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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

In Quest for Double Olympic Gold, Lagat has El Guerrouj on His Side

Posted April 19th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

As he sets out on his quest for double Olympic gold this summer, Bernard Lagat will have plenty of supporters. Among them is the man whose achievement he’ll be hoping to emulate in Beijing: world record holder and reigning double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj.

“Bernard proved in Osaka, thanks to determination and passion, that he can do it,” El Guerrouj, the finest middle distance runner of his generation, said of his long-time rival, last fall.
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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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TFS News Briefs: 3/08/08

Posted March 8th, 2008 at 11:25 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Robles Fails To Advance Past 1st Round
Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles, who owns 8 out of the 10 fastest times in the world this year, failed to advance past the first round of the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. Robles had thought Liu Xiang had false-started.
Read more at: [IAAF]

Marion Jones Reports To Prison
Federal Inmate Number 84868-054, aka Marion Jones, has begun serving her six-month sentence at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, TX. Jones is serving time for perjury relating to her use of steroids and for a check-fraud scam.
Read more at: [Bleacher Report, CA]

Defar Wins 3000m At Worlds
Ethiopia’s incomparable Meseret Defar handily won the women’s 3000m event at the World Indoor Championships with a time of 8:38.79, well off her world indoor record of 8:27.93. Fellow Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu placed 2nd in 8:41.50, just ahead of Moroccan Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, who won the bronze medal with a time of 8:41.66.
Read more at: [IAAF]
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TFS News Briefs: 2/28/08

Posted February 28th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

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

Valencia Boasts 159-Nation Roster
The 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships, to be held in Valencia, Spain from March 7th through March 9th, 2008 will be the biggest ever by a huge margin. The previous largest nation count was 139.
Read more at: [IAAF WIC08]

Mottram Scorches Last 400 of Australian Championships 3000m with 54.0
Craig Mottram sent a loud message to the other World Indoor Championships qualifiers that he is the man to beat by running a 7:48.26 in the Australian Championships 3000m. He scorched the last 400m in 54 seconds to win by nearly 5 ½ seconds.
Read more at: [IAAF]

MastersTrack.com Interview With Speedster Alisa Harvey
Ken Stone over at Masterstrack.com got a chance to interview 42-year-old Alisa Harvey, who has provisionally qualified for the US Olympic Trials, having run a 2:05.75 at the AT&T US Indoor Championships.
Read more at: [Masterstrack.com]

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TFS News Briefs: 2/27/08

Posted February 27th, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Drugs In Sports, TFS News Briefs

Heavy News Day At IAAF Website
The folks at the IAAF website have been busy today. There are 9 news items for you to read, including an article about the 51 USA athletes going to the world championships, plus profiles of the Chinese, Italian, Moroccan and German contingents.
Read more at: [USA][China][Italy][Morocco][Germany][IAAF]

World Indoor Championships: Greek Team Profile
The European Athletics site is quite busy, too, with a profile of the Greek team going to the World Indoor Championships, plus an article about how the World Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland has set a participation record.
Read more at: [Greece][Edinburgh][European Athletics]

Mainstream Press Acknowledges US Distance-Running Resurgence
When the mainstream press finally gets wind of happenings in US distance running, you know there must be no doubt about it whatsoever. The Boston Globe has published a profile detailing the resurgence of US distance running, something the US running community has known for a long, long time.
Read more at: [Boston Globe]
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Hall Ready For San Diego Turf Battle at USA XC Champs

Posted February 11th, 2008 at 4:39 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

The first time Ryan Hall raced the 12-K event at the USA Cross Country Championships it was in frosty conditions in New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park in February, 2006. Spectators shivered, but Hall was on fire, romping to victory over his closest rival, Jorge Torres, by 27 seconds.

It is was in that race that Hall, last November’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon champion, saw the future.

“That kind of opened up my eyes a little bit to the longer distances,” said Hall on a conference call today from his home in Big Bear Lake, Calif., where he is preparing to leave for the U.S. Cross Country Championships in San Diego next Saturday.
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IAAF Reports No Positive Drug Tests During Osaka

Posted September 21st, 2007 at 9:45 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The International Association of Athletics Federations reported today that there were no positive drug test results stemming from a massive testing program carried out during their recently concluded World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan. However, there was one positive result from an out-of-competition test executed at a team training camp.

“I am pleased to report that the testing programme in Osaka was the largest ever conducted by the IAAF with even more tests collected than we had initially planned,” said IAAF president Lamine Diack in a statement circulated to the media. “I can confirm that we have found only one positive case from the testing in Japan.”
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Podcast 53: Interview with University of Wisconsin star Chris Solinsky

Posted May 29th, 2007 at 2:25 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts, College

Episode 53 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my interview with Chris Solinsky; the University of Wisconsin’s incredible, young talent and the reigning NCAA Indoor and Outdoor 5,000m Champion.

After winning the 5,000m last week at the Mideast Regional Championships (believe it or not, his first individual win in a regional final), Chris is getting ready to defend his 5k crown at what will be his final NCAA Outdoor Championships and preparing for the fiercely competitive USA Outdoor Championships on June 20-24 in Indianapolis.

In the interview Chris reflects on how he and the Wisconsin Badgers performed at the Mideast Regionals, his strategy and outlook (and how they may differ) for the upcoming championship events, and his media dubbed “rivalry” with Oregon’s Galen Rupp.

Download the podcast to hear Chris discuss these topics, as well as, his plans to train with Matt Tegenkamp and the growing number of talented, post-collegiate athletes who have remained in Madison after graduation, his strong desire to compete at the World Championships, and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Chris Solinsky
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 11.1 MB
Length: 16.18

Check out every episode of TFS’s Podcast in iTunes!

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Mottram, ‘stronger’ and ‘smarter’, looking ahead to World Champs in Osaka

Posted April 26th, 2007 at 12:01 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results

As he begins to piece together his competitive plan on the way to August’s World Championships in Osaka, Craig Mottram believes that it will be an improved, if not new, model that will aim to move him up a notch –or perhaps even two– from his bronze medal finish in the 5000m two years ago.

“I haven’t run quicker,” said the 26-year-old Australian, whose 12:55.76 personal best dates back to 2004, “but I’ve gotten stronger, I’ve gotten smarter, and I’ve got more ammunition. Things I didn’t have at the Olympics in Athens but had in Helsinki. I got better.”

A year after finishing eighth in the 5000m at the 2004 Olympics, Mottram took the bronze at the World Championships in Helsinki in a tactical race, finishing less than 4/10s of a second behind winner Benjamin Limo.

“I got better, I got stronger, but not because of the medal. But just because I’ve had two more years of doing what I love to do: running.”

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