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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

Alan Webb Highlights 23rd Annual Carlsbad 5000

Posted March 27th, 2008 at 5:04 PM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

After breaking Steve Scott’s quarter-century old American mile record last summer in Brasschaat, Belgium, 25-year-old Alan Webb will have an opportunity to take down San Diego native Marc Davis’ 1996 American road 5k record of 13:24, also set at the Carlsbad 5000. Webb has chosen to open his 2008 Spring campaign in Carlsbad as he prepares for an Olympic bid. The Southern California race, set for Sunday, April 6, 2008, was made famous by Scott 23 years ago as both the course designer and champion of the first three events.

“I’m really looking forward to my first trip out to Carlsbad,” said Webb, a Reston, Virginia native. “I’ve always heard about what a great course and event it is, and how fast people have run there. Plus, Steve Scott has been something of a mentor to me over the years, and to run on a course he designed and won on three times just makes it that much more special.”
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TFS News Briefs: 2/20/2008

Posted February 20th, 2008 at 1:56 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

IAAF’s Preview Of Melbourne Grand Prix
At the Melbourne Grand Prix, a highly fit Craig Mottram will take on teen Ethiopian sensation Abreham Cherkos Feleke in the 5000m in front of a home crowd. Jeremy Wariner will run his first 400m of the 2008 season. Asafa Powell is still questionable for the 100m.
Read more at: [IAAF]

New Bookshop at Runner’s World
The Runner’s World website has a new feature: the Runner’s World Bookshop. Included among the offering is Runner’s World Guide To Road Racing, which offers “advice from the pros on training for and competing in the four most popular road races–5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon.”
Read more at: [Runner’s World]

No Indoor Championshipss For Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele will miss the IAAF World Indoor Athletic Championships. Instead, he will focus on the World Cross-Country Championships where he hopes to redeem himself after a disastrous 2007 race in Mombasa, Kenya. In that race he succumbed to the heat and the humidity and was forced to drop out.
Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited, UK]
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TFS News Briefs: 1/30/08

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 1:17 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

IAAF Overrides British Governing Body Ruling
British sprinter Dwain Chambers got support from the IAAF when UK Athletics ruled him ineligible for a “comeback” because of a 2003 positive test for steroids. In a messy dispute that could end up in court, UKA is sticking to a ruling stating that retired athletes must undergo a year of negative tests. The IAAF, however, is stating that they never received an official retirement letter, so the rule does not apply to him unless UKA can produce such a letter.
Read more at: [Times Online, UK][Athletics Weekly][More]

Michael Johnson Backs IAAF’s Pistorius Ban
Michael Johnson, the retired 400m world-record holder, agrees with the IAAF’s decision to ban double-amputee Oscar Pistorius because his prosthetic legs (dubbed “Cheetahs”) offer him an “unfair advantage” over other athletes. “If he was racing at the same time as me,” Johnson said, “I would also think the same thing.”
Read more at: [The Tide]

Wariner and Legendary Coach Hart Ways
Clyde Hart, Baylor’s legendary coach who trained Michael Johnson, has parted ways with current 400m world champion Jeremy Wariner after a contract dispute in which Wariner sought to reduce the coach’s percentage. Sanya Richards will continue to train under Hart.
Read more at: [Waco Tribune]
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Bekele’s 10,000m W.R. Assault Tops the Bill in Brussels

Posted September 13th, 2007 at 3:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Kenenisa Bekele’s assault on his own 10,000m world record is set to take center stage when the Golden League series resumes at the 31st edition of the Memorial Van Damme in the Belgian capital on Friday night.

At this competition two years ago, Bekele lowered his own record in the event to 26:17.53. Then, he was paced by his brother Tariku, who took him through the first half in just over 13:09, before he eventually lowered the mark with a 57-second closing lap.

“A record is not easy every time,” said Bekele, who’ll be making his first start since winning his third consecutive world title over the distance late last month. “You can have it if you work hard, and if the conditions are right, but it’s not easy.”
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