BOLT
READY TO AMAZE

LONDON
(GBR): Olympic winner and world record holder Usain Bolt spoke to BBC on the
100 days before the games. He aims to „amaze” the world at London 2012 by
running 9.4 seconds for the 100m and 19 seconds for the 200m. „People are
looking forward to me running 9.4, 19 seconds, anything that’s amazing,” Bolt
told BBC Sport. He told BBC1 programme 100 Days To Go that more performances,
such as the ones that saw him take three gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing, would make him „a living legend”. „If I dominate the Olympics, I’ll
be a living legend. A living legend walking around. Sounds good. I’m
working as hard as possible so I can go as fast as possible,” he said for
BBC. Bolt is to open his individual season on May 5 in Kingston (event not
known yet) and start three races European tour at Golden Spike of Ostrava on
May 25.

BLAKE
ADDS ONE MORE RACE

GRAND
CAYMAN (CAY): Bolt´s main rival and 100 m world champion Yohan Blake added
another meet to his pre-Trials schedule. He is the latest big name to be added
to the inaugural Cayman Invitational meeting set for the Truman Bodden Sports
Complex in Grand Cayman on May 9th. „RACERS Track Club Ltd., wanted to support
the development of yet another athletic meeting in the Caribbean region, so I am
looking forward to competing on May 9th on the Grand Cayman Island” said Blake.
His schedule now has Kingston (May 5, event not confirmed) and 100 m races in
New York (June 9) and Edmonton (June 16).

RUDISHA
ALSO FOR US DEBUT

NEW YORK
(USA): After Doha and Ostrava world record holder David Rudisha completed his
pre Kenyan Trials planning. His last meet before the qualification competition
for London will be the adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 9. Rudisha will
debut so on US soil. No 800m World record holder has run in the U.S. since
Sebastian Coe won two medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Coe held the
record from 1979 to 1997. “We are ecstatic to have an athlete with the star
power of David Rudisha coming to New York,” said meet director Mark Wetmore. “Since
we began in 2005 we’ve had almost all of the world’s best athletes here, and
now our fans will get yet another chance of a lifetime.” Rudisha
commented: “I’ve run in many great cities and countries, and to finally come to
New York is exciting for me. I’ve been sponsored by adidas all my career and am
very happy to run at the adidas meet in New York.”

KENYAN
TRIALS IN LONDON

LONDON
(GBR): Kenya’s Mary Keitany a determined front runner is adamant she will
not change her fearless tactics when defending her Virgin London Marathon title
on Sunday. The quality line up clearly suggests her winning time of two hours
19 minutes 19 seconds the second fastest around the London course behind Paula
Radcliffe’s world record 2:15:25 will be challenged. Keitany who placed third
after blowing up in New York, said: „Maybe it was a mistake to go so fast
in New York because I missed it, but I was just running how I felt
in myself. I felt good up to 30km but then felt a pain in my right
leg and I faded.” Also in the superb field double London winner Irina
Mikitenko, world gold medallist Edna Kiplagat, 2011 Berlin champion Florence
Kiplagat and Bupa Great North Run title holder Lucy Kabuu. The race will be
special for Kenyans as it will be one of the most important races concerning
the olympic selection. On the meni side Emmanuel Mutai despite suffering a typhoid
attack a month ago and having missed valuable training remains extremely
confident he can defend his London title. Mutai who set a new course
record of 2:04:40 a year ago admitted at press conference it will be
tougher this year following the illness. For Mutai and his fellow countrymen
world record holder Patrick Makau and world champion Abel Kirui the race will
have extra pressure as it is their last chance to win a place on for Kenya’s
highly competitive Olympic marathon team. It is expected that Kenyan olympic
marathon team will be named on April 30.

LONDON (Reuters) – Ejegayehu Dibaba, the
oldest of three Ethiopian sisters who have all made their mark on the track, steps
up to the marathon for only the second time in London this Sunday. Interesting
to see Ejegayehu Dibaba, the oldest of three Ethiopian sisters who have all
achieved success in running, will run the marathon for 2nd time after 2:22:09
last year in Chicago.

OPENERS
FOR RICHARDSON AND DIX

WALNUT
(USA): Hurdles world champion Jason Richardson who passed the indoor season
will have on Saturday his season debut at the 110 m distance. So far he
competed in relays. At MtSAC Relays in Walnut he will face among others heptathlon
world record holder Ashton Eaton and from US elite Omo Osaghae and Ryan Wilson.
In the men´s 100 m interesting duel of Walter Dix (his opener) returning Mike
Rodgers, Norway´s record holder Jaisuma Saidy Ndure, Briton Marlon Devonish and
coming back from injury sub 10 sprinter Ryan Bailey. Another world champion
opening her 100 m season will be Carmelita Jeter. She clocked last weekend
world leading 200 m 22.31. World champion and world leader Brittney Reese is
the long jump top entry against Funmi Jimoh.

OTHER NEWS

CHAMPAIGN
(USA): Jamaican hurdler Andrew Riley improved during the indoor season to 7.53
at 60 m Hurdles and has a lot on his plate at Illinois, not the least of
which is keeping an eye on this summer’s biggest prize, a spot on the
Jamaican Olympic team. His hurdles coach, three-time Olympian Tonja
Buford-Bailey, was quick to point out there is a lot more to Riley than
being a hurdler. „He’s quiet, really focused, really dedicated to the
sport and even more dedicated to his academics,” said Buford-Bailey, herself a former
Illinois athlete and the sprint coach for the U.S. women in this summer’s
London Olympics. Outdoors his best is 13.32 from last year.

MADRID
(ESP): Spain’s Arturo Casado, the 2010 European Athletics Championships 1500m
gold medallist has admitted that it will be very difficult to defend his title
in Helsinki owing to an edema – a build up of fluid – around the bones in
his feet. The 29-year-old runner from Madrid said on Monday that he had already
missed 10 days of training and that he is unlikely to return to to the track
until the middle of next month. „I’ve been told I have to rest for another
three or four weeks. Luckily, I stopped, because I had carried on, it
could have turned into a fracture,” he said. Casado is still keeping fit
though, despite being unable to run. „I do lots of swimming at the Blume
(Madrid’s high performance centre), magnet therapy and general fitness. I hope
to be ready for the Olympic Games in London. I’ll try to do the standard before
8 July, which is the deadline. What is complicated are the Europeans in
Helsinki, although they are not totally ruled out, especially if I’m only
unable to train for three weeks; but it would be tight with the time,” he
added. „The first thing is to start running and then we’ll see.”

MELBOURNE
(AUS): Athletics Australia High Performance Manager Eric Hollingsworth reported
in the press that 2003 and 2007 World 400m hurdles champion Jana Pittman’s bid
for Olympic qualifying is over due to a foot injury (plantar fasciitis).
She was 5th in Athens 2004 and competed in the heats at the home games in 2000
as a junior.

SENDAI
(JPN): Cancelled last year in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that
hit its area hard, the Sendai International Half Marathon has announced a small
but competitive elite field for its 22nd running on May 13. Japan-resident
Kenyans Mekubo Mogusu, Daniel Gitau and Harun Njoroge make up the front end of
the men’s field, with London Olympics marathon team member Arata Fujiwara,
independent Yuki Kawauchi and breakthrough marathoner Takashi Horiguchi among
the best in the domestic men’s field. 2004 Olympic winner Mizuki Noguchi
returns to Sendai, site of some of her best races, to face the Miyauchi twins
Hiroko and Yoko and her own teammate Megumi Seike. Informs Brett Larner on his
blog.

LAUSANNE
(SUI): European Athletics announced that World indoor champions French pole
vault star Renaud Lavillenie and Ukrainian multi-eventer Nataliya Dobrynska
have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for March. Germany’s
David Storl, the 2011 World Championships gold medallist and European Athletics
Rising Star of the Year, won the silver medal in Istanbul with a lifetime
best of 21.88m and was voted second. Poland’s Henryk Szost, who ran a Polish
national record of 2:07:39 when he finished second at the Lake Biwa Marathon in
Japan on 4 March, overcame a stiff challenge from the Czech Republic’s
Jakub Holusa to claim the third spot. The 24-year-old Holusa exceeded
expectations by being the first European home over four laps of the track when
he got a silver medal in Istanbul. In the women’s poll, Russian pole vault
queen Yelena Isinbayeva comfortably won her fourth gold medal at the World
Indoor Championships with a leap of 4.80m, and was voted second after the
Ukrainian multi-events star. German discus thrower Nadine Müller finished
third. The 2011 World Championships silver medalist twice improved her
personal best and finished with 68.89m when winning at the European Cup Winter
Throwing in Bar, the longest throw in the world for almost eight years.

BERLIN
(GER): The German athletics association has launched combined tickets for the
German national championships and the IAAF World combined events challenge
meeting in Ratingen. When buying a ticket for the German national
championships to be held in Bochum-Wattenscheid, fans will receive a 30%
discount on tickets for the combined events meeting of Ratingen reports
leichtathletik.de.

INDIANAPOLIS
(USA): The USA Track & Field Foundation has presented Elite Athlete
Development Grants of 3500 USD to Erica Moore (800 meters), Brenda Martinez
(1500 meters) and Erica McClain (triple jump), Foundation Executive Director
Tom Jackovic and Chairman Bob Greifeld announced according to USATF. „It is our
pleasure to again support three previous year USATF Foundation grantees who
have recently served notice that they will be serious contenders to make the
Olympic team this summer,” noted Jack Wickens, Foundation Director.

LONDON
(GBR): London 2012 is set to hit and even surpass all of its revenue targets,
chief executive Paul Deighton has said to UKPA. There will not be a significant
surplus left over from running the Games but London 2012, which was quick off
the mark to secure sponsors after being named as host in 2005, is in positive
mood with 100 days to go to the start of the Games. London 2012 must raise Ł2 billion
from the private sector to stage the Games and has now exceeded its sponsorship
revenue target and is expected to raise more than Ł700 million.

AMSTERDAM
(NED): The Dutch Athletics Association KNAU has decided not to defend the
Olympic ambitions of its marathon runners Koen Raymaekers, Michel Butter and
Miranda Boonstra. Raymaekers came 33 seconds short of the Olympic standard when
running in Rotterdam this weekend, while Boonstra missed out on the standard
with a mere 8 seconds. Michel Butter placed a strong 7th at last
weeks Boston Marathon but also failed to reach the standard. The KNAU is not
going to give any exceptions to these athletes they told Dutch media.

LONDON
(GBR): The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be the official Olympics phone, reports The
Telegraph. The paper is light on details as to what this will mean in practice
has not been released.

LONDON
(GBR): British medal hopes like Jessica Ennis and Dai Green will not have to
worry about their nearest and dearest missing them chasing Olympic glory at
London 2012 after UK Athletics announced that it would buy tickets to ensure
friends and families can be in there to watch them compete writes
Insidethegames. Athletes currently receive two tickets for their first Games
appearance through the British Olympic Association, but UK Athletics will now
pay for two tickets for every subsequent athletics round.

MOSCOW
(RUS): Russian federation president Valentin Balakhnichev and star pole vaulter
Svetlana Feofanova were among representatives of different sports when the VTB
Team was announced. One of the sponsors (also IAAF sponsor) is supporting the
Russian medal hopefuls before London Olympic Games. Balakhnichev noted that he
hopes track athletes will win in London 5 to 6 gold medals. Feofanova confirmed
good preparation after returning from a training camp in Portugal. She
plans to open on June 3 at Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

DUSSELDORF
(GER): For the first time in the history of the event a Japanese elite
runner will compete at the METRO GROUP Marathon Duesseldorf on 29th April. Yuki
Kawauchi has been announced by the organisers of the event, which for the first
time is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race. Adding all running events on the day a total
of 14,000 runners is expected to take part. Yuki Kawauchi has established a personal
best of 2:08:37, when he was third in Tokyo in 2011. This year however he
missed qualifying for the Japanese Olympic team, because he managed only
2:12:51 in Tokyo and came in 14th. In Duesseldorf the 25 year-old intends to show
that he would have been worth a place in London. Among his rivals will be
Ethiopian Seboka Tola, who improved to 2:06:17 in Dubai in January. Despite
this fast time he was only ninth in the race but ahead of Rotterdam winner
Yemane Adhane. Defending champion Nahashon Kimaiyo will return to run. If the
weather will be more suitable for marathon running this year he and his
fellow-Kenyans Joseph Ngeny (2:08:10) and Evans Ruto (2:08:36) could be able to
go faster than the present course record of Iaroslav Musinschi of Moldova who
ran 2:08:32 in 2010. There will also be a very strong Ethiopian runner in
the women’s race: Kebebush Haile features a personal best of 2:24:09. With
her consistent good results she might be able to break the eight year-old
course record set by Germany’s Luminita Zaituc (2:26:44). German interest will
focus on Jan Fitschen. The 10,000 m European Champion from 2006 intends to
reach the national qualifying 2:12 for the games. Organizers are informing in a release.

KAWASAKI
(JPN): More top names for Kawasaki IAAF World Challenge meet on May 6 are world
medalists Brimin Kipruto in the steeple, Cuban record holder Lazaro Borges in
the pole vault. In men´s javelin 2009 Berlin silver winner Cuban Guillermo
Martinez will fight with local hero Yukifumi Murakami. Another Daegu medalist
running will be US Danielle Carutthers against Michelle Perry. The double world
medalist will have her international come back, last time Perry competed
internationally was back in 2009.