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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

In Between Eugene Will be Des Moines

Posted December 13th, 2007 at 9:54 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Eugene, Ore., will host the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008, and the U.S. Outdoor Championships in 2009 and 2011. In between, USATF announced today, the national championship meet will move to Des Moines, Iowa, home of Drake University and the Drake Relays.

“For several years, we have wanted to bring one of our premiere events to Drake Stadium,” USATF CEO Masback said in a prepared statement. “The Drake Relays is truly a community event with phenomenal fan support, and that community spirit shone through in Des Moines’ bid. We look forward to building a very strong partnership with local organizers for what will be an outstanding 2010 USA Outdoor Championships.”

Drake Stadium will get a $15 million renovation for the championships. “We envisioned that the facility would make Drake and Des Moines the Midwest capital of track and field,” Drake President David Maxwell said. “This event is a huge plus not only for Drake but also Des Moines and Iowa as a whole.”

(c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

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Blanka Vlašić Nears World-Record Form in Greece

Posted July 31st, 2007 at 10:44 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With her high jump mark of 2.06m in Thessaloniki, Greece yesterday, Blanka Vlašić of Croatia is nearing world-record form. (WR: 2.09m.) Her jump is a world best for 2007 and makes her the favorite in Osaka. No woman has jumped higher in 20 years.

The 23-year-old Vlasic (pronounced VLAH-SHEECH) also had three good attempts at a world-record 2.10m but was unsuccessful. Interestingly, Vlašić (who is 6′ 4″, taller than most male high jumpers) comes from a track & field family:

Blanka was named after Casablanca, Morocco, a city where her father competed at the Mediterranean Games around the time of her birth. Joško Vlašić’s decathlon personal best, set in 1984, still stands as the Croatian national record; the two are a rare (perhaps unique?) example of father and daughter simultaneously holding athletics national records.

For more information about Vlasic’s performance in Greece: [IAAF]
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