by Larry EderLots of news today! Greetings from the Mercure Hotel Central Le Tour Eiffel! It is about 8.30 pm here, and after a few hours of writing, an early arrival, I actually slept and my brain stem is engaged.
Christophe Lemaitre, courtesy of Bob Ramsak/IAAF
AREVA Paris may not have Usain Bolt, but no one has him right now. Usain pulled out of Monaco Herculis today, as he needs a bit more time to prepare for London 2012. Lauren Boquillet, meet director of AREVA Paris will entertain 40,000 of his closest friends tomorrow as Christophe Lemaitre, Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin duel, David Rudisha races to immortality and Kenenisa Bekele shows he is one fit distance runner.
It is truly chilling to think what David Rudisha can do. I believe he can and will run 1:40.
Amazing how relaxed Justin Gatlin is when no one is hounding him about drug questions. Here is my point. Any one who has been nailed for drugs is being tested constantly. Gatlin stays focused on his running, and he seems very excited about the relay team as well.
EME NEWS (JUL 5, 2012)
Bolt withdraws from Herculis
KINGSTON (JAM): Fastest man on earth will not run at Herculis Samsung Diamond League meet in Monaco on July 20. Usain Bolt cancelled his only planned start before the Olympic Games which was scheduled to be a 200 m race. His coach Glen Mills said via prepared statement: “Arising from Usain’s participation at the National Trials in Kingston this past weekend where he had a slight problem, after careful assessment I have had to withdraw him from the Samsung Diamond League Meeting in Monaco on July 20 to give him sufficient time for treatment and time to train and prepare for the Olympic Games in London.” Bolt himself added: “I am happy to have earned my spot on the Jamaican Olympic team despite the challenge. I will be in London to defend my titles in the 100, 200 and 4 X 100 metres. I want to congratulate my fellow Racers Track Club Members along with the other athletes who made the team. I thank everyone for their support.”
Gatlin vs Gay vs Lemaitre
PARIS (FRA): Friday´s AREVA Samsung Diamond League meet in Paris will see as last event great 100 m duel with top two from US Trials Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay against fresh European champion Christophe Lemaitre. “I feel a bit jet-lagged today but a training session on Thursday should get me right up to speed again. I feel good at the moment. I ran a bit short to take the win at the American trials, especially against Justin Gatlin, who’s done a massive amount of work this season, especially as regards his starting phase,” says Gay. Helsinki gold medalist Lemaitre: “Despite the repeated races during the European championships in Helsinki, I don’t feel tired. I find it a bit difficult to leave home again so soon after arriving back there, but I did two good training sessions on Tuesday in Aix-les-Bains, focusing on the start and speed. I rediscovered some fluid body movements. I’m fit. I feel good. I hope to be able to transcribe all that onto the track in Friday’s race so I can run a good time.”
US Team with 28 world and olympic winners
INDIANAPOLIS (USA): USATF informs that four reigning Olympic Champions and eight current world champions highlight the Team USA roster nominated to the U.S. Olympic Committee by USA Track & Field. A roster of 127 men and women stands ready represent the U.S. in track competition August 3 – 12 in London. Notable for its depth across a range of events, the roster features 28 athletes – 16 men and 12 women – who already own individual world or Olympic gold medals. Nineteen are American record holders and one is a world record holder. 2008 Olympic gold medalists set to defend their titles are Lashawn Merritt (400m), Angelo Taylor (400m hurdles), Dawn Harper (100m hurdles) and Stephanie Brown-Trafton (discus). Fresh off of 2011 world championship titles, eight athletes will look to take their supremacy to the Olympic level: Jason Richardson (110m hurdles), Christian Taylor (triple jump), Jesse Williams (high jump), Trey Hardee (decathlon), Carmelita Jeter (100m), Jenny Simpson (1500m), Lashinda Demus (400m hurdles) and Brittney Reese (long jump). Amy Acuff is the veteran of the team, as she makes her fifth trip to the Olympics. This will also mark the fourth Olympic Games for Abdi Abdirahman, Bernard Lagat, Aretha Thurmond and Angelo Taylor. Both Acuff and Thurmond have been Olympians since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Relay pools except the individual runners are on the men side: Mike Rodgers, Darvis Patton, Trell Kimmons, Ronell Mance, Manteo Mitchell and Jeremy Wariner. Women relay pool is composed by Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, Lauryn Williams, Debbie Dunn, Diamond Dixon and Keshia Baker.
OTHER NEWS
BERLIN (GER): German pole vaulter Tim Lobinger has been appointed as a trainer for the soccer club Leipzig. With this announcement Lobinger also confirms he is ending his career as a pole vaulter in order to become a full time coach. The 39-year old is a former world indoor and double European indoor champion as well as winning multiple outdoor medals reports leichtathletik.de.
LONDON (GBR): The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are set to contribute 20.5 billion euro to Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new report, but the greater part of this boost has already kicked in. The report, entitled The Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is produced by Oxford Economics.
LONDON (GBR): Devastated Jenny Meadows won’t appeal her shock omission from Britain’s 71-strong Olympic track and field squad. But Meadows, 31, is still in shock by Performance Director, Charles Van Commenee’s decision to deny her a place at London 2012. Meadows hasn’t raced since last September after suffering an Achilles injury at the start of the year. She pulled out of the recent Olympic Trials at Birmingham and then missed last week’s European Championships in Helsinki with a minor niggle reports menmedia.co.uk.
LONDON (GBR): Lisa Dobriskey told Kent Online completing a miraculous comeback from injury to earn a place at the Olympics means more to her than anything she’s done in athletics. “I kind of thought I’d done enough to get in, but I wouldn’t say I was confident. You never know with the selectors and what they’ve got in their heads. There is always an element of doubt.” she was quoted.
BRATISLAVA (SVK): Slovak Olympic Committee approved the selection of 11 athletes for the London Games. Further three will have the chance to get the standard until July 8 (Jozef Repcik in 800 m, Peter Horak in high jump and Martin Benak in javelin). Others confirmed are 5 men – HJ: Michal Kabelka, HT: Marcel Lomnicky, 20 km w: Anton Kucmin, 50 km w: Matej Toth, Milos Batovsky. Added are 6 women – 800 and 1500 m: Lucia Klocova, marathon: Katarina Beresova, long jump: Jana Veldakova, triple jump: Dana Veldakova, hammer: Martina Hrasnova, 20 km walk: Maria Czakova.
DARMSTADT (GER): In total 75 track athletes are selected by German Olympic Sports Federation for London Games. Germany will be represented in 31 out of 47 events by 40 women and 35 men. Three special cases without the necessary standard were Ralf Bartels, Matthias de Zordo (A standard from last year) and high jumper Ariane Friedrich (B standard enough). For middle distance and long distance runners there is still time to achieved the standards until July 8. Out is hammer thrower Markus Esser due to pubic bone inflammation.
LONDON (GBR): Dwain Chambers and his activities towards kids and schools are of larger scale. He has been working for nearly 3 years in schools, colleges, community projects. He spreads out a really powerful message that people identify with. The SFK course is currently being taught in London, is being piloted in a number of schools outside London in September with a view to a national launch in January 2013.
DALLAS (USA): Olympic track legend and Laureus World Sports Academy Member Michael Johnson says Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is still favourite to win three gold medals in London, despite Yohan Blake’s victory in the 100 metres in the Jamaica Olympic Trials in Kingston last week. Speaking in an interview with Laureus.com, Johnson says: “Yohan Blake showed he will take advantage when Bolt does not perform at his best. Bolt now has a legitimate challenger and will need to be at his best in London to defend his Olympic title. But I think Usain can do whatever he wants to do! He’s got that type of talent and he wants to win three gold medals again. I would say if he gets to the starting line healthy, at his best, everyone else at their best, he wins every time, I mean he’s just that good. He could break the world record again, he could run 9.5 secs, lower. Ultimately if he were to really be focused and committed on cleaning up his technique, he could probably run 9.4 secs, but he would have to do some major training and adjustments in the way that he runs. We’ve done some analysis at the Michael Jo
hnson Performance Center in Dallas and compared to say Tyson Gay or Asafa Powell, he runs very raw. He’s not a very clean sprinter, if you look at him from a bio-mechanical standpoint. Usain Bolt could absolutely run faster, but it would take a tremendous commitment on his part to do a complete overhaul of his technique.” Writes AIPS website.
ATHENS (GRE): 6 boys will represent Greece at World Junior Championships (Loulas at 400 m hurdles, Hrisanthopoulos in pole vault, Tsiokos and Makris in triple jump, Senikidis in shot put and Dedopoulos in walking). They will be added by the same number of girls (1500 m Pitouli, 400 mH: Theodorou, HJ: Gousin, PV: Stefanidi, HT: Korosidou, Proskinitopoulou).
NICOSIA (CYP): Cyprus is sending five athletes for World Junior Championships. Two boys (Dimitriou for 800 m and Poursanides in hammer) and three girls (Panayiotou 1500 m, Kallenou in high jump and Beatty in hammer).
RESULTS
ATLANTA (USA, Jul 4): Peter Kirui led a Kenyan sweep of the top three in the men’s race of the 43rd Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. Kirui managed a winning time of 27:37 at the 10 km, the fifth-fastest time in race history. Micah Kogo finished second (27:39) and Mathew Kisorio finished third (27:39). It was Kirui’s first Peachtree victory. Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska won the women’s division, completing the 6.2-mile course in 32:22. It was also her first victory in the race. Kenya’s Lineth Chepkurui finished second (32:23) and yet another Kenyan, Risper Gesabwa, finished third (32:23).
