BOLT SPENDS CHRISTMAS AT HOME

TRELAWNY (JAM): Sprinting superstar Usain Bolt traveled to Trelawny on December 24 to visit his family. He did not plan to train on December 25 and 26 and on Wednesday organised a treat for children in his community. Bolt will be back to training on December 27. His christmas tweet recieved huge number of followers. German Sports News Agency SID named him Golden Boy of the Year 2012. Bolt was also voted United States Sports Academy’s Athlete of the Year for 2012.

FARAH SECOND IN EUROPE

WARSZAWA (POL): Double olympic long distance gold medalist Mo Farah was voted second best European Sports Person of the Year 2012. In the traditional poll of European News Agencies organised by Polish Agency PAP he got 126 points and was beaten only by F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel (137) and cycling star Bradley Wiggins (130). Farah was the only athletics representative in the top ten (men and women together).

AMOS AND KITUM AT 600 M

MOSCOW (RUS): Organiser of IAAF Indoor Permit meet Russian Winter to be held in Moscow on February 3 announced more top names for the men 60 m. Kim Collins will clash with Dwain Chambers and US Mike Rodgers. In the 600 m race two Olympic 800 medalists will run, both young hopefuls. The silver winner Nijel Amos of Botswana and bronze holder Timothy Kitum of Kenya. In the field also the local star 2004 Olympic winner Yuriy Borzakovskiy. Both youngsters are still juniors also in 2013. The race will not only attack the senior world best 1:15.12 of German Nico Motchebon from 1999 but also the junior all-time top mark 1:16.92 by Casimir Loxsom of USA from 2010. Meet record is 1:15.26 from 2012.

OTHER NEWS

LONDON (GBR): The Queen paid tribute to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic athletes in her Royal Christmas Message this year. She hailed the „splendid summer of sport” and highlight how the sportsmen and women allowed spectators to feel part of the „excitement and drama” of the Games. Informs insidethegames.

RIGA (LAT): 2010 European champion and London Games fourth placer in long jump Ineta Radevica was for third time voted the Sportswoman of the Year in Latvia. In her speech during the ceremony evening she also announced her retirement. She admitted her dream to be on the Olympic Podium will never happen. The 31-years old athlete has her best of 692 from winning the European Championships in Barcelona (also a national record). Informs delfi.lv.

ADDIS ABABA (ETH): The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) announced it will soon be opening a new branch it named in honor of the double Olympic gold medalist Meseret Defar. In an occasion held to award its successful sports icons, Bank Sports Club proudly announced that the CBE’s high-level management unanimously agreed to open the branch. Writes Ethiosports.

BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Former World 100 m champion Kim Collins has confirmed that he will be making his fourth appearance at the British Athletics Grand Prix at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena on Saturday 26th January. The St. Kitts and Nevis sprinter will compete over both 60m and 200m for a Commonwealth Select team against athletes from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the USA, Russia and Germany.

NAIROBI (KEN): Marathon world record holder Patrick Makau said about his plans: “Next season, I’m preparing for London and after that, I will be thinking about the World Championships and I will make sure I train well. I’m back again fit and I hope for the best in 2013.” Last season he did not finish London and won Frankfurt marathon. Kenyan media are informing.

MOSCOW (RUS): Controversial plans to demolish Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium and rebuild it in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been scrapped in favour of renovating it, the city’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has revealed. The Luzhniki, which hosted the 1980 Olympics, is due to stage the final of the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko had raised the prospect of it being knocked down next year and
a new stadium being built on the same site. But Sobyanin has ruled out this possibility and instead promised that extensive renovations will begin after the Stadium has hosted the athletics World Championships next August.

NASSAU (BAH): Hurdler Ivanique Kemp and 400 m runner Chris Brown were voted Bahamian Athletes of the Year 2012. World junior sprinter Antonique Strachan was named the Bahamian Junior Athlete of the Year.

FRANKFURT (GER): German high jump star Ariane Friedrich will not compete in her event during the indoor season. After her shoulder surgery she could not have her usual weight training. But according to her agent/coach Gunter Eisinger she might try other events. She is fast as never before and will try the long jump, said Eisinger. „But it will only make sense when she will be able to go over 650, that would mean a position among the best Germans,” Eisinger was quoted as saying. Another top high jumper US record holder Chaunte Lowe was succesfull in long jump in the past with 690. Eisinger even admitted Friedrich could compete in sprints.

ROMA (ITA): Italian federation FIDAL has appointed Massimo Magnani as Technical Director of the National Team and 2004 Olympic marathon winner Stefano Baldini Technical Director for the Junior and Youth Teams.

KINGSTON (JAM): Relay olympic bronze medalist from Beijing and London Shereefa Lloyd, escaped serious injuries after her car was involved in an accident on Christmas Day Tuesday. According to information reaching Trackalerts.Com, Lloyd was on her way to Clarendon when her Mercedes Benz ran off the road. A source close to Lloyd, a Clarendon native and two-time World Championships mile relay silver medallist, escaped unhurt. The Mercedes Benz, however, is said to be badly damaged as it crashed into two polls.

DALLAS (USA): Former world junior champion in discus Estonian Margus Hunt is now a succesful defensive end for SMU Dallas in american college football. He came to SMU in the fall of 2007 to train with renowned track and field coach Dave Wollman. He had never played football before coming to SMU. But he was 6-8 and 280 pounds, and walked on to the SMU football team. He blocked seven kicks his first year, one short of the NFL record. He is rumored to run the 40-yard dash in about 4.6 seconds. He also picked up piano. He is expected to be high in the NFL Draft. Local media are informing.

TOKYO (JPN): Brett Larner informs on his blog that talented junior Suguru Osako who is Japanese number one collegiate runner revealed that he will join the 2012 national champion Nissin Shokuhin team following his graduation in 2014. According to Waseda head coach Yasuyuki Watanabe, Osako plans to move to Portland, Oregon to be coached by one of marathon legend Toshihiko Seko’s great rivals, American Alberto Salazar. Coach Watanabe revealed, „Starting next year Osako is going to be based in the U.S.A. for his training.” His destination is the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, Oregon.

PARIS (FRA): Pole vault olympic winner Renaud Lavillenie ended third in the ranking Champion des Champions of L´Équipe related to French sports heroes. Number one in the order was judo olympic winner Teddy Riner.

LAGOS (NGR): The Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has denied focusing on the development of track events to the detriment of field events. AFN’s Technical Director, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama reacted to claims by some field athletes who accused the federation of focusing on track events more than the field events. Omatseye said on telephone to thisdaylive.com that what was really affecting the growth of field events in the country was lack of equipment.

IASI (ROU): One of the best sprinters in Romania Angela Morosanu was forced to train in the minus 10 degrees cold stadium in Iasi. Its is because the County Department for Youth and Sport decided to close the modern hall. That decision brought difficulties not only for athletes but also representatives of other sports. In the past Morosanu used to train abroad, but due to financial crisis she was forced to stay home. The hall will be opened early new year.

MOSCOW (RUS): IAAF Deputy General Secretary Nick Davies confirmed for Russian Agency All-Sport IAAF is against inclusion of athletics into the first edition of European Games 2015 in Baku.

XIAMEN (CHN): First major marathon of 2013, the Xiamen Marathon in China on January 5 is announcing record participation figures. The organisers are expecting in all races 74 000 persons.

RESULTS

MINSK (BLR, Dec 21): At the traditional Christmas indoor meet Mikalai Homan clocked 5.90 to win the 50 m and world indoor hurdles medalist Alina Talai 6.65 in the same distance.

ITEN (KEN, Dec 24): The Nation informs that Marseille Cassis road race champion Mercy Kibarus outclassed other runners to win the Eighth Shoe4Africa Women’s Road Race. Kibarus clocked 16:46 at the 5 km over Valentine Kibet 16:58 and Diana Chepkemoi 17:02. Close to 1000 women runners competed.