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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

adidas Launches Olympic Website RoadsToBeijing.com

Posted June 21st, 2008 at 10:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

adidas has launched a new website focused on adidas-sponsored athletes who are likely to compete in the Olympic Games across the full spectrum of sports. The site, roadstobeijing.com, includes athlete profiles, videos, photos, blogs (still in development) and polls.

“Most of us only get to see the athletes in the competitive arena and, understandably, rarely fully appreciate what it takes to get to the top of their sport,” said Jocelyn Robiot, adidas’s head of global sports marketing through a media release. “RoadstoBeijing.com breaks new ground and offers a unique insight into that journey.”
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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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America’s Tyson Gay Named Male Athlete of the Year

Posted November 27th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Three-time World Outdoor champion and 2007 Jesse Owens Award winner Tyson Gay was named the Male World Athlete of the Year at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo over the weekend.

Gay had an historic year in 2007, sweeping the 100 and 200 meters at both the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Osaka and the USA Outdoor Championships. He added World Outdoor gold in the 4×100m to become the fourth man in World Championships history to win three gold medals at a single championship.
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Defar, Gay Named World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 26th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Meseret Defar and sprinter Tyson Gay were named the World Athletes of the Year for 2007 at the World Athletics Gala held in Monte Carlo last night.

Defar, 24, shattered her won world record in the 5000 meters, running 14:16.63 in Oslo in June, breaking her own previous standard by more than eight seconds. The reigning Olympic 50000 champion, Defar also won the event at the world championships and twice lowered the world best for 2 miles. She also set a world record indoors in the 3000, running 8:23.72 in Stuttgart in February.

“I don’t have word to describe how happy I am,” said Defar, who dedicated the award to women athletes in Ethiopia. Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele have earned the honor in the past, but Defar became the first Ethiopian to win the world governing body’s annual award.

Gay, 25, won three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka last August, sweeping the 100 and 200 metres and running the third leg on the victorious 4×100m relay. In the 100, Gay clocked 9.85, relegating world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica to third. In the 200, he clocked 19.76, taking down Michael Johnson’s meet record. He was just the fourth athlete to collect three gold medals at a single world championships.
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Gebrselassie, Defar Short-Listed for World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 16th, 2007 at 7:00 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Haile Gebrselassie and Meseret Defar are among the three men’s and women’s finalist for World Athlete of the Year, the IAAF announced last week.

The 34-year-old Gebrselassie lowered the world record in the marathon to 2:04:26, pending ratification, at the real,-Berlin Marathon in September, and earlier in the year, set world records for the one hour run on the track, and for 20,000m en route.

Defar, 23, produced yet another astonishing season. After a world record indoors over 3000m, the Ethiopian broke her own world record in the 5000m at the Golden League kick-off in Oslo in June, won the world title in the 5000m in August, and capped her season with a world best for 2 miles in Brussels.
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TFS News Briefs: 11/14/07

Posted November 14th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Kiplagat to Run in Brussels X-C Meet
Reigning world cross-country champion Lornah Kiplagat will run in the ‘Lotto Iris Crosscup’ cross-country meet in Brussels, Belgium on December 23rd in preparation for the Dubai Marathon on January 18th, 2008. The 33-year-ols world-record holder in the 20k sees the race as ideal for testing both her speed and strength. Read more at: [IAAF]

Focus on European Athletes Who Made IAAF Performance of the Year Shortlist
An article on the EAA website focuses on the 6 European athletes who have made the IAAF’s short list for the IAAF 2007 Performance of the Year. The performances of Roman Sebrle, Yelena Isinbayeva, Lornah Kiplagat, Carolina Klüft, Blanka Vlasic and Yekaterina Volkova are featured. Read more at: [European-Athletics]

Fraudulent “Coaches” Overtake Kenya’s Great Rift Valley
Frauds who are posing as athletes and coaches have invaded the famed Great Rift Valley in Kenya, home to many of the world’s greatest distance runners. The “quacks” have set up unregulated training camps, are over-training young runners and are harassing schoolgirls, in some cases even impregnating them. Read more at: [Standard, Kenya]
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TFS News Briefs: 10/19/07

Posted October 19th, 2007 at 5:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

Elite Men Planning a 2:06 Time in Amsterdam Marathon
Kenyans Jason Mbote (2:08:13) and Paul Kiprop Kirui (PB: 2:06:44) both plan to run new personal bests this Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at the ING Amsterdam Marathon. Mbote said he wants to run between 2:06 and 2:07. The women’s race is expected to be around 2:26. Read more at: [IAAF]

Bulgarian High-Jump Record Holder Says Her 20-Year-Old Record is Legit
High-Jump World Record Holder Stefka Kostadinova, known at home in Bulgaria as “queen of the high-jump,” expects Blanka Vlašić (pictured at right) to break her 20-year-old record next year and is happy that so many women are making an assault on it. She said that it “proves that my achievement is truly feminine and perfectly within human reach.” Read more at: [Yahoo! Sport]

“Pick the Olympic Trials Winners” Contest at Runner’s World
Runner’s World is conducting a contest in which you can pick who you expect will be the top 3 finishers in the U.S. Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon next month in NY City. The contest winner receives a T-shirt autographed by the trials winners. Enter the contest at: [Runner’s World]
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TFS News Briefs: 10/04/07

Posted October 4th, 2007 at 3:07 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field

Udine, Italy Prepares to Host Road Running World Championships
Udine, Italy will play host to the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 on a fast, mostly flat, three-loop, half-marathon course. Kenyan Evans Cheruiyot, who won last year’s race in Udine, will return to compete against fellow Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru, the current half-marathon world record holder (58:33), and Zersenay Tadesse, the defending world champion who won in 2006 over a 20K course in Debrecen, Hungary. In the women’s race, Lornah Kiplagat will defend her title. The world record is 1:06:44, held by South African Elana Meyer since 1/15/1999. Read more at: [IAAF]

Blanka Vlašić Wins 2007 European Athlete of the Year Award
Blanka Vlašić, coming off a stellar season in which she high jumped her way to a world championship, won 18 of 19 competitions and made multiple assaults on the world record all season long, has become the first Croatian and the first high jumper to win the European Athlete of the Year award. Read more at: [EuropeanAthletics]

In-Race Runner Tracking Available for Chicago Marathon
You can now register for electronic updates (via text message or e-mail) of the statuses of your favorite Chicago Marathon runners as they cross three checkpoints: 15K, halfway point, 35K and Finish Line. Register at: [ChicagoMarathon.com]
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On the Road & Around the Track: News Briefs 9/24/07

Posted September 24th, 2007 at 3:45 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

Huge Names to Run in Shanghai This Friday
Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell (100m), Asafa Powell (200m), Jeremy Wariner (400m) and Kenenisa Bekele (1500m) are all set to run this Friday in Shanghai, China in the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix at the University Town Stadium. For most of the athletes, it will be the last meet of the season. Read more at: [Shanghai Golden Grand Prix]

James Carney Plans on Being the X-Factor at the Olympic Trials Marathon
James Carney, 2nd place finisher at the USA 20K Championships on 9/04/2007 behind Dan Browne, said in a New York Road Runners interview that, “I think I have a very good chance of doing well, and I’m going into the race thinking that I can make the team.” He heads into the November 3rd race with a 27:43.64 qualifying time in the 10000m at the Stanford Invitational. Read more at: [New York Road Runners]
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On the Road & Around the Track: TFS News Briefs September 18, 2007

Posted September 18th, 2007 at 3:32 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, TFS News Briefs

New York City Marathon: Women’s Competition Intensifies
As if a New York City Marathon field that included returning top three Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, Tatiana Hladyr of Ukraine and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya wasn’t enough, now Gete Wami of Ethiopia, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia, and Tegla Loroupe of Kenya have announced that they will be competing on November 4th. They will be competing for a prize of $130,000 plus a Toyota Prius. Read more at: [IAAF] [ING NYC Marathon]

Steve Cram Calls IAAF World Athletics Final “Pointless and Bemusing”
In a Guardian Unlimited article critical of the IAAF’s current race structure, British miling legend Steve Cram is calling for a makeover of not only the World Athletics Final, but also the Golden League and even the World Championships. Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited]

World Athletics Final Previews: Throws and Jumps
Previews of the Jumps and the Throws at the World Athletics Final this weekend in Stuttgart, Germany are available on the IAAF World Athletics Final website. Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell, Stefan Holm, Blanka Vlasic and Yelena Isinbayeva are some of the key field-event athletes going into the meet. Read more at: [IAAF WAF07]
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