adidas has launched a new website focused on adidas-sponsored athletes who are likely to compete in the Olympic Games across the full spectrum of sports. The site, roadstobeijing.com, includes athlete profiles, videos, photos, blogs (still in development) and polls.
“Most of us only get to see the athletes in the competitive arena and, understandably, rarely fully appreciate what it takes to get to the top of their sport,” said Jocelyn Robiot, adidas’s head of global sports marketing through a media release. “RoadstoBeijing.com breaks new ground and offers a unique insight into that journey.”
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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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Eugene Crowned Track Town, USA for Foreseeable Future
Despite sour grapes from some in track hamlets such as Sacramento, Eugene, OR will be getting all the track & field glory for the next few years. Its fable Hayward field – site of next year’s US Olympic Track & Field Trials – is now set to host the 2009 and 2011 US Championships and the 2012 Olympic Trials, allowing it to continue to be called “Track Town, USA.” Read more at: [The Register-Guard, OR]
NY Times Honors Life of Running Pioneer Ted Corbitt
The New York Times has honored running pioneer Ted Corbitt with an article that spotlights the running legend’s lifetime of achievements. Read more at: [New York Times]
Golden League Schedule Announced for 2008
The IAAF has announced the 2008 Golden League schedule. The season will begin on June 1st and end on September 5th. The venues will include Berlin, Oslo, Rome, Paris, Zurich and Brussels. The prize will be $1 million in gold and the events will be 100m, 400m, 1500m, 400m hurdles long jump and javelin (men) and 200m, 800m, 100m hurdles and high jump (women). 2007 winners Sanya Richards (400m) and Yelena Isinbayeva (pole vault) will not be able to repeat in 2008 – at least not in their specialties. Read more at: [Voice of America]
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Paula Radcliffe “disturbed and disappointed” by Ohuruogu’s admission
British marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe, known for her strong stance against doping, has said that she is “disturbed and disappointed” by sprinter Christine Ohuruogu’s recent statements about her failure to make a doping test. Read more at: [Citizen, South Africa]
Winning Streaks of World’s Best Athletes on the Line
With the new year right around the corner, we “trackies” can begin to get excited about the 2008 track & field season. Some of the best athletes in the world will be laying their winning streaks on the line as they begin their ‘08 campaigns that will culminate with the best track meet of them all: the Olympic Games. Among those laying it all on the line are pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva, steeplechaser Saif Saaeed Shaheen and multi-event queen Carolina Klüft, each of whom has a winning streak of at least 15 competitions. Read more at: [IAAF]
Muggy Honolulu Marathon Expected
The weather forecast for Honolulu this Sunday, December 9th, 2007, looks grim for the 26,286 runners who have registered for the Honolulu Marathon. They can expect scattered showers, a high temperature of 81°F, 70% humidity and north winds of 10 MPH. The only good thing about this forecast is the rain. Read more at: [The Weather Channel]
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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 strength. Read more at: [IAAF]
Focus on European Athletes Who Made IAAF Performance of the Year Shortlist
An article on the EAA website focuses on the 6 European athletes who have made the IAAF’s short list for the IAAF 2007 Performance of the Year. The performances of Roman Sebrle, Yelena Isinbayeva, Lornah Kiplagat, Carolina Klüft, Blanka Vlasic and Yekaterina Volkova are featured. Read more at: [European-Athletics]
Fraudulent “Coaches” Overtake Kenya’s Great Rift Valley
Frauds who are posing as athletes and coaches have invaded the famed Great Rift Valley in Kenya, home to many of the world’s greatest distance runners. The “quacks” have set up unregulated training camps, are over-training young runners and are harassing schoolgirls, in some cases even impregnating them. Read more at: [Standard, Kenya]
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Michael Johnson: Will Asafa Ever Be Champ? “Doubtful!”
Legendary sprinter Michael Johnson has written an article today in telegraph.co.uk that severely criticizes 100m world-record holder Asafa Powell. Among other things, MJ writes that what he saw in Powell at Osaka, “was an athlete who not only had his advantage taken away by the level of talent he faced, but an athlete who was not prepared to run his best race even before he stepped on the track.” Read more at: [Telegraph.co.uk]
Mario and Sonic Go To Beijing
A new video game called “
” (NDS/Wii) finds our favorite video game characters (Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails, more) in Beijing competing in, among other Olympic Sports, track and field events 110m and 400m Hurdles, 4×100m Relay, 100m, 400m, High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin Throw and Hammer Throw. The events are held in stylized versions of the official Beijing Olympic Games venues. Read more at: [WorthPlaying.com]
Isinbayeva: New World Record Will Come
An article in South Africa’s The Times reveals that Pole vault superstar Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia has said that she is confident she will break her own world record in 2008. She also stated that she plans on emulating Sergei Bubka and following him into the IOC after she retires. Read more at: [The Times, South Africa]
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New York City Marathon: Women’s Competition Intensifies
As if a New York City Marathon field that included returning top three Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, Tatiana Hladyr of Ukraine and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya wasn’t enough, now Gete Wami of Ethiopia, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia, and Tegla Loroupe of Kenya have announced that they will be competing on November 4th. They will be competing for a prize of $130,000 plus a Toyota Prius. Read more at: [IAAF] [ING NYC Marathon]
Steve Cram Calls IAAF World Athletics Final “Pointless and Bemusing”
In a Guardian Unlimited article critical of the IAAF’s current race structure, British miling legend Steve Cram is calling for a makeover of not only the World Athletics Final, but also the Golden League and even the World Championships. Read more at: [Guardian Unlimited]
World Athletics Final Previews: Throws and Jumps
Previews of the Jumps and the Throws at the World Athletics Final this weekend in Stuttgart, Germany are available on the IAAF World Athletics Final website. Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell, Stefan Holm, Blanka Vlasic and Yelena Isinbayeva are some of the key field-event athletes going into the meet. Read more at: [IAAF WAF07]
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Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva each won a $500,000 share of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot after their respective victories at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin today, the final meet of the six-meet Golden League series.
In front of a near-capacity crowd of 70,000 –the third consecutive announced Golden League sell-out – Richards yet again crushed all opposition en route to a 49.27 dash, another world-leading performance for the 22-year-old American.
“Nobody knows how hard this year has been for me,” said Richards, who after early-season illness, finished fourth at the U.S. championships in June and missed a spot on the world championships squad. “I feel much stronger now than I did two months ago.”
It was the second perfect six-for-six Golden League campaign for Richards, who last year took a smaller share of the prize pot. But for Isinbayeva, the world record holder in the pole vault and one of the sport’s biggest stars, it was the first time her event was given GL status, and she took full advantage over the three month campaign to share half of the sport’s biggest prize. Next up for the 25-year-old Russian, she said, was an assault on her own 5.02m world record which has stood for more than two years.
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Isinbayeva Predicts World Record to Come Soon
Russian Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (right) confidently predicted a new world record will come soon. With a confidence that borders on arrogance, the world-record holder said about tomorrow’s DKB-ISTAF meet in Berlin, “it doesn’t matter who is there, I will only concentrate on myself. Because I am Isinbayeva!” Read more at: [IAAF]
$1 Million Payday Tomorrow at Berlin
The 2007 Golden League concludes tomorrow in Berlin, Germany at the DKB-ISTAF meet. Although Yelena Isinbayeva and Sanya Richards are the only remaining contenders for the $1 Million jackpot, there are still 4 scenarios, including a couple in which Croatian high-jumper Blanka Vlašić plays a role. Read more at: [IAAF]
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The IAAF Golden League series continues tonight in the Belgian capital. Kenenisa Bekele’s assault on his own 10,000m world record is set to take center stage, while American Sanya Richards and Russian Pole Vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva continue in their chase for the $1 million Golden League Jackpot. A crowd of 47,000 will be on hand for the meet’s 31st edition, the 11th consecutive sell-out.
An event-by-event breakdown:
MEN – 100m:
While some initial speculation built this as a possible match between world champion Tyson Gay and world record holder Asafa Powell, in reality the face-off was never in the cards; the most likely scenario was that Powell would contest the 100, and Gay the 200. The morning after last Friday’s Zurich meet, Gay told meet director Wilfried Meert that he felt “miserable”, and eventually went home to see his personal physician, bowing out of the meet altogether.
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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 […]
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 […]
With an impressive slate of Olympic, World and continental champions and a handful of World record assaults, the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007 resumes with a bang on Wednesday at the 46th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava.
DEFAR LOOKING FOR FAST OSLO FOLLOW-UP
While organiZers have again lured a strong collection of talent to this […]
Running in still and near perfect conditions, Meseret Defar smashed the world record in the 5000 meters to highlight the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo.
“No, I had no doubts,” the reigning Olympic champion said after knocking nearly eight seconds from her own world mark with a phenomenal 14:16.63 run.
“I didn’t think I would break the […]
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