byLarry Eder
Tyson Gay, 2010 AVIVA London Grand Prix, photo by PhotoRun.net
High school state meets (Texas), and college conferences galore will fill this weekend with some great track & field action.
Also please note that Runblogrun freelancer Jeff Shaver will be covering the Shanghai DL for us. Last time we checked, Jeff was driving two hours to the Shenzhen airport. A two hour plane ride to Shanghai will follow and then a one hour taxi ride. He is hoping against hope that he can get a nice cold Croatian beer in the hotel lobby!
He did mention that he had to sell two musk oxen to get a tank of gas, but what a small price to pay for watching a Samsung DL meeting…many will remember his fascinating pictures of the TOTO toilet plant as one of the true highlights of our athletic coverage in the 1990s.
Jeff Shaver, just after he was named the King of California,
photographer unknown
GAY OPENS ON SUNDAY ON THE ROAD
MANCHESTER (GBR): Last year fastest Tyson Gay opens his
season over 150m at the Powerade ION4 Great CityGames in Manchester on Sunday. “In this era of track
and field it’s about running super-fast. Last year was last year. I know I have
to work even harder this year and be smarter. I don’t really think about last
year,” he was quoted by UK
media. Bolt ran 14.35 to win on the specially-constructed track on Deansgate
two years ago, but the following year Gay broke fellow American Tommie Smith’s
44-year-old mark for 200m on a straight track with a run of 19.41. Getting
close to Bolt’s mark in his first outing of the season would be something
special, but Gay, who declared himself only 80% fit, played down the chances.
“I’m not in 14.3 shape, but I’m looking forward to trying to run a good time,”
said Gay. Another top star of the Sunday in Manchester is legendary Haile Gebrselassie.
He described his feelings on his twitter: “After press conference I went to the
set of famous tv program Coronation
street for a photo shoot. Now relaxing. Visited
the Man Utd training this morning and meet the whole team. Very nice, wished
them luck for two important matches coming up.”
DIAMOND LEAGUE NEWS
OSLO (NOR): Women shot put will make a return to Bislett Stadium with
Belarus European Champion Nadezhda Ostapchuk and World Champion Valerie Adams
of New Zealand. The Belarussian is yet to start her season and Adams took a break after the domestic season and is missing
first DL events. She is now spending time with her new coach Jean-Pierre Egger
and is basing herself in Macolin,
Switzerland, at
the famous BASPO sports centre. Adams will
compete sparingly prior to Daegu so she can sharpen facets of her technique, before
looking at a new personal best in access of the existing mark of 2l.07m. She
has already begun this year with some emphatic performances in Oceania including a world leading heave of 20.55m at the
Sydney Track Classic on 19 March. Oslo will be
her first competition in Europe this year for
the native of Aotearoha. Writes IAAF. In the field also US record holder Jill
Camarena-Williams and German 2009 world silver winner Nadine Kleinert.
ROMA (ITA): The Compeed Golden Gala on May 26 in historical Olympic
Stadium will have as latest addition high jump queen Blanka Vlasic competing.
She opens this Sunday in Shanghai.
At the place where Stefka Kostadinova cleared the existing world record of 209
back in 1987 she will face in first this years clash the number one of the
indoor season, Italian star Antonietta Di Martino. Also jumping Emma Green and
Ruth Beitia. On the other hand the organizers are reporting the withdrawal of
Sudanese world indoor champion Abubaker Kaki from the 800 m due his health
situation.
SHANGHAI (CHN): “I opened up very fast last year in Doha, but my coach says I’m in even better
shape than I was last year, so…we’ll wait and see. Yohan and Nickel ran faster
than expected in Kingston.
Obviously guys like them, and Nesta Carter, are going to be the future of the
sport. They are very young, and they are running very fast. They will be the
names that people will be talking about and asking questions of. Jamaicans are
coming up one after the other. You just can’t stop them!” said Asafa Powell at
press conference before his first 100
m of the year in China. Informs IAAF. To break the
meet record will be anyway tough, it is 9.69 by Tyson Gay from 2009.
OTHER NEWS
NAIROBI (KEN): Nairobi Star informs that Athletics
Kenya will name the national marathon team on Sunday for the World
Championships in Daegu. The team was due to be named in Thursday but AK
chairman Isaiah Kiplagat shelved the exercise until Sunday, owing to what he
termed as technical issues which had arisen in the course of the week.
KINGSTON (JAM): Talented Jamaican Ristananna Tracey has
decided to join fellow hurdlers Melaine Walker, the World and Olympic champion
and Diamond Race winner Kaliese Spencer, under the guidance of Stephen Francis,
at the UTech training camp. In recent months, the question as to where Tracey,
winner of the 2010 Carifta Games and Champs 2011 400m hurdles titles, will
continue her studies, after leaving Edwin Allen, dominated in the discussions.
ZURICH (SUI): European Champion Viktor Rothlin will
not compete in Daegu in the marathon. He is concentrating on Olympic 2012
Marathon in London.
Also other two Swiss athletes with fulfilled standards opted not to run at the
World Championships. They are two females Patricia Morceli and Magali Di Marco.
BRESTANICA (SLO): Olympic and world hammer winner Primoz Kozmus plans to
return to competition at local meet on May 29 in Slovenska Bistrica. The
31-years old is satisfied with the way how his preparation is going after one
year break from the sport. For this year his goal is to achieve finals in Daegu
and main aim is orientated towards London 2012.
SOFIA (BUL): Bulgarian high jumper and European 2006 silver medalist
Venelina Veneva-Mateeva decided to have her own club. She already got national
federation registration and it will be called “Venelina Veneva”. She is in
training for outdoor season, although she was thinking about retirement during
the indoor competitions. Her plans for future are connected to work with school
children and athletics.
DUBNICA (SVK): The organizers of 9th Athletics
Bridge meeting in Dubnica, Slovakia
decided to change the date from September 18 to September 15. The EA Classic
meeting is the best one day meeting in Slovakia,
replacing the former Bratislava
meeting which was on top back in eighties and nineties. The change was forced
by other changes in the calendar. Fortunately September 15 (Thursday) is a
holiday day in the country.
RESULTS
GABORONE (BOT, May 13): Top results in running events
highlighted the second day of 10th African Junior Championships. 18-years old
Ethiopian Fantu Megso Maneda twice improved national senior 400 m record. First in heats
to 52.24 and then in finals to 52.09. In the 800 m the order from Moncton was reserved.
Bronze winner Anette Negesa of Uganda
won in 2:04.94 over silver holder Cherono Koech of Kenya (2:06.49). Nigerian Josephine
Omaka won the 100 m
in 11.97 against -1.2 wind. In the boys finals superb 1500 m with first four
running under 3:38. For all four excellent personal bests. Winning Kenyan Hillary
Maiyo (will be 18 in
October) got 3:35.43 over unknown Geoffrey Barusei 3:35.54 and Ethiopians
Soresa Fida 3:36.38 and Bekele Zebene (4th at World Youth 2009) 3:37.49.
Another gold for Kenya
in the 10 000 m
when Geoffrey Kirui clocked excellent 27:55.74. Fastest sprinter was South
African Gideon Trotter with 10.49 (-1.5) who also clocked windy 10.38 (+3.0) in
the preliminaries. Sadam Koumi of Sudan improved to excellent 46.37
and won the 400 m.
MOMBASA (KEN, May 13): Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo
was only fourth in 200m during the 5th National Bank/AK Weekend Meeting.
Ugandan Agnes Aneno was the best with 25.9. The time of Jelimo was not reported
by East Standard but was at 27 seconds level on a grass track.
