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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Bekele To Skip World Indoor Championships In Favor of World Cross

Posted February 20th, 2008 at 3:45 PM by Bob Ramsak

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

Kenenisa Bekele has decided against defending his world indoor title in the 3000m in Valencia, Spain, early next month, choosing instead to focus on recapturing the world title at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

“He is saving himself for the world cross country,” said Dube Jillo, Technical Director for the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, in a story published on the IAAF website.
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TFS News Briefs: 2/15/2008

Posted February 15th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Tyson Invitational Has High Profile Athletes
The Tyson Invitational meet will be held this weekend at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Indoor Track in Fayettville. Some huge names will be competing, including Sanya Richards, Wallace Spearmon, Jenn Stuczynski and the shot put and an all-star shot put shootout that will feature Adam Nelson, Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Dan Taylor.
Read more at: [Google News][Tyson Invitational Start List]

Lagat To Run 10000m in London?
Bernard Lagat has hinted that he may move up in distance for the 2012 London Olympics, saying that, “athletes like Haile Gebrselassie [have shown] how possible it is to be stronger as you get older.” Lagat will compete in the 3000m event this weekend at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham, England.
Read more at: [BirminghamMail.net, UK]

IAAF Tokyo Marathon Preview
The Tokyo Marathon will be held this Sunday, February 18th and it will be doubling as Japan’s Olympic Men’s marathon Trials. A slew of speedy foreign runners has been invited, including Daniel Njenga of Kenya, a 2:06 marathoner. Historically, Japan has been strong in the marathon at the international level, so – with its mix of domestic and foreign talent – this should prove to be a high-octane race.
Read more at: [IAAF][Tokyo Marathon Website]
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TFS News Briefs: 2/14/2008

Posted February 14th, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Three Sub 2:07 Marathoners Added To Rotterdam Marathon Entry List
Organizers of the Rotterdam Marathon have ensured another fast race in 2008 by adding three sub 2:07 marathoners to the entry list. The three runners, Robert Cheboror, William Kipsang and Joseph Riri, are Kenyans, of course. The race will be held on Sunday, April 13th, 2008.
Read more at: [IAAF]

Another Strong Women’s Field For 2008 Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon organizers have announced that thee of the top women marathoners in the world will be running in the 112th Boston Marathon to be held on April 21st, 2008, the same weekend as the US Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. Lidiya Grigoryeva, the defending champion, will race 2006 winner Rita Jeptoo and two-time runner-up Jelena Prokopcuka.
Read more at: [Earthtimes, UK]

Maria Mutola Award Created At Pre Classic
Tom Jordan, the meet director at Eugene, Oregon’s Prefontaine Classic, has created a new award to honor the meet’s outstanding athlete. Fittingly, it will be called the Maria Mutola Outstanding Athlete Award. After all, Mutola has won the Pre Classic 800m an astonishing FIFTEEN TIMES!
Read more at: [The Register-Guard, OR]
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Soboleva Breaks World Record At 1500m

Posted February 10th, 2008 at 9:21 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Agencies are reporting that Yelena Soboleva broke her own world indoor record in the 1500m at the Russian Indoor Championships in Moscow today, clocking 3:58.05.

The 25-year-old, who raced to silver medals over the distance at last summer’s World Championships in Osaka and at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, knocked 0.23 seconds from the 3:58.28 mark she set in 2006, also in the Russian capital.

Soboleva’s mark came less than 24 hours after her victory in the 800m where she clocked a national record 1:56.49 to become the fourth fastest all-time.
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TFS News Briefs: 2/09/08

Posted February 9th, 2008 at 1:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

New Balance Collegiate Invitational Producing Fast Times
The New Balance Collegiate Invitational, being held this weekend at the Armory in New York City, is producing some solid collegiate marks in the build-up to the NCAA Championships.
Read more at: [Google News][Results at Milesplit]

Bekele Going For 300m Indoor WR
Kenenisa Bekele, the current track and field distance king, is going for the 3000m World record in Valencia, Spain today. Stay tuned for the results of the Ethiopian great’s attempt.
Read more at: [IAAF][Google News]

A Peek At the 2008 Track & Field Season
A peek into the future reveals 51 world-class track meets: 6 Golden League meets, 5 Super Grand Prix events, 14 Grand Prix venues, 1 World Athletics Final, 25 Area Permit meets. The best track meet of the year isn’t on the list. It’s going to be held in a town in Eastern China.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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Sara Hall: Hello from Philly!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted January 25th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. middle-distance runner Sara Hall. Sara’s list of running accolades include being a former NCAA All- American at Stanford, the 2006 USA 5K road champion, 5th place finisher in the 1500m at the 2007 USA Track & Field Championships and the 2006 champion at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry!

Hello from Philly! I am staying out here in between east coast competitions for the next couple weeks with my training partners Jen Rhines and Kassi Anderson. Tomorrow we head to Boston for the Reebok Indoor Games, and then Jen and I will return before Millrose the following weekend. It has been fun getting to know the running community here in Philly and being reminded how running brings people together socially. I had this same impression in Flagstaff, Arizona prior to coming to the east coast. The running community in Flagstaff is made up of all kinds of people. From working the night shift at a pharmacy to taking a break from practicing law to recently graduating from college, all the runners come from different places, yet are brought together by this common passion.

These experiences, as well as some others I have had recently, have reiterated to me how life is all about relationships. It is so easy to get tunnel-vision as a professional athlete, and become so fixated on the goals you have in front of you and where you are in the process that it becomes all-consuming (especially in an Olympic year!).
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TFS News Briefs: 12/20/07

Posted December 20th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Florida State Men Ranked #1 in NCAA Indoor T&F
The Florida State men’s track & field team is ranked #1 in the USTFCCCA preseason indoor rankings. Led by Walter Dix, they won the 2006 and 2007 Outdoor NCAA titles. Washington is ranked 2nd and Tennessee is ranked 3rd. Read more at: [USTFCCCA]

LSU Women Ranked #1 in NCAA Indoor T&F
The LSU women lead the USTFCCCA preseason NCAA Div. I Rankings for indoor track & field. They are led by hurdler Jessica Ohanaja and sprinter Kelly Ann Baptiste. Arizona State
begins the season ranked 2nd and Tennessee is ranked 3rd. Read more at: [USTFCCCA]

IAAF To Begin End-Of-Year Reviews On Saturday
This Saturday marks the first day of the IAAF’s annual end-of-year reviews. The IAAF is the world’s governing body of track & field. Here are the publication dates: Combined Events (Saturday, 12/22), Throws (Monday, 12/24), Jumps (Wednesday, 12/26), Hurdles (Thursday, 12/27), Road Running / Race Walks (Friday, 12/28), Long Distance/ Steeplechase (Saturday, 12/29), Middle Distance (Sunday, 12/30), Sprints (Monday, 12/31). Read more beginning this Saturday at: [IAAF]
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Wisconsin, Arizona St earn first NCAA D-I indoor titles

Posted March 12th, 2007 at 9:06 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Wisconsin senior Chris Solinsky added the 5000m title to his admirable collection, but was out-sprinted in the 3000m by rising star Lopez Lomong of Northern Arizona (SUD) 7:49.74 to 7:51.69, career bests for both.

NCAA cross country champion Sally Kipyego had a relatively easy time with her 3000/5000 titles, the former over Duke’s Shannon Rowbury the winner in the mile. Brittany Riley of Sothern Illinois broke her own world record in the weight throw with a mark of 83-10.25 and Natasha Hastings of South Carolina set a new collegiate record in 400m with a time of 50.80 seconds.

Their team victories marked the first indoor titles for both the Wisconsin men and ASU women. Ed Nuttycombe, the head coach of the Wisconsin men’s track team, stated:

“It proves if you coach long enough anyone can win one. We’ve finished in the top 10 and four a few times, and we finally got over the hump. We tried to optimize as many opportunities as we could, and we did that. There was not anybody that didn’t get the job done.”

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