by Larry EderWhile Dwain Chambers will not be in Beijing, neither will a French women’s 4 x 100 meter relay team, with Christine Arron’s insistence on no relay this year and the sporadic performance levels of French women sprinters ( with the exception of Muriel Hurtis).
The big news is that Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell are both training for their showdown in London next Friday!
EME NEWS (JULY 18, 2007)
CHAMBERS NO TO BEIJING
LONDON (GBR): British sprinter and European leader (10.00) Dwain Chambers has failed in his legal bid to overturn the British Olympic Association (BOA) ban on him competing in the Beijing Games next month. Informs www.insidethegames.com. Chambers took his case to secure an injunction against the BOA by-law to the High Court, but the ruling has gone against him. The ban was imposed by the BOA because of the sprinters’s self-confessed past use of performance-enhancing drugs. Justice Sir Colin Mackay issued his ruling this morning after spending yesterday listening to the conflicting arguments over the athlete’s attempt to win an injunction suspending the by-law before a full trial of the issues in March next year. Chambers still has the right of appeal against the decision, but the clock is against him with any hearing having to take place before the end of the Court’s proceedings today. Chambers left the High Court without saying anything and was pursued away from it by a scrum of photographers and television crews.
FAVORITES QUALIFIED
KAZAN (RUS, July 18): Former world champion in javelin Sergey Makarov easily qualified during morning program of second day of Russian National Championships with longest throw of 76.80. Former European champion Tatyana Kotova is heading the long jump prelim with 665 ahead from Anna Nazarova (664) and European Champion 2006 Lyudmila Kolchanova (664). Also qualified is 40 years old Tatyana Ter-Mesrobyan (655). Athens medalist Irina Simagina did not compete due to injury. World champion Tatyana Lebedeva is already having the place in the team in this event secured so in the finals the fight will be for top two places. Bogdan Pishchalnikov was the best in discus qualification with very solid 65.00 m. All favorites advanced in women high jump as Yelena Slesarenko and Anna Chicherova jumped the required 179 in first attempt.
ICELAND WITH THREE ATHLETES FOR OLYMPIC GAMES
REJKJAVIK (ISL): Three Icelandic record holders will make their way to Bejing: 22-year-old ÃsdÃs Hjálmsdóttir’s 57.49m throw in Tallinn last month, won her the title of Iceland Javelin record holder and a place on the plane to Beijing. Hammer thrower Bergur Ingi Pétursson also boasts a lifetime best and national record performance this year, with his 74.48m throw in Hafnarfjördur in May. Finally, Iceland’s 31-year-old indoor and outdoor Pole Vault record holder Thórey Edda ElÃsdóttir will contest her third Olympics.
KOECH TO ATTEMPT WORLD RECORD
HEUSDEN (BEL): Kenyan steeplechaser Paul Kipsiele Koech will attempt to break the 3000m steeplechase world record to get over his disappointing fourth place at the Kenyan Olympic trials at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder on Sunday (European Athletics Premium). While Koech will likely find himself running alone against the clock the middle-distance races will be more disputed with Osaka’s silver medallist Gary Reed of Canada, Sudanese Ismail Ahmad and reigning European champion Bram Som in the 800m and five athletes having already run below 3:35 this season in the 1500m (Algerian Kamel Boulhafane and Nabil Madi, Saudi Mohammed Shaween, Kenyan Suleiman Simotwo and Juan van Deventer of South Africa). The 5000m, to be renamed Tom Compernolle to honor the Flemish athlete who died tragically last month will feature amongst others Kenyan Silas Kipruto (13:02.06 in Berlin) and Mangata Ndiwa, Qatari James Kwalia, Sultan Khamis Zaman and Abdullah Ahmad Hassan and Ali Abdosh of Ethiopia. The women’s 100m promises to be exciting with a showdown between home-star Kim Gevaert, Americans Carmelita Jeter and Angela Williams, as well as Chandra Sturrup from the Bahamas. The 100m hurdles will also be highly disputed, with Nicole Denby (4th at the US trials) leading the field ahead of Turkey’s Nevin Yanit, while American Lashinda Demus will be the favorite in the 400m hurdles. Jamaican Marvin Anderson and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe are the top names in the men’s sprints. In the 400m, Kevin Borlée will try to punch his Olympic ticket just a week after missing the standard by one hundredth of second in Brussels (45.21). He’ll be facing twin brother Jonathan who also clocked his PB (45.38) in Brussels while Cédric van Branteghem decided to withdraw, his tendons not having yet recovered from his previous races. In the women’s high jump, Nicole Forrester of Canada and American Chaunté Howard will provide competition to the crowd’s favorite, Tia Hellebaut while American champion Derek Miles will lead the field in the men’s pole vault.
VROEMENS B-SAMPLE ALSO POSITIVE
AMSTERDAM (NED): The B-sample of Simon Vroemen, European 3.000m steeple record holder from the Netherlands, is also positive for Metandienon (an anabol steroid). The 39-year-old will most probably be banned for two years.
OLSSON’S COMEBACK IN STOCKHOLM
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Swedish triple jump Olympic champion Christian Olsson plans to have his comeback next Tuesday at the Grand-Prix-Meeting in Stockholm. The 28-year-old has not participated at a competition since last year’s Golden-League-Meeting in Rome.
FELIX TO RUN THREE RACES BEFORE OLYMPICS
STOCKHOLM (SWE): Triple world champion Allyson Felix who aims to repeat that feat also in Beijing is planning three more races before Olympic Games. She will run the 400 m at DN Galan in Stockholm next Tuesday and then both sprints on two days in London at Aviva Grand Prix.
LAGAT TWICE TO RUN
LONDON (GBR): Double world champion Bernard Lagat who will try for 1500/5000 double also in Beijing is planning two races ahead of Olympic Games. He needed a rest after tough program at US Olympic Trials. He will run a mile in London and then 1500 m at Herculis meeting of Monte Carlo on July 29. The other 5k Olympic medal contender Australian Craig Mottram will run 3000 m in Stockholm and then will meet Lagat in London Mile race.
GAY IN GOOD TRAINING
PARIS (USA): Osaka world champion Tyson Gay is in good training since his injury in Eugene during the quarterfinal of 200 m. His agent Mark Wetmore confirmed that he is ready to run and will face his rival Asafa Powell in London next Friday. The same news are coming from the camp of Powell who after a slight injury in Rome is also back in good training and ready to run already on Tuesday in Stockholm.
NIETO APPEALING
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): High Jumper Jamie Nieto is appealing to a arbitration panel for his non-selection to Olympic Games. He was second at US Trials with 227 and did not had the required A-standard at the time of the competition what was decisive factor for the team selection. But he achieved the 230 on July 12 in Cork and is trying to overturn the USATF decision.
SEBRLE THE REAL MAN
PRAHA (CZE): Czech decathlon world record holder and Olympic gold defender
Roman Sebrle earned an interesting victory. He won the public poll about the
“Real Man”. It was organized for the Old Spice brand. Second was popular singer Karel Gott, third current Czech president Vaclav Klaus. Within top ten also famous Chelsea goal-keeper Petr Cech and former president of the country Vaclav Havel.
OTHER NEWS
PORT-LOUIS (MRI): Mauritius’ quartermiler Jean-François Degrâce failed a drug test for norandrosterone on June 28 in Nivelles (Belgium) where he recorded a personal best of 47.09. The athlete is apparently blaming food supplements.
PARIS (FRA): The French Federation is hesitating to send the women’s 4x100m team to Beijing because of poor results both individually and collectively. No French sprinter has run below 11.30 this summer and the relay team has failed to perform in its last outings (eliminated in the heats in Osaka and disqualified at the European Cup last June). Without Christine Arron who said she wasn’t interested in the relay this year, the only athletes of the team to have shown some consistency are Muriel Hurtis (22.50 in the 200m) and Carima Louami (11.30 in the 100m). Sprint events are to be held today in the early part of the Saint-Denis Golden League program and a decision will be taken shortly after. France had clinched the bronze medal four years ago in Athens. If France will not send a team next in a row are Thailand and Nigeria.
CORRECTION
LOUGHBOROUGH: Time of British 400 m runner Graham Hedman 45.91 was not correct, it was actually 47.18.
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