by Larry Eder
Indoor season is in full swing. Great fields at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 5-8 pm. See you there!
1330 FOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
LAUSANNE
(SUI): European Athletics’ Member Federations across the continent have
registered strong squads in the preliminary entries for the 2012
European athletics Championships in Helsinki. Informs European
Athletics. The overall number of athletes in Helsinki 2012 through 27
June to 1 July will be on par with past European Athletics
Championships. It must be noted that Race Walking and Marathon will not
be a part of the European Athletics Championships in the Olympic year.
According to the preliminary entries a total of 1330 athletes have been
registered to compete at Helsinki 2012. The number is almost equal to
the preliminary entries received for Barcelona 2010, which gives a true
indication of the value associated with the new two-year format for the
European Athletics Championships. Also The Great Britain team was the
first one to reserve their accommodation. UK Olympic Trials are ending
on Sunday just before the event will begin. The final entries for
Helsinki 2012 will close on 17 June.
WELLS INJURED
ORLANDO (USA):
Unfortunately the indoor season will be without last year US outdoor
champion Kellie Wells. The hurdler injured on her elbow bone during a
training session in Florida on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday a surgery
was done. The indoor season is over for her, but she would be able to be
back in training with cuff in one week.
ADAMS AND GILL
CHRISTCHURCH
(NZL): Shot put world champion Valerie Adams will open her 2012 campaign
on Saturday at international meeting at Christ´s College in
Christchurch. In the same timo but with different implement also super
talent Jacko Gill will throw. The shot put competition is for all-comers
with men, women and juniors using the appropriate weights for their
respective grades. New Zealand media are informing. Adams is also
preparing for the world indoor championships in Istanbul in mid-March
and has been able to do it with coach Jean-Pierre Egger by her side.
Adams spent months in Switzerland with Egger last year but Egger, the
former Olympic shot putter, has come out to New Zealand for the first
time and will spend two months here as Adams completes the Australasian
track and field season. Adams started with 20.33 in February 2011, in
2010 and 2009 the begin was 20.25. Olympic silver winner at 1500 m Nick
Willis is another competing in Christchurch, and he will step back in
time to run the track feature, a handicap two-mile race on the grass 50
years after Peter Snell set world 800m and half mile records, also on
grass, not far away at Lancaster Park.
BEAMON IN MOSCOW
MOSCOW (RUS):
Special guest at Russian Winter indoor meet in Moscow will be legendary
long jumper Bob Beamon. A special meeting will be arranged with his
rival when competing Igor Ter-Ovanesyan. World indoor champion Dwain
Chambers will give a clinic on Saturday and meet with volunteers. To the
preview EME NEWS published on February 2 to add women 1000 m where
in-shape Kenyan Helen Obiri will face European U23 Champion Yelena
Arzhakova, Poland´s Renata Plis and returning Yulia Chizhenko.
STORL AGAINST STRONG OPPOSITION
KARLSRUHE
(GER): World champion David Storl can expect at IHM Indoor meet in
Kalrsuhe on February 12 big shot put battle. His rivals World indoor
champion Christian Cantwell and Olympic winner Tomasz Majewski. Also in
the field former European Champion Ralf Bartels. It will be for first
time that a shot put competition will be held during this meeting which
started its tradition in 1985.
KENYAN FAVORITES
HONGKONG (HKG):
With so many good African, particularly Kenyan marathoners around
nowadays, it takes a bit of initiative to get into foreign races if
you’re not one of the sub-2.10 brigade. So when Julius Maisei heard that
the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon – an IAAF Bronze Label Event –
was paying good prize money without an overly talented field, he
chanced a thousand dollars on an air fare and a hotel room last year. It
paid off handsomely. Towards the end of the 2011event, it looked as if
he might catch the leader and win the race and the $34,000 first prize.
Unfortunately for him, his Kenyan colleague, Nelson Kirwa Rotich stayed
ahead and won by just six seconds, but Maisei got an excellent return on
his investment, second place and a $15000 pay-off. Maisei got an
official invitation this year, but both runners are back to contest
Sunday’s 16th running of the marathon, with Rotich quietly determined to
defend his title, and net the improved prize of $50,000, and Maisei
equally determined to deprive him of it. After last week’s domination of
the Dubai Marathon (following a year of Kenyans winning virtually
everything), the Ethiopian contingent is on a high to extend the New
Year’s resolution. And with Gudisa Shentema (2.07.34, Paris ’08), Chala
Lemi (2.08.49, Toronto ’09), and Haile Haja (2.09.20, Daegu ’11), they
have the three fastest men in the field. With none of last year’s
leading contenders present, the women’s race looks almost certain to go
to an Ethiopian, with Misiker Demissie race favourite, thanks to her
2.25.21 in San Diego last year. Misiker used to compete under the name
of Teyba Naser, and is still in most record lists as such. She was coy
about the complete change of name, saying simply, “I had lots of
problems”. Informs Pat Butcher (www.globerunner.org).
LIU XIANG VS. ROBLES
STOCKHOLM
(SWE): The XL-galan in Stockholm Globen Hall on February 23 (IAAF
permit) will see great 60 m hurdles race. Revenge from Daegu between
Cuban Dayron Robles and Chinese star Liu Xiang. In women´s high jump
world champion Anna Chicherova will again duel with olympic winner Tia
Hellebaut and home stars Ebba Jungmark with Emma Green Tregaro. Sweden´s
European U23 silver winner at 400 m Moa Hjelmer is the star of this
event. Informs event website.
OTHER NEWS
BRUSSELS
(BEL) : The Belgian Olympic Committee has showed off its London 2012
outfits at a fashion show in Brussels. Track athletes showing off the
clothes were decathlete Hans Van Alphen, Elodie Ouedraogo, Belgium’s
4x400m team and the Borlée brothers. Jacques Borlée, father of the
twins, told local media his sons are stronger than ever and hopes they
can run 44.3 this year to win a medal in London.
BERLIN (GER): German shot putter Ralf Bartels has announced
the birth of his daughter Frederike Marie. The 33-year old and his wife
are very happy with the healthy new born reports leichtathletik.de.
BERLIN (GER): German long distance legend Lutz Philipp has
passed away on February 1st at the age of 71. Philipp’s best performance
was the 2:12.50 he ran in the Manchester marathon in 1972. Philipp died
after a long sickness writes leichtathletik.de.
DUSSELDORF (GER): Christina Begale, spokeswoman for the
SportAgentur Düsselfdorf that is organizing the PDS bank indoor meeting,
reports that the meeting on February 10th is already fully sold out.
There are now less than 100 tickets available for the event. The event
is this year even faster sold out than in previous years.
LAUSANNE (SUI): European Athletics announces
that the countdown to the 2012 European Cup Winter Throwing in Bar,
Montenegro has begun with the opening of the official championships
website http://www.
GUELPH (CAN): Canada’s marathoner Reid Coolsaet has donated
his 10,000 dollar winnings from the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront
Marathon to the University of Guelph to help them renovate the cinder
track. Canada’s top marathoner is doing it to make sure young athletes
coming up behind him will have it a bit better writes Thestar.com.
BOULDER (USA): Former University of Colorado cross country and
track and field coach Jerry Quiller, who coached 15 years and hundreds
of student-athletes at the school, has passed away after fighting a
battle against multiple myeloma. He was 69.
COLORADO SPRINGS (USA): USADA announced that an independent,
three-member American Arbitration Association (AAA) panel has
invalidated the competitive results of Eddy Hellebuyck from October 1,
2001 through January 30, 2004. Hellebuyck tested positive for EPO in
2004 and received a two-year suspension. However, Recent information,
including Hellebuyck’s own public admissions, revealed that his use of
performance enhancing drugs dated back to 2001.
RESULTS
VERMILLION (USA, Feb 2): US World finalist Derek Miles cleared here 560 in the pole vault and had good attempts at 570 cm.
SASKATOON (CAN, Feb 2): Fast 50 m races during first day of
Knights of Columbus Indoor meet. Long jump world champion Brittney Reese
won the women 50 m in personal best 6.23. Second Canadian Miana
Griffiths improved also to fast 6.27. Comparing with Millrose Games 50 m
both times would not be lost. In the men´s 50 m US Cordero Gray won in
5.76 ahead of Canadian Justyn Warner 5.77.
