FEOFANOVA
NO FOR ISTANBUL

MOSCOW
(RUS): Former world indoor champion and Daegu bronze medalist Svetlana
Feofanova is not planning on World Indoor Championships. But she might do the
same format as last winter. Some meetings but no European Indoors in Paris. She
wants to be fit and ready for Olympic Games and thinks medal will be worth
480-485 cm. Her main Russian rival Yelena Isinbayeva is opening this weekend in
Volgograd, World Champion Fabiana Murer is also passing on the indoor but
German Silke Spiegelburg started with superb 477 cm.

RUDISHA
400 AND 800

NAIROBI
(KEN): World athlete of the year 2011 by Track and Field News David Rudisha of
Kenya already knows his plan for Australian mini Tour. He will run the 400 m on
February 18 in Sydney and the 800 m on March 3 in Melbourne. Currently in good
training in Kenya he plans more races afterwards on the circuit in May.

CLAY
TO OPEN ON FRIDAY

FRESNO
(USA): Olympic decathlon winner Bryan Clay will open his indoor campaign on
Friday at Run for the Dream meet in Fresno at 55 m hurdles. In the week
afterwards he is considering full heptathlon in order to try to qualify for
World Indoors in Istanbul based on 2012 result. The Save Mart Center in Fresno
features a new state of the art 1 million dollar tartan track, which was
graciously donated by Mr. Fred Arnold, in honor of his late wife Madeleine. Men
will compete in mile and high jump and women at 600 y and long jump. Both
genders then will have 55 m and 55 m hurdles.

ADAMS
HOME MEETS BEFORE ISTANBUL

CHRISTCHURCH
(NZL): Shot put world champion Valerie Adams will open her year in Christchurch
next month – the garden city remains a special place for her, as she broke
20m for the first time there. Then Hamilton (February 11) and Sydney (February
18) before the World Indoor Championships in early March in Turkey. She also
expects to compete in Rome (May 31) and New York (June 9) before building up to
the Olympics.

PEARSON
FIRST HURDLES IN FEBRUARY

PERTH
(AUS): Female Athlete of the Year 2011 Sally Pearson will open her hurdles
campaign in Perth when the Qantas Australian Athletics Tour rolls into Western
Australia on Saturday 11 February. Her main rival at the Go for 2&5 Perth
Track Classic will be American Nia Ali, who finished last year ranked eighth in
the world with the joint eighth fastest time of 12.73. Pearson said: „The 11.25
I ran in Brisbane on Saturday night shows that I am in good shape, my
plans for 2012 are beginning to take shape, and hurdling is the next step. I personally
think I am in better shape than I was at the start of last year. As
long as I keep listening to my body I am confident it will stay
strong. Gold is the aim, but you never knock back an improvement of time.
Conditions over in the west are always great for sprinters so it will be great
to get out there. I won the 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles there last year
and I’m really looking forward to it. America have always had a lot of
great hurdlers, just look at the current group. There’s Nia, Dawn Harper who is
the Olympic champ and won bronze behind me in Daegu, [Danielle] Carruthers who
won the silver at world champs and Kellie Wells had an early world lead last
year. „ Informs Athletics Australia.

I.   KOECH TO RETURN AND
ATTACK HIS WJR

DUSSELDORF
(GER): PSD Bank Meeting of Dusseldorf (7th edition on February 10) announced
Kenyan top talent Isaiah Koech returning to the event. And again he will run
the 5000 m, last year he clocked here the inaugural world junior indoor record
12:53.29. He still belongs to the junior category and so will be able improve
on his record. Against him the steeple hero Paul Kipsiele Koech. In the 1500 m
Nixon Chepseba runs against World indoor finalist Mekonen Gebremedhin of
Ethiopia and top German in the race Christoph Lohse.

OTHER NEWS

PARIS
(FRA) : Athle.com has updated on some of the French athletes that are currently
rehabilitating injuries. Renaud Lavillenie reports that the fracture in his
hand is healing well while Bouabdellah Tahri informs that he is recovering from
surgery in Qatar where he will also stay for the follow up and rehabilitation.
Sprinter Véronique Mang has been slowed down by a back injury but is
confident that she will be back in top shape for the Olympic Games, just 400m
star Leslie Dhjone is also confident he will soon make his comeback after a serious
knee injury held him out of the 2011 season.

KINGSTON
(JAM): Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake claims his recent success has scared Usain
Bolt into training harder, and the Jamaican believes he can break his training
partner’s world record. Blake’s personal best of 19.26 is the second-fastest
200m of all time, and the 22-year-old believes he is capable of bettering Bolt’s
world record of 19.19s reports ESPN.

DUBLIN
(IRE): Irish marathoner Martin Fagan, who tested positive for EPO, immediately
admitted that he had knowingly taken the substance. In an interview with Irish
Times Fagan admits he was severely depressed and suicidal. “And I never
once thought I was taking EPO to cheat, or to break a world record,
or anything like that. I didn’t even take EPO to win anything. I just
wanted to feel good again, to get back to normal.” Fagan was quoted.

LONDON
(GBR): British golden girl Jessica Ennis will not start the indoor season at
the Glasgow Aviva International but will commence her season later than usual. „I
always do well in Glasgow but I always pick up some kind of niggle after.
It might be superstition a bit, but it might be something to do with how
you taper down quite quickly into that event. We just sat down and thought we’d
start a little bit later this year, with the aim of being ready for the
World Indoors.” Ennis was quoted by The Independent.

LONDON
(GBR): The Royal College of Art in Kensington will be the base for the United
States Olympic Committee (USOC) during London 2012 reveals Insidethegames. USA
House will be a combination of Team USA staff offices, a hospitality
centre, rooms for sponsors to work out of during the Games and an opportunity
for American athletes and officials to mix in a good social atmosphere.

ROME
(ITA): Rome officials remain confident Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will
give the green light to the city’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics and
Paralympics despite the country having its credit rating downgraded as it
continues to try to recover from its serious economic crisis. The downgrades,
which also affects Spain, where Madrid are bidding for the Olympic for a third
consecutive time, deal a blow to the Italy’s ability to fight off a worsening
debt crisis according to Insidethegames.

MUNICH
(GER): Sportintern, the Olympic Newsdigest newsletter, lists IOC President
Jacques Rogge as the World’s Most Influential Sports Personality. In the second
position Lord Sebastian Coe, the LOCOG boss and IAAF Vice President. Third
position for FIFA boss Sepp Blatter. In another poll called World Sports
Personality of the Year Rogge is first ahead of Coe but third formula 1 drive
Sebastian Vettel ahead of Lionel Messi, Sepp Blatter and star sprinter Usain
Bolt as 6th.

MARUGAME
(JPN): Brett Larner informs that the organizers of the 66th Kagawa Marugame
International Half Marathon, scheduled for Feb. 5, announced the 36 men and 17
women making up this year’s elite field. Headlining the overseas men’s field
are all-time half-marathoner Matthew Kisorio and course record holder Mekubo
Mogusu. The top domestic draws in the men’s race are national record holder
Atsushi Sato and Olympic hopeful Yuki Kawauchi in his final tuneup for the
Tokyo Marathon. 2011 World Championships marathoner Mai Ito, 2009 World
Championships marathoner Yoshiko Fujinaga and Yokohama International Women’s
Marathon 8th-placer and Kagawa native Yuka Izumi top the women’s race. 2010
Nagoya International Women’s Marathon winner Yuri Kano is in the women’s
general division.

RESULTS

CHELYABINSK
(RUS, Jan 13-15): Dmitriy Starodubtsev cleared at regional championships good
580 in the pole vault. Yelena Pidluzhnaya leaped to 660 in the women long jump.
Yuliya Tutayeva clocked 2:02.46 in the 800 m and Yelena Poistogova 4:13.1 in
the 1500 m.

UNIVERSITY
PARK (USA, Jan 14): To add to Nittany Lion Challenge that the mark of Robby
Creese at 1000 m 2:19.53 is new US indoor junior record. World junior indoor
record is 2:15.77 by Abubaker Kaki in 2008. In the 600 m new meet record by
Casimir Loxsom with 1:16.66.

FARGO
(USA, Jan 15): Bahamian world medalist Trevor Barry started his season with
solid 225 cm at the Bison Invitational. His next meets will be at the Moravia
High Jump Tour in Czech Republic end of January.

MANDEVILLE
(JAM, Jan 14): Led by Shericka Jackson and Raje Fearon, some impressive 200m
times were delivered at Saturday’s Puma-sponsored Jamaica Athletics Association
(JAAA) Development Meet in Kirkvine. Jackson, a first year Class 1
athlete, ran 23.2 to take top honours in her event over her teammate Olivia
James (23.5). Fearon, in Class 3, continued to produce what he promised at St.
Francis Primary, by recording 22.2. On the boys side, Gremeiko Whitelocke of
Green Island (21.0) topped in Class 1. Informs Trackalerts.