by Larry EderKara Goucher and Kim Smith will both be debut marathoners at this years’ ING New York City Marathon, to be held on November 2, 2008! Goucher, who has run 30:55 on the track and 1:06.57 for the half marathon, and Kim Smith the New Zealand record holder at 10,000 meters (30:35.4) should both do quite well at the distance. Both finished in the top ten in the Beijng 10,000 meters!
EME NEWS (SEP 10, 2008) UPDATE
WAF NEWS
ETHIOPIA: Double Olympic winner Tirunesh Dibaba is most likely a non-starter, but Meseret Defar would like to double at 3000/5000 m. Kenenisa Bekele already ended his track season.
USA: The last duel of the year will happen at 400 m LaShawn Merritt against Jeremy Wariner. Their head-to-head in 2008 is 3:3. Angelo Taylor also returns to compete as Olympic winner at 400 m Hurdles. Many other US athletes already finished their seasons or are injured like sprinters Walter Dix, Travis Padgett, hurdlers Terrence Trammell, Daid Payne, Anwar Moore. Shot put World champion Reese Hoffa will return to try to make for his Olympic disappointment but will have it tough against in-form Christian Cantwell and Tomasz Majewski. Unsure is the appearance of Adam Nelson who´s wife is expecting a baby this days.
BAHRAIN: 1500 m world champion Maryam Jamal is having a solid late shape and is of course ready to run her special event, but also wants to compete at 800 m. In the shorter event she will have it tough against Pamela Jelimo who must compete to be able to receive the Golden League jackpot award.
CROATIA: Women´s high jump could be one of the thrillers with series winner Blanka Vlasic, Olympic champion Tia Hellebaut and home Brussels winner Ariane Friedrich.
LATEST RESULTS
LEBEDEVA BEATS OLYMPIC FIELD
ROVERETO (ITA, Sep 10): Last scoring possibility for IAAF World Athletics Final opened mainly for female triple jumpers here because of lack of previous possibilities. Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia again prevailed with 14.85 (0.0) but did not break the meet record of Czech Sarka Kasparkova who achieved here back in 1998 14.98. Asian record holder Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan followed (14.73) with Olympic bronze holder Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece only fifth (14.32). World and Olympic winner Valerie Vili of New Zealand dominated the shot put with 19.73 m. Interestingly the 3000 m winner Zakia Mrisho of Tanzania with 8:44.78 equaled the meet record of Russian Maria Pantyukhova from 1998. In good race Kenyans Jane Kiptoo (8:44.92) and Sylvia Kibet (8:45.36) followed with Briton Laura Kenney as 6th clocking new PB 8:56.59 and talented world junior champion Stephanie Twell as 8th season best 8:57.22. Home Elisa Cusma won solid 800 m in 1:59.34 ahead of Spain´s miler Nuria Fernandez who improved her PB to 2:00.35. Russian Svetlana Shkolina was the best in High Jump (191) and US wins for Mechelle Lewis at 100 m (11.32, +1.1) and Christine Spence at 400 m Hurdles (55.97). On the men side good quality 5000 m won by Silas Kipruto (13:14.19) and junior Matthew Kisorio (13:16.31). Briton David Greene improved his PB to win the 400 m Hurdles in 49.53. US Nick Symmonds was the best at 800 m (1:46.14) and Jamaican Sanjay Ayre at 400 m (45.67) taking the second Russian Anton Kokorin to PB 45.77. Home sprint win by Jacques Riparelli (10.24, +1.8) was a surprise against Briton Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (10.28). In technical events German Alexander Vieweg won the javelin (79.34), Brazilian Jadel Gregorio the triple jump (16.93 over a solid field) and only 540 were enough to win for Jeff Hartwig with Olympic bronze holder Denis Yurchenko trying for fourth with 540.
VASILEVSKIS BEATS KOVALS
RIGA (LAT, Sep 10): At European Athletics Permit meet in Latvia at new Daugava Stadium Janis Lusis Cup in javelin was the main event won by Vadim Vasilevskis (84.90) the 2004 Olympic silver medalist over the this years Beijing silver holder Ainars Kovals (83.90) and Harri Haatainen of Finland who achieved 81.18. In cold weather former double world championships finalist Aziz Zakari of Ghana clocked fast 10.22 (+0.9) at 100 m and was second at 200 m behind German Daniel Schelting (20.80-20.81, +0.8). Good quality also for former Olympic winner Szymon Ziolkowski of Poland in hammer (77.37), his country-mate Marcin Starzak in Long Jump (790) and US LaRon Bennett at 400 m Hurdles (49.73). In women events home win for javelin thrower Sinta Ozolina (56.09) and Estonian record holder Ksenija Balta in Long Jump (676 +2.3, 663 +1.7) over Slovak Jana Veldakova (654, +2.2). World indoor medalist Tetyana Petlyuk of Ukraine won tactical 800 m race (2:08.77) and British Anyika Onuora was best at 200 m (23.44, +0.6). Overseas wins for US Stephanie Durst at 100 m (11.52, +1.4) and Jamaican Kaliese Spencer at 400 m (51.93).
LATEST NEWS
BARCELONA (ESP): Monica Barra (worked before for WAF Stuttgart as general coordinator) has been appointed as new Barcelona 2010 European Championships General Coordinator.
LONDON (GBR): A survey by Dow Jones Insights revealed who were the big winners from the Olympics in the media, with not surprisingly Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps featuring at the top. For the period August 26 through September 8, Phelps was the most- mentioned athlete in social media and an emerging celebrity with his first non-sports related appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. However, Bolt gained the lead in traditional media sources, the survey discovered. Meanwhile, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Visa retained their leads among the global sponsors in coverage in traditional and social media sources. Of the 11,277 total mentions in traditional media sources, Bolt had 3,863, for 34 percent, with Phelps was a close second with 3,496 mentions, for 31 percent. Although the Beijing Olympic Games had 12 global sponsors, three led coverage in traditional and social media sources in analyses before, during and, now, after the Games. Those three – Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa – combined to get 65 percent of coverage in both traditional and social media. Informs insidethegames.com.
PORT OF SPAIN (TRI): Former sprint world champion Ato Boldon is set to adopt a bigger role in helping Trinidad & Tobago prepare for the 2012 London Olympics. Informs insidethegames.com. Richard Thompson, second in the 100 meters behind Usain Bolt, and Trinidad and Tobago’s 4×100 meters relay team received a heroes’ welcome in Port-of-Sapin for their silver medal performance at the Olympics. But Boldon wants the squad to build on that and aim to make the same kind of impact in London as Caribbean neighbors Jamaica did in Beijing last month. Boldon, who served briefly as a senator in the Trinidad Parliament after retiring from athletics in 2004, worked for the American broadcaster NBC in Beijing where his work was widely praised for its insight.
TORONTO (CAN): John Kelai, who last year ran the fastest-ever marathon on Canadian soil, is slated to defend his title at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 28. Informs Race Results Weekly. Kelai won a spirited two-man battle against Kenyan compatriot Daniel Rono at last year’s race, 2:09:30 to 2:09:36. Kelai’s time broke the 30 year-old Canadian all-comers record of 2:09:55 set by German Waldemar Cierpinski at the 1976 Olympic Games Marathon in Montreal.
NEW YORK (USA): Following in her coach’s footsteps (Alberto Salazar), 2007 IAAF World Championships 10,000m bronze medalist Kara Goucher will make her marathon debut at the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov 2. Informs Race Results Weekly. Goucher, and New Zealand’s Kim Smith, are the key debutantes at New York this year, according to race director Mary Wittenberg. Goucher has run 30:55.16 for 10,000m, while Smith has run 30:35.54, the New Zealand record (both women finished in the top-10 in the Beijing Olympic 10,000m). Goucher has run one half-marathon, the longest race of her career, clocking a sparkling 1:06:57 at the Great North Run last fall. That performance helped convince her that she should step up to the marathon.
GATESHEAD (GBR): Double Olympic gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele will top the bill at the BUPA Great North Miles on Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides next month. The 26-year-old Ethiopian, who became the first athlete to win both the 5000 m and 10 000 m at the Games for 28 years in Beijing last month, will lead world stars at the meeting on October 4. Informs David Martin. And there are high hopes in his two miles race he can run under eight minutes with back-to-back sub-four minute one mile splits. The meeting will also include a women’s contest over the distance as well as the traditional Great North Miles for both genders. A new innovation in the expanded program will see men and women’s 100 m sprint competitions staged alongside the River Tyne and overseas and domestic competitors are currently being signed up for both events.
used with permission of Alfons Juck, Publisher of EME News.
