Marathon week in New York is in full swing. Here is your update on the world of athletics and also, the biggest question!

Looking forward to seeing who makes the Men’s World Marathon Majors winner for 2010-11! We shall find out this weekend!

Patrick Makau, 2011 BMW Berlin Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net

SPLIT,
ISTANBUL, AMSTERDAM

LAUSANNE
(SUI): European Athletics is to announce the host city of the 2016 European
Athletics Championships on Friday. The decision by the European Athletics
Council in Helsinki (131st session) will be made following presentations by the
candidate cities of Amsterdam, Istanbul and Split. The 2012 European Athletics
Championships will take place in Helsinki through 27 June to 1 July. The Swiss
city of Zurich will continue the two-year cycle of the event when hosting the
2014 championships through 12 to 17 August. The European Athletics Council, led
by President Wirz, will decide on a number of important issues during the
Autumn Council meeting set for 3-5 November. It is expected to decide on the
host city for the 2013 SPAR European Cross Country Championships. Candidates
are Antalya in Turkey, Beograd in Serbia and Dudince in Slovakia. There will
also be reports from recent meetings of the Competition and Development
Committees including final approval of different categories of EA one day
meetings.

WILL SOMEBODY CATCH MAKAU?

BOSTON
(USA): The men’s race for the 2010-2011 World Marathon Majors title will come
down to the wire this weekend in the Big Apple. A cast of potential
winners will toe the starting line on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the ING
New York City Marathon, the eleventh and final race of the two-year WMM cycle.
The women’s competition was won in October, when Liliya Shobukhova (Russia)
broke the tape in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with a time of
2:18:20, and set an insurmountable 30-point lead in the standings to win the
$500,000 prize. Things are much tighter on the men’s side. Standings leader
Patrick Makau of Kenya has used repeat victories in the BMW Berlin Marathon in
2011 and 2010 (25 points each), as well as a third place finish in the
2011 Virgin London Marathon (10 points), to build a five point lead over
the pack. With his world record performance of 2:03:38 in Berlin coming just
six weeks ago, his season is complete, his point total is set at 60, and he
won’t compete on Sunday in New York. In pursuit of Makau, the field is thick
and talented. Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya (55 pts.), Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia (41
pts.), Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya (40 pts.), and Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia (35
pts.) are all statistically in the hunt to win the grand prize on Sunday. Moses
Mosop of Kenya (40 pts.), is just four weeks removed from his 2:05:37 win in
Chicago, and he too, will not compete in New York.

KIPSANG
AND LONDON, GOOD QUESTION

FRANKFURT
(GER): Wilson Kipsang with his excellent second fastest ever 2:03:42 is
bringing headaches for Kenyan Olympic selectors. They already gave two spots to
World record holder Patrick Makau and World Champion Abel Kirui. Will the third
be awarded to Kipsang? But what about Geoffrey Mutai and Moses Mosop who ran
2:03:02 and 2:03:06 respectively, admittedly with a wind behind them on a slightly
downhill course in Boston in April; and Mosop later won not fully healthy
Chicago. And many others. But that problem could yet get worse. It just so
happens that on hand in Frankfurt this weekend was Peter Angwenyi, the public
relations man for Athletics Kenya. Angwenyi told Pat Butcher that the selection
of the Olympic marathon trio would not be made until after the London Marathon
next April, the final one of the big spring marathons, which also include
Paris, Rotterdam and Boston. So, who knows? Given the burgeoning talent coming
out of Kenya, ready to burn the tarmac off the road surfaces of the world’s
marathon courses, there could well be another half dozen guys claiming world
record credentials, and clamouring for a place in that golden trio. That
would mean even Makau and Kirui are not selected for sure?

NO
FOR ANOTHER INDOOR MEET IN 2012: GENT

GENT
(BEL): After Valencia in 2011 and Stuttgart, Paris and Leipzig for 2012 another
indoor meet is out for next winter. The Belgacom Flanders Indoor meeting, a IAAF
indoor permit meeting, will no longer be staged after 22 years. Organizers have
not been able to convince telecommunications company Belgacom to invest in the
event and have not been able to find another main sponsor. Organizers also
explained they feel a lack of interest by the athletes and therefore will
no longer organize the annual meeting. „Despite all the efforts we’ve made in
order to promote the indoor athletics meeting, we have experienced that
attracting spectators to this event is a difficult job. Also companies
show little interest to use the meeting as a customer service tool. On top
of that, every year athletes seem to be less focused on the indoor season, this
applies to both national as well as international athletes,” explains athlete
liaison of the meet Marc Corstjens. But they still hope to have the meet back
for winter 2013. The 23rd edition was planned for February 26, 2012.

CHICHEROVA
AND BORZAKOVSKIY

MOSCOW
(RUS): Russian Athletics Federation named its Athletes of the Year 2011 during
the traditional end of the year conference. High jump world champion Anna
Chicherova is the women leader ahead of javelin gold medalist Mariya Abakumova.
Third place for 800 m gold medalist Mariya Savinova. Best male is 800 m Daegu
bronze winner Yuriy Borzakovskiy ahead of walking winner Valeriy Borchin and
high jump silver medalist Aleksey Dmitrik. Coach of the year is for third time
in a row walking expert Viktor Chegin. Here second place for high jump
coach Yevgeniy Zagorulko and third Aleksandr Sinitsyn who leads the preparation
of Abakumova. In the poll participated conference delegates and guests. Another
poll is organised for the readers of Rusathletics.com website and third poll is
organised by Russian sports journalists. Results of this polls will be known
later.

SANCHEZ
INJURED, BUT STILL PLANS TO CONTINUE

SANTO
DOMINGO (DOM): Legendary hurdler Felix Sanchez (34) returned home with a 400
m hurdles bronze but also a bandaged right arm from PanAm Games in
Guadalajara. He made a great effort to get a medal, jumping into the
finish line that caused an injury to his right shoulder. Sanchez needed
assistance from the medical team and walked for several minutes crying in pain.
But his career is not yet completed and there is no date set for when it will
be. He still plans for 2012 Olympic Games and 2013 World Championships and 2014
Central American Games. After that he wants to be a manager in the sport.

OTHER NEWS

KINGSTON
(JAM): Gabriel Byrne, Stanley Tucci, Brendan Fraser, Olympic Gold Medalist and
“fastest man in the world” Usain Bolt, Giuliana Rancic, and a galaxy of
other stars have joined Concern Worldwide’s Your Dollar Our Future campaign to
help get Haiti’s children into school and out of poverty.

ZURICH
(SUI): European marathon champion Viktor Rothlin closed his preparation for
Sunday´s NYC Marathon with positive signals. It will be his 22nd marathon and
the preparation went according to his plan. Without pacemakers he expects more
a championships race than a race for a certain time. For him
this is his second highlight of the year after London Marathon in April. His
next goal is then the Olympic marathon 2012 in London. On Sunday he will run his
third NYC Marathon after being 7th in 2005 and non-finisher in 2010.

BRUSSELS
(BEL): European 3000 m and 5000 m record holder Mohammed Mourhit is thinking
about a comeback into the sport. Mourhit, a Morrocan born athlete
competing for Belgium, was highly accomplished at the end of the nineties but
left the sport after a positive doping result at the World half marathon
championships in Brussels in 2002. The now 41-year old Mourhit is aiming for
the London Olympic Games according to Belgian Media. He should run a cross
country competition later in November.

KINGSTON
(JAM): Jamaican world junior 100 m champion 2010 Dexter Lee has reportedly
changed coaches and was spotted taking instructions from coach Okeile Stewart,
the former MVP masseur, who also coaches. Neither Stewart or Lee’s former coach
Claude Grant have confirmed the switch reports trackalerts.

LONDON
(GBR): Double Olympic champion Edwin Moses has called for sport to be used more
as a tool against conflict at the Laureus Sport for Global Good Summit. „This
is a unique gathering of experts on what makes young people behave the way
they do and we can learn vital lessons for the future,” said the American the
1976 and 1984 Olympic 400 meters hurdles champion who is now chairman of
Laureus World Sports Academy reports Insidethegames.

LAUSANNE
(SUI): The IOC launches its first specialized seminar this week for cities
interested in bidding for the Olympic Games. The theme of the meeting obviously
is crucial for the six cities bidding for the 2020 summer Games but useful as
well for any city or NOC contemplating a bid for the Olympics or the Youth
Olympic Games (YOG). Currently Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo are
officially in the 2020 bid race that is set to be decided in September 2013 in
Buenos Aires.

INDIANAPOLIS
(USA): USA Track & Field announced Tuesday the selection of all-time track
and field greats Gail Devers, Maurice Greene, Vince Matthews, and Clarence
Demar, along with standout coach Bob Timmons, into the National Track &
Field Hall of Fame. The five will be inducted into the National Track &
Field Hall of Fame, along with 2010 Hall selection Craig Virgin, on Saturday
evening, December 3, at the Jesse Owens Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be
held in conjunction with 2011 USATF Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

TOKYO
(JPN): Brett Larner reports on his Japan Running News blog that 2004 olympic
marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi left on Tuesday from Osaka International
Airport for an altitude training camp in Boulder, Colorado. The goal of Noguchi’s
training camp is to strengthen her condition ahead of January’s Osaka
International Women’s Marathon which she will run to earn a place on the
London Olympic team. „I’m excited to get away and focus,” she said of her
mental state before leaving Osaka. „I want to build up a good distance
base while I’m there.” Larner adds that Noguchi is planning to run Holland’s
Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km on Nov. 20 alongside former men’s marathon world record
holder Haile Gebrselassie.

RESULTS

AREZZO
(ITA, Oct 30): 13th edition of Half Marathon here winners were Kenyan Eric Chirchir
1:02:30 and Megertu Gelefu of Ethiopia 1:14:36.

NOOSA
(AUS, Oct 29): At Asics Bolt 5 km race in Australia Collis Birmingham won in
13:53 ahead of Ben St. Lawrence 13:59. Susan Kuijken from Netherlands who lives
in Australia during the European winter was the best woman in 16:12 ahead of
Lisa Corrigan 16:14. From RRW.

TULSA
(USA, Oct 29): Kenyan Josphat Boit improved upon his sixth place finish here
last year to beat defending champion Macdonard Ondara clocking 44:10 and 44:13
in the 15 km Tulsa Run. Mulu Seboka easily won over former Wichita State runner
Tonya Nero the women category (51:54 to 53:01). From RRW.

TAKAHATA
(JPN, Oct 30): Olympic 7th placer and Japanese record holder Yuki Yamazaki
returned to competition at All Japan walking meet. He won the 50 km competition
in fast 3:44:03, second Ken Akashi was the only other one with sub 4 hours
(3:58:45). Isamu Fujisawa won the 20 km in 1:22:01 ahead of Daegu 10th placer
at 50 km Hiroki Arai who achieved new personal best 1:22:47. Kumi Otoshi was
the best woman at 20 km (1:32:58).

CORRECTION

DUBLIN
(IRL): Correct winning times at Dublin Marathon were 2:08:33 for Geoffrey
Ndungu and 2:30:55 for Helalia Johanes of Namibia, 2:30:55 also a national
record.

For more on this subject, please check out the following:

ASICSAmerica.com

INGNewYorkCityMarathon.com

New York Road Runners

Runblogrun.com