EME
NEWS (MAY 21-22, 2012)

HARTING
70.66 PB AND WL

TURNOV
(CZE, May 22): German world champion Robert Harting was the top star of Ludvik
Danek Memorial meet with world leading personal best 70.66. Second European
Champion Piotr Malachowski 67.37 and third Olympic winner Gerd Kanter 66.32.
Fourth Robert Urbanek of Poland 64.24 and fifth Hungarian Robert Fazekas 64.17.
Canadian world medalist Dylan Armstrong won the shot put with 20.92 ahead of
improved Czech putter Ladislav Prasil 19.91. Vera Cechlova was the best in the
discus with 60.94, olympic B-qualifier. Czech 4×100 m qualified to Helsinki
with 39.44.  Stepan Wagner leaped to
windy 808 (+2.5) in the long jump. Sprints were against the wind, Hannes Dreyer
of South Africa clocked 10.52 (-1.0) in the 100 m. German Thomas Schneider won
the 400 m in 46.74 ahead of Lebogang Moeng of South Africa 47.39. Roman Sebrle
tested his shape before Gotzis with 47.52 in the discus.

BOLT
HOPES FOR 9.7

OSTRAVA
(CZE): Fastest man on earth arrived on Monday to Ostrava. Usain Bolt will
compete for the 6th time here on Friday on May 25 at 51st Ostrava Golden Spike
(IAAF World Challenge). He arrived in good mood and hopes to improve his season
best here and thinks about clocking a 9.7. He will face four other top 10
sprinters (Jamaican Lerone Clarke, world medalist Kim Collins, Briton Dwain
Chambers and US Darvis Patton). Also in Ostrava already since Tuesday sprinting
stars Veronica Campbell-Brown and Wallace Spearmon both planning to attack fast
200 m times. US 400 m star Sanya Richards-Ross had good training on Tuesday and
aims for her first sub 50 of the year after nice Manchester win at straight 200
m. Both 800 m stars Pamela Jelimo with Caster Semenya are in town too. The
latest addition to the start list is Ethiopian 800 m revelation Fantu Magiso
with Doha improvement to 1:57.90. Organisers were forced to accept an important
withdrawal from 800 m world record holder David Rudisha. „David Rudisha
withdrew from Ostrava meeting due to unforeseen circumstances in Kenya with
local sponsor commitments. Organisers are not able to control issues in Kenya,
are surprised and disappointed but without any possibility to do something,”
the organisers said. In the men 800 m still Polands Adam Kszczot with Briton
Andrew Osagie and top 1500 m runner Nixon Chepseba (recently 1:45.6 in Kenya)
are hoping for a fast time as is local hero Jakub Holusa with Czech
national record thoughts. Both hammer competitions will be held on May 24 and
specially the women one will have a stellar field with world record holder
Betty Heidler, world champion Tatyana Lysenko, 2009 world champ Anita
Wlodarczyk and former world champ Yipsi Moreno.

SUPERB
HURDLES FIELD

EUGENE
(USA): Pre Classic high hurdles field is awesome on June 2. World record holder
Dayron Robles in his US debut meets Liu Xiang, Jason Richardson, David Oliver
and Aries Merritt. Also in the field the best hurdler among the combined
eventers Ashton Eaton and European Champion Andy Turner.

OTHER NEWS

SOFIA
(BUL): Bulgarian sprinter Inna Eftimova, who tested positive for growth hormone
somatotropin, has been suspended for two years for doping.

SPLIT
(CRO): Agencies are informing that Blanka Vlasic may miss the London Olympics
because of health problems. She has had surgery on her left ankle and heel this
year, but the recovery was complicated by a prolonged bacterial infection.

NEW YORK
(USA): Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba, the reigning Olympic 5000m and 10,000m
champion, and Panama’s 2008 Olympic Long Jump gold medallist Irving Saladino,
headline the latest batch of athletes announced for the eighth edition of the
adidas Grand Prix – Samsung Diamond League which takes place at Icahn Stadium
on Randall’s Island, New York on 9 June. Joining the men’s 800m field in New
York is 22-year-old Abubaker Kaki of Sudan, the two-time World Indoor champion.
Returning to the adidas Grand Prix at 400m will be four-time Paralympic gold
medallist Oscar Pistorius, who is seeking to become the first double amputee to
compete in track and field athletics at the Olympic Games.  Making their adidas Grand Prix debuts, and offering
fans a high quality three-way match-up in the men’s Long Jump are the
reigning Olympic champion Saladino, Mitchell Watt of Australia, and Britain’s
Greg Rutherford.

AMSTERDAM
(NED): Although Dutch sprinter Patrick Van Luijk impressed with a time of
20.54 over 200m and is now qualified for the London Olympic Games, the sprinter
is hamperd by a herniated disc. Van Luijk told Dutch media he has been
suffering with back and hamstring pains for several weeks and has now figured
out what the problem is. The 27-year old is still hopefull to compete at the
European championships and the Olympic Games.

KINGSTON
(JAM): Usain Bolt’s fan base on Facebook now stands at 6.675 million. In less
than 18 months the number of fans has doubled. Facebook is reporting that the
most popular week was the week starting August 28, 2011 with more than half of
his fan base checking on his page. For example India’s fan base has increased
by 117 per cent to 685,683 informs TrackAlerts.

AMSTERDAM
(NED): Dutch super talent Dafne Schippers is hopeful about her qualification
for the London Olympic Games in the heptathlon. Schippers plans to score a big
mark at the IAAF Combined events meeting in Götzis but announced she will not
compete in the heptathlon at the European championships in Helsinki. Instead,
the youngster will most likely compete in the 200m in Helsinki and the
heptathlon in London reports losseveter.nl.

BERLIN
(GER): German hammer world record holder Betty Heidler is set to compete in
Germany for the first time this season. Heidler will throw at the tenth edition
of the hammer throw meeting if Fränkisch-Crumbach on May 27th. The meeting is
expecting an elite field including Kathrin Klaas, Zhang Wenxiu (China), Sultana
Frizell (Canada), Jennifer Dahlgren (Argentina), Sophie Hitchon (UK) und Mona
Holm (Norway) reports leichtathletik.de.

LONDON
(GBR): London 2012 has unveiled the design of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
tickets with their delivery, along with Games travel cards and spectator
guides, set to begin this week reports Insidethegames. The tickets have been
designed by FutureBrand, part of McCann Worldgroup, and each features the sport
pictogram and colour scheme of a specific venue to help spectators find
the correct destination.

HOLZMINDEN
(GER): Swedish world junior record holder in pole vault Angelica Bengtsson will
open the season here during the weekend.

AUCKLAND
(NZL): Middle distance athlete Nikki Hamblin has hit a further injury
setback in her desperate bid for Olympic selection. The Commonwealth Games 800m
and 1500m silver medallist was scheduled to contest the longer distance at a Diamond
League meet in Shanghai overnight, hoping to prove her credentials but a previously
inflamed bursa between the Achilles tendon and heel has flared up again while
preparing in Hong Kong for the meet and Hamblin was forced to withdraw.
Hamblin, who has to proof she is healthy to compete at her best in London,
believes that once she is able to run she will do well enough for Olympic
selection reports the New Zealand Herald.

LONDON
(GBR): With this year’s Ramadan planned during the London Olympic Games, many
muslim athletes might be in trouble when competing in London. Foreseeing
potential problems the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) nutrition
working group came to the conclusion that Ramadan fasting could be problematic
for some athletes in some sports. Medical experts say that, theoretically at
least, a reduction of food intake during Ramadan could deplete an athlete’s
liver and muscle glycogen stores. This is likely to lead to a drop in
performance, particularly in sports requiring muscle strength reports Reuters.

WATTENSCHEID
(GER): German pole vaulter Malte Mohr injured himself at the Shanghai Diamond
League meet at his knee and cancelled his coming meetings. It happened during
the second attempt at 572.

DUBLIN
(IRL): Clonliffe Harriers announced that legendary double Olympic champion Kip
Keino will return to the Morton Stadium Santry on Friday the 25th of May.
Clonliffe Harriers will play host to Kip Keino for ‘An evening with Kip Keino’
presented by Irish Runner Editor Frank Greally.

AUCKLAND
(NZL): New Zealand media are informing that the Olympic head-to-head between
Valerie Adams and Nadzeya Ostapchuk is heating up. Adams Nick Cowan confirmed
to the Sunday Star-Times that Adams’ competitive Olympic campaign will start
this month, at the third leg of the Diamond League in Rome on May 31. She will
face there Ostapchuk.

MANCHESTER
(GBR): David Martin writes that Haile Gebrselassie’s emphatic 10 kilometres win
at the Bupa Great Manchester Run on Sunday may yet see the Ethiopian legend not
chosen for his country’s marathon team line up for yet another Olympic
appearance in London later this summer. Gebrselassie was absolutely delighted
with how he performed in Manchester and particularly the world leading mark
which bettered by eight seconds the clocking that Bekele set with his win at
last month’s SPAR Great Ireland Run. That prompted him to strongly hint that if
he can mix it with the best Ethiopian’s at what has been dubbed as his final
10,000m race at the FBK Games in Hengelo next Sunday, he will don another
national vest for the London Games.

MADRID
(ESP): Spanish middle distance runner Eugenio Barrios ended his career at age of
35 years because of series of injuries. He participated in the 800 m at two
world championships 2005 and 2007 and two European indoor championships in 2000
and 2005.

BRUSSELS
(BEL) : Belgian up and coming sprinter Hanne Claes managed to qualify for the
European championships in Helsinki in June. The youngster ran the 200m standard
when winning the Flemish championships in 23.39. At the Walloonian
championships Fanny Smets broke the one-year old national pole vault record
when jumping 4.22.

PARIS
(FRA): With his new personal best of 8008 point, decathlete Bastien Auzeil has
his eyes set on the Olympic qualifying standard of 8200 points reports
athle.com. Auzeil completes a large group of French decathletes who will
be fighting to represent the French team in London. Also Sossah, Geffrouais,
Quérin, Mayer and El Fassi are set to compete at the French combined events
championships.

LONDON
(GBR): The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has received more than 90 official
submissions as part of the process of revising the World Anti-Doping Code,
which provides the framework for harmonised anti-doping policies. WADA said
these submissions comprised 1,366 individual comments. A first draft of
the revised code is set to be sent to WADA stakeholders on June 1, with a final
draft to be tabled for approval at the World Conference on Doping in Sport to
be held in Johannesburg in November 2013 reports Insidethegames.

EDMONTON
(CAN): The National Track League’s Donovan Bailey Invitational will play host
to USA’s best 110-metre hurdlers as 2011 World Champion Jason Richardson is set
to take on Terrance Trammell and an all-star line-up that includes Dexter
Faulk, Jeff Porter and Joel Brown from the USA, as well as Canadians Damian
Warner and Ingvar Moseley and Jamaica’s Richard Philips. The action will happen
at Foote Field on Saturday, June 16.

ZURICH
(SUI): Switzerland will welcome after 60 years (1954 Bern) the European
Championships 2014 in Zurich from August 12 to 17. Swiss TV SRG confirmed it
will be its biggest broadcasting production ever. In total 1400 athletes and
800 coaches and officials will be at the event. Volunteers number will be up to
2500 and in total 250 000 spectators are expected.

LONDON
(GBR): Jessica Ennis is still playing down recommendations she should double up
at the Olympic Games and apart from  the
heptathlon where she is a medal candidate also compete in the 100 metres
hurdles. Ennis again showed her hurdling ability  when defeating reigning Olympic champion Dawn
Harper and last year’s World silver medallist Danielle Carruthers with a superb
performance at the Powerade CityGames Manchester on Sunday. Nevertheless she
and coach Toni Minichiello were delighted despite that human error she produced
a brilliant display to scalp the two American’s who will be major
contenders for medals at the London Olympics in August. Ennis who defends her
heptathlon title this weekend at the Hypo Gotzis meet in Austria however is
still of the opinion that mixing the multi event and hurdles races isn’t a realistic
option.

RESULTS

TRIBUNA
(BRA, May 20): 10 km road race winners Mark Korir 28:01 and Pasalia Kipkoech
Chepkorir lit the course on fire here, clocking an eye-popping 30:57 in the women’s
race, informs RRW.

SAN
FRANCISCO (USA, May 20): At 101st Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12 km (22 984
finishers) Sammy Kitwara won with 34:41 ahead of Allan Kiprono 34:49 and Deriba
Merga 35:43. Mamitu Daska as top woman clocked 39:03. From RRW.

LEIDEN
(NED, May 20): Kenyan Simon Rugut won the 22nd Leiden Marathon in 2:15:55.
Ethiopian Marshet Jimma clocked 2:41:25 as top woman.

CHEBOKSARY
(RUS, May 19): Kirill Ikonnikov got here 78.34 in the hammer throw. Women
winner Mariya Bespalova 71.42.

TBILIS
(GEO, May 19): At Georgian Championships Armenian guest Vardan Pahlevanyan
achieved good quality 812 cm life time best in the long jump.

KYIV
(UKR, May 19): At throwing meet Irina Novozhylova improved to 74.10 in hammer.

AMMAN
(JOR, May 16-19): At 15th  PanArab Junior
Champs Egypt was the top country (Morocco did not compete). Qatari Ashraf Ajmad
Al-Saifi still belonging to U17 category achieved with 6 kg junior hammer 78.62
m.

MANCHESTER
(GBR, May 22): Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius won the 200 m at Paralympic World
Cup here with 22.08.

PODOLSK
(RUS, May 20): At Russian Walking Grand Prix wins for Tatyana Korotkova 43:57
and Sergey Sergachev 39:16.