by Larry Eder
Mikki Pahapill, Estonia, photo by PhotoRun.net
Jessica Ennis, Great Britain, photo by PhotoRun.net
Tatyana Chernova, Russia, photo by PhotoRun.net
Ethiopian marathon pre-selection
ADDIS ABABA (ETH): Ethiopian athletics federation announced its
preselection of four runners for marathon at Olympic Games in London.
Informs journalist Bizuayehu Wagaw on his facebook. They are on the men
side Ayele Abshiro, Dino Sefer, Markos Geneti and Tadese Tola. On the
women side Aselefech Mergia, Mare Dibaba, Bizunesh Bekele and Aberu
Kebede. That means all fastest from Dubai Marathon.
Wagaw adds on his facebook that any athlete who gets a faster time than
this mentioned athletes will join the team. That means faster than
2:05:10 and 2:20:33. That could be a possible target for Haile Gebrselassie in case he would try, but looks highly unlikely.
IAAF World Challenge starts its 3rd year
MELBOURNE (AUS): IAAF World Challenge, the second tier circuit of one
day meetings is starting its third season 2012 on Saturday in Melbourne.
Top stars are IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2011 Sally Pearson and 800 m
world champion and world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya. The
meetings remained the same as in 2011 with one exemption. Newcomer in
the calendar is the 6th edition of Ponce Grand Prix in Puerto-Rico
planned for May 12. Ponce was included into the series initially also
for 2011, but then did not confirm due to lack of finances. Another
change is that the Znamenskiy Memorial in Zhukovskiy (near Moscow) will
be replaced by Moscow Challenge on June 11 directly in Moscow as test
meet for 2013 World Championships in Luzhniki Stadium. Concerning the
dates to note is the fact that the Dakar Meet in Senegal is switching
from early season date to June 16 and Moroccan fixture Rabat is
changed to earlier date of May 27. The circuit starts traditionally in
Australia, has the majority of the meets in May and first half of June,
only one in July (Madrid) and is ending with traditional post top
championships meetings in Berlin, Zagreb and Rieti. This platform of meetings could
be used also for Samsung Diamond League possible changes of meetings in
future, specially Golden Spike Ostrava and FBK Games Hengelo had
expressed their will and desire to bid for a place in the top category
at any times. The series is worldwide with 15 meetings representing 15
countries on all five continents. Samsung Diamond League has 14 meetings
in 11 countries and 3 continents. More at www.world-challlenge.org.
German jumping meets
DESSAU (GER): German indoor season continues with two international
jumping events. On Friday in Dessau men´s pole vault with Istanbul bound
Germans Bjorn Otto and Malte Mohr. Against them Cuban world medalist
Lazaro Borges and third from national championships Raphael Holzdeppe.
Meet record 583 by Mohr should be in danger. In second event women´s
high jump Russian favorites are Irina Gordeyeva and Svetlana Shkolina.
The shopping center Werre Park in Bad Oeynhausen will see on Friday
women pole vault with top Cuban Yarisley Silva and on Saturday men with
Karsten Dilla and again Holzdeppe.
Istanbul news
COMBINED EVENTS: IAAF confirmed the field for combined events. In men´s
heptathlon based on 2011 invited are world record holder Ashton Eaton,
Estonian Mikk Pahapill and Cuban Yordani Garcia. Based on 2012 results
Oleksiy Kasyanov, Andrey Kravchenko and Artem Lukyanenko. Remaining two
wild cards are going to Russian Ilya Shkurenyev and Czech Adam Sebastian
Helcelet. Unfortunately Roman Sebrle got injured and another possible
wild card recipient Bryan Clay decided not to go. Overall considering
women pentathlon field is even stronger with current world and olympic
gold medalists and title defender. Based on 2011 invited are Russian
World Champio Tatyana Chernova, Briton Jessica Ennis and Karolina
Tyminska of Poland. On 2012 results olympic winner Natalya Dobrynska and
her team-mate Hanna Melnychenko with Russian Yekaterina Bolshova. Wild
Cards for Belarus champion Yana Maksimava and experienced Lithuanina
Austra Skujyte.
WORLD LEADERS: All current indoor world leaders in championships events
are expected to compete, only two exemptions are US Dexter Faulk at 60 m
Hurdles (false started in the finals of US Champs) and Russian long
jumper Olga Kucherenko who did not plan for Istanbul. From title
defenders 11 are expected to compete out of 13 individual winners from
Doha 2010 and from Daegu individual winners in relevant events 11
athletes should be competing in Turkey.
BAHAMAS: Title defender Chris Brown at 400 m and super vet Chandra
Sturrup (40) for 60 m are the headliners of team Bahamas. In the 9
athletes strong team also another 400 m runner Demetrius Pinder, high
jumpers and world medalists Trevor Barry with Donald Thomas and long
jumper Bianca Stuart. Remaining three names are selected for the men´s
4×400 m relay Michael Mathieu, LaSean Pickstock and Jameison Strachan.
SOUTH AFRICA: 2008 World indoor champion Khotso Mokoena in the long jump
leads the South African quartett. With him Elroy Gelant for 3000 m,
hurdler Lehann Fourie and shot putter Burger Lambrechts.
OTHER NEWS
GOTEBORG (SWE): Tickets for next year’s European Athletics Indoor
Championships in Göteborg will go on sale next week, marking one year to
go until the biggest athletics event in Sweden in 2013. At a media
conference Wednesday where Kajsa Bergqvist was unveiled as an event
ambassador, Göteborg 2013 announced that 3-day ticket packages for the
event will be released on 7 March 2012. About 600 of the continent’s top
athletics stars from 50 countries will compete at the Scandinavium –
Göteborg’s iconic indoor arena – through 1-3 March 2013, with the
competition and event entertainment taking place “All Under One Roof.”
Göteborg 2013 also unveiled Volvo on Wednesday as an official national
partner for the event. Alongside International Partners SPAR, Omega, Le
Gruyère AOC and Eurovision, Volvo will be the lead Swedish partner with
Göteborg Energi. Informs European Athletics.
FAYETTEVILLE (USA): Jamaica junior and Kingston College (KC) top hurdler
Stefan Fennell will be enrolled at University of Arkansas this summer.
Informs Trackalerts. On Wednesday, head coach Chris Bucknam and the
second-ranked University of Arkansas men’s track and field team,
announced Fennell will join the program’s signee class for the 2012-13
season.
BASSETERRE (STK): Leewardstimes.com writes that double Daegu bronze
medalist Kim Collins are among athletes who were snubbed in the
selection of the team to represent St.Kitts-Nevis at the World Indoor
Championships. Along with Kim Collins other omissions were Antoine
Adams, Tameka Williams and Marecie Pemberton. This comes on the heels
of the recent controversy surrounding the national federation decision
to include a clause in the contracts of the athletes that demands a 20%
of the athletes earnings to be paid to the SKNAAA.
PRETORIA (RSA): SA media are writing that after fully recovering from a
niggling hamstring injury, South
African 800m star Mbulaeni Mulaudzi is confident of qualifying for
the 2012 Olympics at the Yellow Pages series meet in Tshwane. The
Tshwane leg of the series will take place at the University of
Pretoria athletics stadium in Hatfield on March 24. “I have
travelled all over the world, the conditions in Pretoria are
always the best for me to run,” said Mulaudzi, who has been out of
action for almost nine months. “I always do well in Pretoria. I have
been training hard in preparation for the London Olympics. Mulaudzi
will run in the first leg of the Yellow Pages series in
Stellenbosch on March 20.
NEW YORK (USA): Defending NYC Half champion Caroline Rotich of Kenya and
ING New York City Marathon 2011 winner Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia will
headline a global group of stars at the NYC Half on Sunday, March 18, it
was announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary
Wittenberg. Joining them on the starting line for this renowned race
through Manhattan will be two-time ING New York City Marathon champion
Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil and New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith,
whose half-marathon time of 1:07:11 is the fastest ever run in the
United States by a woman. The international men’s field also includes
Moroccan Olympian Abderrahime Bouramdane; Kenyan Peter Kirui, who
competed in the 10,000 meters at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in
Daegu, South Korea; 2011 IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze
medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia; Canadian Olympian Eric Gillis,
Wesley Korir of Kenya, runner-up at the 2011 Bank of American Chicago
Marathon; Ethiopian Olympian Deriba Merga, the 2009 Boston Marathon
champion; and Kenyan Samuel Chelanga, the NCAA 10,000-meter
record-holder. This group will get a strong challenge from the home
country: Previously announced were three world-class Americans: 2012
Olympic Trials Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, two-time Olympian
Dathan Ritzenhein, and 2011 World Championships 10,000-meter runner
Scott Bauhs. Additional international women’s pros include Mexican
Olympian Madaà Pérez, British Olympian Jo Pavey, Dutch Olympian Hilda
Kibet, and Claire Hallissey of Great Britain, a contender for the
British Olympic team. Previously announced were top American runners
Kara Goucher and Desiree Davila (both members of this year’s U.S.
Olympic Marathon team), Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, Molly Pritz, Julie
Culley, Jeannette Faber, and Stephanie Pezzullo. Organizers are informing in a release.
BUDAPEST (HUN): All national indoor championships have been now held in
2012. In the All-Athletics.com rankings the best were the championships
in USA with 45 308 score ahead of Russia 43 703, Germany 42 293, France
41 826 and Great Britain 41 315. More to see at www.all-athletics.com.
RESULTS
Logvinenko scored 5948 points in
heptathlon to win the Russian Combined Events Cup. Interesting to note
that European High Jump champion Aleksandr Shustov scored as 11th 4564
points and achieved superb 230 in the high jump, the best ever in an
indoor heptathlon. His other results 60 m 7.55, long jump 718, shot put
11.35 and second day 9.04 at hurdles, 300 cm in the pole vault and
3:50.20 in the 1000 m. High score also for Olga Kurban with 4577 points
in the pentathlon over Marina Goncharova 4494 points.
BUCURESTI (ROU, Mar 1): Romanian heptathlon champion is Bogdan Popa with
solid 5562 points. That is new national record. In women pentathlon
Beatrice Puiu scored 4117 points over talented junior Alina Rotaru 4111
(181 in the high jump and 628 in the long jump).
