LEL
FOR DUBAI

DUBAI
(UAE): Kenyan Martin Lel after his fantastic return to competition when
finishing runner up at the Virgin London Marathon in April will commence his
New Year’s schedule with a testing race in the United Arab Emirates. Lel a three-time
London winner and twice in New York will debut in the 2012 Standard Chartered
Dubai Marathon on 27 January where he will start favourite to lift the
US$250,000 first prize. Before that he is also scheduled to run the Sao Paulo
Sao Silvestre race on December 31 in Brazil. “We have been after Martin for a long
time now so we are delighted he has agreed to run in Dubai for the first time
in January,” said race director Peter Connerton after ticking off the name of
another superstar who has always been on his wish list for the Middle East’s
top meeting.

MAKAU
PLANNING SPRING HM

NAIROBI
(KEN): Kenyan media are informing that world marathon record holder Patrick
Makau is now gearing up for a spring half marathon. „I am training well in
Ngong and look forward to the half marathon. Things couldn’t be better,” the
soft spoken world record holder said.

A.
BEKELE GOING PRO

BRUSSELS
(BEL): European cross country champion Atelaw Bekele will receive a full
time contract from the Flemish athletics association in order to continue his
running career. The Ethiopian born athlete surprised by winning the European
cross country championships, urging authorities to arranging for him to
continue to train professionally reports sport.be.

OTHER NEWS

MANCHESTER
(GBR): An emotional Mark Cavendish picked up the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of
the Year award at a live televised ceremony in Manchester. Third place
went to long distance runner Mo Farah after the 28-year-old claimed gold and
silver in the World Championships in Daegu in the 5.000m and 10.000m
respectively reports insidethegames. In the vote Cavendish got 169 152 with
Farah 29 780. World champion at 400 m Hurdles Dai Greene the only other track
athlete among top ten nominees was 9th with 9022 votes. Among guests also
female stars Jessica Ennis and Paula Radcliffe.

BERLIN
(GER): After over 50 years of publishing the DLV year book, leichtathletik.de
now publishes a free E-book to document the year 2011. The E-book will
contain the usual rankings and exclusive pictures.

HAMILTON
(BER):Tyrone Smith and Arantxa King walked away with Male and Female Athletes
of the Year awards at the Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) banquet.
Long jumper Smith won a gold medal at the CAC Games in Mayaguez, posting a leap
of 8.06 to top the podium while King also had a year to remember, jumping
a personal best of 6.47, good enough to earn her a silver medal at
the CAC Games reports The Royal Gazette.

EUGENE
(USA): Galen Rupp is keeping all of his options open for the time being but
said he will decide in the next couple of weeks whether to run in the U.S.
Olympic Trials marathon in Houston on January 14. Rupp recently said that he is
seriously considering running in the Trials marathon, which would be his first
marathon, and perhaps try to qualify in the 10,000m as well. However, Rupp
hasn’t ruled out the 5.000/10.000m double either according to trackfocus.

DOHA
(QAT): At the 32nd session of the Supreme Council for the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
UAE all confirmed their full support for Doha’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. Commenting on GCC support for Doha’s bid, Noora Al
Mannai, CEO of Doha 2020, said: “Doha 2020 is a bid not just for Qatar but
for the entire Middle East.” Reports The Peninsula.

PORT OF
SPAIN (TRI): Sprinter Kelly Ann Baptiste walked away with the Sportswoman of
the Year award during the Guardian Sports Desk’s Annual Awards Ceremony in
Trinidad and Tobago. Baptiste won Trinidad and Tobago’s only medal of the 13th
IAAF World Championships when she placed third (10.98) in the women’s 100m.
Later she also helped breaking the national relay record in the 4x100m final in
Daegu writes The Guardian.

MADRID
(ESP): Spanish race walker Juan Manual Molina, bronze medalist at the 2005
world championships, has graduated with his doctoral thesis titled ‘Vision of
Olympism and its educational implications of university students as Teacher of
Physical Education’. The 32 year old is 13 times Spanish race walking champion.

ATHENS
(GRE): European Athletics President Hansjorg Wirz recently visited Greece to
discuss development issues surrounding athletics in the country. He met with
State Secretary of Sports Panagiotis Bixatsis. One of the themes was also the
amount of 150 000 E owed from meetings to pay the participation of foreign
athletes in Kalamata, Chania, Rethymno, Filothei and Patras.

HENGELO
(NED): Since January 2012 the organisation of FBK Games in Hengelo will be
strengthened by commercial director Mark Pastoor. The new function was created
to improve in the area of sponsorship and marketing. There are also plans
existing to improve the facilities in the stadium. Next edition of this IAAF
World Challenge Meeting will be held on Sunday May 27, 2012. For future the organization
of the meet is considering a move from traditional end of May/early June
period to early July.

MONACO
(MON): Respected track agent Robert Wagner married recently former US sprinter
Kelli White (35). She is now known as Kelli White-Wagner.

SOCHI
(RUS): Baltika has become the official beer supplier to the 2014 Sochi Winter
Olympics and Paralympics, giving them the right to supply their drinks at
hospitality events before and during the Games. It is the latest deal agreed by
Sochi 2014, who have broken an Olympic domestic sponsorship record in raising
$1.2 billion (Ł765,000/€919,000). Informs Insidethegames.

OTTAWA
(CAN): The 2011 Canadian athletics (track and field) season saw many highlights
such as the launch of the National Track League, Dylan Armstrong’s domination
in the shot put, young sprinter Christian Brennan’s breakout performance at the
World Youth Championships, Michelle Stilwell’s world record in the wheelchair
200-meters and the resurgence in men’s marathon running. The season will also
be known as one for the record books with 69 new Canadian records set.
Athletics Canada informs in a release.

DOHA
(QAT): During the recently concluded Arab Games Qatar 2011, it has been decided
to award Lebanon the next tournament in 2015 while the competitions of those
with special needs have been, for the first time, merged with other
competitions. Positive doping cases in the Arab Games Qatar 2011 may be seen as
negative incidents in the competitions. In fact around 14 athletes were
dismissed from athletics and Body-Building competitions or medals has been
withdrawn. However, it may also be a positive point for the organizing
committee’s unbiased as some of those athletes are in fact from the host
country. Informs AIPS website.

NEW
DELHI (IND): Agencies are reporting that six Indian female athletes tested
positive and banned by national anti-doping agency NADA for one year. They will
miss so the Olympic Games in London. Among them members of 4×400 m team which
won Commonwealth Games in 2010 at home (Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, Mandeep
Kaur). Others were Jauna Murmu, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas. NADA
banned the runners only for one year. Advocate Dinesh Dayal who headed the
NADA-instituted panel, handed a reduced sentence since he considered the
athletes were not significantly at fault. The chief culprit, according to the
findings, is Yuri Ogorodnik, the SAI-appointed Ukrainian coach at the National
Institute of Sports, Patiala. The batch of the stimulant ginseng he
administered to the athletes was found to be ‚contaminated’ with banned
substances. Indian media are informing The ban would come into effect from the
date the athletes were suspended following the doping violations earlier this
year. Murmu and Mandeep were suspended on June 23, Jose and Tiana on June 30,
and Akkunji and Panwar on July 4. Their ban would have ended by the time the
Olympics begin in London, on July 27. That, however, does not entitle them for
participation in the mega event since barring Mandeep and Murmu, the others would
be still serving the ban when the Athletic Association of India (AAI) conducts
its last event for selection of athletes for the Olympics at the inter-state
meet in Hyderabad from June 24-27, 2012.

IRVINE
(USA): ASICS America Corporation announced its partnership with the Honda LA
Marathon as the official apparel and footwear sponsor. This will be ASICS’
first sponsorship of the iconic „Stadium to the Sea” race that will take place
Sunday, March 18, 2012. This marks yet another ASICS’ sponsorship of a major
marathon worldwide, including the ING New York City Marathon, Tokyo Marathon
and Paris Marathon. Informs marketwatch.com.

RESULTS

MOSCOW
(RUS, Dec 23): During first day of indoor Students Meet the best result in
men´s shot put by Maksim Sidorov. The European indoor bronze winner achieved
20.32 and has also 20.31 and 20.23 in the series. Former world indoor champion
Natalya Nazarova started her campaign with 1:30.12 in the 600 m. Irina Tarasova
got in women shot put 18.00 and fastest in the 60 m was last season Russian
champion at the distance Natalya Murinovich clocking 7.45. In the men´s 60 m
Aleksandr Brednev won the final (6.81) ahead of hurdler Konstantin Shabanov
(6.84, faster in semis 6.81). But overall fastest time was achieved by Yevgeniy
Ustavschikov in semifinals 6.75.

MINSK
(BLR, Dec 23): Former world junior medalist Aleksandr Linnik scored a nice
double at Christmas Indoor meet here with 5.86 at the 50 m and 33.78 in the 300
m. World semifinalist Maria Arzamasava posted in the 600 m finals also good
1:28.74. In women sprints Yulia Balykina clocked 6.35 in the 50 m and Alina
Talay 6.89 in the 50 m hurdles. Turkish guest Kemal Koyuncu won the 1000 m in
2:29.10. Daegu fourth placer (missed by her hair the medal) Anastasiya
Mironchik-Ivanova competed in a special event five jump and achieved 21.50
m.

OKAYAMA
(JPN, Dec 23): Yukiko Akaba won the Sanyo Ladies road race during national
holiday day (Emperor’s birthday, his 78th) in solid course record 1:09:16.
Second Yoko Miyauchi 1:09:23 and third Kenyan Sally Chepyego 1:09:58. Fourth
placer Mai Ito was still ahead of Olympic 2004 marathon winner Mizuki Noguchi
who got 1:10:48. In the accompanying 10 km race Kenyan Ann Karindi achieved
32:47.

MOSCOW
(RUS, Dec 18): At opening indoor meet here talented 16-years old runner Anton
Kozlov from city of Vladimir improved another Russian indoor U17 record with
5:30.17 at 2000 m. Earlier in December as EME NEWS reported Kozlov also
improved national 800 m indoor U17 record with 1:52.29.