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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

Suspensions for Russian Women in Doping Case

Posted October 20th, 2008 at 5:18 PM by Bob Ramsak

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

Russian middle distance runners Yelena Soboleva and Tatyana Tomashova were among seven athletes who were handed two-year bans by the All Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) today, agencies are reporting.

The pair, along with middle distance runners Yulia Fomenko, Svetlana Cherkasova, and Olga Yegorova, and throwers Daria Pishchalnikova and Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, were provisionally suspended by the IAAF on the eve of the Olympic Games after a targeted investigation using DNA evidence found that they had tampered with the doping control process after fraudulently substituting urine.

Their bans are retroactive beginning on the dates that their samples were collected, according to the ARAF decision.
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After Year-Long Investigation, Russians Soboleva, Tomashova, Five Others Hit With Doping Suspensions

Posted July 31st, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

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

In a scandal that will likely leave the Russian women’s middle distance Olympic team in tatters, middle distance stars Yelena Soboleva and Tatyana Tomashova, along with five others, have been provisionally suspended for “tampering with the doping control process,” the IAAF announced today.

According to a statement issued by the IAAF, the athletes have been charged “for a fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process.”

The athletes –middle distance runners Yulia Fomenko, Svetlana Cherkasova, and Olga Yegorova, and throwers Daria Pishchalnikova and Gulfiya Khanafeyeva were also named– were apparently targeted in a year-long investigation carried out by the global governing body.
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Soboleva Breaks World Record At 1500m

Posted February 10th, 2008 at 9:21 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Agencies are reporting that Yelena Soboleva broke her own world indoor record in the 1500m at the Russian Indoor Championships in Moscow today, clocking 3:58.05.

The 25-year-old, who raced to silver medals over the distance at last summer’s World Championships in Osaka and at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, knocked 0.23 seconds from the 3:58.28 mark she set in 2006, also in the Russian capital.

Soboleva’s mark came less than 24 hours after her victory in the 800m where she clocked a national record 1:56.49 to become the fourth fastest all-time.
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On the Road & Around the Track:
TFS News Briefs 9/20/07

Posted September 20th, 2007 at 1:00 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, TFS News Briefs

World Athletics Final Middle- and Long-Distance Preview
In the latest WAF preview there are speculations about who will run the middle- and long-distance events this late in the season and why they will do it. Runners to watch (men): Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (800m), Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (1500m), Craig Mottram (3000m), Paul Kipsiele Koech (3000m SC), Sileshi Sihine (5000m). Women: Janeth Jepkosgei (800m), Maryam Yusuf Jamal and Yelena Soboleva (1500m), Yekaterina Volkova (3000m SC), Meseret Defar (pictured at right, 5000m). Also, an explanation of the WAF points system and the current standings. Read more at: [IAAF WAF2007]

World Marathon Majors Conference Call with Race Directors
Race Directors Dave Bedford (London), Carey Pinkowski (Chicago), Mark Milde (Berlin), Mary Wittenberg (New York City) and Guy Morse (Boston) talk about a range of questions regarding their races and the sport in general. Read the complete transcript at: [Track & Field News]
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Richards, Isinbayeva Split $1 Million Jackpot as Golden League Series Concludes

Posted September 17th, 2007 at 8:32 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

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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Bekele’s 10,000m W.R. Assault Tops the Bill in Brussels

Posted September 13th, 2007 at 3:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Kenenisa Bekele’s assault on his own 10,000m world record is set to take center stage when the Golden League series resumes at the 31st edition of the Memorial Van Damme in the Belgian capital on Friday night.

At this competition two years ago, Bekele lowered his own record in the event to 26:17.53. Then, he was paced by his brother Tariku, who took him through the first half in just over 13:09, before he eventually lowered the mark with a 57-second closing lap.

“A record is not easy every time,” said Bekele, who’ll be making his first start since winning his third consecutive world title over the distance late last month. “You can have it if you work hard, and if the conditions are right, but it’s not easy.”
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Encore Performances by Lagat, Jepkosgei and Jamal in Zurich

Posted September 8th, 2007 at 10:18 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

A trio of recently-minted world champions turned in impressive encore performances at Zurich’s Weltklasse, as the IAAF Golden League series resumed here tonight.

Competing in unseasonably chilly conditions before an energetic capacity crowd of 26,500 at the rebuilt Letzigrund stadium, Bernard Lagat, Janeth Jepkosgei and Maryam Yusef Jamal produced victories quite similar to those which brought them their respective world titles in the 5000, 800 and 1500 meters, respectively, in Osaka last week.

Contesting the 3000 just five days after completing his 1500/5000 double at the world championships, it was no contest from the moment Lagat took the lead for good coming off the final bend. Passing Kenyan Edwin Soi, the American crossed the line unchallenged in 7:38.77.
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Nixing Pacemakers and Increasing Prize pot, Zurich Introduces new one-day Meet Approach

Posted September 6th, 2007 at 4:39 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

When the IAAF Golden Series resumes on Friday night, Zurich’s rebuilt state-of-the-art Letzigrund Stadium won’t be the only new development at one of the world’s richest single-day meetings. For the first time in the sport’s professional era, the annual Weltklasse competition will not employ the services of pacemakers.

And that suits Bernard Lagat, the recently minted world champion at 1500 and 5000 meters, just fine.

“It’s fantastic,” said Lagat, who will contest the 3000 on Friday. “People always run fast and they get personal bests with pacemakers, but then again it’s so important that the race becomes tactical.”
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Lagat’s Second Gold Medal Caps World Championships

Posted September 2nd, 2007 at 4:33 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

While critics said he had bitten off more than he could chew, Bernard Lagat swallowed up the field of the men’s 5000m final here tonight, becoming the first man to win both the 1500m and 5000m at an IAAF World Championships in Athletics. He also became the first American to win a 5000m world title.

It mattered not his winning time of 13:45.87 was the slowest in the history of these championships. In fact, it was the painfully slow early pace which set the stage for Lagat to use his unmatched closing speed to clinch the title over Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 world champion. In a memorable sprint to the finish, Lagat just edged his former compatriot by 13/100ths of a second, running about 52 seconds for the final lap.
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Webb’s 1500m win the Highlight in Paris

Posted July 8th, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

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 relatively brisk pace.

“I knew it was going to be hard,” Webb said, explaining his decision to run near the front from the gun despite the pre-race plan for a 2:47 split through 1200 meters. “I could have been in fifth place and it would have been hard.”
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