According to his new blog entry at RunnersWorld.com,“Ultramarathon Man”
Dean Karnazes has been selected to carry the Olympic torch while it passes through his hometown of San Francisco, CA.
Karnazes, an elite (and at times controversial) ultra endurance athlete, is coming off of an impressive victory at the grueling Atacama Crossing, a 275-K race across the Atacama Desert in Chile. He was also the recipient of ESPN’s 2007 ESPY Award for “Best Outdoor Athlete”.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: TrailFit.com
Ethiopian distance running star Haile Gebrselassie says he may compete over the marathon at the 29th Beijing Olympics if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes changes to the event’s venue and starting time.
On Monday, the world marathon record holder and former double Olympic 10000m champion announced that he will not take part in this year’s Olympic marathon citing Beijing’s pollution and fearing the aggravation of his own exercise-induced asthma.
But speaking on Wednesday, the 34-year old said, “I do not want to rule anything out at this point. This decision is not about Haile. It is about all athletes who will be competing. Our safety has to be protected.”
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The news of Haile Gebrselassie withdrawing from the Olympic Marathon in Beijing broke while your editor was flying home from Spain. He told Reuters he’s very concerned about the air quality there, especially because he has exercised-induced asthma.
The New York Times picked up the story here (The link has been shortened): http://tinyurl.com/2papl4
Heavy News Day At IAAF Website
The folks at the IAAF website have been busy today. There are 9 news items for you to read, including an article about the 51 USA athletes going to the world championships, plus profiles of the Chinese, Italian, Moroccan and German contingents.
Read more at: [USA][China][Italy][Morocco][Germany][IAAF]
World Indoor Championships: Greek Team Profile
The European Athletics site is quite busy, too, with a profile of the Greek team going to the World Indoor Championships, plus an article about how the World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland has set a participation record.
Read more at: [Greece][Edinburgh][European Athletics]
Mainstream Press Acknowledges US Distance-Running Resurgence
When the mainstream press finally gets wind of happenings in US distance running, you know there must be no doubt about it whatsoever. The Boston Globe has published a profile detailing the resurgence of US distance running, something the US running community has known for a long, long time.
Read more at: [Boston Globe]
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X-Man Moves to Gainesville To Train for Beijing
Xavier “X-Man” Carter, history’s 2nd alltime fastest 200m runner, has moved to Gainesville, FL to train with his coach Mike Holloway and to focus on qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Read more at: [Total Sports Management]
Asafa Powell To Begin 2008 Campaign in Australia
Enthused by the Australian track and field fans, 100m world record holder Asafa Powell (JAM) will begin his 2008 track & field season there. He will train in Australia and compete in two meets: the Sydney Athletics Grand Prix on February 16th, 2008 and the IAAF World Athletics Tour meet in Melbourne on February 21st, 2008. Read more at: [IAAF]
Precedents May Favor Marion Jones’ Teammates in Their Bids To Keep Medals
Several precedents may allow the US women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams (other than Marion Jones, of course) to keep their medals. An article in the LA Times pleads their case for them.Read more at: [LA Times]
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Liu Xiang’s Legs Insured for $13.3 million
Chinese insurance company Ping An, a sponsor of China’s Track & Field team, has donated coverage of national hero Liu Xiang’s legs worth $13.3 Million. Calling his legs “priceless,” the 100m hurdler said, “I don’t care how much it is. Naturally, I hope never to collect this money and just keep on staying healthy.” Read more at: [Malaysia Star]
Lack of Interest Submarines Felix’s Bid for IAAF Athlete of the Year
IAAF director of communication Nick Davies stated that American’s lack of interest in Track & Field caused Allison Felix to lose in her bid to become the IAAF Athlete of the Year, saying, “the public vote on internet counts for 30percent of the final mark. But the Americans were completely uninterested in contrast to the Chinese who voted for Lui Xiang and the Croats who went into action for Blanka Vlasic.” Read more at: [AFP]
Tribute to Pioneer African-American Ultra-Runner Eddie Gardner
In the build up to the upcoming Seattle Marathon, Seattle Post Intelligencer reporter Casey McNerthney pays tribute to Eddie Gardner, a Seattle-based ultra-runner who was one of five African-Americans to compete in the historic 1928 trans-America footrace dubbed the “Bunion Derby.” Overcoming death threats in Oklahoma and Texas, Gardner finished 8th out of 199 starters. Read more at: [Seattle Post Intelligencer]
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A Chinese delegation is in Madrid to attend the third World Conference on Doping.
Led by Duan Shijie, vice-minister of the General Administration of Sport, the delegation is comprised of officials from the aforesaid administration, the China Anti-doping Agency, the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.
According to Duan, he will speak at Friday’s session on China’s anti-doping efforts and the measures to be taken during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: SummerOlympian.com
The China Anti-Doping Agency was officially unveiled in Beijing on Monday.
Duan Shijie, Vice-Minister of the General Administration of Sport and Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), and Du Lijun, Director of the agency, attended the inaugural ceremony at the China Olympic Sports Center.
Approved by the office of the State Commission for Public Service Structure and Establishment Administration, the agency has a staff of 60, comprising the people from the Institute of Sports Medicine under the General Administration of Sport and the Anti-Doping Commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: SummerOlympian.com
Team USA standouts Tyson Gay, Sanya Richards, Jeremy Wariner, Michelle Perry, Allen Johnson and Lauryn Williams will lead an accomplished group of U.S. stars Friday at the 2007 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in China.
This third edition of the Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai has been designated as a qualifying event for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final 2008. Competing athletes at the meet will have the opportunity to get an early start on qualifying for next year’s final, to be held September 13-14.
Current world and U.S. men’s 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay will compete in the 100 meters in a field that includes fellow Americans JJ Johnson and Marcus Brunson. The men’s 110m hurdles also should prove interesting as four-time world champion Allen Johnson and 2007 World Outdoor Championships bronze medalist David Payne do battle with world record holder and reigning world and Olympic champion Liu Xiang, who will compete in front of an enthusiastic hometown audience.
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According to Chinese media, “Chinese city traffic police have an average life expectancy of just 43 years because of the dire working conditions and pollution.” Reports like this have worried the Australian Olympic delegation so much that they have announced they will wait until the last minute next summer to arrive in Beijing.
Australian IOC member John Coates said he’d be “telling his athletes to stay away from Beijing until four or five days before their events.” The pollution is so bad in the city that some people have begun calling it “Greyjing.” Add to that the worries of tainted food in the way of pork tainted with growth hormones (which could actually cause positives in athletes’ dope tests) and Beijing could wind up being the riskiest and most controversial Olympics in history.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: SummerOlympian.com
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