2012 Houston: the final countdown, by Alfons Juck, note by Larry Eder

LEBID VS. AFRICANS
ROVERETO
(ITA): Nine-time European Cross Country champion Sergiy Lebid, a past
winner of the Vallagarina Cross Country race, will take on a strong
Ethiopian contingent led by Kinde Atanaw and Eshete Mekaska Kassa, who
finished respectively third and fifth at the Campaccio IAAF Cross
Country race on 6 January at the 35th edition of the Vallagarina Cross
Country race on Sunday (8.69 km). It is first European Athletics Permit
CC Race of 2012. The Kenyan squad is made up of Mark Bett, Boniface Bii
and Julius Rono. Ukrianinan Vasil Matvichuk, who is based in Italy, will
also return to the Vallagarina. Italian 5000 metres champion and World
University Games bronze medallist Stefano La Rosa and Italian Cross
Country veteran Gabriele De Nard will be the top Italian runners in the
field. Afera Godfay from Ethiopia, who showed recent good form finishing
second at the Boclassic behind Vivian Cheruiyot and third at the
Campaccio, starts as the favourite in the women’s race (5.59 km) against
Rwanda’s Agnes Nyiransabimana and Ethiopian Buze Diriba, Hungarian
Livia Toth and Italians Federica Dal Ri and Agnes Tschurtschenthaler.

MOSOP, P. KIRUI AND KITWARA
ROTTERDAM
(NED): Organizers of the 32nd ABN AMRO Rotterdam Marathon on April 15
have announced their first three stars of the race. Race director Mario
Kadiks is hoping the fast course in Rotterdam could produce a world
record and has invited Kenyans Moses Mosop, who debuted in Boston last
year in 2:03.06 and later won Chicago in 2:05:37. Other top names are
Peter Kirui who debuted last autumn in Frankfurt (2:06:31) with beeing
6th in Daegu 10 000 m earlier. Top debut is expected from fast road
runner and World half marathon medalist Sammy Kitwara (road bests 27:11
at 10 km and 58:48 at HM). The course will be remeasured before the race
and athletes will start 30min earlier than in previous years.

AVEYLEGESSE PLANS TWO DOUBLES
ISTANBUL
(TUR): Double olympic medalist and European champion Elvan Abeyelegesse
is back in training after giving birth to her daughter Arsema end of
July. Her goals are big for 2012. She wants to double in 5000 m and 10
000 m at both European Championships in Helsinki and Olympic Games in
London.

PEARSON ALSO AT 100 M
BRISBANE
(AUS): World athlete of the year Sally Pearson confirmed that she will
not only run the relay but also the 100 m at the Brisbane Track Classic
on Saturday. The meet will start the 2012 National Athletics Series
boasting international relay qualification status and more than one
hundred starters in sprint events. Pearson said: “I’ve decided to run
the 100m as well on Saturday now, that’s how confident I am in my form
and my recovery from my quad scare. It only took me a week or so to get
back into some good speed work and the way I am feeling I think I am in
quicker shape this year than I was before the world championships. It’ll
be good to run the relay too. We are currently ranked 14th in the
world, we need to be top-16, and if we run a solid time here we can look
to sure up our chances for a spot on the Olympic team.” Informs
Athletics Australia.

US MARATHON TRIALS
HOUSTON
(USA): At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Deena Kastor went to the
starting line of the women’s marathon full of hope. Her training had
gone exceptionally well, and she felt that she had a chance to earn her
second Olympic medal after winning the bronze in Athens four years
earlier. “I thought I was the healthiest and fittest I had ever been in
my life,” Kastor told reporters here today in advance of Saturday’s
Olympic Trials Marathon. “Little did I know that a bone in my foot was
so weak that it was on the verge of breaking. Talk about not having grip
on reality at the time.” Before she even made it to the 5-kilometer
mark, that bone shattered like “a “Popsicle stick breaking and
feathering,” Kastor said. She immediately sat down, unable to put any
weight on the foot which quickly swelled grotesquely. That swelling, she
said, actually helped set the bone and ultimately aided her healing
process. Kastor would not race again until March, 2009, and not at a
high level until the following fall where she finished a credible sixth
at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:28:50. She seemed to be on
her way back. Now she is facing the US Olympic Trials race on Saturday.
She will face a formidable field led by Shalane Flanagan, Desiree
Davila, Kara Goucher, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and her training partners
Amy Hastings and Jen Rhines. In the men race Ryan Hall is the top
favorite along with Meb Keflezighi, also to add Dathan Ritzenhein, Jason
Hartmann, Brent Vaughn and Abdi Abdirahman.

OTHER NEWS

CLERMONT
FERRAND (FRA): The French pole vault circuit Perche Elite continues
this weekend in Clermont Ferrand with Capitale Perche. Home athlete
Renaud Lavillenie is not yet recovered to jump and will watch from the
stands how Romain Mesnil, Emile Denecker and Damien Dossevi battle it
out. In the women’s field Holly Bleasdale takes on in form Vanessa
Boslak reports athle.com.

AMSTERDAM (NED) : Dutch television station NOS is looking for
witnesses or images of Fanny Blankers-Koen’s goldrush at the 1948 London
Olympic Games in order to produce a large scale documentary.
Blankers-Koen managed to win no less than 4 medals in the 100m, 200m,
80m hurdles and the 4x100m. The feat deservingly made her the ‘Athlete
of the century’.

NORDHAUSEN (GER) : US former world shot put champion Adam
Nelson has confirmed his participation at the shot put meeting in
Nordhausen. The American joins previously confirmed compatriots
Christian Cantwell and Reese Hoffa as well as German stars David Storl,
Ralf Bartels and Marco Schmidt. Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski
completes the field writes leichtathletik.de.

PARIS (FRA): Sports apparel company Asics has canceled its
sponsorship contract with French triple jumper Teddy Tamgho, who is
currently serving a six-month ban by France’s athletics federation
because of a training camp fight with a female athlete.The indoor
world-record holder, considered one of France’s medal hopes at this
year’s London Olympics, remains a potential candidate for the games but
the federation will make the final decision on whether to actually
select him. Tamgho was also fined 1,500€ and must complete 50 hours of
community service.

LONDON (GBR): McDonald’s officially announced here that it was
extending its worldwide Olympic sponsorship until 2020. The
announcement was made at the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games in
the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and McDonald’s President and
chief operating officer Don Thompson reports Insidethegames.

LONDON (GBR): Sebastian Coe has insisted that it is vitally
important for London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 to work closely together to
ensure the strongest possible legacy for the Olympics and Paralympics in
England and the Commonwealth Games in Scotland writes Insidethegames.
Coe stressed the importance of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for
Scotland’s economy, athletes and communities from both major multisport
festivals being staged in the UK within a two-year period and promised
to continue to work closely with Glasgow 2014.

JOHANNESBURG (RSA): South African running legend Hendrick
Ramaala has quit ASA administration to get his running career back on
track. This comes after ASA board appointed former banker Frik Vermaak
as new chief executive of the cash-strapped federation. SA media are
informing. Ramaala was appointed acting head of administration 12 months
ago by the then ASA caretaker boss Ray Mali after the suspension of
Molatelo Malehopo. Ramaala is off to the Middle East for the Dubai
International Marathon on January 27 where he is hoping to run under two
hours and 10 minutes to qualify for the Olympics. Chasing his fifth
Olympic Games appearance, Ramaala is still undecided about competing at
the London Marathon in April.

EUGENE (USA): Register Guard informs that Eugene’s newest
hotel hasn’t set its official grand opening date yet, but it has about
1,000 room nights booked so far, said Brian Obie, owner of Inn at the
5th, adding, “We haven’t opened up (bookings) for the football season
yet.” On Tuesday, the Inn’s aluminum and acrylic sign — which is 7 feet
tall at its highest point — was ceremoniously hoisted atop the building
and lit, creating a new landmark for downtown Eugene. The LED-lit sign
was made by a Eugene firm, Image King Signs. The 69-room Inn is hiring a
total of 45 full- and part-time employees, with a base of about 30
full-timers, Obie said. “We hired employee No. 31 today,” he said
Tuesday. Good news for track events in the Track Town.

KINGSTON (JAM): Jamaican 400 m record holder Jermaine Gonzalez
says for Guardian that “every day now I’m down at the Racers Track Club
here in Jamaica, training. And every day I see my man Usain Bolt, and I
always tell him: ‘You promised to give us a leg in the 4×4, don’t
forget it, Usain.’ Like all of us at Racers, Usain is training real hard
right now, he is in a good place and his mindset is that he is going to
run the 4x400m with us at the Olympics. I just hope he doesn’t change
his mind on that, which is why I keep reminding him of it. The thing is,
Usain is only going to want to run the 4x400m if he knows he is going
to be competing for that gold medal, so he can go for four golds in one
Games.” Gonzalez also added that he will start running competitive
4x400m relays around the end of February, and solo 400m a little later
on in the year.

RESULTS

TIBERIAS
(ISR, Jan 12): To add to the 35th Tiberias marathon the final time of
French Patrick Tambwe was rounded to 2:07:29. Second Francis Kibiwott
2:07:31 and third and fourth also sub 2:08. Blacha Terifi Bekede of
Ethiopia 2:07:34 and Gemechu Borku Wiru 2:07:42. Dena Gebremehdin Mirach
clocked 2:08:27 as fifth. All very fast time and big improvements.
Israeli champion Zohar Zemiro was 15th in 2:15:06.
All that in the pouring rain. Top woman was Ethiopian Tinbit Gidey Weldegebriel in 2:44:08.

WICHITA (USA, Jan 12): Jack Whitt cleared 551 at Herm Wilson Invite meet and beat Jordan Scott who vaulted over 541 cm.

KAUNAS (LTU, Jan 12): European indoor pentathlon silver winner
Austra Skujyte of Lithuania scored nice three wins at local meet with
8.65 over the hurdles, 180 in the high jump and 611 in the long jump.

BIRMINGHAM (USA, Jan 12): At Blazer Invitational D´Angelo
Cherry clocked 6.68 in 60 m heats. Also fast 7.24 for Gloria Asumnu in
the women 60 m heats. Asumnu now represents Nigeria.