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The Other Lagat
Posted May 29th, 2008 at 3:30 PM by Stephanie Lowe
Section: News & Results, Motivation, Success Stories, Track & Field, Olympics, Interviews, College, Road Racing
It may seem odd that a city in west Texas is similar to an east African country, but that is why Haron Lagat, from Eldoret, Kenya, lives and trains in Lubbock. Lagat, 24, said the stable weather and friendly community remind him of home, but with more opportunities.
“I think I’ll live here for a while,” Lagat said. “If there’s a place where you can make your life better, why not go there?”
The former Texas Tech athlete-turned-volunteer assistant coach runs for the AmeriKenyan Running Club, based in Santa Fe, N.M. His manager, Scott Robinson, convinced Lagat to forgo his last year of NCAA eligibility to run professionally in 2006, despite never winning a national title. Lagat mentioned that most people had never heard of him while he ran in college.
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Note on the News:
NY Times Series on Bernard Lagat Continues
Posted May 19th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Jeré Longman’s series on Bernard Lagat in the New York Times continues today at this link, including several photos:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/sports/othersports/19lagat.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
Note on the News: Impact of Kenyan Violence on Runners
Posted May 13th, 2008 at 11:30 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results
My colleague Jeré Longman has written a lenghty piece published in today’s NEW YORK TIMES on how the post-election violence in Kenya has impacted runners there.
The story, written in Eldoret, focuses on world marathon champion Luke Kibet, but also mentions and interviews athletes and officials at many levels, including Catherine Ndereba, Wesley Ngetich, Lucas Sang, David Okeyo, Moses Kiptanui and many others. Photos accompany the story.
You can read the story at this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/sports/othersports/13runners.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
Lel, Ndereba lead Kenyan Olympic Marathon Squad
Posted April 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics
Three-time Flora London Marathon champion Martin Lel (Pictured) and reigning world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba will head a strong Kenyan Olympic squad announced by Athletics Kenya today.
Lel, who took down the London course record with his career best 2:05:15 10 days ago, will be joined by Robert Cheruiyot and Sammy Wanjiru.
Cheruiyot, 33, cruised to his fourth Boston Marathon victory on Monday while Wanjiru, 21, the world record holder for the half-marathon at 58:33, finished second behind Lel in London last week in 2:05:24, also a career best.
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Can Anyone Dethrone Cheruiyot at Boston?
Posted April 19th, 2008 at 3:26 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the willowy Kenyan who overcame a childhood of destitution to become a three-time Boston Marathon champion and the inaugural World Marathon Majors points leader, is poised to win yet another Boston title on Monday. Can anyone stop him?
“Many people are here to win,” said the smiling Cheruiyot as he chatted with reporters yesterday in a fancy ballroom at the Copley Plaza Hotel. “But I don’t know what place I will be.”
Cheruiyot, who won here in 2003, 2006 and 2007 and set the course record of 2:07:14 with his second victory, is a solid favorite to collect his fourth Boston title on Monday.
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TFS News Briefs: 4/07/08
Posted April 7th, 2008 at 4:37 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs
Ethiopian Wins Carlsbad 5000
Terefe Maregu Zewdie of Ethiopia did what Alan Webb was hoping to do. He outkicked everyone to win the 2008 Carlsbad 5000. His winning time was a slow 13:34, one second ahead of Mo Farah. Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot won the women’s race in 15:14.
Read more at: [IHT]
Webb DNFs at Carlsbad Debut
Already hurting just 800m into the race at the 2008 Carlsbad 5000, Alan Webb walked off the course at 2 1/2 for his second straight DNF. These recent performances may have been caused by his more-intense training regimen in 2008. “I’m always trying to push deeper and go harder and get better. I might have dug myself a little hole I’ve got to slowly get out of,” said Webb.
Read more at: [San Diego Union Tribune]
800m Olympic Gold Medalist Critiques Kenyan Selection Process
Paul Ereng, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 800m and now head cross-country coach at UTEP, offers his critique of the Kenyan teem selection process. He has some harsh words for Athletics Kenya, writing that “either [Athletics Kenya] does not understand the facts about training adaptation or they just want to harvest from where they did not sow.”
Read more at: [AllAfrica.com][UTEP]
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TFS News Briefs: 4/01/08
Posted April 1st, 2008 at 2:53 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs
Kenya’s Coach Accused Ethiopians Of Fielding Over-aged Ringers
According to an article on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s website, Kenyan Head Coach Julius Kirwa is accusing arch rivals Ethiopia of “age cheating.” Kirwas, the article states, had told journalists that the junior Kenyan teams had lost at the IAAF WOrld Cross Country Championships this past weekend because of injuries and “because their major opponents from Ethiopia were much older.”
Read more at: [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]
Oscar Pistorius Will Have His Day In Court
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter who is banned from the Olympics because of an alleged advantage offered to him by his prosthetics, is set to appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest appeals court in international sport, on April 29th and 30th.
Read more at: [The Canadian Press]
Gatlin To Argue His Case Before CAS
Speaking of appeals by sprinters, Justin Gatlin is set to have his own day in court. The CAS has agreed to hear his case on May 28th and 29th. Gatlin is insisting that he never knowingly took steroids. A lift on his ban could allow him to compete at the US Olympic Trials in June and July.
Read more at: [The Canadian Press]
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TFS News Briefs: 3/31/08
Posted March 31st, 2008 at 2:41 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs
Reluctant IAAF Hands Jones’ Silver Medal To Thanou
Even though she herself is under a cloud of suspicion, the IAAF said they “had no other choice” but to hand Marion Jones’ silver medal from the 2001 World Championships 100m dash to Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou. Jones lost all her medals last year after confessing to doping.
Read more at: [Google News]
If Only Fan Reaction In the US Were This Rabid
Even though they won both men’s and women’s team titles in the 2008 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships, the Kenyan team returned home to mixed crowd reaction. Since the Ethiopians swept the individual titles, some of the Kenyan fans look at this outing as a failure. Here in the US, our own delegation was greeted with confused looks and people who were heard saying, “cross country? What’s that?”
Read more at: [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]
The Day The Music Died
If you need more than the sound of your own breathing and footsteps to accompany you while you try to reach that marathon finish line before your glycogen level drops further south than a penguin during mating season, you might be troubled to learn that the IAAF is considering a world-wide ban on mp3 players during competition.
Read more at: [Guardian UK]
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Special Half-Marathon Entries To Benefit Fallen Marathoner
Posted March 27th, 2008 at 3:00 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
The officially sold-out Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, which is held in conjunction with Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., will offer additional entries through an online auction to benefit the family of the fallen marathoner, Wesly Ngetich, who was killed during the violence in Kenya earlier this year. Ngetich won Grandma’s Marathon twice in 2005 and 2007.
“Wesly was a great champion for our event, so assisting his family is the very least we can do,” said Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma’s Marathon. “Our donations can’t bring him back, but hopefully they can bring some financial relief to his family members as they struggle through this difficult time.”
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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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Page 2 Articles
- TFS News Briefs: 2/01/08
2007 World High Jump champion “Way Ahead” Of Where He Was Last Year
Even though he didn’t win his first competition of his -08 season, 2007 high jump world champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas said that, “I’m way ahead of where I was at this time last year, that’s for sure…. The results won’t show […] - Training for Dubai, Gebrselassie & Kiplagat Face Different Challenges
With the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon looming in just 11 days, Haile Gebrselassie and Lornah Kiplagat are making their final preprations, each facing their own special challenges.
Gebrselassie, the world record holder and #2-ranked marathoner in the world last year in Race Results Weekly’s rankings, is dreaming of the $1 million bonus on the line for […] - Kenyan Athletes Trying to Cope With Unrest
While the horrifying death of Kenyan Olympian Lucas Sang and the wounding of world marathon champion Luke Kibet have made headlines, much of the information coming out of Kenya from the athletics community is that most athletes remain safe, but training and travel has been curtailed due to the obvious dangers.
Agent Lisa Buster reports that […] - Note on the News: Violence In Kenya Reaches Top Athletes
The violence in Kenya following the disputed presidential election has touched some of distance running’s top athletes, according to a well-reported story by Elias Makori, sports editor of the Daily Nation.
Makori reports that world marathon champion Luke Kibet was caught up in a machete attack and is lucky to be alive. That news comes […] - Published Report: Paul Tergat Out of Fukuoka Marathon
Former world record holder in the marathon, Paul Tergat, has abruptly withdrawn from Sunday’s Fukuoka Marathon, according to a published report on the website of Japan’s largest English language newspaper, The Daily Yomiuri.
According to the report, Tergat was called to attend a special Kenyan armed forces training camp. The report said that the information […] - Team USA finishes fourth at International Chiba Ekiden
Team USA took fourth place at the 2007 International Chiba Ekiden on Friday in Chiba, Japan, finishing in 2:09:05. The host team from Japan won the event in 2:05:56, defeating defending champion Kenya by 1:10. Russia was third in 2:08:00.
Now in its 19th year, the format of the race was revised to feature mixed teams […] - Team USA departs for International Chiba Ekiden
Team USA departs for Chiba, Japan today for the 2007 Chiba International Ekiden, to be held this Friday, November 23. In addition to Team USA, the marathon relay will feature teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, France and Great Britain.
Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.); Ryan Sheehan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Josh Moen (Waterloo, Iowa), all members of […] - Naibadu Makes NCAA History with Fourth Straight XC Title
Abilene Christian University senior Nicodemus Naimadu made NCAA history when he captured his fourth straight Division II cross country title on Saturday.
The 23-year-old native of Narok, Kenya, cruised to a 25 second victory at the D-II championships in Joplin, Mo., to become the first collegiate athlete to collect four individual cross country titles at any […] - TFS News Briefs: 11/14/07
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 […] - World Catching Up To Kenya in 10,000 Meter Run
A look at the top 5 nations in terms of the all-time number of world-class performances run by men in the 10,000m run reveals that a handful of countries, including the United States, are beginning catching up to the Kenyans. The other countries that have seen a resurgence of 10,000 meter running are Ethiopia, whose […]
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On September 6, 2008
Brenda said:
I would like to participate in the 200 mile relay. Brenda