by Larry Eder
NYRR club showed a lot of class by bringing over one of the top Japanese female marathoners, after the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan a week ago! A busy weekend.
Watch Universalsports.com for the NYRR Half marathon and LA Marathon. Also note that RBR will be tweeting both events, so stay tuned on Sunday morning!
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WATT 838, RUDISHA 1:44.80, DOUBLES FOR PEARSON AND A. TAYLOR
(AUS, Mar 19): World bronze medalist Mitchell Watt leaped in last
attempt to excellent 838 (+1.5) and had one more valid jump (808, +0.5)
in his series during the 2011 Sydney Track Classic. That was the
highlight of round 4 of the Australian Athletics Tour which has thrilled
a crowd of almost 5000 in wet conditions at Sydney Olympic Park. “Four
fouls across the series was strange, it just took some time to work out
where my run up should have started from,” Watt said for Athletics
Australia after setting one of the five world leading marks of the early
season here. Shot put world and olympic medalist Valerie Adams of New
Zealand achieved another WL with 20.55 and in total had five 20+
attempts. World best athlete of the year 2010 Kenyan David Rudisha
clocked an commanding 1:44.80 win over Lachlan Renshaw 1:46.08 with oly
gold medalist at 1500 m Asbel Kiprop beeing fifth (1:46.80).“My
run tonight was good, the conditions here were wet and tough and a 1:44
on a night like this is satisfying, I am feeling very strong and
confident. From here I will head back to Kenya and continue the build to
Daegu with the Doha Diamond League my first major hit out after
Australia,” Rudisha was quoted by Athletics Australia. Two
interesting doubles were also registered. Home hurdles star Sally
Pearson won both sprints with 11.21 (+0.1, meet record and world lead)
and 23.12 (-0.2) over US Miki Barber (11.44 and 23.41). Hurdles olympic
winner Angelo Taylor scored the second double with 20.71 (-0.1) and
45.71 (early world lead). In the deuce second youth Nicholas Hough
(21.03) beating senior Australian elite. In the one lap Ben Offereins
second (46.16) ahead another youth potential medallist for Lille in
summer Steven Solomon (46.24). Jamaican 800 m record holder Kenia
Sinclair won the 1500 m in a world leading time of 4:06.50, close to
her career best 4:05.56 from 2007. Estonian Maris Magi won 400 m close
contest (52.21) over Australian Tamsyn Lewis (52.26) and US Monica
Hargrove (52.33). Javelin Commonwealth silver winner Kim Mickle won her
event with new personal best 63.82 from the sixth round. 400 m hurdles
wins for US Justin Gaymon (49.87) and home Lauren Boden (56.41, Jana
Rawlinson was not running). Jeremy Roff clocked 3:39.03 in the 1500 m,
world champion Dani Samuels won the discus (58.43) and Tallent family
ruled in walking at 5000 m. Jarred won in 19:01.00 and Claire was timed
at 22:09.11. Unfortunately Australia narrowly missed the Worlds standard
in women 4×100 m when clocking 44:02 (44.00 was the aim) with Pearson,
Van Veenendaal, Whaler and Breen. Final meet of Australian Tour will be
in Perth on March 31 and April 1.
KENYAN WINS, ROTHLIN 10TH
KERZERS
(SUI, Mar 19): For 8th time in a row a Kenyan male win was registered
at the 33rd Kerzerslauf, a road race at 15 km in Switzerland. Joseph
Kiptum clocked 44:18, the 7th fastest in the history of the event.
Second Loitareng Kadengoi (44:23) and third Geoffrey Kanyanhua (both
also from Kenya, 44:30). European marathon champion Viktor Rothlin
clocked 46:45 as 10th in preparation for London Marathon. He was slower
by two minutes than his best time here in 2004 but also nearly two
minutes faster than last year. In women race Kenyan Caroline Chepkwony
was the best in 51:03 over course record holder Hungarian Aniko Kalovics
(51.37) and title defender another Kenyan Tabitha Gichia (52:31). Best
Swiss here Sabine Fischer was fourth (53:16).
US FRIDAY ACTION (Sanya and Wariner)
FORT WORTH:
World stars started their season at TCU Invitational. Reigning 400 m
world champion Sanya Richards-Ross after missing nearly all of 2010
clocked 23.06 (+1.6) in the 200 m and on her twitter expressed
satisfaction with the race. Former world and olympic 400 m winner Jeremy
Wariner posted 20.71 (+0.1) in the 200 m. Fresh US indoor champion Omo
Osaghae achieved 13.49 (+1.6) at 110 m hurdles. Moncton 100 m medalist
Charles Silmon was excellent in the 100 m with 10.25 (+1.9) what is his
third best of the career and he also got in his 200 m race 20.82 (+1.1).
Bryce Brown posted 49.76 at 400 m hurdles. Fresh NCAA indoor silver
medalist at 60 m Jessica Young won the 100 m in windy 11.14 (+3.2).
HOUSTON:
Long jumper Ola Sesay now representing Sierra Leone leaped to solid 654
(-1.0) at Meeting of the Minds. Another top long jumper Funmi Jimoh was
second at 200 m (24.58) beaten by Patricia Hall (23.90). Former NCAA
Champion Ryan Harlan scored 7720 in decathlon, it is his best mark since
2007. His best is 8171 from 2004.
LAFAYETTE:
New country with 70+ hammer national record in men lists is St. Vincent.
NCAA student Adonson Shallow achieved such a mark at Louisiana Classics
with 70.22 m.
TUCSON: NCAA
indoor shot put champion from last weekend Julie Labonte of Canada
continues in fine form and during first day of Willie Williams Classic
improved her overall life-time best to 17.65 m. Her indoor Canadian
record from this undercover season is 17.60. The outdoor Canadian record
is 17.83 by Leija Tunks from 2007. Another Canadian Sultana Frizell
achieved 70.94 in hammer.
MYRTLE
BEACH: US indoor weight throw champion Amber Campbell started outdoors
with new life-time best 72.02 in hammer at Shamrock Invitational. She is
now 4th best all-time US performer.
CHARLOTTE:
Jamaican hurdler Leford Green is in fast shape. He clocked 20.61 (+0.6)
in 200 m heats and 50.40 in his speciality heats during first day of
Charlotte 49er Classic. Chris Davis posted 10.31 (+1.7) in the 100 m
heats.
OTHER NEWS
LAUSANNE
(SUI): European Athletics announced that triple jump world record
holder Teddy Tamgho of France and Italian high jumper Antonietta Di
Martino have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for
February. Both are European indoor champions from Paris, Tamgho even
jumped in the indoor season three times world indoor record (17.91 and
twice 17.92). Di Martino cleared world leading 204 in Banska Bystrica.
Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu, who scripted a dream comeback after a few
years in the wilderness by setting a new national record 6.53 to win the
60m gold in Paris, finished second in the men’s poll. The third place
went to Belarus’ Andrei Krauchanka who won the heptathlon gold medal in
Paris with a personal best and national record tally of 6282 points.
Ukraine’s sprint sensation Olesya Povh equalled her own European
season-leading performance of 7.13 in the semi-finals and finals to take
her first major international title and was voted second in a very
close contest for the women’s European Athlete of the Month. Czech
Republic’s Denisa Rosolova who took the glory and the gold from her
famed Russian counterparts in the women’s 400m in Paris was voted third
in the women’s poll.
LONDON
(GBR): Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson is confident
London’s bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships will not be
damaged by Britain’s three previous embarrassing failures to secure the
event. “I don’t think the IAAF will approach this in terms of the
baggage from previous bids,” Robertson told insidethegames. London will
face opposition from three cities to host the 2017 competition. Doha,
Budapest and Barcelona or Seville from Spain have put themselves forward
to host the event. Writes Insidethegames.
KYIV (UKR): Ukrainian sport-express.ua
with multiple world record holder, IOC member and IAAF Senior
Vice-President Sergey Bubka about the coaching changes in the career of
Yelena Isinbayeva. “I understand what she is doing. She has more or less
two to three years remaining in her career and important decision
should be made. She wants to be closer to her family and other relatives
and friends, she is tired from staying abroad. On the other hand it is
clear the conditions in Volgograd are not the same she was used to in
recent years. I also fully understand the position of Vitaliy Petrov,
his responsibility at the pole vault center in Formia is big. Large
group of jumpers is depending on him. He just is not able to close the
door and go to Volgograd,” explains Bubka.
NEW YORK
(USA): Yuri Kano, a top Japanese runner and the winner of the 2010
Nagoya International Ladies Marathon, flew from Tokyo to New York on
March 17 and will compete in the NYC Half this Sunday, March 20, it was
announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
“It is with open arms that we welcome Yuri at a time when we would like
to embrace all of Japan,” said Wittenberg. “Yuri is a tough, gutsy
runner whom I fully expect will run strong through it all.” Her best is
1:08:57 while winning the Sapporo Half in 2008.
.
LONDON
(GBR): The International Olympic Committee has backed London 2012 in
their funding row with the British Olympic Association over the Olympic
and Paralympic Games next year. The dispute now looks set to be decided
by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The BOA has recently
disputed the Joint Marketing Agreement and feel they deserves a bigger
cut of any surplus once the 2012 showpiece ends. But the IOC has backed
the position of London 2012 as they believe the deal it struck with the
BOA in 2004 is fair. Writes Insidethegames.
PUNTA UMBRIA
(ESP): Athletics Weekly at its twitter says that Bydgoszcz is
interested to stage the next World CC Championships in 2013 again. The
Polish city organized the event in 2010. Bahrain could be the choice for
2015. After this years edition in Punta Umbria the event will be held
every second year instead of annual system.
