by Larry EderFace it, big guys rule! First, Chris Solinsky breaks 27 minutes for the 10,000 meters, and then he runs sub thirteen minutes for 5,000 meters three times in one season. Now, rumor has it that 2010 European Champion at the discus, Piotr Malachowski, runs a seven minute personal best in the 10k road run at a race in Brzozie, Poland! Is he considering a move to the 10,000 meters? Inquiring minds want to know!
Piotr Malachowski, Split, 2010, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Seriously folks, we should congratulate Piotr on his superb improvement! But for now, at least, Malachowski will leave the 10,000 meters, and the 5,000 meters to Solinsky….well, unless Mr. Solinsky decides to take up the discus!
(Sorry, kind readers, this one was done about 1 in the morning. After two Venti Iced Espressos, two bottles of water and a cup of chicken soup, and three magazines proofs checked, I needed something to consider.)
TOP TEN TRACK QUESTIONS 2011
(by EME NEWS)
1)Will the top three sprinters
Bolt, Powell and Gay meet somewhere else than Daegu and will they meet even in Korea
in one race?
2)In which shape will return
Sanya Richards, Kenenisa Bekele, and Yelena Isinbayeva?
3)Will Christophe Lemaitre
continue to improve in the sprints?
4)Will the big meetings ban
continue for Chambers and Gatlin and as a new man in that group also for
LaShawn Merritt?
5)Will Diamond League continue
to improve as major one day meetings series?
6)Haile Gebrselassie vs. Sammy
Wanjiru in marathon not realistic in 2011? But is realistic that Wanjiru goes
on Haile´s WR?
7)80 metres in women
hammer, more world records from David Rudisha, 7000+ for Jessica Ennis?
8)Will fresh Blanka Vlasic
after passing indoors finally jump a world record in summer?
9)IAAF elections – Lamine Diack
remains President by acclamation ? Is general secretary Pierre Weiss retiring?
10)EA President vote Hansjorg
Wirz vs. Svein-Arne Hansen ?
MASAI
HEADING FOR EDINBURGH
NAIROBI
(KEN): World champion at 10
000 m Linet Masai plans to run the World CC
Championships in Spain
in March. She has so far two silvers and one bronze from that event in last
three years. Her goal is clear, finally to win the gold medal. She will be
heading to Scotland
this week to challenge compatriots Vivian Cheruiyot, Emily Chebet and
Portugal´s European champion Jessica Augusto at the Great Edinburgh
International Cross Country on Saturday. “I have to test my body. I have only
run one race since November. I ran in France
and won, but the real test will be in Edinburgh.
I will leave on Wednesday for Scotland,”
said Masai as per The Nation.
FERNANDEZ
RETURNING TO COACH POSTIGO
MADRID (ESP): European 1500 m champion Nuria
Fernandez after ending her cooperation with coach Manuel Pascua started to work
with Antonio Postigo who was already her coach when she was 17. Other athletes
of Pascua like Reyes Estevez, Antonio Jimenez, Eugenio Barrios or Miguel
Quesada are not yet having a new trainer. Pascua´s sprinters Digna Luz Murillo
and Estera Garcia will work with Jose Luis Martinez. Spanish media are
informing.
MALACHOWSKI
RAN 10 KM
BRZOZIE (POL): Interesting
entry at the 4th Silvester Race here. Discus European Champion Piotr
Malachowski was completing the 10
km distance after 1:00:16. “I m happy with my progress,
last year in the same race I was slower by seven minutes,” said Malachowski who
has around 120 kg
and 192 cm
height.
MIKITENKO
DREAMS ABOUT LONDON
GOLD
BOLZANO (ITA): German top marathon runner
Irina Mikitenko admitted she is not satisfied with the 2010 season from her
point of view. The 38-years old former World Marathon Majors winner says her
main aim is the marathon at Olympic Games 2012 in London. “I m having this dream of London 2012 in my head. It is a
dream about winning the race,” Mikitenko said for leichtathletik.de. In 2012
she will be 40 years old. She was 6th at Bolzano end of the year race at the 5 km distance and said it was
too short for her but due to high quality of the field she was satisfied. For
2011 Mikitenko plans two marathons. London
is confirmed and she is still undecided about the fall race, she wants there
qualify for the games. That also means Mikitenko is not planning to run the
marathon at World Championships in Daegu.
OTHER NEWS
INDIANAPOLIS
(USA): RRW informs that America’s
largest half-marathon, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, sold out on
Dec. 29, with 35,000 entries, organizers announced. The race is scheduled for
May 7, 2011, in
Indianapolis.
Organizers said that it was the tenth consecutive year the event had sold out.
The 2010 edition of the event, held last May 8, recorded 31,032 finishers.
AUCKLAND
(NZL) : Yvette Williams (81), the first woman from New
Zealand to win an Olympic Gold medal, has been made a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit which is New Zealand’s second highest royal
honour. Williams won gold in the long jump at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki and collected 4
Commonwealth Games gold medals, each time setting a new Commonwealth Games
record. She also broke the New
Zealand record 27 times as well as the World
record in 1954 writes the New Zealand Herald.
WACO
(USA):
World title defender at 400 m
Sanya Richards looks forward to 2011 with great expectations after missing the
2010 because of the injuries. “Morning world… No more saying getting ready
for NEXT season! It’s 2011, next season is HERE!,” she said on her twitter.
LONDON (GBR): Lord Sebastian Coe has
supported West Ham United’s bid to take over the 2012 London Olympic Stadium
after the Games. Tottenham has also put out its candidacy to take over the
stadium but would not keep the track and suggested an alternative athletics
legacy which could possibly be housed at Crystal Palace.
Coe was quoted by The Press Association: “We are told that West Ham are happy
to play football within a track and Tottenham have clearly said they are not.
Conclude from that what you want.” Although Coe doesn’t hide where his
sympathies lie he also stressed he has no part in the decision-making process.
LONDON
(GBR): One day after the launch of the logo for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games the Organizing Committee
has found itself in a plagiarism row over the logo. The logo would strongly
resemble a logo, used by an US based organization, that also depicts figures
embracing with their arms in a flowing motion. The agency who designed the logo
denies all allegations reports Insidethegames.biz.
BERLIN (GER): German Robert Harting is
aiming at defending his world discus title at the IAAF World Championships in
Daegu. In an interview with Leichtathletik.de Harting called his 2010 season a
success although he ended up with a silver medal at the European Championships.
Harting will start his season with domestic meetings in preparation for Daegu.
AMSTERDAM
(NED): Dutch runner Adrienne Herzog will not be returning to Spain to join her coach Manuel
Pascua. Herzog’s name appeared in the doping case “Operacion Galgo” and she
allegedly asked Pascua to provide her EPO in the build up to the European
Championships in Barcelona.
Herzog denies all accusations and claims to have never used banned substances.
She plans to join a new training group in the United States where her boyfriend
lives reports destem.nl.
PRAGUE (CZE): In the poll for best Czech
Sports Personality of the decade of daily newspaper Sport organised on the
website www.isport.cz two track
athletes placed among top five. Decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle was
fourth and legendary javelin thrower Jan Zelezny fifth. The win went to
ice-hockey star Jaromir Jagr ahead of speed-skating olympic winner Martina
Sablikova and football hero Pavel Nedved.
RESULTS
TOKYO (JPN, Jan 2): Waseda won Hakone Ekiden
for the first time in 18 years and so became the first to win all three (Izumo,
Collegiate Champ, Hakone) Collegiate Ekidens. Waseda took a lead early in the
stage one and held it until late in stage 5 of first day. After day one, Waseda
was 27 seconds behind the defending champion Toyo University.
On Monday Waseda took over the lead in the middle of stage 6 and stayed in
front till the finish line in new course record 10:59:51. Second Toyo
University 11:00:12 and
third Komazawa 11:03:53.
LONDONDERRY (USA, Jan 1): Brian Gagnon achieved
3:54 to win here the Millennium Road Mile on a downhill course. Argentinian
Claudia Nero was the best woman (4:32). Informs Race Results Weekly.
DUBLIN
(IRL, Jan 1): Top Ireland´s current female runner Fionnuala Britton began her
2011 campaign with a record breaking performance to win the 6th Tom Brennan
Memorial road race in the Phoenix
Park with 16:39 at 5 km (new course record).
Writes Athletics Ireland website. Deirdre Byrne got 17:03 as second. Male
winner was Tom Fitzpatrick in 14:54.
BOSTON
(USA,
Dec 26): At Boston University Mini Meet Chris Barnicle clocked solid personal
best 7:55.70 at 3000 m.
Informs RRW.
TAURANGA (NZL, Jan 1): Double
silver Commonwealth medallist Nikki Hamblin has opened her season at the New
Year Twilight meeting clocking 9:18.41 in a mixed 3000m race. Hamblin’s
personal best stands at 9:10.95.
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