to Haiti. "We hope that the recovery process goes smooth and the country to return to normal operations as soon as possible. I am using this opportunity to urge people to offer as much assistance as they can. Caribbean unity is necessary at this time and I am sure that we are all rallying to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Haiti needs our support. I urge you to continue the efforts. May God continue to bless the people in Haiti," Bolt concluded. In other developments agencies informed about his possible participation at Golden Gala Rome Samsung Diamond League meet on May 26. "I am still in negotiations with the organisers for his participation in Rome," his agent Ricky Simms told trackalerts.com. Brussels Diamond League organizer Wilfried Meert said for De Standaard that Bolt should run on September 16 at Van Damme Memorial. "He has an agreement in principle with us. If he remains in one piece, he comes to Brussels," said Meert. His only officially confirmed meeting for 2011 so far is Oslo Bislett Games at 200 m on June 9.
OTHER NEWS
APELDOORN (NED): European decathlon silver medalist Eelco Sintnicolaas will compete in the international indoor combined events in Tallinn on February 5th and 6th. Sintnicolaas takes Tallinn over the CE International match on January 29th and 30th and the Dutch national combined events championships. Sintnicolaas will for sure compete at the Dutch national indoor championships, most likely in the pole vault writes De Stentor.
LAUSANNE (SUI): A European Athletics delegation headed by President Hansjorg Wirz successfully completed a visit to Finland as part of preparations for the Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships reports European Athletics. "Helsinki 2012 will be a new dawn for European Athletics as it is the beginning of the cycle of having a European championships every two years, and so we are working hard with the LOC on forward-thinking ideas for these innovative championships," said President Wirz.
LAUSANNE (SUI): The International Olympic Committee's executive board warned India on Thursday that it could bar the country from the Olympics unless a spat over Indian sports chiefs is resolved. Agencies are informing.
NAIROBI (KEN): The first four athletes across the finish line at the Kenyan national trials will gain automatic selection to the Kenya team for the World Cross Country Championships in Spain. For the Africa Cross Country Championships in South Africa no selection criteria have been finalized yet by Athletics Kenya. The Kenyan national trials will be held at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on February 19 reports The Daily Nation.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Former 200 m world champion and current IOC member Frankie Fredericks has spoken in favour of the hard line on doping cheats taken by the British Olympic Association (BOA). As chairman of the IOC athletes' commission Fredricks was quoted "I like the BOA rule and if every country could adopt that it would solve many things; we would know that everyone who competes at the Olympic Ganes is clean". Fredericks refused to be drawn over the ongoing case of LaShawn Merritt. However, the former athlete also urged the London 2012 Organizing committee to make sure the Olympic track stays in place after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games writes sportsfeatures.com.
ATHENS (GRE): Cyprus world medalist high jumper Kyriacos Ioannou is seeking help from German prominent doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. The discomfort in the left heel have urged him to see the expert specialist. Despite the inadequate preparation for the European Indoor Championships in Paris he remains positive: "Of course I think I have to be ready by March but still do not know if I can manage."
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): In an interview with New York media hurdler Queen Harrison confirmed she aims at qualifying for the IAAF World Championships in both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles. Harrison explained that she continues to train in Virginia with her coach Charles Foster and will make her professional indoor debut at the Millrose Games in New York. Harrison plans to compete indoors to build strength for the outdoor season. In 2010 Harrison became the first athlete to win both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the NCAA championships.
LONDON (GBR): The IOC has announced the timetable for the bidding process of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC plans to circulate the 205 National Olympic Committees before the end of this month to see if they are interested in putting forward a candidate. So far there has already been strong interest from several cities, including Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo writes Insidethegames. National Olympic Committees have until May 16th to submit the name of a bidding city. Applicant cities will have until July 29, 2011, to inform the IOC if they propose to hold the Games outside the normal Olympic Games window, which is between July 15 and August 31.
LONDON (GBR): World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis has confirmed to Athletics Weekly she is becoming increasingly aware that the world indoor record may be within reach. Ennis won the world indoor pentathlon title last year, breaking the championship record with 4937, the third-best score of all time. One year on from that and with another good winter under her belt, Ennis is feeling very confident ahead of the European Indoors in Paris where she aims at adding another gold medal to her name."It's hard to say because you've got to get everything right, but I think if I can keep my training going the way it is and perform well on the day, it would be nice to get closer to the world record," Ennis was quoted. The world record belongs to Irina Belova who scored 4991 in 1992. Carolina Kluft has cracked 4900 points three times, but fell short of the world record each time, her best attempt being in 2007 with 4948, Athletics Weekly adds.
NEW YORK (USA): RRW informs that the New Balance Games, scheduled at the Armory for Saturday, January 22, will include six invitational events in addition to the central high school program, according to Ian Brooks who coordinates elite athletes for the meeting. In total 14 women will lin up for the invitational mile, led by former NCAA star Jenny Simpson, the former Jenny Barringer, who will be making her Armory debut. Others entered in the women's mile include Canadian Olympians Carmen Douma-Hussar and Megan Wright; Ireland's Ciara Mageean, the reigning IAAF World Junior Championships silver medallist at 1500m; Serbia's Marina Muncan, the 2009 World University Games 1500m champion; and Americans Frances Koons, Lindsay Gallo and Brenda Martinez. In the programme also 800m invitational for women, a new event, led by two of the seven USA women who broke two-minutes for that distance last year, Maggie Vessey (1:57.84 PB) and Phoebe Wright (1:58.22).
BUDAPEST (HUN): All-Athletics.com announced the 2010 Middle-distance Runners of the Year in the World as well as in the different Areas. It is interesting to note that nobody kept his/her title from last year. The rankings of the countries in the track long distances are very similar to the one of last year. Kenya, however, strengthened the first position while Ethiopian men were nearly overtaken by the USA. Kenyan men and Ethiopian women take the number one positions respectively in the special All-Athletics.com Road Running/Marathon Countries Rankings. USA and Germany defended their first positions in the men's and women's countries Throwing Rankings respectively.
PHOENIX (USA): Former Bupa Great North Run champion Kara Goucher will return to action when competing at the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona on Sunday. Goucher who gave birth to her first child Colt last September will race for the first time since competing at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Long-distance track and road runner, former world champion and global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights, and education, Tegla Loroupe is among the legends of sport, both high and low profile and sporting organisations who will gather in Lausanne later this month for the AIPS-organised World Fair Play Awards.
PERTH (AUS): Star Australian pole vaulter and olympic winner Steve Hooker concedes he has to take a more cautious approach with his workload if he is to successfully defend his world championship and Olympic crowns. A hectic 2010 campaign took a heavy toll on Hooker, who was forced to pull out of Australia's 2011 domestic season after his dodgy knee flared up. Australian media are informing.
ROSTOCK (GER): European marathon champion from 2006 Ulrike Maisch gave birth to a boy. The 33 years old runner plans to return to running. Father is also a runner, Richard Friedrich.
SEATTLE (USA): At Saturday's UW Indoor Preview meet at the Dempsey Indoor the biggest name on the accepted entry list is 2008 Olympic 10 000 m bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan, who is entered in the women's 3000 meter run, along with the reigning NCAA women's champion in both the 5000 and 10000 meter runs outdoors and 2010 Bowerman Award finalist, Lisa Koll. 2009 World Championships team member Maggie Vessey of New Balance, who owns a personal best of 1:57.84, is entered in the 800 where she'll face USA outdoor championships competitor Lauren Johnson and Oregon's Zoe Buckman.
TOKYO (JPN): Businnes news: IAAF Marketing partner Dentus has December net sales up at 6.3 % level. Writes Sportscal.
RESULTS
AUCKLAND (NZL, Jan 11): Kim Smith easily broke the record at the O'Hagans 5 km running 14:59 as third overall. Marathoner (2:16 level) Scott Winton won in 14:54.
HAIFA (ISR, Jan 9): Ma´ayan Foreman cleared outdoors 185 in jump-off over Barcelona finalist Danial Frenkel (180) at a local meet. In men´s contest Niki Palli (215) beat Youth Olympic Games winner Dmitriy Kroyter (210).
--