byLarry EderESPN will show it 11 pm EST tonight and ESPN SportsCenter will show the 100 meters lIve today at 2.30 PM EST. The 100 meters between Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt should be a great race today!
This weekend in Rieti, Tirunesh Dibaba, double gold medalist ( remember our comments on FT sports columnist Pat Butcher’s critique of her racing), will make a serious attempt on her world 5,000 meter record of 14:11.15!
Oh, and a quick apology to Pat Butcher, who I referred to as a former columnist for FT, Pat is currently a sports columnist for Financial Times, my favorite newspaper in the known world.
EME NEWS (SEP 5, 2008)
CANTWELL 20.73 IN RAIN
AARHUS (DEN, Sep 4): Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell in his first competition since Beijing won at Aarhus Games in rainy conditions with good 20.73 m. He beat the bronze holder Andrey Mikhnevich of Belarus (20.04), fourth Olympic placer Dylan Armstrong of Canada was only 6th (19.39). Briton Samson Oni went over 221 in High Jump, Ato Stephens of Trinidad sprinted to 46.12 at 400 m and Andrew Hinds of Barbados to 10.43 (-0.8) at 100 m. Ukrainian Olympic finalist Viktor Kuznetsov won the triple jump (16.49, +0.2).
GREAT VAN DAMME MEMORIAL: BOLT vs. POWELL, JACKPOT FINALE, SUPERB RUNNING EVENTS
BRUSSELS (BEL): The six meet A*F Golden League series comes to an end at the Memorial Van Damme on Friday night, with Kenyan teenager Pamela Jelimo a strong favorite to win at least a share of the $1 million Golden League Jackpot. Her rival in the hunt, Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic, has produced a season similar to the Kenyan’s with her only lapse coming at the Olympic Games where she finished second behind bespectacled Belgian Tia Hellebaut. Although the Belgian’s form was not remotely close in Zürich last week, she’ll have a crowd of 47,000 behind her at Roi Baudouin stadium, the meeting’s 12th consecutive sell-out. If both Jelimo and Vlasic prevail, the pair will split the pot.
The hit of the evening will still be there even without Tyson Gay. World champion will miss the 100 m. „It will be chilly on Friday evening”, Gay said. „And I really would not like to be injured again. I have been having issues nearly all summer and I wasn’t able to run at my best at the Olympics. Another injury could jeopardize my preparation for next year’s world championships in Berlin.” Gay will be replaced by the Frenchman Ronald Pognon. But the expected duel Usain Bolt – Asafa Powell could still produce a world record. All depends on weather and wind.
Brussels has big tradition in running events. Olympic champion Wilfred Bungei leads the field in his second outing since his Beijing triumph at 800 m. After suffering a bitter disappointment in Beijing, Meseret Defar will be looking to end her season on a high note in the 5000m. The world champion has asked for a world record pace with the hopes of reclaiming the standard, particularly after her bid in Stockholm in late July, where she clocked 14:12.88, fell about a second-and-a-half short of the 14:11.15 record set by Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo in June. Russian Olga Komyagina, the best pacer on the circuit, will assist for the first two kilometers, while Wude Ayelew, the winner in Monaco, will try to bring her compatriot through 3000m in 8:38. The main rival Tirunesh Dibaba runs on Sunday in Rieti.
The men’s 5000m features Olympic silver medalist Eliud Kipchoge, whose primary goal, outside of crossing the line first, is Bekele’s week old world-leading 12:50.18. At that pace, only Moses Kipsiro of Uganda, fourth in Beijing, can be expected to keep pace with the Kenyan.
In the men’s 1500m, organizers hope for the season’s first sub-3:30 run. The field includes Olympic silver medalist Asbel Kiprop, who followed up a lackluster Zürich performance with a victory in the 800 in Lausanne, and Beijing bronze medalist Nick Willis of New Zealand. Zürich winner Haron Keitany is also in the line-up dominated by Kenyans.
With double world record holder and now double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele already having concluded his European season, the focus in the 10,000m shifts to his Ethiopian compatriot, the perennial bridesmaid Sileshi Sihine. In each major championship in recent years, Sihine has finished second to Bekele in the longest track race, but here he won’t be sharing the spotlight and has indicated that he’s prepared to run very fast.
The goal in the steeplechase is the season’s first sub-8:00. The primary battle is expected between a pair of Kenyans: Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech, who missed the Olympics after finishing fourth at the Kenyan trials. Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu after a solid 400 m win last Sunday in Gateshead returns to the much tougher hurly burly in Brussels at 200 m.
RIETI (ITA): The 38th annual of IAAF Grand Prix Meeting in this Italian city promises again spectacular events. Asafa Powell returns to the place where he last year broke in heats the 100 m world record. Ethiopian double Olympic winner Tirunesh Dibaba runs the 5000 m, her future husband Sileshi Sihine plans to compete at 3000 m. Also Wilfred Bungei returns to Rieti after winning here in 2005. In women hammer top two from Olympic Games Aksana Miankova and Yipsi Moreno will clash. In triple jump time for revenge as Tatyana Lebedeva will face Olympic champion Francoise Mbango of Cameroon.
JABLONEC (CZE): Today a special javelin meet will be held in the city of Jablonec in northern part of Czech Republic. World and Olympic winner Barbora Spotakova invited her main rivals to compete in a single competition during the evening and all best will be there. Olympic silver holder Mariya Abakumova of Russia, German bronze winner Christine Obergfoll and her teammate Steffi Nerius, Briton Goldie Sayers and also home Nikola Brejchova who is finishing her career. The stadium is expected to be sold out (nearly 6700 spectators) and for top three golden bars are ready. There is also a special bonus worth of 20 000 E offered for new world record. The throwers are good friends and they made a nice walk on Thursday through historical part of Praha.
ZAGREB (CRO): The last this season IAAF Grand Prix meet (Shanghai will count for 2009 season) in Zagreb on Tuesday offers six Olympic winners to compete. But the main star will be of course Blanka Vlasic in High Jump, the most popular home female sports personality. Veronica Campbell-Brown runs her first post Olympic race here, both hurdles winners Dayron Robles and Dawn Harper will compete too. Both hammer competitions are offering also Beijing gold medallists Primoz Kozmus and Aksana Miankova.
OTHER NEWS
NEW YORK (USA): Sports Illustrated reported that Deloreen Ennis-London the world champs medalist from last year was one of two Jamaicans who had received shipments of Human Growth Hormone between June 2006 and February 2007. The second is 400 m hurdles runner Adrian Findlay.
STUTTGART (GER): Home discus thrower Robert Harting hopes for a wild card at World Athletics Final in Stuttgart for Sep 13-14 weekend. He has only 14 points, but IAAF has the right to give one wild card in every event. Only top 7 in all events (and in races over 800 top 11) will be invited. The final meet will be in Rovereto on Sep 10. Currently it looks like nearly 60 individual medallists will compete in this two-day top class affair.
LOS ANGELES (USA): Double World champion Allyson Felix reflects after winning silver at the Olympic Games in Beijing and finishing on a high note in Zürich. After a very long season, the 22-year-old American is now ready for a vacation. „I have mixed emotions now that the Olympics are over. I experienced a range of emotions while in China – disappointment, frustration, happiness, and joy. Overall I am very thankful for my experience. The end result wasn’t exactly what I had planned but more importantly it was what God had planned,” she said for IAAF diaries.
BERLIN (GER): 33 years old German long jumper Kofi Amoah Prah announced his retirement. His best from 2000 is 820. It is a little bit surprising as he lives in Berlin and this city will stage next year the World Championships. „Exactly because of that it was one of the toughest decisions I ever made,” he commented. He could not qualify for Olympic Games this season.
LAUSANNE (SUI): Agencies are confirming that The International Olympic Committee are investigating the Belorussian athletes who claimed silver and bronze in the men’s hammer event in Beijing over alleged failed drug tests. As All-Sport reported earlier both Vadim Deviatovskiy and Ivan Tikhon tested positive for testosterone following the hammer final. The IOC will make an announcement on the pair after a decision has been reached by the executive board and disciplinary commission, who will meet at the end of the month. Both were confirmed to compete at European Athletics Permit meet in Dubnica, Slovakia this Sunday but after this findings both are provisionally suspended.
RABAT (MAR): Former middle distance superstar Said Aouita was named technical director of the Moroccan federation in an attempt to give a new impetus to the sport after disappointing results in Beijing (silver for Gharib in the marathon and bronze for Benhassi in the 800m). Said Aouita will replace Mustapha Aouachar.
PARIS (FRA): French miler Mehdi Baala, 4th in Beijing has pulled out from Lausanne and Brussels and put and end to his season after his 7th place in Zurich (3:33.67).
NEW YORK (USA): When the world’s top marathon runners took to the streets of Beijing they were competing for more than gold, silver and bronze. For the first time since the launch of the World Marathon Majors Series in 2006, the Olympics were counted in the scoring. The WMM Series consists of the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York Marathons. Top positions for the 2007-08 series (with Berlin Sep 28, Chicago Oct 12 and New York Nov 2 still to come):
Men: 1, Martin Lel KEN 76 pts (1st 07 London, 1st 07 New York, 1st 08 London, 5th 08 Oly); 2, Robert K Cheruiyot KEN 55 (1st 07 Boston, 4th 07 Chicago, 1st 08 Boston); 3=, Abderrahim Goumri MAR 40 (2nd 07 London, 2nd 07 New York, 3rd 08 London) & Sammy Wanjiru KEN 40 (2nd 08 London, 1st 08 Oly).
Women: 1, Gete Wami ETH 65 (2nd 07 London, 1st 07 Berlin, 2nd 07 New York, 3rd 08 London); 2, Zhou Chunxiu CHN 50 (1st 07 London, 2nd 07 World, 3rd 08 Oly); 3, Catherine Ndereba KEN 41 (1st 07 World, 5th 07 New York, 2nd 08 Oly); 4, Irina Mikitenko GER 40 (2nd 07 Berlin, 1st 08 London).
RESULTS
CHIARI (ITA, Sep 2): At special pole vault meet Czech Olympic finalist Jan Kudlicka cleared 563 cm ahead of Slovenian Jure Rovan (545) and another Czech vaulter Stepan Janacek (545).
PARDUBICE (CZE, Sep 3): Shot putter Petr Stehlik showed solid shape at local meet with 20.16 m. Jirina Ptacnikova cleared 428 cm in Pole Vault and US Guest Cedric Norman went over 220 in High Jump to establish new meet record.
BARLETTA (ITA, Sep 4): At Barletta International meeting Fabrizio Donato won the triple jump with 16.82 beating world championships medalist Jadel Gregorio (16.35). Simone Collio won the 100 meters in 10.43.
Used with permission of publisher Alfons Juck.
