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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

America’s Tyson Gay Named Male Athlete of the Year

Posted November 27th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Three-time World Outdoor champion and 2007 Jesse Owens Award winner Tyson Gay was named the Male World Athlete of the Year at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo over the weekend.

Gay had an historic year in 2007, sweeping the 100 and 200 meters at both the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Osaka and the USA Outdoor Championships. He added World Outdoor gold in the 4×100m to become the fourth man in World Championships history to win three gold medals at a single championship.
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Defar, Gay Named World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 26th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Meseret Defar and sprinter Tyson Gay were named the World Athletes of the Year for 2007 at the World Athletics Gala held in Monte Carlo last night.

Defar, 24, shattered her won world record in the 5000 meters, running 14:16.63 in Oslo in June, breaking her own previous standard by more than eight seconds. The reigning Olympic 50000 champion, Defar also won the event at the world championships and twice lowered the world best for 2 miles. She also set a world record indoors in the 3000, running 8:23.72 in Stuttgart in February.

“I don’t have word to describe how happy I am,” said Defar, who dedicated the award to women athletes in Ethiopia. Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele have earned the honor in the past, but Defar became the first Ethiopian to win the world governing body’s annual award.

Gay, 25, won three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka last August, sweeping the 100 and 200 metres and running the third leg on the victorious 4×100m relay. In the 100, Gay clocked 9.85, relegating world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica to third. In the 200, he clocked 19.76, taking down Michael Johnson’s meet record. He was just the fourth athlete to collect three gold medals at a single world championships.
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Slovenia’s Ceplak Edges Closer to Two-Year Doping Ban

Posted November 20th, 2007 at 2:10 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Drugs In Sports

Olympic 800m bronze medallist Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia edged closer to a two-year doping ban today after the nation’s athletics federation rejected any doubts about the validity of the athlete’s positive test for EPO last June.

“All doubts about the tests’ accuracy have been disproved,” said Peter Kukovica, president of the AZS, Slovenia’s athletics federation, announcing the unanimous decision by the federation’s anti-doping commission.

The 31-year-old Ceplak, the world indoor record holder in the 800m, tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO after an out-of-competition test in Monte Carlo on June 18. The B sample test confirmed the A sample finding, resulting in a provisional suspension by the sport’s international governing body, the IAAF, on July 26.

In September, the anti-doping commission was unable to reach a decision in the case, pending an additional investigation. Expert testimony since from two noted biochemists and the Slovenian athletics team doctor has dispelled any possibility of testing irregularities, Kukovica said.
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Raschker named World Masters Athlete of the Year

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 9:45 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Masters

Philippa (Phil) Raschker, of Marietta, Georgia, has been named Female World Masters Athlete of the Year by the World Masters Athletics Association (WMA), the organization designated by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) to conduct the worldwide sport of masters track and field.The selection was made on October 28.

The WMA recognized Raschker for her 10 gold-winning performances at the World Masters Championships Meet in Italy in September, the 12 world records she established during her competitions this year, and her 27 gold medals at national championship meets in the United States.
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