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Lead Stories: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

TFS News Briefs: 3/24/08

Posted March 24th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Kenyan Athletes To Restore Country’s Tarnished Image?
Athletes on the world stage, like it or not, are often ambassadors for their nations. It looks like it’s up to the diminutive distance runners of Kenya this time. An article om allafrica.com states that Joseph Ebuya and crew have the “extra burden of restoring the country’s soiled image” at the upcoming IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Read more at: [All Africa]

Speaking of Great Kenyan Runners…
Is Margaret Wangari, who made her first Kenyan world cross-country team last week ahead of even the great Vivian Cheruiyot, the next Kenyan world beater? She certainly seems to have the right attitude, saying that ” As part of the team, I expect to perform well” at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30th.
Read more at: [Standard, Kenya]

IOC President: Olympic Marathon Bigger Than Haile
IOC President Jacques Rogge was doing some major PR today for the Olympic movement, saying not only that “the Games are far stronger than the individual” (translation: Haile Gebrselassie’s withdrawal doesn’t diminish the Beijing Olympic Marathon. Yeah, right!), but that awarding the 2008 Games to China was a good idea in the first place.
Read more at: [Canadian Press][Reuters]
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TFS News Briefs: 3/22/08

Posted March 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Preview Of Oregon Preview
Eugene, OR’s Register-Guard, arguably THE track & field newspaper, has a preview of the University of Oregon’s Oregon Preview track & field meet which will serve as the unveiling of the newly renovated Hayward Field, which arguably may be THE track & field stadium.
Read more at: [Register-Guard]

The Man Who Would Be King
Joseph Ebuya of Kenya is profiled in Kenya’s Standard. He is vying to upset the great Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia to become the 2008 world cross-country champion. “I want only gold,” he said. “I know that if we keep up with him from the first minute we have a chance of beating him.”
Read more at: [Standard, Kenya]

Show Me the Money!
Of course we all know that cross-country athletes are in it solely for financial gain, not for the love of the sport. Here’s an article on the IAAF detailing the prize money for the 36th IAAF World Cross-Country Championships which will be held on March 30th, 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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Tariku Bekele, Kipchoge Lead 5000m Qualifying

Posted August 30th, 2007 at 12:50 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia, the younger brother of Kenenisa, and Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, won their respective heats of the 5000m as the 11th IAAF World Championships finished its sixth day at Nagai Stadium.

Bekele recorded an improbably slow time of 13:46.42 to win his heat off of a very slow initial pace. Indeed, there was such a large group of athletes still together at the bell that Algeria’s Khoudir Aggoune, Kenya’s Isaac Songok and Joseph Ebuya, and Morocco’s Ahmed Baday were unable to advance to Sunday’s final despite finishing within two seconds of Bekele. Only the top five from each heat automatically qualified for the final.

“I was worried about the weather,” Bekele said in a statement released by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation. “It was very difficult out there and I hope to do well in the final.”

Jesús España of Spain, Bernard Lagat of the USA, Hicham Bellani of Morocco, and Moses Kipsiro of Uganda were the other qualifiers from the first heat. Lagat won the gold medal in the 1500m last night. He chose to celebrate with an ice bath and a pizza before getting to bed to rest up for tonight’s race. The slow pace definitely saved him precious energy.
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Webb’s 1500m win the Highlight in Paris

Posted July 8th, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With a brilliant display of assertive racing, Alan Webb powered to a 3:30.54 victory in the 1500 this weekend to highlight the Meeting Gaz de France Paris-St. Denis; the second stop on the six-meet IAAF Golden League series.

Running aggressively from the outset, the 24-year-old three-time American champion never lost control of the race, despite the relatively brisk pace.

“I knew it was going to be hard,” Webb said, explaining his decision to run near the front from the gun despite the pre-race plan for a 2:47 split through 1200 meters. “I could have been in fifth place and it would have been hard.”
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Men’s 1500 the key attraction as IAAF Golden League resumes in Paris

Posted July 6th, 2007 at 11:17 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

For the crowd of 65,000 that is expected to turn out for tonight’s Meeting Gaz de France, one event will stand head and shoulders above the rest –the men’s 1500, which features French star Mehdi Baala squaring off against American Bernard Lagat.

Baala, the world leader after his solo 3:31.05 in Strasbourg last week, apparently doesn’t mind the pressure. In fact, he added to it yesterday when declaring that he’ll be chasing his own national record of 3:28.98 set in 2003.

Lagat, who will be making his ninth straight appearance here, is pleased that the spotlight will be focused elsewhere.
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World Athletics Tours resumes Saturday in Dakar

Posted April 26th, 2007 at 9:43 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results

The IAAF World Athletics Tour resumes on Saturday with the Meeting International d’Athletisme de la Ville de Dakar in the Senegalese capital.

The program includes both the men’s and women’s 800, and a men’s 3000. Among the athletes expected to compete are Jolanda Ceplak, the world indoor record holder at 800m and the Olympic bronze medallist, and Kenyans Joseph Ebuya and Sammy Kipketer in the men’s 3000m.

Last year a crowd of more than 60,000 spectators gathered in the Leopold Senghor stadium. The meet opens with competition in the men’s shot put on the day before, held on the nearby Island of Gorée, for 300 years the staging point for African slave trade.
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