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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

TFS News Briefs: 2/18/2008

Posted February 18th, 2008 at 3:57 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

Asafa: 80% Chance He’s Race Thursday
Asafa Powell, still healing after cutting his knee, says he is “70 to 80″ percent sure he start in Thursday’s Melbourne Grand Prix. He also wants a lifetime ban for drug cheats, against whom he says he’s certain to run in Beijing.
Read more at: [Melbourne Herald Sun][Jamaica Gleaner]

Central Florida: New Hotbed of Track
With new residents Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell leading the way, Central Florida’s Clermont is the newest hotbed of elite track and field. Gay and Campbell, along with several other adidas-sponsored athletes are training there for the Beijing Olympics.
Read more at: [Orlando Sentinel]

Tariku Bekele - Craig Mottram Showdown Will Have To Wait
Tariku Bekele has pulled out of Thursday’s Melbourne Grand Prix, leaving Craig Mottram disappointed. Mottram had wanted to race the Ethiopian at the 5000m distance in front of a home crowd.
Read more at: [The Age, Australia]
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2 Mile World Best for Bekele in Birmingham

Posted February 16th, 2008 at 3:09 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Kenenisa Bekele set a new world best over 2 miles at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham, England, today, clocking 8:04.35.

His performance knocked 0.34 seconds from the previous mark of 8:04.69 set by his compatriot Haile Gebrselassie in 2003 on the same track at the National Indoor Arena. Bekele, the world record holder outdoors in the 5000 and 10,000m, now owns the world record or world best indoors at 2000m, 2 miles and 5000m. Only Daniel Komen’s indoor mark of 7:24.90 in the 3000m, considered the strongest of indoor world records on the track, has eluded the 25-year-old Ethiopian.
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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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Lagat to Double at World Championships

Posted August 4th, 2007 at 8:30 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

That Bernard Lagat won today’s 1500m at the Norwich Union Super Grand Prix was not a surprise, but his decision to double in both the 1500m and the 5000m at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka certainly was.

“Tonight I informed USATF that I have decided to double at both 1500m and 5000m in Osaka,” Lagat wrote in an e-mail message sent to Race Results Weekly by his long-time manager, James Templeton.

At last June’s AT&T USA Championships, Lagat also did the 1500m/5000m double, placing third in the shorter event and winning the longer. At that time, he was leaning towards just doing the 1500m, but said that he had not ruled anything out. As his summer track season progressed, Lagat seemed off form at 1500m, finishing a distant 7th in Paris and third in Sheffield. That led to speculation that he would move up to the longer event, but the two-time Olympic medalist indicated that he was ready for the challenge of the double.
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Lagat looking for strong Osaka tune-up in London

Posted August 3rd, 2007 at 8:50 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With just over three weeks remaining before the start of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, American 1500m record holder Bernard Lagat will be looking for one last high profile tune-up tomorrow night at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix in the British capital.

Lagat, who won the 5000m and finished third in the 1500 at the U.S. championships in late June, will be aiming for his first solid outing over the shorter distance since his runner-up finish in the Prefontaine Classic mile on June 10. In his most recent 1500m races, Lagat was a distant seventh at the Golden League meet in Paris on July 6, and a well-beaten third at the Norwich Union International on July 15.

Alan Webb, who’s been on a tear over the past month after his world-leading 3:30.54 victory in Paris, his U.S. record in the mile and a sub-1:44 career best in the 800 last week in Heusden, Belgium, has opted out of the London race to nurse a sore hamstring.
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Video: Solinsky runs impressive 3000m in Sheffield; 8th fastest American

Posted July 17th, 2007 at 11:30 AM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Chris Solinsky ran 7:36.90 - a 15-second PR - on a cold, rainy night in Sheffield, UK. His time, the 8th fastest ever by an American, was good for third place behind Kenenisa Bekele and Craig Mottram at the Norwich Union Grand Prix meeting.

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Note: Click “Read the rest of this entry” for more information from KIMbia Atheltics about Solinksy’s impressive performance in England.

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VIDEO: Kikaya upsets “X-Man” Carter on wet track

Posted June 5th, 2007 at 1:13 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Gary Kikaya scored a thrilling victory in the men’s 400 meters in wet and cold conditions at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Glasgow on Sunday. The 29-year-old Congolese star held off the American Xavier “X-Man” Carter; edging him to the finish by a one-hundredth-of-a-second.

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VIDEO: Sayers beats the big guns in Glasgow

Posted June 5th, 2007 at 4:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Goldie Sayers who set a UK javelin record of 65.05 meters a fortnight earlier, scored the biggest victory of her international career. Sayers, with a second-round throw of 63.59 meters, beat German European champion Steffi Nerius at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Glasgow.

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