by Larry Eder
Christian Cantwell was the silver medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He pulled out the medal in his last throw. Cantwell has started outdoor well with a nice throw of 21.53m, in Senegal, which put two meters between Cantwell and Reese Hoffa,,,, Photo by PhotoRun.net.
Cantwell 21.53
GOREE ISLAND (SEN, Apr 17): World indoor champion and Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell of USA started his outdoor season with a bang. At special shot put competition at Goree Island in Senegal as part of IAAF Grand Prix Meet here he achieved world leading meet record 21.53 m. He clearly beat reigning world champion Reese Hoffa (19.97) and another US thrower Russ Winger (19.85). Jamaican record holder Dorian Scott was fourth (19.65) ahead of best European Slovak Milan Haborak who got 19.29. European indoor silver winner German Denise Hinrichs won the women competition with 19.19 beating her team-mate and Osaka 2007 bronze winner Nadine Kleinert (18.82). Here also third place for European and Torino bronze holder Anca Heltne of Romania (18.26). Since 2006, the island of Gorée, a few miles off the coast of Dakar, has hosted the meeting’s Shot Put competition one day prior to the main meeting in the Senegalese capital. Gorée, now a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, was for three centuries the largest dispatching point for the African slave trade, with millions of men and women being loaded onto vessels that would carry them to a lifetime of enforced labour in the Americas and around the world, writes IAAF. To the Saturday programme it might be added that Ugandan´s Abraham Chepkirwok and Moses Kipsiro will not compete in their events, thein agent Ricky Simms confirmed.
OTHER NEWS
ERFURT (GER): 2000 Olympic 800 m champion Nils Schumann from Germany is no longer thinking about ending his career. After a training camp in Kenya, the 800m runner feels ‘full of energy’ and ‘wants to attack right again’, he said to the German newspaper ‘Thueringer Allgemeine’. His contact to his coach Dieter Hermann who once led him to his Olympic gold medal, had gotten tighter again which gives Schumann a lot of power.
ATHENS (GRE): The reigning 400 m Hurdles European Champion Greek Periklis Iakovakis became a father. On Wednesday his wife gave birth to Aphrodite Mentzos a healthy little girl.
EUGENE (USA): Nike has released a hilarious new advertisement on YouTube promoting the minimalist shoe, the Nike FREE. Athletes like Nick Symmonds and Lauren Fleshman are shown training at an unusual high altitude training camp which takes a very minimalist approach on everything, including running attire. Informs Race Results Weekly.
PHILADELPHIA (USA): The Penn Relays is a signature event that allows one to dream of warmer days just around the corner. Informs local media. Starting Tuesday morning with the men’s decathlon, the 115th running of the Relays will take place again this year, with what director Dave Johnson labeled a “field as strong as ever.” The meet will finish on Saturday, with ESPN2 joining in for the final 2 hours, from 4 to 6 p.m. As usual, the big question is which professionals will make an appearance. According to Johnson, the Jamaicans will have a good showing at the Relays. Still the possibility of Asafa Powell coming exists. Coach Mike Holloway will be bringing his strong contingent of men and women from the University of Florida. The most notable name among the Gator men is freshman sprinter Jeff Demps, who gained close to 750 yards of offense for the national champion Gator football team. Demps will be part of both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 teams. He clocked a time worth of world junior record 10.01 last year but the mark could not be ratified because of missing zero test control concerning the timing.
LONDON (GBR): The Association of Road Racing Statisticians {ARRS} are proud to announce that the ongoing research undertaken by their network statisticians into the development of the Marathon has reached a significant milestone. The Annual Marathon Rankings Project , led and co-ordinated by Andy Milroy, has now documented the last 70 years. Annual lists – usually 200 performers deep – for the years 1940-2009 are posted on the ARRS website. http://www.arrs.net/YR_Mara.htm. The Yearly Marathons Project, led and co-ordinated by Ken Young, has now produced well developed draft lists for EVERY known marathon held during the years 1940-2009. http://www.arrs.net/MaraList.htm. Together these two projects take marathon research far beyond what has previously been attempted. The ARRS network statisticians from across the globe have pooled their research and knowledge to create the most complete picture of the event which has come to dominate long distance running in the latter half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Ken Young, who manages the database and website for ARRS, said “The work done thus far is a huge achievement, particularly bearing in mind that ARRS has only been in existence for a little over five years.” In addition to the Marathons projects, the ARRS website also documents hundreds of long held marathons, road , track and cross country races, including national and international championships. Further information can be easily accessed at www.arrs.net
HELSINKI (FIN): Local media are informing, that the Finnish government said Friday it would spend some 27 million euros on sports venues, including about four million euros on repairs of the Olympic stadium in Helsinki, the site of World Championships 1983 and 2005. The Helsinki city council is to contribute a similar sum to the stadium. Builders have already started work on restoring the stadium’s landmark tower and installed safety railings on the terraces. Stefan Wallin, the culture and sport minister, said the government wanted to preserve the stadium as the flagship of Finland’s sports venues.
WACO (USA): Jeremy Wariner spoke about his competition programme for 2009 for Track and Field News.†I’ve got a 200 at Michael Johnson and then I open up with my first 400 at Drake. Then I’m running a 400 in Osaka; I’m going back there, so it’s pretty much almost exactly like my 2007 schedule. And then we’re looking at Hengelo, running a 400 there but we don’t know if they’re going to put one on or not, so we might run at Reebok instead,†he was quoted. He will not run the 400 m at US Championships as title defender he has a wild card for Berlin 400 m, he will opt for the 200 m at Nationals.
WALNUT (USA): European indoor champion Dwain Chambers will not run the 100 m at MtSAC Relays on Saturday in Walnut as previously informed. But he will contest the 200 m and possibly 4×100 m for B team. British media are informing, that Chambers has enjoyed the last few weeks of training, escaping the spotlight after the publication of his autobiography last month. However, he is still concerned that although there have been offers of races in Europe when he returns, he needs more and is asking meeting directors to accept him before Berlin hosts the World Championships in August. Several other leading British athletes, headed by the Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist Natasha Danvers, will also compete. But the Olympic 400 m finalist Martyn Rooney will not be among them because of hamstring injury.
Special thanks to Alfons Juck from EME News.
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