550 ATHLETES FOR VELENJE

LAUSANNE
(SUI): After the preliminary entries closed, the names of 550 athletes from 33
European Athletics Member Federations had been set into contest the six races
that will make up the 2011 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in
Velenje, Slovenia, on 11 December. However, after the deadline, Luxembourg has
been allowed to make a late entry and Montenegro has also expressed an
interest in sending athletes. All this means that there is the good chance that
there will be several SPAR European Cross Country Championships records set or
equaled in Velenje next month. The highest number of countries to participate
were the 34 nations that made the trip to the town of Albufeira on Portugal’s
Algarve coast for last year’s championships. Overall, the record number of
competitors has been the 468 runners that competed at the 2006, 2008 and 2010
SPAR European Cross Country Championships. There will inevitably be fewer
people on the start line in Velenje than the 550 initial entries as Member
Federations can enter up to eight people in a race but only six can run,
and there is always a small number of last minute withdrawals. Informs
European Athletics.

SAVINOVA
AND BORZAKOVSKIY

MOSCOW
(RUS): Readers of website Rusathletics.com decided that 800 m runners Mariya Savinova
and Yuriy Borzakovskiy are Russian Athletes of the Year 2011. Savinova was also
elected European AOY 2011. In the earlier vote by Russian Athletics Federation
the top places went to Anna Chicherova and Borzakovskiy, third poll is expected
from sports journalists. In the website vote second places for Anna Chicherova
and walker Valeriy Borchin and third positions for Mariya Abakumova and Aleksey
Dmitrik.

UNBELIEVABLE
KRIEGER STORY

SCHIELLEITEN
(AUT): Austrian federation OLV organised recently a seminar with
prevention against doping as one of the main topics. And they invited a special
guests, Andreas Krieger with his wife Ute Krieger-Krause, both former high
level sportsmen in former East Germany. They told their unbelievable story. Because Andreas Krieger was formerly Heidi Krieger the female European
Champion 1986 in the shot put with 21.10 m. She was also European junior
champion and achieved indoors 20.51 as junior in 1984 and that is now listed in
the first list of IAAF World Junior Indoor records recently published. „When I was
17 I got more male hormons than Ben Johnson. I was able in two weeks
to lift more than 100 tons in the weight-lifting room, Arnold Schwarzenegger
was nothings against myself,” now he explains. The surgery which changed Heidi
to Andreas happened in 1997. In 2002 already as he, he married Ute
Krieger-Krause, former swimmer. They are now recognized victims of doping by
the state and are working in the fight against doping. More in the Austrian
federation newsletter: http://www.oelv.at/newsletter/register.php.

OTHER NEWS

LEVERKUSEN
(GER): The 2005 European U23 javelin champion German Annika Suthe ends her
throwing career. Her last meet was in the summer at the German Championships
where she was ninth. She had in recent years elbow problems. Her best comes
from 2004 when she still as junior achieved German U19 record 61.38. The same
year she won silver at world junior championships in Grosseto.

HELSINKI
(FIN): Finland’s public TV station YLE added 2014 and 2016 Olympics Rights to
2012 in deal with Sportfive. They agreed a deal to broadcast the 2014
winter Olympic Games in Sochi and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

DALLAS
(USA): Sacbee.com writes that in an unequivocal victory for the popular
nutritional supplement maker USPlabs, a federal judge in Maryland today
summarily dismissed a $1.8 million lawsuit filed by a disgruntled track
and field athlete seeking to blame the company for his testing positive for a substance
banned in competition. The lawsuit, brought by Maryland-based track athlete
Phillipe H. DeRosier, Jr. resulted from DeRosier’s ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency (USADA) for his use of a substance contained in the best-selling
supplement Jack3d. The presence of the compound was listed on the product
label. In dismissing all six counts of DeRosier’s complaint, U.S. District
Judge Catherine C. Blake held that his damages claims were based on testimony
that was „wholly speculative and conclusory.” De Rosier´s bests are 10.20
(2008) and 20.53 (2009).

LONDON
(GBR): Heptathlon star and London 2012 Olympic medal hopeful Jessica Ennis has
been honoured by the Prince of Wales. Prince Charles presented Ennis with an
MBE for her services to athletics in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham
Palace.

KINGSTON
(JAM): A month after her return to Jamaica to begin training with the
Racers Track and Field Club under the tutelage of head coach Glen Mills, 2010
Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles bronze medallist Nickiesha Wilson seems to be
settling in just fine. „Everyone is great. Just really happy to be a part
of that group and it makes me happy to be around such people,” Wilson told the
Jamaica Observer in a recent interview. The former Louisiana State
University star athlete who graduated with a degree in exercise science
has spent the time since her return concentrating on her 400m under the expert
eyes of 1983 world champion Bert Cameron. „I’m sponsored by Adidas and it’s
(Racers) an Adidas camp and I just like the way Bert (Cameron) coaches
people and the whole Racers on a whole… it’s doing phenomenal and I wanted
to be part of such a great group,” she added. Her best is 53.97 from 2007
and clocked in 2011 55.57 and was Daegu semifinalist.

MADRID
(ESP): Statistician Andres Martinez listed on his blog http://statisticsatlet.blogspot.com
the best sprinters based on their average of top 5 fastest legal times. Leader
Usain Bolt has 9.702 average ahead of Tyson Gay 9.744 and Asafa Powell 9.754.
Fourth is former world record holder Maurice Greene 9.824 and fifth Nesta
Carter 9.856 ahead of Ato Boldon 9.862 and Yohan Blake 9.872. Top ten are
rounded by Frank Fredericks 9.886, Steve Mullings 9.896 and Justin Gatlin
9.898. Former olympic winners Donovan Bailey is 11th (9.900), Carl Lewis 16th
(9.914) and best European Linford Christie 19th (9.926).

GENT
(BEL): At the end of the day there will be international indoor meet in Gent
this winter. The Flemish Athletics League will organise a new meet on
February 19 and it will be called IFAM indoors. Flanders Indoors which was part
of IAAF circuit and organised by Golazo company will not be staged next year
because the main sponsor Belgacom did not continue with the support.

PRETORIA
(RSA): African Athletics facebook page informs about South African female
javelin thrower Tazmin Brits – 2007 world youth champion and 2010 world junior
bronze medallist – who sustained serious injuries in a car accident on
Wednesday.

ATHENS
(GRE): AIMS website informs that the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Greece,
Pavlos Yeroulanos, and the President of AIMS, Paco Borao, opened a permanent
headquarters for AIMS in offices within the Olympic Complex in Athens at an
address bearing the name of the first Olympic Marathon winner, as it is located
in Spyros Louis Avenue. The 5th AIMS Marathon Symposium took place with a medical
theme, featuring speakers from the Marathons of Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona,
Vienna and Athens, and including and the lighting of the flame at the Marathon
Tomb as part of the associated ceremonies last week.

RESULTS

EMBU
(KEN, Nov 19): Daegu fourth placer at 5000 m Isaiah Koech returned from injury
to win the men 12km event at the 3rd KCB/AK National Cross Country meet with
36:02 at 12 km. The 2009 World Youth 3000m champion was joined on the winner’s
rostrum by Winfridah Kwamboka (women 8km senior, 28:04), Africa Cross
titleholder, Japheth Korir (junior men 8km, 23:47) and Zipp