by Larry Eder
Jeremy Wariner, adidas outdoor Classic, May 2009, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Congrats to Jeremy Wariner, as TFN named him the U.S. male athlete of the decade!
WORLD CHAMPIONS CONFIRMED DOHA
MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF confirmed that multi-eventers invited to World Indoor Championships in Doha based on 2009 world lists confirmed their participation. US Trey Hardee, Cuban Leonel Suarez and Russian Aleksandr Pogorelov is the trio for heptathlon. Third in lists for 2009 is US Tom Pappas, but only one athlete per country could be included in this trio so the next is Pogorelov. In women top three based on heptathlon world lists 2009 the best two, world champion Jessica Ennis and olympic winner Natalya Dobrynska confirmed their appearances in Doha. Third place was offered to German Jennifer Oeser but she also as next Kamila Chudzik of Poland did not want to compete in Qatar. Further down the list Ukrainians could not be considered because of Dobrynska (Hanna Melnychenko and Lyudmila Yosypenko). So the next in order is Latvia´s Aiga Grabuste who confirmed the invitation. In total 8 athletes will be competing in heptathlon and pentathlon in Doha. Three athletes will be invited based on 2010 world lists by February 20 and remaining two will recieve IAAF wild cards. Currently in the world lists of 2010 Russian Aleksey Drozdov leads with 6300 points ahead of Ukrainian Oleksiy Kasyanov (6254) and third is Elco Sintnicolaas of Netherlands. Most probably not considered is US Ashton Eaton (has 6256 this season) who has NCAA Indoor Championships in Doha time. In women current situation leading is Russian Tatyana Chernova (4855) ahead of US Hyleas Fountain (4731) and another Russian Marina Goncharova (4632). For men wild cards for example olympic winner Bryan Clay or world record holder Roman Sebrle could be considered on men side, in the women situation it is more open. Also to note that in total only two athletes per country in each event can compete.
WORLD LEADS FOR CHERNOVA (PLUS LJ) AND DROZDOV
PENZA (RUS, Feb 4): Excellent world leading marks crowned Russian Combined Events Indoor Championships in Penza. Olympic bronze medalist Tatyana Chernova scored excellent 4855 points what is sixth best performer ever taking into account only marks on non-oversized tracks. It is also a clear world lead. Her best result was 672 long jump what is also world leader 2010. Her marks: 8.38-186-13.38-672-2:12.70. Second Marina Goncharova collected also good 4605 and third Olga Zaynutdinova 4523 points (652 in long jump). European decathlon medalist Aleksey Drozdov improved his PB to 6300 what is season best. His marks: 7.08-755-17.03-215-8.35-520-2:49.41. Specially high quality his shot put and high jump. Personal scores also for the next athletes in order Vasiliy Kharlamov 6035 and Aleksandr Kislov 5994.
STUTTGART PREVIEW
STUTTGART (GER): At the Sparkassen cup in Stuttgart on Saturday February 6th (IAAF Indoor Permit) the hurdles will be a highlight of the meet as it announces a stellar field in both the men‘s and women‘s race. Lolo Jones will meet at the starting line together with Yvette Lewis, Kellie Wells and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep. On the men‘s side David Olivier takes on Dayron Robles, as well as Petr Svoboda, Dwight Thomas, Maurice Wignall. In the 60m Jamaicans Lerone Clarke and Michael Frater take on German sprinters Christian Blum, Stefan Schwab, Tobias Unger and Marius Broening. Churandy Martina concludes the field. In the 800m Sudanese Abubaker Kaki opens the season in the field with Jackson Kivuna and new Czech record holder Jakub Holusa. The 3000m has Tariku Bekele as its favorite. In the long jump American Dwight Phillips returns to his main event as he takes on French Salim Sdiri. The pole vault highlights an elite field of German vaulters with Danny Ecker, Tim Lobinger, Bjorn Otto, Fabian Schulze and Alexander Straub. They will be challenged by the French Romain Mesnil, Renaud Lavillenie and Damiel Dossevi. The women vaulters make it a national event as well with Silke Spiegelburg, Anna Battke, Kristina Gadschiew and Caroline Hingst. Brazilian Fabiana Murer and Polish world champion Anna Rogowska will take their challenge. In the 3000m women Meseret Defar is in top shape again with world record attempt and will take on Russian Anna Alminova, who has her eyes set on breaking the European record. The 60 m sprint promises to be a showdown between Carmelita Jeter and Lavern Jones-Ferette, with Angela Williams and Chandra Sturrup in the mix. In the 1500m Gelete Burka takes on world medalists Maryam Jamal from Bahrain and Lisa Dobriskey from Great Britain. Already 6500 tickets were sold.
BOSTON PREVIEW
BOSTON (USA): Bernard Lagat, one of the most decorated track and field athletes of all-time, will run his first indoor 5000m at the 2010 Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Feb. 6. He might attack the US record 13:18.12 and will be one of the biggest stars in at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. The 15th-annual meet will welcome also Ethiopia’s double Olympic Champion Tirunesh Dibaba at 5000 m world indoor record attack. French 2005 world champion Ladji Doucoure is at the 60 m hurdles against US athletes Merritt, Faulk, Hicks and Mitchum who improved last night in Dusseldorf. In the Women’s 60m hurdles, former World Champion Perdita Felicien, from Canada, leads the field to be challenged by Virginia Powell, from the US and Damu Cherry who should open her season here. Strong men´s 60 m as Millrose winner Ivory Williams with US Champion Mike Rodgers, Olympic medalist Walter Dix and strong Ryan (nicknamed Zeus) Bailey are taking on Caribbeans, Daniel Bailey of Antigua and Jamaicans Steve Mullings and world junior champion 2008 Dexter Lee. Also running olympic gold medalist 2004 Shawn Crawford and as surprise entry 400 m hurdles world champion Kerron Clement. He has 10.23 100 m PB but never competed at 60 m indoors. More Millrose winners are Lisa Barber at 60 m, Chelsea Johnson in pole vault and Bershawn Jackson at 400 m (against strong Caribbeans Renny Quow of Trinidad and Chris Brown of Bahamas). Anna Pierce at 1000 m and Shannon Rowbury at 3000 m will try for fast US times. Relay world champion Deedee Trotter is the main name in women´s 400 m. Since the Reebok Boston Indoor Games began in 1996, more than 100 Olympic and World Championship medalists have competed in the event, which has also played host to six World Records and nine American Records.
OTHER NEWS
DUSSELDORF (USA): Former olympic and world winner Allen Johnson after excellent 7.58 at age of 38 in Karlsruhe did not run in Dusseldorf on Wednesday. “I felt something in warm-up in my achilles and could not run. I did not want to risk,†was his explanation. He is possibly scheduled for Stuttgart on Saturday.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (USA): After becoming sixth placer in the Track and Field News world Athlete Of The Decade, American 400 m Olympic gold medalist from Athens 2004 and multiple world champion, Jeremy Wariner adds the honor of being the top U.S. Men‘s Athlete Of The Decade. The second place went to Dwight Phillips and shot putter, Adam Nelson was third. Among women Sanya Richards is the number one ahead of Allyson Felix and Stacy Dragila.
KINGSTON (JAM): As TrackAlerts.com writes, the world renowned celebrities headed by Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Melaine Walker, and Shelly Ann Fraser, will make themselves available for dinner dates to lucky winners of the opposite sex, in a raffle on February 22 for an evening affair at the Acropolis Lounge. For $500 a ticket, seven lucky females could win a dinner date with Powell, Bolt, Michael Frater, Germaine Mason, Jermaine Gonzales, Darrell Brown or Nesta Carter. “It’s an athletes’ raffle for the Haiti relief,†said Fraser, the chief organizer. All proceeds will go to the UNICEF Haiti Relief Fund.
SYDNEY (AUS): The fastest man over 800 m in the world in 2009, 21-year-old Kenyan David Rudisha will throw down the gauntlet to Australia’s top track athletes this summer when he lines up at the Sydney and Melbourne legs of the Australian Athletics Tour across two fast and furious nights of track and field action. The fourth fastest man of all time over 800m, will contest the 400m at the Sydney Track Classic at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday, February 27 and take on his premier event, the 800m, at the Melbourne Track Classic at Melbourne Olympic Park on Thursday, March 4 (IAAF World Challenge Meeting), athletics.com.au says. Rudisha said the current strength of athletics in Australia made the domestic series the perfect start to his 2010 campaign in the all-important lead-up to the Delhi Games. The Kenyan is not planning to run at World Indoor Championships and is opting for Australia instead.
DUSSELDORF (GER): British 1500 m winner at Wednesday meet Helen Clitheroe believes joining a new coach and dropping the 3000 meters steeplechase – at least for the present time – is the recipe which has brought her a new lease of life to her career. Writes David Martin. She admitted she was deeply disappointment after failing to make last summer‘s World Championships final where her preparations suggested that it should have been a formality. Clitheroe who after her victory in last Saturday‘s Aviva International Match in Glasgow over 3000m, was expected to challenge for a place in the British team at that distance for the championships in Doha is now changing her mind towards 1500 m. „Now though I‘ve decided I‘ll stick with the 1500m and run at the trials in Sheffield (February 13-14) to stake a claim,“ added Clitheroe who was a finalist at the last championships two years ago.
MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF confirmed that three additional TV deals in Hong Kong, Argentina and additional territories in South America have been concluded by Dentsu, the IAAF’s Marketing Partner. Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications provider PCCW have agreed to a 4 year deal covering all IAAF World Athletics series events. This deal brings more good news for the IAAF in Asia where deals have already been concluded in the key territories of Japan, China and Korea. Further discussions are being held in other Asian territories. TyC Sports, Argentina’s leading sports pay operator, has also agreed to cover all World Athletic Series events in a new four year deal. Finally, an agreement for the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha covering four territories in Latin America: Peru, Chile, Panama and Guatemala, has been agreed with OTI (Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana). Further territories may be added in the coming weeks.
MOSCOW (RUS): Special retirement ceremonies will be held during Russian Winter meet on Sunday in Moscow for two former top athletes. Sprinter and later 400 m hurdles olympic winner Irina Privalova (41) and world record holder at 400 m hurdles Yulia Pechonkina (31).
BUDAPEST (HUN): All-Athletics.com published its rankings for marathons and road races for 2009. Best marathons at each continent are London in Europe, Chicago in North America, Nairobi in Africa, Gold Coast in Oceania, Dubai in Asia and Buenos Aires in South America. Rankings are based on performance and participation level. In the road running section Rotterdam HM is the best in Europe, San Juan World´s Best 10k in North America, Rabat HM in Africa, Gold Coast HM in Oceania, Ras Al Khaimah HM in Asia and Bogota HM in South America. In the top 100 marathons of the year most are from USA (13) ahead of Germany and Japan (11). In the road running competitions USA has 18 in the top 100 ahead of Netherlands (14) and France (13).
NAIROBI (KEN): East Standard writes, that as the February 20 KCC/AK Permit Meet National Cross Country Championships loom, the next couple of weekends will witness various provinces choose their teams for the Bydgoszcz World Cross selection event. This comes after the remaining two disciplined forces, Administration Police and Kenya Prisons selected their representatives for the national showdown last Saturday. A week earlier, Armed Forces and Kenya Police held their selection races as the countdown to Bydgoszcz continues to toll. Provinces are following this and next weekend.
BARCELONA (ESP): Steeple world champion Marta Dominguez who is participating in different road and cross country events this winter, announced that the time of receiving awards for her victory at the World Athletics Championships is over and that she will from now on entirely focus on the preparation for Barcelona 2010. The Spanish athlete confirmed on the official website of the European Athletics Championships Barcelona 2010 that she has been “very busy since last Augustâ€, but now “these commitments belong to the past in order to prepare well for B10â€. She will start her next race in Cáceres on 14 February, which is also the last cross country competition this winter season for her. Her track debut, as last year, will be in June.
LONDON (GBR): Latest Pat Butcher blog called: A Matter of Life and Death at www.globerunner.org.
RESULTS
NATIONAL RECORDS: More national records reported from recent meetings. In Vienna on Tuesday Lavonne Idlette clocked 8.38 at 60 m hurdles what is new national mark for Dominican Republic. On Wednesday in Dusseldorf new Norwegian record in women 1500 m race as Ingvill Makestad achieved 4:13.82.
ADDIS ABABA (ETH, Feb 3): At the 27th Addis Ababa clubs track championships impressive winner was Genet Yalew in the women’s 5000 m (16:04.20). Since winning the Great Run in Bahir Dar in May 2007 as a complete unknown, she has made good progress onto Ethiopia’s national team (she was 3rd in last year’s national cross-country championships) and in international races, almost snatching victory in the Trier 8km road race in Germany on New Year’s Eve. Other known name, former world cross-country 8km champion Workinesh Kidane returned to track competition to win the women’s 10 000 m (33:43.50). Men´s 10 000 in 1st division clubs winner was Yetwale Kinde in 29:14.00. In the 5000 m Berhanu Desalegn prevailed in 14:11.30. Shume Dechasa was even faster in 2nd division race (14:09.97).
For more on running, www.runningnetwork.com.
