tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44037047553717280122024-02-19T16:41:31.326+01:00A moment in TimeHaile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-73298284797243271732012-07-23T15:50:00.004+02:002012-07-23T15:56:18.120+02:00The Amazing Ana Peleteiro & the Big Example of a small Athletic Club<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;">"Comparing long and triple jump, which of those athletic disciplines</span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;"> do you like more and why?</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;"></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;">Triple jump, because it is a very difficult event and I like challenges.</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;">" (1)</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.atletismogalego.com/public/fga_docs/lardo%20y%20ana%20peleteiro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://www.atletismogalego.com/public/fga_docs/lardo%20y%20ana%20peleteiro.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ana Peleteiro and her coach Abelardo Moure</span><br />
<a href="http://www.atletismogalego.com/fga/p2.asp?id=1908&sc=noticias">http://www.atletismogalego.com/fga/p2.asp?id=1908&sc=noticias</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">In spite of being held in front of an almost empty stadium, the 14th World Junior championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> were one of the most spectacular and emotive track and field contests we can remember, with abundance of talent and impressive marks. Only two athletes, Angelica Bengtsson and Jacko Gill, got to defend their titles from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Moncton</place></city>, increasing their resume to five gold medals for the Swede and three for the New Zealander in youth and junior major competitions. For both the shot putter and pole vaulter it was their last chance to shine among the teens, before getting ready to destroy the existing senior records. On the other hand, Antonique Strachan from the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bahamas</place></country-region> showed why she was awarded the distinction of best athlete of the last two editions of the Carifta Games, completing a sensational double victory at the 100m and 200m events with very fast clockings of 11.20 and 22.52. Strachan however did not stand as the only sprint standout in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> as Adam Gemili, Ashley Spencer and Luguelín Santos all recorded world-class times. <country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region> won its eternal duel against <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> in the longest races, thanks to Muktar Edris, Yigrem Demelash and Buze Diriba. Nevertheless, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> showed its usual mastery of the steeplechase event, especially in the men’s category, where Conseslus Kipruto broke the tape in 8:06.10. All Edris, Demelash and Diriba may at last claim a valid succession for long standing nation leaders Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Bekele and Meseret Defar, in the same way Kipruto might soon overcome Kenyan steeplechase classics Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech. <city w:st="on">London-</city>bound Faith Kipyegon, added up the junior crown to the youth one she achieved last year in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Lille</city></place> at the 1500m distance, yet both Kenyan and Ethiopian men were well beaten at the middle distance events by Burundian Nijel Amos and Qatari Hamza Driouch, who made a clear statement for the upcoming Olympic Games. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">The championships also proved once more the excellent Cuban work at grassroots levels. The <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> country won no less than three gold medals at their pet events: triple jump (Pedro Pichardo), heptathlon (Yorgelis Rodríguez) and 110m hurdles (Yordan Luis O’Farrill). Especially intriguing was the latter, looking like with his competitive ways and optical lenses a Dayron Robles’ clone. Traditional powerhouses fared well in the contest but also new nations are starting to challenge their supremacy. A good example is race walking where, with the likes of Eider Arévalo and Sandra Arenas, <country-region w:st="on">Colombia</country-region> is displacing <country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region> at area level and they dare to face even the invincible members of the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Saransk</place></city> school. The world junior champs showed the increasing globalisation of the sport with no less than 43 different flags being present at the podium. For instance, the European continent, throwing events dominator for many decades, did not get any gold medal in the male category. Egyptian-born and Qatari representative Ashraf Amgad Elseify achieved a massive world record in the hammer and Fredrick Dacres and Keshorn Walcott confirmed the <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> is going to be in the future much more than a sprint nation. Finally, the 14<sup>th</sup> World junior championships in <city w:st="on">Barcelona</city> were a successful one for the host nation <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Spain</place></country-region>, which put an end to a long drought with an outstanding gold medal at the female triple jump, thanks to 16-year-old Ana Peleteiro, who improved her previous best by more than half-a-metre. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/files/2012/07/ana-peleteiro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="740" src="http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/files/2012/07/ana-peleteiro.jpg" width="515" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ana Peleteiro became the first Spanish World Junior champion in 12 years</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: David Ramos/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/2012/07/13/ana-peleteiro-historia-humana-mundial-junior/">http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/2012/07/13/ana-peleteiro-historia-humana-mundial-junior/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Spain</span></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> is well-known as a country which excels in sports, a powerhouse in football, basket ball, tennis or cycling. However this is not the case of athletics, which standards have dramatically fallen in recent years. In the last Summer World championship in Daegu, the country only achieved two finalists: one man (Manuel Olmedo) and one woman (Natalia Rodríguez), which is its weakest tally since the contest is being held. Sadly <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Spain</place></country-region> is more known recently in track and field because of its doping scandals than for its good results. Furthermore, while football, basket ball and even other sports like climbing and karate are increasingly growing in popularity among youngsters, official statistics talk about 40.000 affiliations to track and field clubs dropped last year. (2) A main reason is our sport has failed to produce a role model like Rafael Nadal, Pau Gasol, Fernando Alonso and Real Madrid and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> football team members. Lack of popular interest and as consequence lack of commercial sponsorship brought to the rather unpleasant situation of a country which did not broadcast the 2011 World Cross Country, despite being the host nation, and later in the year was also one of the few European countries where Daegu World Championships could not be watched on TV. Yet the Spanish Athletic Federation’s poor management in the last couple of years, neglecting grassroots sport development, has its share of responsibility for this track and field decay inside the country. The same outstanding feat of the victory of Ana Peleteiro in front of an empty stadium in Montjuich is much more the result of an individual effort of the founders of the Agrupación Atlética Barbanza, rather than the consequence of the support of national sportive institutions. A triumph besides which has not had at all the coverage it deserved in the specialized media, nor in Spanish TV, where the sensational performance of Peleteiro was announced only in the end of a very long sports block, after such interesting news as the Real Sociedad football team’s new uniform. </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://70.38.9.134/wp-content/uploads/Ana-Peleteiro-e1342176038882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="522" src="http://70.38.9.134/wp-content/uploads/Ana-Peleteiro-e1342176038882.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ana Peleteiro showing her great power and technique</span><br />
<a href="http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/07/la-prodigiosa-ana-peleteiro/">http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/07/la-prodigiosa-ana-peleteiro/</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">The future triple jump star was born the 2<sup>nd</sup> December <metricconverter productid="1995 in" w:st="on">1995 in</metricconverter> Ribeira, a fishing village in Galice. There she was fostered by the Peleteiro-Brión family. Thanks to them she has grown the excellent person and sportswoman she is today. Ana's parents soon realized about her daughter's talent for sport so they entered her in a ballet school. Yet, as she confesses now, her character did not fit with this activity so she joined instead as young as a 6-year-old girl the athletic school launched by renowned hurdler María José Martínez Patiño in her own village. Patiño remembers her as an especially energetic and determined child, who however did not have a penchant for hurdling. Long distance runner Carlos Adán replaced Patiño as head coach in the school in 2003. Under Adan’s influence Ana got to win the silver medal at the Galician Cross Championship although it was evident her pupil natural conditions of speed and explosiveness were more appropriate for sprinting and jumping. Anyway, Carlos Adán's training method was never a systematic one but instead he just introduced his young trainees to the practise of track and field twice a week through simple games he got from a book. (3) Adan’s acquaintances refer that at the time he did not cease talking about a young girl so fast he could never catch while playing “steal the bacon” and who was able to jump in standing position one metre further than the rest. (4) Nevertheless, Carlos Adán eventually found a more stable job and left coaching so Ana Peleteiro moved to the nearby A Pobra do Caramiñal in 2007 to enrol the Barbanza Athletic Club.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">José Moure, a track and field fanatic, had launched in 1983 the Agrupación Atlética Barbanza, with the little help of his friends. (5) In the beginning Moure was up to foster also activities as canoeing and motocross but it was track and field the most demanded sport. Moure got an athletic track with four lanes on, six in the homestretch. Then it was built a gym, some artificial hills… José Moure, still the club manager, is currently looking for the creation of an indoor facility for the numerous rainy days when training outside is unbearable. The Barbanza Association has always been a familiar affair. José’s three sons are involved in the project. Abelardo is nowadays the head coach, while his sister is a secretary and his brother undertakes administrative tasks. Funding is obtained through athletes’ fees and regional government subsidies, though the latter allowances are missed lately due to the serious economical crisis in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Spain</place></country-region>, so they have been unable to buy equipment for the athletes in the last years. Interestingly, no member of the Moure family earns a salary from the athletic club: José lives from his revenues as an interior designer, while Abelardo is selling canoes. (5)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aytomembrilla.org/portal/images/stories/2012/triple1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.aytomembrilla.org/portal/images/stories/2012/triple1.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Gracia Rey, in the steps of club mate Ana Peleteiro</span><br />
<a href="http://www.aytomembrilla.org/portal/images/stories/2012/triple1.jpg">http://www.aytomembrilla.org/portal/images/stories/2012/triple1.jpg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> On the other hand, both the foremost athlete of the club, Ana Peleteiro, and Abelardo Moure are critical when talking about the role the Galician and Spanish Athletic Federation play in their development. The coach states every time there are fewer competitions, less facilities and tracks in Galice and they are receiving little funding from the regional Federation in spite of being one of the athletic clubs with the best results in the region. (6) The athlete denounces Agrupación Barbanza did not get any support from Madrid until she started to obtain victories at national and international level and even now she has to endure 11-hour exhausting trips by train on her own to join training camps in Madrid, instead of being assured a flight ticket in company of her coach which would be the most advisable way of travelling for a still 16-year old teen. (7) Instead of financing sport at grassroots levels, the Spanish Athletic Federation still keeps being faithful to its formula of “fishing” the track and field hopefuls once they have flourished in their local athletic clubs, convincing them to join the high performances centres located in <state w:st="on">Madrid</state>, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> or Soria. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> Nevertheless, Asociación Atlética Barbanza makes up for not counting with the awesome facilities of a High Performance Centre with commitment and an enjoyable atmosphere which has reaped stunning fruits, starting with the number of members, currently around 120 athletes, most of them coming from the same A Pobra do Caramiñal and nearby locations. A figure not negligible at all considering it is a village of just 9000 inhabitants. One of the secrets of success is to instil involvement with the club through spending some hours a week helping younger trainees in their track and field apprenticeship. Thus Ana Peleteiro is at the same time teacher and pupil as also was the case of Abelardo Moure when he was a promising javelin thrower. Lardo, still only 33, has proved an outstanding mentor, which last year finished a close second on occasion of the national Federation’s award for Coach Revelation of the Year, though he consider himself much more than a coach: a friend, a big brother, with a privileged relationship and chemistry with his trainees. Coming from one of the most technical athletic events as the javelin is, Abelardo Moure is a perfectionist able to make become his protégées true experts in the technical performance of their respective events. Ana describes him accurately as a very committed coach, a great communicator with deep knowledge about the technique of every athletic specialty. (1) Besides he guides his charges wisely through their training sessions avoiding overcharge: they just grow as athletes as the same time their body does. As an example, the group of Ana Peleteiro works out four times a week in single sessions and the triple jump world champion never lift weights, as the national coaches in the sector were amazed of discover in a training camp in Madrid. Some may believe the sensational performances of Peleteiro are just the result of her outstanding natural talent, yet Lidia Parada, another Barbanzan athlete, also qualified for the World Junior championship in the javelin discipline. Besides, two other girls, born in 1997, Iria Forján (8) and Gracia Rey, prove the good hand Lardo has guiding athletes in jumping events. Iria knows already what is to be a national champion, a feat she achieved in long jump in the cadet age category last year with an excellent 5.72m mark, taking maximum advantage of her stunning speed, and Gracia came close to it last winter, grabbing the silver medal in the triple jump event. Why not considering the possibility of this small club having as much as three world class jumpers in some year’s time?</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.lavozdegalicia.es/scale.php?i=/default/2012/02/27/0012_201202B27C7F1/Foto/B27C7F1.jpg&w=300px" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media.lavozdegalicia.es/scale.php?i=/default/2012/02/27/0012_201202B27C7F1/Foto/B27C7F1.jpg&w=300px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Iria Forján is also a national champion jumper</span><br />
<a href="http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/">http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> Notwithstanding, no Abelardo Moure’s pupil can match for the moment the gigantic progression of Ana Peleteiro since she started practising seriously triple jump only three years ago. Immediately the Ribeira-born athlete fell in love with this discipline, which she considers the hardest in track and field, really an injury prone one, but at the same time full of beauty, because of its combination of very different skills as flexibility, strength and coordination. (7) Talent, willingness and dedication quickly paid off, allowing Ana a huge improvement in the specialty in a very short time, breaking even his coach’s more “realistic” expectations. In all it was nearly two metres in two years, from 12.33m in 2010 to 14.17m, her winning jump in Barcelona. During the 2010 indoor season Ana Peleteiro triumphed for the first time in a national championship, in the cadet age category, in both long and triple jump. However her take off really began the following year, her first as a youth athlete. In May, on occasion of the national championship by regions in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Valladolid</place></city>, Peleteiro became the first Spanish youth girl ever over <metricconverter productid="13 metres" w:st="on">13 metres</metricconverter> (13.09m exactly). That moment remains one of Ana's best memories. Then she went to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Lille</place></city> for her first major international competition with high expectations. At the World Championships she accomplished a bronze medal, the only one for <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Spain</place></country-region> in the contest and the 6<sup>th</sup> her country had achieved since the IAAF set the World Youths in <metricconverter productid="1999, in" w:st="on">1999, in</metricconverter> a hardly fought and full of nerves final, where only 2cm separated the bronze medal and the 7<sup>th</sup> place. In spite of her medal Peleteiro was half-happy with the result because she was ready for a PB she could not eventually achieve, but weather conditions and a slight injury in her right leg slowed her a bit. Nevertheless the Barbanza Athletic Club jumper obtained her revenge at the closing meeting of the season, the European Youth Olympic Festival in <city w:st="on">Trabzon</city>, where she won in a new national record (13.17), beating the gold medallist in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Lille</city></place>, Sokhna Galle, in the process. Understandably, she was chosen by the Spanish Athletic Federation best junior athlete of the year, when still belonging to the youth category.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span lang="EN-GB">Ana Peleteiro made another impressive quality leap in <metricconverter productid="2012. In" w:st="on">2012. In</metricconverter> late January she launched her season in the best possible way, landing 13.04m beyond the board to break simultaneously both national youth and junior indoor records at the Galician Championships. Besides she improved her long jump PB in the same meeting to 5.87m. A remarkable distance considering injury setbacks during the precedent year had made her take the decision of focusing her limited time exclusively in the triple jump and forget about specific long jump workouts. That auspicious beginning was confirmed during the summer, when the Pobrense athlete flew to 13.50m the 13<sup>th</sup> May in Cangas for a massive personal jump, also a record in the superior junior category, thus overcoming Ruth Ndoumbe, in the same way she had erased before Vanessa Peñalver and Maitane Azpeitia’s teen marks. Peleteiro added 3cm more in Avilés in June but the best was yet to come. </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span lang="EN-GB">The Galician jumper came to Barcelona World Junior Championships as one of the three serious prospects of medal for the host country, along with Didac Salas, gold medallist in the pole vault event at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Singapore</place></country-region>, and new race walk sensation Alvaro Martín. However, while Salas and Martín fell a little short of expectations, the triple jumper delivered a terrific performance. After leading the contestants in the qualifying round with 13.63, another national record, Ana Peleteiro assumed the pressure, mastered the tricky changing wind and grew to another dimension to set three new records, among emotive sobs, in each one of her first three attempts: 13.64, 13.96 and 14.17m, the last one against <metricconverter productid="1 metre" w:st="on">1 metre</metricconverter> of head wind, to clinch the gold medal ahead of Lithuanian Dovida Dzindzalitaité, who also reached 14.17, and previous yearly leader and favourite Liuba Zaldívar from Cuba. Afterwards, Peleteiro explained for her huge improvement it was decisive her change from 15 to 17 strides in her run approach. Interestingly, Ana’s winning mark was more than one metre better than her best effort just one year before in Lille and only inferior to Carlota Castrejana’s 14.64m and Conchi Paredes’ <metricconverter productid="14.30 in" w:st="on">14.30 in</metricconverter> the Spanish all-time lists and she is still 16-year-old! Her mark is also a European youth record and makes her become the fourth performer ever in her age category after Chinese Qiuyan Huang and Ruiping Reng and Cuban Daylenis Alcántara. Besides, although achieved after the deadline of the qualifying period, Ana Peleteiro’s 14.17 is inside the B standard for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> and a better mark than the one achieved for Patricia Sarrapio last year, which won her selection for the Olympic Games. Ana Peleteiro is only the third Spanish woman gold medallist at the World Junior championship. Her predecessors were the awesome race walker Mari Cruz Díaz, who won the title in 1988 two years after having become European senior champion, and Concha Montaner at the long jump in 2000. (9) </span></span><br />
<span 35.4pt;?="" ?book="" antiqua?;="" text-indent:=""> </span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span></div>
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cfw57XTbJF4?feature=player_detailpage" width="660"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/andres1956">http://www.youtube.com/user/andres1956</a> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Nevertheless, unlike Montaner who, unable to cope with the pressure of an important competition, has have a disappointing senior career, failing to meet the expectations she had created with her gold medal in Santiago de Chile, Ana Peleteiro always delivers her best when it matters most: big challenges are a booster for her. Once a 1.50m-diminutive girl, Ana never feared to face rivals much taller and some years older than her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year she has grown up to a slender 1.71 athlete and her body development is starting to make a difference too, in that highly demanding discipline. Sky is the limit for this talented Spaniard who has raised all kind of praises in her country, after her groundbreaking performance, starting with current national record holder Carlota Castrejana who published in her twitter page: “besides her pure jumping talent, triple jump technique seems innate to her.” (9) Ramón Cid, Spanish triple jump record holder for many years and now coach responsible in the sector in the Spanish team argues “she is very good technically, hit the board in perfect stride, she is much faster now and always very competitive.” (5) Finally, her coach Abelardo Moure, a man who knows well Ana Peleteiro, concludes: “She has an ideal body shape for the triple jump event, with a very high centre of gravity and besides she is very flexible and adjusts very well when hitting the board, which allows her to jump 40cm more than her competitors.” (5)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">An outgoing, sensible and vey mature for her age girl, when you hear Ana Peleteiro talking in interviews she seems to have what it takes to maintain a long term athletic career. Out of the track she is an excellent student, whose best friends are also Barbanza Athletic Club members as Iria Forján and Gracia Rey and who has the chance of chatting on the web with her idol Teddy Tamgho. “He really looks like me, the way he acts, the way he competes. When he is in a contest he is arrogant but at the same time he is humble… To perform well he needs the spectators support, he needs to motivate himself thinking ‘I am the best; nobody is going to beat me here; there is no need to worry.’ It works for him and I try to do the same. Besides I often chat with him over the Internet, I ask him for advice and Teddy helps me out with suggestions about my triple jump technique.” (7) Ana Peleteiro also is starting to be known as someone who motivates herself setting before the beginning of every track and field campaign very ambitious targets, which for the moment she has always reached. For 2012 she wanted to jump 14m and get a medal at the World Juniors in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city>. For the future she is not content dreaming with competing at the Olympic Games but expects to climb one day to the top of an Olympic or World Championship podium. She also aims for the old world record of Inessa Kravets (15.50m) which dates back from the time of the female triple jump pioneers. </span></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nzm0EInUuZE?feature=player_detailpage" width="660"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/PopularTvGalicia">http://www.youtube.com/user/PopularTvGalicia</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(1) Emeterio Valiente, "Ana Peleteiro, la princesa del foso." Atletismo Español, nº 657, P.62-63.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(2) </span><a href="http://www.elatleta.com/foro/showthread.php?149404-%C2%BFPorque-Atletismo-Federado-40-000-licencias-menos">http://www.elatleta.com/foro/showthread.php?149404-%C2%BFPorque-Atletismo-Federado-40-000-licencias-menos</a> <br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(3) <a href="http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/07/la-prodigiosa-ana-peleteiro/">http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/07/la-prodigiosa-ana-peleteiro/</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(4) </span><a href="http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/2012/07/13/ana-peleteiro-historia-humana-mundial-junior/">http://blogs.diariovasco.com/correrxcorrer/2012/07/13/ana-peleteiro-historia-humana-mundial-junior/</a> <br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(5) <a href="http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2012/07/15/actualidad/1342385711_454263.html">http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2012/07/15/actualidad/1342385711_454263.html</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(6) <a href="http://www.galiciae.com/nova/86703.html">http://www.galiciae.com/nova/86703.html</a> </span><br />
(7) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nzm0EInUuZE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nzm0EInUuZE</a> <br />
(8) <a href="http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/barbanza/2012/02/27/0003_201202B27C7991.htm">http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/barbanza/2012/02/27/0003_201202B27C7991.htm</a> <br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">(9) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mini/wjc12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=65860">http://www.iaaf.org/mini/wjc12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=65860</a></span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-47473012143808663532012-07-13T02:02:00.000+02:002012-07-13T02:02:05.349+02:00Nellum, Lalova, a Long Journey to the Olympics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg105/crjcrjabc/NELLUM20Bryshon20Finals-07CASTATE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" src="http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg105/crjcrjabc/NELLUM20Bryshon20Finals-07CASTATE.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Bryshon Nellum, back in his high school days in Long Beach Poly</span><br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/shutthefrickup">http://www.myspace.com/shutthefrickup</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> He had been one of the most sport-talented high schoolers of his generation, achieving uncountable victories for his team Long Beach Poly. Yet unfortunately, after leaving a restaurant, he was shot by gangsters from a car, in a sad Halloween evening of 2009. Seriously wounded in both legs, doctors argued he would never be able to recover his past fitness. However, with patience and hard work, and especially because of the support of his mother and close friends, he slowly learned to walk again, then to run, then returned to the track to face the best quarter milers of the country. No one had bet a dollar for him, yet the 24<sup>th</sup> June 2012, the day the national championships were held in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Oregon</place></state>, he ran with unusual determination, getting to finish the race in the top-3, thus achieving his Olympic dream… No, this is not the account of an action movie but the true amazing story of Bryshon Nellum, still on the making.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Nellum was born the 1<sup>st</sup> May <metricconverter productid="1989 in" w:st="on">1989 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Los Angeles</place></city>. In his teen days in <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Long Beach</placename> <placename w:st="on">Polytechnic</placename> <placetype w:st="on">High School</placetype></place> he practised both athletics and football. He was an excellent dive receiver but eventually focused in his track vocation. Nellum became the first Californian athlete in achieving the 200m-400m double two years in a row (2006 and 2007) at the State Championships. In the latter season, he also led his team to two relay victories. No athlete had accomplished 4 gold medals in that contest in 91 years. (1) With impressive times for an 18-year-old of 20.43 at the 200m and 45.38 at the 400m, Bryshon was deservedly named 2007 Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The Long Beach Poly High quarter miler also shone internationally, capturing bronze in 2005 at the World Youth Champs in Marrakech, a noteworthy collective gold as a member of the US 4x400 relay in Beijing one year later in junior category, and finally the Pan American U-19 400m individual title in his stellar season of 2007. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Bryshon Nellum was expected to battle for a spot in the Olympic team for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city> but fate decided otherwise. Early in the season he had to redshirt his high school senior campaign due to injury; then came that moment in which Bryshon feared for his life, after exiting a party. (2) The <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Long Beach</place></city> athlete was never involved in a gang and still today does not understand why he was attacked. Looking to the eyes of his aggressors during the trial, Nellum said to try to find an answer. Anyway, that incident put in jeopardy his whole track and field career, though Bryshon Nellum firstly could only think in being able of getting up from his hospital bed without help: “I was like a baby. I had to learn how to crawl before I learned how to walk before I learned how to run. I had a lot of rough times. It was hard coming back. I just kept my faith in God and took things day by day. I stayed consistent and I stayed dedicated.” (3) Perseverance and the company of mates and mother kept him going through those moments of pain and anguish. (4) Determined to run again, Nellum spent about five hours a day in the weight room, at track practice and in multiple physical therapy sessions. In his return to running activity he even sometimes had to practise on one leg. Enrolled by <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">South</placename> <placename w:st="on">California</placename> <placetype w:st="on">University</placetype></place> he reappeared in 2010 but even then he was slowed by three operations in order to remove bullet fragments. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-4fe7e71e/turbine/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625-001/600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-4fe7e71e/turbine/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625-001/600" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Bryshon Nellum makes the USA Olympic team after finishing third in the 400m final at the trials held in Eugene, OR<br />Photo: Paul Buck/EPA</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/25/sports/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625">http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/25/sports/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Nevertheless, as
Bryshon Nellum says, what does not kill you makes you stronger. This 2012 the
USC sprinter seemed to be at last free of any health issue and as a result he
improved in April his long standing PB, running the lap distance in a
world-class <st1:metricconverter productid="45.18 in" w:st="on">45.18 in</st1:metricconverter>
Walnut. After triumphing at the Pacific-12 and nearly matching his recent PB
(45.20), Nellum was expected to deliver valuable points for the Trojans at the
NCAA but he failed to make the final in a contest with the deepest field in
many years. However, Bryshon anchored South California to second place in the
4x400m relay, after an epic battle against the individual champion Tony McQuay
of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:state>.
This race meant a huge boost of confidence for Nellum as also was the feat of
progressing through heats and semi-finals at the national championships, side
by side with Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt. (3)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> national
trials were some kind of redemption for Merritt, after his 21-month doping ban,
and a confirmation of the great talent of Tony McQuay, who finished runner-up
in a new personal best. On the other hand, it meant a new disappointment for
former number one in the event, Jeremy Wariner, who seems to be near the end of
his athletic career. Unlike Wariner, the championships signalled an optimistic
come back to the spotlight for Tyson Gay, after years of struggling with
injuries. (5) Yet even the brilliant return of the Osaka triple gold medallist
can be overshadowed if we think about all that Bryshon Nellum had to overcome
in his long journey to London Olympic Games. Josh Mance, who precisely finished
4<sup>th</sup> at the trials just eight hundredths of a second after the
excellent 44.80 of Nellum, knew well all that his mate in USC had been through:
“Of everybody at the Olympic Trials, he has the best story, the most
inspirational. He should be the headliner of this whole meet. No track athlete
gets shot with a shotgun and has three bullets go through both legs and is
still out there running 44.8s. He is a blessing.” (3) Amazingly, Bryshon Nellum
was not the only man who made the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>
team for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
after experiencing the bitter experience of being shot. George Kitchens was
the revelation of the long jump event, improving all the way to 8.21 to book
his ticket. A long time ago, when he was 12 he received a bullet in his chest and was left for dead, along with her sister
and friend Lyndon Fubler. (6) While Kitchens and his friend recovered, her
sister was paralysed. Without a doubt she will be a source of motivation in
the performance of her Olympian brother in London. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7g2ku7JQ_IY?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7g2ku7JQ_IY?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/letsrundotcom">http://www.youtube.com/user/letsrundotcom</a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Ivet Lalova had
never been shot for members of a gang but her extraordinary return to top form,
after six long years of struggling and seven operations on her right leg, can
be related to the inspirational cases of Bryshon Nellum and George Kitchens.
Lalova, born the 18<sup>th</sup> May <st1:metricconverter productid="1984 in" w:st="on">1984 in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sofia</st1:place></st1:city>,
was predestined to become the new Bulgarian sprinter prodigy, following the
illustrious tradition of Ivanka Valkova, Lilyana Panayotova, Sofka Popova,
Nadezhda Georgieva, Aneliya Nuneva and Petya Pendareva. The young sprinter,
whose parents Miroslav Lalov and Liliya Petrunova had been both renowned
athletes inside the country, was soon put under the guidance of Konstantin
Milanov, a long jumper back in the 60s. Milanov, who would remain by her side
for 15 years, coached wisely Ivet Lalova, steadily developing her into one of
the best sprinters in the world. Ivet
became national champion for the first time in 2000, yet she finished just out
of the medals at the 200m event the following season in <st1:city w:st="on">Debrecen</st1:city>
at the World Youth Championships and did not make the final at the 2002 World Juniors in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kingston</st1:place></st1:city>.
However she brilliantly accomplished a double sprint victory in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tampere</st1:place></st1:city> the next season,
on occasion of the European Junior Championships. It was followed up for a
sensational first senior campaign in the 2004 Olympic year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Lalova showed her
great potential in the winter, recording 22.87s in a sport hall, but missed the
World Championships, due to a freaky accident, when she broke her left foot big
toe, after kicking a chest in her bedroom. Reappeared in late May, she set a
new PB in the 200m (22.58) but her progression was far more remarkable at the
100m event. She launched her summer campaign with already a personal record of 11.14.
Then lowered her PB to 11.12 and 11.06, before running the distance in a
groundbreaking 10.77!! the 19th June in <st1:city w:st="on">Plovdiv</st1:city>, giving
maximum points to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bulgaria</st1:place></st1:country-region>
at the First Division European Cup. Incidentally she left 0.40s behind Kim
Gevaert, the woman who went on to conquer five single European titles in successive
years. “Everything was perfect then,” confirmed Lalova. “The track was very
fast, the wind was not so strong, and surprisingly even for me I got an
excellent start. I was sure that I can run under eleven seconds, but to run so
fast! It will take me time to realise what I have done.” (7) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/gallery/albums/DayFour/Lalova_IvetQ2_Athen04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/gallery/albums/DayFour/Lalova_IvetQ2_Athen04.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ivet Lalova competing at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games</span><br />
<a href="http://forums.france2.fr/sport/Athletisme/ivet-lalova-sujet_494_1.htm">http://forums.france2.fr/sport/Athletisme/ivet-lalova-sujet_494_1.htm</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">With her explosive
performance, Lalova all together smashed the 10.85 Aneliya Nuneva’s national
record which dated back from 1988, set the best mark in the world in six years,
and most important of all she climbed all the way to the number 6<sup>th</sup>
spot in the all-time lists (currently 10<sup>th</sup>), tied with Russian Irina
Privalova. With the latter athlete she still shares the distinction of fastest
white woman ever over the distance. Besides, Lalova’s 10.77 stands as the best
mark ever for a 20-year-old, just comparable to the 10.88 World junior record
of Marlies Goehr, back in 1977. The record also sparked some controversy: the
reaction time was officially 0.117s but some outsiders argued it should have
actually been a false start. Nevertheless with her solid performance at the
Olympic Games two months later, Lalova proved her world-class mark was no
fluke. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In her first major
championship, the young Bulgarian standout said to come just to learn, without
big ambitions. However she was unanimously favoured for a medal and her 4<sup>th</sup>
place at the 100m final and her 5<sup>th</sup> at the 200m, although excellent,
had to be bittersweet probably for the new sprinting sensation. With Kelli
White, Torri Edwards and local girl Ekatheríni Thanou all involved in doping
related issues, Marion Jones also out unable to recover her past form,
Christine Arron coming to the Games with 31 years, Zhanna Block with 32, Gail
Devers with 37 and Marlene Ottey with 44!!, the female sprints were up for a
new order. (8) Out of the eight 100m eventual finalists in <st1:city w:st="on">Athens</st1:city>,
only Bahamian Debbie <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ferguson</st1:place></st1:city>
had been in a major final. Yuliya Nestsiarenka, snatching more than half a
second from her previous year’s PB was the shocking winner, though she remained
consistent under 11sec in each one of her four races. After her, surprising the
same, crossed the line 21 year-old Lauryn Williams, the NCAA champion, and 22-year-old
Veronica Campbell. The Jamaican, a collegian in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> too, scored a massive 22.05 PB
to also clinch gold at the 200m, an event in which she had been unbeaten for
four years, although her international experience was rather limited outside of
Champs, Carifta and JUCO. A 19-year-old Allyson Felix was a well deserved
silver medallist, in a new world junior record. Among such astounding
newcomers, Ivet Lalova passed her first serious test with excellent grades.
Only middle-distance legend Nikolina Shtereva in <st1:city w:st="on">Montreal</st1:city>
1976 had achieved before for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bulgaria</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to qualify for the Olympic final in two different events. (9) Outside of her
track prowess, Lalova’s remarkable beauty and belly button tattoo stood out as
well, when she was chosen for “Miss Glamour” on the Olympic Games through
Internet inquiries published in the German magazine “Stern.” (9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Yuliya Nestsiarenka
was unable to keep her momentum in the subsequent years yet we all know about
the long impressive careers of Lauryn Williams, Veronica Campbell-Brown and
Allyson Felix. Ivet Lalova also showed her determination to compete with the
best in early 2005. First she triumphed at the 200m at the European indoors in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state>, the last time
this distance was staged at the contest. Then she won the Golden Spike in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Prague</st1:place></st1:city> in 11.03, ahead of
one of the most promising runners of the moment, Sherone Simpson, whom she had
beaten at the Olympic Games as well. Lalova had the talent to face those
scintillating North American and Jamaican stars and we could have seen her
snatching pieces of glory from them all over a decade. Nonetheless tragedy cut
short soon every expectation. The 14<sup>th</sup> June at the Athens Grand Prix
she collided while warming up with another runner with the fatal result she
broke her femur. Ivet was operated with success the next morning by Doctor
Pantellis Nikolau. A 38cm surgical nail was affixed in her damaged leg, where
it would be kept for the next three years. Otherwise, Lalova always declined to take any
legal action for the responsibility of the accident against neither the other
runner nor the organisation, a decision which would earn her a fair play prize
awarded by the IOC. Doctors said Lalova would never be able to practise sport
elite anymore. However she refused to give up her athletic dream and started to
prepare her come back as soon as she left hospital. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Ivet+Lalova+21st+European+Athletics+Championships+eWb0ebJbsM9l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Ivet+Lalova+21st+European+Athletics+Championships+eWb0ebJbsM9l.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ivet celebrates after her victory at the 100m distance at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Ian Walton/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Ivet+Lalova/21st+European+Athletics+Championships+Day/eWb0ebJbsM9">http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Ivet+Lalova/21st+European+Athletics+Championships+Day/eWb0ebJbsM9</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Almost two years
afterwards, Lalova made a successful return to competition in <st1:place w:st="on">Beograd</st1:place>,
winning in style with 11.26, in an outing where the likes of Miki Barber and
Chandra Sturrup had been entered. This race meant a lot for the moral of the
athlete but this one was still far from full recovery. Up to six more times her
leg would need surgery again. Lalova qualified for Osaka Worlds and Beijing
Olympics but not at her best she did not make the final in any of those
championships. Then in 2009 and 2010 she could not run faster during the season
than 11.48 and 11.43 respectively. The dream seemed over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Notwithstanding,
even if many believed she was on the verge of retirement, Ivet Lalova never
thought about quitting and kept struggling every day instead to put an end to
her tough years. In that crucial moment the athlete took a transcendental
decision: she moved to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
along with boyfriend Simone Collio, to join reputed coach Roberto Bonomi. For
the first time in many years, Ivet was not troubled for injuries in the 2011
campaign and the wise guidance of Bonomi made the rest. After an encouraging
beginning with a victory at the Club Championships in <st1:city w:st="on">Izmir</st1:city>
in 11.08, Lalova won without opposition at the Bislett Games in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oslo</st1:place></st1:city> with a slightly
windy 11.01. It was the first Diamond League victory for a Bulgarian athlete
and a clear symptom that the fastest white woman in history was back to her
very best, a feeling she confirmed breaking for the second time in her career the
11sec barrier (10.96), at the Balkan Championships held in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sliven</st1:place></st1:city>. Interestingly, during those 6 years
Lalova was struggling to regain her past form, only one European athlete,
Christine Arron, in her swan song year of 2005, had got to run a 100m race
under 11 seconds. With the best hopes, Lalova went to the World Championships
where she reached the 100m final, ending up 7<sup>th</sup>; then narrowly
failed her target at the 200m, after having clocked 22.62 at the heats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In the new year of
2012 Ivet Lalova keeps the same optimistic mood. Her first major victory, which
she achieved at the recent European Championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:place></st1:city>, where she beat the foremost specialists
in the continent Olesya Povh, Verena Sailer and Ezinne Okparaebo, can be read
as a stunning triumph over adversity. Lalova stated the lowest moment of her
career was when she had to watch the World Championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:place></st1:city> from her hospital bed. (10) Seven
years afterwards she made at last the trip to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> to proclaim she is in her
best shape ever and ready for London Olympic Games. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/urIgwF4_c3Q?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/urIgwF4_c3Q?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/chelsea97mimo">http://www.youtube.com/user/chelsea97mimo</a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(1) <a href="http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/c-track/mtt/nellum_bryshon00.html">http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/c-track/mtt/nellum_bryshon00.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2) <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/02/local/me-sprinter2">http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/02/local/me-sprinter2</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(3) <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/blog=the-rundown/post/bryshon-nellum-makes-courageous-run-to-london.html">http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/blog=the-rundown/post/bryshon-nellum-makes-courageous-run-to-london.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(4) <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/13/sports/la-sp-0514-bryshon-nellum-usc-20100514">http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/13/sports/la-sp-0514-bryshon-nellum-usc-20100514</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/25/sports/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625">http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/25/sports/la-sp-oly-track-trials-20120625</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Track_star_nearly_shot_and_killed_now_a_possible_Olympian_156000115.html#.T_O1MS5GKZ4.mailto">http://www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Track_star_nearly_shot_and_killed_now_a_possible_Olympian_156000115.html#.T_O1MS5GKZ4.mailto</a><br />
(7) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=26074.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=26074.html</a>
<br />
(8) <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/sports/23iht-a12_5.html?pagewanted=all">http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/sports/23iht-a12_5.html?pagewanted=all</a>
<br />
(9) <a href="http://www.ivetlalova.com/en/Biography">http://www.ivetlalova.com/en/Biography</a>
<br />
(10) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/european-athletics-championships-2012/11208-golden-girl-lalova-is-glad-all-over.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/european-athletics-championships-2012/11208-golden-girl-lalova-is-glad-all-over.html</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-79505787948285288212012-06-26T23:43:00.000+02:002012-06-28T10:32:31.957+02:00Carnival of Pihtipudas: Passing on the Tradition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">“Every time I throw and see, after a beautiful arch,
the implement hit the ground more than <st1:metricconverter productid="70 metres" w:st="on">70 metres</st1:metricconverter> away, I feel as
if I am united with my forefathers' land. There are no words to describe how
proud I am of being a Finn.” (1)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt5bzOaD9a4CB4iS9Q-s39XchnpSFxY-8cJjS76M34xxOjqWFOiApxbbT0zJJSEM1DCrpUhBJhwh1KGI6n18GK2-eI_uJ3yfvJqvUKN_GXBasFeYXZYYsff0gVFwE_7tFi9y0VLLtCh4/s1600/200612_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt5bzOaD9a4CB4iS9Q-s39XchnpSFxY-8cJjS76M34xxOjqWFOiApxbbT0zJJSEM1DCrpUhBJhwh1KGI6n18GK2-eI_uJ3yfvJqvUKN_GXBasFeYXZYYsff0gVFwE_7tFi9y0VLLtCh4/s640/200612_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Tero Pitkamaki in company of some of the young members of the 2012 Pihtipudas Javelin School</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In the opening years
of the 21st Century, technology and communications meteoric development,
together with multinational companies’ expansion have brought to a global world
with increasingly standardised citizens. However there are still traditions
that remain untouched. One of them is the legendary passion for javelin throw
in the country of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Javelin is one of the few Olympic sports not originated in the <st1:place w:st="on">British Isles</st1:place>. Indeed, it had been documented in Antique Greece
yet it is particularly strongly deep-rooted in Nordic European countries. Some
date back this tradition to Sami hunting ancestral custom while others do it to
the supposed connexion between Finns and Old Hun warriors, but it also makes
sense to consider the influence of Sweden, former conqueror of Finland, which
owns records of javelin competitions already in the 18th Century. (2)
Nevertheless it is eventually its deep forests, frozen lakes and harsh climate
which mould Finnish personality and its attachment to sports like the javelin. The
vast emptiness of this land of magic and mystery, which once inspired the
national epic poem “Kalevala” and Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”, has somehow
being internalised and made a vital part of people’s character. (3) “We like to
be alone” says a fervent javelin fan. And the practise of a sport which is
strong, primal and solitary is the perfect manifestation of this idiosyncrasy.
Chris Turner, a mythic journalist which travelled for years all along the
country to find the secret of this passion of an entire nation, got to describe
it once in very accurate words: “Long dark winters and short glorious summers
have produced the archetypal strong but silent national character. The javelin
suits the Finns, providing an emotional release for all their pent-up feelings.
It is the dual release of spear and emotion…” (1) Those gigantic roars while throwing the
implement are a mechanism of liberation of internal emotions and they are also
an innate way of communicate with their ancestors. No wonder in a local
competition a prize is awarded to the greatest roar, no matter where the
javelin goes. In the view of Sociology emeritus professor Paavo Seepanen “the
javelin throw is a model of an individual pursuit which does not need much
equipment or facilities. In the countryside, any small boy could make a
rudimentary birch or alder javelin and throw it in any open field. Throwing
things - along with lifting stones, putting shots, wrestling arms, climbing
trees, etc - has always been part of Finnish physical exercise tradition.” (1) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71AIIq_3s_HscuLKvcjNIW4z-r19eoN0ug-3GPhJEbScSyP6if-ubg9NhZ1rP_rHCHbViIspAc3Eys3FUi-pQp6ZyHDCokhLzsyj-BrlNPpRYExqCOovmjznUjojEaGi4ByfkR7JA60A/s1600/_19E3706+-+copia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71AIIq_3s_HscuLKvcjNIW4z-r19eoN0ug-3GPhJEbScSyP6if-ubg9NhZ1rP_rHCHbViIspAc3Eys3FUi-pQp6ZyHDCokhLzsyj-BrlNPpRYExqCOovmjznUjojEaGi4ByfkR7JA60A/s640/_19E3706+-+copia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A female competitor in Pihtipudas throws the javelin with the classic Finnish style, her body arched like a bow</span><br />
<a href="http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/">http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB">Indeed since very early <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> made a name in the javelin
throw discipline. In <st1:metricconverter productid="1891 in" w:st="on">1891 in</st1:metricconverter>
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Stockholm</st1:place></st1:city>, a
young student of pharmacy, Hjalmar Fellman became the first national athlete to
beat the rest of the world, which he did in standing position as it was then
the rule. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region> dominated
at the Olympic Games in the first two editions the event was held in 1908 and
1912, thanks to the great Erik Lemming, but <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> swept the podium, in the
latter date, at the only Olympic appearance of the two-handed javelin, which
consisted in throwing alternatively with left and right hands. The champion
Juha Saaristo managed an average of 61.00m, superior to the winning throw of
Lemming (60.64) in the more orthodox specialty. Jonni Myyrä emulated the Swede
ace with two Olympic titles in the event in 1920 and <st1:metricconverter productid="1924. In" w:st="on">1924. In</st1:metricconverter> the first of
those gold medals, in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Antwerp</st1:place></st1:city>,
his country accomplished an incredible 1-2-3-4, which stands as one of the
defining moments of Finnish sport</span></span><span lang="EN-GB">. Those were</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 8pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">the years the likes of Paavo Nurmi would bring national
pride and identity to a nation which had only recently proclaimed its
independence. Yet unlike the “Flying Finns” which star faded one day not being
able anymore to face the formidable African athletes, Finnish success in the
javelin has had a stunning continuation until our days. Besides a way of
providing national glory and sense of community, sport allowed early on its
foremost practitioners, mainly country boys, to climb up the social ladder and
obtain a source of revenues. Nurmi’s track career was the firm background for
his future success as a business man and building contractor. Also, despite
amateurism, Yrjo Nikkanen, whose world record of 78.70m from 1938 stood for 15
years told a journalist, many years after his retirement, he sometimes earned “an
equivalent of an army officer's monthly wages in one meet” as an
under-the-table payment -and there were many meets like that during the summer.
(1) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Often has been said
javelin throw is in Finland an affair of “muscular farming boys” so the legendary
Matti Järvinen, Olympic champion in 1932 and 11 times world record holder, once
wrote a throw “takes absolutely all the
power available in your body, even if for a flash of the moment only”. (1)
However, javelin discipline does not only demands physical strength but also an
intricate technique, excellent sense of rhythm and coordination, endurance and
explosiveness. Järvinen was precisely the man who helped define this difficult
combination, a perfect technician and the first athlete who trained in a way
which would be recognised by today’s experts. Järvinen influenced largely the
new generations of javelin throwers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. For many decades, there
has been a quite characteristic Finnish school’s way of casting the implement:
the athlete arches its body to resemble a string of a bow, with the throwing
motion taking place straight above the bracing leg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> With
well established standards in the sport, excellent coaching and great champions
who act as stunning role models for enthusiastic new generations, in a country
where half of his five million of inhabitants reportedly watch their heroes’
performances at great championships, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> has kept itself in the top
of the sport for more than a century now. We must also consider its excellent
infrastructures, including indoor facilities which are used for competition and
training during the long Finnish winter. For example, the recently retired
Mikaela Ingberg, a former World and European medallist, stated these kind of
halls, like the one in Vaasa, were a key tool in her preparation for great
challenges: “The javelin is a very technical event and it is really difficult
if you cannot see the flight of the javelin as that tells you a lot about
whether you hit it right.” (4) Passing on the tradition, four other men: Tapio
Rautavaara (1948), Pauli Nevala (1964), Arto Härkönen (1984) and Tapio Korjus
(1988) have succeeded in the top of the Olympic podium to pioneers Myyrä and
Järvinen. Overall, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has collected 21 medals out of 69 awarded in the history of the Games in the
event, almost a third of the total. Not really bad for a small country of
scarcely five millions of people. Their female counterparts have not been as successful,
yet they count with one Olympic champion, Helli Rantanen in 1990, besides two
minor medallists. At world level, Finns have been equally impressive with Seppo
Räty (1987), Kimmo Kinnunen (1991), Aki Parviainen (1999) and Tero Pitkämäki
(2007), in the men’s field and Tiina Lillak (1983) in the women’s, all of them
gold medallists in the brief history of the championships. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJMK7OgfDRC8xCy7SR9JLPCzH6QNK0k-oNnLeVtfvq5lLFRBYIP1tk9qsi07ouG3B4bNka-JMF-aByFqcaDBR2mFAE9-GagDRljiS0OMDd3a-6rsEEhZAzKH4qFu-ofG27D2HQFdOyKY/s1600/_19E4936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJMK7OgfDRC8xCy7SR9JLPCzH6QNK0k-oNnLeVtfvq5lLFRBYIP1tk9qsi07ouG3B4bNka-JMF-aByFqcaDBR2mFAE9-GagDRljiS0OMDd3a-6rsEEhZAzKH4qFu-ofG27D2HQFdOyKY/s640/_19E4936.jpg" width="660" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A group of boys having fun during their stretching exercices in Pihtipudas </span><br />
<a href="http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/">http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The 2008 Olympic
year marked the sensational come of age of arguably one of the best Finnish
generations ever in the javelin, formed by the three athletes who had swept the
medals at the 2003 European Junior Championships: Teemu Wirkkala, Antti
Ruuskanen and Tero Järvenpää. Along with the man who had brought gold for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Finland</st1:country-region> in <st1:city w:st="on">Osaka</st1:city>,
Tero Pitkämäki, they accomplished a remarkable collective performance in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city>, being Pitkämäki
third, Järvenpää fourth and Wirkkala fifth. With the addition of Ari Mannio,
the world junior silver medallist in 2006 and also European junior champion in
2009, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was expected to dominate in subsequent major championships. Yet it did not. With
some of its foremost athletes (Pitkämäki, Järvenpää, Wirkkala) plagued by
injuries and Ruuskanen and Mannio not quite consistent when it matters, no
Finnish athlete made Daegu’s top-8. Tero Pitkämäki, the most beloved sportsman
in the country of the moment had played too often second fiddle to archrival
and friend Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway but this time around it was more than
that: in huge crisis of form and confidence and also with health issues, the
Finnish number one decided to go to the Czech Republic looking for the
assistance of Jan Zelezny, the coach who is responsible of the solid careers of
Barbora Spotakova, Vitezlav Vesely and Petr Frydrych. However, while Vesely has
shown impressive form this year, Tero had not reached yet the 80m barrier prior
to the test of Pihtipudas, the last qualifying meet for the upcoming European
Championship, which happen to be at home. Another disappointment could mean the
inevitable decay, the end of the career of the Finnish national hero.
Nonetheless, in spite of its inability to shine in the last major
championships, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>
still keeps its amazing usual depth in the javelin event. Which country can
boast of entering in a local meet as Pihtipudas no less than 10 national
athletes who have thrown beyond 83m in the last couple of years? Although two
of them withdrew in the last moment, still the field was mighty enough. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The Javelin Carnival
of Pihtipudas, which this year was exceptionally held between the 14<sup>th</sup>
and 17<sup>th</sup> June, has become the most important meeting in the charged
Finnish javelin calendar and an unavoidable date for every national athlete of
world level. The meeting often serves also as the decisive outing to decide the
national team for major championships. Yet the Carnival of Pihtipudas is much
more than that. It is the biggest festival of the javelin in the world, in
which annually present and former stars of the discipline and youngsters from
all over <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and from some guest countries meet to learn, compete and fraternize in an
almost tribal celebration. Pihtipudas, a small village of 4500 inhabitants in
centre Finland, 140km North of Jyväskylä, among pine forests and surrounded by
140 lakes, it is the ideal place where the javelin centennial tradition is
passed on to the new generations. Home country of the famous professor Lauri
Tahko Pihkala, the inventor of Pesäpallo, the Finnish variant of Baseball,
Pihtipudas also host a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Javelin</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the only of its
kind in the world. (5) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYptVEotkHnsXdhX_AbwtUQmjIZeMISWYbaiwXxSM1hdXe4wfxTboRUEqnxOC-4NaOxbD5C9omV175mZQfQUKgUjRNVS3uOYrcC-ub-8CTqf8XNFFbsOQVWrymjC2uyonYfzar3yIvg2Q/s1600/_MG_6091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYptVEotkHnsXdhX_AbwtUQmjIZeMISWYbaiwXxSM1hdXe4wfxTboRUEqnxOC-4NaOxbD5C9omV175mZQfQUKgUjRNVS3uOYrcC-ub-8CTqf8XNFFbsOQVWrymjC2uyonYfzar3yIvg2Q/s640/_MG_6091.jpg" width="660" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A coach shows a young participant in Pihtipudas school of javelin the right way to grip the spear</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><a href="http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/">http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The festival started
spontaneously when local athletes Leo Pusa and Jorma Kinnunen in 1971 came with
the idea of holding a competition in Pihtipudas so they invited some friend
athletes to join them. Because there were no other meetings during that weekend,
most of the finest javelin throwers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region> showed up. (6) 1000
spectators assisted to the contest, where Tapio Rautavaara, Olympic gold
medallist in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
1948 was the commentator. It was a brilliant success and the organisers decided
to continue hosting the competition in the years to come. Three years later
women entered for the first time the outing. Then in 1975 was held for the
first time the javelin school, with 28 youngsters taking part. The idea was to
show the teens how to throw and how to train for the discipline. Over the years
more and more people have participated in the javelin school. Currently about
200 teens from the age of 9 come to learn the basis of the specialty, divided
in groups depending on their age and sex. There are an increasing number of
foreign guests coming from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Latvia</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United Kingdom</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Some of them
compete with notable success as British Olympic hopeful Laura Whittingham,
winner at the 22-year age category and last year in the senior contest. Competition,
including a Paralympics event, coaching and lectures alternate in the four days
of the Carnival of Javelin which is closed Sunday with the TV broadcasted
senior competition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Lodgement and food
are provided and included in the entry fee. The accommodation is on exercise
mats on classroom floors with communal showers in the changing rooms. Dining is
refectory-style four times a day. Additional accommodation is possible in
nearby hotels and holiday chalets. (7) There is a great atmosphere with
attendance of the whole family and even younger siblings can become involved
whenever a spear is spotted unattended. Yet many experts are around so very few
accidents occur. To the success of the Carnival contributes that many Finnish
top names in the javelin like</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Jorma
Kinnunen, Hannu Siitonen, Tapio Korjus, Tiina Lillak, Tuula Laaksalo or Latvian
legend Janis Lusis volunteer to guide the young generations. In the last
editions the director of the meeting has been Hannu Kangas, national javelin
responsible and also lifelong coach of Pitkämäki. Since the school was created
many of the future stars of the javelin have had the experience of
participating in it at a younger age as are the cases of Kimmo Kinnunen, Heli
Rantanen, Aki Parviainen, Mikaela Inberg, Harri Haatainen, Tero Pitkämäki and
Lassi Etelätalo. Succession is thus guaranteed for many years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">This year the
Javelin Carnival of Pihtipudas ended with the happy return to winning days of
celebrated local star Tero Pitkämäki. The world champion in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Osaka</st1:place></st1:city> produced a best attempt of 83.87, thus
assuring his selection for the European Champs team. Ari Mannio, Lassi
Etelätalo, Teemu Wirkkala and Antti Ruuskanen finished after the winner in this
order, all of them beyond the 80m barrier. Mannio and Wirkkala were given the
other two spots for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:place></st1:city>.
In the female field, after some lacklustre years without valid relay for the
likes of Mikaela Ingberg and Paula Tarvainen, some talented teenagers seem to
be in the way for future international stardom. Sanni Utriainen the world
junior champion in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moncton</st1:place></st1:city>,
who this season has broken the national junior record with a sensational 59.31m, grabbed the victory in Pihtipudas. Other youngster standouts as 2011 European
U-23 bronze medallist Oona Sormunen and Jenni Kangas, daughter of the national
coach and Pihtipudas director, were absent. Good luck for all of them at the European
Championships and the Olympics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WzII-x1j4vk?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WzII-x1j4vk?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object></div>
<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/AustrisAbolins">http://www.youtube.com/user/AustrisAbolins</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Both boys and girls performing at the inaugural day of the 2012 Javelin Carnival of Pihtipudas</span> <a href="http://keihas.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Karnevaalikisat14.6.2012.m4v" style="background-color: white;">here</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div>
(1) <a href="http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/the-javelin-how-finland-dominate-the-most-limb-taxing-event-in-athletics-244">http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/the-javelin-how-finland-dominate-the-most-limb-taxing-event-in-athletics-244</a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">(2) </span><a href="http://historiatletismo.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/la-pasion-de-un-pueblo-la-jabalina-en.html" style="background-color: white;">http://historiatletismo.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/la-pasion-de-un-pueblo-la-jabalina-en.html</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">(3) </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2008/0822/for-the-unsung-javelin-throw-millions-of-superfans" style="background-color: white;">http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2008/0822/for-the-unsung-javelin-throw-millions-of-superfans</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">(4) </span><a href="http://www.spikesmag.com/features/welcometotheworldofindoorjavelin.aspx" style="background-color: white;">http://www.spikesmag.com/features/welcometotheworldofindoorjavelin.aspx</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">(5) </span><a href="http://www.lomaseutu.fi/nakemista.php?target=nakemista&theme=210:211:220&kieli=UKN" style="background-color: white;">http://www.lomaseutu.fi/nakemista.php?target=nakemista&theme=210:211:220&kieli=UKN</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.keihaskarnevaalit.com/">http://www.keihaskarnevaalit.com/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(7) <a href="http://www.keihaskarnevaalit.com/images/AthleticsWeekly_16_Oct_2008.pdf">http://www.keihaskarnevaalit.com/images/AthleticsWeekly_16_Oct_2008.pdf</a><br />
(8) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=65367.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=65367.html</a>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-14451208053524142172012-06-17T20:35:00.001+02:002012-07-10T11:17:15.869+02:00Chemos Vs Zaripova: an exciting Rematch for London<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Milcah+Chemos+Cheywa+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+qqSVfKdk-2ol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="460" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Milcah+Chemos+Cheywa+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+qqSVfKdk-2ol.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Milkah Chemos and Yuliya Zaripova's duel at the steeplechase at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Mark Dadswell/ Getty Images AsiaPac</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/aeyOY9MbjU3/13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+Daegu/qqSVfKdk-2o/Milcah+Chemos+Cheywa"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/aeyOY9MbjU3/13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+Daegu/qqSVfKdk-2o/Milcah+Chemos+Cheywa</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Following a highly impressive clean sweep of the podium at the two inaugural finals, the women’s marathon and 10.000m, Kenya completed last year in Daegu its best ever performance in the history of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, winning almost everything… Almost! It is well known for the East African track and field powerhouse the male 3000m steeplechase is nearly a state matter. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> has not been beaten in the distance at the Olympic Games, ever since Amos Biwott got the first gold medal for his country back in Mexico-68 and this stunning winning streak is expected to be kept for many more years. On the other hand, Kenyan female steeplechasers are trying to emulate their decorated men counterparts in the path of victory. In the youngest of the events in the athletic calendar, the tiny champion from Bugaa village, Milcah Chemos Cheywa, was unanimously favoured to become the first Kenyan woman to clinch gold: the first one of another glorious dynasty. Chemos came to Daegu unbeaten in her pet event throughout the whole summer season, including five emphatic victories in the Diamond League and her gold medal was almost taken for granted. Her companions Lydia Rotich and Mercy Njoroge also reflected her optimism about a possible sweep of the medals for <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> in the event. However, when it mattered most, European champion Yuliya Zaripova took command of the final from gun to tape, imposing a devastating pace which destroyed the whole field, including an unusually struggling one Milcah Chemos, who scarcely could grab the bronze medal, also beaten by Tunisian Habiba Ghribi. Kenyans finished 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> in a disappointing evening. It was just another big upset in a full of surprise Championships. What happened? </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> Leaving behind the obvious different backgrounds of a Kenyan girl coming from a farming community (1) and a Russian kid grown-up in a small town of the region of Volvograd from a father coach and a bookkeeper mother (2), the two standout steeplechasers of the moment, Milcah Chemos Cheywa and Yuliya Zaripova, have followed almost parallel sportive careers with striking coincidences. Both women were born the same year of 1986, Milcah in February, Yuliya in April. Both entered initially the 800m event, having moderate success. In 2005 Zaripova clocked 2:05.44 to grab the bronze medal at the national junior championships and was selected for the Europeans not getting through her heat. She quickly understood she had not the level to shine in the full of stars sky of Russian middle distances and disappointed almost quit sport. On the other hand, Chemos was convinced by friends she had future in running and decided to have it a go that same 2005, enrolled in the Kenyan Police. However she wed workmate Alex Sang and soon got pregnant, having to stop her incipient athletic career. She was blessed with a daughter, which was precisely what happened to Yuliya as well, fruit of her first marriage. Milcah reappeared just in time to run the trials for Beijing Olympics. She ended up seventh in the 800m final, nearly 12 seconds after Pamela Jelimo. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB">Chemos realised too she was not talented enough for an international career at the 800m but then training mate Olympian Richard Mateelong suggested her to try the steeplechase which she did with immediate success. (1) She was already 23 when she ran her first race in the event in Kakamega in April 2009. Forced by circumstances, Yuliya Zaripova also abandoned her favourite event, after the sudden death of her coaches: first Gennadiy Naumov, then his successor Yelena Romanova. (2) Besides she needed to keep the national federation’s financial support to make a living of athletics and it was not possible anymore for her running the 800m. Mikhail Kuznetsov discovered Zaripova for the steeplechase and took her under his wing since 2008 for another belated and dazzling career over barriers and water jumps. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Birtukan+Adamu+Gesa+Felicitas+Krause+13th+Z4yw0fSxFFal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Birtukan+Adamu+Gesa+Felicitas+Krause+13th+Z4yw0fSxFFal.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Zaripova leads Milcah Chemos, Birtukan Adamu and Gesa-Felicitas Krause over the water jump in Daegu<br />Photo: Stu Forster/ Getty Images Asia Pac<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Birtukan+Adamu/Gesa+Felicitas+Krause">http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Birtukan+Adamu/Gesa+Felicitas+Krause</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In spite of their lack of experience at the steeplechase, both Yuliya Zaripova and Milcah Chemos fared amazingly well on occasion of Berlin World Championships, getting to surprisingly climb to the podium, along with elated winner Marta Domínguez. Zaripova had had a successful winter, grabbing the bronze medal at the European Cross U-23 and reaching the final at the continental championship indoors at the 3000m flat. During the summer, she focused in the steeplechase, becoming the national revelation of the year in the event, when she won the Team Championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Sochi</place></city> and especially the National Champs in a world class 9:13.18. (3) However she was not the leading Russian in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state>, in a team which included no less than defending world champion Yekaterina Volkova and the woman who had broken the 9min barrier in Beijing Olympic Games, Gulnara Samitova-Galkina. Nor was Milcah Chemos the number one Kenyan. That responsibility was borne by more fancied runners Ruth Bosibori and Gladys Kipkemboi, who had won the national trials. Out-of-shape Volkova failed to make the final. There, Galkina tried to repeat her demonstration of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city>, yet unlike in the Olympic Games, the pack of challengers was able to hold her demanding pace. In the final rush, the Olympic champion was overcome and left out of the medals. Marta Domínguez proved to be the strongest of the field but rising athletes Yuliya Zaripova, then called Zarudneva, and Milcah Chemos Cheywa, also raised the eyebrows with her sensational second and third places, and respective times of 9:08.39 and 9:08.57. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The Russian argues she lost the mental battle to Domínguez, not believing in her victory over the tough Spaniard and even being afraid of her power. This mistake would not be repeated again the following year, when an increasingly self-confident Yuliya contributed with maximum points to the Russian triumph at the European Team Championships, then claimed the continental individual title over the reigning world champion, in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city>. On the other hand, Milcah Chemos rose to international stardom with her astounding 2010 summer season, in which she triumphed in 7 out of her 11 outings, including the African championships in <city w:st="on">Nairobi</city> and the Commonwealth Games in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Delhi</place></city>. (4) Her solid campaign earned her the Diamond League title and to be shortlisted for the mention of IAAF athlete of the year. Talking about her rivalry with Zaripova there was a draw that season: the Kenyan got the better of the Russian at the Prefontaine and Aviva London Diamond League meetings, while Yuliya prevailed in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Stockholm</place></city> and at the Continental Cup. (5) Milcah’s momentum continued in 2011, where she raced to and fro, leaving an aureole of invincibility. Meanwhile, Zaripova kept a low profile, only competing twice during that season (once at the 1500m distance and once at the 3000m steeplechase), prior to Daegu. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CPTSksJl218?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CPTSksJl218?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtistesTunisiens">http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtistesTunisiens</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Things did not go though according to plan at last year World Championships for Milcah Chemos. First of all, her long campaign was excellent in order to win the Diamond for the second time but far from ideal to perform at her best in Daegu. In a season the most important date of the athletic calendar came later than usual, that is the last day of August, Chemos already peaked in May, when she achieved her best timings of the year: 9:16 in <city w:st="on">Doha</city> and 9:12 in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Rome</place></city>. After such startling opening of the season, everybody expected the Kenyan to smash the national record and even try the universal best. However, Milcah was even unable to improve on her PB from 2009. Instead of progressing she went up in the two following months to the 9:20s, yet still kept winning meetings, due to her superiority over the challengers she had to contend against. It was a clear symptom Chemos was overcharged of competition but she did not take any break to recharge her batteries until August, keeping the same strenuous rhythm all over the summer in an especially gruelling event as the steeplechase is. When her rival Zaripova eventually entered the track for a race in the distance in late July, Chemos was already tired after her long campaign. On the other hand, the Russian did not care about Diamond League rewards but instead had only one target: the World Championships. She prepared herself meticulously for it without making much noise and only went out of her training place to compete in a 1500m race in order to sharpen her speed. Zaripova’s form in the day of the decisive contest was the best possible as it proves her excellent performance in the final.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Another problem for Milcah Chemos was of very different kind. The Kenyan’s poor technique over barriers and water jumps was evident went she had to face a rival of her same level. Besides the handicap of her small height for the standards in the event (1.63m), Chemos do not normally have a driving leg when negotiating an obstacle so she attacks it almost with both legs at the same time and bent-knees, losing her timing when she lands for a moment. In front of a woman with excellent jumping technique as Zaripova is, it was pitiful to see the Kenyan standout losing ground in every barrier and then struggling to recover that distance. That technical gap between the two steeplechase stars was still more obvious while facing the water jump. Like most men athletes do Zaripova steps on top of the barrier with one of her feet to propel herself further and out, while Chemos, jumping with both legs at the same time, just sinks into the middle of the water each time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">After her shocking failure, Milcah Chemos had much to work in, especially psychologically speaking, but now she seems to be in the right way to face her black beast at the Olympic Games as we witnessed at the Diamond League meetings of Shanghai, New York and Oslo, especially in the latter, where she achieved the much expected African record, stopping the clock in 9:07.14 and eventually erasing Beijing silver medallist Eunice Jepkorir from the record books. Chemos seems hyper motivated and determined to avenge her defeat at the upcoming Olympic Games, making up for her bad technique with her powerful core. On the other hand, Yuliya Zaripova is still to make her debut on the track this year. Her only international appearance was a 10km road race last month. Nevertheless, when she will no one doubts she is going to be ready for the best again. Her exceptional combination of speed (4:04 PB at the 1500m), endurance, strength and excellent technique will make her again the favourite for London and we must also think about her willingness and confidence, on a high after her groundbreaking demonstration in Daegu. In the rest of the field, we have to consider what old veterans Gulnara Galkina and Marta Domínguez can still give to athletics. In only seven years since the event is being held in major championships, we have assist to a complete generational renewal in the 3000m steeplechase field. Athletes like Inzikuru, Volkova, Turava, Cassandra or Janowska have disappeared from the elite or are not anymore a factor. Kenya which has kept the unbeatable Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto, Richard Mateelong and Paul Koech for a decade in the male side, has however lost in a couple of years great female specialists like Cheruto Kiptum, Salome Chepchumba, Eunice Jepkorir, Ruth Bosibori or Gladys Kipkemboi, which proves the event is more fearsome than we believe. Rather talking about athletes able to upset the prohibitive favourites we must look at fresh faces as Ethiopians Sofia Assefa and Hiwot Ayalew, who escorted Chemos in her way to a new area record, also accomplishing huge personal best, Tunisian Habiba Ghribi, who achieved in Daegu the first medal ever for her country at the IAAF World championships or Binnaz Uslu and Gulcan Mingir from a country quickly making its way to the top as it is Turkey. Do not miss another thrilling final in just one month and a half time. </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/csCuwRvgIf8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/csCuwRvgIf8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object> <span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NeneValleyHarriers">http://www.youtube.com/user/NeneValleyHarriers</a> </div>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58331.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58331.html</a> <br />
(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58165.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58165.html</a> <br />
(3) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=58158&Season=2011&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=58158&Season=2011&Odd=33</a> <br />
(4) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=60740&Season=2011&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=60740&Season=2011&Odd=33</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=220&at1=58158&at2=60740&season=1999&B1=Enviar">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=220&at1=58158&at2=60740&season=1999&B1=Enviar</a> <br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-55482230001382678252012-05-25T14:23:00.001+02:002012-07-14T14:48:16.456+02:00Ethiopia makes a serious Statement for the Middle distance Olympic titles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/file/img/fotografia/2012/02/19656-fotografia-g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="700" src="http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/file/img/fotografia/2012/02/19656-fotografia-g.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Genzebe Dibaba, the youngest of a stunning dinasty<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/multimedia/fotografia/generales/genzebe-dibaba/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/multimedia/fotografia/generales/genzebe-dibaba/</span></a>
</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> That cold spring morning of <st1:metricconverter productid="2008, in" w:st="on">2008, in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place></st1:city>, Tirunesh Dibaba, in spite of her
youth one of the most decorated women in the history of athletics, had
something to prove after suffering a clear defeat against Lornah Kiplagat in
the precedent edition of the World Cross Country Champs. However, she seemed
more worried about the performance of her younger sister Genzebe, who was to
participate in the opening race of the contest. So anxious was Tirunesh, she
neglected her own warming up in order to watch her sister run. In the end,
the 17-year-old Ethiopian attacked in the decisive Haggis Knowe hill with 400m
to go, to snatch her first international title. Likewise, Tirunesh recovered
her World Cross crown in the next hour but, as she declared to journalists, she
was even more elated for the sensational victory of her sister. It was a long
way, since Cousin Derartu Tulu had opened the path for every Ethiopian woman
with the first of her three Cross Country gold medals in 1995, and previously
with her triumph at the 10.000m in Barcelona Olympic Games. The youngest member
of that prosperous lineage had to feel particularly inspired and well protected
in her blossoming time, surrounded by such accomplished family of runners. Derartu,
Eyegayehu, Tirunesh, all felt proud her heritage, the Ethiopian racing
tradition, had been preserved and transmitted so brilliantly to the newest
generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Four years have passed since that revelation and now
Genzebe Dibaba, after her victory at the World indoor championships in <st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city> last winter and her recent groundbreaking
demonstration at the Diamond League meeting in <st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city>,
appears as the most solid prospect for Olympic gold in team <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The
awesome generation that shocked the athletic world in 2003 seems now virtually
exhausted, after a whole decade of holding national hopes in global challenges.
Years of injuries have taken its toll in Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine and
Tirunesh Dibaba, all three of them struggling to regain their past form.
Likewise, the remaining ace of that marvellous poker, Meseret Defar, seems to
have lost the mental battle against current female number one, Vivian
Cheruiyot. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place>
is largely dominating long distance right now and their archrivals look unable
to find a valid relay. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-5000-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/kenya-outckicks-ethiopia.html"><span lang="EN-GB">http://moti-athletics-5000-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/kenya-outckicks-ethiopia.html</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB"> Yet if Vivian Cheruiyot and Kenyan
marathoners seem unstoppable in their way to the Olympic title, in middle
distance <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
still keep some good chances of victory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Nevertheless,
contrary to their East African neighbours, the country which owns eight Olympic
titles in the 10.000m has little tradition in the 800m and the <st1:metricconverter productid="1500. In" w:st="on">1500. In</st1:metricconverter> the first Olympic
Games they took part in, back in the 1960s, both <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
used to line-up, besides distance runners, also sprinters, quarter milers and
hurdlers. Some of those athletes had remarkable success as the members of the
Kenyan 4x400 relay, winners in Munich 1972 and runner-up in Mexico 1968, featuring
Daniel Rudisha, father of the current 800m world record holder. On occasion of
the African Championships they hosted in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nairobi</st1:place></st1:city>
in 2010, this country tried to recover their international presence in some of
those events. Thanks to this effort, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region>
is likely to qualify its 4x400m relay for <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>,
after a long hiatus, and amazingly will also send Julius Yego, first national
representative ever in the Olympics in the javelin discipline, who recently
returned from a training camp in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Finland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Fantu+Magiso+IAAF+World+Indoor+Championships+KJSnVGmPVSRl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="820" src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Fantu+Magiso+IAAF+World+Indoor+Championships+KJSnVGmPVSRl.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fantu Magiso at the 2012 World indoor Championships in Istanbul<br />Photo: Ian Walton/ Getty Images Europe<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/">http://www.zimbio.com</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Ethiopia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> is in the same way
nurturing talents in different disciplines than its classics 5000m, 10.000m and
the marathon. Yakob Jarso and Roba Gari got to break Eshetu Tura’s steeplechase
record which dated from the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and in the last couple of
years we have also witnessed their progressive rising in the 1500m and lately
in the 800m too. Mulugeta Wondimu ran the former distance in 3:31.14 in 2004,
still the national record, but quickly moved to the roads. Notwithstanding,
Deresse Mekonnen proved, with his back-to-back world indoor titles in 2008 and
2010 and his silver medal in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>,
his country could do well in the metric mile too. Since then the number of
Ethiopians able to break 3:36 are legion: Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Henok Legesse, Demma
Daba, Dawit Wolde, Soresa Fida, Zebene Alemayehu… On the other hand, it is even
more intriguing unusual teen phenomenon Mohamed Aman, first international star
the country has known in the 800m. Aman enjoyed athletic success for the first
time when he triumphed at the Youth Olympic Games in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Singapore</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 2010. Since then he
has experienced a meteoric rise to the senior elite, reaching the final in Daegu
and causing a shocking upset when he broke the long winning streak of David
Rudisha, under Milano rain in the last meeting of 2011. This year he has
confirmed his stunning talent clinching the gold medal last winter in Istanbul
and outdoors, after his victory at the meeting Colourful Daegu, seems the only
one able to produce a surprise at the Olympics, beating again Rudisha. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">However, Aman is not the only teen prodigy with genuine ambitions for
the 800m in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-800-m.blogspot.com.es/2011/08/four-races-to-remember.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://moti-athletics-800-m.blogspot.com.es/2011/08/four-races-to-remember.html</a> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> Leonard Kosencha beat the young Ethiopian at last World Youth Championships in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lille</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> and, after setting
off the international meetings last year because of his academic duties, this
summer is determined to try to make the Olympic team. Also quickly improving is
the reigning world junior champion David Mutua. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">East African
representatives are increasingly young. </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, before the failure of
some of its foremost stars to face Kenyans in the last seasons has had no
doubts in enrolling for the Olympic marathon some inexperienced but full of
overpowering youth like Ayele Abshero, Dino Sefir and Tiki Gelana, and something
similar is expected on the track.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">If <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region> has
found an astounding 800m male athlete in teen Mohamed Aman, awesome the same is
her female counterpart Fantu Magiso. Not
long time ago it was rather unusual to find East African women in the 800m global
competitions. For the 2005 World Championships, Kenyan officials did not find
necessary to enter Janeth Jepkosgei, despite she had largely achieved the standard.
However they wisely changed mind for the next edition of the contest in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Osaka</st1:place></st1:city>, just in time to
allow her become world champion. Then, the following year, amazingly the first
two Kenyan female gold medals ever at the Olympic Games would be achieved
precisely at the 800m and 1500m by Pamela Jelimo and Nancy Jebet Langat
respectively. Now besides already classic specialists Jepkosgei and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Jelimo</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place>
have plenty of effervescent 800m female standouts as Eunice Sum, Cherono Koech
and Winny Chebet. Also <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
which lately seemed to be just another East African cradle of long distance
runners, is now remembering with Annet Negesa, a brilliant talent on the making,
their greatest legends John Akii-Bua and Davis Kamoga had endurance yet had
also speed and power. On the other hand, Fantu Magiso is the first Ethiopian half-miler
we can remember and furthermore she excelled before in the 200m and 400m. She
owns in those distances respective PBs of 23.90 and 52.09, being the former
more than 2 seconds better than the precedent national record, which plainly
speaks about the previous standards in the country in the discipline. Such
speed must be an asset for Magiso’s bright future in the 800m. Often described
as clumsy on the track, to the point she nearly collided with a photographer in
her race in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Madison</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Square</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Garden</st1:placetype></st1:place>
last winter, Fantu is quickly winning experience and she should be a fearsome
contender soon. Last season she struck the 400m at the African junior
Championship, then went on to reach the semi-finals in the 800m in Daegu. This
year she narrowly missed the medals in Istanbul and recently dared to challenge no less than the reigning Olympic champion
Pamela Jelimo at the Diamond League meeting in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Doha</st1:place></st1:city>, to finish an excellent second, in a
massive national record of 1:57.90. Watch out for her in a near future! </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanbreack/4835704034/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Bekele & Bogale por vanbreack, en Flickr"><img alt="Bekele & Bogale" height="800" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4132/4835704034_0c00e3e64f_b.jpg" width="597" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Tizita Bogale and Asmerawork Bekele clash in a meeting in Huelva<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanbreack/4835704034/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanbreack/4835704034/</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Nonetheless, it may
be tough for Fantu Magiso to shine in London Olympics in an 800m contest so
loaded of scintillating stars, including Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo,
happily returned to where she used to be after some difficult seasons, the last
two world champions Caster Semenya and Mariya Savinova, and Janeth Jepkosgei, who
has been in every major championship podium since 2007. Much more up to
surprises is currently the 1500m event. In the last couple of years the
discipline has lacked a leader, a dominator. A reason is the four best athletes
of the world middle distance powerhouse, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, were sanctioned because of
a doing offence, and same fate suffered global medallists Daniela Yordanova and
Bouchra Ghezielle. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has not found for the moment a valid replacement for the likes of Tomashova,
Soboleva and Fomenko, apart from Anna Alminova, who is currently injured. Besides,
even the foremost milers right now are not consistent enough: Maryam Yussuf
Jamal clinched gold at the 2007 and 2009 World championships but also
unexpectedly faded in the Olympic final when she looked the sure winner and was
not either a factor last year in Daegu. On the other hand, Olympic champion
Nancy Jebet Langat dominated in great fashion the 2010 campaign but was out of
shape in both <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>
and Daegu finals. Finally the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> seemed to have an excellent candidate
for the gold medal for last year World Champs in Morgan Uceny, winner of three
Diamond League meetings and the most regular miler during the year, but a fall
prevented her from success. Spaniard Natalia Rodríguez looked strong enough to
avenge her polemic disqualification in <st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state>
but in the end it was another <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
representative, Jennifer Barringer-Simpson, who surprisingly got the better of
the whole field in the homestretch. Simpson, a former steeplechase star,
changed to the middle distances looking for a new challenge, yet injuries and
inconsistency sowed doubts about her future in the event. After her sensational
victory in Daegu, the world champion followed it up with a 10<sup>th</sup> place
in Rieti and a 13<sup>th</sup> position at the Ivo Van Damme meeting, again
raising the question mark about whether she will be able to maintain her number
one status for long time. Only three athletes (Jamal, Rodríguez and Kalkidan
Gezahegne) repeated final from the previous edition in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>, which is a clear evidence of the
current inconsistency in the event. Besides, the standards have dropped: no
athlete got to run the distance under 4 minutes in 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The female 1500
event is nowadays experiencing a crisis of leadership and results. However, the
discipline is on the rise in East African countries. Pioneers like Derartu Tulu
spread the example and now Kenyan and Ethiopian women are massively practising
sport and also entering virgin territory, embracing new disciplines. Helen
Obiri, who broke Meseret Defar’s streak at the 3000m in World indoors last
winter in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>,
looks a Kenyan solid alternative to Nancy Langat and Irene Jelagat, who has not
progressed as expected after her victory at the 2006 World Junior
Championships. And this nation has another exciting prospect in Faith Kipyegon,
who last year won gold in both the 1500m World Youth championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lille</st1:place></st1:city> and at the World
junior Cross Country in Punta Umbría. At only 18 years of age, Kipyegon has
already run the distance in a world class 4:03.82.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://indoortrackandfield.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dsc_0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="586" src="http://indoortrackandfield.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dsc_0096.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Kalkidan Gezahegne, the world indoor champion in 2010<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://indoortrackandfield.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dsc_0096.jpg">http://indoortrackandfield.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dsc_0096.jpg</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Nevertheless,
Ethiopian women are by far the most impressive currently among East Africans.
When Derartu Tulu, Gete Wami and Fatuma Roba were making the highlights in the
10.000 and the marathon, the lone standout of the country in the 1500m was
Kutre Dulecha. This athlete enjoyed a noteworthy athletic career in the late
1990s and early 2000s, achieving a gold medal at the 2004 World indoor
championships and a bronze outdoors in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seville</st1:place></st1:city>
1999, besides back-to-back junior and senior global titles in Cross Country. After
her retirement, Maryam Yussuf Jamal and Gelete Burka took over, although the
former chose to represent Bahrein. Burka for one reason or another has in most
of the occasions failed to deliver to the expectations she rose when she
reached the 1500m World summer final in 2005, being a junior, and then struck
the World Cross short title the following year. Though she was bestowed the
2008 World indoor title in Valencia, after Yelena Soboleva’s disqualification,
Gelete Burka missed her greatest occasion of glory that same winter at the
World Cross in Edmonton, because of wrong tactics, and on the track, after too
many missed opportunities her moment has past too. Now is the time for her
younger compatriots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Kalkidan Gezahegne,
already a finalist at the 2009 World Summer Champs, solved the animosity the
incident between Natalia Rodríguez and Gelete Burka in <st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state>
had created, beating both of them at the World indoors in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Doha</st1:place></st1:city>. That one was a highly successful winter
for Gezahegne, who also broke both the world junior at the 1500m and the mile.
However an untimely injury broke her meteoric progression. After many months
out of competition, the promising Ethiopian was back in 2011 but then, another
newcomer from her same country, Abeba Aregawi, an athlete based in Sweden, took the spotlight all over the
winter, with four astounding victories in well-known international meetings. Now
Aregawi was believed to become the brand new Ethiopian star but she also fell
injured and missed the entire summer campaign. In Daegu, Gezahegne was the high-placed
athlete of the country in a good 5<sup>th</sup> place but only one year ago she
seemed to be predestined for more. Not selected for Korea, Tizita Bogale, gold
medallist two years before at both Youth Olympic Games and World Junior
Championships, had notwithstanding progressed to a remarkable 4:03.98, during
the season. She should be also an athlete to watch out for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In 2012, all
Gezahegne, Aregawi and Bogale, as good as they are, have been overshadowed by
the stellar campaign of Genzebe Dibaba. With two world titles in Cross Country
and one on the track as a junior, Genzebe had not however deliver in her first
senior competitions in the same impressive fashion her elder sisters Eyegayehu
and Tirunesh did in the past. Being just 18, she was a good 8<sup>th</sup> in <st1:metricconverter productid="2009 in" w:st="on">2009 in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state> at the 5000m, but another 8<sup>th</sup>
placement two years later in Daegu did not really seemed a progression by
Ethiopian standards, specially when compared to long time archrival Mercy Cherono's fifth place. This winter she concentrated her endeavours in the 1500m,
probably to improve on her speed for the 5000m campaign in the summer. However,
after her stunning results during the indoor season, she is likely to keep the
1500m as her pet event. Unbeaten throughout the winter, she culminated her
solid campaign with a sensational victory at the World Championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>, the third Ethiopian
title in a row. Breaking the “follow the leader” family tradition of great
kickers as Derartu and Tirunesh, Genzebe made a groundbreaking display of front
running, progressively increasing the pace to romp home unchallenged. That
victory put her in the map for medal contention in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city>. Last week she launched her summer
season in Shanghai with a still more spectacular display of good running, for a
sensational victory over her reborn compatriot Abeba Aregawi, both dipping for
the first time under the 4-minute barrier. Thus Genzebe Dibaba broke the long
standing Kutre Dulecha’s national record of 3:58.38, lowering it to a world
class 3:57.77. That demonstration put the youngest of the Dibaba clan as firm
favourite for gold at the upcoming London Olympic Games. If Tirunesh fails to
beat Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, maybe Genzebe can still maintain the family at the
top, or maybe we can witness for the first time in many years how two siblings
climb to the top of a track and field podium at the Olympic Games. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="380" width="670"><param name="movie" value="http://www.ethiotube.net/nvlab/player/player.swf?config=http://www.ethiotube.net/nvlab/econfig.php?key=4030c7039f3402fb271e">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
</param>
<embed src="http://www.ethiotube.net/nvlab/player/player.swf?config=http://www.ethiotube.net/nvlab/econfig.php?key=4030c7039f3402fb271e" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" FlashVars="skin=skins/silver" width="670" height="380"></embed></object></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ethiotube.net/video/18460/Genzebe-Dibaba-Wins-1500M-In-Turkey">http://www.ethiotube.net/video/18460/Genzebe-Dibaba-Wins-1500M-In-Turkey</a>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-59107861196608284402012-04-30T05:04:00.000+02:002012-05-03T05:05:51.221+02:00Brittney Reese, when it Matters most<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJv3yacViyJVw03fbMArCE-2LtTEP9pMYCnJQjtX7NOObaZoc1JFXM0G4jx4hHbQNK0M_ypheNNukzXDfEcdmqN2d8aB6UrwWvphmGXr5xjvsRKBYPATIuh8d3HszJnu0R5R5r-O32kTY/s1600/brittney-reese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJv3yacViyJVw03fbMArCE-2LtTEP9pMYCnJQjtX7NOObaZoc1JFXM0G4jx4hHbQNK0M_ypheNNukzXDfEcdmqN2d8aB6UrwWvphmGXr5xjvsRKBYPATIuh8d3HszJnu0R5R5r-O32kTY/s640/brittney-reese.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Brittney Reese, the current dominator of the female long jump event<br /><a href="http://ochocalles.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/britney-reese-un-oro-para-entrar-en-la.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://ochocalles.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/britney-reese-un-oro-para-entrar-en-la.html</span></a>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> She does not get as many highlights in the specialized press as her
compatriots Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross, maybe because she belongs to
a field event. However she is like Felix and Richards a highly successful athlete targeting an elusive first Olympic gold medal. She lacks the sex appeal of her competitor Darya
Klishina and does not have either the knack of the Russian to exploit her nice
looks; yet her performances on the athletic track are for the moment far more
consistent. She became only the second long jumper in defending her summer
world title, after her idol and friend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and for instance the first
one to achieve it indoors. Nevertheless her sensational accomplishment in Daegu
was eventually overshadowed by Nastassia Mironchyk’s ponytail, which prevented
the young Belarusian from getting a medal in the final. She obtained with 7.23m
the longest jump indoors in 23 years, breaking Joyner’s long standing national
record, but Brittney Reese still keeps a low-profile as athlete.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Reese was born in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Inglewood</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>,
the 9<sup>th</sup> September 1986. The place they were living was a rough neighbourhood
so mum, great-grandma and two-year-old daughter moved south to Gulfport, Mississippi,
looking for a better environment for Brittney to grow up. (1) Reese was gifted for
sports but her first love was not long jumping but basketball, maybe from watching her amazing uncles. Leaping was
anyway almost an instinct for her: as easy was climbing an oak tree as dunking
with a ball. However, one day, when Brittney was in her high school junior year in 2003,
she was discovered as an amazing long jumper, winning a coke in the process. Track and field coach
Chris Jones came upon the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gulfport</st1:place></st1:city>
female basket ball team looking for a new member in the long jump event,
offering a drink to the one able to leap the furthest. Every girl gave it a go
with modest results, with the exception of Brittney, who was not considered
because, besides practising basket ball, she was already enrolled in athletics,
in the 400m distance. Reese insisted in trying too and, when she was eventually
allowed, she surprised everybody producing without any previous knowledge of
the discipline a bound of <st1:metricconverter productid="18 feet" w:st="on">18
feet</st1:metricconverter> (<st1:metricconverter productid="5 metres" w:st="on">5
metres</st1:metricconverter> and a half). In disbelief the coach told her to
do it again and she did, winning the coke and the offered spot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Jones did a nice job showing the basics of long jumping to the rookie, who
would progress with him to 6.31. Brittney also contributed in triple jump, high
jump and the relays for her school during the year. The upcoming athlete was in
the radar of </span><st1:place style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ole Miss</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> but she lost
her chance for a scholarship, because she had goofed-off and obtained low
grades in English.</span> Therefore, she had to attend <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Coast</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Community
College</st1:placetype></st1:place> for two years. That establishment did not
have a track and field program and instead Brittney embraced basket ball again.
Then she led the Lady Bulldogs with an average 18 points and 9 rebounds per
game. She made the all-star team and later on was inducted into the school’s hall of fame. (2) Brittney received several basket ball offers
to transfer to small four-year schools, but Ole Miss wanted her for track and
field. At this point, her mother was decisive in the eventual decision. Brittney
could be a good basket ball player but her talent for long jump was superior. Besides
for the latter option she relied exclusively on her own individual talent
instead of depending on team issues. In her teen years, Reese had started many
things, as piano lessons and swimming, which she had given up later half-way. Carla
Young was a healthy influence for her daughter in order to bring her track and
field vocation to the end. (3) And if it illustrates something, Brittney Reese eventually
achieved also a degree in her formerly weakest subject, English. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bqtmiIYOcsI?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bqtmiIYOcsI?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BBPIA">http://www.youtube.com/user/BBPIA</a>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Once in College
Brittney Reese focused in track and field and gave up basketball, which she
recognises to miss a lot. However, the practise of her former sport was ideal
for her long jump development. “In the long jump, you want to lift one knee
upward, toward your chest, to help drive your body upward during a jump. I have
always done this quite well, and it is probably because basketball players make
the same move — lifting one knee upward — when driving for a layup.” (3) Since
her days in <st1:placename w:st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype>, Brittney had the chance of being guided by
one of the most respected long jump coaches in the country, Joe Walker, who has
had an athlete in every <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>
Olympic team since <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>
1976, with the only exception of the 2004 edition. Yet, as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Walker</st1:place></st1:city> remembers, his best option, the then
World indoor champion Savanté Stringfellow was injured for the Games. For
Reese, Joe Walker is someone really special, more a paternal figure than a
coach. She has grown as an elite athlete with him and it is remarkable how
close they are: they have been through a lot together. As a coach, Brittney
points out Joe’s ability to automatically detect what is wrong in the execution
of her jumps and find the means to correct it. (4) On the other hand, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Walker</st1:place></st1:city> states how amazing
to work with her most talented athlete is for him. He says Brittney Reese has rejuvenated
him: he feels now the same as when he was in his twenties, the same excitement he
had when he produced his first world class jumper Larry Myricks back in the
1970s. Brittney is a humble, fun, nice, easy to talk person, but yet a very
fierce competitor, </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 30.75pt;">who was fittingly nicknamed “the Beast.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> (5) </span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> It was quite impressive
the quick rise to the world elite of Brittney Reese in her freshman and
sophomore years with the Rebels, in an event she had scarcely practised
previously. During that period she proved to be an especially solid competitor,
winning 23 out of 31 finals, including Collegian victories at SEC, Drake Relays
and two NCAA titles. In 2008 she got to perform consistently in the 6.75-6.80
range throughout the year. (6) With those credentials she went beyond NCAA level to
climb to national and international stardom. She qualified for the 2007 World
Championships in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Osaka</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;">,
where she achieved a good 8</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> place in her major debut. Then won
the national Olympic trials, confronting successfully a tricky wind and the
pressure of the outing. In </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;" w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> the new </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> number one
in the discipline led the qualifiers with a jump of 6.87m. However in the final
she could only accomplish a 5</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> place, with a 6.76m best. As
Brittney pointed out she paid the toll of a long NCAA campaign, competing in
uncountable outings in long jump, high jump, 4x100m relays and also
sporadically in the triple jump and speed events to score maximum points for
the Mississippi Rebels. In the most important moment of her track and field career she was just
tired. (4) Reese was devastated because of her failure to clinch a medal in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> and burst in
tears, alone in the back of the bus which brought the athletes to the Olympic
village. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 30.75pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/janay-deloach-2012-track-field-2012-iaaf-qIo6Qp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="600" src="http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/janay-deloach-2012-track-field-2012-iaaf-qIo6Qp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Janay Deloach, the darkhorse for London Olympic Games final<br /><a href="http://www.exposay.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.exposay.com</span></a></span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After the Olympic
year, Joe Walker advised Reese to become professional in order to avoid the strenuous
NCAA calendar and also to meet contenders all over the year according with her
level. (7) The athlete found quickly a sponsorship through Nike. The decision
proved right and the 24<sup>th</sup> May in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Belem</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
she overcame for the first time the 7m barrier. Coming into her second World
Championships as the favourite, she delivered to the expectations, winning the
most important title of her young career. After Heike Drechsler, who won at the
inaugural edition of the contest with her maiden name Daute still being a
junior and shooting star Tianna Madison who clinched gold aged 20, Brittney was
the youngest winner of the Championship with 22 years. (8) And it was only the
beginning… In <st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> long jumper
showed again to the world her competitiveness when put under pressure by a
stunning performance of one of her rivals: Multi-champion Tatyana Lebedeva had
leaped to 6.97m to overcome the 6.93m Reese’s initial effort. Then the American
immediately responded with an excellent 7.10m, only one centimetre short of the
championship record which set Drechsler when she won her second title in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Stuttgart</st1:place></st1:city> <st1:metricconverter productid="1993. In" w:st="on">1993. In</st1:metricconverter> the same fashion,
Reese would produce her massive leap of 7.23m in this year’s world indoors in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>, in answer to
Janay Deloach’s 6.98m. Also had not her inopportune ponytail ruined the 6.90m+
jump of Mironchyk-Ivanova, Brittney would have arguably risen to the challenge
with another 7.00m effort. Not feeling the danger, the current number one had
enough with her first attempt of 6.82m and fouled each one of her other five jumps for an unbelievable victory just like Dwight Phillips in Helsinki
2005. (9) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 30.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">There was plenty of
talk about Brittney Reese’s victory in Berlin Worlds with her far from perfect
technique, widening her stride instead of shortening it in the last two steps
of her running approach and making a standing landing in her winning jump. If
she got to jump 7.10m this way, what could had she done with a fine technique?
(10) Reese seems another athlete basing her triumphs in her awesome speed and
power: she has run the 100m in a valid 11.66 and an 11.2 windy and has a high
jump PB of 1.88 from her school years. However the athlete herself is conscious
of her weakness in the last stages of her approach and landing and has been
working hard in the last couple of seasons with visible improvement and it is
also worth to say in 2009 she was still very new in the event. Besides she
acknowledged precisely lack of speed, an excessive deceleration, in the last
two strides of her approach. Today Brittney’s technique looks much better,
simple but rather effective, especially her great take-off and fly, which
starts with a powerful right knee drive, and follows with both her arms going
symmetrically backwards then forwards, while the bent-legs get stretched simultaneously to the action of the arms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB">Since her victory at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, Brittney
Reese has been the overwhelming dominator of the long jump event, grabbing
every major title at stake. She has also achieved seven of the twelve jumps
beyond the 7m barrier in this four-year Olympic cycle, coming the other five
from Russians Klishina (two), Kolchanova, Zaytseva and Kucherenko (one a piece).
The American is amazingly consistent and has been rarely beaten in the circuit.
For the Olympic Games in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
she is clearly the favourite to grab the only title she has not got yet. Her
rivals will be as always the members of the Russian school, especially Olga
Kucherenko, medallist at both last European and World Championships and Darya
Klishina if she gets stability in big challenges. Not to be forgotten are
veteran Latvian Ineta Radevica, in her best moment ever, upcoming Brit Shara
Proctor, and ponytail-girl Mironchyk-Ivanova, while reigning champion
Higa-Maggi will get ready to defend her title. However, if we look to head to
head matches, the most fearsome rival for Reese can be her compatriot Janay
Deloach. This one is another intriguing jumper who grew up in far away <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:state>. In her high
school years she only had the opportunity of 2-6 meetings a year and her lack
of competition brought to a shock when she moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Colorado</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Janay used to
jump just for the scholarship money but a competition in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:place></st1:city>, in which she almost beat the then
American number one Grace Upshaw, awoke her passion for the sport and she has
quickly risen since. (11) Her upset victory over Reese at the national indoor
championship last year in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Albuquerque</st1:place></st1:city>,
where she delivered a huge 6.99 PB, meant her breakthrough into the elite when
she was already 25. Then she finished 6<sup>th</sup> in Daegu and, after
repeating victory over the world number one at the US indoor champs, she pushed
the pressure on her to eventually end runner-up in Istanbul. Since her triumph
in Berlin Worlds, Brittney Reese rarely loses a long jump competition. Some
athletes has got to beat her once but Janay Deloach has done it no less than
five times in the last two seasons for a narrow head-to-head lose 5-6 against
the four times world champion since they clash last year in Albuquerque. (12) If
someone is to produce a huge surprise at the Olympics it might be the girl from
Ben Eielson, <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:state>. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Out of the track,
Brittney Reese is a girl who likes a quiet life at home surrounded by her close
family. She is also known by her philanthropic activities. Last Thanks Giving
Day she donated 100 turkeys to various homeless and religious organizations in
her community of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gulfport</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Mississippi</st1:state></st1:place> as her way of "giving
back" to the community that has supported her throughout her athletic
career. Brittney is also really fond of tattoos. “I have tons of tattoos. I
have on my right wrist, 'Philippians 4:13,' basically that says I can do all
things through Christ. That is my favourite tattoo. On my other wrist, I have
the word, 'Believe' with a moon and a star on it. The reason I have that tattoo
is my mom gave me a necklace, and it had the word 'Believe' on it, and it had
the moon and star, but the necklace I had broke. I just never got it fixed. I
like the necklace, so I just got it tattooed. I have the Olympic rings on my
chest with the word 'Beast.' My nickname for track and field, I got it in
college, is B-Reese the Beast. I have track shoes and some footprints on my
back left shoulder from when my great grandma died. She is the reason why we
moved to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gulfport</st1:place></st1:city>
(Miss.). She passed away a few years ago, and I got that because her favourite
song was 'Order My Steps.' Now I have a cross with a dove under it, and that
symbolizes everyone that I have known that has passed away, on my right arm. On
the inside of my arm, I have 'Born a Champion.' I got that because I feel that
I have been successful all my life. I just got that because I like those words.
On my stomach, I have 'Live Life Love Family.' That is just mainly because I am
a family person. I base my life around my family. (4) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://athlenews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/brittney-reese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://athlenews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/brittney-reese.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Brittney Reese achieved in Istanbul the best long jump indoors in 23 years<br /><a href="http://athlenews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/brittney-reese.jpg"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://athlenews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/brittney-reese.jpg</span></a></span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1) <a href="http://www.spikesmag.com/features/brittneyreesefromdunkingtojumping.aspx">http://www.spikesmag.com/features/brittneyreesefromdunkingtojumping.aspx</a>
<br />
(2) <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/nick_zaccardi/01/10/Brittney-Reese-Olympics/index.html">http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/nick_zaccardi/01/10/Brittney-Reese-Olympics/index.html</a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div>
(3) <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/20/sports/la-sp-oly-track-reese-20120421">http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/20/sports/la-sp-oly-track-reese-20120421</a></div>
<div>
(4) <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/nick_zaccardi/01/10/Brittney-Reese-Q-and-A/index.html">http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/nick_zaccardi/01/10/Brittney-Reese-Q-and-A/index.html</a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/071708aab.html">http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/071708aab.html</a>
<br />
(6) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=32772&Season=2008&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=32772&Season=2008&Odd=33</a><br />
(7) <a href="http://thedmonline.com/article/former-rebel-athlete-breaks-american-record-and-sets-her-sights-summer-olympics">http://thedmonline.com/article/former-rebel-athlete-breaks-american-record-and-sets-her-sights-summer-olympics</a><br />
<div>
(8) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/HistoryGoldMedalsDetail.aspx?id=54088">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/HistoryGoldMedalsDetail.aspx?id=54088</a></div>
<div>
(9) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61470">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61470</a></div>
<div>
(10) <a href="http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36995&start=35">http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36995&start=35</a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(11) <a href="http://janaydeloach.com/biography/">http://janaydeloach.com/biography/</a>
<br />
(12) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=330&at1=32772&at2=29203&season=1999&B1=Enviar">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=330&at1=32772&at2=29203&season=1999&B1=Enviar</a>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-26242740476983735732012-04-12T18:21:00.001+02:002012-04-13T04:06:13.905+02:00"Champs" 2012: Looking for the Real Thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_8y14Quip_COxl5re74UXWrWV6grg9RnMMFSHuywF0bKYBMCGeDRVu0xAiV3npqx8AN3PcYNB4L9kLVt1qMsxFqZJ0x_-wgznkWYawUI3OJj1H89BVS8y9-Iab7lcAHX8ZZti-o3FGsD/s1600/_53033585_boltchamps1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_8y14Quip_COxl5re74UXWrWV6grg9RnMMFSHuywF0bKYBMCGeDRVu0xAiV3npqx8AN3PcYNB4L9kLVt1qMsxFqZJ0x_-wgznkWYawUI3OJj1H89BVS8y9-Iab7lcAHX8ZZti-o3FGsD/s640/_53033585_boltchamps1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Usain Bolt supports his school William Knibb High at Champs</span><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17372603"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17372603</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> astonished the world when they tallied six gold medals at the sprint athletic events, including a clean sweep of the women’s 100m dash by Shelly-Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson and the unbelievable records achieved by “lightning” Bolt. In successive years this island of scarcely 3 million of inhabitants has kept its dominance of the sprints scene, relegating the </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">USA</place></country-region><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> to second fiddle, Usain Bolt is currently the biggest track and field star and also noteworthy is the growing depth of the country at the 100m and 200m in both sex categories. All those achievements have attired many specialists in the sport from all over the world who are trying to find the key of this sensational Jamaican success, in the same way they travel to Iten in order to discover the formula of long distance Kenyan runners.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Undoubtedly researchers have initially focused in the foremost athlete of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region>, the 25<sup>th</sup> year-old living legend. Bolt grew up in the mountainous region of Trelawny, in the <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">North West</place></state> of the island. Like many children in the country, the future record holder had to walk several miles daily in order to reach school through the hills, so he acquired an athletic conditioning not even noticing. Aunt Lilly points out also to the delicious yam and banana dishes she still prepares for him. (1) Bolt’s diet based in rich and complex carbohydrates would be the secret of his astounding performances, though the athlete himself has often argued he does not follow any special diet, unless it is his famous combination of chicken nuggets and Guinness. The man who has run the 100m in 9.58sec and the 200m in 19.19sec has also his own theory about the formidable success of his country in track and field: </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">"It is confidence. We are a confident people; we love winning and to be the best at whatever we do, so we work hard to achieve it." (1) This explanation fits with studies as the ones of Rachel Irving, Professor from the <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">University</placetype> of <placename w:st="on">Western Indies</placename></place>, who states a lot of Jamaicans have high levels of serotonin, the “speed gene” in their bodies. "Serotonin determines mental toughness. If your level is high, you have a special gene; you tend to be very determined, aggressive." (1)</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4BM9wy0coW1OLHdgM1Rcb1nBnuryWzkpKIfPu6mp5MSBIwmLaizMGoySAkO9PF9RRSDzN1tn8caKITaG6iZrVP1gDN9dNK74VvYVSKwdt-ca_1gIynWteXa54J0xt7PAZWQ5V_XKWNKZ/s1600/delanowins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4BM9wy0coW1OLHdgM1Rcb1nBnuryWzkpKIfPu6mp5MSBIwmLaizMGoySAkO9PF9RRSDzN1tn8caKITaG6iZrVP1gDN9dNK74VvYVSKwdt-ca_1gIynWteXa54J0xt7PAZWQ5V_XKWNKZ/s640/delanowins.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Munro's Delano Williams the new sprint sensation in the Caribbean<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Genetics, natural food rich in carbohydrates, running to school… It does not sound familiar? I think we have already heard that about Kenyan athletes one thousand million times lately. Yet if we dig deeply we can discover peculiar circumstances in Jamaican track and field we cannot find anywhere else in the world. As in <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region>, athletics is in the third largest island of the <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> the national sport. Suffice to say all 55 medals the country has accomplished at the Olympics but one were won in track and field, and every kid dreams he will become the next Usain Bolt, in the same way Brazilian children want to be like Pelé or Ronaldinho. As in the East African country there is also a long and outstanding tradition of practice of the sport and triumphs at the Olympic Games. Yet in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> this tradition goes back even further in time. <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region> was not seriously involved with track and field until British colonizers, notably through the tireless work of John Velzian, instilled the practice of the sport in the 1950s and the first Olympic gold medals did not come until <metricconverter productid="1968 in" w:st="on">1968 in</metricconverter> <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mexico</place></country-region>. On the other hand, <country-region w:st="on">Jamaica</country-region> had already completed a 1-2 at the 400m, thanks to Arthur Wint and Herbert McKenley, the first time they entered the Olympic Games, as an independent country, in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> 1948. Furthermore, track and field practice inside <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> has very deep roots, and the foremost example is the ISSA Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls’ Championships, locally known simply as “Champs,” which is the oldest and most popular manifestation of its kind in the world. Interestingly, the <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> holds the two most prestigious track and field youth competitions in the world, being the other Carifta Games. The Champs, staged every year since 1910 with the only interruption of 1944, have been decisive in the formative years of every athlete of note in the island: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, Lennox Miller, Don Quarrie, Bert Cameron, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Sandie Richards, Deon Hemmings, Trecia Smith, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Melaine Walker, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson… all grew up as runners at Champs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left; text-indent: 47px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/images/PaulAnnGayleB20120328IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/images/PaulAnnGayleB20120328IA.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Paul-Ann Gayle set a new Champs record at the discus Class-3<br />Photo: ian Allen<br /><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/sports4.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/sports4.html</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Champs are in the heart of arguably the most intense, consistent and organized track and field program to be found anywhere in the world. Furthermore there is no activity in the public or private sector in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> as well established and successful as athletics, thanks to the long experience of instruction, management and administration of track and field all over a century. (2) No sportive event in the country awakes as much passion as Champs, which are called for a reason the mini-Olympics. Every year the weekend before Easter an enthusiastic crowd of 30.000 spectators gather at the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kingston</place></city> national stadium to support their favourite high school. There are four different age groups among the boys and three among the girls but, speaking about scores, the victory of a 14-year-old athlete Class-3 contributes for his school with as many points as the triumph of an already-19 veteran Class-1. Through exposure to tremendous competition and an excited crowd, the young athlete, who sees Champs as an opportunity to escape poverty, learns from an early age to deal with pressure and also develops a right aptitude for hard work, discipline, perseverance and team spirit. Champs prepare youngsters for big-time competition and as Usain Bolt says if you can win at Champs you can do it everywhere. No wonder Jamaican squads as Wolmer’s, Munro and <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> among the boys, and also Edwin Allen, Vere Tech and Holmwood among the girls, had no match in US high schools in the last edition of Penn Relays and expect the same for this year.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEazyRRq1y4jdJmRzeh06Abkiv0IDaqGmHD0yRLGf3lF7GStZfUxKLtsHkKqKYh9mMqOTQaKyU-V0zsgEA6qfpW_l2mqVZobNSwCfngDo9P0BiNB8uG8CWwhPZHP1a_SPi2vqhFqsjKAu/s1600/ChampsZZD2011402IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEazyRRq1y4jdJmRzeh06Abkiv0IDaqGmHD0yRLGf3lF7GStZfUxKLtsHkKqKYh9mMqOTQaKyU-V0zsgEA6qfpW_l2mqVZobNSwCfngDo9P0BiNB8uG8CWwhPZHP1a_SPi2vqhFqsjKAu/s400/ChampsZZD2011402IA.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Spalding's Simoya Campbell leads the new generation of<br />Jamaican middle distance runners<br /><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110423/sports/sports3.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110423/sports/sports3.html</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">110m hurdles legend Colin Jackson, one of the many former athletes who never miss his annual date with Champs, describes accurately the socio-cultural relevance of the most important competition in the Jamaican sportive calendar: "I have been to a few championships in my time, and, you know, the Olympics, the worlds and the Europeans are all pretty good. They are OK. But this is different. This is Champs. When you come here you see the real root of the sport. The Jamaican kids have such desire to compete. It is incredible. And the knowledge of the crowds is fantastic. Inside that stadium will be women in their mid-60s who will be able to discuss the form of all these school stars. It illustrates the knowledge and commitment you find at Champs. I go into stadiums in the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">UK</place></country-region> and I can tell you that spectators will not even know the names of the major stars in our sport – never mind high-school runners. At Champs you get to understand how deeply ingrained track and field is in this nation. My parents are both Jamaican, and I was brought up with Jamaican culture, but I still could not understand why they had this passion for the sport. It was only when I came to Champs that I finally understood. This is Athletics in its purest state." (3)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Usain Bolt went from big success at Champs, defending the colors of his school William Knibb High, to international stardom and so did many others. The last one for the moment is 100m gold medalist in Daegu Yohan Blake, who competing for St Jago established the current Champs record at the 100m in Class-</span><metricconverter productid="1 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">1 in</metricconverter><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> 2007 (10.21), just one week before setting a new national junior best at Carifta (10.11) and also owns the Class-2 record at the distance. Notwithstanding, there is not straight line from Champs to Olympics and World Championships. Deon Hemmings, the first Jamaican female Olympic champion never shone at Champs and neither did Sherone Simpson. Shelly-Ann Fraser struggled to win her only scholar gold medal for Wolmer’s in 2004. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-100-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/one-thousand-reasons.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://moti-athletics-100-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/one-thousand-reasons.html</a> <span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">On the other hand Champs dominating forces as Calabar’s “little warrior” Daniel England never made it to the senior ranks while other quarter milers of his time with lower profiles as Michael Blackwood and Danny McFarlane were quite successful years afterwards. (4) Yet most important than victories for the likes of Blackwood, McFarlane, Hemmings, Simpson and Fraser were the tough lessons they learned while competing at Champs. Asafa Powell’s inability to hold his nerve in major championships is easily explainable for his lack of competitive experience at Champs. He belonged to a small school, Charlemont High in St Catherine. They only made it once to Champs and Asafa got disqualified due to a false start. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kp-fFmhPZnHUc2PpQ78h5zW6GzgTkETPkVL6BAxK3uQ_TEXxRlcO9xkTX4AK7o92UlZszt7ATGF78tmqo1ABxPxvcI7H4G2WBgcmG4XNMRFkALsrDAN2dmAFx-GHOi-ZkdPLSW5rueFe/s1600/Sanj+D+Powell-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kp-fFmhPZnHUc2PpQ78h5zW6GzgTkETPkVL6BAxK3uQ_TEXxRlcO9xkTX4AK7o92UlZszt7ATGF78tmqo1ABxPxvcI7H4G2WBgcmG4XNMRFkALsrDAN2dmAFx-GHOi-ZkdPLSW5rueFe/s640/Sanj+D+Powell-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Sanj Powell wins the 800m Class-1 for Kingston College</span><br />
<a href="http://www.trackalerts.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.trackalerts.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Nevertheless, whatever it is the leading man in this sensational Jamaican emergence as world sprint powerhouse was not Usain Bolt but Asafa Powell. The eternal loser in big competition was however the first Jamaican athlete in history who smashed the world record at the king event of the 100m when he sensationally clocked <metricconverter productid="9.77 in" w:st="on">9.77 in</metricconverter> Athína in 2005 to dethrone Moe Greene. Thereafter he became the role model for thousand of kids in the island and he kept its place until the arrival of Bolt. Furthermore, Asafa Powell did something even more important for the future of national track and field: despite being tempted by uncountable <country-region w:st="on">US</country-region> colleges offers, Asafa set the precedent of staying in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region>, along with hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton. They joined the then little-known MVP Track Club to be trained by local coach Stephen Francis. Their example would be spread to the newest generation so currently most of the leading exponents of Jamaican track and field are staying in the island, either at </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">MVP (Powell, Foster-Hylton, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Melaine Walker, Shericka Williams, Kaliese Spencer, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter, Carrie Russel, Dexter Lee) or at Racers Track Club under Glenn Mills (Bolt, Yohan Blake, Jermaine Gonzales, Ricardo Chambers, Marvin Anderson, Kenroy Anderson, Kimmari Roach, Rosemarie Whyte, Schillonie Calvert, Shereefa Lloyd, Davita Prendergast, Nickiesha Wilson, Ristananna Tracey). Traditionally, Champs used to be a showcase for US Universities to scout Jamaican talent. Nowadays, both Francis and Mills are considered among the best sprint coaches in the world and local promising runners do not see anymore the need to travel abroad to study and make an athletic career. Instead, an increasing number of sprinters from all the Caribbean and Central America as Antigua’s Daniel Bailey, <country-region w:st="on">Barbados</country-region>’ Andrew Hinds or <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Honduras</place></country-region>’ Rolando Palacios get enrolled by Jamaican teams, attracted by the prestige of its coaches. The creation of the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">G.C.</placename> <placename w:st="on">Foster</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> in St Catherine in 1980 and an IAAF high performance centre in 2001, by a government increasingly interested in investing in sport, were decisive in the formation of excellent Jamaican elite coaches and the nurturing of local talent. (2)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7UUG5iX-85EdjueCcaXx-khkM7Bs0UId1l7BKgx5Lzrh555EWP_OYQbXfR2vnofaWaAWC6yL-Zg3LTZbSxkrQNzY6Xwzu6lMX0YPLN3_3T5S1Qj9ZbBlq0fVZvYkZxXo2DxOP_H4Y_VH/s1600/60556_FULL-PRTdacres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7UUG5iX-85EdjueCcaXx-khkM7Bs0UId1l7BKgx5Lzrh555EWP_OYQbXfR2vnofaWaAWC6yL-Zg3LTZbSxkrQNzY6Xwzu6lMX0YPLN3_3T5S1Qj9ZbBlq0fVZvYkZxXo2DxOP_H4Y_VH/s640/60556_FULL-PRTdacres.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fredrick Dacres competing at the 2011 World Youth Championships<br />in Lille, where he won gold for Jamaica<br />Photo: Getty Images <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/">http://www.iaaf.org/</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">With its usual display of rough talent and fierce competition, the 102nd edition of the ISSA Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls’ championships were held last week at the Kingston national stadium, in a colorful party-like atmosphere, which can be easily related to last soccer World Cup in South Africa, firstly because of the presence of hundreds of grating vuvuzelas, secondly because of its craziness on the stands. Special guest were, among several other track and field stars, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Veronica Campbell and also Jamaican-born Sanya Richards-Ross, who participated in the modest but emotive and full of rhythm and dancing inaugural ceremony. In spite of its long history, only sixteen different schools had previously won the contest, counting both sex categories. At the boys’, Kingston College (31 titles), Calabar (22) and Jamaica College (21) had amassed 74 out of the 101 overall victories, while Vere Technical had tallied 22 triumphs, since the girls’ joined Champs in </span><metricconverter productid="1961. In" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">1961. In</metricconverter><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> the last category, the invincible Holmwood Tech was keeping a 9-victory streak, only inferior to </span><place style="text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">’s 14 consecutive triumphs from 1962 to 1975 and Vere Tech’s 15 titles between 1979 and 1993. This year, after narrow loses in past editions, Edwin Allen became the 17</span><sup style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> winner of the Champs, defeating overwhelmingly 9-time female defending champions Holmwood for more than 100 points, while Calabar boys struck its 23</span><sup style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> victory in a much closer contest, to celebrate the 100</span><sup style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> anniversary of its foundation. Unfortunately awkward weather with gusts of headwind over 5m/sec ruined the achievement of good marks.</span> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Edwin Allen High was launched in <metricconverter productid="1964 in" w:st="on">1964 in</metricconverter> deep rural Frankfield, Clarendon, as an all-girl establishment. For years the school just participated at Champs with the target of getting a couple of single medals but the arrival of principal Elroy Ricketts in the 1980s changed the philosophy of the team. Rickets envisaged to build-up a first class squad in sports, which triumphs would also help develop the infrastructures of the school, so important for the whole small farming community. Michael Dyke was engaged in 1991 as head coach for the ambitious project and gradually the school has been making the way to the elite. (6) In 2010 Edwin Allen lost to Holmwood Tech by 13 points. The following year the Frankfield girls were red-hot favorites but despite an impressive display of Ristananna Tracey, who won three events and set a championship record at the 400m hurdles, misfortune and some bad tactics made them lost the title by only six points, when Holmwood managed better the pressure and showed why they were the champions for nearly a decade. (7) The same Ristananna, a semifinalist in Daegu who graduated from school and was enrolled by Racers Track Club, announced the victory for 2012 Champs of Edwin Allen. She saw more determination, a entirely new attitude in her former mates: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">"I think some of the athletes were not serious enough about it, or probably they did not really believe that we could win in previous years so they did not take it as serious as they should have, or fight to the end as they could have, but that is different this year." (8) </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucjbddZmEBTSBbjX8DEIB2eK1oxEzFddIdJG46CP55vV6Io1vcsHkiCjnsE2FlfrHd0XxEvu40WWbwnK_kkhGcJPjBJe82JZQpzDim68gj4xthJG-_Q5REyMK2M5WyWnuFzah7buq0VeI/s1600/oharo110h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucjbddZmEBTSBbjX8DEIB2eK1oxEzFddIdJG46CP55vV6Io1vcsHkiCjnsE2FlfrHd0XxEvu40WWbwnK_kkhGcJPjBJe82JZQpzDim68gj4xthJG-_Q5REyMK2M5WyWnuFzah7buq0VeI/s640/oharo110h.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Michael O'Haro wins big for Calabar at the 2012 ISSA Boys and Girls' Champs</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.daylife.com/photo/0dXU0IA9U560F?__site=daylife&q=Usain+Bolt">http://www.daylife.com/photo/0dXU0IA9U560F?__site=daylife&q=Usain+Bolt</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Edwin Allen went ahead since the very first day, when discus throwers Tara-Sue Barnett and Danniel Thomas achieved gold and silver at the Class-1 final, after breaking the championship record in several occasions. Eventually, Barnett would prevail over her mate 50.76m to 50.42m. It was followed by another 1-2 and another record at the 2000m steeplechase by Desreen Montaque and Atara Segree. Edwin Allen would never relinquish the overall first place and would gradually increase their gap over Holmwood. Meanwhile, the defending champions’ leader Chris-Ann Gordon, who had run a massive 51.62 at last year champs, tore her hamstring. The Pan American junior gold medallist withdrawal meant a real shock for the moral of the team. As decorated Holmwood Technical coach Maurice Wilson argued, “Chris-Ann’s injury killed the spirit in the camp.” From then on the unbeatable champions played second fiddle to Edwin Allen as experienced multi-events specialist Janeive Russell, who was not able to win any of the three finals she entered. One of Dyke’s standouts, Christania Williams, the World youth bronze medallist, also suffered a cramp at the 100m Class-2 final but still could hold her competitors and defend her title, before setting out of Champs and Carifta. Anyway Edwin Allen had many other cards to play in the contest. Quite a lot boys and girls suffered injuries during this year Champs like Gordon and Williams. It was rare the race a stretcher was not needed to help out some of the competitors. It is the flip-side of this exciting Champs which show athletics in its purest state. Youngsters who still have not attained their maturity, neither physically nor mentally, over train for eight months to reach their best at Champs; then they enthusiastically participate in as many events as possible in order to score for the team. No less than Glenn Mills denounced this situation which risks burn-up the athlete before he even meets the senior ranks. In the words of the reputed Race Track Club coach, most of Jamaican runners who eventually make the World championship and Olympic finals belong to minor high schools not involved in the fight for Champs overall title. (9) Already, the number of events an athlete can compete in was limited in girls’ Class-4, but restrictions should been applied to the other age categories as well. Also maybe Champs and Carifta are too close in time.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqx9hrYxdPYHvytl57cL7GESOuvXJa3eZ0XmsIBN7ltNMBssOLl0GLqklUrF1z4Q9tkJv_CcRscFI4MmhL6rLTGJ8elIQeAuahAZEvM6uT3dlj_3hMZKewvnTw-APeFCSZ1M_RzbSdhQbs/s1600/55783shericka+jackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqx9hrYxdPYHvytl57cL7GESOuvXJa3eZ0XmsIBN7ltNMBssOLl0GLqklUrF1z4Q9tkJv_CcRscFI4MmhL6rLTGJ8elIQeAuahAZEvM6uT3dlj_3hMZKewvnTw-APeFCSZ1M_RzbSdhQbs/s640/55783shericka+jackson.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shericka Jackson won three gold medals at 2012 Champs<br />Photo: <a href="http://www.trackalerts.com/">http://www.trackalerts.com/</a><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=55782.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=55782.html</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Danniel Thomas, who transferred from Frome Technical two years ago, led Edwin Allen’s victory following up her silver at the discus with a gold medal at the shot put and the javelin. She was the athlete, both male and female, who tallied more points for her team, with a total of 25. Another thrower, Paul-Ann Gayle, scored big points too for the Frankfield-based squad, achieving the discus Class-3 victory with a new Champs record (42.28m). After Marleena Eubanks emphatic victory at the 1500m Class-2, Christania Williams at the 100m Class-2, Shellece Clark at the same event in Class-4, and the valuable contribution of the rest of the team, Edwin Allen finished the penultimate day with an advantage of 76 points over second-placed Holmwood Tech, almost sealing their victory. In the final day, a confident and highly motivated Edwin Allen just increased their gap, tallying 330 points, to finish well ahead of Holmwood (207), St Yago (164) and Vere Technical High (133). Eubanks completed the middle distance double, while Saqukine Cameron won gold at the 200m Class-2 and silver at the 400m in the same session and Aalayiah Hopkins struck the victory at the 200m Class-4. There was no hassle anymore for the relay events but still the youngest members of the team accomplished a sensational victory at the 4x100m. Now Michael Dyke talks about founding a dynasty as strong as Holmwood’s and reign at Champs for as many years. As for now they are keeping almost the whole team for the next high school championship, with the exception of Danniel Thomas, Desreen Montaque and Shawnette Lewin, and the succession is guaranteed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Calabar high school, the winner at the boys’ competition, was established back in 1912 at theRed Hills Road by the Jamaica Baptist Union, for the sons of Baptist ministers and the children of poor black. Interestingly the school was named after the former slave port Calabar in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Nigeria</place></country-region>. The institution had won Champs for the last time in 2008. This time around, in the 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary of their foundation they had one of the most successful years of their long sportive history, grabbing also the Schools’ challenge Quiz title during the weekend for the sensational double victory which is called “Quamps.” And there was still a third title in rugby. For acclaimed head coach Michael Clarke it was his 11<sup>th</sup> overall victory at Champs. Previously he had won once with St Jago, then seven times with <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Jamaican</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> and two others with the “Lions.” Clarke was elated after claiming Champs title back and praised athletes and everyone related to Calabar for the victory: "It is a mammoth achievement to get as many as 287 points in this very competitive era, where there are so many teams with a lot of talent, but it just shows the enormous resilience of Calabar, the coaching staff, management crew; I think we have the best management crew and coaching staff in Jamaica." (10)</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaGKHCzF99z_Hhwv7U7Jt4j-vjU9lWDLkzkl3j8WaGsRH62kGRZQzhCkWGRBwHwHrbBdyuqQghXodV5e6CkzU18itejMTcCW3fR5pMCdr7VOyx4eS0wG7T6N48zmY7UosDJf9II_jBIGH/s1600/Christoffe-Bryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaGKHCzF99z_Hhwv7U7Jt4j-vjU9lWDLkzkl3j8WaGsRH62kGRZQzhCkWGRBwHwHrbBdyuqQghXodV5e6CkzU18itejMTcCW3fR5pMCdr7VOyx4eS0wG7T6N48zmY7UosDJf9II_jBIGH/s640/Christoffe-Bryan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Christoffe Bryant, the teen who erased Germaine Mason from the record Books</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120223/sports/sports5.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120223/sports/sports5.html</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">The boys’ 2012 edition of Champs was one of the most thrilling competitions in years, with all three teams who have traditionally dominated the contest, defending champions <placename w:st="on">Jamaica</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype>, <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> and Calabar, entangled in a hot battle for the final victory. The lions entered the decisive Saturday evening session 16.5 points ahead archrivals <placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype> and 29.5 over <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Jamaica</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place>. The 400m races showed just how concerned every contender was in that dramatic battle of blood, sweat and tears. In Class-3, Calabar’s Aykeem Francis and KC’s Jhevaughan Matterson fought for the victory until the limit of their forces to the point the latter fell on the ground extenuated with <metricconverter productid="5 metres" w:st="on">5 metres</metricconverter> to go, to eventually end up 8<sup>th</sup>. In another contested race, Javon Francis from the Red Hills’-based squad made another superhuman effort to upset hot-favourite Lennox Williams of Manchester High. He was so tired at the end he hardly could speak to journalists. Then Michael O’Haro, third the previous day at the 100m, won full of power the 110m hurdles Class-2. Yet Arkansas-bound Stefan Fennell responded for <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place>, defeating long time archrival Yannick Hart of Wolmer’s in Class-1. While <placename w:st="on">Jamaica</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype> was falling behind, <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> tried to react at the 800m event. (11) Calabar’s Chevenne Hamilton victory in Class-3 was followed by two straight victories of their challengers: first Chad Miller won in Class-2; then Sanj Powell, who had broken the 2000m steeplechase record in the inaugural day, proved his outstanding shape with another victory in Class-1, while his mate Alex Saunders clinched bronze. However, O’Haro was determined to become Calabar’s hero and beat again consummate specialists at the 200m Rohan Walker and Devaughn Baker, both of J.C. Calabar arrived to the decisive relay races with a comfortable 45-points-gap but the team started to feel the pressure. In the medley relay, <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> finished first in a final Calabar, which had miscalculated its forces, had not qualified for. Then they also won at the 4x100m Class-1, while the leaders ended up in the last spot. After a good second place in Class-2, after record breakers J.C. and a mishap in the exchange of the baton of Calabar, <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kingston</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place> had shortened up the gap to 3 points. Again came to Clarke’’s charges minds past fears and memories of recent failures at Champs: in 2009 they had finished just 1.5 behind K.C. and one year later they threw away another title after a string of mistakes. (12)</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrCzVl_4sy60U8tOLDB_ezVRsQEMDBl62U9BwwR8XI1Nj-iWukIMdfxqUoCxD0dRZ9crOH6FQvcoUZzZFVbi1PFkX6MCTyvt1mlKYE9vXM7Bzw1E23AvYQguXNtXS5hd_i1NPHDXYfTou/s1600/ChampsB20120330RM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img border="0" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrCzVl_4sy60U8tOLDB_ezVRsQEMDBl62U9BwwR8XI1Nj-iWukIMdfxqUoCxD0dRZ9crOH6FQvcoUZzZFVbi1PFkX6MCTyvt1mlKYE9vXM7Bzw1E23AvYQguXNtXS5hd_i1NPHDXYfTou/s640/ChampsB20120330RM.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Manchester High's Chanice Porter set two Champs records in jump events<br />Photo: Ricardo Makyn<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120331/lead/lead1.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120331/lead/lead1.html</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Fortunately, glad news arrived from the field events: Demar Robinson had won the high jump Class-1 and, over all, Fredrick Dacres grabbed his second gold medal at the shot put, with Ashinia Miller clinching the bronze, and Shamar Kitson and Andre Beckford emulated the feat at the Discus Class-2, for a huge 30-points-tally. It is amazing, in a country with such solid reputation in the sprints all around the world, Champs had to be won at the throwing circle but this is what happened. Julian Robinson is doing an amazing job and, when Traves Smikle and Chad Wright are just reached the senior ranks, there are already new hopefuls in the same stable. If Smikle won bronze at the World Youth Championship in 2009 at the discus, Dacres improved his mate’s feat to gold in the next edition in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Lille</city><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> with nearly 6m over his nearest rival, in the first global victory for </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica in throws</place></country-region><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> in any age category ever. If we add to it </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Trinidad and Tobago</country-region><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">’s phenomenon Kenshorn Walcott, who threw 77.59 at Carifta in Bermuda, we can conclude the </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Caribbean</place><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> is predestined to become also a throwing powerhouse in a near future. In the end, after the huge boost of confidence of the shot put and discus demonstrations, Calabar closed Champs in style, with a masterful victory at the 4x400m relay in a world class 3:10.19, to win the overall title with a total of 287.5 points. </span><placename style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Kingston</placename><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><placetype style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">College</placetype><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> placed second with 265, </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Jamaica</placename> <placetype w:st="on">College</placetype></place><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> third with 222.5 and Wolmer’s fourth with 140. As colophon to the great party, we could hear through the speakers Bob Marley and Wailers’ “Rat Race.” This song symbolised the always fiercely contested Champs but literally it was also an ironic reference to a recent episode in Calabar High, when the school had to be temporally closed because of the presence of rats in the establishment. The kids showed how you can transform social adversity in athletic grandeur.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">The track and field king event in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> is usually the male 100m but it was not this time. World Youth Olympic champion Odean Skeen of Wolmer’s failed to qualify for the 200m final and committed a false start at the 200m and <placename w:st="on">Green</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Islands</placetype>’ Odail Todd, double gold medallist at the World Youth Champs in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Lille</place></city>, was equally in disappointing form. In the end, the 100m became a two-man contest between defending champion Jazeel Murphy from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bridgeport</place></city> and Turks and Caicos-born and student in Munro, Delano Williams. Not being either of them a good starter, Williams proved stronger in the end, defeating the 4-times Carifta winner in a modest clocking of 10.37. In his pet event the 200m, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Delano</place></city> won overwhelmingly, thus completing the double. Watch out for the progression of this athlete who has run the distance this year in 20.53 and intend to compete at the United Kingdom national trials for the Olympics, once Turks and Caicos Islands is not a IOC member and its territory belongs to the host country of the Games. Elsewhere, Raheem Chambers of St, Jago achieved also another remarkable sprint double in Class-3. The young runner will try to become a worthy heir of Yohan Blake in his school. On the other hand, it is plain Wolmer’s High has found the new Shelly-Ann Fraser. I mean the 100m female Olympic champion in four years time: Shauna Helps. It is a wonder, this shy girl of 15 years whose mates describe as the nicest person you can meet in college, becomes such fierce animal in a race. This strong character and determination will bring this teen very far in her athletic career. For the moment she won the Class-3 100m final in a Champs record 10.50, a faster time than the one achieved in Class-1 (Herbert’s Seidatha Palmer) and Class-2 (Christania Williams) and repeated the feat at the 200m, where among others was competing the awesome Shericka Jackson, culminating her groundbreaking performance at Champs anchoring Wolmer’s 4x100m relay to gold.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG0GD_vakbuYOPtW0ClrwNjfLXiP6ZroyY0VpsMkBqW0U0Z2QkGQ97XL1AMebeEgBYpoHSWfs5HVctWsISx8IoYMpbAXJ2sHrHRuAOgQcJ_O6qzn7Xb9n61Y1-mAOjyoIRfSqWLMK-d2n/s1600/_51989570_boltchamps11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG0GD_vakbuYOPtW0ClrwNjfLXiP6ZroyY0VpsMkBqW0U0Z2QkGQ97XL1AMebeEgBYpoHSWfs5HVctWsISx8IoYMpbAXJ2sHrHRuAOgQcJ_O6qzn7Xb9n61Y1-mAOjyoIRfSqWLMK-d2n/s640/_51989570_boltchamps11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shauna Helps, Jamaica's future Olympic star, in company of Wolmer's mate Jonielle Smith</span><br />
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/9445957.stm"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/9445957.stm</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Jackson was also in a class of her own grabbing in the closing session three titles at the 400m, 200m and finally the long relay, being part of the formidable Vere Tech squad, along with Olivia James (silver medallist at the 400m) and Yanique McNeil (gold medallist in Class-2). However, James is not this year in the shape she showed in past seasons and it was confirmed in Carifta Games, where she lost her 400m title. With the likes of the Vere Tech trio and the addition of Chris-Ann Gordon, Janeive Russell, Tiffany James or Simoya Campbell it seems unlikely for any other team, including the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">USA</place></country-region>, to beat the fearsome Jamaicans at the 4x400m relay at next World Junior Championships. Notwithstanding individually the dominant sprinters of the moment in their age category in the region are Bahamians Antonique Strachan and Shaunae Miller and they proved it again at Carifta. (13) Strachan, named for the second time best athlete of the Games after her double victory, improving on the way Veronica Campbell’s 200m record, and 400m world youth and junior gold medallist Miller are on the right path to reach the Olympic final this same year. Amazingly, the best Jamaican sprinter in Carifta was also Shauna Helps, who beat an astounding field at the 100m in the U-17 category, including older mate Saqukine Cameron, and then brought too her team to victory in the short relay. Another big winner at Champs and Carifta was Spalding’s Simoya Campbell, who made in both competitions the middle distance double in her first Class-1 year. This is another athlete with immense talent, worth watching her progress to the international elite. Simoya breaks with her outgoing geniality the typical shy behaviour of Jamaican teen athletes, who are just able to utter an embarrassing “yes, sir,” never making eye-contact with the adult journalists who cover Champs. Simoya has plenty of things to state to local press: “I am confident so racing and winning is easy for me.” Soon Kenya Sinclair will not be fighting alone the world 800m stars when Simoya Campbell and also Natoya Goule, Ristananna Tracey, Marleena Eubanks, Chantai Smith, Lisa Buchanan and Tiffany James will make become <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> a middle distance powerhouse. Watch out specially for Tiffany, who accomplished the 400m-800m double in Class-3 for the first gold medals ever for Papine at Champs and confirmed her talent with another two victories in Carifta. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Some words, before ending this long article about Champs excellence, to praise the brilliant performances in jump events. Chanice Porter of Manchester High, who became in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Lille</place></city> the first Jamaican to win a long jump gold medal in any major championship event, clinched double gold and double record at Champs. At the high jump she beat in an excellent competition, 1.86 to 1.84, Edwin Allen’s hot favourite Kimberly Williamson, who owns the Jamaican junior best in the event, to erase Peaches Roach’s from the record books. At the long jump she flied the next day to a 6.52 PB to improve Elva Goulbourne’s old mark. Samara Spencer from team revelation Hydel and KC’s Sammawi Wellington also achieved the same double victory in girls’ and boys’ Class-3 respectively. Finally, Wolmer’s Christoff Bryan “only” struck a gold medal at the high jump event in Class-2 but his winning leap of 2.10 stole the record from no less than silver Olympic medallist in Beijing Germaine Mason. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bryan</place></city> is another potential track and field star, who has already jumped 2.20 at 15 years of age. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120403/sports/images/EdwinAllenCelebrationsF20120401RM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120403/sports/images/EdwinAllenCelebrationsF20120401RM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Edwin Allen high school's parade after their sensational first victory ever at Champs<br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120403/sports/sports2.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120403/sports/sports2.html</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">(1) <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17372603">http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17372603</a> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> (2) </span><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110821/focus/focus4.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110821/focus/focus4.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(03) <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/apr/01/jamaican-champs-athletics">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/apr/01/jamaican-champs-athletics</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(04) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/sports3.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120329/sports/sports3.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(05) <a href="http://www.issasports.com/results/champs/champs2012/">http://www.issasports.com/results/champs/champs2012/</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(06) <a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Edwin-Allen-revel-in-maiden--Champs--success">http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Edwin-Allen-revel-in-maiden--Champs--success</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(07) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WYC11/news/newsid=59685.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WYC11/news/newsid=59685.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(08) <a href="http://www.golocaljamaica.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=11697">http://www.golocaljamaica.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=11697</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(09) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120408/sports/sports3.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120408/sports/sports3.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(10) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120402/sports/sports2.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120402/sports/sports2.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(11) <a href="http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/sport/GREEN-PLATTER_11179115">http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/sport/GREEN-PLATTER_11179115</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(12) <a href="http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120401/sports/sports1.php">http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120401/sports/sports1.php</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(13) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/WJC12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=64530">http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/WJC12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=64530</a> <br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-80827964469972383362012-03-27T03:09:00.000+02:002012-05-22T15:06:01.908+02:00Fionnuala Britton also wanted to Run the World Cross Country Champs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/33/91/63391_FULL-PRT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/33/91/63391_FULL-PRT.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fionnuala Britton leads Gemma Steel in muddy Antrim</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Mark Shearman</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/CROS12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=63390">http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/CROS12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=63390</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Thumbs up, if you missed watching the World Cross Country championships last week end. Thumbs down for all the people who made possible that disappointing decision of changing the oldest annual international track and field event in biannual. Until this year only World Wars had stopped a race which had been held since 1903 but I guess we will have to get used to it. Once an Olympic event, once the most prestigious race in the yearly athletic calendar, which used to join every world class runner from the 1500m to the marathon, nowadays it seems to be in plain decadence. This winter we were supposed to focus in area championships. It was amazing after all to watch the bunch of Ethiopian-born athletes who have become <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bahrain</st1:place></st1:country-region> flag-bearers sweep the Asian Cross medals for their adopted country. Otherwise every long distance star still belonging to this East African athletic powerhouse, or to the neighbouring <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya,</st1:place></st1:country-region> understandably deserted the newly introduced regional championships. What is the point of running the African Cross when you should be attending the traditional global race? And what could have offered the World Cross this year? I believe after three consecutive runner-up positions Linet Masai was motivated enough to grab at last the universal title, beating Vivian Cheruiyot, the woman who won everything in 2011. Actually she defeated her the only time they clashed during the winter at the Cross Itálica in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seville</st1:place></st1:city>. Yet she will have to wait until next year. It would also have been interesting to see the possible return to the competition of the most successful Ethiopians of the century, Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele. Yes! Next year. The only area championship worth watching this winter was the European Cross, in which Fionnuala Britton achieved a sensational victory for Ireland. This athlete has reached a new level this winter, winning the classic races of Edinburgh and Antrim as well. Yet, like the African specialists also did, Fionnuala expressed her disappointment for not having the chance of proving herself at the World Cross Championships, when she was in the shape of her life. She could claim the title of Cross Queen of this winter, though Nazeret Weldu won all five cross country races she entered. However the Eritrean youngster could not face many of the long distance standouts in those five races in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Anyway there was no race where you could face every long distance standout last winter. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> For a small island of scarcely 4 millions, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> has a pretty fine tradition in athletics and cross country in particular. Actually, track and field is the most successful sport in the history of the Olympics, along with boxing, with 4 gold and 2 silvers of the 23 overall medals Irish athletes have won. Precisely, the last two in that list in climbing to an Olympic podium, John Treacy and Sonia O’Sullivan, runner-up at the marathon in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> 1984 and at the 5000m in Sidney 2000 respectively, were previously world champions in cross country. Treacy triumphed in challenging conditions in the 1978 and 1979 editions and O’Sullivan in 1998, when she struck double gold after winning both the short and long course. They succeeded pioneer Tim Smythe, who had brought the first victory in <st1:metricconverter productid="1931 in" w:st="on">1931 in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:city>. Also noteworthy were the 4 silver medals in a row Catherina McKiernan obtained from 1992 to 1995. Finally, the country also won in modern times two team bronze medals in female category in 1997 and 2002, which proves their depth in the specialty. Now Britton has become in Velenje the second Irish who conquers the Euro Cross after precisely McKiernan who won the first edition of the contest back in 1994. That is great news Ireland has another long distance world class prospect after a long wait.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/IAAF+World+Athletics+Championship+Day+Three+vllkWj_d0Zil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/IAAF+World+Athletics+Championship+Day+Three+vllkWj_d0Zil.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fionnuala Britton competing at the 3000m steeplechase final at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka<br />
Photo: Michael Steele/ Getty Images Sport<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/">http://www.zimbio.com</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Since the great Sonia O’Sullivan’s decline, Irish press has been talking about national crisis in track and field. However it is not really fair. No more Olympic medals were achieved and the same O’Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan remain the only world champions for the shamrock country but David Gillick grabbed gold at the 2005 and 2007 European indoor champs at the 400m, Derval O’Rourke accomplished another marvellous victory at the hurdles at the 2006 World indoors in Moscow and race walkers Gillian O’Sullivan and Olive Loughnane struck silver at the summer world champs in Saint Dennis 2003 and Berlin 2009 respectively, besides other minor medals. However, only victories seem to make an impact in an Irish public more devoted to hurling, soccer and rugby. (1) Silver medals and minor victories in track and field pass almost unnoticed. When Gillian O’Sullivan success I was living in <st1:place w:st="on">Galway</st1:place>. In the West Coast, and I suppose in the rest of the country, is quite popular among men and women a very fast stroll by the seaside. I never experienced in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region> such passion for sportive walking and it does not surprise me those two female world medals and it would not be strange another one by Robert Heffernan, who has been quite close a couple of times. By the way, when Athens Olympic were close I pointed out Gillian as favourite for the Olympic gold medal but none of my acquaintances knew her and even one fellow stated she was Sonia O’ Sullivan’s sister. Unfortunately, the Irish race walk record holder was left out of the Games because of injury and my friends never had the chance of celebrating her Olympic medal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Equally unnoticed has been until her victory at the European Cross Fionnuala Britton, who had participated in nine occasions with solid results and also in Beijing Olympics at the steeplechase. However, thereafter the tiny athlete has become suddenly popular and the audience is asking for more. “I just think it is really weird. You are doing what you always did and then suddenly you win a race and then people are interested in it. It is not really any different in what you are doing. I think the biggest thing is that all the sports are not looked at in the same light. The soccer team, I know it is great that they qualified for Europeans and I know that it is a really big deal — but it is Europeans. In minority sports, unless you do something really big, you are not looked at. And then if you do something, you are expected to do something again. The expectations and the coverage are not the same. It is the same with women’s sport. It is not big until you do something really big, and then you are expected to keep doing it like poor Katie Taylor.” (2) And now Fionnuala can become as big in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Wicklow</st1:placename></st1:place> as “poor” Katie, who has been an invincible female boxer all over the world for years and also footballer, who now intends to become Olympic champion since women will be allowed to make their debut in this sport at the upcoming Olympic Games. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6553515105_b2078aedfc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6553515105_b2078aedfc.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fionnuala Britton is honoured at the Sports Woman of the Year<br />
at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin<br />
Photo: WENN.com <a href="http://entertainment.ie/">http://entertainment.ie </a> <span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Fionnuala Britton, who will be 28 years old the next 24</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> September, is a native of Kilcoole, just a couple of miles of Brittas Bay one of the most popular and scenic places of County Wicklow, which 4km of sandy dunes are home of rare vegetal and animal species, notably birds. Fionnuala grew up in a close-knit family of six members, amateur of sport. As an example the whole family ran last Great Ireland Run in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> together. (3) She joined the track and field local club as soon as 7, after her elder sister. Since then she has been involved with Slí Chúlainn AC, coached for a decade in turn by John O’Toole and Pat Diskin. Then she moved to </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Dublin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> where she has recently graduated in sport science and health. Fionnuala ran for years just because she liked it without any other ambition but as she progressed it was clear she was good enough to aim for the Olympic Games and then tried hard for it. Eventually, it has been more her dedication through the years than her sheer talent which has brought the runner to success. The champion in Velenje is well-known as a fanatic workaholic. She never miss a single session and even the day she received her masters degree she found time for training between the graduation ceremony and a celebratory lunch with her parents. (3)</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB">As a junior, Fionnuala had limited success. Her first international medal would be accomplished no sooner than the winter of 2006 at the European Cross championships U-23, where she placed second after Turkish Binnaz Uslu. It was a huge boost of confidence and the 2007 season would be excellent for the young Irish. After beating at the national senior Inter Club Cross Country Champs the more fancied Mary Cullen at her rival’s hometown of Sligo, the Kilcoole girl headed for the World Cross in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mombasa</st1:place></st1:city>. In a race under extremely horrible conditions of heat and humidity, Britton fared quite well, ending 14<sup>th</sup> and second European. (4) It was the day Kenenisa Bekele was beaten for the first time in a Cross Country race by Zersenay Tadese and the heat and Lornah Kiplagat obtained a resounding victory over Tirunesh Dibaba. It was also the day some young European athletes: Jessica Augusto, Fionnuala Britton, Hattie Dean and Charlotte Purdue, made the limelight for the first time; quite remarkable because of the tough conditions. The Irish athlete ended that successful year making the steeplechase final at the Osaka World championships, along with her compatriot Roísín McGettigan, where she would finish in 12<sup>th</sup> place. Her 9:41.36 PB achieved in Heusden qualified her for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city>, but at the Olympics she was unlucky in her heat. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Much was expected from Fionnuala Britton alter her excellent 2007
campaign. However her post-Beijing Olympic years were rather disappointing. The
Slí Chúlainn athlete did not make the standard for Berlin Worlds and finished
in a poor 11<sup>th</sup> place in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city>
the following year. Even her performances at her pet event, Cross Country, were
far from satisfactory. In the winter of 2010 Fionnuala travelled to Iten for a
3-months stage with Irish-African glory Brother Colm O’Connell but results were
not still seen. She had just stagnated. Then for a change she left her lifelong
coach Pat Diskin and moved to Welshman Chris Jones, the director of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:city> triathlon high performance
centre. Thereafter her athletic career started to take off. Jones states in her
new charge’s improvement the key has been the engagement of a world class team
of professionals in behalf of her: John Cleary, the strength and conditioning
coach of Ireland’s top boxers; Karen Jones, DCU nutritionist; Enda Fitzpatrick,
DCU track and field head coach, who had already worked with Fionnuala for many
years; Dr Brian Moore, a haematologist with previous experience with Paula
Radcliffe, Mo Farah and Oregon Track Club. "Brian is a huge influence. He
does all of Fionnuala's bloods and I get a call from him immediately if he
spots that she is being over-reached in training. Enda is my eyes when I cannot
be at training sessions and he sends me great feedback on her workouts." (3) Jones also gives credit to the athlete itself who he believes it is a pleasure to work with because of her honesty, commitment, thoughtfulness and generosity. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>
</span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AeUvF7LB4RDpAwGUfAsgEsZHLVvkEcjARSORfhBooxHdyeUvn5uqmNiCc3PUKIavALzI7ESwNNVtayvC2kzSNdj1bysZhFdx31WDJD50EsUSM5kl2DmonaCDN2W902OvChr5N48FfXE/s1600/TIM_8575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AeUvF7LB4RDpAwGUfAsgEsZHLVvkEcjARSORfhBooxHdyeUvn5uqmNiCc3PUKIavALzI7ESwNNVtayvC2kzSNdj1bysZhFdx31WDJD50EsUSM5kl2DmonaCDN2W902OvChr5N48FfXE/s640/TIM_8575.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fionnuala Britton leads Sarah Treacy, Ciara Mageean and other hopeful local girls<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://lindienaughton.blogspot.com.es/2011/12/on-your-marks-from-herald-dec-3.html">http://lindienaughton.blogspot.com.es/2011/12/on-your-marks-from-herald-dec-3.html</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> When she started to work with Fionnuala, Jones saw huge potential in her
but also some limiting factors which were affecting to her performance. Notably
her cadence was too slow and her power per stride was lacking. Jones devoted
himself to build first the right aerobic capacity with power and good
functional movement, making emphasis in technical work and short hills. Once aerobic
capacity and anaerobic power were achieved was the time to work in longer
endurance type development, moving to event-specific speed, aiming to challenge
the extension of the repetitions, increasing the time spent at this velocity. (5)
Visible results were already observable in early 2011. Fionnuala ran an awesome
race at the World Cross in Punta Umbría, crossing the line 16<sup>th</sup> as
the first European in the race. During the summer, the athlete improved at last
on her steeplechase PB from 2007 to 9:37.60, had some remarkable performance at
the Diamond League meetings and narrowly missed the final in Daegu. Nonetheless,
according to Fionnuala’s workouts, Jones stated further progress was expected
at the steeplechase. Now the coach concluded it was not Fionnuala’s best
possible event. Being just 1,56m tall, her protégée needed an extra effort to
overcome barriers almost her size. Besides she had not a fast 1500m time as
most of the elite steeplechasers. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Fionnuala went in November to Font Romeu for training
in altitude in order to prepare the European Cross champs. The precedent
edition of the contest had had a shocking ending for the Irish athlete. Running
at home in Albufeira, Jessica Augusto produced an unrivalled solo performance. After
a noteworthy race, Fionnuala was in contention for the silver medal but she was
defeated in the last rush, again by Uslu and also second Portuguese Dulce Felix
by a whisker. Besides she had beaten soon afterwards those rivals in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brussels</st1:place></st1:city>, including
Augusto, in a race where she finished second. Britton remembered with
bitterness that competition in Albufeira and she promised to himself she would
not be left out of the medals again in Velenje in another sprint. On the other
hand, this time she knew and every one involved with her too she was in
exceptional shape. This time around she wanted gold. Fionnuala followed simple
tactics. (6) Around 1500m she took command of the race and pushed the pace
throughout. The long relaxed and powerful indeed stride she had developed was
taking its toll in her contenders. Soon only Italian Nadia Ejjafini and Ana
Dulce Felix were in contention, then the Portuguese was dropped and eventually
the demanding pace was also too much for Ejjafini. With every rival eliminated,
the Kilcoole girl kept her floating and hot rhythm in her lone cavalcade but
there was a last obstacle. Gemma Steel had progressed coming from behind to
runner-up position. Fionnuala could hear the increasingly excited British
supporters and knew Gemma was getting close to her at the beginning of the last
lap. Then, little sister Una, who had raced in the U-23 category, appeared at
the side of the track to cheer her: “You want it more than the rest.” Una’s
encouraging words reinvigorated Fionnuala, who found some extra energy to push
again and increase the gap over the British runner. She romped home unopossed,
while Dulce Felix overcame Steel for second in a last effort. Fionnuala Britton
had obtained at last the prize for her endeavours and confidently she kept on
the victory trail at the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place></st1:city>
classic cross. Her impressive front running gained her a massive 20sec
difference at the line over the in-form Steel. Then the European champion had
her only low-key performance of the season in Seville, ending just 8<sup>th</sup>
in her opportunity to match world class Africans as Masai and Cheruiyot, but
returned to her best in Antrim, Northern Ireland. On a muddy track she was
challenged all over by winter-fellow Gemma Steel, but eventually she managed to
drop her in the last stages of the race to grab her third victory of the
season. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">Currently, Fionnuala Britton is concentrated in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Albuquerque</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> in order to prepare for the
summer campaign and the Olympic Games. Despite she has made the standard for </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> in the event, Chris
Jones has convinced the Irish athlete the steeplechase is unsuitable for her. (9)
According to it she will try to qualify at the 5000m and 10.000m, almost virgin
territory for her, but her coach believes after her demonstration in Velenje,
where she kept a 3.05 pace, she has stamina and toughness enough to challenge
the East Africans at the decisive race. Ultimately, her endurance training
should bring her to the marathon, but this is a long term target for Rio de
Janeiro 2016. As for now, Fionnuala’s challenge is to be able to translate her
inmense talent for cross country to the track in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/great-ireland-run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/great-ireland-run.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">European XC champion Fionnuala Britton and children get fit for the 2012 Great Ireland Run<br />
<a href="http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=22729"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=22729</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1) <a href="http://www.independent.ie/sport/our-finest-failures-120979.html">http://www.independent.ie/sport/our-finest-failures-120979.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2) <a href="http://thescore.thejournal.ie/2012-olympics-britton-hoping-to-challenge-on-three-fronts-in-london-379743-Mar2012/">http://thescore.thejournal.ie/2012-olympics-britton-hoping-to-challenge-on-three-fronts-in-london-379743-Mar2012/</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(3) <a href="http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/atheltics-worldclass-support-key-for-golden-girl-britton-2961418.html">http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/atheltics-worldclass-support-key-for-golden-girl-britton-2961418.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(4) <a href="http://www.irishrunner.com/07worldxc1.html">http://www.irishrunner.com/07worldxc1.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/how-they-train-fionnuala-britton/">http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/how-they-train-fionnuala-britton/</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(6) <a href="http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/athletics-gold-run-goes-according-to-plan-2967043.html">http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/athletics-gold-run-goes-according-to-plan-2967043.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(7) <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/other/2012/0107/1224309962081.html">http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/other/2012/0107/1224309962081.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(8) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/CROS12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=63390">http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/CROS12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=63390</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(9) <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1213/1224308999931.html">http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1213/1224308999931.html</a> </div>
<br />
<br /></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-7893535336695899702012-03-20T06:28:00.006+01:002015-06-27T12:49:00.019+02:00Ashton Eaton, next man Over 9000 points?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/2008+Olympic+Team+Trials+Track+Field+Day+4+zcejpyyihuFl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/2008+Olympic+Team+Trials+Track+Field+Day+4+zcejpyyihuFl.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ashton Eaton at the 2008 US Olympic trials<br />
Photo: Matthew Stockman/ Getty Images North America<br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.zimbio.com</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In a championship where many of the most well-known track and field stars were absent, the World indoors in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> provided however quite a lot exciting finals. Pushed by compatriot Janay DeLoach, Britney Reese produced an awesome 7.23, the best female leap in 8 years. Also at the jumping events ex-training partners Will Claye and world champion in Daegu Christian Taylor, the two men who are predestined to erase soon Jonathan Edwards from the book of records, offered to the spectators a new thrilling duel. Other impressive matches were seen at the shot put finals, where Valerie Adams claimed her title back against the fierce opposition of defending champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk and Ryan Whiting sensationally defeated surprising Daegu gold medallist David Storl, reaching for the first time the 22m barrier. As always happen in this kind of contest, some youngsters enjoyed the chance to shine and grab their first senior global titles: Mohamed Aman at the 800m, Genzebe Dibaba at the 1500m and Helen Obiri at the 3000m, the latter denying a fifth consecutive title to the great Meseret Defar. We witnessed also the extraordinary comeback to the top of two stunning Olympic champions, after a couple of disappointing seasons, Yelena Isinbayeva and Pamela Jelimo. Nevertheless the most remarkable feats at the world indoor championships in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> were the world records achieved at the combined events in both sex categories by Nataliya Dobrynska and Ashton Eaton. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Since Christian Olsson and Tatyana Lebedeva did it in the triple jump at the 2004 edition in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Budapest</st1:place></st1:city>, we had not seen to break both male and female records in the same event at a world indoor championship. Interestingly, the last time both pentathlon and heptathlon indoor records were beaten in a competition happened back in 1990, when French Odile Lesage and Christian Plaziat respectively achieved it in Nogent sur <st1:place w:st="on">Oise</st1:place>. (1) The surprising result of Dobrynska adds still more emotion to the female combined events in the way to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. The <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city> contest was expected to be a rematch between Jessica Ennis and Tatyana Chernova, after the latter upset the former at last world outdoor champs, but eventually the underdog got the better of both favourites. Ennis, who was widely seen as the most firm Briton candidate for a gold medal at the host Olympic Games prior to Daegu, has now additional mental pressure. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-hept-w.blogspot.com.es/2011/09/chernova-upsets-ennis.html"><span lang="EN-GB">http://moti-athletics-hept-w.blogspot.com.es/2011/09/chernova-upsets-ennis.html</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB"> To broke the 20-year-old record of Irina Belova and the 5000-point barrier, the Ukrainian champion benefited of the outstanding quality of a competition in which were present 4 out of the 5 best in Daegu. Thus Jessica Ennis and Lithuanian Austra Skujyte also improved their respective national records and obtained the highest marks ever for a silver and bronze medal positions. (2) Not quite the same happened at the male contest, where Ashton Eaton got a 574 points gap over Ukrainian Kasyanov, who would have finished out of the medals in any other world indoor heptathlon final. The American athlete, who also achieved impressive PBs at the long jump (8.16) and shot put (14.56) and nearly matched it at the 1000m, had to compete on his own just the same he had done when he set his two previous world indoor records in Fayetteville and Tallin so there is a double merit in his feat. Ashton Eaton has accomplished an indoor world record three seasons in a row, raising it from 6476 to a 6645 total tally. Now the Oregon Track Club representative will try to translate his indoor superiority to an outdoor context, that is to say climb a step on the podium from his Daegu silver to gold in London, besides becoming the second man over 9000 points in a decathlon, to break Roman Sebrle's world best. Yet is he ready for the challenge? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://community.statesmanjournal.com/blogs/collegesports/files/2011/04/saldc5-5utpfcc4h9h4gcqdmlw_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://community.statesmanjournal.com/blogs/collegesports/files/2011/04/saldc5-5utpfcc4h9h4gcqdmlw_original.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ashton Eaton, the man who has set a world indoor record in three consecutive seasons<br />
<a href="http://community.statesmanjournal.com/blogs/collegesports/2011/04/22/track-and-field-ducks-host-1700-athletes-in-two-day-oregon-relays/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://community.statesmanjournal.com/blogs/collegesports/2011/04/22/track-and-field-ducks-host-1700-athletes-in-two-day-oregon-relays/</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Ashton Eaton, born in <st1:city w:st="on">Bend</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state>, the 21<sup>st</sup> January 1988, (3) was spotted at a high school meet by Dan Steele, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Oregon Associate Head</st1:placename></st1:place> coach. As the athlete recognises, he knew how to run and jump but, prior to his freshman season among the Ducks, he had neither intended to be involved in multi events nor had tried pole vaulting. However his progression was nothing less than spectacular. After only one year of practice with Steele, the responsible of sprints, hurdles, pole vault and combined events in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state>, he won already the NCAA outdoor title in 2008. To this he would add in successive years two more victories outdoors and two indoors, an unprecedented feat in combined events in the Collegian track and field history, which earned him the prestigious Bowerman award in 2010. (4) Yet Ashton Eaton was not any athlete. Steele describes him like this: "He has got all the right physical tools</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">But I think the thing that makes him so amazing and so fun to watch is that he has got all the mental, emotional and intellectual tools as well. He has got virtually no ego. He has got an appropriate level of respect for the decathlon. He is humble yet confident. He is a tenacious competitor, yet he can handle losing." (5) Harry Marra, the decathlon national decathlon coach for 10 years who replaced Steele when he moved to Northern Iowa for the 2009-10 season, (6) also realised soon about the special man who was going to be his trainee: "For a guy 22 years old, his mental presence is remarkable." (7) Eaton is known as a cold-blooded, determined athlete, able to master every circumstance in a competition and always deliver his best. He has too an outstanding capacity for learning: even from watching his rivals performing he can quickly manage their technique to make adjustments in an actual competition. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Outsiders also point out how humble and approachable Ashton is, comparing his personality with great champion Roman Sebrle’s. (8) Furthermore he is the perfect track and field companion, someone who always privileges team interests over individual goals. Asked about his best memories in four years competing for <st1:placename w:st="on">Oregon</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> he did not talk about his five individual titles, world record or Bowerman distinction but about his performance in the 4x400 relay in his freshman year, which helped <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state> to win for the first time the male overall NCAA indoor title. He also had special good memories about just training with his mates. "I remember going up Hendricks Hill with all the guys and the girls, running 300s on the track, the type of things where you are with your teammates the most. When we win, it is awesome, but it is more about the whole process to get to that point. That is where the memories are. Right there." (7) Even at the NCAA championship in 2010, Eaton suggested Vin Lananna he could take four or five single events, instead of the decathlon in order to make points for the team. The <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state> head coach did not accept that sacrifice, only adding a long jump entry to Ashton’s expected presence in his pet event. No wonder such team-oriented and generous athlete has won the heart of another Oregon University multi eventer: Brianne Theisen. The Canadian-born athlete achieved along with her boyfriend a marvellous and never accomplished before swept of the combined events for their college at the 2009 NCAA champs in Fayetteville, repeating the feat the following year both indoors and out. Amazingly, as Eaton states, his girlfriend is not cold-blooded while competing like him but instead has an excited, fire-like behaviour on the track. Theisen, reappeared from injury this winter, has resumed her sensational NCAA curriculum in Nampa and is up for matching Ashton with a five title this summer, besides trying to become the third Canadian heptathlete with the A standard for the Olympic Games, along with Jessica Zelinca and Ruky Abdulai. This sensational success of Oregon multi eventers speaks plainly about the outstanding coaching in the area by Dan Steele first, then Harry Marra. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/2010/Deja/Photos/May/051610-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/2010/Deja/Photos/May/051610-16.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ashton Eaton in company of fiancée Brianne Theisen<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/2010/Deja/MAY/051610.aspx">http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/2010/Deja/MAY/051610.aspx</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Ashton Eaton competed at the US trials for Beijing Olympics, placing fifth with an 8122 tally, and qualified for the 2009 Berlin World championships, where he finished 18<sup>th</sup>. However his real breakthrough came at the 2010 NCAA indoor championship, when he broke the 17 year-old Dan O’Brien’s world record. His performance was still more amazing because Olympic champion Bryan Clay and World title holder Trey Hardee went on that same week end to win gold and silver respectively at the world indoor champs in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Doha</st1:place></st1:city>, scoring 300 points less than his young compatriot at the collegian contest. After a stunning victory at the national championships in 2011, with an 8729 huge PB, he went to Daegu as hot favourite of the competition. Living up to his role he slept as the overnight leader but in the second day he failed at the pole vault, clearing scarcely 4.60 and besides Trey Hardee and Cuban Leonel Suárez showed their superiority at the throwing events, displacing Eaton to the third place, before the 1500m. The five times NCAA champion then made an agonistic effort to regain at least the silver medal, which he got by only 4 points, after achieving his only PB of the championship, an astonish 4:18.94. Trey Hardee successfully defended his title, thanks to his solidity in each one of the ten events. The winner, also a down-to-earth athlete and a superb teammate, encouraged Eaton, who had lost his confidence after his weak performance at the pole vault, and helped him to recover mentally and thus he could still win a medal. (9) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Now the US decathletes have won every major championship of the last five years, thanks to Bryan Clay (Beijing Olympic Games and the 2008 and 2010 World indoor champs), Trey Hardee (Berlin and Daegu World championships) and Ashton Eaton (2012 World indoors). Therefore it is pertinent to raise the question about a possible sweep of the medals at London Olympics by that sensational trio for the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The last time this country accomplished that feat was back in the 1952 Helsinki Games, thanks to Bob Mathias, Milt Campbell and Floyd Simmons. This time around it seems very likely as well provided, as Hardee argues, they all three can stay healthy by the time of the Olympic Games. It was not the case in recent years for reigning Olympic champion Bryan Clay, who was unable to qualify for both <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state> and Daegu due to injuries. However in the 2010 season, when he could compete at his normal level he beat current number one Trey Hardee at the World indoor in Budapest and later won in the summer the classic Gotzis meeting, so he still has chances to defend his Olympic crown. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> counts also with some brilliant upcoming athletes who can help to maintain further the country dominance in the event. At last year NCAA outdoor championship no less than 6 men (5 of them US athletes) scored 7900 points or more at the decathlon, including Michael Morrison, Miller Moss and Curtis Beach. The latter, who recently struck the indoor title in Nampa, has an incredible 3:59.13 PB at the 1500m and has run also the 1000m in 2:23.63 indoors when his NCAA triumph. And do not forget 19-year-old Gunnar Nixon, who set last January a brand new World Junior indoor record in a competition in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Fayetteville</st1:city></st1:place>. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In the last couple of years the decathlon has been taken over by a new generation, not necessarily from the traditional countries in the discipline. Nobody in the Czech Republic has been able to replace for the moment Sebrle, Dvorak and Zmelik, and the former powerhouse of the discipline would have enough if Roman, the last survivor of that trio of champions, can assure the A standard for London. Nor much luckier are <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Some key names as Schrader, Muller and Abele in the former team, and Pogorelov, Sysoyev and Vasilyev in the latter, have not been able to perform at their best, because of struggling with injuries, and the officials have need to ask the help of very young athletes as Rico Freimuth and Jan Felix Knobel, both representing Germany in Daegu, and Artem Lukyanenko and Ilya Shkurenyov, third and fourth for Russia in Istanbul. At the 2009 Berlin World championships Trey Hardee with 25 years was the second oldest in the top-10 and something similar is likely to happen in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> was seen as the nation with the more chances to challenge the Americans with their young standouts Leonel Suárez, Yordanis García and Yunior Díaz. However, the latter has been sidelined by injuries, García has not progressed and Leonel Suárez, the most competitive of the trio when it matters, depend too much of his javelin skills. Then Belarus Andrei Krauchanka, the most talented of the new generation has not have a healthy season in the last three years and Oleksiy Kasyanov has been reduced to Mr Overnight Leader. Currently the men with more possibilities to shine in a near future are all of them born in the 1987, 1988 and 1989 years: Sintnicolaas, Freimuth, Knobel, Bouradaa, Dudas, Mikhan, Van der Plaetsen… All of them are excellent decathletes but with lack of enough experience to get to challenge the powerful US threesome for the medals at the upcoming Olympics. </span></div><br />
<br />
<div align="center"></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 1238px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 768; mso-width-source: userset; width: 16pt;" width="21"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 4608; mso-width-source: userset; width: 95pt;" width="126"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 6180; mso-width-source: userset; width: 127pt;" width="169"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1572; mso-width-source: userset; width: 32pt;" width="43"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1572; mso-width-source: userset; width: 32pt;" width="43"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1170; mso-width-source: userset; width: 24pt;" width="32"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1572; mso-width-source: userset; width: 32pt;" width="43"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1170; mso-width-source: userset; width: 24pt;" width="32"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1572; mso-width-source: userset; width: 32pt;" width="43"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1572; mso-width-source: userset; width: 32pt;" width="43"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1170; mso-width-source: userset; width: 24pt;" width="32"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1280; mso-width-source: userset; width: 26pt;" width="35"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1792; mso-width-source: userset; width: 37pt;" width="49"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1170; mso-width-source: userset; width: 24pt;" width="32"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2048; mso-width-source: userset; width: 42pt;" width="56"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1024; mso-width-source: userset; width: 21pt;" width="28"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 1499; mso-width-source: userset; width: 31pt;" width="41"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="13" style="height: 9.95pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="xl24" height="13" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 9.95pt; width: 16pt;" width="21"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 95pt;" width="126"></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 29pt;" width="39"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 127pt;" width="169"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 32pt;" width="43"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 29pt;" width="39"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 32pt;" width="43"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 24pt;" width="32"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl45" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 32pt;" width="43"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 24pt;" width="32"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 32pt;" width="43"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 29pt;" width="39"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 32pt;" width="43"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 24pt;" width="32"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 26pt;" width="35"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 29pt;" width="39"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 37pt;" width="49"></td><td class="xl32" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 24pt;" width="32"></td><td class="xl27" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 42pt;" width="56"></td><td class="xl33" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 21pt;" width="28"></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 29pt;" width="39"></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 31pt;" width="41"></td></tr>
<tr height="16" style="height: 12.2pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="xl34" height="16" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 12.2pt;"></td><td class="xl34" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"></td><td class="xl46" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"></td><td class="xl34" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"></td><td class="xl34" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>100m</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>LJ</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>SP</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>HJ</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>400m</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>110H</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>DT</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>PV</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>JT</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl35" colspan="2" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>1500m</em></strong></span></div></td><td class="xl59" colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs*</span></em></strong></div></td></tr>
<tr height="12" style="height: 9pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td height="12" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 9pt;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em></strong></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Roman Šebrle</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">CZE</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9026</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Gotzis 27/05/2001</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.64</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">942</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1089</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.33</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">810</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.12</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">915</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.79</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">919</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.92</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">985</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.92</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">827</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.80</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">849</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">70.16</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">892</span></em></div></td><td class="xl52" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:22.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">798</span></em></div></td><td class="xl42" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl42" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.64</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">942</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1089</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.47</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">880</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.15</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">944</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.76</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">921</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.68</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1016</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">49.46</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">859</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.20</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">972</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">71.18</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">907</span></em></div></td><td class="xl53" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:21.98</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">798</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9328</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="3.1899999999999998E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3,3%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tomáš Dvořák</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">CZE</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8994</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:str="ECp Praha 4/07/1999 "><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">ECp Praha 4/07/1999 </span></span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.54</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">966</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1035</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.78</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">899</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.04</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">840</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.08</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">905</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.73</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1010</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.33</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">836</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">880</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">72.32</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">925</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:37.20</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">698</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.54</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">966</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1079</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.88</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">906</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.09</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">887</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.56</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">931</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.61</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1025</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">50.28</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">876</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">910</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">72.32</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">925</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:27.63</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">760</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9265</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="3.0099999999999998E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3,0%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dan O'Brien</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">USA</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8891</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Talence 5/09/1992</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.43</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">992</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.08</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1081</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.69</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">894</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">868</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.51</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">885</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.98</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">977</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.56</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">840</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">910</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">62.58</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">777</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:42.10</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">667</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.23</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1040</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1089</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.69</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">894</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.20</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">992</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.53</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">982</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.47</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1044</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">55.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">977</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.25</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">988</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">66.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">842</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:33.19</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>724</i></span></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9572</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="6.8599999999999994E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">7,7%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Daley Thompson</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">GBR</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8847</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Oly Los Angeles 9/08/1984</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.44</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">989</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.01</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1063</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.72</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">834</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.03</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">831</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.97</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">960</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.33</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">932</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.56</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">799</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">910</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">65.24*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">817</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:35.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">712</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.26</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1032</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1089</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.10</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">857</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.14</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">934</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.86</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">966</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.04</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">969</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">49.10</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">852</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.25</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">988</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">65.38*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">819</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:20.3h</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>810</i></span></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9315</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="3.39E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5,3%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jürgen Hingsen</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">FRG</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8832</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Mannheim 9/06/1984</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.70</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">929</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.76</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1000</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.42</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">877</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">868</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.05</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">907</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">965</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">49.36</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">857</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">880</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">59.86*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">736</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:19.75</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">813</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.70</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">929</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.04</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1071</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.57</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">886</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.18</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">973</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.65</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">926</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.84</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">995</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">50.82</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">887</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>5.10</b></span></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>941</i></span></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">67.42*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">850</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:12.3h</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">865</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9323</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="3.8800000000000001E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5,6%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">6</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bryan Clay</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">USA</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8832</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">NC Eugene 30/06/2008</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.39</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1001</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.39</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">908</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.17</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">800</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.08</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">878</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.41</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">889</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.75</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1007</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">52.74</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">928</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">910</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">70.55</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">898</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:50.97</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">613</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.35</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1011</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>8.06</b></span></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1076</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.27</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">868</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.10</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">896</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.78</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">920</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.64</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1022</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">55.87</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">993</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.15</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">957</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">72.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">920</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:38.93</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">687</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9350</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="5.57E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5,9%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">7</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Erki Nool</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">EST</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8815</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">WCh Edmonton 7/08/2001</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.60</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">952</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.63</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">967</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">784</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.03</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">831</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.23</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">997</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.40</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">924</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">43.40</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">734</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.40</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1035</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">67.01</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">844</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:29.58</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">747</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.34</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>1013</i></span></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.22</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1117</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">796</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.05</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">850</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.23</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">997</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.37</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">927</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">45.28</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">773</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.60</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1100</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">71.91</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">919</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:29.48</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">747</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9240</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="4.0500000000000001E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4,8%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">8</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Uwe Freimuth</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">GDR</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8792</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Potsdam 21/07/1984</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">11.06</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">847</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.79</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1007</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.30</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">870</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.03</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">831</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.43</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">888</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.66</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">891</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.58</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">799</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.15</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">957</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">72.42*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">926</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:25.19</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">776</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.98</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">865</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.79</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1007</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">16.42</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">877</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.15</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>944</i></span></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.17</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">901</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.54</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">906</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">51.54</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">903</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.15</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">957</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">73.02*</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">936</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:23.25</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">790</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9086</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.7E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3,4%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">9</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Trey Hardee</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">USA</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8790</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">WCh Berlin 20/08/2009</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.45</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">987</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.83</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1017</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.33</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">810</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">1.99</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">794</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.13</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">903</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.86</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">993</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">48.08</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">830</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.20</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">972</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">68.00</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">859</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:48.91</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">625</span></em></div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl39" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl29" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.28</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1028</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.88</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1030</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">15.94</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">848</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.06</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">859</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.51</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">933</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.61</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1025</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">52.68</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">926</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.30</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1004</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">68.99</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">874</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:42.23</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">666</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9193</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="4.1000000000000002E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4,6%</span></em></div></td></tr>
<tr height="16" style="height: 12.6pt; mso-height-source: userset;"><td class="xl26" height="16" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 12.6pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl56" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">13</span></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ashton Eaton</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">USA</span></div></td><td class="xl49" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8729</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">NC Eugene 24/06/2011</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.33</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1016</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.80</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1010</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.14</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">737</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.05</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">850</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.35</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">991</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.52</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1037</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">41.58</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">697</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.05</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">926</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">56.19</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">681</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:24.10</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">785</span></em></div></td><td class="xl57" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl40" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl50" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8505</span></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">WCh Daegu 28/08/2011</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.46</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">985</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.46</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">925</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.44</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">755</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.02</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">822</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.99</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">959</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.85</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">994</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.17</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">791</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.60</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">790</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">55.17</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">665</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:18.94</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">819</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" colspan="2" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs*</span></strong></div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl36" height="20" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl47" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl50" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 8457</span></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">NCAA Eugene 11/06/2010</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.37</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1006</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">7.90</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1035</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">12.60</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">643</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.02</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">822</span></em></div></td><td class="xl43" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.28</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">994</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.68</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1016</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">41.71</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">699</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.70</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">819</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">54.07</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl38" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">649</span></em></div></td><td class="xl37" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:21.85</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl54" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">799</span></em></div></td><td class="xl57" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl40" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl26" height="20" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl48" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl51" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></td><td class="xl30" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">PBs</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.19</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1049</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.16</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1102</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">14.74</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">774</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2.11</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">906</span></em></div></td><td class="xl44" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">46.28</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">994</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.35</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1060</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">47.36</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">816</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">5.26</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">991</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">57.23</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl31" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">696</span></em></div></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">4:18.94</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl55" style="background-color: #99cc00; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; text-align: right;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">819</span></em></div></td><td class="xl58" style="background-color: #ffcc99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num=""><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 9207</span></strong></div></td><td class="xl41" style="background-color: #ff99cc; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="4.9799999999999997E-2"><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5,5%</span></em></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB">And now comes the question about Ashton Eaton chances for an Olympic title in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place> and to break the existing outdoor world record. I had some fun making the table above, in which I compare the decathlon PB of each men who makes the all-time top-10 (including Ashton Eaton, who is actually 13<sup>th</sup> but is likely to improve on its place soon), with the total amount of his separate PBs in each one of the 10 events which form the decathlon. To create my table I used the IAAF website statistics along with Tilastopaja’s and the IAAF scoring table. (10) However, afterwards I realised on the site decathlon.com they already had an entry with a ranking of the 28<sup>th</sup> best scorers based in their separate PBs (11), so I used it too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB">Dan O’Brien, despite being only third in the all-time decathlon ranking, clearly wins in the extra-official lists for a total tally of 9572, that is to say 681 points more (7.7%) than his PB from the 1992 Talence Decastar, which was at the time a world record, and 748 points over the score which earned him a gold medal at Atlanta Olympic Games. This enormous waste may be explained because of the superiority of O’Brien over every one of the decathletes of his generation and the subsequent lack of serious challenge. The previous number one of the event Daley Thompson was a man who excelled in every running event from the 100m to the 1500m. He was not as stunning at the throw circle but his ability to perform near his best at major championships allowed him to beat fine German contenders from both sides of Berlin Wall as Jurgen Hingsen, Siegfried Wentz, Uwe Freimuth or Guido Kratchsmer, which marks matched the British’s but were not as solid when it mattered most. On the other hand, O’Brien was as good as Daley at running and jumping events, with the exception of the 1500m, and besides was a much more accomplished thrower. Arguably the most talented decathlete ever, O’Brien had no worries about the world record, because he quickly improved it in 1992 and remained invincible for years, not even needing to do his 100%, except when he beat himself at the national trials for Barcelona Olympics, not making any valid jump at the pole vault. After O’Brien’s retirement, the next champions were not maybe as talented as he was but were instead rather effective in a moment every point was necessary because of the quality and quantity of the contenders: Zmelik, Dvorak, Sebrle, Nool, Macey, Huffins… That generation based its success in its consistency in every one of the 10 events of the decathlon, especially at the big occasions. Tomas Dvorak only lost 271 points (3.0%) in comparison to his separate best when he set his PB at the 1999 European Cup and Roman Sebrle missed 302 points (3.3%) when he set the current world record in <st1:metricconverter productid="2001 in" w:st="on">2001 in</st1:metricconverter> Gotzis. At global championships they also lead the ranking of efficiency: Dvorak scored 8902 points (4.1%) at the 2001 World Champs in Edmonton to beat Erki Nool’s 8815 tally (4.8%) and Sebrle set in Athens the current Olympic record with 8893 points (4.9%) to defeat Bryan Clay, who achieved the best not winning mark ever (8820). Both results bettered the performance of someone like Daley Thompson when he broke the world record in Los Angeles Olympic Games (5.3%). </span></span></div></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The last champions from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Bryan Clay and Trey Hardee can be considered heirs of both the likes of Sebrle and Dvorak and also of national hero Dan O’Brien (even their only weak event is also the closing 1500m, a fact which is becoming a North American trademark). It is worth to say Hardee’s 8790 tally at Berlin Worlds (4,6%), ranks now in second place as the most efficient performance ever in a major championship, only inferior to Dvorak’s in Edmonton. However, Ashton Eaton has changed the trend. The new star of the combined events is not equally consistent in each one of the decathlon disciplines like Sebrle or Clay, but instead he is far more successful running and jumping than throwing just like old-legend Daley Thompson. Eaton has the same wide range on the track and precisely broke last year at the national trials the unofficial Briton’s record from 1986 for the highest amount of points achieved in a competition for the four events which make the group of running specialties. (12) The Oregon Track Club athlete has run the 100m in a world class, though windy, 10.19; the 110m hurdles in 13.35sec, a time no decathlete has ever run in a multi-events competition; the 400m in 46.28; and the 1500m in 4:18.94. None of the best combined event specialist in history can match that. Nevertheless the problem is Eaton is also the weakest thrower among the all-time top-10. It is true he has steadily improved in the last three seasons but still he is 242 points below in shot put- discus- javelin against someone not really special at it like Daley Thompson and he conceded a 326 points handicap to Hardee in Daegu, in a competition Ashton was close to his best in all three throwing events. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In nowadays decathlon the decisive discipline is being precisely the javelin. Sebrle won the gold medal in Osaka ahead of Maurice Smith thanks to deliver in the right moment a 71.18 PB; Leonel Suárez who has a monster 77.47 PB at the event has accomplished a medal at the last three major championships only thanks to his javelin skills; finally Tatyana Chernova threw the implement 13m further than Jessica Ennis for an upset victory in Daegu. With 57.23m at the javelin at his best, along 47.36m at the discus and 14.74 at the shot put, the decathlete from Oregon can not expect neither to win in a major outdoor championship nor break the world record, unless he produces a Jackie Joyner-like groundbreaking performance at the running events and long jump or he follows the example of Carolina Kluft or Nataliya Dobryinska in their best days who are able to set a PB in half of the events in the most decisive championship. However, for the moment Eaton is more likely to fall short like Jessica Ennis in Daegu and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city> due to his current limits. It is true Ashton Eaton only started practising throws and pole vault a couple of years ago and still has plenty of room to improve. Besides he is an outstanding competitor and as an example he achieved a PB at the javelin with every one of his valid throws in his first serious combined event competition. He also should make a better display at the running disciplines than he did in Daegu, where he paid being a rookie in a major international contest. Hopefully, the best Ashton Eaton is yet to come and we will have to wait a couple of seasons to witness a mature and increasingly solid athlete breaking the limits of the decathlon and accomplishing sensational victories at Olympic Games and World championships. </span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://media.kitsapsun.com/media/img/photos/2011/08/29/media_481f60bab5aa489293e7df8a93ad2d88_t607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media.kitsapsun.com/media/img/photos/2011/08/29/media_481f60bab5aa489293e7df8a93ad2d88_t607.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu<br />
Photo: AP/ Lee Jin-man<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/photos/2011/aug/29/229407/">http://www.kitsapsun.com/photos/2011/aug/29/229407/</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/WIC12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=64141">http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/WIC12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=64141</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/03/estambul-dia-1-combinacion-explosiva/">http://www.martiperarnau.com/2012/03/estambul-dia-1-combinacion-explosiva/</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(3) <a href="http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/1449/ashton-eaton">http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/1449/ashton-eaton</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(4) <a href="http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=655023">http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=655023</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(5) <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=trackandfield&id=5028649">http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=trackandfield&id=5028649</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(6) <a href="http://decathlonusa.typepad.com/files/volume-xxxivnumber-42november-1.pdf">http://decathlonusa.typepad.com/files/volume-xxxivnumber-42november-1.pdf</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(7) <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2010/06/ncaa_track_championships_there.html">http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2010/06/ncaa_track_championships_there.html</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(8) <a href="http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/1442/at-the-end-of-the-indoor-season-%20ashton-eaton/">http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/1442/at-the-end-of-the-indoor-season-%20ashton-eaton/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(9) <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/24-sports-news/article537782.ece">http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/24-sports-news/article537782.ece</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(10) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Competitions/TechnicalArea/ScoringTables_CE_744.pdf">http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Competitions/TechnicalArea/ScoringTables_CE_744.pdf</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(11) <a href="http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/841/decathlon-total-points-based-on-personal-best">http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/841/decathlon-total-points-based-on-personal-best</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(12) <a href="http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/840/top-10-per-groups-of-events-over-8000-points">http://www.decathlon2000.com/eng/840/top-10-per-groups-of-events-over-8000-points</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-18038919845828445282012-03-18T06:53:00.000+01:002012-03-29T03:28:31.277+02:00Liu Xiang on the right Way to London, leaving Injuries behind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/attachments/beijing-2008-olympic-games-news/1132d1135857472-fatigued-liu-xiang-save-energy-2008-olympic-games-liu_xiang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/attachments/beijing-2008-olympic-games-news/1132d1135857472-fatigued-liu-xiang-save-energy-2008-olympic-games-liu_xiang.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Liu Xiang became in Athens-2004 the first male Chinese Olympic champion in athletics ever<br />
Photo: Donald Miralle/ Getty Images<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/beijing-2008-olympic-games-news/1991-fatigued-liu-xiang-save-energy-2008-olympic-games.html">http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/beijing-2008-olympic-games-news/1991-fatigued-liu-xiang-save-energy-2008-olympic-games.html</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">How does it feel to be a national hero? And how does it feel when an untimely injury causes you to descend sharply from the skies to the ground, destroying your dreams of glory and so the expectations of millions of people? Track and field is a truly demanding sport and tough workouts derive in bothersome injuries. There is not arguably any other sport in which so many standouts are left out of important championships due to hamstring, knee or foot troubles. It was sad to see a half-fitted Mizuki Noguchi, trying bravely at Nagoya Marathon to qualify for </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. The Olympic champion eight years ago could only run two marathons since, being unable to defend her title in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Yet she was largely seen heading the field in Nagoya and, after having been dropped early on, she did not give up, struggling for more than </span><st1:metricconverter productid="10 km" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">10 km</st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> until she caught the leading group again, to eventually lose for the first time in her career against domestic competition. Noguchi was just another true champion beat up for a cruel fate. However, she is not the only one world or Olympic winner who risks ending up out of London Olympic Games. Tyson Gay, the last man who got the better of foremost track and field star Usain Bolt, is uncertain to be able of challenging him again this summer. One nation, </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, has up to three athletes in the same situation. Nathan Deakes, 50km walk champion in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Osaka</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in 2007, was back in Daegu. He tried to match former prowess just to discover he is not yet back to the fitness of his winning days and had to withdraw in tears. In </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> he will have another chance. Also another gold medallist in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Osaka</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, Jana Pitmann, is running out of time to make the Olympic A standard, after a number of brief comebacks and new setbacks in the last couple of seasons. The Aussie hurdler seems to be doomed at the Olympics. It is likely to be the third straight time she is not ready for the most important of all athletic competitions. Finally, the great pole vaulter Steve Hooker will have to overcome his disappointing performance in Daegu. In Berlin Worlds, knowing his soaring groin would not allow him more than two or three attempts, he entered the contest at 5.85m and still got a marvellous victory. In </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Korea</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> he could not match that feat, not making any valid jump at the qualifying round. Now there are too many doubts about his ability to match, in a near future, rising athletes as Renaud Lavillenie and Pawel Wojciechowski. Hooker’s </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Olympic champion counterparts at the horizontal jumps Irving Saladino and Nelson Evora are not much luckier than him. The former is having some lacklustre years, after a series of injuries, while the latter knows already he would not be able to defend in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Finally, both double reigning Olympic champions from Ethiopia Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba are struggling all over the last couple of seasons to regain their past form. Meanwhile, </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> has taken the spotlight as the dominating nation in long distance on the track. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Not only veteran champions but quite a lot young hopefuls likewise have been sidelined recently. Bai Xue, the surprising winner at the World Championship marathon in <st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state>, after two years with recurring injuries, made a desperate attempt to qualify for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> at the Chinese national trials, and her effort was as unfruitful as Noguchi’s. Polish athletes Kamila Chudzik and Sylwester Bednarek were bronze medallists at 2009 World championships in Daegu at the heptathlon and high jump respectively but their promising careers came to a halt soon afterwards. Also teen prodigy Angelica Bengtsson is living a nightmare since last summer and, after not competing in Daegu, she was again unable to show up during the past indoor campaign. Now that Holly Bleasdale, Hanna Sheleh and Liz Parnov which she comfortably beat in junior and youth championships are making a big impression among the seniors, the leader of this talented generation must remain frustrated at home. And nor in much more optimistic mood can be her compatriot Susanna Kallur, who obtained a sensational world indoor record at the 60m hurdlers back in 2008 just to suffer a stress fracture soon afterwards, along with twin sister Jenny, who has already given up and retired from athletics. Sanna, a hurdler with a flawless technique who right now could be challenging Sally Pearson for the supremacy in the event, now and then announces her comeback to no avail. It is a truly unfair situation in which the athlete suffers in silence, unable to return to his past shape, now and then</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> blamed for a weak performance by fans and journalists which are not always as sensitive as they should be, and when the time pass</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> quickly forgotten. Does anybody remember promising Brit Becky Lyne, who was once labelled the succesor of Kelly Holmes? She is still trying to participate at the host Games. Becky says she used to be a conceited girl but injuries had taught her humbleness and what life really is. And at least she still can try: Petra Lammert, once the future of shot putting, had to retire from track and field and now is looking for a new dream in bobsleigh. Fortunately, there are also some athletes happily returned to the elite, after some difficult seasons. Ariane Friedrich underwent knee surgery last year and after the long break she has already jumped 1.91 this winter. It has also been marvellous how Ivet Lalova reached again a world championship final and dipped under 11sec, six years after she dramatically broke her leg in a competition warming up. During this period, she has needed seven different operations and no one could imagine one day she could be back to her best so these are really encouraging news.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Nevertheless, maybe the most remarkable comeback, because of all he represents for a country of 1.3 billions of people, is the one of hurdler Liu Xiang. The man who became the first Asian athlete in winning an Olympic gold medal in sprints and also the first male Chinese in doing so in any track and field event at Athens 2004, had to endure four years later the bitter experience of letting down a crowd of 90.000 spectators and the dreams of a whole nation, when he exited the Bird Nest Olympic stadium, without even having the chance of competing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ep01.epimg.net/diario/imagenes/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215_0000000001_sumario_normal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://ep01.epimg.net/diario/imagenes/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215_0000000001_sumario_normal.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A volunteer is in tears after Liu Xiang withdrawal from Beijing Olympic Games</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Associated Press</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://elpais.com/diario/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215.html">http://elpais.com/diario/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215.html</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> L</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">iu Xiang, the son of a truck driver, entered sport as a high jumper but, in spite of winning the national championship of his age, a bone test showed (wrongly) he was not to be tall enough for the event so he was invited to give it up. (1) However, the kid from the Putuo district of Shanghai was determined to participate one day at the Olympic Games so he tried other specialties until renowned coach Sun Haiping, who had mentored Asian champion Chen Yanhao, spotted his talent for the hurdles in 1998. Famously, the young athlete’s parents wanted their son to concentrate in a College career as Computer Engineering instead of wasting his time in what they believed something without a future, so Sun had to make several visits to convince them. From then on, Liu Xiang’s progress over the hurdles was meteoric. After only three years practising the event he went on to break the world youth best, then the world junior record one year later in a meeting in Lausanne, with a clocking of 13.12 which stands to date. In his first senior season, Liu won a remarkable bronze medal at the World championships in Saint Denis and he followed it up with silver in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Budapest</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in the winter of 2004, on occasion of the World indoors. Then came his sensational and unexpected victory at the Olympic Games over Terrence Trammell, defending champion Anier García and big favourite Allen Johnson, matching Colin Jackson’s world record time of </span><st1:metricconverter productid="12.91 in" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">12.91 in</st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> the process.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The gold medal Liu Xiang won in <st1:city w:st="on">Athens</st1:city> was not really the first one in track and field for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> in the history of the Olympics. Race walkers Chen Yueling and Wang Liping and long distance runner Wang Junxia had achieved it before. Even that same evening Huina Xing would also win at the women’s 10.000m, but Liu’s feat would have a much higher impact in the country than his female counterparts’. Soon the hurdler became a national icon, a role model, the most popular sportsman in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>, along with NBA player Yao Ming. A part of the secret for sudden Liu Xiang’s success among his countrymen was he had accomplished an Olympic triumph in a speciality Asians had for long time thought to be genetically inferior to more muscled Europeans and Afro-Americans, who had dominated every previous Olympic 110m hurdles final. Liu himself had experienced that feeling in his first international competitions as a teen but soon realised his event is more about dynamics than pure speed and power. The new star of the high hurdles had not the explosive outburst of his iron-muscled contenders but his coordination and technique were outstanding, he rarely made a mistake, and his irresistible acceleration made him a fearsome contender for anybody. (2) After his surprising victory in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Athens</st1:city></st1:place>, legend Colin Jackson would react in awe, describing Liu as “a silky hurdler.” (3) This natural elegance and the fact for the first time an Asian sprinter was the reference for Europeans and Americans and not the opposite was quickly noticed by Chinese fans. “My victory has proved Asians can run fast too,” stated the proud new Olympic champion. (1) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> According to Wang Xiaoshan, a journalist of Sports Illustrated, Liu is on the frontline of a 30-year campaign to rebuild national confidence, based in investments in order to obtain sportive success. Since <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> was back to the Olympic Games in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:city></st1:place> 84 its medal tally has been increasingly impressive. Traditionally the country was a powerhouse in tennis table, badminton, judo or gymnastics. Now they focused in some technical events as diving and shooting and then in other sports, until they eventually topped the medal table at the 2008 host Games with 51 gold and 100 medals overall. "Until 1978 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> was a closed country that thought it was doing well. Then we opened the door and suddenly realised we were poor and backward. It was a huge blow to national pride. To rebuild confidence, the government focused on sport. In the early Eighties the victory of the women's volleyball team in the world championship was a huge lift. Then we saw Chinese victories in many other events. But there was one area where it seemed we would never break through - men's athletics. Here we failed again and again until Liu came through and changed everything." (2) Thereafter <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> was something more than the land of ping pong and martial arts. They have shown the world they have the capacity to face the best even in track and field, the king of sports in the Olympic Games.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Besides, Liu Xiang had something else: a special charisma and a personality which fits with the new image <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> wants to offer both internally and abroad. The Asian country has evolved from a closed country into an emerging economical powerhouse, which increasing presence all around the globe. Liu owns the qualities of hard work and sacrifice required for the collective building up of the Communist nation but at the same time represents the brilliant individualism the modern Chinese interests towards the world demand. (2) Liu has a taste for designer clothes, speaks confidently and smart, is rich, with a conquering smile, the perfect man to successfully sponsor Coca Cola, Nike and other international companies. And after all, Liu Xiang remains humble, still would like to live a normal life far away from the pressure of fame. He likes shopping, singing karaoke and chatting over the internet as any average Chinese citizen does. In the opinion of one of his most enthusiast fans</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">"he has achieved the dream of every generation of Chinese athletes. Yet he remains very low-key, never shows off and does not talk about his personal life in public. He has made a deep impression on Chinese people's hearts." </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">(3) </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/08/19/82396331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="563" src="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/08/19/82396331.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Liu Xiang in pain, shortly before withdrawing from his 100m hurdles heat at Beijing Olympic Games<br />
Photo: Adrian Dennis/ AFP/ Getty Images<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/sports/liu-xiang-withdrawal-premediated-3016.html">http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/sports/liu-xiang-withdrawal-premediated-3016.html</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After his Olympic victory in 2004, Liu Xiang consolidated his number one status at the 110m hurdles with three other solid campaigns. In 2006 he broke his own world record, clocking </span><st1:metricconverter productid="12.88 in" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">12.88 in</st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">Lausanne</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">; then became world champion outdoors in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">Osaka</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and indoors in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Valencia</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Everything was set for the man who had become the image of modern </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> to make a breathtaking defence of his Olympic title at the host Games, raising once again pride in the country. Yet fatality made become the dream in a national tragedy. Emerging star Dayron Robles had taken Liu’s world record and the Cuban had clearly dominated during the summer season, while his Chinese archrival had competed scarcely due to a soaring foot. Robles appeared as the favourite but Liu was known to hold well the pressure and being at home he was expected to still prevail in a sensational clash. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Nevertheless, the whole China, who had been reunited in one heart as never before for the 110m hurdles Olympic final, had to witness in astonishment how their hero, unable to run his heat, exited by the back door. Liu Xiang’s recurring troubles with his right Achilles tendon had been kept in secret; only on the hurdler’s official webpage there was a mention of it and it was a real drama to watch Coach Sun Haiping trying to explain his trainee failure to compete, in a speech broke continuously by tears. Many fans and journalists showed sympathy with the athlete’s difficult situation (4) but others blamed him saying he had actually withdrawn beaten by the pressure and by his fear of Robles. (5) There was even talk Liu had been preoccupied all the time with sponsorship activities and advertising opportunities, thus having little time for intensive training so it was useless to run. (6) </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Liu Xiang’s Achilles tendon required surgery, which was successfully undergone on December of that unfortunate Olympic year. Understandably, the depressed athlete also needed psychological help. Liu missed Berlin World Championships, not reappearing until late September of that year on occasion of the Shanghai Grand Prix. One month afterwards he took over the National Games for a record third straight time, in one of the most emotive victories of his career. However further complications on his foot only allowed him to compete in three races during the 2010 outdoor season. Yet, in spite of setbacks, he never lost the favour of his fans: 70.000 people were watching his victory in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Guangzhou</st1:place></st1:city> at the Asian Games. Eventually, the Chinese hurdler started to see the light last year, ending the campaign with a really praiseworthy silver medal at Daegu World championship, which could have been gold, had not old fellow Robles make him lost his balance with an irregular manoeuvre over the last obstacle. In 2012, we have witnessed the Chinese champion breaking again his indoor 60m hurdles area record and ending runner-up at the World indoors in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>, after American Aries Merritt. Now, Liu is undergoing transcendental changes in his technique as reducing his number of starting steps before the first hurdle from eight to seven. While Yao Ming sadly retired last year after an injury plagued basket ball career, the other Chinese standout is on the right way to recover his lost Olympic title and number one status this summer in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. Curiously, now his rival and defending champion Dayron Robles is the one with injury concerns but hopefully he will be also ready to deliver the exciting match we missed four years ago. Good luck also for every injured athlete, wishing everybody will be healthy to attend the upcoming Olympic Games. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://deportesazonado.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/xiang-robles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="445" src="http://deportesazonado.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/xiang-robles.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Liu Xiang and Dayron Robles before their last clash at the Birmingham indoor meeting in February<br />
<a href="http://www.runblogrun.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.runblogrun.com/</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(1) </span><a href="http://liuxiang.sports.cn/english/news/2004-08-28/535155.html" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://liuxiang.sports.cn/english/news/2004-08-28/535155.html</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(2) </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/playmagazine/803HURDLER-t.html?pagewanted=all" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/playmagazine/803HURDLER-t.html?pagewanted=all</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(3) </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/02/beijing20082" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/02/beijing20082</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(4) </span><a href="http://liuxiang.sports.cn/english/news/2008-08-19/1606028.html" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://liuxiang.sports.cn/english/news/2008-08-19/1606028.html</a> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(5) </span><a href="http://elpais.com/diario/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215.html" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://elpais.com/diario/2008/08/19/deportes/1219096806_850215.html</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(6) </span><a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/sports/liu-xiang-withdrawal-premediated-3016.html" style="font-size: 12pt;">http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/sports/liu-xiang-withdrawal-premediated-3016.html</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-25370973982114467102012-02-27T22:51:00.002+01:002012-02-27T22:51:44.663+01:00Ilke Wyludda now Aims for a Gold Medal at the Paralympic Games<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.pnn.de/fm/61/thumbnails/heprodimagesfotos85120111224rtxglvt.jpg.5025172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="http://static.pnn.de/fm/61/thumbnails/heprodimagesfotos85120111224rtxglvt.jpg.5025172.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ilke Wyludda, the day she became Olympic champion<br />
Photo: DPA<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.pnn.de/mediathek/608202/2/">http://www.pnn.de/mediathek/608202/2/</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> London Olympic Games are just around the corner and every athlete is training hard to rise to the occasion. Usain Bolt would like to run the 200m under 19sec so his legend can continue growing and similar thoughts has Yelena Isinbayeva, who is happily back to her best with a new world record. On the other hand, Haile Gebrselassie, 20 years after his international breakthrough, suffered another setback in Tokyo on his aspirations to compete in his 5<sup>th</sup> Olympic Games but still do not throw the towel. In the female discus throw event, after some lacklustre years, there is a new generation helping to reinvigorate the discipline. Yanfeng Li will try to follow up her victory at Daegu Worlds with the Olympic title but Yarelis Barrios and young stars Sandra Perkovic and Nadine Muller are up for an upset, hoping to get the first 70-meter throw of this century. The latter has won in consistency in the last two years and thus targets to become the next number one athlete in the discipline coming from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the discus throw powerhouse by excellence. No less than 6 women belonging to that country rank into the all-time top-10, which is entirely made up of performances from that controversial 1980s decade: Gabriele Reinsch, Ilke Wyludda, Diana Sachse-Gansky, Irina Meszynski, Gisela Beyer and Martina Opitz-Hellmann. A member of this illustrious club, Wyludda, was also the last German Olympic champion at the discus back in 1996. Now 42, she expects to compete at her 4<sup>th</sup> Olympiad but in very different circumstances to Bolt, Isinbayeva, Gebrselassie, Muller and her own previous appearances, after having her right leg amputated one year ago. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The Leipzig-born Wyludda was one of the most prodigious talents to ever step on an athletic throwing circle. She still owns the thirteen best junior performances at the discus, including a huge 74.40m from September 1988, which is, besides the existing world junior record, the fifth overall mark in the history of the event. She threw more than seven metres longer than any other junior athlete has ever done. Accordingly, Ilke was twice a World junior champion at her pet event and excelled also at the shot put, reaching 20.23, which ranks her only behind Astrid Kumbernuss and Heidi Krieger at the junior tables but ahead someone as 1980 Olympic champion Ilona Brisenick-Slupianek. Ilke was already representing the East German team, being 18, at the 1987 World Championships in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, where she finished just out of the medals. However, she was not named for Seoul Olympics with such competition inside of her own country. The more experienced Martina Hellmann, Diana Gansky and record holder Gabriele Reinsch made the trip to </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Korea</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Martina, who once threw the implement beyond </span><st1:metricconverter productid="78 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">78 metres</st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in an unsanctioned meet, was back then the dominating force in the discipline. She clinched the gold medal at the Olympic Games, in the same way she had won it at </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and Rome World Championships.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Wyludda was biding her time, which would come in the following decade. The hopeful German never improved on her massive 74.56 from <st1:metricconverter productid="1989 in" w:st="on">1989 in</st1:metricconverter> <st1:city w:st="on">Neubrandenburg</st1:city> but gained in consistency, thus winning her first international senior title at the 1990 European championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Split</st1:place></st1:city>. (1) She recorded 41 successive victories between 1989 and 1991 but surprisingly her streak came to an end at the world championships, where she was beaten by Bulgarian Tsvetanka Khristova. For the first time injuries would hinder her progression the following season so she had an unfortunate Olympic debut. Wyludda would need up to 15 times knee surgery but always had the willpower to continue on her athletic career. Even more than once she was on a wheelchair for months to come back stronger than ever. In 1994 she defended her European and World Cup titles and the next year she won again silver at the World Championships in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Goteborg</st1:place></st1:city>, behind Belarusian Ellina Zvereva. Then came her sensational victory at Atlanta Olympics, where she threw the implement to a masive 69.66 to get the better of Natalya Sadova and Zvereva. In successive years she would struggle with recurring injuries and eventually gave it up, after the impossibility of regaining her past fitness. In such technical discipline as the discus is, age is a bonus. Ilke Wyludda could still be competing by now. Actually some of her long time rivals as Zvereva, Dietzsch and Yatchenko only retired recently and Nicoleta Grasu, just two years younger, won the bronze medal at 2009 Berlin Worlds; but reality is sometimes tougher than you want to. </span> </span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sport1.de/media/_redaktion2012/sportarten_2/mehrsport/wyludda-krafttraining-5x4_Diashow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://www.sport1.de/media/_redaktion2012/sportarten_2/mehrsport/wyludda-krafttraining-5x4_Diashow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilke Wyludda, training for the 2012 Paralympic Games<br />
<a href="http://www.sport1.de/de/paralympics/artikel_505102.html">http://www.sport1.de/de/paralympics/artikel_505102.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In December 2010 Ilke Wyludda was again in hospital but this time there were further complications. Her knee was infected by septicaemia and she had to choose between keeping either her leg or her life. After the amputation that miraculous back to fitness she had achieved so many times in the past was impossible. Yet Ilke did not fall in self-compassion and had the will of going on, in spite of the tragedy. “However much you cry you are not going to get your limb back. You cannot stand in the past but keep living with new aims, because life is a gift.” (2) Ilke studied medicine, with a doctoral thesis in pain therapy and now she is working as an anaesthetist at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bergmannstrot</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital in Halle</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the same place where she had her leg amputated. Being helpful to other people suffering the same kind of sad experiences, Ilke can find a motivation from now on. Her new situation brought her also to embrace track and field anew. The Olympic champion in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:city> is a true fighter and she learned to be it through the practice of sport. (3) Now to be back in training contributes to maintain physical shape and also allows her to fight for a new dream: to grab another title at the Olympic Games, this time at the Paralympics category. Only Hungarian fencer Pal Szerkeres has won medals at both Olympics and Paralympics and Wyludda could become the first athlete in winning gold in both categories. (4) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Ilke walks now with the help of prosthesis; her apartment and also her car had to be redesigned to fit the new needs of her daily life. She wakes up at 4:30 to reach hospital at 7:00, where she works full time. Then she trains five times a week. Gerhard Boettcher, who was her coach for 20 years has come back to guide her again, in spite he is now a pensioner. Wyludda states it is a new situation but she is already training at 80% of volume, compared to her past workouts. Last December, without any previous training she made her Paralympian debut in a competition in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dubai</st1:place></st1:city>. She shot putted 6.20 and landed the discus to 20.69m. Not much to cheer about but she expects to improve to 9m and 30m respectively by the time of the Olympics. If she qualifies she will be competing there at the shot put (F 58 category), because the discus is not included in the program. Now she will not be targeting world records, becoming the best athlete in the world, yet her competition will be for life itself. Whatever she achieves in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, Ilke Wyludda is an inspiration for everybody about how to keep struggling for new dreams in life, despite fatality has struck you in the most dramatic way. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/827/bikilatv8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/827/bikilatv8.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Abebe Bikila was also an Olympic champion who had to endure the experience of<br />
a physical disability, after his dramatic car accident<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.elatleta.com/foro/showthread.php?115970-Fotos-atletismo-cl%C3%A1sico./page11">http://www.elatleta.com/foro/showthread.php?115970-Fotos-atletismo-cl%C3%A1sico./page11</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://wulkana.republika.pl/wyludda.dy.htm">http://wulkana.republika.pl/wyludda.dy.htm</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.zeit.de/sport/2011-12/ilke-wyludda-amputation/seite-1">http://www.zeit.de/sport/2011-12/ilke-wyludda-amputation/seite-1</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(3) <a href="http://www.elpais.cr/frontend/noticia_detalle/4/60741">http://www.elpais.cr/frontend/noticia_detalle/4/60741</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(4) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/news/latest-news/496-general/10694-discus-champion-wyludda-aiming-to-make-her-mark-as-paralympian.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/news/latest-news/496-general/10694-discus-champion-wyludda-aiming-to-make-her-mark-as-paralympian.html</a></div><br />
<br />
</div><br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-26667069688318245022012-02-16T20:17:00.003+01:002012-02-17T01:04:53.450+01:00Aldershot Girls: are London Olympics coming Too Soon?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE8pFmEjsb_qTqbT7X_LJRC1Xyuc9-V2gq5fPvP7A01EkHCw8yIXJ2nckh2f8FCsaGRW83o4_cZ5ZYUyUDAnqDWRjOvnQyiwu-MmaEqDUNnZ5-HMJYrqU81YFBxabrKOZ6SNV-d5GMhs/s1600/PURDUE-ANTRIM-UKA%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE8pFmEjsb_qTqbT7X_LJRC1Xyuc9-V2gq5fPvP7A01EkHCw8yIXJ2nckh2f8FCsaGRW83o4_cZ5ZYUyUDAnqDWRjOvnQyiwu-MmaEqDUNnZ5-HMJYrqU81YFBxabrKOZ6SNV-d5GMhs/s1600/PURDUE-ANTRIM-UKA%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Esther Chemutai and Charlotte Purdue running in foggy Antrim in 2011<br />
Photo: Mark Shearman<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/CROS11/news/newsid=59111.html">http://www.iaaf.org/CROS11/news/newsid=59111.html</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Both Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram have complained lately British milers do not enjoy anymore competing through cross country trails during the winter season. In the 80s every distance runner used to do it, apart from the popularity of the speciality back then, as a basic preparation to gain in endurance and strength for his summer track campaign. For both legends of track and field this current lack of interest in cross country inside the </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> is one of the secrets of the long crisis the nation is living in middle distance running. No current British athlete can be compared to Coe, Cram and Ovett; not even to Elliott, McKean or Williamson. Baddeley has fallen short of the expectations, Michael Rimmer is not consistent enough and Osagie is still on the making. Yet nowadays there are different times and even the World Cross Country championships are not going to be held this year for the first time since World War II. There is still the consolation of Mo Farah, who, by the way, was born in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">Somalia</st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and whose amazing breakthrough came as he left the </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> to join Alberto Salazar’s stable in </span><st1:state style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Still a British world champion at the 5000m, in a moment 80% of the kids of the country who are involved in track and field when they are 12 years old have given up the sport when they reach their twenties. Why keep it up if there is not a chance of getting close to the East Africans? Is it not the argument used by high school wonder in the USA Lukas Verzbikas when he decided to switch to triathlon? In </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Great Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> there is also now a never seen before passion for cycling, which has brought to the victory of Cavendish at the world championship. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> But this is a man’s world. We have not thought about British female yet. And if there is no worthy heir in the country of past running legends among the men field, we can not say the same about the women’s. Not going very far away in time Jennifer Meadows won a bronze medal at the 800m at Berlin World Championships and Hannah England struck silver at the 1500m in Daegu. However role models are closer in time: Dame Kelly Holmes obtained her sensational double only two Olympic Games ago and Paula Radcliffe, whose world record in the marathon stands out of reach even for Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes, is still training hard to win at last a well-deserved Olympic medal, along with the younger generation. And, apart from some track and field drug addicts, has anybody really realised about the outstanding performances British teen girls are accomplishing in the last couple of seasons in Cross Country? Do not fear these youngsters the hardness of this kind of competition and the terrific East Africans? Listen to the words of the veteran of the group, three time European junior cross champion Stephanie Twell: “Cross Country gives me strength of character because it is tough when you are racing in the mud, in the hills and in horrible weather. I think it gives you a sense of what being a real runner is all about; you are outdoors and you are facing adversities, both physical and mental. Plus the over-distance training you need for cross-country complements track events.” (1) It looks like these kids are really old-school in their approaching to athletics. And this revalorisation of Cross Country is common among her mates, even the youngest ones as Emelia Gorecka: “The course at <st1:placename w:st="on">Stanmer</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype> in <st1:place w:st="on">Brighton</st1:place> was incredible! I can only describe it as a true cross country course – it had hills, mud, woodland, small paths and huge fields… a really enjoyable course to run on.” (2) </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5252/5501761119_b9d3f73128_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5252/5501761119_b9d3f73128_b.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Emelia Gorecka, the European junior champion<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamkr/5501761119/sizes/l/in/photostream/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamkr/5501761119/sizes/l/in/photostream/</span></a></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Great Britain</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> won all three female team titles at last European Cross country championship in Velenje and two of the individual races, thanks to Emma Pallant in under-23 category and Gorecka in juniors. It was just the continuation of a streak which started with the upset of a 16-year-old Steph Twell in 2006. Thanks to the <st1:place w:st="on">Colchester</st1:place> girl, Charlotte Purdue and Emelia Gorecka, the Brits have grabbed five out of the last six junior titles, including a stunning sweep of the first six places in the 2008 edition, when Steph completed her hat trick. (3) Some of the United Kingdom Cross Country standouts are older as Hattie Dean, Freya Murray and Gemma Steel, who has been the senior leading Brit this winter, third in Velenje and second in Edinburgh and Antrim, only inferior among Europeans to the amazing Irish Fionnuala Britton, winner in all those three races. Nevertheless the most interesting athletes of the country are quite young and precocious runners: Twell won gold at the championships at 16; Purdue snatched bronze at 16, silver at 17 and eventually gold at 19; Gorecka, who had won 15 consecutive cross country races in 2008, obtained bronze two years afterwards at the European Champs, being 16 years old and gold at 17. Only Emma Pallant seems to be performing right within the parameters of her age. Besides, Purdue became the youngest winner of the senior national trials in 20 years, and went on to cross the line at Punta Umbría World championship as the first European in place 14<sup>th</sup>. On the other hand, Gorecka, was the youngest contender at the junior race at the precedent edition in Bydgoszcz, finishing a creditable 23rd,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">which she improved to 15th in Punta Umbría. Twell, Purdue, Pallant and Gorecka belong all four of them to the same athletic club, Aldershot Farnham and District AC and train together under the supervision of acclaimed coach Mick Woods.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Woods, a 63-year-old former marathoner from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, has also an outstanding résumé. The mentor of the new generation of British female athletes has been coaching since 1986. Until 1993 he was also working as a full-time telecom engineer but decided to concentrate in his track and field profession once she got a job at St. Mary’s High Performance Centre at <st1:placename w:st="on">Twickenham</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype>, the main base of Aldershot club and the place where <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Charlotte</st1:city></st1:place> is studying History. Mick Woods has coached at least one athlete in every World Championship since 1996. At the last one in Punta Umbría, 8 representatives out of 24 belonged to <st1:place w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place>. (4) Furthermore, three of his charges won in consecutive editions the British Rising Athlete of the Year award: Stephanie Twell in 2008, Charlotte Purdue in 2009 and Emelia Gorecka in 2010. Sprinter Jodie Williams eventually broke the streak in 2011, when no wonder Mick Woods was named <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mentor</st1:place></st1:city> of the year by the same prestigious magazine, Runner’s World. (5) </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WoodsTwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WoodsTwell.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Mick Woods and outstanding pupil Stephanie Twell<br />
<a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/aldershots-waterloo/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/aldershots-waterloo/</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> And what is the secret behind that stunning success of those young girls, of that single coach? Some has compared this athletic club with the one Kiyoshi Nakamura, the coach of Toshihiko Seko and Douglas Wakihurii, used to have. (6) It is a question of total loyalty, blind trust in Woods’ methods. Charlotte Purdue arrived to the club being 11, when she was spotted by Woods in a school race and Emma Pallant has been there as long as her mate. Steph Twell joined <st1:place w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place> even younger, when she was 9. The simple reason was she was living <st1:metricconverter productid="600 metres" w:st="on">600 metres</st1:metricconverter> from the track and her father was involved in the club. However nowadays she would never quit her coach. The prove is she was adamant in her decision of sticking with him in a moment it seemed St. Mary’s was going to be excluded from the high performance centres chosen to prepare British endurance athletes for London Olympics and she was asked to relocate to Loughborough with another coach. (7) Purdue and Pallant share her mate’s faith towards their lifelong trainer. Other athletes as Emelia Gorecka and Georgia Peel came later in their careers from other clubs but they are as enthusiastic about <st1:place w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place>. Gorecka states running is her relaxation time from studies, thanks to the extraordinary atmosphere created in training by her fellow athletes and Woods, which help her to stay at any time calmed and focused . Her <st1:place w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place> mates are also her best friends out of the track. (8) </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Aldershot</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> will never be a running elite-building factory. Mick Woods’s personality will never be up for that. For the successful coach the more pupils the better, especially when the sport drop rate is so high. And he does not necessarily recruit the most talented youngster. Purdue finished 16<sup>th</sup> at the race she was spotted by Mick, just at time because she did not expect to keep further her running career. "She was not an athlete with perfect movement. She had little leg lift and was very much a heel striker, but what I saw was someone who could have an engine - endurance - and that has always been <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Charlotte</st1:place></st1:city>'s success.” (5) What Woods praises in a trainee is commitment and perseverance, the willpower to keep going even in adverse circumstances, when results are not coming or injuries weaken confidence. In his privileged bunch there is no room for egos either. He places team over individual results, in a modus operandi similar to a pyramid, in which role models as Twell, Purdue (the top), inspire those around them (the base), creating the ethos inside the group. Then the target is to channel the base towards the top. (5) These amazing girls have also been a souce of inspiration for their male counterparts, who have raise their standards, as Jonathan Hay, stunning runner-up in the race of the Olympic champions last month in Edinburgh. Besides, working together, athletes with different skills or capacities support each other, as for example Emelia Gorecka contributes to Georgia Peel’s endurance improvement, benefiting at the same time from the superior speed of her mate. It helps engender the commitment and work ethic; this builds on the club’s success and, in turn, the athletes’ individual goals and performances. </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.prlog.org/11713621-georgia-peel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.prlog.org/11713621-georgia-peel.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Georgia Peel, the trackster of the group... or maybe...?<br />
<a href="http://www.prlog.org/11713621-young-chobham-sporting-star-receives-top-award.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.prlog.org</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> There is always room for making friends and laughs but work have to be done. And it is quite tough. Mick Woods is someone who believes high volume is the base for subsequent quality work, as Lydiard or the same Nakamura. It is something many of the current coaches, who prefer shorter staff, have neglected, according to Woods’ opinion. And yes! Cross country in the winter is the best way to start the year. Even teen Georgia Peel whose longest event during the track season will be the 1500m, log the miles and competes happily through the mud, forest hills and the snow to acquire endurance and toughness for her summer races. And eventually, intensity is also required in training. If you want to be fast in championships you first need to be fast during your workouts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In the last two winters some of the Aldershot standouts have also had the opportunity of training in altitude in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Iten</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, enjoying the facilities of Lornah Kiplagat’s training centre. One year ago, Twell and Pallant made the trip, along with other British athletes, and recently Steph repeated the experience with Charlie. Mick Woods could stay with them most of the time, getting fit following them riding a bike. (9) For natural runners like them it was an ambivalent journey. Emma was elated of her stage in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and came back with positive feelings about everything from the food to the landscape. (10) Purdue was not as relaxed in Iten. She praised the work of the Kenyan staff at Lornah’s but the shower was “shit” and the gym was too crowded and noisy. Specially she did not get to adapt to the muddy and rocky trails and had to return home with a hurting knee. (11) Both expeditions were unlucky with climatic conditions. The first time it was too dry and too much dust was in the air. The second time the weather was unexpectedly rainy and it made difficult running. Anyway, injuries had been an obstacle too much frequently in the way of Mick Woods’ disciples, often as consequence of the highly demanding </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">’s workouts. Pallant faced retirement after a knee operation in 2009 and ongoing struggles in following seasons. Purdue did not race in six months in 2011 because of a stress fracture of the knee. Finally, Twell broke her ankle in five pieces in a Cross in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brussels</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> one year ago and has been back only recently. The courageous athlete was prevented against running cross country again but she took the risk and achieved a praiseworthy fourth place in Velenje. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Fortunately all these amazing runners have currently left all their injuries behind and are training at full power for London Olympic Games. Yet it had been nice if their beloved specialty, Cross Country, would have been included in the Olympic programme. Lacking it, they will have to concentrate their efforts for the track. To date, the only <st1:place w:st="on">Aldershot</st1:place> athlete whose performances on the stadium match the ones on the fields is Steph Twell, who won the final at the World Junior championships in <st1:metricconverter productid="2008, in" w:st="on">2008, in</st1:metricconverter> a race Emma Pallant struck bronze. (12) That victory over Kenyans and Ethiopians, notably over Kalkidan Gezahegne, current world indoor champion and 4<sup>th</sup> placer outdoors in Daegu, was a huge boost of confidence for Steph, who also made her Olympic debut in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city> that same year. Afterwards she has improved her marks to 4:02.54 at the 1500m and 14:54.08 at the 5000m, alternating up and downs in major championships. In her reappearance year after a whole season cut down by her broken ankle, she is entering the turning point of her career. Almost 23 by the Games, she will have to prove herself she can now face anybody. It will be an excellent opportunity for her in an event quite open and besides cheered by her own public. Look at also for Emma Pallant, for years at the shadow of giants Twell and Purdue, who eventually won her first international title in Velenje and can be in the year of her breakthrough. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Charlotte Purdue </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">proved she was born for tough cross country challenges,</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> ever since she sensationally endured extreme heat and humidity in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mombasa</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> in 2007, to end up the first not-African in the junior contest at age 15. Lately we have seen her also successfully mastering the roads, as at last Bupa Edinburgh Great Run, where only one of the best, Lucy Wangui, could beat her. Charlie has entered next </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> half-marathon and her future may well be at the longest of the Olympic events. Twell is on the way of becoming the new Kelly Holmes, while Purdue might be a worthy heir of Paula Radcliffe… but for </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rio de Janeiro</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> in four years time. Meanwhile, she would try to qualify for the 10.000m for </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London,</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> but her far-from-economic style of running does not seem to fit the track. For another pure cross country runner, Emelia Gorecka, these Games come too soon but if Jordan Hasay has focused all her season for the Olympic US trials, why should not try such extraordinary youngster as Emelia. Her teen companion Georgia Peel, who like Pallant (13) attended the “On Camp with Kelly” mentoring project for promising middle distance runners, would like to give joy to Dame Holmes qualifying for the host Games at the 1500m. (14) Winner at her first international outing, the World School Games in Doha in 2009, where we also discovered Gorecka, Georgia suffered later two successive setbacks at the Youth Olympic Games and Youth World championships, returning home without a medal. (15) Now she will be up for revenge. Too much too soon, but when there is so much talent and athletic passion you never know. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="420" src="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/EmmaPallantKenya.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="670" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Emma Pallant at her training stage in altitude in Iten, Kenya, in February 2011<br />
<a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/blog/starting-2011-up-high/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.athleticsweekly.com/blog/starting-2011-up-high/</span></a></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/interview/rw-interviews-steph-twell/6854.html">http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/interview/rw-interviews-steph-twell/6854.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.nosweatrunning.com/mud-hills-and-birthday-cake/">http://www.nosweatrunning.com/mud-hills-and-birthday-cake/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(3) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/15th-spar-european-cross-country-championships/6961-junior-women-twells-triple-triumph-and-britain-clean-sweep.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/15th-spar-european-cross-country-championships/6961-junior-women-twells-triple-triumph-and-britain-clean-sweep.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(4) <a href="http://www.uka.org.uk/media/news/march-2011/18-03-11-iaaf-world-cross/">http://www.uka.org.uk/media/news/march-2011/18-03-11-iaaf-world-cross/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(5) <a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/motivation/runners-world-heroes-2011/6709-2.html">http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/motivation/runners-world-heroes-2011/6709-2.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(6) <a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/aldershots-waterloo/">http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/alders</a><a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/coaching/aldershots-waterloo/">hots-waterloo/</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(7) <a href="http://www.espnstar.com/other-sports/news/detail/item353576/Twell-sticks-with-Woods/">http://www.espnstar.com/other-sports/news/detail/item353576/Twell-sticks-with-Woods/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(8) <a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/motivation/heroes-of-running-2010-the-winners/5120-2.html">http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/motivation/heroes-of-running-2010-the-winners/5120-2.html</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(9) <a href="http://www.smuc.ac.uk/epacc/altitude-training.htm">http://www.smuc.ac.uk/epacc/altitude-training.htm</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(10) <a href="http://www.athleticsweekly.com/blog/starting-2011-up-high/">http://www.athleticsweekly.com/blog/starting-2011-up-high/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(11) <a href="http://www.charlottepurdue.com/wordpress/?p=52">http://www.charlottepurdue.com/wordpress/?p=52</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">(12) </span><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WJC08/news/kind=100/newsid=46144.html" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/WJC08/news/kind=100/newsid=46144.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">(13) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WJC08/news/kind=100/newsid=46181.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WJC08/news/kind=100/newsid=46181.html</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(14) <a href="http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/youthsport/s/2063016_athletics_chobham_girl_takes_world_gold">http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/youthsport/s/2063016_athletics_chobham_girl_takes_world_gold</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">(15) <a href="http://www.prlog.org/11713621-young-chobham-sporting-star-receives-top-award.html">http://www.prlog.org/11713621-young-chobham-sporting-star-receives-top-award.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div><br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-65172901395111259092012-02-14T02:46:00.004+01:002012-04-12T19:14:32.298+02:00One Thousand Reasons to Love Shelly-Ann Fraser<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120111/sports/images/GraceSponsorH20120110IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120111/sports/images/GraceSponsorH20120110IA.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shelly-Ann Fraser gets excited, surrounded by the students from Stella Maris Preparatory School<br />
Photo: Ian Allen<br />
<a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120111/sports/sports4.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120111/sports/sports4.html</span></a></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Shelly-Ann Fraser made history when she became the first Jamaican woman who won the 100m event at the Olympic Games, in <metricconverter productid="2008 in" w:st="on">2008 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city>. Besides she led a highly successful and totally unprecedented sweep of the medals for her country in that race, along with mates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart. On the following year, in spite of having her preparation hiccupped by an appendectomy, Shelly went on to add the world crown to the Olympic one, in Berlin, in a time of 10.73, thus breaking Merlene Ottey national record in the process and placing herself third in the all-time lists. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Only Gail Devers from the </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">USA</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> had achieved that double before. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">She also performed a stunning backstretch leg in Jamaica's victory at the 4x100m relay at that same championships. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> A series of minor injuries and the arrival of the irresistible Carmelita Jeter, author of an extraordinary 10.64 at the end of the 2009 season, relegated Fraser to the fourth position in Daegu World Championship, just outside of the medals. Anyway the Jamaican sprinter is up for a fresh new star in 2012, hoping to defend her Olympic title. Out of the track, she has further targets, related with her endeavours in order to help improve the social conditions of children and women of her community.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> Shelly-Ann is not just any Olympic champion. Her lovable personality and how she got to overcome her difficult upbringings in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> to obtain international recognition in sport are a unique inspiration for her countrymen. Yet much of the merit of Shelly’s success belongs to her mother. In Waterhouse, where criminal gangs and drugs roam free and murders are committed every week, Maxine was just another member of a large family of brothers and sisters who got pregnant being a teen and soon became a single mother of three. However, Maxine did not want the same unlucky doom for their children. The family grew up in a one-room tenement with a single bed to be shared for all four members, but the mother worked hard as a street vendor to assure her dear ones could have access to a good education in schools as George Headley and Wolmer’s Trust and thus eventually break the circle of misery. (1) Acknowledging the danger, Maxine prevented Shelly and her siblings from hanging on the street.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">"When you look at the situation that you are in, you work hard at what you want. The crime was a disadvantage and you had to be very careful of who you talk with, because not everybody is who you think they are,” was quoted the future Olympic champion. (2) Maxine was a former runner and her daughter had inherited the genes. She would often be seen running barefoot tirelessly, determined to find through her athletic skills her dream, a way out of poverty. Now Shelly is a world famous sprinter and her triumph is a source of pride for her whole community. After returning from her gold medal in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city>, the runner was in shock of seeing her image immortalised in a mural by local painting artists: “The only time they draw your face in a wall where I live is when you are dead.” (3)</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 680px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k63DLvCNGkA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k63DLvCNGkA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="680" height="360"></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/shannonwrege">http://www.youtube.com/user/shannonwrege</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> Besides her sportive achievements, Shelly-Ann Fraser is the only person in her family who has undertaken tertiary education. Currently, she is in her last academic year in order to obtain a degree in Child Care and Development at <city w:st="on">Kingston</city>’s <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">University</placetype> of <placename w:st="on">Technology</placename></place>. Keeping in mind her experience as a poor girl growing up in the inner-city, she expects to make a contribution in the task of improving social and mental conditions for future Waterhouse’s children. Talking about her plans she intends to set up a foundation to aid under-privileged kids; to build a community centre in Waterhouse; to get Jamaicans to toss away guns and ensure the island becomes a woman's as well as a man's world; to become a child psychologist to help develop more people in the world with better values and better morals. (1) In her crusade she will have the convincing argument of her own living example which proves you can make it if you have the right motivation even in the hardest environment; you can become something good even coming from the ghetto. Nevertheless, before graduating, her success in sport has allowed her to start already with her altruistic endeavours. Since 2010 Shelly-Ann is the first UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> and also Grace Food’s official Ambassador for Peace. (4) In a visit to her former school Wolmer’s, whom she gave a donation in return for the excellent education she received in, she left in awe the audience of young students with her eloquent speech: </span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: #282828; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">"The next Olympic champion or the next Prime Minister could be any one of you sitting right here. Believe in yourself. Never give up on your dreams and goals." (5) Shelly also would like to contribute to the liberation of Jamaican women. In spite of her outstanding victory and clean sweep of the medals at the 100m in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city> by three girls of the country, all this was completely overshadowed by Usain Bolt and his world records. All the journalists’ questions when arriving to the press conference in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region> were asked to him. Fraser or Campbell-Brown are still far behind in popularity and media attention in comparison with Bolt and Asafa Powell but the student in child development expect one day “this man’s world” is going to change. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> And if Shelly can not change the world with her words she will do with her smile and altogether adorable personality. The 100m Olympic champion can be easily named the most lovable person of the whole athletic field. Much of it comes from her upbringing in Waterhouse which is also the legendary reggae music cradle by excellence, along with the neighbouring Trenchtown. The likes of King Tubby, U Roy and Black Uhuru all come from this place and it would not be strange, Shelly, who states if she had not been a runner would have enjoyed being a dancer or a singer, could claim the spot of the sadly gone Sandra "Puma" Jones. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 47px;">Her former schoolmates remember her as jovial and funny and she has not changed much. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">The Waterhouse sprinter owns an irresistible children smile and an overwhelming spontaneity and bubbly ways, which combined with her shyness makes worth coming to an athletic meeting, only to watch Shelly’s lively celebrations (6) bouncing overjoyed or screaming full of happiness on the ground -If you still do not know the girl please watch the video above. And if she is lovely to be seen in her winning days, when she loses she still keeps her smile and also her humbleness and sportsmanship. Yet despite of her demeanour, her cute looks and her braces, she has always considered herself a tomboy. In her childhood she was always playing her brothers’ games and her favourite toy was a tiny soldier. Furthermore there are less encouraging memories involving a couple of lizards, a syringe and some blood. (3) Shelly has always had more male friends than female, as track club mate Asafa Powell. However now she is happily married with long time boyfriend, not related to sports, Jason Pryce. Lucky guy!</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.jamaicapage.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/shelly-ann-fraser-jamaca-beijing-gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jamaicapage.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/shelly-ann-fraser-jamaca-beijing-gold.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shelly-Ann Fraser celebrates her Olympic victory at Beijing Olympic Games<br />
Photo: Stu Foster/ Getty Images<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.jamaicapage.com/shelly-ann-fraser-returns-jamaica/">http://www.jamaicapage.com/shelly-ann-fraser-returns-jamaica/</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;">Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is delightfully human and she still was as her positive drug test from oxycodone was revealed. Her management is really to blame on that affair: was it really necessary to make the athlete take that toothache painkiller for running that Diamond League meeting at any price? It really hurt the reputation of this person, the last one you can think of as taking illicit shortcuts to success, once you know her long time hard work and sacrifices to overcome poverty and become a professional athlete; and besides acknowledging the importance of her public image, because of her involvement with children and UNICEF. Anyway, Shelly did not try to hide from anybody. Instead, she decided to face that affair with journalists with sincerity, answering outright any of their questions. It is plain many enjoy this sort of sensationalistic news and quite a lot are convinced Jamaican overwhelming dominance of sprint events around the world is due to the extra help of steroids. It is true there have been some cases of doping offences from athletes of the country but it does not explain the sensational Jamaican success.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">If you look for the secret of the formula, first you must think athletics is the national sport in the island, at the same level as soccer is in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Brazil</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. The </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United States</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> as a larger country count with as many or even more youngsters talented for sports which require speed and strength, but many take instead football, baseball or basketball. In </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> every one of the hopeful teens choose track and field sprints, in the same way Kenyans and Ethiopians embrace distance running. (7) There is a very long established athletic tradition in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, which most clear manifestation is “The Champs.” </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-200-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/champs.html">http://moti-athletics-200-w.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/champs.html</a> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> This inter-secondary school competition has been held for over a century with immense success. Boys and girls in the country clash under a crowd of 30.000 spectators and thus get used to competition and pressure since they are very young. Just remember Jamaican high school squads as Vere Tech, Wolmer's, Kingston College, Munro College and Edwin Allen got the better of US teams in most of the sprint races at last Penn Relays. Besides a well structured and intense youth (and senior) calendar, </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> has currently two of the best sprint coaches in the world: Stephen Francis and Glenn Mills, which head MVP Track Club and Racers Track Club respectively. Most of the current national stars are training in one of the two foremost teams. Up to 10 years ago, Jamaican hopefuls used to join US Colleges to develop their athletic career but lately teens opt instead to stay in </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, where they can get as good world-class coaching as in any other country in the world. Finally, the government is increasingly investing in sport, there are outstanding role models for youngsters and hard work and commitment of the athletes are a big reason for success too. </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is also the product of this encouraging atmosphere for running in the <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">island</placetype> of <placename w:st="on">Jamaica</placename></place>. She competed as a young teen several times at the Champs, representing Wolmer’s high school. However as was also the case of Veronica Campbell and many others, she suffered shocking defeats until eventually she got to win the 100m title in 2004, aged 17. The following year she struck the bronze medal at another teen contest with outstanding reputation and tradition, the Carifta Games, which are held at <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> level. Throughout those battles she learned how to deal with the pressure of a large crowd and as consequence increased her confidence. As a senior athlete, Shelly-Ann joined MVP track club. Under Stephen Francis, who she believes her most important influence in life besides of her mother, and working together with the likes of Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Melaine Walker or Shericka Williams, the young athlete made the way to the elite. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">In 2007, Shelly improved her PB to 11.31 for 5</span><sup style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> place at the national championships and for the first time was named for the senior Jamaican team to compete at the World Championships in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. As a member of the 4x100m relay in the semi final she was awarded with the silver medal the squad eventually won. Then in 2008 came her sensational breakthrough, when she finished second after Kerron Stewart at the national trials in 10.85, leaving out of the Olympics in the 100m event the then reigning world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown. In spite of many voices claiming the 21-year-old athlete had to be left in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Jamaica</country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> to favour the more experienced </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Campbell</city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, eventually Shelly-Ann Fraser made the trip to </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> and the rest is history. At the Olympics the world witnessed for the first time Shelly’s trademark: her meteoric outburst. The ultimate “rocket-pocket” after three powerful strides always gets at least one metre clear of every one of her rivals. Yet her problem is sometimes to maintain this gap until the end. Shelly worked especially on her endurance last year, emphasising 400m repeats in training, and seemed to be in the right way when she won the 200m at the Jamaican Invitational in a slightly windy 22.10, beating handily Veronica Campbell. Nevertheless, some injuries did not allow her to keep her progression further during the season. Maybe this Olympic year she can be back to where she used to be. Shelly-Ann Fraser is only training seriously since 2006 and many of her senior seasons have been slowed by injuries or illness. The Waterhouse lad has still many things to say at major global competitions on the track.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Shelly+Ann+Fraser+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+oawl3e8R7bEl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Shelly+Ann+Fraser+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+oawl3e8R7bEl.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shelly-Ann Fraser in Daegu with her relay 4x100m teammates Kerron Stewart, Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell<br />
Photo: Andy Lyons/ Getty Images Asia Pac<br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Shelly+Ann+Fraser"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Shelly+Ann+Fraser</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1) <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/6462382/Shelly-Ann-Frasers-rise-from-poverty-to-one-of-the-worlds-best-sprinters-is-remarkable.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/6462382/Shelly-Ann-Frasers-rise-from-poverty-to-one-of-the-worlds-best-sprinters-is-remarkable.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080805/news/news2.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080805/news/news2.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(3) <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/may/09/shelly-anne-fraser-olympic-champion">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/may/09/shelly-anne-fraser-olympic-champion</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(4) <a href="http://www.unicef.org/spanish/people/jamaica_53021.html">http://www.unicef.org/spanish/people/jamaica_53021.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090924/sports/sports2.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090924/sports/sports2.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(6) <a href="http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=114/newsid=53233.html">http://berlin.iaaf.org/news/kind=114/newsid=53233.html</a><br />
(7) <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110821/focus/focus4.html">http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110821/focus/focus4.html</a> </div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<br /></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-18236066701165405202012-01-26T22:10:00.006+01:002012-02-02T02:42:14.576+01:00Kenya Outckicks Ethiopia. Past Glory and Current Crisis in Ethiopian Running School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/albumes/2011/08/27/primer_dia_daegu_2011/1314453647_extras_albumes_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/albumes/2011/08/27/primer_dia_daegu_2011/1314453647_extras_albumes_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Vivian Cheruiyot, Sally Kipyego, Linet Masai and Priscah Cherono, in their lap of honour at Daegu World championships, after completing a 1-2-3-4 for Kenya at the 10.000m</span><br />
<a href="http://www.marca.com/albumes/2011/08/27/primer_dia_daegu_2011/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.marca.com/albumes/2011/08/27/primer_dia_daegu_2011/</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> There is a saying when a Kenyan and an Ethiopian athlete arrive head to head to the homestretch, the victory always goes to the latter. It used to be like this for years; for decades. But not anymore. Linet Masai broke the trend on the track at the inaugural day in the 2009 Berlin World championships, achieving an unbelievable gold medal at the 10.000m distance, piping Meseret Defar and Meselech Melkamu at the line, after seeming out of contention entering the last <metricconverter productid="100 metres" w:st="on">100 metres</metricconverter>. Vivian Cheruiyot rounded up the Kenyan success some days afterwards, in an even more outstanding triumph at the 5000m over Defar, whom she had only defeated once in sixteen previous matches. Cheruiyot has now taken the spotlight over the track as the uncontested female number one in long distance, relegating Meseret to second fiddle and replicating also at last World championships Tirunesh Dibaba’s sensational 5000m-10.000m double victories in <city w:st="on">Helsinki</city> and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city>. Such is her superiority, when her manager Ricky Simms was asked about Cheruiyot’s chances for Daegu he had a simple answer: “If the race is fast, Vivian will win. If the race is slow, Vivian will win as well.”(1) Former distance queen Dibaba has been unable to challenge the Kenyan as she has been fighting injuries for most of the last three seasons. So has male counterpart Kenenisa Bekele. Without their two standouts, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> seems lost on the track and has also been overwhelmingly dominated lately over the roads by their East African neighbours. In Daegu, Ibrahim Jeylan won the sole gold medal for his country at the 10.000m, while <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> accomplished a record of seven victories and seventeen medals, including sweeping all the places in the podium twice, at the female marathon and 10.000m. Ethiopian athletes are not so fearsome anymore, but what are the reasons for this decline? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Some facts which are worth considering:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> 1) Derartu Tulu and Haile Gebrselassie were the standard-bearers of the Ethiopian renaissance in athletics in the beginning of the 1990s. Their victories and charisma had brought confidence back and hundredths of teens tried to follow in their steps all over the country. By the end of the decade, not just two individuals but a whole generation of young Ethiopians had taken over world long distance running. Miruts Yifter had led a 1-3-4 at the 10.000m in Moscow Olympic Games. This success was reproduced 19 years afterwards, as Haile won the final, at 1999 World Championships. In Sidney Olympics, the following season, a record of 4 gold medals was achieved by Gebrselassie, Tulu, Million Wolde and Gezahegne Abera. By then Paul Tergat and maybe Eric Wainaina were the only challenging Kenyans, while Western countries started to lose interest in the sport due to the overwhelming superiority of the East Africans.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> 2) In 2003 Worlds in Saint Dennis participated for the first time (and won), in a global championship on the track, Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba. Worthy heirs of Haile and Derartu, they led a second generation of Ethiopian runners, equally talented and superior in depth. The new names among the men were Bekele, Sihine, Gebremariam or Dinkesa, while the Dibaba sisters, Defar, Melkamu or Burka were ready to take the relay from Tulu, Wami, Roba, Alemu and Adere. By then, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> was in its weakest moment in many years, even losing twice the male team title at the World Cross Country, which they had held since 1986. At the 2005 World Championships in <city w:st="on">Helsinki</city>, while <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region> won a lonely gold medal thanks to veteran Benjamin Limo at the 5000m, <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region></place> held a never seen stranglehold, especially in the women events. Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Ejegayehu Dibaba and Meselech Melkamu achieved a marvellous 1-2-3-4 at the 5000m, while the Dibaba sisters and Berhane Adere swept also the medals at the 10.000m. Six years afterwards, the Kenyan team has gotten to reverse the situation. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/photo/competitions/other/20987_w400xh600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/photo/competitions/other/20987_w400xh600.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Gezahegne Abera after winning the 2003 London Marathon<br />
Photo: Getty Images/ IAAF<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/">http://www.iaaf.org/</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> 3) </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The turning point was the 2007 World Cross Country championships. <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region>, the host country, prepared a truly challenging contest at sea level in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mombasa</place></city> under extreme heat and humidity, expecting to put an end to the streak of the invincible Bekele. The Ethiopian squad suffered a pitiful debacle in what can be considered the toughest races ever held in a major championship. More than half of the team succumbed to the exhausting conditions, starting by the same Kenenisa. Only the senior female representatives (Dibaba, Melkamu, Burka) could manage an acceptable performance and even so Tirunesh was carrying stomach pains sequels throughout the season. Heat and humidity were also present at that year World Championships and again it proved to fit the Kenyans. From 1 gold medal in <city w:st="on">Helsinki</city> they passed to <metricconverter productid="5 in" w:st="on">5 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on">Osaka</city>, against 3 of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region>. Out of these medals it was especially remarkable the one at the marathon, where Luke Kibet struck the title 20 years afterwards of his country’s last victory in the event in a global championship. In the overall tally <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> beat their neighbours 13 to 4. Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele achieved awesome double victories at the subsequent Olympic Games in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city> but their African rivals won most of the other middle and long distance finals, raising their standards to 6 gold medals, 4 silvers and 4 bronzes. <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region></place> had overcome the crisis and was now at their best level ever.</span></div><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">4) Between that key 2003 year to the present, <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region> has won 26 gold medals and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> 18, at world and Olympic level. If you see the list of the winners, the former has eighteen different champions while the latter only five. If we agree Berhane Adere, who struck the 10k in 2003, belongs to the old generation, it means every title has been got by Bekele (eight victories), Dibaba (six) and Defar (two), with the exception of the last one, whose victor, Ibrahim Jeilan, happens to be based in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Japan</place></country-region>. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> has been depending on the same three runners for almost a decade. Now, with Kenenisa and Tirunesh injured and Meseret not quite at her best level, is not being easy to keep winning the finals. No world beaters in the third generation.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> 5) Nowadays, due to economical reasons, long distance runners are crowding the roads. This is where most of the athletes of the third generation are. Since the times of the great <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Abebe Bikila</city>, <country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region></place> has a long and outstanding tradition in the marathon. When for <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> the 42,195km was still virgin territory, their long time rivals had already climbed four times to the top of an Olympic podium in the men category (Bikila twice, Mamu Wolde and Abera). Eric Wainaina seemed to be the only consistent runner of his nation and accordingly he was selected for three consecutive Games, something really unlikely to happen again. Yet ever since <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> discovered the road to success, they have not stop winning. Samuel Wanjiru showed every countryman it was possible and it was possible running fast, at Beijing Olympics. Now <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> keeps a streak of four successive victories at global championships (Kibet, Wanjiru and two times Abel Kirui) and counting. They do not even need to bring their best men to grab the victory.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">6) However it is at classic marathons they are stating more clearly their superiority. During the sensational 2011 season, Geoffrey and Emmanuel Mutai, Patrick Makau and Moses Mosop all set new best in every one of the world marathon majors. (2) Makau in <state w:st="on">Berlin</state> and Wilson Kipsang in Frankfurt improved on the previous Gebrselassie’s world record and also did Geoffrey and Moses at the wind-aided <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Boston</place></city>. All 20 best marks of the year in the IAAF ranking were achieved by Kenyans. All of them ran under 2:06:30. Remember that old record (2:06:50) Belayneh Dinsamo set in 1988 which stood for 10 years? Meanwhile, no Ethiopian was able to break 2:07 in a no-downhill race in the whole year. Gebremariam was the author in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Boston</place></city> of the most worthy performance of the season: 2:04.53 with the tailwind, good for only third place. After his victorious debut in the distance, in the Big Apple in 2010, this season he is the best Ethiopian but unable to follow the Mutais and Mosop. On the other hand, Tsegaye Kebede, who was thought the best marathoner in the world without Wanjiru, after Sammy’s untimely death, in 2011 was just 5<sup>th</sup> in <city w:st="on">London</city> and 3<sup>rd</sup> in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New York</place></state>. No wonder, Haile has decided to run <city w:st="on">Tokyo</city> instead of faster races as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Dubai</place></city>, probably thinking world class times will not be needed to make the Ethiopian team to London Olympics. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6218/6319375861_6e8f79201d_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6218/6319375861_6e8f79201d_z.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Buzunesh Deba and Firehiwot Dado at 2011 New York marathon<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanprose/6319375861/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanprose/6319375861/</span></a></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">7) Talking about women, first of all we can realize about the massive incorporation of Ethiopian female to the practice of track and field. One decade ago we had Olympic champion Fatuma Roba and Elfenesh Alemu. Then track specialists Tulu, Wami, Adere and a few others: Asha Gigi, Magarsa Tafa and Dire Tune. That is all for ten years. Nowadays, in 2011, no less than 33 Ethiopian girls made the top-<metricconverter productid="100 in" w:st="on">100 in</metricconverter> the marathon, almost doubling in number the Kenyans (18). The problem is the latter nation loses talking about quantity but wins if we refer to quality. In 2009 and 2010 Ethiopian athletes won many classic marathons and even achieved a bronze medal at the world championships with Aselefech Mergia. Yet last year was quite different. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> has found a new generation to replace the likes of Catherine Ndereba and Rita Jeptoo and they are starting to show amazing results. In the spring, a Kenyan girl won every one of the most renowned marathons: Philes Ongori in <city w:st="on">Rotterdam</city>, Priscah Jeptoo in Paris, Caroline Kilel in <city w:st="on">Boston</city> and finally Mary Keitany in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city>. The latter marathon was especially noteworthy: despite many of the current best Ethiopian women had entered the competition, as the half-marathon record holder launched her attack mid-race, only one of them, Aberu Kebede, dared to follow her, along with Edna Kiplagat and Liliya Shobukhova. However the pace was too much for Kebede and she finished hitting the wall. Only the diminutive Bizunesh Bekele managed, at her own rhythm, a decent fourth place. <a href="http://www.moti-athletics-marathon-w.blogspot.com/2011/05/after-spring-marathons-things-seem-more.html"> http://www.moti-athletics-marathon-w.blogspot.com/2011/05/after-spring-marathons-things-seem-more.html</a> Identical scene was later reproduced at the World Championships: Edna, Sharon Cherop and Priscah Jeptoo changed dramatically the pace, destroying the whole field, which included the best possible Ethiopian team. Again Aberu Kebede tried to follow the leaders in vain and again Bizunesh Bekele finished up fourth. Nevertheless, in the autumn, still <country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region> could win a major marathon as Mary Keitany in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New York</place></state> miscalculated her forces trying to keep a world record pace through the hilly course and eventually was overcome by three times winner in Rome Firehiwot Dado and Bronx-based Buzunesh Deba. That surprising victory, along with late-year amazing performances of Mamitu Daska, Korene Jelila, Tiki Gelana and the debutant Ejegayehu Dibaba, can be a big booster for the confidence of Ethiopian girls for the Olympic marathon. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">8) In Beijing Olympics youngster Yakob Jarso improved the 28-year-old national record at the steeplechase which Eshetu Tura set at Moscow Olympics, getting an excellent 4<sup>th</sup> place in the final. He followed this up with a 5<sup>th</sup> position at Berlin World Championships, just ahead of compatriot Roba Gari. There was talk Ethiopian runners had chances of threatening Kenyans in a close future at their pet event. However, Jarso is currently running 5k and 10k in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Japan</place></country-region> and even trying the roads, while Roba, in spite of improving several times Jarso’s record, is not challenging in any way the likes of Ezekiel Kemboi and Brimin Kipruto. We will see the next generation, which led by Birhan Getahun obtained a surprising clean sweep of the medals against the Kenyan B team at last African Games. Their females counterparts as Sofia Assefa has never ceased of playing second fiddle against Milcah Chemos or Yuliya Zaripova. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">9) Middle distance runners are luckier than steeplechasers for the moment. Gelete Burka, Kalkidan Gezahegne and Deresse Mekonnen have all won World indoor titles at the 1500m but still need to improve on their consistency, in an event quite open in both female and male categories. Abeba Arigawi and Yenew Alamirew, especially the latter because of his manager is Jos Hermens, have been seen as the new Tirunesh and Kenenisa, after their brilliant 2011 indoor campaign. Yet Arigawi was injured for all the summer season and Alamirew, after some impressive races, faded to the point he was not selected for the world championships. In Daegu, David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat were untouchables. However, not everything is lost, after seeing teen Mohamed Aman break Rudisha’s 34-meet winning streak in rainy <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Milan</place></city>. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ethiopiaforums.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/mo-farah-have-no-idea-ibrahim-jeilan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://ethiopiaforums.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/mo-farah-have-no-idea-ibrahim-jeilan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ibrahim Jeylan passes Mo Farah to win the 10.000m at Daegu World Championships<br />
Photo: Andy Lyons/ Getty Images<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://ethiopiaforums.com/mo-farah-had-little-idea-about-ethiopian-ibrahim-jeilan-who-beat-him-on-10000m-at-daegu">http://ethiopiaforums.com/mo-farah-had-little-idea-about-ethiopian-ibrahim-jeilan-who-beat-him-on-10000m-at-daegu</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">As we can see, in most cases </span></span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> has passed in recent years from the running distance powerhouse to second to </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> and the gap is increasingly growing. Now, after this panorama we can try to find out the reasons why.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> One of the main causes has to do with training. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">No matter how wild, remote and isolated do you think Ethiopia is, the country was open since the very beginning to excellent coaching lessons from abroad. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2012/01/abebe-bikila.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2012/01/abebe-bikila.html</a> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> Behind Abebe Bikila’s superhuman victory at the 1960 Olympic marathon in </span><city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Rome</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, there was a man who had prepared the imperial bodyguard carefully for years for this moment. Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of an old dynasty which traced its origins to King Solomon, had made an effort to develop government, defence, culture and sport up to modern standards. Not wanting to be dependent neither from the </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">USA</country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> nor from the Soviet Union, he asked for help </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Sweden</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, a nation which had impressed the Lion of Judah in a visit he had made in 1924. About 600 Scandinavian experts were working in the country when Onni Niskanen came to </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> in 1946. Despite his original mission was to fit the imperial guard, soon he was engaged in the Ministry of sports and eventually became the national coach. Niskanen introduced fartlek in </span><country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, the revolutionary new interval training method, which combined aerobic and anaerobic skills in a natural environment, created by Gösta Olander in order to be able to challenge their neighbours, the “Flying Finns”, who had dominated distance running in the Olympics for nearly three decades. Niskanen combined fartlek with speed training on the track and long runs. Always the emphasis was in quality. Niskanen realized about the importance of speed endurance in a marathon and thus demanded race pace to Abebe Bikila, who had a capacity for running never seen before. The Jato shepherd could endure 32km at 3:10/3:15 pace so in </span><city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Rome</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> was able of running two 5k splits mid-race in 14:37 and 13:42, which only Moroccan Radhi could sustain. After winning the race in a world record time, the champion told his coach he could have kept the same rhythm for 10-15 more kilometres! (3) Bikila’s superiority under Onni in </span><city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Rome</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> is comparable to the demonstrations of Lydiard disciples Peter Snell and Murray Halberg at the same Olympic Games.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2007/sports_owners/woldemeskel_kostre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2007/sports_owners/woldemeskel_kostre.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Dr. Woldemeskel Mestre, Master of coaches<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://shegertribune.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-post_11.html">http://shegertribune.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-post_11.html</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Roba Negussie, who was assisting Niskanen when Abebe Bikila got his two Olympic victories in <city w:st="on">Rome</city> and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Tokyo</place></city>, took over as head coach in Mexico-68, where Mamo Wolde increased the Ethiopian winning streak in the marathon. Negussie absorbed the lessons of the Swedish school but in the other hand followed studies in Physical Education in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Czechoslovakia</place></country-region>. And was not Emil Zatopek, a Czech athlete, the one who eventually got to beat Scandinavians at the Olympics? <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> had become a Communist country in 1975 and thus enjoyed the benefits of being part of that block. The African nation became a privileged destination for training in altitude for East German runners as Olaf Beyer, the man who beat both Coe and Ovett at the 1978 European Championships, Jurgen Straub, Utta Pippig and race walker Ron Weigel. When the German athletes trained in the stadium of Addis Abeba, the Ethiopian coaches were standing next to them and noted the whole training session while the stop watch was in their hand. Later an exchange developed. Ethiopian coaches and athletes came to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Potsdam</place></city> for training camps and they competed in the GDR meetings. Furthermore, a lot of African coaches studied in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Leipzig</city></place> at the University for Body Culture (DHfK). Among them was also the future national head coach for distance running, Dr. Woldemeskel Kostre. (4) Ethiopians learned so well they were at a level of their own at Moscow Olympics. Only Lasse Viren and his mates in the Finnish squad, which counted with the valuable help of the same Arthur Lydiard as technical advisor, could match the likes of Yifter, Kedir and Kotu. That Ethiopian superiority was again witnessed when they entered the world cross country championship in 1981. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Meanwhile, </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> had been introduced by English colonisers to the sport of track and field. The tireless dedication of John Velzian put the country on the athletic map. “I have got to take a cold shower to believe it”, was quoted Ron Clarke after being defeated by the unkown Naftali Temu by </span><metricconverter productid="140 yards" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">140 yards</metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. (5) The likes of Temu, Kip Keino, Amos Biwott or Wilson Kiprugut would astonish the world in the late 60s and early 70s. Observers were also amazed about the ridiculous volume of training of athletes like Keino in comparaison of established Westerner stars, but since the beginning Kenyans understood training in altitude could not be the same than at sea level and quality was always preferred to quantity.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Unfortunately, two straight boycotts and the poor investment of Kenyan authorities in sport almost killed the practice of track and field in the country, during the seventies. The only ones among the international elite were those who enjoyed a scholarship abroad as Mike Boit, Ben Jipcho, Mike Musyoki or Henry Rono and they had to handle with their corrupted national federation, which wanted to control every one of their moves and cash all the money they were earning in competitions. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> had to wait to the arrival of determined coach Mike Kosgei and hardworking disciple John Ngugi, who resurrected national pride and interest for track and field in the country, with their triumphs in Cross Country starting in 1986, setting the example to follow for every new athlete. The new way was a radical departure from the past: three training sessions a day, fartlek, high mileage and high intensity. Not far away of what their Ethiopian neighbours had been doing. Besides Mike Boit was elected in 1990 Commissioner of sports and he cut with the dubious manoeuvres of the past, giving the athletes their passports back and allowing them to compete where and when they wanted, as well to allow the access to the country to international agents and sponsors, bringing to the spiral of opportunities, incentives and the favorable atmosphere to the practise of sport we experience today. </span><a href="http://www.moti-athletics-xc.blogspot.com/2011/05/john-ngugi-first-kenyan-world-cross.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://www.moti-athletics-xc.blogspot.com/2011/05/john-ngugi-first-kenyan-world-cross.html</a><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">When the Kenyan rising in the second half of the 80s it was not really easy for </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> to keep the rhythm with three Olympic boycotts and the troublesome government of the Derg, which brought to a long civil war and general famine. Yet when Mengistu was deposed and the situation in the country was back to normality, Ethiopian track and field was quickly back to its past glory with Derartu Tulu and Haile Gebrselassie’s gold medals at the 10.000m in 1992 Olympics and 1993 Worlds respectively. Long time head coach Roba Negussie had died just before Barcelona Olympics and he was replaced by Woldemeskel Kostre, who had been an assistant in the national team since 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Kostre had studied in Leipzigz and previously in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hungary</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> for many years, obtaining first a degree, then a postgraduate diploma in Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy. (6) Decisive was also the incorporation of Tolosa Kotu, a man who had taken part in that thrilling 10.000m final in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Moscow</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. Kotu took the responsaility of the 5k and 10k in the national team. With the duo Kostre-Kotu in charge, </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">’s workouts can be considered the most advanced of their time and arguably of the whole history of distance running. It is not by coincidence Woldemeskel was chosen by the IAAF best coach of the year in 2006, the first time this distinction was awarded.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.olympic.org/Assets/MediaPlayer/Photos/2000/09/25/52852416%2010/52852416_10_HD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="412" src="http://www.olympic.org/Assets/MediaPlayer/Photos/2000/09/25/52852416%2010/52852416_10_HD.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Haile Gebrselassie wins gold at 2000 Sidney Olympic Games</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Henry Szwarc/ Bongarts/ Getty Images</span><br />
<a href="http://www.olympic.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.olympic.org</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Gebrselassie snatched no less than 19sec in five years to the former 5000m world record of Said Aouita, and 32sec to the 10.000m one, which previously owned William Sigei, thus putting long distance running in a new dimension. Firstly, many believed this athletic revolution, in which also collaborated Daniel Komen, Paul Tergat and Salah Hissou, was accomplished with the help of drugs. Soon it was obvious it was not. Nowadays, Renato Canova, one of the best coaches of the moment, regards records and performances in sprints and middle distances have progressed modestly in the last two decades, especially if we compare it with the meteoric evolution in distance running. Thus he concludes there was a wrong approach in most of the leading countries in the world in 5k and 10k for many years. In particular, in his opinion, it was neglected speed endurance which we saw Ethiopian coaches had emphasized since the times of Onni Niskanen. Had been <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> free of civil war and famine and had their athletes being able to compete in every Olympic Games they would have probably dominated distance running, without any break, for half a century. Of course Kostre has his own personal conception of training but this one is often a synthesis of the best elements in the history of Ethiopian school. The tactics used by Miruts Yifter in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Moscow</place></city> (follow the leader, then unleash a devastating kick with 300-400m to go) are the same we can observe in Gebrselassie, Bekele, Tulu, Dibaba and Defar. Therefore the nickname “shifter” could be applied to any of them: Yifter the Shifter, Gebre the shifter, Derartu the shifter and so on. </span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">There are similarities in training between Ethiopians and Kenyans but one of the main differences used to be the former practice very short sprint repetitions on the track and uphill of 60-100m. This kind of intervals were popularised by a legendary coach called Mihaly Igloí, who happened to be from </span><country-region style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hungary</place></country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, the country where Woldemeskel was studying during 14 years in. However, noting the characteristics of Yifter, Negussie could have already known Igloí’s teachings. Igloí, who had perfected the findings of German laboratories in the 1930s, mentored the golden generation of Hungarian distance runners: Sandor Ilharos, Laszlo Tabori and Istvan Rozsavolgyi, in the 1950s; then went to the exile, after the Soviet Union invasion, to the </span><country-region style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">USA</place></country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, where he formed the likes of Bob Schul and Jim Beatty. Overall, his pupils broke a total of 49 world records. Under Igloí, Schul is reported to have run a 54sec last lap to win the 1500m at Tokyo Olympics on a muddy track. Does it remember you something? For many years countries from the Communist block kept the secret of their training methods and that included </span><country-region style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. However, the emerging group of young Italian coaches, during the 70s and 80s, which included Canova, visited several countries in order to enlarge their knowledge. It included </span><country-region style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Poland</place></country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, a nation which counted with the likes of steeplechase Olympic champion Bronislaw Malinowski. Interestingly, </span><country-region style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Italy</place></country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> was the last European nation able to challenge East African men on the track as well as on the roads, with champions as Cova, Panetta, Lambruschini, Antibo, Mei, Bordin and Baldini. Can you imagine Francesco Panetta beating the same Kenyans at the steeplechase at the 1987 World Championships? Canova, along with close friend and marathon national coach Lucio Gigliotti, wrote the training program for Stefano Baldini for </span><city style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Athens</place></city><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> Olympic marathon, including the Ethiopian 60m maximum speed repetitions. Baldini won the gold medal, running the last 2k in 5:30! (7)</span> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> However, Kenyans, who in spite of their excellent progression had been trailing Ethiopians for so many years and been outkicked by them so many times in the same way, worked hard to close the gap and eventually found the antidote. After Vivian Cheruiyot’s triumphs over Defar in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Daegu</city>, <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region></place>’s athletic chairman Isiah Kiplagat was quoted: “We adjusted a few things in her training. We just added a little bit of speed.” (1) The runner itself was still more eloquent: “The last <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter> have been very difficult for <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region>. Before, we did not have a strong last <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter> but we have worked on that. I noted Meseret used to beat me launching a powerful attack in the beginning of the last lap so I focused in the last 200m, to be able to kick her back.” (1) </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> Ethiopia</span><span lang="EN-GB"> had benefited in the past from the arrival of Scandinavians and East Germans to the country for coaching and training in altitude but very few people is coming anymore. Nowadays Iten has taken the spotlight, attracting foreign runners, coaches, managers and sponsors About the importance of Iten for modern track and field culture is enough to say David Bedford, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> marathon director, thought it was a good idea to come to that small Kenyan village for the presentation of his race edition in 2012. Thousands of Kenyans, looking for opportunities, make the trip</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> to the </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mecca</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> of running </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, where they are joined by many foreign elite athletes, who stay for months for their altitude training. Hundreds of training camps and trail tracks are at their disposal and especially an ideal atmosphere to focus in the practice of the sport. In Iten you breathe running the 24 hours of the day. </span><a href="http://www.moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2011/06/about-last-boston-marathon-and-current.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://www.moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2011/06/about-last-boston-marathon-and-current.html</a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> Currently, 22 members of the host country for this year Olympic Games are lodged at the modern training camp created by Lornah Kiplagat, led by marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe, who has a long experience of training in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. The legendary coach of champions Brother Colm O’Connell has taken in charge this enthusiastic group of Briton athletes. Others as the twin brothers from New Zealand Jake and Zane Robertson have even decided to move to Kenya for as long as possible to live and train the way Kenyans do. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-5000-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/jake-and-zane-robertson-following-their.html" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">http://moti-athletics-5000-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/jake-and-zane-robertson-following-their.html</a><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> Local runners and guests obtain mutual benefits of this exchange in the same way Ethiopian and East Germans used to do in the 70s and 80s. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2500/4006467058_fcca558ec9_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2500/4006467058_fcca558ec9_z.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Renato Canova in company of a masseur supervises a workout in Iten<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardetienne/4006467058/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardetienne/4006467058/</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB">Coaches and agents are investing their knowledge and money in this gold mine. And yes! Many of the training mentors are coming from <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Italy</place></country-region>, starting by Doctor Gabriele Rosa two decades ago. World class coaches as Renato Canova, Claudio Berardelli and Gabriele Nicola are no fond anymore of coaching their countrymen, mainly because youngster Italians talented for sport are not anymore interested in the practise of athletics. Instead they look for new incentives helping highly motivated Kenyans in becoming world beaters. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Some of them have also taken some Ethiopian runners but in a lesser extent for the moment. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Due to the arrival of a new young generation of marathoners, which has skipped the track, fast enough to run the 10.000m under 27min, Canova can now set trainings of the highest quality he has ever planned, putting together the toughest workouts, then increasing time for recovery. Thus he expects Moses Mosop to increase even more his speed endurance so he can be able of sustaining a 29min pace for every 10km of the marathon to complete the race in 2:02:30. Currently, Renato is in charge of among others, besides Mosop, Abel Kirui, Wilson Kiprop, Silas Kiplagat, Florence Kiplagat, Lucy Kabuu and Lydia Cheromei. Besides, he also works with a few Ehiopian ahletes as the most consistent track runner of his nation in the last years, Imane Merga, and some marathoners as Aselefech Mergia and Aberu Kebede. This kind of training regime under some of the best international coaches of the moment has helped Kenyan athletes break the records and dominate the world scene. Yet, even self-coached runners as </span><city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Boston</city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> and </span><place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><state w:st="on">New York</state></place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> reigning champion Geoffrey Mutai can take good lessons from this optimal environment, in which they are living every day, in Iten.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB">Meanwhile inside <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> things remain stuck. Training methods have not been updated. Experts from other countries do not often come, travels abroad to acquire a formation are not quite set and Woldemeskel Kostre’s knowledge and experience does not suffice anymore. Besides, Tolosa Kotu left the national team to train in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bahrain</place></country-region> and he is badly missed. These are reasons why, while Kenyan athletes are massively improving, no Ethiopian man ran a marathon last year under 2:07 and among the 33 marathon women ranked in the world lists none is likely to become the new Tulu or the new Dibaba. There have never been in the country so many youngsters who dream to become celebrated runners, but favourable or unfavourable circumstances make the difference between a good runner and a world beater. </span></span></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">There are further reasons to choose <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> as destination. In Iten it is possible to communicate in English while Amharic language can be a barrier for newcomers. Besides the country of Vivian Cheruiyot has a superior level of general development and what is more important their authorities are more committed currently in investing their money and efforts so Kenyan athletes have the means to perform to their best and their modest facilities can become an attractive destination for coaches, sponsors and foreign athletes. On the other hand Ethiopian government is not worrying much about the development of track and field in the country and furthermore cases of negligence and corruption are easily observables. <country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</country-region>’s current situation can be compared to the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> we knew prior to Mike Boit’s healthy reforms or even worse. </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB">Most Ethiopian runners are Oromo, who come from the Arsi province, many of them from Bekoji, a town of 200.000 people. A few will benefit from the small budget the Ethiopian Athletic Federation (EAF) invests in youth development projects. Unlike <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region>, promising athletes do not stay for their athletic career in the rural regions they belong to. In similar fashion to the old Soviet block model, sport is centralised in the capital. The youngsters selected from regional competitions join Addis Abeba athletic clubs. The best among the best will be enrolled in the national team. Athletes must move to the capital but life is expensive there. They only obtain a small stipend from their club so they have to live on their own means until they get to participate in some competitions abroad. Thus many eventually decide to return home, giving up sport prematurely. Also worth to say is in a big city as Addis Abeba, and with a centralised system, it is not possible the spontaneity and lovable atmosphere you meet around Iten. First of all you need to take a car and go out many miles of the city to find some trails for training. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"> As we can see not much money is invested in grassroots level and nor is in training camps. It is enough to see the wasted shoes full of holes some foreign visitors show over the Internet, claiming some economical help for Ethiopian athletes. Nevertheless, countries as <country-region w:st="on">Bahrain</country-region> or the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United Arab Emirates</place></country-region> are allowed to create training camps in their own benefit, where they spot local talent. These Muslim nations, which never cared about promoting track and field practice in their own territories, want anyway to shine in the Olympic Games through an easier way: spending some of their abundant money in naturalising some of the young talents of other countries. The Ethiopian government is given bribes to close an eye and let them make their business, and the young athletes accept the same the opportunity of the money offered to them, changing citizenship and even their own names to compete for their country of adoption. Some years ago <country-region w:st="on">Qatar</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on">Bahrain</country-region> used to “fish” in <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region> but currently <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region> seems to be the privileged destination. Maryam Jamal and Elvan Abeylegesse changed citizenship to <country-region w:st="on">Bahrain</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Turkey</place></country-region> respectively for special reasons. After their success, these nations and some others, which curiously have always most of them discriminated women from the practice of the sport, show a special interest in getting more East African female to win medals for them. Thus Turkey has taken Meriem Erdogan and Alemitu Bekele; Azerbaijan, Layes Adullayeva; Bahrain Shitaye Eshete, Tejitu Daba, Mimi Belete, Genzebe Shami, Karima Saleh Jassem and Lishan Dula; United Arab Emirates, Betlhem Desalegn and Alia Mohamed Saeed. There are also men: Dejene Regassa, Bilisuma Shume, Hayle Ibrahimov… <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bahrain</place></country-region> has even engaged the legendary coach Tolosa Kotu, expecting to get some medals at the Olympics… This kind of practices are a minor issue in a country as Ethiopia, where corruption is generalised, the First Lady of the country Azab Mesfin is also the leader of the mafia and even the same Haile Gebrselassie is believed to have been blackmailed in his real state enterprises. (9)</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/06fm3LG1Xj4pI/610x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/06fm3LG1Xj4pI/610x.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Tejitu Daba (c) and Shitaye Eshete, in company of Amina Bakhit of Sudan, on the podium of the 10.000 metres <br />
at the 2011 Pan Arab Games<br />
Photo: Getty Images <br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.daylife.com/photo/06fm3LG1Xj4pI?__site=daylife">http://www.daylife.com/photo/06fm3LG1Xj4pI?__site=daylife</a> </span><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Much talent is wasted anyway. Ibrahim Jeylan, after winning the 10.000m in Daegu, the first thing he said to journalists was he had needed to move to Japan to be able to develop an athletic career. The 2006 World Junior champion stated, in spite of being in the national team for many years, he had been left out of the final squad in Beijing Olympics and Berlin Worlds to favour other runners with worse seasonal best than him. This is not really true for the former competition but it is for the latter, where the “lucky one” was Gebre Gebremariam. (10) Another matter is the preparation for the major championships is not always ideal. </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Mombasa</city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> is in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">Kenya</country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> but most of the athletes of that country come from the Eldoret mountainous region which climatic conditions are similar to what you can get in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ethiopia</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">. Thus the heat and humidity was equally challenging for both countries. However, the Kenyan squad achieved at the 2007 World Cross Country championships an astonishing 2-3-4-5-</span><metricconverter productid="6 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on">6 in</metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> the senior male contest after Eritrean Zersenay Tadese, while most of their rivals had to withdraw from the race. </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region></place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> does not let any circumstance to improvisation. When Mercy Cherono, after winning the junior race at the 2010 Cross Country Worlds was asked who she believed was to win the senior race, after watching for some seconds the beginning of the race answered without hesitation: “Emily (Chebet).” Every member of the team knows who the leaders are, who is in shape and who will have to work for other mates. In spite of winning seven gold medals in Daegu, the Kenyan head coach was disappointed with the performance of the male representatives at the 5k and 10k, who were easily beaten by Farah, Lagat and Ethiopians Jeylan, Imane Merga and Gebremeskel. He said Kenyans were forgetting track to win money on the roads and was already thinking how to make amends for the Olympics. On the other hand, Meseret Defar blamed the EAF for her defeat: “When I was in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Addis Ababa</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">, I was in the form of my life, but it took me 22 hours to travel to Daegu and when I got here, I was sick and was throwing up.” Maybe it was not the best way to face arguably the best two Kenyan track runners ever, Vivian Cheruiyot and Linet Masai. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> We can conclude athletes are not the ones to be blamed for the poor Ethiopian performance in Daegu. Anyway, the EAF is worried about the Olympics and as consequence is overacting these days. No less than 35 athletes were banned for London for not attending a training camp in November, including the two reigning Olympic champions Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele, and also Tariku, Sihine, Melkamu, Ayalew Yimer, Kalkidan Gezahegne, Cherkos and most of the leading female marathoners. In recent years some athletes have been suspended for disobeying their respective federations. We can remember the cases of the Jamaican MVP club members, including Shelly-Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker and Asafa Powell, who eventually were allowed to compete in Berlin World Champs after the intermediation of the IAAF, and Kenyan distance runners Ngatuny, Kitwara and Komon. Nevertheless, 35 people seem too many. It remembers me that occasion when, after Haile decided to compete at the 10.000m in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Beijing</city></place> instead of at the marathon, due to her asthma problems, the EAF technical director Jilo Dube was quoted “It is not up to Gebrselassie to choose in which event he is going to compete at the Olympic Games.” </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> While Tirunesh opted for not making any statement, Kenenisa, who learned the news on TV, made excuses saying he was injured; then reacted in anger: “let me compete for another country.” On the other hand, his wise manager Jos Hermens dropped some words about which were some of the real reasons for the athletes for not showing up for the camp: “Kenenisa has told the federation he does not want to train on the Mondo track at the national stadium because it is too hard and it could lead to injury. Kenenisa and Haile were among several athletes who asked the authorities not to lay a hard track there three years ago, but they were ignored. This is a nation with the world's best endurance runners, and they lay a sprinter's track at the national stadium.” (11) Actually, the same Kenenisa Bekele has decided to invest $ 1 million in make build an alternative track for training because the EAF is not going to do it on his own initiative. There is a long story of foot injuries, among Ethiopian athletes for doing their workouts on such surfaces, as marathon Olympic champion Gezahegne Abera, who had to retire from sport, Haile who needed surgery and more recently Bekele and Dibaba. Besides, Hermens considered 223 athletes can not train together like a football team. More flexibility is needed. There are some younger runners who require more assistance but others have their own coaches and their own planning. Actually, among the banned athletes are Mamitu Deska, Tiki Gelana, Mare Dibaba, Koreni Jelila, Bizunesh Bekele, Aberu Kebede, Aselefech Mergia, Atsede Habtamu and Atsede Bayisa. Let us say all the athletes who are scheduled for the <city w:st="on">Dubai</city> marathon race, where they will try to obtain a fast time to qualify for London Olympics, along with Firehiwot Dado, who is likely to get a wild card, after her victory in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New York</place></state>. It is logical all those marathon runners wanted to do the best possible training for that imminent and decisive race, instead of attending camps which did not fit their interests. </span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB">The best of all, the ban was lifted in less than one week, after the 35 athletes apologised to the federation. Good luck for the ladies of the marathon tomorrow in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Dubai</place></city>, where they will face Lydia Cheromei and Lucy Kabuu Wangui, who targets the Kenyan national record in her first marathon. It will be a nice occasion for the Ethiopians to try to run under 2:20:00 and prove they can also be competitive in London Olympics. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Good luck also for the men. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">Anyway, there is a long way for Ethiopian athletics to get to recover their past glory when they were the powerhouse of long distance running. </span></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span></span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/MultimediaFiles/Photo/Competitions/WorldChampionships/31657_W600XH400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/MultimediaFiles/Photo/Competitions/WorldChampionships/31657_W600XH400.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Now it belongs to the past... Ejegayehu Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Tirunesh Dibaba and Meselech Melkamu at 2005 Helsinki World Championships, after </span><span style="color: #38761d;">achieving an historic 1-2-3-4 at the 5000m distance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Michael Steele/ Getty Images<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.addismall.com/esfnaalumni/archive.html">http://www.addismall.com/esfnaalumni/archive.html</a> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201109021281.html">http://allafrica.com/stories/201109021281.html</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=63232.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=63232.html</a> <br />
(3) <a href="http://onniniskanen.se/eng/bikila_eng.php">http://onniniskanen.se/eng/bikila_eng.php</a> <br />
(4) <a href="http://www.takethemagicstep.com/ethiopian-wins-with-german-foreign-aid/">http://www.takethemagicstep.com/ethiopian-wins-with-german-foreign-aid/</a><br />
(5) <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079411/index.htm">http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079411/index.htm</a> <br />
(6) <a href="http://www.ethioseed.org/docs/woldemeskelKostre.pdf">http://www.ethioseed.org/docs/woldemeskelKostre.pdf</a> <br />
(7) <a href="http://www.fact-canada.com/discus/messages/10/2654.html?1239736389">http://www.fact-canada.com/discus/messages/10/2654.html?1239736389</a> <br />
(8) <a href="http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=5372">http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=5372</a> <br />
(9) <a href="http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/30122">http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/30122</a> <br />
(10) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61504">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61504</a> <br />
(11) <a href="http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/athletics/15576-exclusive-let-me-run-for-another-country-says-bekele-after-federation-bans-ethiopians-from-london-2012">http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/athletics/15576-exclusive-let-me-run-for-another-country-says-bekele-after-federation-bans-ethiopians-from-london-2012</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
</div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-29987662854824562012-01-14T23:25:00.003+01:002012-07-14T19:10:25.977+02:00Sally, Now We Want You to Break the World Record<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-LVhHUqQ3oIF0-OIH2Ru_Ijw2dd99kxjTTYRY2PNWj7N-6dLr3ZhQltduo_Fs9Fbsh2_bFONJJ-JLtFazaaPfP28VA1yjMUVctoiQhJI-rlmHnsQnmo_oqJiogbRjdn7IuOMpQkm8WC_/s1600/Sally%252BPearson%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252BZDUPbS0qUQ2l+michael+steele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-LVhHUqQ3oIF0-OIH2Ru_Ijw2dd99kxjTTYRY2PNWj7N-6dLr3ZhQltduo_Fs9Fbsh2_bFONJJ-JLtFazaaPfP28VA1yjMUVctoiQhJI-rlmHnsQnmo_oqJiogbRjdn7IuOMpQkm8WC_/s1600/Sally%252BPearson%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252BZDUPbS0qUQ2l+michael+steele.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Sally Peason competing at Daegu World championships<br />
Photo: Michael Steele/ Getty Image Asia Pac<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/">http://www.zimbio.com/</a><br />
</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Sometimes we feel frustrated female track and field records are so out of reach. With the exception of the newly introduced disciplines as pole vault, hammer throw or steeplechase, every all-time ranking is led by a woman who is bearing an age she is more likely to be seen keeping company to her grandchildren than around an athletic track. In 12 out of 23 Olympic female disciplines, the world record dates back to the 1980s. In 3 others it was achieved in the 1990s. As Valerie Adams says “things happened in those days for a reason and people did things for a reason. We cannot go back in time and change that.” Therefore we can figure out how awesome Sally Pearson’s 2011 campaign was. For the first time in many years, one of the old-time mighty records was challenged by the Australian athlete, on occasion of the last World championships. In Daegu, Sally clocked a massive 12.28, the best mark at the 100m hurdles event in 19 years, and only 7 hundredths of a second short of the 12.21 world record Yordanka Donkova achieved in Stara Zagora the 20th August 1988. Thus, Pearson placed herself 4</span></span><sup style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-indent: 35.4pt;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> in the all-time lists, just behind Donkova, Ginka Zagortcheva, the other golden Bulgarian hurdler (12.25), and Russian-Swede Ludmila Engqvist (12.26). In spite of setting both excellent PBs, silver and bronze medallists, Danielle Carruthers and reigning Olympic champion Dawn Harper, were left miles behind by the powerful Aussie. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">We can say Sally Pearson reached a new level in 2011. She won every one of her 16 outings, with the exception of the last one, the Ivo Van Damme meeting, where she lost the Diamond League title to Carruthers, due to an unlucky fall. Sally also built up her season flawlessly, peaking at the right time: the World championships. Athletes from countries as <country-region w:st="on">South Africa</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">New Zealand</country-region> or <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Australia</place></country-region>, whose summer track and field season is held between January and April, have to be careful, because they can reach top form too soon. It is a mistake which has ruined intermediate hurdler L.J Van Zyl’s chances at global championships in August more than once. Sally Pearson used the Australian season to work on her speed and speed endurance, lining up only in 100m and 200m flat races, besides the 4x100m relay, where she helped her country qualify for Daegu. She was not seen over the barriers until late March, prior to the national championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Melbourne</place></city>. There she achieved an historic treble, becoming the first Australian doing so since Pam Ryan accomplished it in 1968. However, the ambitious Pearson was not altogether happy, because neither got a personal best at the flat events nor accomplished her target of breaking the national record, which owns former world indoor champion Melinda Gainsford with 11.12, since 1994. </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Then she stopped competing and devoted two more months to training. Her coach was especially enthusiast of these workouts. She said Sally had improved in every aspect and expected huge things for the summer. Considering Pearson owns arguably the best technique in the circuit, is also the fastest between hurdles and had worked her speed endurance to the point she could maintain an equal pace from the beginning to the end of a race, it was easy to bet she would not have any match for the upcoming competitions: “She only need to attack the barriers more aggressively and her technique will triumph.” (1) On the other hand, her husband pointed out Sally had followed a strict diet of rice, white fish, and fresh vegetables and as a consequence had lost 6kg. (2) Being much lighter helped Sally out for her remarkable season. The Aussie hurdler was not back in competition until June. After a preliminary local outing, she travelled to <place w:st="on">Europe</place>. At her first meeting, in <city w:st="on">Lausanne</city>, she already ran under her 12.50 best, though in windy conditions, and in the second in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> she set a new area record (12.48). Sally kept her nice shape through July and August, winning two more Diamond League meetings. In Daegu, the Aussie was the unanimous favourite to win her first global medal and she proved it throughout the championships. At the semi-finals, she already established a new continental record, running in an awesome 12.36. Then came her groundbreaking display at the final. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xd-LXcs-Mbo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xd-LXcs-Mbo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/wcsnsportstv">http://www.youtube.com/user/wcsnsportstv</a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Three people are behind Sally Pearson’s stunning success over the barriers, though the athlete would say she also counts with the valuable contribution of a gym coach, masseur, physiotherapist, biomechanics scientist, sport psychologist and manager Robert Joske. The first one is Anne McLellan, the woman who brought her to this world the 19<sup>th</sup> September 1986. She was a single mother who could not afford to buy a car to carry her daughter to the stadium for training, but endured two jobs in order to guarantee the means to her athletic career. From their native <city w:st="on">Sidney</city> they moved to Gold Coast, <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Queensland</place></state>, when Sally was a little kid. Anne was the first person who realised about the immense talent her daughter had for sport, so she asked Coach Sharon Hannan to take her at a state Little Athletics carnival in Townsville, where 12-year-old Sally was competing. Thereafter Anne was the perfect mother for a kid involved in sport: "It is funny because at the moment there are kids in my training squad whose parents are always there every single session watching them train. My mum was never there, which was a great thing. Then you can just go and be yourself without your parents watching over you. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;">She really stayed away and did not put pressure on me ... she just finished work, came to pick me up and took me home to have dinner. She was just a normal mum who did her normal duties and let me do what I wanted to do." (3)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Anne McLellan knew the right person to care for Sally in the stadium was Sharon Hannan and accordingly never tried to interfere in her coaching job. Hannan has assisted to Sally’s rise from a promising little girl to the world class athlete she is now. They have already been 14 years working together. Some say they often fight (4) but respect and mutual trust are always present and results are there. Finally, Kieran Pearson is the other key person in Sally’s life. They met at their senior year at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Helensvale</placename> <placetype w:st="on">State</placetype> <placetype w:st="on">High School</placetype></place> and their long term relationship brought to marriage after Beijing Olympic Games. Kieran is not related to sport: he is a maintenance plumber. Due to their different jobs they cannot see each other for months, while Sally is touring in <place w:st="on">Europe</place>. Yet she had warned him, since the beginning, sport was first and Kieran is as patient as he can be, always supporting her wife’s career. “You have to be selfish if you want to succeed in something”, states Sally. (3)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> However, it is Sally Pearson’s huge commitment and personality which rounds it all. She pushes so hard during workouts, she often finish vomiting. Sally hates training but Hannan says she does not remember a single day her charge had missed a session since the days the young athlete had to catch two or three buses to get to the stadium. Teens usually have lot of interests and like to have fun but Sally only had one passion. Cathy Freeman was her inspiration and all she wanted was to become one day an Olympic champion like her. Sally has endeavoured many hours in caring about every single detail of her technique and this is why it is now so flawless. (5) Only Susanna Kallur’s can be compared with hers but the Swede former European champion has been long injured. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Sally+Pearson+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+7MyZogjq5-bl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Sally+Pearson+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+7MyZogjq5-bl.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Sally Pearson running the 4x100 relay in Daegu World Championships</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Mark Dadswell/ Getty Images Asia Pac</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Sally is highly competitive, a true fighter who believes in her own chances and only accepts victory. Because of her determination she won the 2001 Australian junior 100m title as she was only 14. Two years later, she obtained an extraordinary world youth gold medal over the hurdles in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Sherbrooke</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, which she followed up with a bronze at the World juniors in Grossetto, this time at the dash event. Pearson is a versatile runner who can master several events and Sharon Hannan is glad about that, stating it is important not to specialise too soon and dispose of a sort of different skills. (6) Sally had an unfortunate senior debut at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, stumbling and crashing out of the race, but made amends reaching the semi-finals at Osaka World championships in both 100m and 100m hurdles, besides achieving a huge PB (11.14) at the former event. However, Sally was not glad enough with her performance. (7) She believed she could do much better and she would prove it at the Olympic Games in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. Concentrating in the hurdles event, Pearson got a bullet star and only Dawn Harper managed to catch her. After the confirmation of her wonderful silver medal in a blanket finish, the Aussie burst in tears, then went to an effusive celebration with bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, both athletes leaping and leaping together like happy kids.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> After her breakthrough, Sally Pearson expected a lot from the 2009 season but an injury back marred her preparation for Berlin World championships, where she ended a disappointing 7<sup>th</sup>. That result influenced enormously the emotional Gold Coast athlete, who needed months to overcome her depression. The occasion for resurging back would be the Commonwealth Games in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">India</place></country-region>. Pearson false started at the 100m final, along with Laura Turner, but both were allowed to keep competing. The Australian won the decisive race just to be disqualified afterwards, after England raised a protest. However in her favourite event, Pearson grab unchallenged her first major international title. The brave athlete concluded her participation in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Delhi</place></city> being enrolled in a strange for her 4x400 relay. She struggled to the point she collapsed after crossing the line 5<sup>th</sup>, having to be helped out the track by mates and officials. After her busy Commonwealth Games, Sally went to Thailand in family holidays. She was so exhausted she passed all the first day sleeping, but afterwards true to her lively spirit she enjoyed rafting, riding on elephants and visiting one island afer another in the lovely South East Asian country. (8)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Sally’s disqualification at last Commonwealth Games was a rare circumstance in her career. There is a rule Sharon Hannan set in training: simulating competition, if you false start the workout is over. Thus Sally is well-taught in how to start a race properly, specially acknowledging her quick outburst is one of her main goals. After her unlucky 100m final, Sally found herself in the same bus than the English official who had made the protest which cost her gold. She approached him and said there were not hard feelings and wished all the best for the girl who got the bronze medal (after her disqualification). The official was really impressed with Sally’s gesture. As a local newspaper noted, “Sally Pearson entered these Commonwealth Games as a hurdler, but will leave as a personality.” (8) The same sportsmanship was observed by the Gold Coast athlete as she was named best athlete of the year by the IAAF in a controversial decision: “It was a little surprising that I won. Vivian was a three-time world champion and Valerie dominates every time she is out there. She is the role model athlete everyone should look up.” (9) Perhaps Vivian Cheruiyot deserved it more but it is good to see the prize was given to such down-to-earth athlete. She is also an extraordinary inspiration for children, because of her outstanding personality. She is just the opposite of a diva. Sally comes from a humble background and has not changed a bit after her sportive success. She keeps being approachable and human. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> It seems a long time since Sally Pearson has been around. Yet she is only 25, still so young to aim for much higher heights. This year, she might still improve on her sensational 2011 season, winning the Olympic gold medal and shattering the old world record. For the moment she has just launched her campaign today in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Brisbane</place></city>, after overcoming in only one week and a half a quadriceps injury. Her winning time was a scintillating 11.25 for the 100m dash. There are many reasons to hope for. </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sportsfeatures.com/PressPoint/images/49056-olympic-image1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.sportsfeatures.com/PressPoint/images/49056-olympic-image1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Down to Earth Idol Sally Pearson</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/49056/daegu-2011-gold-coast-golden-girl-sally-pearson-an-inspiration-for-the-bid"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/49056/daegu-2011-gold-coast-golden-girl-sally-pearson-an-inspiration-for-the-bid</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1) <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/no-hurdle-too-great-sally-pearson-more-focused-than-fierce/story-e6frg7mf-1226123169618">http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/no-hurdle-too-great-sally-pearson-more-focused-than-fierce/story-e6frg7mf-1226123169618</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2) <a href="http://london2012.olympics.com.au/news/focused-pearson-wins-historic-gold">http://london2012.olympics.com.au/news/focused-pearson-wins-historic-gold</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(3) <a href="http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/01/24/42095_more-gossip-news.html">http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/01/24/42095_more-gossip-news.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(4) <a href="http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/news/newsstories/8294515/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-sally-pearson">http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/news/newsstories/8294515/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-sally-pearson</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(5) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsGoldMedalsDetail.aspx?id=62333">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsGoldMedalsDetail.aspx?id=62333</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">(6) </span><a href="http://www.athletics.com.au/home/news/news/2011/november/sharon_hannan_on_the_secret_to" style="text-align: left;">http://www.athletics.com.au/home/news/news/2011/november/sharon_hannan_on_the_secret_to</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(7) <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/beijing2008/hurdles-a-way-of-life-for-sally/2008/06/06/1212259113176.html">http://www.smh.com.au/news/beijing2008/hurdles-a-way-of-life-for-sally/2008/06/06/1212259113176.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(8) <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/rise-sally-rise-pearson-looking-to-the-future-20101126-18as5.html">http://www.smh.com.au/sport/rise-sally-rise-pearson-looking-to-the-future-20101126-18as5.html</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(9) <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/humble-aussie-sally-pearson-is-worlds-greatest-female-athlete/story-fn6b3v4f-1226194103124">http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/humble-aussie-sally-pearson-is-worlds-greatest-female-athlete/story-fn6b3v4f-1226194103124</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-33606852555872866782011-12-31T22:19:00.004+01:002012-03-13T02:38:52.220+01:00Olga Kaniskina: Best Athlete of the Last Five Years<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcScDPRL4EE8BYhz1SMieVC0YDRSYXz0h6GzG4Y6iDOX2m6oF5bI8IwRZ-TBS8VQPuuqCG_cAhriE4BdPDGpsJCayR_DxkFGgK7166wtw0zho_MUsl4bV8trPngj-i2H6NKec1zljXoHE/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcScDPRL4EE8BYhz1SMieVC0YDRSYXz0h6GzG4Y6iDOX2m6oF5bI8IwRZ-TBS8VQPuuqCG_cAhriE4BdPDGpsJCayR_DxkFGgK7166wtw0zho_MUsl4bV8trPngj-i2H6NKec1zljXoHE/s1600/16.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Olga Kaniskina wins the gold medal at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games</span><br />
<a href="http://figureskating.ipb.su/index.php?showtopic=881&st=20"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://figureskating.ipb.su/index.php?showtopic=881&st=20</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> After her flawless season with a 100% of victories and three world titles, it seems impossible not to select Vivian Cheruiyot as best athlete of 2011 (though the IAAF got it). Otherwise, how about bestowing awards for longer term performances, as best sportsman of the last decade or foremost track and field competitor during a complete four years Olympic cycle? If we look for the longest and most outstanding dominance in an event in recent times, the chosen one would be without a doubt race walker Olga Kaniskina, with the only close rivalry of shot put champion Valerie Adams, but this one suffered one major defeat last year at the World Indoor championships. On the other hand, Kaniskina, since she climbed to the top of an international podium for the first time at Osaka Worlds in 2007 at age 22, has never relinquished to nobody that privileged spot in an important competition; thus leading, along with counterpart Valeriy Borchin, the imperial supremacy of the Saransk school, which has swept all three walking events gold medals at the last two editions of the World championships. </span><a href="http://www.moti-athletics-20wk-w.blogspot.com/2011/08/sandro-damilano-versus-viktor-chegin.html">http://www.moti-athletics-20wk-w.blogspot.com/2011/08/sandro-damilano-versus-viktor-chegin.html</a> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Olga Kaniskina has grabbed three straight world titles in </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Osaka</city>, <state w:st="on">Berlin</state></place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and Daegu, becoming the only race walker in doing so, and she is also up for entering the books as the first female who gets to defend an Olympic gold medal in the specialty. Besides, Olga is the only athlete in the circuit in both sexes who currently owns the Triple Crown, as reigning Olympic, world and continental champion in a single event. Incomprehensibly she has never been even nominated by the IAAF for any of its annual awards but we know the distinctions usually go to track runners. Yet, as consolation, the race walker number one was named best sportsman of the year in her home country in 2009 by a prestigious magazine.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://photo.sibnet.ru/upload/imggreat/132231629219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://photo.sibnet.ru/upload/imggreat/132231629219.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Olga Kaniskina from the mountains and the forests</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sports.ru/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.sports.ru/</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Olga Nikolayevna Kaniskina was born the 19<sup>th</sup> January 1985 in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Saransk</place></city>, Republic of Mordovia, the capital city of race walking, but her family comes from the nearby country. (1) Up on a hill, into the forests, stands mum’s village, Podlesnaya Tavlya. Not far away you can see Napolnaya Tavlya, where dad was born. They moved to Saransk after their marriage. On that land, a ski resort is being built currently. In week ends and holidays, Kaniskina returns to that lovely place to visit granny and other relatives. Yet Tavlya will always recall Olga her mum, who died as the future race walking champion was just 8 years of age. She suffered of high blood pressure and was sent to hospital, where she was given a wrong injection... Some people think it is easier to overcome the lost as it happens as the daughter is very young, but it is not… There is a sadness you must live with for all your life. Olga remembers her mother as a very kind and radiant young woman. She always wanted to be like her. Dad says Olga has inherited her same smile and, according to her primary school teacher Clara Pasyaeva, her same sweet personality too: “she used to be an intelligent, beautiful, tender and affectionate girl and at the same time really serious and hard-working on regard to her duties. Someone who deserves not only a good sportsman but a very bright man.” (1) Despite everybody, including his mother-in-law, advised him to get married again, dad never wanted to. Thereafter he cooks, cleans and takes care affectionately of her daughter and younger son Vasiliy. Olga calls dad her teddy bear and recognised to have grown with him as a spoiled girl, but at the same time always was ashamed every time she broke a word given to him. (2) It always was and still is a close-knit family: after the races, dad is the first person Olga calls and also her brother, who has now become a strong, reliable and supportive man for her. </span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> No matter the great champion she has become nowadays, Kaniskina was not especially fond of sport as a young girl, despite admiring Irina Stankina and Yelena Nikolayeva. Encouraged by classmates she joined Lyudmila Fedorovna Rusyakina to try race walking as every <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Saransk</place></city> kid does. Yet she did not like it at all: “This is the first lesson and the last.” (1) However her coach convinced her to practise running instead and she did it just to communicate with her friends. Surprisingly, Rusyakina enrolled 14-year-old Olga to take part at the 1999 national championships at the walking event, given her some technique basics. The young girl crossed the line last in that race, while the commentator would say: “Here comes the last competitor: look at her technique.” (3) Olga's face turned red of shame but at the same time felt flattered for the comment. She won a chocolate bar (1) or a candy (4), depending on the versions. Olga was back then a fragile girl, ill all the time: not to be forgotten she is just 1,59m, weights 43kg and her shoe size is 35!! Yet, once she took seriously training, she became stronger and improved quickly. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTziKAKkIKYcfK5hZKorg3m8lZGaFr7Z3Nfknprcrg4PgQu3XfDTKr6RDoYfG9GpoVKUih7tMQpP6_5fK-OjHD5P3bTFnSSDu22FkL_LdJ9s0TImPTkloAkxIJ0A3UPRwWCinbqw8Ds8/s1600/kaniskina26573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTziKAKkIKYcfK5hZKorg3m8lZGaFr7Z3Nfknprcrg4PgQu3XfDTKr6RDoYfG9GpoVKUih7tMQpP6_5fK-OjHD5P3bTFnSSDu22FkL_LdJ9s0TImPTkloAkxIJ0A3UPRwWCinbqw8Ds8/s1600/kaniskina26573.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Olga Kaniskina competing under the rain in Beijing<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://figureskating.ipb.su/index.php?showtopic=881&st=20">http://figureskating.ipb.su/index.php?showtopic=881&st=20</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Rusyakina recommended Olga to Viktor Chegin, but he was reluctant to take her, so she must insist and eventually convinced the guru of Russian race walking to enrol the hopeful in the High Performance Centre in 2004, as a member of the second national team, under Vera Nacharkina. For the first time Kaniskina was training twice a day and accordingly obtained a good sixth place at the Russian junior championships, but the ambitious girl was half-happy with the result. (4) Anyway, Chegin had realised about Kaniskina's potential and decided to incorporate her to his own team in the beginning of 2005, arguing she had chances for a big progression. Thereafter, Olga´s career took off. Both Rusyakina and Chegin coincide when they pointed at the </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Olympic champion strong points: willingness, capacity of work and an excellent technique. The former believes “Kaniskina had no natural talent. All her victories are the result of hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. She stunned among all my charges for her seriousness and maturity.” In similar terms, Chegin states “I have had more talented race walkers but none as workaholic, obedient and responsible. She trains with the men and endures tough exercices and high mileage nobody else does.” (1) He also thinks Kaniskina is a very special girl: “One of the greats said a man can be considered an intellectual but if he is wicked and envious he is nothing. Human intelligence is defined by its kindness and it belongs to Olga. She is very good, a real winner and always will fight honestly to the end." (5)</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The athete itself also has a high opinion of her coach. In the beginning she was afraid of him but now understands his sense of discipline and acknowledges she would be nothing in sport without the help she has received from him. Besides she credits Chegin as someone really committed with his work, to the point he supervises every workout, which is the key for his charges' technical improvement. (1) If in words of Kaniskina her dad is her “teddy bear”, Chegin is a second father: “a broody hen looking after us."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Humour is a sign of healthy spirit and Olga Kaniskina has a fine explanation about how to focus in an important race: “I do not count the steps, I do not sing and I do not think in a loved one. I just concentrate on my technique, because otherwise it deteriorates and the speed drops. Go relaxed as if gliding on the solar beam.” (2) And indeed in her best days Kaniskina seems to be floating in the air, without gravity, a slider towards the sun or a faraway star.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="300" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AmxC0Du-G50&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AmxC0Du-G50&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="560" height="300"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Artemio1188">http://www.youtube.com/user/Artemio1188</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> 2005 was the year Olga Kaniskina entered the world elite, dipping for the first time under 1:30 at the 20km distance; then winning her first international medal, a silver one, at the U23 championship, held at the German city of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Erfurt</place></city>, after compatriot Irina Petrova. The following year she continued her swift escalade, with stunning victories at both winter and summer Russian Championships. At the former she clocked a sensational 1:26:02, which led the world seasonal lists. Yet when it mattered most, Olga still lacked stability: at the World Cup in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><personname productid="La Coruña" w:st="on">La Coruña</personname></place></city>, she finished just 5<sup>th</sup>, while Petrova struck the bronze medal. Her more fancied compatriot was the Russian number one for Goteborg European championships but on the eve of the race she had to withdraw due to appendicitis and the athletic world never knew about her anymore. Kaniskina was the improvised leader of the team but Chegin advised her to never head the race, even if she could, because, as being unknown by the judges, he thought she would be for sure disqualified. The always obedient Olga finished second, after Belarusian star Ryta Turava. (4) At the 2007 European Cup in <place w:st="on">Leamington</place>, both athletes repeated placement but Turava did not enter that summer World Championships and Kaniskina enjoyed her chance to grab an uncontested victory, under high humidity and heat conditions. In <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city> she followed simple tactics: she surged right from the start and never gave up her superior pace. Then she completed her outstanding year, with a special victory at her hometown, on occasion of the IAAF race walking challenge final. (6) Nikolay Merkuskhin, Head of the Republic of Mordovia, rewarded the world champion with a two-bedroom apartment. After further international victories she would be offered another house, three cars and bestowed several honorific mentions, which shows the high relevance race walkers’ prowess are allowed in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Saransk</place></city>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://funkyimg.com/u2/583/252/Dmitry_Medvedev_and_Olga_Kaniskina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="530" src="http://funkyimg.com/u2/583/252/Dmitry_Medvedev_and_Olga_Kaniskina.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Olga Kaniskina is awarded by Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev</span><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://en.wikipedia.org</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> The Olympic year started with a new triumph for Olga Kaniskina at the winter national championships, clocking a no-homologated world record, because of the absence of international judges; then another one at the World Cup, held at the Russian town of Cheboksary, where she fell a mere second short of Olympiada Ivanova’s world best. It is maybe the only distinction which lacks in Kaniskina’s curriculum, yet considering she has two fastest timings than Vera Sokolova’s official record. Nevertheless at the big occasions Olga is unbeatable and she achieved another gun to tape easy victory at Beijing Olympic Games, this time around under the rain. Belarus Turava had been back but she was not in good shape. Thereafter, she would also disappear from the walking elite. After crossing the line, Olga was approached by Russian journalists, who asked which was her new dream, after getting the two most prestigious global titles: “to have a bun”, answered the overjoyed champion. (7) Kaniskina’s joke made the highlights of the national newspapers. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In 2009 Olga Kaniskina accomplished her all-time best in late February in Adler (1:24:56). She was narrowly beaten at a shorter distance in Krakow by <city w:st="on">Beijing</city> silver medallist Kjersti Platzer, but again had no opposition at the World championship in <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Berlin</state></place>, where she defended her crown, this time surging mid-race. The following season, Olga was infringed another minor defeat at the winter Russian championship, where she finished just fourth, but silenced all the doubters at Barcelona European championships, where she killed the race in similar fashion than in Berlin, walking 2 straight kilometres at 4:12 pace. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Russia</place></country-region> swept all three places of the podium for the first time in the history of the event, after Anisya Kirdyapkina crossed the line second and Vera Sokolova third. (8)</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> This year, Olga Kaniskina won all four races she entered, including Rio Maior, <city w:st="on">Sesto San Giovanni</city>, the World championships and the IAAF race walking challenge final in <personname productid="La Coruña. In" w:st="on"><personname productid="La Coruña." w:st="on"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">La Coruña</place></city>.</personname> In</personname> Daegu she completed a hat trick of golden medals but it was her hardest victory to the date. First she was challenged by Kirdyapkina’s attack; then witnessed how her small advantage was shortened by Chinese Hong Liu, who has progressed hugely in her technique under Sandro Damilano. Olga did not dare to look behind and was not sure of her victory until the very end. It is worth considering Kaniskina was not at her 100%, because her preparation was hiccupped by a sinusitis and a hurting knee. After ending her season, the Russian wonder was given arthroscopic treatment and she looks with optimism towards the new Olympic year.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="300" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/agmzi-94_sA&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/agmzi-94_sA&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="560" height="300"></embed></object></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Artemio1188">http://www.youtube.com/user/Artemio1188</a></div><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> In Kaniskina’s world there is not much time for fun. Too much dedication is needed to get to the top in sport and there are so many young girls pushing hard, who can take your place if you start to relax. Olga is not easy to be seen in a pub, karaoke or restaurant but she enjoys reading when she has the chance. Anyway she has some good friends as discus thrower Darya Pischalnikova. She gets angry when talking about her friend’s 33 months ban because of tampering, which she believes unfair. (2) Once Olga stated she did not have time neither for boyfriends nor for children. She said as she had some free time she had to choose between having some fun and taking a rest. These days when asked anew she argues she was very young when talking like that, and, as for now, she would rather keep her private life for herself. (3) Is the most desired girl of the <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">Republic</placetype> of <placename w:st="on">Mordovia</placename></place> hiding currently a secret love to her legion of admirers? </span></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> Olga Kaniskina is also an accomplished student. She has graduated in Mathematics, after a couple of busy years, when she had to get some extra hours to study, after her sportive duties. Modestly she said she entered maths because it was easy, and for having some earnings through a scholarship, as she was not a famous race walker yet. Notwithstanding a teacher remembers, as Olga was very young, she was able to find three different ways of proving the Pythagoras theorem. (1) The three times world champion is also about entering politics in order to contribute to the development of her region. (3) And if everything else fails she is really skilful with patterns and dressmaking and would easily become an accomplished tailor if needed.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> Despite not having much time for parties, Olga Kaniskina has great memories of her years competing all over the world. She remembers her first trip abroad to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Erfurt</place></city>, where she had the chance for a night walk to admire the peerless architecture of the old German city. She recalls too the polite people of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city>, where she kept a conversation with a girl through drawings. (9) The first victories, the first trips, are always the most emotive. Still being an upcoming athlete she had to be grateful of the unexpected help of Ryta Turava, as she entered in oxygen debt trying to follow the Belarusian demanding rhythm: “Breathe! Breathe deeply! Breathe in! Breathe out! …” (5) Soon Olga became herself a children role model as well; an unbreakable champion under any circumstances and conditions. “In <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Saransk</place></city> when it rains it is very cold. Your limbs seem made of wood. Yet in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city>, it was refreshing and warm.”(10) And as the rain stops the sun comes out with its most radiant smile. </span></span></div></div><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz9ij1sskdlINu3CJc-Jq8sQWzgoUbKhNXrWrfBp7eSX0NH3wQW8DwvYHnP2LlZfPSC_B_8uxKTy6jf-XkTDFw9-b0TxKjqJKKlsAlmNyIRlK4uPtgtDHWn904qNNMLtIVMbczva44Ck/s1600/kaniskina-big-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz9ij1sskdlINu3CJc-Jq8sQWzgoUbKhNXrWrfBp7eSX0NH3wQW8DwvYHnP2LlZfPSC_B_8uxKTy6jf-XkTDFw9-b0TxKjqJKKlsAlmNyIRlK4uPtgtDHWn904qNNMLtIVMbczva44Ck/s1600/kaniskina-big-4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> Come rain or Come shine (Olga Kaniskina)<br />
<a href="http://www.sports.ru/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.sports.ru/</span></a></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://olgakaniskina.narod.ru/biogr.html">http://olgakaniskina.narod.ru/biogr.html</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://trac.ss-net.ru/s/issue_page/pdf/73188.pdf?t=1237763503">http://trac.ss-net.ru/s/issue_page/pdf/73188.pdf?t=1237763503</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(3) <a href="http://summer.sport-express.ru/athletics/reviews/17057/">http://summer.sport-express.ru/athletics/reviews/17057/</a> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;">(4) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=47958.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=47958.html</a> <br />
(5) <a href="http://rusrep.ru/article/2011/03/01/kaniskina/">http://rusrep.ru/article/2011/03/01/kaniskina/</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">(6) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WRC08/news/kind=100/newsid=42115.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WRC08/news/kind=100/newsid=42115.html</a> <br />
(7) <a href="http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/302323">http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/302323</a> <br />
(8) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/20th-european-athletics-championships/8987-kaniskina-completes-hat-trick-of-major-medals-.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/20th-european-athletics-championships/8987-kaniskina-completes-hat-trick-of-major-medals-.html</a> <br />
(9) <a href="http://info-rm.com/2007/09/18/chempionka-mira-po-legkojj-atletike.html">http://info-rm.com/2007/09/18/chempionka-mira-po-legkojj-atletike.html</a> <br />
(10) <a href="http://old.e-mordovia.ru/main/peace/news/detail.php?ID=3448">http://old.e-mordovia.ru/main/peace/news/detail.php?ID=3448</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-56123022886718400112011-12-20T20:00:00.000+01:002012-07-14T22:31:53.784+02:00Best Competition of the 2011 Athletic Year: Abakumova takes revenge on Spotakova in Daegu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/21/68/62168_FULL-PRT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="610" src="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/21/68/62168_FULL-PRT.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Mariya Abakumova on the way to winning the gold medal in Daegu<br />
Photo: Getty Images/ IAAF<br />
<a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62088"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62088</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Barbora Spotakova and Mariya Abakumova offered us a thrilling javelin competition at Beijing Olympic Games. (1) As the reigning world champion, the Czech entered the contest being the prohibitive favourite, but she was unexpectedly challenged by the upcoming Russian, who had set a new European record at the 4<sup>th</sup> round, throwing 70.78, which meant an improvement of more than <metricconverter productid="3 metres" w:st="on">3 metres</metricconverter> on her previous PB. Spotakova rose to the occasion producing 71.42m in her very last attempt. Thus she became the second Czech female Olympic champion in the event, after Dana Ingrova-Zatopkova, who joined on the top of the podium her husband Emil Zatopek in Helsinki-52, the year he achieved his historical hat trick of titles at the 5000m, 10.000m and the marathon. In the wake of her Olympic great success, Barbora would break three weeks afterwards Osleydis Menéndez’s world best at the World Athletics final, sending the implement 72.28 metres beyond the throwing line. Thereafter the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Czech</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Republic</placetype></place> owns both javelin records to the date, thanks to Spotakova and the best male athlete of all-time Jan Zelezny.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> The <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Beijing</place></city> champion had started in athletics practising the combined events. She contested the heptathlon at the 2000 world junior championship, finishing in a praiseworthy 4<sup>th</sup> place. Then she enrolled <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Minnesota</placename> <placetype w:st="on">University</placetype></place>, where she was required to score points for her team also at the javelin. It was precisely Zelezny who encouraged her compatriot to concentrate further in the spear, spotting her talent. The three times world and Olympic champion, who belonged to the same athletic club, Dukla Prague, gave Spotakova technical advice and brought her with him for a training camp in South Africa in 2004. He is also famously reported to have lent her female counterpart a first pair of javelin shoes, which miraculously fitted her feet. From then on her progression was meteoric: She reached 60.95 that year, improving her PB in <metricconverter productid="4 metres" w:st="on">4 metres</metricconverter> and in 2005 she was already throwing over 65m. The following season she struck her first international medal at the European Championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Goteborg</place></city>, a silver, at the same contest her illustrious mentor had also climbed to a podium for the last time, in the year of his retirement. Then Spotakova upset favourites from Germany Christina Obergfoll and Steffi Nerius in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city> to clinch her first global title with 67.07, a new PB, thus proving right Zelezny’s predictions. (2) </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> Mariya Abakumova, who came from a sportive family as Spotakova did, had also embraced the heptathlon after trying several sports as gymnastics, football, swimming or tennis. Unfortunately, she was too weak at the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter> so she preferred to adopt just one single event: the high hurdles. In spite of crashing continuously the barriers, she was still fast because of her physical strength. Yet she got eventually injured and had to leave the specialty. Then she tried the javelin. In 2002 she finished runner up at the Russian Championships and the next year fourth at the World Youths. After that there were no doubts about which event to choose. (3) In 2005 she won at the European Juniors and kept improving steadily her marks. However the problem was always her poor throwing technique. In 2006 she changed to Coach Aleksandr Sinitzin, who would move her to a superior level. After several adjustments, only in 2008 Abakumova progressed no less than <metricconverter productid="6 metres" w:st="on">6 metres</metricconverter>. Sinitzin was aiming for his first Olympic champion and he was very close of it. Despite losing the gold medal in the last moment, the then 22-year-old was the first Russian global medallist at the javelin since Tatyana Shikolenko, and was overjoyed with her extraordinary performance. Besides it allowed her to move to a luxury apartment from her <metricconverter productid="6 square meter" w:st="on">6 square meter</metricconverter> bleak room in Krasnodar, in which she had seen mice and endured a fire. The only disappointment for her came from hearing Spotakova say she was happy of having beaten a Russian in the day of the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the invasion of <country-region w:st="on">Czechoslovakia</country-region> by the <place w:st="on">Soviet Union</place> troops. Abakumova could not understand what she had to do with the historical events which happened even before she was born. Still today she does not get along with Spotakova and prefers the company of Nerius or Obergfoll, who she considers more humble and friendly than the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Czech.</place></country-region> (4) </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object style="height: 390px; width: 660px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/unTcBJb8sHA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/unTcBJb8sHA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="660" height="360"></object>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MentHos91">http://www.youtube.com/user/MentHos91</a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Neither Spotakova nor Abakumova could keep their momentum at the 2009 and 2010 post-Olympic years. At Berlin World championships, local girl Steffi Nerius started the final with an excellent throw of 67.30m, her second best mark ever. Amazingly none of the two hot favourites could cope with the pressure and respond to the 37-year-old German, so this one finally won the first title of her long career and find the perfect moment for retirement. In spite they grabbed the minor medals, Spotakova and Abakumova’s performance can be considered disappointing. Suffice to say the latter had thrown <metricconverter productid="68.92 in" w:st="on">68.92 in</metricconverter> the qualifying round. The 2010 season meant another step behind for both the Czech and the Russian. At the most important competition of the year, the European championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city>, the winner was another German, Linda Stahl, with a 66.81 new PB, ahead of compatriot Christina Obergfoll. Spotakova just finished third and Abakumova fifth. Both of them were trailing injuries: the Czech had a soaring elbow; the Russian a bad knee. The latter had led the year lists in both seasons but had not been consistent enough, always struggling with technical imperfections.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> For 2011 both throwers undertook necessary changes. Spotakova split with her coach for 11 years Rudolf Cerny and joined Jan Zelezny’s group. She stated the past campaign had been scheduled with too many competitions in a very short period and little time for training, which brought to injuries. She was grateful to Cerny but pointed out he was just a combined events coach and had always needed to go to Zelezny for the javelin technical stuff, so it was time to move with him. (5) Spotakova is quoted to have experienced a big improvement with her new coach: she says she has learned around 100 new exercises and now works the whole body, not only parts of it. Besides now she benefits from being a member of a group, along with Petr Frydrych, Jakub Vadlejch, Vitezslav Vesely, Jarmila Klimesova and recently Finn Tero Pitkamaki. She can learn from the others, especially about lifting techniques, while she can help her male companions with their speed training. (6)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Abakumova also blamed too much competition earlier in the 2010 season. For 2011 her adjustments consisted in dedicating more time to work in her strength and technique in the first months of the year, in order to build up for the summer and avoid recurring injuries. She stated the last season was already throwing <metricconverter productid="68 metres" w:st="on">68 metres</metricconverter> by May (“too much too soon”). This time around she wanted to be sure of peaking at the right time. Mariya was proud of having progressed in bench pressing from 115 to <metricconverter productid="140 kg" w:st="on">140 kg in one year</metricconverter>, which is really huge for a female athlete. She also expected to be able of transfering her increased power to her always criticised technique and not depend all the time on physical strength. (7)</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/photo/competitions/competition/04/71/75/47175_full-prt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="620" src="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/photo/competitions/competition/04/71/75/47175_full-prt.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Barbora Spotakova, th day she became Olympic champion<br />
Photo: Getty Images/ IAAF</span><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=47206.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=47206.html</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> Barbora Spotakova seemed to have peaked perfectly for Daegu, reaching a 69.45 world lead at the Herculis Monaco meeting, the 22</span><sup style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-align: left;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> July. However the favourite could well be Christina Obergfoll with a flawless season, which included seven victories and two runner-up positions in nine appearances, most of them at Diamond League meetings. Abakumova was just the underdog and besides, as she unveiled after the final, was carrying a serious leg injury, which would have prevented her from participating had not been infiltrated. (4) The European title holder Linda Stahl, after a troubled year was the first casualty, not being able to start the World championship final. Not much was delivered either by rising athletes Martina Ratej, Madara Palameika or the Briton Goldie Sayers. (8)</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;">Olympic champion Spotakova was ready to put things in the right place since the very beginning, achieving a sensational 68.80. Obergfoll, who had gathered a well respectable number of silver and bronze medals in previous occasions, was expected to finally have her day. Yet she again fell short when it mattered most, delivering in the range of 64-</span><metricconverter productid="65 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; text-align: left;" w:st="on">65 metres</metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> throughout the final, which was only enough to fight for the bronze medal against African champion Sunette Viljoen. Eventually, the favourite would finish a disappointing fourth, thus depriving her country of a medal in the discipline for the first time in ten years. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-align: left;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The answer came from Mariya Abakumova. After beginning the competition with 60m, in the second round she unleashed a monster throw: 71.25, a mark which only Spotakova and Menéndez had accomplished before. The Czech was now in trouble. Every one of her attempts, always around 67-68m, was a winner, but not for that day. The fifth round was the decisive one. Firstly, South African Sunette Viljoen, rounded up the competition of her life, improving in two metres the Area record she had set recently when winning the Universiade. Her 68.38 was the best result ever in a global championship for a bronze medal with the current implement. Spotakova followed achieving at last the master throw she needed, overcoming Abakumova by <metricconverter productid="33 cm" w:st="on">33 cm</metricconverter>. It should be enough. She started to celebrate and lifted her arms in triumph for the photographers. Yet the Russian was not done. She proved all her mental toughness, getting another perfect throw, which landed beyond Spotakova’s: 71.99, a performance only shy to the world record. The Czech reacted laughing in disbelieve. She had been beaten in arguably her most outstanding deliverance of her career. Then still in shock would say to the journalists maybe the next time she would be ready to throw <metricconverter productid="73 metres" w:st="on">73 metres</metricconverter> to be sure of winning.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Next time will be at the Olympics. Jan Zelezny thinks Barbora in only her second year with him should still be improving. (9) On the other hand, Aleksandr Sinitzin has promised to shave up his moustache if her protégée Mariya clinch the gold medal in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city>. The answer is in only 8 month time.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.javelinthrowmagazine.com/shop2go/userfiles/image/ERIC%20ARTISTIC%20PICTURES/Daegu_podium_femmes(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="470" src="http://www.javelinthrowmagazine.com/shop2go/userfiles/image/ERIC%20ARTISTIC%20PICTURES/Daegu_podium_femmes(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.javelinthrowmagazine.com/poster/content/JAVELIN+THROW+WOMAN+FINAL+IMAGES+DAEGU/javelinthrowmagazine.do?lang=en"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.javelinthrowmagazine.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">(1) </span><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=47206.html" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=47206.html</a> <br />
(2) <a href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=41267.html#spotakova+surprises+some+zelezny">http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=41267.html#spotakova+surprises+some+zelezny</a> <br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(3) </span><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58135.html" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=58135.html</a> <br />
(4) <a href="http://www.trud.ru/article/06-09-2011/267199_marija_abakumova_nenavist_k_soperniku_ego_ne_oslabit.html">http://www.trud.ru/article/06-09-2011/267199_marija_abakumova_nenavist_k_soperniku_ego_ne_oslabit.html</a><br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(5) </span><a href="http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/spotakova-looking-forward-to-working-more-closely-with-javelin-legend-zelezny-after-injury-blighted-season" style="text-align: left;">http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/spotakova-looking-forward-to-working-more-closely-with-javelin-legend-zelezny-after-injury-blighted-season</a> <br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(6) </span><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=102/newsid=58735.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=102/newsid=58735.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index</a> <br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(7) </span><a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&catid=1&id=9913&view=article" style="text-align: left;">http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&catid=1&id=9913&view=article</a> <br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(8) </span><a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62088" style="text-align: left;">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62088</a> <br />
<span style="text-align: left;">(9) </span><a href="http://sport.ihned.cz/atletika/c1-53541800-spotakova-bude-jeste-lepsi-veri-trener-roku-jan-zelezny" style="text-align: left;">http://sport.ihned.cz/atletika/c1-53541800-spotakova-bude-jeste-lepsi-veri-trener-roku-jan-zelezny</a> <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-54549868258798338202011-12-18T05:10:00.001+01:002011-12-18T05:25:19.874+01:00Valerie Adams Back on the Top<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1322903836/384/6082384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1322903836/384/6082384.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Valerie Adams celebrates her victory in Daegu, holding the national flag and a picture of his coach Jean-Pierre Egger<br />
Photo: Reuters <span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/6081900/Weight-of-expectation-on-Valerie-Adams"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.stuff.co.nz</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Valerie Adams has always had an emotional attachment to the shot put discipline. She remembers watching with her mother on TV Cathy Freeman standing with the torch at the opening ceremony of Sidney Olympic Games, and how she dreamt of being part of it in the future. Mum would never be able of living that special moment for her daughter because she passed away just the day afterwards. </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Concentrating in shot put practise helped the 15-year-old Valerie coping with her progenitor's untimely death. Also did her coach Kirsten Hellier, who would become a sort of second mother for her.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Adams was born the 6<sup>th</sup> October <metricconverter productid="1984 in" w:st="on">1984 in</metricconverter> <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Rorotua</city>, <country-region w:st="on">New Zealand</country-region></place>, from an English father and a Tongan mother. As the biggest kid in school (she is now 1.96 metres tall), she was soon encouraged to the shot put event. Kirsten Hellier, a former Commonwealth silver medallist at the javelin, spotted <place w:st="on">Adams</place> in 1998 and would be training her for the next 11 years. With Hellier she would be improving every season, from <metricconverter productid="14.15 in" w:st="on">14.15 in</metricconverter> 1999 to reach 21.07 ten years afterwards. Her first international victory came at 2001 World Youth Championships in <city w:st="on">Debrecen</city> and she followed this up adding the Junior crown in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kingston</place></city> one year later. Still 18 Valerie achieved an astounding fifth place at the 2003 World championships and her Olympic dream came true at Athens. Yet her ambition was not only to participate. For the first time in a global senior contest she climbed to the podium at Helsinki Worlds to collect the bronze medal. Then the number one was Belarus Nadzeya Ostapchuk.</span></div><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The girl from Rorotua showed her credentials at the 2006 season, where she achieved two major victories, at the Commonwealth Games and Continental Cup, and broke for the first time the </span><metricconverter productid="20 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">20 meter</metricconverter><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> barrier. She was finally ready to upset the best and she did at the World championships in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. After trailing Ostapchuk all over the contest, </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Adams</place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> ended up her competition with a massive 20.54 new area record, which her Belarusian archrival could not match. Thus she became the youngest shot put champion in the history of the championships with 22 years and the second world gold medallist from her country, after another thrower, Beatrice Faumuina, who won the discus in 1997. With this triumph Adams joined Jana Pittmann, Yelena Isinbayeva and Veronica Campbell at the illustrious club of women, who have been winners at World youth, junior and senior level. (1) His father had recently died and Valerie would dedicate in tears, her victory to his memory and also to her other inspiration in life and sport: her mother.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Since that victory Valerie Adams became the uncontested leader of the event. Nobody could beat her in the following two seasons, holding a remarkable winning streak of 28 finals. After grabbing also the world indoor title, the towering New Zealander showed special consistency at Beijing Olympics, producing <metricconverter productid="20 metres" w:st="on">20 metres</metricconverter> in every one of her five valid throws, to win the first gold medal for her nation since middle distance runner John Walker’s victory in 1976. (2) She also defended her world title in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state>. Then came the crisis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1269748476/122/3518122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="560" src="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1269748476/122/3518122.jpg" width="380" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Valerie Adams and Coach Kirsten Hellier at the 2009 Halberg Awards<br />
Photo: John Selkirk</span><br />
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.stuff.co.nz</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After some disappointing years Nadzeya Ostapchuk was back in full strength not wanting to be the bridesmaid anymore. She started the 2010 winter season with a huge 21.70; the best throw indoors or out since 1988. Then she broke Adam’s streak, winning with ease at the World indoor championships in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Doha</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and continued in the same fashion during the summer, beating her archrival in seven more occasions. (3) The struggling New Zealander only seemed to find her way at the end of the year getting the better of the </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Belarus</place></country-region><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> at their last clash of the season at the Continental Cup. </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Adams</place><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> had stagnated. For the first time in her career she had not improved her PB during the year and moreover had not response to the renovated Ostapchuk. Some said her star had started to fade. The Olympic champion felt the old ways were not to produce positive answers anymore and decided to split up with the woman who had brought her to the top, Kirsten Hellier; a really painful move, after 11 years sharing happiness and tears. (4) She first changed to teen sensation Jacko Gill’s coach Daniel Poppe; then to Swiss Jean-Pierre Egger, the man who had trained legendary three times world champion Werner Günthör. Similar breaking up arrived to her marriage with New Caledonian discus thrower Bertrand Vili. 2010 was really a year to forget for Valerie Adams.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> After the 2010 problematic season, <place w:st="on">Adams</place> moved her training base to a Swiss mountain to join Egger; in complete solitude for nine months to start anew and find herself again. (5) Without a doubt, the first months were really depressing and “pretty boring”, being away from her family, following a hard training regime, then back home for having a bath, watching some TV and going to bed. Then she met a Kiwi family at the foot of the mountain and it started to change her routine somewhat.</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">"It was tough. I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. The season had not started and my first competition in <place w:st="on">Europe</place> was still two months away. Every day, every week, was a grind. But I knew I was there for a reason. There was purpose.” (5)</span></span></div><span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The sacrifices paid off and Valerie Adams was back in winning days. Jean-Pierre Egger had transformed the New Zealander into a more dynamic and athletic shot putter, who recovered faster. At the same time she had improved on her technique: she had always relied on her strength to win competitions but now she had something more to offer. Finally, confidence was back and also the passion for training. Valerie beat Nadzeya at the Bislett Games and also at three other Diamond League meetings. The Belarus was again leading the world lists with 20.94 but the general feeling was the world champion was in the right way to get a hat trick of titles, and she lived up to the expectations in Daegu, leaving the indoor title holder more than one metre behind. With the gold medal in her pocket, <place w:st="on">Adams</place> had one attempt left and with no pressure she delivered a monster throw, reaching 21.24, a new personal best and a championship record. (6) Now she was equal to the great Astrid Kumbernuss, the only other athlete who had accomplished three world victories in the event. </span></span></div><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">For 2012 Valerie is aiming to regain her indoor title and defend at the Olympic Games. There are also questions about how far can she throw now after her demonstration in Daegu. When asked about the world record she is plain enough: “I do not really give a damn about it.” (5) She acknowledges the 22.63 Natalya Lisovsaya produced back in 1987 are unaffordable for reasons everybody knows. Valerie Adams instead focuses in winning titles and improving on her personal best. She is still 27 and has chances of matching Peter Snell, as the Kiwi with more Olympic gold medals, in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">Rio de Janeiro,</city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> but Valerie does not think so long: first she must do her best in order to win her second Olympic title in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/15/61/61561_FULL-LND.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Photo/06/15/61/61561_FULL-LND.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Valerie Adams proud of her competition at Daegu World Championships<br />
Photo: Getty Images/ IAAF</span><br />
<a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61651"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61651</span></a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=40665.html">http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=40665.html</a> <br />
(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=46774.html">http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=100/newsid=46774.html</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=350&at1=21016&at2=14937&season=1999&B1=Enviar">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/testw.php?event=350&at1=21016&at2=14937&season=1999&B1=Enviar</a> <br />
(4) <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/3518136/Olympic-champion-Valerie-Vili-drops-coach">http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/3518136/Olympic-champion-Valerie-Vili-drops-coach</a> <br />
(5) <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/6081900/Weight-of-expectation-on-Valerie-Adams">http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/6081900/Weight-of-expectation-on-Valerie-Adams</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61651" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12pt;">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61651</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div><br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-44737263668911436992011-12-14T03:36:00.002+01:002012-02-15T18:02:46.185+01:00Jacko Gill: the Building of a Champion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.channelmag.co.nz/media/4ed6d57de9106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://www.channelmag.co.nz/media/4ed6d57de9106.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacko Gill at the family residential property in Devonport<br />
<a href="http://www.channelmag.co.nz/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.channelmag.co.nz</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> Are you a lucky parent with a kid who excels in all kind of sports? Would you like to guide this genius so he can become a future champion but you do not know how to start? Then maybe you can learn some lessons from here. There is Jacko Gill, a shot putter from </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> not 17 years old yet, who is predestined to cause one day in his event a similar shock to the one Usain Bolt produced at Beijing Olympics. Actually he already broke the Jamaican runner record as the youngest athlete ever to win a gold medal at the World Junior Championship with only 15 years and 7 months of age. (1) Jacko also shares with Bolt the distinction of being the only man in the sport who has followed up a global junior victory with another one in the youth category, which he achieved last July in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lille</st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">. (2) Rules did not allow the hopeful New Zealander competing at Daegu World Championships, despite having met the B standard, but he is ready to deliver a major upset at London Olympics, where he is also going to become the youngest thrower in the history of the Games. For this purpose he landed the </span><st1:metricconverter productid="7.26 kg" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">7.26 kg</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> senior implement at a distance of 20.38 last week, which is a new personal best, a new national record and the longest throw in his age category. However, Jacko Gill was only half-happy with his London qualifying result, objecting his technique was very bad. The new shot put ace always want more... </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> And how is the building up of this precocious champion? All his close family are accomplished sportsmen. Father Walter Gill was twice a national champion at the shot put discipline back in the eighties and his wife Nerida also won the title at the discus. Finally, the older sister Ayla is a hammer specialist who is studying at Texas University. She got the 6th place in Moncton, when his brother became world junior champion. The progenitors soon discovered their son have inherited all the best family genes and made him practise all kind of sports from soccer to basketball, karate or boxing; yet excluding deliberately rugby, because they did not want Jacko to join the All Blacks but to follow their steps on the athletic field circle. The parents did not need to force him too much. One day, the Gill’s 11-year-old kid told daddy he intended to do a shot put marathon; that is to see how many attempts he could manage with the shot in the time a marathon runs. After a couple of hours of throwing he required some plasters for his damaged tip fingers and kept still putting for about 60 minutes. It is worth to say his best throw of the day was not reached until the 268<sup>th</sup> effort! To say he is fanatical about his sporting passion is bordering on understatement. Suffice to remember, when the son was misbehaving, the father used to punish him forbidding throwing for a week, instead of locking the videogames as it would be normal for a boy of his age. (3) </span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/30942307" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="680"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/30942307">Jacko Gill Training (Vimeo)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/josenunojacko">JoséNunoJacko</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Since Jacko was 10, he and his father used to check thoroughly on the Internet the records achieved by the best putters of his age. The </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> youngster never had rivals at his level on the other side of the computer. Always to facilitate further progression, the dining room was changed in a weight room and a large area in a corner of the garage was conditioned to become a big gym. Small accidents may happen: a mislead ball landed straight into dad’s 1956 Buick convertible and fluorescent lights are smashed now and then but this is not big deal. (4) The motivated son wakes up every day around noon and practises some six-seven hours a day, divided in three demanding sessions. Up to 3 or </span><st1:metricconverter productid="4 in" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">4 in</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> the morning, Jacko can still be relentlessly lifting weights or bounding up and down the interior stairs, sometimes awaken his parents and scaring the dog outside, but this is just a small price to pay for the brightest future. (5) In an age boys are normally thinking in fun, the young Gill is totally focused in his shot put targets, not fearing stress or injuries. His only other hobbies are fishing and take care of his pet lizards, blue tongues and bearded dragons, all of them prehistoric; appropriate for someone who devotes himself to the ancient athletic discipline with an old school spirit. Friends come to the house but there is a moment they know it is time to leave the “genius” alone. Soon school became incompatible: first Jacko obtained special concessions from his teachers but last year it was decided he would quit altogether studying to concentrate in his training. The Kiwi kid is training in the toughest possible fashion to become the best and at the same time, helped by nutritionists, is eating like a horse. Thus he has become much bigger, stronger and faster: he has added 12 kg in bulk this season and can bench-press 195 kg; around 30-40 kg more than in the beginning of 2011. S</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">pecialists say he has achieved in the last two years what usually takes ten.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Because of this outstanding improvement, the Gill family receives periodical visits of drug testers, which they qualify as "a compliment." Also New Zealand Athletics has realised about the hopeful's potential and is investing good money in financing a part of his expenses.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> It is remarkable Jacko Gill is really light in comparison to the typical shot putter. He is 1.90 tall and only slightly superior to <st1:metricconverter productid="100 kg" w:st="on">100 kg</st1:metricconverter>. Even last April as he threw for the first time <st1:metricconverter productid="20 metres" w:st="on">20 metres</st1:metricconverter> he was just 96, defying odds which estimated it was impossible for someone below 100 kilos to break that barrier. World Champion in Berlin Christian Cantwell’s height is over <st1:metricconverter productid="2 metres" w:st="on">2 metres</st1:metricconverter> and his weight is near <st1:metricconverter productid="140 kg" w:st="on">140 kg</st1:metricconverter> and most of the best known putters fit in the same mould. Gill seem to be rewriting the rules of the discipline: from now on it is not only necessary strength but also speed and agility. The New Zealander has run the <st1:metricconverter productid="100 metres" w:st="on">100 metres</st1:metricconverter> in 11.5, can long jump 6.20 and high jump 1.55 standing, something unlikely in the specialty, before his arrival. It is his special weapon in competition and he do not forget to always alternate in training weight lifting with speed and agility drills for arms and legs. Gill dreams of help become the shot put event in an elegant and beautiful discipline in which David can beat the giant Goliath. Now the putters should attract masses as sprinters or distance runners do and he is already paving the way making public his spectacular workouts on the Internet.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> It is also worth of mention the young prodigy is almost self-coached. French Daniel Poppe, who also worked with Valerie Adams, is his official coach but he acts only as an advisor. Sometimes the former javelin specialist comes around in Gill’s house or the athlete join him at the Millenium stadium but most of the time Jacko works on his own, using Poppe’s lessons, along other information he collects through his computer, and other valuable helps as the late legendary weightlifter Graham May, who wrote for him a program of training and Nigel Avery, who taught him basic lifting techniques. (5) Jacko believes in his own capacity of decision and independence and prefers training alone: “I like to train, not talk.” (4) In the end it is a question of mentality and it is where Gill start to make the difference. He is determined, confident and focused as no teen of his age is and it allows him to maintain his seven hours of hard training and keep pushing. When competition is near he builds himself mentally for the moment to get extra energy of his body. (6) In words of Walter Gill “the atmosphere is unbelievable. The look on his face… It is uncomfortable to be around.” (4) </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1308561193/859/5168859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1308561193/859/5168859.jpg" width="531" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Jacko Gill, showing his shot putting technique<br />
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.stuff.co.nz</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Jacko Gill progression is being meteoric and some are already launching predictions about the precise moment the Kiwi is going to smash the 21 year-old Randy Barnes 23.12 world record. Gill reached the <st1:metricconverter productid="20 metres" w:st="on">20 metres</st1:metricconverter> mark with the <st1:metricconverter productid="5 kg" w:st="on">5 kg</st1:metricconverter> youth implement two years ago in Timaru; he needed 7 more months to achieve it with the <st1:metricconverter productid="6 kg" w:st="on">6 kg</st1:metricconverter> junior shot in Moncton; and only 9 months later he had done it with the senior one. (7) With his awesome 20.01, last April Gill broke the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region> overall record, which had been set by Les Mills no less than 44 years ago. Besides, he also got the goal of becoming the youngest putter ever in breaking the <st1:metricconverter productid="20 metres" w:st="on">20 metres</st1:metricconverter> barrier, beating another former teen prodigy, Michael Carter by 2 years and 7 months. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">At the same time he threw beyond the best mark for a 17-year-old, who owned no less than Olympic champion in Montreal Udo Beyer.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> It was also worth to see his groundbreaking performance at Lille World Youth Championship, where he established the new World record with 24.35, leaving his next rival exactly </span><st1:metricconverter productid="4 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">4 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> behind. Just another athlete had gone beyond </span><st1:metricconverter productid="23 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">23 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> before, yet Gill produced the </span><st1:metricconverter productid="24 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">24 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> distance in three occasions during the final. Only the junior record with the </span><st1:metricconverter productid="6 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">6 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> shot had resisted for the moment the ambitious Jacko. World Champion David Storl keeps the top all-time position with 22.73, while the New Zealander is second </span><st1:metricconverter productid="42 centimetres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">42 centimetres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> behind. However he will still be a junior for two more seasons.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> All are praises for the new track and field phenomenon, starting by the man who lost his long standing record Les Mills: “Jacko is the complete package. He is explosive, is extremely well coordinated, has excellent technique and an amazing attitude for someone so young.” (3) He goes further stating he could be to New Zealand what Peter Snell was in the sixties, and do not forget the three times Olympic champion Snell was chosen by the prestigious Track and Field magazine best athlete of the decade. Interestingly, a country which used to excel in distance running could soon win global titles in shot put simultaneously in women with Valerie Adams and men with Jacko Gill. Dave Wollmann, one of the most respected throw coaches in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> said he had never seen anything remotely like it in 35 years and believes Gill could do to shot putting what Bob Beamon did to long jump. (3) Statisticians have calculated the New Zealander will smash the record Randy Barnes set just before being banned by massive steroids use, by the time he will be 27 or sooner. Only coach Didier Poppe is cautious, stating nothing can be took for granted and we do not know if can come a day Jacko Gill reach a level he can not improve over anymore or finish being a case of burn-out for all the energy he has been generously expending in his teen years. (8) <o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Nonetheless, for the moment Poppe and the athlete itself think the <st1:metricconverter productid="21 metres" w:st="on">21 metres</st1:metricconverter> are a reasonable target in the Olympic season. The day Gill threw 20.38, his technique was not the best possible and even in the warm-up he had delivered <st1:metricconverter productid="20.70 meter" w:st="on">20.70 meter</st1:metricconverter> long throws. A <st1:metricconverter productid="21 metres" w:st="on">21 metres</st1:metricconverter> mark would put the young New Zealander in contention for a medal in <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>, which he already stated in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lille</st1:place></st1:city> was his immediate target, and we know about his determination and mental strength when it matters most. For the Olympics, all the classic shot putters in the last couple of years, Cantwell, Hoffa, Nelson, Mikhnevich, Majewski, Armstrong, Bartels… will be there and also the amazing David Storl, who surprised everybody winning the gold medal in Daegu at 21 years of age, throwing 21.78. The younger generation is already taking over from the old guard. Among them are Storl, Gill, and also American Ryan Whiting and Polish Krzysztof Brzozowski, the man who upset Jacko at the inaugural Olympic Youth Games last year. We expect the arrival of a new golden era for the shot put event with clashes for the ages.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1323288964/569/6106569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="570" src="http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1323288964/569/6106569.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Jacko Gill, a babe among the brutes<br />
Picture by Lawrence Smith<br />
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.stuff.co.nz</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57744.html" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57744.html</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WYC11/news/newsid=60636.html" style="text-align: left;">http://www.iaaf.org/WYC11/news/newsid=60636.html</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?id=510&option=com_content" style="text-align: left;">http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?id=510&option=com_content</a><br />
(4) <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10722371">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10722371</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(5) <a href="http://www.channelmag.co.nz/channel-interviews-mainmenu-82/webpage-1212/channel-interview-jacko-gill-world-champion-shot-putter">http://www.channelmag.co.nz/channel-interviews-mainmenu-82/webpage-1212/channel-interview-jacko-gill-world-champion-shot-putter</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10770695" style="text-align: left;">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10770695</a><br />
(7) <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/athletics/news/article.cfm?c_id=19&objectid=10721346">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/athletics/news/article.cfm?c_id=19&objectid=10721346</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(8) <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10772272">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10772272</a></div></div></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-50105933569555957152011-12-11T06:50:00.001+01:002011-12-12T17:43:11.748+01:00Jake and Zane Robertson following their Dream in Kenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">"Skies are the Limit" (Jake Robertson)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NX3Bf4bw3FGPtjS8AhKbYVj-poT8r50y5GD3InpENdDORh1u-IW2xSBRQ-afFT6KkMFWm6qYusnkwYQyFy9QJTEdrEkwCvVr_E8qML_B8XOndma6daUr7bvVWmwiuoaR5hA6IsE8D0dQ/s1600/Kassidy+270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NX3Bf4bw3FGPtjS8AhKbYVj-poT8r50y5GD3InpENdDORh1u-IW2xSBRQ-afFT6KkMFWm6qYusnkwYQyFy9QJTEdrEkwCvVr_E8qML_B8XOndma6daUr7bvVWmwiuoaR5hA6IsE8D0dQ/s640/Kassidy+270.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Landscape from Kerio View in Iten, Kenya<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://kenyaiupui2011.blogspot.com/2011/07/kerio-view-iten-kenya.html">http://kenyaiupui2011.blogspot.com/2011/07/kerio-view-iten-kenya.html</a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Some years ago I was often telling friends I wanted to live in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> one day. However there is a long way between said and done. As I was talking idealistically about Kenyan sunsets and dawns there was always someone who asked how many times I had seen “Out of Africa”. Actually I have never watched that movie but I read it is based in the autobiography of Danish writer Karen Blixen who moved to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region> in 1914, following a convenience marriage to establish a coffee plantation, and finished up finding true love and real life before being forced to return to <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. By then, <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> was still a mysterious and little known continent open to free spirits and all sorts of adventurers. Nearly half a century before the legendary missionary and explorer David Livingstone had discovered the <st1:place w:st="on">Victoria Falls</st1:place> and was investigating the sources of River Nile when he was famously spotted by Henry Morton Stanley, who was leading a fancy expedition, financed by the New York Herald, in search of news of the long-lost hero. Livingstone was so involved with the native community than after his death, when his body was required by British authorities, they cut the heart out to keep it in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>, where it belonged. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> In modern times many of the visitors which <st1:place w:st="on">East Africa</st1:place> attracts from Western countries are runners. Brother Colm O’Connell realised a long time ago the best mission he could undertake was helping young Kenyans become professional athletes with the school he created at the Iten hills. </span><a href="http://moti-athletics-histo.blogspot.com/2011/05/john-ngugi-and-his-time.html">http://moti-athletics-histo.blogspot.com/2011/05/john-ngugi-and-his-time.html</a> In the same way (1) actors and singers flock to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:city> seeking for their artistic dreams, Kenyans from all around the country come to Iten thinking in making a fortune through running. <a href="http://moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2011/06/about-last-boston-marathon-and-current.html">http://moti-athletics-marathon-m.blogspot.com/2011/06/about-last-boston-marathon-and-current.html</a> The setting is also a privileged destination for athletes from all over the world. Champion Lornah Kiplagat invested in the creation of a luxury training camp with swimming pool and a stunning gym and this is the place chosen for many of the arriving guests for their 2-3 months workouts at altitude. The Iten and Eldoret inhabitants are getting used to this new sort of “tourism”, but there are two foreign athletes based in the region who have drawn the attention of the local population, because they are not following the typical trend: Jake and Zane Robertson decided the best fashion to approach an athletic career was to leave their native New Zealand and go to Kenya to stay, in order to live the same life and train the same way the best runners in the world do. They settled in Iten more than four years ago and have only move from there to compete sporadically in international meetings. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> The twin brothers from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hamilton</st1:place></st1:city> have been described by mates they had in their beginnings in track and field as people obsessed at a very young age with running, to the point it seemed a little weird. Their heroes were El Guerrouj and Gebrselassie and knew everything about every African runner (PBs, workouts, races won, etc). They had all Kenyan and Ethiopian running videos and were also fond of East African music and food. (2) Their coach at the time, Don Willoughby, confirms the huge commitment of Jake and Zane with athletics and also their strong competitiveness and determination. (3) The idea of moving to the black continent was quite old and Jake talked about it to the Kenyan athletes in the first opportunity he had, when competing at the 2006 World Cross Country Championship in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fukuoka</st1:place></st1:city>. He declared his wish of going to their country and the athletes encouraged him so he thought about moving as soon as possible. (4) The Robertson brothers were just <st1:metricconverter productid="17 in" w:st="on">17 in</st1:metricconverter> the following edition of the Championship, conveniently held in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mombasa</st1:place></st1:city>. Then, they communicated their parents and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Willoughby</st1:place></st1:city> their decision of taking a one way ticket to the World Cross. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"> Mum and dad reacted in disbelief and confusion, ultimately expressing their lack of faith in such risky adventure. Yet they had to accept it because it was not possible to convince their sons about how wrong they were of going to live to a poor country, on their own means. Usually the most promising athletes in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region> join American Universities for both track and field and scholar formation as such are the cases of Kim Smith or Lucy Van Dalen but Jake and Zane did not like this safe way. However, with the time, their parents have become proud of all their sons have achieved with hard work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>. (5) <st1:city w:st="on">Willoughby</st1:city> also shows a deep admiration for them but still believes it is not necessary to move to altitude or even to the States in order to make the grade as an athlete; it is also possible staying in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>. (3) Not so long ago, the homeland of Peter Snell, John Walker, Rod Dixon, Dick Quax and the coach of coaches Arthur Lydiard was a favoured training place for foreign runners. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/21192497?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="680"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/21192497">Jake and Zane Robertson</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/losseveter">Losse Veter</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Once in Africa, Jake and Zane Robertson first went to </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, where they had a New Zealander contact. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">It was in this same land where comic book genius Hugo Pratt met the legend of decadent romantic poet Arthur Rimbaud.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Nonetheless as for the last 20 years Ethiopia most foremost son is the big champion Haile Gebrselassie. The twins had the chance of being welcomed at the house of the living legend, who they acknowledge as the man who taught them how to use properly a gym. Weeks afterwards they moved to Eldoret, where they survived living in a small room about 3x2 metres in the back of a bar and sleeping on a foam mattress. Yet, Jake and Zane did not dislike the experience because they said to be used to camping in their home country. Then, the local runners realised they were serious about staying in Kenya and Fukuoka acquaintance Saif Saeed Shaheen decided to help them out with their integration in the country. The </span><st1:metricconverter productid="3000 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">3000 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> steeplechase record holder got them a house in Iten next to his, and took them to train with his own group, besides affording their rent and supplying them food, when it was necessary. The twins speak highly about Shaheen, which they consider a mentor, a hero, a motivator and an elder brother (5). Amazingly, last year Jake got to beat for the first time his benefactor narrowly at the </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belgrade</st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">’s Race through History, which clearly speaks about his fine progression. Zane also obtained a praiseworthy 32nd place among 350 starters at the highly competitive Discovery Cross Country Race in Eldoret, just ahead Martin Lel.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In the beginning the New Zealanders had to adapt to the new lifestyle. Power electricity cuts are frequent in Iten and, when the dry season, water only arrives to the houses once or twice a week for one hour. It does randomly so if you are then out for training you must go ask for it to friends. For one thing or another you will not avoid walking about </span><st1:metricconverter productid="15 km" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on">15 km</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> a day. (6) Then after training, massages and physiotherapists are not easily available so it is important a good and long rest in the evening. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Life does not offer in the Rift Valley many distractions but, once you get used to it, you love the simplicity of this existence, in close relationship with mates and nature. Otherwise, in Eldoret the same products you can buy around the world are at your disposal. For example you can have a spaghetti bolognaise for lunch if you want to. No wonder, Jake and Zane say they miss their parents but they have met in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';" w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> many of their very best friends and call Iten “home sweet home.” Most recent news say both twins are now engaged in a love relationship with local girls. In Zane case she is Ethiopian so he has moved to Addis Abeba for her. It seems they do not have any intention of returning to New Zealand for the moment.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Kenyans are reputed for training harder than anybody else and the Robertson brothers agree with this theory. Up to three daily sessions are normal with the first two being an easy jogging and the final one a tough interval workout. However it is balanced and, as already mentioned, rest is necessary too. It is also important to learn to listen to your body: training is scheduled according to your daily response and not the opposite. Both Kiwi twins had frustrating results in races last year due to overtraining. For this year they have chosen to train only in a small group with friends to avoid the stress of being pushed for random runners as it happened in 2010. Jake and Zane have baptised this selected bunch the HotBoyz, which is under the guidance of Patrick Sang, a former silver Olympic medallist at the steeplechase. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://runningtimes.com/rt/images/201105/robertsontwins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="http://runningtimes.com/rt/images/201105/robertsontwins.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Jake and Zane Robertson running at the 2010 Belgrade's Race through History<br />
Photo courtesy Belgrade Marathon Ltd<br />
<a href="http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22736"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22736</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Jake and Zane Robertson are steadily progressing, though they still need much further improvement to become world beaters. At last World Cross Country Championship in Punta Umbría they finished respectively in modest 60</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">th</sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> and 92</span><sup style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">nd</sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> positions. Zane has set a PB at the </span><st1:metricconverter productid="1500 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">1500 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> of 3:41.77, while Jake also achieved a new personal record at the 5000 with 13:22.38, which qualified him for Daegu. There, he had a noteworthy performance. In spite of being tripped, he bravely made up a </span><st1:metricconverter productid="50 metres" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">50 metres</st1:metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> gap and went to the front but was pushed again, finishing his heat injured. The officials put him into the final, where Jake tried his best but he had not recovered physically. Nonetheless, what attracted the attention of </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> head coach Steve Willis was Jake’s strong confidence in his possibilities, which comes from his tough training in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">, along some of the best runners in the world. (4) Jake has set high goals for him and he would like to start in 2012 beating Adrian Blincoe’s 13:10.19 national record; then fight for the medals at the Olympics. Zane also expects a huge improvement in the new year.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">The </span><st1:country-region style="font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> twins’ adventure in </span><st1:country-region style="font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> has gained them as many sympathizers as detractors as we can see in threads in athletic websites (2). Some accuse them of irresponsible and destructive behaviour, following impossible dreams to the extreme so they finally become nightmares. Furthermore they are blamed of abandoning their home to sail to the third world, renouncing to quality of life and education and having to depend on the help of strangers. On the other hand, others praise their brave attitude and willingness to open to new ideas, embracing another country. People with restricted minds confound an education with a degree. There is no better learning than being in contact with a different culture, which in any way can be considered inferior because of having a less competitive economy. Whether they become world class athletes or not, Jake and Zane Robertson will obtain from their experience in </span><st1:country-region style="font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> excellent lessons for their future lives as how to be kind and generous with the others as athletes from Iten have been with them. Anyway, they will never regret not to have tried their dream because of fear or mental barriers.</span> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/192/771/192771561_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/192/771/192771561_640.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Jake and Zane Robertson training with Kenyan mates in Iten<br />
<a href="http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/192/771/192771561_640.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/192/771/192771561_640.jpg</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.runnerstribe.com/article/post/show/id/136">http://www.runnerstribe.com/article/post/show/id/136</a><br />
(2) <a href="http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3962742" style="text-align: left;">http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3962742</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10770694" style="text-align: left;">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10770694</a><br />
(4) <a href="http://www.athletics.org.nz/Article.aspx?ID=8231" style="text-align: left;">http://www.athletics.org.nz/Article.aspx?ID=8231</a><br />
(5) <a href="http://www.nzrun.com/article/7061-Q-A-with-Jake-and-Zane" style="text-align: left;">http://www.nzrun.com/article/7061-Q-A-with-Jake-and-Zane</a><br />
6) <a href="http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22736" style="text-align: left;">http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22736</a></div><br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
</div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-74745038379694899972011-11-25T21:35:00.051+01:002015-12-28T21:01:30.715+01:00SEA Games: a Bunch of Unknown Heroes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilssLplXmQz0TjASfxN0o1cJ9FIQqLP1nvPf-DUq31EE80wXdXeaRmZsY5geXbAp3H4P2rrdJmL2CBF77LKrJjoe4EF8n5xtvnus1yfP7hezYNHederJTWVaSyLs2hyi9kgo0J7QbzU5s/s1600/sw31503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilssLplXmQz0TjASfxN0o1cJ9FIQqLP1nvPf-DUq31EE80wXdXeaRmZsY5geXbAp3H4P2rrdJmL2CBF77LKrJjoe4EF8n5xtvnus1yfP7hezYNHederJTWVaSyLs2hyi9kgo0J7QbzU5s/s640/sw31503.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Triyaningsih celebrates with teammates her gold medal at the 10.000 metres at the 2009 SEA Games, Vientiane</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Antara/ Andika Wahyu</span><br />
<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.thejakartapost.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Do you think in the last IAAF athlete of the year award ceremony the highest prizes were given to the most marketable runners instead of to the ones who really deserved them, as it happens every time in the cinema with the Oscars? Do you believe the international press is focusing in just a few names as Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva, Allyson Felix, Christophe Lemaître and now Sally Pearson, forgetting many others also author of remarkable deeds? Are you tired of watching how the Diamond League meetings are just becoming an empty show around records, money and sponsorship interests? Do you simply like track and field and thus try to find the essence of the sport in competitions where the main actors are young upcoming runners whose whole dreams are still on the making? Then, maybe this is for you. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The South East Asian area is known as a tropical paradise, a privileged touristic destination, but it is sadly famous as well for periodical catastrophes as floods and tsunamis. <country-region w:st="on">Thailand</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Singapore</country-region> or <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vietnam</place></country-region> are also newly industrialised countries with emerging economies trying to reach the global market. We had the chance of being in contact with this fashionable culture, their attractive people, their personal universe, on occasion of the recent South East Asian Games, a biannual sportive event, the largest in the area, which celebrated its XXVI edition at the Indonesian towns of <city w:st="on">Jakarta</city> and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city>. In the latter town, which is the capital of South Sumatra, were held the Athletic competitions, which opened those populous Games. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Track and field in the region is still a world apart from European or American elite. Only a few privileged ones can practise sport as a full profession. Most must share their athletic passion with their studies or a complementary job. Humble are their athletes achievements and modest the training facilities they enjoy. Yet they persevere in search of their dreams and their government manages to make some international contacts and put at their disposal some foreign reputed coaches to help develop track and field in those countries. To reach the Olympic standard and get a ticket for the London Games is already a big triumph for the foremost South East Asian runners, jumpers and throwers. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/assets/2011/11/santos-torres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/assets/2011/11/santos-torres.jpg" hda="true" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Long jump Tagaloh star Marestella Torres and her dolphin Katherine Kay Santos</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Vic Adornado</span><br />
<a href="http://www.interaksyon.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.interaksyon.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Thailand</span></place></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> has traditionally been the overwhelming dominator of the contest. This edition, they accomplished again the biggest tally (14) of golden medals. Yet the performance of the host of the Games, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Indonesia</place></country-region>, can be considered this time equal to the country of the white elephant’s: 13 victories but 36 medals overall against to the 32 Thais. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vietnam</place></country-region> also improved considerably, finishing a good third (9 gold medals for a total of 32). Individually, in a competition restricted to just 11 countries, faces are familiar from edition to edition and also are winners. Many champions in Palembang are carrying a remarkable streak of victories as it is the case of the two Filipino golden medallists, steeplechaser Rene Herrera (five) and long jumper Marestella Torres (four). Also four consecutive triumphs has achieved Thai Theerayut Philakong at the triple jump; while her compatriot Wassana Winatho owns 10 titles, the same than the discus thrower from Singapore James Wong Tuck Yi. Wong, now 42, first started winning in 1993. Finally, Vietnamese Truong Thanh Hang and local athlete Triyaningsih have achieved a three peat, grabbing in every occasion at least two titles (1) (2)</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB">Interestingly, all Indonesian victories were accomplished in running events. Their men won every single dash race final with the sole exception of the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter>. Sprinter Franklin Ramses Burumi and long distance star Triyaningsih triumphed in no less than three events. “Si Anak Ajaib” (the wonder girl), as she is known by their countrymen, won previously the 5000 and <metricconverter productid="10.000 metres" w:st="on">10.000 metres</metricconverter> in 2007 and 2009 and now have succesfully defended at home, completing a hat trick after winning the marathon too. Three praiseworthy victories in only five days, helped it is true by the lack of any challenging rivalry in the region. The men were as dominant in the distances with Ridwan, Agus Prayogo, Jauhari Johan and Yahuza. And there is also the returned Rini Budiarti, who established a new CR at the steeplechase. Nonetheless the athlete with the biggest progression and more chances to qualify for the Olympics is Triyaningsih.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">What could have happened in the hypothetical case the seven times SEA champion, as she ran the Nairobi marathon in </span><metricconverter productid="2008 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">2008 in</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> her only appearance out of the Asia-Pacific area to the date, would have decided to stay in Kenya to be trained by let us say Renato Canova? Would she be right now a potential winner for </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">London</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> or </span><state style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New York</place></state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> majors? Yet her coach is Alwi Mugiyanto and she can just feel proud of that because he has taught her “discipline, piety, humbleness and respect to everybody” (3). Triyaningsih, now 24, comes from </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Semarang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Central Sumatra</place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> as so does Agus Prayogo. It was there where Mugiyanto spotted her as she was </span><metricconverter productid="16. In" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">16. In</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> spite of being the younger sister of legendary champion Ruwiyati, Triyaningsih was initially reluctant to embrace a running career. She wanted instead to become a dancer. After talking to her and her parents for long time, Mugiyanto finally convinced the talented younster to move to Java to join Lokomotiv Salatiga athletic club, which is financed by the Railways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> Triyaningsih is a specially diminutive girl (1,46 and <metricconverter productid="37 kg" w:st="on">37 kg</metricconverter>), and it is amazing to see how such small frame owns such powerful core. (4) Yet she has been gifted by genetics, trains tirelessly (210 km/ week) and follows a strict diet of vegetables, fish and rice. (5) The <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Semarang</place></city> girl gets better as the distance grows. Her track performances out of her SEA paradise have been nothing special, although she showed her talent as she won her semi-final at the last Universiade in Shenzhen. Yet on the roads she can match the very best. Triyaningsih was last year the first Indonesian in winning the Hong Kong marathon; followed this up with a third place at the Jakarta <metricconverter productid="10 km" w:st="on">10 km</metricconverter> international race, against a high-class field; and ended the year with a fourth place at the Asian Games marathon, beating among others the Japanese duo Kiyoko Shimahara and Yuri Kano, both of them top-8 finishers at World championship level. In <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangzhou</place></city> she clocked 2:31:48, a stunning new national record. Despite being the only Indonesian athlete with the A standard, she was not send to Daegu Worlds to concentrate in her triple challenge at the SEA Games. Yet next year nothing is going to interfere between her and her Olympic dream. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/gallery/2009/12/17/high_jump_gal_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sportsnet.ca/gallery/2009/12/17/high_jump_gal_640.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Lee Hup Wei, the standout high jumper from Malaysia<br />
Photo: Liu Jin/ AFP/ Getty Images<br />
<a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/gallery/2009/12/17/november172009_gallery/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.sportsnet.ca/gallery/2009/12/17/november172009_gallery/</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span><br />
<place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Indonesia</span></country-region></place><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> also topped the sprint events in both men and female categories, thanks to new kids in town Franklin Ramses Burumi and Serafi Anelies Unani. Suryo Agung Wibowo had been the fastest man at the last two editions of the championships, achieving an excellent <metricconverter productid="10.17 in" w:st="on">10.17 in</metricconverter> Vientiane-09. However he was absent in <city w:st="on">Palembang</city>, due to his pilgrimage to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mecca</place></city>. Amazingly, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Indonesia</place></country-region> has quickly found a sensational replacement for Suryo in the 20 year old Franklin Burumi, who went on to win three titles at the 100, <metricconverter productid="200 metres" w:st="on">200 metres</metricconverter> and eventually in the relay, along with Fernando Lumain, Mohd Fadlin and Farrel Octaviandi, where the latter, in an incredible homestretch leg, pipped at the line Gary Yeo from Singapore team, the silver medallist at the single event. Despite not being an outstanding starter, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Franklin</place></city> won every final in the last decisive strides. His winning time at the <metricconverter productid="100 metres" w:st="on">100 metres</metricconverter> was a windy 10.37 and his legal PB is for the moment just 10.50. However the new Indonesian star states he feels capable of matching Suryo’s national record in 1 or 2 years. He also talks about running under 10 seconds at the 100 metres event and under 20 at the 200. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<city w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Franklin</span></place></city><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> has proved a charismatic and also rather controversial man. He had been enrolled in every program of development for young athletes but was ultimately dropped because of lack of commitment and discipline. This year he was downgraded again after running a horrible heat at the Asian championships in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kobe</place></city>, probably due to living the night full time. (6) Yet this time around remembered how he had convinced his parents to leave his native Papua in order to start a serious professional running career. He stopped his bad boy rebel attitude and asked coach Henny Maspaitella to join his training camp in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Surabaya</place></city>. After three months with Maspaitella, <city w:st="on">Franklin</city> learned self-discipline and reappeared in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city> as the hero of the Games. Now his humorous, outgoing and energetic personality is highly appreciated. (7) <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Franklin</place></city> is always smiling, ready for a joke and as every Papuan he always has a story to tell. His extravagant looks for the Games are also well remembered: his dreadlocks at the 100, transformed in a sort of pigtails for the <metricconverter productid="200 meter" w:st="on">200 meter</metricconverter> event. “I think my Thai rival fell mentally because of my hair look and lost the race. With this haircut, I feel highly confident and I do not fear anybody” (8) </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Also coming from nothing, another Papuan born, Serafi Unani, a law student in Ubaya University, won surprisingly the girl’s </span><metricconverter productid="100 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">100 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, beating narrowly well-known sprinters Thai Nongnuch Saenrat and twice defending champion from Vietnam Vu Thi Huong. However her 10.69 clocking is the worst winning time in many editions of the Games, in spite of having a generous tailwind. Because of her youth she should be smashing it soon to try to become one of the top all-Asia sprint specialists. Serafi also pushed her team Indonesia to a excellent silver medal at the 4x100 meter relay, in 45.00, a new national record. Both Burumi and Unani have curiously become national icons in a moment Papua is being troubled for weeks by violence and unrest, following the killing of four demonstrators in a strike, by the Indonesian police. (9) The victories have been seen for some as a way to solve ethnic and political differences in the country. </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Franklin</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> said “we will only want peace and security in Papua so let us talk about in an amicable way”, to conclude “we have shown what we can achieve so, please, never underestimate the Papuan people” (10)
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VgROyM7KDcYpe_sPUb9SpV-6IyfCy07IN6QZDm1qPWTrXydhmCaf7DpsU4OzQeXqaOb5SF-VVyrJMKwywfX1ZjDGcGyhINtFHwJ16pOxY0UzFzysjt9OF7tF71C4oe0rIdSViOIKiUU/s1600/Nguyen+Thi+Thanh+Phuc+doat+HCV+noi+dung+20km+di+bo+nu+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VgROyM7KDcYpe_sPUb9SpV-6IyfCy07IN6QZDm1qPWTrXydhmCaf7DpsU4OzQeXqaOb5SF-VVyrJMKwywfX1ZjDGcGyhINtFHwJ16pOxY0UzFzysjt9OF7tF71C4oe0rIdSViOIKiUU/s640/Nguyen+Thi+Thanh+Phuc+doat+HCV+noi+dung+20km+di+bo+nu+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.3648px; line-height: 18.5472px; text-indent: 47.2px;">Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc, the new South East Asian champion in Race Walking, in company of silver medallist Kay Khaing Myo Tun from Myanmar and bronze medallist Darwati from indonesia.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.3648px; line-height: 18.5472px; text-indent: 47.2px;">Photo: Hoài Thu</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.3648px; line-height: 18.5472px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 47.2px;"><a href="http://bongdaplus.vn/" style="background-color: white; color: #7f6000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.3648px; line-height: 18.5472px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 47.2px;">http://bongdaplus.v</a>n</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><country-region style="text-indent: 35.4pt;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Vietnam</span></place></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> is the South East Asian country which is experiencing the biggest economic boom in the last couple of years. Accordingly, sports standards are also rising in spectacular fashion, being the foremost exponent gymnast <personname productid="Phan Thi Hà" w:st="on">Phan Thi Hà</personname> Thanh, who achieved the first medal ever in the speciality for her country at World Championship level, last October in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Tokyo</place></city>. For the Olympics the largest Vietnamese representation in history is expected. To the date, the country has only obtained two silver medals at the Games. Maybe it is the time for the first gold.</span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In Track and Field the authorities are also investing good money. A long term partnership with <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region> has been signed. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vietnam</place></country-region> had always had talented youngsters who after some promising results had been lost due to injuries, burn-out or just lack of resources for keeping them in the elite for a long time career. Such are the cases of quarter miler Nguyen Thi Tinh, who ran the distance in a marvellous 51.83 back in 2003, high jumper Bui Thi Nhung, who in 2005 set the existing SEA record with a world class 1.94, her counterpart Nguyen Duy Bang, middle distance specialists Le Van Duong, Nguyen Lan <personname productid="Anh and Do Thi" w:st="on"><personname productid="Anh and Do" w:st="on">Anh and Do</personname> Thi</personname> Bong and many others, most belonging to the generation who astonished at the 2003 SEA Games. All of them are sadly gone or in decadence. There were years the coaches trained mostly by intuition and were also improvised masseurs, when the athletes were not giving each other massages.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Since 2009 former decathlon star Uwe Freimuth and Gunther Lange have been invited to work with Vietnamese athletes as technical advisors. (11) Lange had been the first foreign coach in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> back in 1987 and was also in charge of Indonesian and Thai runners. Working together with national coaches, Freimuth and Lange have brought expertise and modern methods to the daily training. The first measure adopted was just focusing in one goal: Guangzhou Asian Games, instead of requiring the athletes to win every competition at stake as it had been done in the past. Besides, some Vietnamese coaches were invited for a stage in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> in order to be formed. Also two doctors from this European nation were assisting the athletes during last year Asian Games. As national coach Ho Thi Tu Tuam admitted, Freimuth and Lange taught marvellous physical and technical lessons and obtained immediate results: two silver and three bronze medals at the Asiad won by Vu Thi Huong, Truong Thanh Hang and Vu Van Huyen. Tuam stated had the two girls been training entirely in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">Germany</country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> for the season they would have surely brought the gold medal from </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangzhou</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> Further success in the 2010 season was accomplished by the younger generation at the 14th Asian junior championships, where the venue was Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital. Five more medals were grabbed, all of them by the girls: Tran Hue Hoa at the high jump and the 4x400 relay won the silver, and Do Thi Thao at the 800 metres, Nguyen Thi Puong at the steeplechase and Bu Thi Thao at the heptatlon struck bronze. (12)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/IAAF+World+Youth+Championships+Day+Two+fnGPXR0Q18nl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/IAAF+World+Youth+Championships+Day+Two+fnGPXR0Q18nl.jpg" hda="true" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Supanara Sukhavasti competing in Bressanone at the 2009 World Youth Champs</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Michael Steel/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Indeed Vu Thi Huong and Truong Thanh Hang were based in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> for the 2011 year but things did not work out exactly as expected. Huong, the Asian indoor title holder and twice defending champion at the SEA Games, awoke her muscle recurring injury while training in </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Europe</place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> and had to sit out the Asian and World Championships. In her first race athletic competition since June we saw a below par Vu Thi Huong in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Palembang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, just third at the sprint finals well over the 11.34 NR she had set in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vientiane</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, in a race which was won with 11.69. The Vietnamese federation and Uwe Freimuth blamed each other for the injury: Coach Nguyen Dinh Minh said he was awared before starting it that the training schedule established by Freimuth was likely to injure the athlete. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">On the other hand, the former decathlete said he could not finish his job, because he was not allowed to be present at the workouts. The federation said $ 44.000 had been thrown out of the window. (13) Hopefully, Huong will be fully fitted next year to try to reach the 11.28 Olympic standard.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Truong Thanh Hang was also training for five months in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, where the emphasis was made in endurance and tactics. Then, she won the gold medal at the Asian championships in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kobe</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, yet narrowly missing the London Games standard. Prior to the World championships she moved to </span><state style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Yunnan</state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> to train in altitude under the supervision of Lange and Lutz Meissner. They stated the preparation had been almost perfect and expected Hang to smash her 2:00.91 national record from Guangzhou, thus qualifying for London, and break into the world top-10. (14) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Eventually, the middle distance specialist, not coping with the pressure, ran arguably her worst </span><metricconverter productid="800 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> race in years, finishing dead last in 2:03.52, in heat 4. Curiously, Indian Tintu Luka, who she had beaten easily in both Guangzhou and Kobe, finished ahead in the same heat and booked her Olympic ticket in the semi-final; and her other archrival in the continent, the gold medallist in Guangzhou Margarita Matsko, had reached the standard as well previously in an Asian Grand Prix meeting. Hang defended her 800 and </span><metricconverter productid="1500 meter" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">1500 meter</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> titles in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Palembang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> but she has no match in the SEA area so she was just half-happy, because she still must qualify for </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After Vu Thi Huong and Beijing Olympian Nguyen Dinh Cuong, after an injury-plagued campaign, failed to defend their titles, the talented new generation took the spotlight in the second day of the 26<sup>th</sup> South East Asian Games. (15) Country girl Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc from the mountainous <personname productid="Hoa Son" w:st="on">Hoa Son</personname> brought the first enjoyable news of the day, when she surprised soon in the morning reigning champion and hot favourite Kay Khine Myo Thin of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Myanmar</place></country-region> to win the <metricconverter productid="20 km" w:st="on">20 km</metricconverter> race walk. As she crossed the line, Phuc was embraced by her younger brother, Nguyen Thanh Ngung, who was waiting for her after having grabbed the bronze medal at the men’s event in a race won by Malaysian Lo Choon Sieng. The siblings come from a very poor family and had to endure every day a <metricconverter productid="4 km" w:st="on">4 km</metricconverter> path through hills and sand to reach school, then to complete hard workouts in hungry days, in an odyssey which remembers many Ethiopian and Kenyan illustrious champions. (16) The tiny Phuc, bearing the Vietnamese flag with her humble riveting smile, was the image of the day and perhaps of the Games for her nation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Another hopeful country girl, Duong Thi Viet Anh, followed with a new upset as she defeated the only SEA athlete who had achieved the Olympic standard prior to <city w:st="on">Palembang</city>, Thai Wanida Boonwan and her compatriot and defending champion Noengrothai Chaiptech, bringing back the title to <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vietnam</place></country-region>. Precisely, the former two times winner in the event at the SEA Games Bui Thi Nhung prepared Anh and gave her valuable advice to compete. (17) Chaipetch had equalled 1.94 Nhung area record the previous edition in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vientiane</place></city> with a formidable leap about <metricconverter productid="4 centimetres" w:st="on">4 centimetres</metricconverter> over the barrier (which is not bad for a girl whose height is just 1,65) and went on the following winter to win a praiseworthy silver medal at the Asian indoors. Yet this year she has only been able of jumping 1.85. Wanida, who competed at the World championships, could not come close either to her 1.92 vault in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city> and had to be content with the runner-up position, splitting young Vietnamese Duong Thi Viet <personname productid="Anh and Pham Thi" w:st="on">Anh and Pham Thi</personname> Diem. On the other hand, Anh equalled her 1.90 PB to carry the gold and accomplished again this height two days afterwards at the heptathlon, where she won a second medal, the bronze. She is in the right way to improve just <metricconverter productid="2 centimetres" w:st="on">2 centimetres</metricconverter> and book her ticket to the Olympics. Truong Thanh Hang, followed by Asian junior bronze medallist Do Thi Thao did her job and so did decathlete Vu Van Huyen, who is getting better with the years, preceding hopeful Nguyen Van Hue, to complete an awesome session for their country. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">More youngsters kept giving a sensational impression in the successive days, showing how bright the future can be for Vietnamese track and field. Another Asian junior medallist, Tran Hue Hoa, now at the triple jump, won the gold with an astounding 13.76 national record in her first senior year, and she has chances too of going to </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><city w:st="on">London</city></place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> provided she keeps improving in 2012. Nineteen-year-old Duong Van Thai triumphed at the male </span><metricconverter productid="800 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> race and Dao Xan Cuong at the </span><metricconverter productid="400 meter" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">400 meter</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> hurdles. Steeplechasers Nguyen Thi Puong and Nguyen Dan Duc Bao and long distance girl Pham Thi Binh, all of them born in 1989 or later, also won medals in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SNypoObUIUJQQPV3zxNx9JeiowMw95u7ic96-e-Ad1EJy0ReZo0zZLtiRoCq-U5_XyiW1tb0roc-uFDHwBgo6hHrDivxCqeXT7MPyHGTumjuSKrCIEgYbB2fWz-jR69JN3n4R8tl2fE/s1600/101126H1T21250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SNypoObUIUJQQPV3zxNx9JeiowMw95u7ic96-e-Ad1EJy0ReZo0zZLtiRoCq-U5_XyiW1tb0roc-uFDHwBgo6hHrDivxCqeXT7MPyHGTumjuSKrCIEgYbB2fWz-jR69JN3n4R8tl2fE/s640/101126H1T21250.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;">Nongnuch Saenrat, Laphassaporn Thavoncharoen, Neeranuch Klomdee and Phatsorn Jaksunikorn, after winning the 4x100 relay final at the 2010 Asian Games</span><br />
<a href="http://www.siamsport.co.th/Sport_Other/101126_125.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;">http://www.siamsport.co.th/Sport_Other/101126_125.html</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;">WATCH HERE THE RACE: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d682LGfCgrg&feature=related"><span style="color: #134f5c;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d682LGfCgrg&feature=related</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">If Wanida Boonwan failed to deliver the expected gold medal for Thailand, it did not at the long jump the biggest hope of his country for the years to come; the teen who achieved for Thailand for the first time ever at global level a place of finalist, a medal of any colour and a spot at the top of the podium, on occasion of the World Youth Championships, held in Bressanone, South Tirol. In fact, Supanara Sukhavasti na Ayuthaya accomplished it twice during the contest, winning the long jump event with ease, then grabbing as well the silver medal at the triple jump. Besides, Supanara enjoyed his chance of meeting IAAF ambassador Mike Powell, the man who achieved the longest jump in history, who was in Bressanone for a conference. Supanara, who is reported to watch Powell´s world record every day, stated: “one day I will be like him.” (18) </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Thailand</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> has not won to the date an Olympic gold medal in athletics either but who knows if this man who is the fifth generation of King Rama IV is predestined to accomplished it one day.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> A native of Chiang Mai, he was brought by his teacher at 15 to the capital to be trained by Ekkawit Sawangphol and is the first product that comes to notoriety from the youth development program launched by Thailand Athletics Association in partnership with the IAAF. (18) (19) Supanara already jumped </span><metricconverter productid="7.96 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">7.96 in</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> his breakthrough year of 2009, which was a national record in all categories. Besides the World Youth Champs, he would also win that season at the SEA Games both senior and junior (ASEAN). In the following year, because of an injury at the World Junior championship in Moncton, he was not as astounding, finishing only fifth at the Asiad and losing the Asian junior championships to Taiwanese Lin Ching-Hsuan, the man who represented his country last September in Daegu. In 2011 he is back again to full fitness: only Su Xiongfen, the best long jumper in the continent, could beat him at the Asian Championships in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kobe</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, where he landed at his for the moment PB of 8.05. After a praiseworthy 6</span><sup style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">th</sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> place at the Universiade, Supanara defended his South East Asian title, beating again former champion Henry Dagmil of </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Philippines</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Thailand</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> seems now unbreakable at the male horizontal jumps in the region, with also Theerayut Philakong dominating the triple jump since </span><metricconverter productid="2005. A" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">2005. A</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> pity, Thitima Muangjan is not at the same level she reached two years ago when she was the victor with 14.08.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Still younger than Supanara Sukhavsti is the new champion at the discus throw Subenrat Insaeng, born in 1994. She disappointed at last World Youths in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Lille</place></city> but last year finished in a remarkable fifth place at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games and second at the Asian Junior championship, aged sixteen. Somewhat, Insaeng covers the emptiness created by the untimely retirement of javelin thrower Buoban Phamang, who has sustained for more than two years a shoulder injury. Phamang, another teen prodigy, winner of four SEA Games, the first one in 2001, when she was only 17, obtained her biggest triumphs at the 2006 Asian Games and at the Universiade, held in Bangkok one year later, with a world class 61.40. She represented <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Thailand</country-region></place> at Beijing Olympic Games. </span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">If Subenrat Insaeng was the youngest winner in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city>, her male counterpart, James Wong Tuck Yim was the oldest of the competitors. The first of his ten titles (nine at the discus throw and one at the shot put) was won one year before Subenrat was born. Notwithstanding, the fact the Singaporean great and her compatriot Guirong Zhang are not matched yet, in spite they are far from their younger years level, only proves the poor standards at the SEA area in throwing events. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://baobaclieu.vn/database/newsimg/2011/11/2018/DT%20Viet%20Anh%20(T12).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://baobaclieu.vn/database/newsimg/2011/11/2018/DT%20Viet%20Anh%20(T12).jpg" height="640" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Duong Thi Viet Anh from Vietnam wins the High Jump final at the SEA Games, <br />
after leaping 1.90, a new personal best<br />
<a href="http://baobaclieu.vn/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://baobaclieu.vn</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> For years, the event </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Thailand</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> can feel proud about its results at international level is the 4x100 relay in both male and female categories. Amazingly, the region powerhouse does not obtain many individual victories at the dash sprints, not even at SEA Games level. It is true Laphassaporn Thavoncharoen won the gold at the </span><metricconverter productid="200 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">200 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Palembang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> but for the closest in time single victory we have to return back to 2003, when </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Thailand</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> completed a 1-2 at the </span><metricconverter productid="100 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">100 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, thanks to Neeranut Klomdee and the same Thavonchroen. The last occasion the men achieved it was in </span><metricconverter productid="2005 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">2005 in</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Manila</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> when Wachara Sondee and Sittichai Suwonprateep clinched the 100 and 200 titles respectively. It is surprising a country which never has been able of ranking one of its athletes into the top-100 at the world yearly lists got to qualify both teams for Beijing Olympics, but the relay result is not necessarily the addition of the marks of its four team members. The </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">US</country-region></place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> male 4x100 has much to say about it, after dropping the baton at three consecutive major competitions, and ultimately dropping also their man on the ground in Daegu.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Thailand</span></place></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> works carefully the changeovers and every aspect of the race to reach levels of technical perfection. Also the members of the teams do not change too much and it helps. Actually in the girl’s case they do not change at all: Phatsorn Jaksunikorn, Neeranut Klomdee, Laphassaporn Thavoncharoen and Nongnuch Saenrat met for the first time at the 2003 Asian championships in Manila, which they won, and have performed together almost in every important competition since 2005. You can guess they know each other pretty well and can deliver the baton to their mate eyes close. Maybe the achievement they can feel more proud was last year when they beat the strong Chinese and Japanese quartets at the Asian Games in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangzhou, after the drama of being disqualified in the precedent edition</place></city>. (20) (21) Yet, experience can be a double-edged sword. The awesome foursome girls are entering their thirties and hopefuls Jinthara Seangdee and Tassaporn Wannakit are not progressing enough. Despite winning their 15<sup>th</sup> straight title at the SEA Games the Thai squad seems unlikely to replicate their 43.38 national record, which bound them to <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Beijing</city></place>, in order to qualify again for the Olympics. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">For their men counterparts the crisis has already arrived. The current combination of veteran Wachara Sondee and Sompote Suwanangsri with youngster Jirapong Meenapra and Supachai Chimdee does not seem to work out enough. After having beaten the powerhouse </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Japan</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> at two straight Asian Games in 2002 and 2006, they have only been able lately of medalling at one of the last three Area major competitions. It is true the 4x100 standards in the continent are now really amazing with no less than 8 national teams under 3</span><metricconverter productid="49.50 in" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">9.50 in</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> the last three seasons and 4 more below 40.00, but this is not an excuse. Even their 13</span><sup style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">th</sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> finals winning streak at the SEA Games came to an end in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, although with the hindrance of Chimdee’s hamstring injury during the race, which made the team decelerate. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span><br />
<place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Thailand</span></country-region></place><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> wins scarcely at single flat sprint events but does not have much trouble in clinching hurdle titles. Jumrut Rittidet is the individual with the best chances for going to the Olympics, besides Supanara. Still 22, he is improving every year. Already in the final last year at the Asiad, in 2011 he lost narrowly the bronze medal in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kobe</place></city>. He has ended the season defending successfully his SEA title, beating former champions from Malaysia Rayzamshah Wan Sofian and Mohd Robani Hassan in a new national record 13.77. Still further improvement is needed to reach the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> standard. </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/thumbnailfull/wallapa-punsoongneun-wassana-winatho-2011-11-13-10-40-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/thumbnailfull/wallapa-punsoongneun-wassana-winatho-2011-11-13-10-40-18.jpg" hda="true" height="467" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wassana Winatho (L) and Wallapa Pungsoongneun (R) elated after </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">their awesome performance at the 100 meter hurdles </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">at the 2011 SEA Games</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Achmad Ibrahim</span><br />
<a href="http://newshopper.sulekha.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://newshopper.sulekha.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> At the women’s high hurdles, Wallapa Pungsoongneun got the better of reigning champion, and Indonesian representative in Daegu, Dedeh Erawati. Her compatriot Wassana Winatho, grabbed a second medal for <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Thailand</place></country-region>: the bronze. Wassana, which is also called Amornrat, also struck the silver medal at the intermediate hurdles, after evergreen Malaysian Noraseela Mohd Khalid, and the gold at the heptathlon.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Wassanee Winatho is the most decorated active athlete at the SEA Games with a total of 10 gold, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes. Besides she has climbed at the top of the podium in four different events: </span><metricconverter productid="400 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">, </span><metricconverter productid="400 meter" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">400 meter</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> hurdles, the heptathlon and the 4x400 meter relay. Wassanee has been part of the continent elite ever since her senior debut at the 1998 Asian Games, where she narrowly missed a medal at the heptathlon. Overcoming her economically humble background, a string of injuries and bad lack, she has enjoyed a long and successful career. Indeed, as she said, the best thing to do is keep studying and practising athletics in order to get to help one day your family (22) Her best season was 2007 when she clinched a hat trick of victories at the SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima at the intermediate hurdles, long relay and heptathlon, where she set four PBs for an overall score of </span><metricconverter productid="5889, a" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on">5889, a</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> new national record, which qualified her for Beijing Olympics. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Currently she is the reigning Asian champion in combined events, both indoors and outdoors and as such was present at the World Championships in Daegu.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">If <country-region w:st="on">Thailand</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on">Vietnam</country-region> lived up to the expectations at the 26<sup>th</sup> SEA Games and even went beyond of them, not the same can be said about <country-region w:st="on">Philippines</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Malaysia</place></country-region>’s performances. However, while <country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</country-region>’s government, because of being the host country, made a great effort to help their athletes arrive in the best condition to the Games and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vietnam</place></country-region>’s economical optimism is bringing to healthy transformations in sport, Filipino and Malaysian athletes training facilities and management attitude were far from ideal and that influenced decisively the final results.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Philippines, who had won seven gold medals in the precedent edition in Laos, and up to eleven during their golden age in the 80s, went down to two: Veteran Rene Herrera at the steeplechase and Marestella Torres at the long jump. Some blamed on an inferiority complex (“pwede na”) which is increasingly dominant in a Filipino society used to lag behind their Asian neighbours in culture, economy or sports, in recent years. (23) For instance, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Philippines</place></country-region> is well known as the nation with most medals (exactly nine), which has never won an Olympic gold. No less than nine were also the runner-up positions in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Palembang</city></place>. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Other opinions are less idiosyncratic: Field athletes were forced to do a true pilgrimage in search of a place to train, once they were removed from Rizal stadium and Philsports Arena, now converted into football venues. Marestella and company shifted to </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Baguio</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, then Dugamete, finally </span><personname productid="La Laguna. It" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><personname productid="La Laguna." w:st="on">La Laguna.</personname> It</personname><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> was the same kind of situation the long jumper champion had pointed out the year before, stating her failure at the Asian Games had to do with the shabby conditions in which she had completed at home her sharpening for </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Guangzhou</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, after returning from her first phase of training abroad</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">. (23) Other athletes as throwers Danilo Fresnido and Arniel Ferrera denounced the lack of basic supplies as shoes and vitamins, which they had to afford with their own means. (24) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ubaya.ac.id/up/berita/804_20111119115903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ubaya.ac.id/up/berita/804_20111119115903.jpg" height="525" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Serafi Anelies Unani, enjoys her victory</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"> at the South East Asian Games 100 metres final<br />
<a href="http://www.ubaya.ac.id/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.ubaya.ac.id</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Marestella Torres, who had won brilliantly at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">the Asian Championships and established a sensational national record of 6.68 at the SEA Games the year before, fouled five out of her six attempts at the Asiad, to end up a disappointing fourth. She spoke about too much sacrifice for nothing and announced her retirement from sport. Fortunately, the national federation convinced her to continue. Overcoming the obstacles she brought her best version to Palembang: Marestella secured her fourth title in her very first try, landing </span><metricconverter productid="6.65 metres" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">6.65 metres</metricconverter><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> beyond the board, before sealing her ticket to London Olympics with a scintillating fly of 6.71, a new championship record and by far the best performance of the whole 2011 SEA Games (25). Two promising jumpers, Indonesian Maria Natalia Londa and Marestella´s compatriot Katherine Kay Santos struck the minor medals.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Philippines</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> continue with its stunning dominance at the long jump event, which they have won at the South East Asian Games since 1983, with the only exception of the 2003 edition. Marestella Torres is keeping on the tradition of legends Elma Muros (8 long jump titles and 15 overall), Lydia de Vega (8 victories at 4 different events and SEA Games 100 metres record holder, since 1987) and Lerma Gabito. Now the champion in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Palembang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> sees her 21-year-old protégée Katherine </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Santos</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> as the one with the talent to become her heir in the years to come. Katherine recognised she was too nervous in her debut but at least achieved a new PB, jumping 6.25 (26) She will have new chances to prove her abilities. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">No matter their officials were content with the 6 gold medals harvest in </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on">Palembang</city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">, it is fair to recognise </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Malaysia</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> athletics had known better years. There is nothing really to compare with the promising generational relay among the Vietnamese fields, except the coincidence Malaysian athletes are also based in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> for some months of the year. National track and field main names remain the same: Lee Hup Wei, Roslinda Samsu and 32-year-old Noraseela Mohd Khalid.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The high jumper alternates ups and downs, while the pole vaulter reached her peak in 2006 and has not progressed further since. Both circumstances have sometimes been linked to their experience with their coaches. Lee Hup Wei grew up as a jumper with Cuban Antonio Yznaga Ibar but his results dropped dramatically when the coach had to return to his country early in 2008 due to illness. Then another man from the same nation, Jorge Luis Alfaro was chosen as a replacement and soon Lee set a 2.27 new national record. Roslinda Samsu was discovered as she was sixteen by Mohd Mansahar Abdul Jalil but later joined more fancied Gennady Potapovich. Being pupil of the Russian she jumped a remarkable 4.40 as she was 24, raising high hopes but she would not repeat the feat again so the Malaysian federation decided to stop Potapovich’s collaboration and Roslinda returned to her former coach Jalil. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">They represented </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Malaysia</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> at Beijing Olympic Games. Both were unchallenged at the SEA area and reigning Asian champions but neither Lee nor Roslinda could make the final. With the pole vaulter in crisis of results and the high jumper injured, hurdler Rayzhamshah Wan Sofian and sprinters Norjanna Hafiszah Jamaludin and Hadi Mohd Nor Imran have replaced them at World championships, without special impact. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Notwithstanding, for the SEA Games in </span><country-region style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Indonesia</place></country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> the old warriors were back. Roslinda Samsu, who had been more focused in her studies during the year, surprised herself jumping 4.20 to get the better of her challenging long-time rival Le Thi Puong. She dedicated the victory to her coach Jalil, who had survived a heart attack and had just had the time to come to support her. (27) Also Lee Hup Wei, in his first outing of the year after a complicated foot ligament surgery, (28) Noraseela, coming as well from injury and a weak season, and hammer throw defending champion Tan Song Hwa, who competed with a slipped disc, (27) they all proved they know how to win when it matters most, despite not being fully fitted. Meanwhile, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;">Rayzhamshah was easily beaten by Thai Rittidet, Jamaludin, member of the 4x100 female relay which last year beat the old national record and SEA season leader with 11.60, was far from her best, and Nor Imran ended in a poor sixth place...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/thumbnailfull/franklin-ramses-burumi-2011-11-12-9-0-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://nimg.sulekha.com/others/thumbnailfull/franklin-ramses-burumi-2011-11-12-9-0-0.jpg" hda="true" height="402" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Franklin Ramses Burumi, all smiles after his victory at the 100 metres event in Palembang</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: AP/ Achmad Ibrahim</span><br />
<a href="http://newshopper.sulekha.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://newshopper.sulekha.com/</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Nevertheless the only upcoming athletes able to provide a breath of fresh air to Malaysian track and field were left at home. It was not, as some outsiders thought, that no individual quarter miler was entered for the <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter> in order to focus in the relay performance. What really happened was they were never considered to make the trip to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city> and they were included in the last moment only because of the insistence of their coach Jayabalan. (27) Maybe it was not asking too much when the SEA leader of the year was a Malaysian athlete, Panerselvam Yuvaaraj; the reigning individual champion, Mohd Zafril Zuslaini, though not available, was also born in the country; and the 4x400 relay had been SEA victor in 2007 and silver medallist two years later. Anyway, the four aspiring quarter milers were required to undergo a trial two weeks before in order to test their capacities. Eventually the MAAU (Malaysian Athletics Federation) put them in a flight on the eve of their event, on 13th November, without their coach. The single <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter> event had been won that same day by Indonesian Heru Astriyanto in 47.53, a clocking inferior to Yuvaaraj seasonal best (47.37) but this one and his mates Subramaniam Kannathassan, Schzuan Ahmad Rosely and Muhamad Yunus Lasaleh were still up for a challenge in the relay.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In a groundbreaking demonstration of power the Malaysians won the race from gun to tape in 3:10.49, leaving Philippine, Indonesian and Thai teams well behind. Yet this victory came as a big surprise for the MAAU, who had already booked their return tickets for the same day of the event. The athletes had to come back home before the medal presentation ceremony in the most absolute lack of sensitivity and respect towards them. (27) This injustice raised the anger of mates as Noraseela Mohd Khalid: “This is shameful. It breaks my heart to see the relay boys flying home without collecting their medals. How do you think they must feel? Is this the way to treat those who bring the glory for the nation? How is athletics in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Malaysia</place></country-region> ever going to improve if those in power only care about themselves and not for the athletes? ” Noraseela also talked about internal power struggles inside MAAU, missing dope tests, irresponsible coaches, athletes quitting sport in disgust, favouritism, lack of planning, athletes abandoned when they are injured… </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The four 4x400 meter champions felt frustrated because of the unfair treatment, but at the same time were glad to prove some people wrong. They had come to </span><city style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Palembang</place></city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> with an extra motivation, with no nerves in spite there were three rookies in the team. They just ran like men possessed to show what they were capable of... </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Next stop in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in two years time. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> See you then!!! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><br />
</span></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iIglpCCRv_0?feature=player_embedded" width="690"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.adriansprints.com/2011/11/video-4x400m-sea-games-2011-malaysia.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.adriansprints.com/2011/11/video-4x400m-sea-games-2011-malaysia.html</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"> Video courtesy of Sha <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/singaporeathletics"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">http://www.youtube.com/user/singaporeathletics</span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c;"> Most 26th SEA Games FINALS are available </span><a href="http://www.adriansprints.com/" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">HERE</span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://seag2011.com/">http://seag2011.com/</a><br />
(1) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2011_Southeast_Asian_Games">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_2011_Southeast_Asian_Games</a><br />
(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=62946.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=62946.html</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://radarlampung.co.id/read/all-sport/sea-games-xxv/3629-butuh-setahun-untuk-bujuk-jadi-pelari">http://radarlampung.co.id/read/all-sport/sea-games-xxv/3629-butuh-setahun-untuk-bujuk-jadi-pelari</a><br />
<div>
(4) <a href="http://us.detiksport.com/read/2009/12/21/174513/1263863/82/triyaningsih-awalnya-perlu-dirayu">http://us.detiksport.com/read/2009/12/21/174513/1263863/82/triyaningsih-awalnya-perlu-dirayu</a><br />
(5) <a href="http://us.sport.vivanews.com/news/read/264907-triyaningsih--saya-lari-210-km-tiap-pekan">http://us.sport.vivanews.com/news/read/264907-triyaningsih--saya-lari-210-km-tiap-pekan</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/19/franklin-ramses-burumi-papuan-bad-boy-turned-games-hero.html">http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/19/franklin-ramses-burumi-papuan-bad-boy-turned-games-hero.html</a><br />
<div>
(7) <a href="http://koran-jakarta.com/index.php/detail/view01/76502">http://koran-jakarta.com/index.php/detail/view01/76502</a><br />
(8) <a href="http://us.detiksport.com/read/2011/11/15/041106/1767379/1297/rambut-baru-bikin-franklin-makin-pede?s991101mainnews">http://us.detiksport.com/read/2011/11/15/041106/1767379/1297/rambut-baru-bikin-franklin-makin-pede?s991101mainnews</a><br />
(9) <a href="http://noticias.univision.mobi/article.html?nafurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedsyn.univision.com%2FcontentXml%3Fcid%3D753853%26contentType%3Darticle%26partner%3Dmia">http://noticias.univision.mobi/article.html?nafurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedsyn.univision.com%2FcontentXml%3Fcid%3D753853%26contentType%3Darticle%26partner%3Dmia</a><br />
(10) <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/16/glittering-stars-troubled-resource-rich-land.html">http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/16/glittering-stars-troubled-resource-rich-land.html</a><br />
<div>
</div>
(11) <a href="http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Another-look-at-Vietnams-track-and-field/10/111220.epi">http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Another-look-at-Vietnams-track-and-field/10/111220.epi</a><br />
(12) <a href="http://en.www.info.vn/sports-and-entertainment/more-sports/12640-the-hope-of-vietnams-athletics.html">http://en.www.info.vn/sports-and-entertainment/more-sports/12640-the-hope-of-vietnams-athletics.html</a><br />
(13) <a href="http://www.dztimes.net/post/culture/officials-expert-trade-blame-for-athlete-injury.aspx">http://www.dztimes.net/post/culture/officials-expert-trade-blame-for-athlete-injury.aspx</a><br />
(14) <a href="http://www.dztimes.net/post/culture/hang-looks-to-set-fresh-standards.aspx">http://www.dztimes.net/post/culture/hang-looks-to-set-fresh-standards.aspx</a><br />
(15) <a href="http://clip.vn/watch/Duong-Thi-Viet-Anh-chan-thuong-van-nhay-qua-1m90,hXfr?fm=search">http://clip.vn/watch/Duong-Thi-Viet-Anh-chan-thuong-van-nhay-qua-1m90,hXfr?fm=search</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(16) <a href="http://tin.soha.vn/bao/hai_chi_em_thanh_ngung_thanh_phuc_cua_hiem_o_dien_kinh-kILBLMW6X.htm">http://tin.soha.vn/bao/hai_chi_em_thanh_ngung_thanh_phuc_cua_hiem_o_dien_kinh-kILBLMW6X.htm</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(17) <a href="http://seagames.vnexpress.net/tin/mon-khac/2011/11/duong-thi-viet-anh-chan-thuong-van-nhay-qua-1m90/">http://seagames.vnexpress.net/tin/mon-khac/2011/11/duong-thi-viet-anh-chan-thuong-van-nhay-qua-1m90/</a><br />
(18) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WYC09/news/newsid=51804.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WYC09/news/newsid=51804.html</a><br />
<div>
(19) <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/19276/">http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/19276/</a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(20) <a href="http://www.siamsport.co.th/Sport_Other/101126_125.html">http://www.siamsport.co.th/Sport_Other/101126_125.html</a><br />
<div>
(21) <a href="http://www.oknation.net/blog/canthai/2010/11/26/entry-6">http://www.oknation.net/blog/canthai/2010/11/26/entry-6</a><br />
(22) <a href="http://news.sanook.com/sport/sport_225142.php">http://news.sanook.com/sport/sport_225142.php</a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(23) <a href="http://rustychain.wordpress.com/tag/cojuangco/">http://rustychain.wordpress.com/tag/cojuangco/</a><br />
(24) <a href="http://pinoymiler.wordpress.com/">http://pinoymiler.wordpress.com/</a><br />
(25) <a href="http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/torres-towers/#.Tsq_RLL7hqc">http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/torres-towers/#.Tsq_RLL7hqc</a><br />
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(26) <a href="http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/seag-long-jump-champ-torres-takes-promising-santos-under-her-wing">http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/seag-long-jump-champ-torres-takes-promising-santos-under-her-wing</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(27) <a href="http://bjss-athletics.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html">http://bjss-athletics.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(28) <a href="http://news.faisunan.com/author/nst-online-sports/page/10/">http://news.faisunan.com/author/nst-online-sports/page/10/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
</div>
Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-23476439640428983512011-11-14T05:46:00.000+01:002011-11-14T05:46:17.581+01:00With eight months to go, 4x400 qualified Teams for London nearly Decided<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/D6/8F8CE4773624CA86FC5779F33FB9D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" nda="true" src="http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/D6/8F8CE4773624CA86FC5779F33FB9D.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">LaShawn Merritt anchors the 4x400 US team to gold in Daegu</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: AP/ Anja Niedringhaus</span><br />
<a href="http://sports.ca.msn.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://sports.ca.msn.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 16px;"> After the brilliant performances achieved by Cuban, Dominican and Venezuelan teams, all of them under 3:01.00 at the recent Pan American Games, the 16 squads which are going to compete next year at the 4x400 relay event for London Olympic Games are almost decided, with still 8 months and a half to go. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"> The 2010 season was a quite remarkable one. Firstly, it was one of the best in history from the statistical point of view, with no less than 15 nations dipping under 3:02.00. (1) Secondly, the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United States</place></country-region>, overwhelming dominator of the event for decades, struggled to defend their title. <country-region w:st="on">Jamaica</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">South Africa</place></country-region> were keeping the lead until the final homestretch, where the reappeared <personname productid="La Shawn Merritt" w:st="on"><personname productid="La Shawn" w:st="on">LaShawn</personname> Merritt</personname>, in a class of his own, could fix the weak performance of some of his teammates, overcoming Leford Green and L.J. Van Zyl. (1) As an indication, The US 4x400 relay has not been beaten on the track in a World Championship (not counting disqualifications, because of Antonio Pettigrew’s drug use confession, years afterwards) since Tokyo’s 1991 edition, were they lost narrowly to Great Britain. At the Olympics, the streak dates back to <metricconverter productid="1972 in" w:st="on">1972 in</metricconverter> Munich, where Kenya accomplished a sensational victory. Equally outstanding is their stranglehold at the single event, with two straight clean sweeps of the medals at the last two Olympics Games. The last man who could defeat the <country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region> quarter milers was Cuban prodigy Alberto Juantorena, as far as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Montreal</place></city> 1976. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> Notwithstanding, this year we have assisted to the rising to stardom of Grenadian Kirani James, new world champion at 19, and we have also witnessed how the United States have failed to produce a convincing squad for Daegu. Jeremy Wariner has not been the same since Merritt had the better of him at Beijing Olympics and lost his number one status. Then the revelation of the year Tony McQuay, who had sensationally won the national trials, was far from his best fitness, after a long NCAA season. Finally, Greg Nixon and Jamaal Torrance were also unable to advance to the finals. Only, the defending champion, LaShawn Merritt, who had been back to competition only one month before the worlds after his doping hiatus, could save the honour of his country. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">After seeing their weak performance at the single <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter>, the head coach dropped McQuay and Torrance for the relay final, having to ask the help of experienced intermediate hurdlers Bershawn Jackson and Angelo Taylor, who besides had not done better than 6<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> at their specialist event. Also was dropped Mike Berry, who had run <metricconverter productid="44.0 in" w:st="on">44.0 in</metricconverter> his semi-final leg; a decision which was proved wrong. Still, the <country-region w:st="on">USA</country-region> struck narrowly the gold medal, but they did it scoring the worst clocking for a winning team since the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">USSR</place></country-region> won the inaugural edition of the championships in 1983. Their 2:59.31 would had earned them just a 5<sup>th</sup> place at last Olympic Games and was just 12 hundredths of a second better than the mark Cuba (absent in Daegu) achieved at the Pan Ams. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span lang="EN-GB">Specially one team was supposed to have the talent to enjoy this opportunity to produce a major upset: the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bahamas</place></country-region>. Yet, the 2001 world champions and current Olympic silver medallists, failed for the second time in a row in reaching a major final. They had been disqualified in Berlin and, this time around in Daegu, the team who had won gold in Mayagüez at the Central American Championships, was good enough just for 4<sup>th</sup> in their heat. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Bahamas</place></country-region>’ best two <metricconverter productid="400 meter" w:st="on">400 meter</metricconverter> specialists of the moment, Chris Brown and Demetrius Pinder, had been reserved, taking for granted they would qualify for the final. Yet the competition had a deepest field than expected and, otherwise, veteran Avard Moncur, Andrae and Latoy Williams had not run under 46 seconds in the whole season. Hopefully, they will not repeat the same wrong in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">London</city></place>, where they should be a strong contender for the medals. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">Two other squads which disappointed in Daegu were the <country-region w:st="on">United Kingdom</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Australia</place></country-region>, the respective silver and bronze medallists at the precedent edition. The latter team did not even reach the final and the former just finished in a poor 7<sup>th</sup> place. Yet their members were far from their <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state> fitness. For the Aussies, 18-year-old Steven Solomon were the big news, winning the national championships in a remarkable 45.58, but Tristan Thomas was just back from injury and Sean Wroe and Ben Offereins had a week season. For the British, as strange as it could sound in a country with so many accomplished 400 runners (Rooney, Bingham, Steel, Buck, Tobin, Strachan, Lennon-Ford, Levine, Clarke…) nobody was able of achieving the A standard for Daegu. Martyn Rooney recognised he had wrongly focused too much his training in speed; the European silver medallist Michael Bingham had a year to forget and so on. </span> </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Oscar+Pistorius+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+g4L2aDjyh8il.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="605" src="http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Oscar+Pistorius+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+g4L2aDjyh8il.jpg" width="401" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Oscar Pistorius passes the baton to Ofentse Mogawane at the 4x400 heats</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">in Daegu World Championships<br />
Photo: Stu Forster/ Getty Images Asia Pac<br />
www.zimbio.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">On the other hand, the most grateful surprise of the championships was </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">South Africa</country-region></place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">, a team which rarely had went through the heats before. This time they must devoted in preparing consciously their relay for the upcoming challenges, because their sprinters of the 4x100 won at the Universiade and their quarter milers ended the summer with a stunning silver medal in Daegu. </span><place style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";" w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">South Africa</country-region></place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> had traditionally been a country of excellent hurdlers but now they have a bunch of awesome specialists at the dash event too: Louis Van Zyl (44.86 this year), Oscar Pistorius (45.07), Lebogang Moen (45.47), Ofentse Mogawane (45.59), Willie de Beer (45.68)…</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> Nevertheless, there was a huge controversy, when double amputee Oscar Pistorius was left out of the final, despite reaching the semi-finals at the single event and being the man with the second best mark of the team for the season. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">South Africa</place></country-region>’s delegate stated it was due to technical reasons and Van Zyl said, more precisely, he had done the slowest split of the team in the heats, what was proved not true. (3) Pistorius, who had not been named either for the team who achieved the standard for Daegu, seems an embarrassing case for his country. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Jamaica</span></place></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> was back to the medals in a world championship, thanks to the stunning second leg ran by Jermaine Gonzales, a 4<sup>th</sup> placer some days before at the single event, despite fighting injuries throughout the season. The Caribbean country can count now also with solid runners as Central American hurdler titleholder Leford Green and rising star national champion Riker Hylton. With the addition of the now injured Ricardo Chambers (44.54 PB last year) they will be fighting for a medal again in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">London</city></place>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">This year 16 out of 19 quarter milers who have dipped under 45 seconds are American, 10 of them from Caribbean countries, which keep being the powerhouse in the event. Besides <country-region w:st="on">Jamaica</country-region> and the <country-region w:st="on">Bahamas</country-region>, four other nations in the Area are likely to be represented in <city w:st="on">London</city>: <country-region w:st="on">Trinidad and Tobago</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Cuba</country-region>, <country-region w:st="on">Dominican Republic</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Venezuela</place></country-region>. The former country achieved their seasonal best at the Central American Championships, where they finished in runner-up position. <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state> bronze medallist Rennie Quow had a difficult year and so did Jehue Gordon, the other former World junior champion. With both fitted for the Olympics, and two other young runners as Lalonde Gordon and Zwede Hewitt (both 45.51 this season), they have the potential to challenge the best. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://juegospanamericanos.ain.cu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/relevo-masculino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" nda="true" src="http://juegospanamericanos.ain.cu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/relevo-masculino.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuba's 4x400 relay leads Venezuela at 2011 Pan American Games</span><br />
<a href="http://juegospanamericanos.ain.cu/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://juegospanamericanos.ain.cu</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Cuba</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">, <country-region w:st="on">Dominican Republic</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on">Venezuela</country-region> probably booked their <city w:st="on">London</city> ticket at last Pan American Games, helped by the altitude of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guadalajara</place></city>. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Cuba</place></country-region>’s outstanding performance under 3 minutes was built up with the contribution of William Collazo, one of the most consistent 400 runners in the region, Noel Ruiz and hurdler Omar Cisneros, who had dipped under 48 seconds for the first time in his career some days before. London Games will probably be the last ones for living legend Félix Sánchez and he will try to grab a last medal for his outstanding curriculum. Now they can add for the Dominican squad, to the classic members Arismendy Peguero and Yoel Tapia, youth Olympic champion Luguelín Santos, who has already improved the national senior record (44.71), when he finished a surprising second in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guadalajara</place></city>, after Nery Brenes. Finally Venezuelan’s is the team with the biggest progression in the <place w:st="on">Caribbean</place> region. Their most accomplished athlete is Omar Longart, an Area champion in youth and junior categories. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Another country which 4x400 relay team has had a huge progression in recent years is <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region></place>. While distance running has grown in the country so much, other specialties where <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kenya</place></country-region> used to excel in the past, as sprint events, had been neglected. The East African nation had struck a stunning silver medal at the 4x400 event at the Olympic Games held in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mexico</place></country-region> in <metricconverter productid="1968, in" w:st="on">1968, in</metricconverter> a team where Daniel Rudisha, the father of the current <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter> world champion, was featuring. Then they improved to gold four years afterwards. The squad kept a high level in the 80s and early 90s: Samson Kitur medalled at both Olympic Games (1992) and World championships (1993). In the latter occasion, a second place in the relay was also achieved, besides three finalists at the single event. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Kenya</span></place></country-region><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">’s officials pointed out they wanted to win medals in something more than distance running at the 2010 African championships held at home, and put the means for it. As consequence a visible improvement in short and long sprints was attained and even lately, the nation has had a javelin throw champion at last African Games in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Maputo</place></city>. The 4x400 squad has dominated easily in both <city w:st="on">Nairobi</city> and <city w:st="on">Maputo</city> contests, has achieved a bronze medal at Delhi Commonwealth Games, and ultimately has qualified, many years afterwards, for a World championship final in Daegu, leaving out favourites Bahamas, Poland and Australia. No big individualities are in the team currently but Anderson Mutegi, Vincent Kosgei, Vincent Mumo and Mark Mutai are all of them quite solid runners, and who knows if the great David Rudisha is going to join them for London. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">In the Old Continent, the most accomplished squads right now are <country-region w:st="on">Russia</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Belgium</place></country-region>. The latter has the astonishing Borlée brothers, the only athletes who dare to challenge currently the American supremacy at the <metricconverter productid="400 metres" w:st="on">400 metres</metricconverter> discipline. At team level <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Belgium</place></country-region> has been in every major final since Beijing Olympics, medalling at last European and World indoor championships. However, since Van Branteghem retired, the team lacks two other members comparable to the two leaders in order to be able of targetting a big victory. Ghislain, Duerinck or Gillet can not hold the game well enough as was evident in Daegu. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">On the other hand, Russia do not have any world beater but count with many consistent runners for the relay as Alekseyev, Trenikhin, Krasnov or Dyldin, so they could beat Belgium and Great Britain in Barcelona and carried the last two European team championship gold medals too. <country-region w:st="on">Poland</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Germany</place></country-region> are two other squads who do not have any man under 45 seconds (their best this year are Marciniszyn with 45.27 and Schneider with 45.56 respectively) but know how to handle a relay when it matters most. Both of them will be in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> aiming for a place in the final. Finally <country-region w:st="on">France</country-region> was impressive at last European indoors held at <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Paris</place></city>, which they won, but without their main star Leslie Djhone, injured for the summer season, their potential has diminished considerably.</span></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Kevin+Borlee+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+Ag69HxXatlAl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="526" nda="true" src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Kevin+Borlee+13th+IAAF+World+Athletics+Championships+Ag69HxXatlAl.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Belgian, Kenyan and Russian teams, anchored by Kevin Borlée, Mark Mutai and Denis Alekseyev respectively, qualify for the 4x400 relay final at Daegu World Championships</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Stu Forster/ Getty Images Asia Pac</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Japan is the nation which currently holds the 16<sup>th</sup> and last qualifying spot in the aggregate of its best two times of 2011. The Asian champion places no less than 11 athletes into the yearly lists top-100 at the 400 hurdles but only two, Yuzo Kanemaru (27<sup>th</sup>) and Hideyuki Hirose (91<sup>st</sup>) at the dash event. Their average time in the aggregate for <city w:st="on">London</city> is 3:03.68, but <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Australia</country-region></place>, not in the 16<sup>th</sup> best list, owns a 3:01.56 from Daegu and is likely to improve on the Japanese clocking next year. A further progression is also expected from <country-region w:st="on">France</country-region>, so right now the time to beat might be the 3:02.75 of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Venezuela</place></country-region>. For Beijing Olympics the last qualifying team had been <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">South Africa</place></country-region> with an average of 3:04.12 for its aggregate time. So we can see how the event has risen up its standards.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"> Not many squads have the potential to aim for this 3:02.75 average time and there are not many occasions to achieve it: mainly Penn Relays, Helsinki European Championships, Benin African Championships and the three Asian Grand Prix meetings. Saudi Arabia won in 2010 the Asian Games in a 3:02.30 national record but this season they are really far from it. In Europe, the only other team who has run under 3:04 this year is Turkey. Besides <country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region>, two other African nations, <country-region w:st="on">Nigeria</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Botswana</place></country-region> have been traditionally present at major championships, the former even achieving medals. They have not done better than 3:04+ marks in 2011 but are going to try hard next year, as Botswana did in 2008, when they even travelled to the Asian Grand Prix in Hanoi, the last qualifying meeting for Beijing. In <country-region w:st="on">America</country-region>, Puerto Rico and specially <country-region w:st="on">Grenada</country-region> have some chances of making the trip to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city>. There are not big championships in the area next year but Kirani James and Rondell Bartholomew’s country can be invited to the Penn Relays as they were in 2011, but they need two other world class runners to achieve twice this highly challenging 3:02.75. Anyway, it would be a great show to see the two Grenadian aces competing in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> also at the 4x400 meter relay. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 598px;" x:str=""><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 1133; mso-width-source: userset; width: 23pt;" width="31"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 6290; mso-width-source: userset; width: 129pt;" width="172"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 914; mso-width-source: userset; width: 19pt;" width="25"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2706; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="74"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 512; mso-width-source: userset; width: 11pt;" width="14"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2706; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="74"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 658; mso-width-source: userset; width: 14pt;" width="18"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 3108; mso-width-source: userset; width: 64pt;" width="85"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 877; mso-width-source: userset; width: 18pt;" width="24"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2962; mso-width-source: userset; width: 61pt;" width="81"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td class="xl24" height="22" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt; width: 23pt;" width="31"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 129pt;" width="172"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 19pt;" width="25"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 56pt;" width="74"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 11pt;" width="14"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 56pt;" width="74"></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 14pt;" width="18"></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: #ccffff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 64pt;" width="85"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Aggregate</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 18pt;" width="24"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl25" style="background-color: #ccffff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; width: 61pt;" width="81"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Average</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td class="xl24" height="22" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">1</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">United States</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0696759259259258E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:58,82</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0753472222222224E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,31</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D3+F3" x:num="4.1450231481481477E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">5:58,13</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D3:F3)" x:num="2.0725115740740738E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,06</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">South Africa</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0741898148148147E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,21</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0818287037037038E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,87</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D4+F4" x:num="4.156018518518519E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">5:59,08</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D4:F4)" x:num="2.0780092592592595E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,54</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Jamaica</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0732638888888888E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,13</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0844907407407405E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,10</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D5+F5" x:num="4.1577546296296293E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">5:59,23</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D5:F5)" x:num="2.0788773148148147E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,61</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">4</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Russia</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0858796296296298E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,22</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0927083333333331E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,81</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D6+F6" x:num="4.1785879629629629E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:01,03</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D6:F6)" x:num="2.0892939814814815E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,51</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">5</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Belgium</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0880787037037035E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,41</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.091550925925926E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,71</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D7+F7" x:num="4.1796296296296295E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:01,12</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D7:F7)" x:num="2.0898148148148147E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,56</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Great Britain</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0877314814814816E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,38</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0967592592592596E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,16</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D8+F8" x:num="4.1844907407407412E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:01,54</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D8:F8)" x:num="2.0922453703703706E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,77</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">7</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Germany</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0912037037037036E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,68</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0991898148148146E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,37</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D9+F9" x:num="4.1903935185185186E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:02,05</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D9:F9)" x:num="2.0951967592592593E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,03</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">8</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Kenya</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0945601851851854E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,97</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0966435185185185E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,15</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D10+F10" x:num="4.1912037037037039E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:02,12</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D10:F10)" x:num="2.095601851851852E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,06</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">9</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Bahamas</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0987268518518521E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,33</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1011574074074071E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,54</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D11+F11" x:num="4.1998842592592591E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:02,87</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D11:F11)" x:num="2.0999421296296296E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,44</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">10</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Cuba</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0767361111111112E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">2:59,43</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1334490740740741E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,33</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D12+F12" x:num="4.2101851851851849E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:03,76</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D12:F12)" x:num="2.1050925925925924E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,88</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">11</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Trinidad and Tobago</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1024305555555557E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,65</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1119212962962962E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,47</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D13+F13" x:num="4.2143518518518519E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:04,12</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D13:F13)" x:num="2.107175925925926E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,06</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">12</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Dominican Republic</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0884259259259259E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,44</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1307870370370369E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,10</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D14+F14" x:num="4.2192129629629628E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:04,54</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D14:F14)" x:num="2.1096064814814814E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,27</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">13</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Poland</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1046296296296295E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:01,84</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1252314814814814E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,62</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D15+F15" x:num="4.2298611111111113E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:05,46</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D15:F15)" x:num="2.1149305555555557E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,73</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">14</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Venezuela</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.0928240740740738E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:00,82</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1373842592592594E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,67</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D16+F16" x:num="4.2302083333333332E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:05,49</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D16:F16)" x:num="2.1151041666666666E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,75</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">15</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">France</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1253472222222225E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,63</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1259259259259256E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,68</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D17+F17" x:num="4.2512731481481481E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:07,31</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D17:F17)" x:num="2.1256365740740741E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,65</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">16</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Japan</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1138888888888887E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:02,64</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.137962962962963E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,72</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D18+F18" x:num="4.2518518518518521E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:07,36</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D18:F18)" x:num="2.1259259259259261E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,68</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td class="xl24" height="22" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td class="xl24" height="22" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">17</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Grenada</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1327546296296298E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,27</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1376157407407407E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,69</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D21+F21" x:num="4.2703703703703706E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:08,96</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D21:F21)" x:num="2.1351851851851853E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,48</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">18</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Turkey</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1287037037037034E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:03,92</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1449074074074074E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:05,32</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D22+F22" x:num="4.2736111111111108E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:09,24</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D22:F22)" x:num="2.1368055555555554E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,62</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">19</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Nigeria</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1410879629629631E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,99</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1442129629629628E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:05,26</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D23+F23" x:num="4.2853009259259259E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:10,25</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D23:F23)" x:num="2.142650462962963E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:05,12</span></td></tr>
<tr height="22" style="height: 16.5pt;"><td align="right" class="xl26" height="22" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0; height: 16.5pt;" x:num=""><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">20</span></td><td class="xl26" style="background-color: #cc99ff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Botswana</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1341435185185187E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:04,39</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl27" style="background-color: #ffff99; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:num="2.1518518518518518E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:05,92</span></td><td class="xl28" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=D24+F24" x:num="4.2859953703703706E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">6:10,31</span></td><td class="xl24" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></td><td align="right" class="xl29" style="background-color: #99ccff; border-bottom: #f0f0f0; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: #f0f0f0; border-top: #f0f0f0;" x:fmla="=AVERAGE(D24:F24)" x:num="2.1429976851851853E-3"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">3:05,15</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/listhtm.php?Season=2011&top=all&All=1&Ind=0" style="text-align: left;">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/listhtm.php?Season=2011&top=all&All=1&Ind=0</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62094">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsEventReportsListDetail.aspx?id=62094</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://www.letsrun.com/2011/day7worlds-0902.php">http://www.letsrun.com/2011/day7worlds-0902.php</a><br />
<br />
<br />
</div></div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-74356671724428702502011-10-31T21:17:00.005+01:002011-11-12T14:15:47.834+01:00Guatemala emerges from Pan American Games as the new Powerhouse in Race Walking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyXnADmEQJWyVJRQqoNF3QohY7RcMauomYNed9TCEkh3cqJ4SAjHLuYGxcfgLIegjPpzncE8Tx-MLke40fhxm-JpWQEQpTYc0X34FMp4bRgW87PbUqMl6NMxvTfkNxIU2PsAf22Cq7Y0/s1600/16Ymjx_St_4+sacbee-com+julie+jacobson+AP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyXnADmEQJWyVJRQqoNF3QohY7RcMauomYNed9TCEkh3cqJ4SAjHLuYGxcfgLIegjPpzncE8Tx-MLke40fhxm-JpWQEQpTYc0X34FMp4bRgW87PbUqMl6NMxvTfkNxIU2PsAf22Cq7Y0/s640/16Ymjx_St_4+sacbee-com+julie+jacobson+AP.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Jamy Franco and Mirna Ortiz from Guatemala, lead the 20 km race walk final of the XVI Pan American Games</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Julie Jacobson/ Associated Press</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sacbee.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.sacbee.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The XVI Pan American Games were scheduled too late in the Athletic year and as consequence many of the most prominent stars in the continent were absent for the contest or far from their best shape. It especially stands for the two American track and field powerhouses, the <country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region> and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jamaica</place></country-region>. Anyway, these two countries athletes have been deserting massively the last editions of the Pan Am Games. Yet, if this negative trend continues, one day it will even sound strange the likes of Don Quarrie or Carl Lewis figure in the list of past winners of the event. Notwithstanding, other nations like <country-region w:st="on">Cuba</country-region> or <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Brazil</place></country-region> keep allowing the Games the importance they deserve as the largest multi-sport manifestation in the world after the Olympic Games. Accordingly they were leading the medal ranking. Also, The Pan Americans are an opportunity to shine for many athletes, who are rarely given the chance of competing at World Champs or Olympic level.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Despite being held in late October and with so many of the most known area stars already in vacation, the recently finished Pan American Games have been a brilliant contest, with spectacular finals and excellent results, especially in sprints and jumps, helped by the altitude of the Mexican host city of Guadalajara. We could also watch many rising athletes making their first exploits in an international senior competition and plenty of surprises. Maybe the most extraordinary feat, in the last category, was the awesome performance of the Guatemalan team of race walking, who won two of the three contested events and struck no less than four of the nine medals at stake. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Being the organisers of the outing, <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region></place> was expected to dominate the "caminata", which has been the nation specialty ever since the great Jerzy Hausleber was recruited to help win medals at the hosted 1968 Olympic Games. However, the maestro is getting old and <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mexico</place></country-region> has failed in producing a valid relay in race walking coaching. These days national race walkers are not anymore training together as a team but every athlete works his own method with modest results, not wanting to share experiences with the other walkers in the country, now see as rivals. Daniel Bautista, Raúl González, Ernesto Canto or Carlos Mercenario achievements seem too far away in time. <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region></place> has not won an Olympic medal since 2000 and the sole isolated success in ten unfortunate years at World Championship level has been the bronze collected by Eder Sánchez in Berlin-2009.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB">This athlete is the only one in the country performing regularly under 1:22 at the <metricconverter productid="20 km" w:st="on">20 km</metricconverter> event in the last couple of seasons, while Horacio Nava is the exclusive consistent <metricconverter productid="50 km" w:st="on">50 km</metricconverter> specialist under 3:50. Yet even these two foremost race walkers in the nation have not often lived to the expectations when it mattered. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mexico</place></country-region> has been the host country recently for the World Cup in Race Walking and the Pan American Games and these occasions have served mainly to show to their own public their current lacks. Eder Sánchez finished both races in a disappointing sixth place. On the other hand, Horacio Nava, who was competing not only in his own country but also in his own hometown of <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chihuahua</place></state> for last year’s World Cup, had to live the experience of being overcome by Slovak Matej Toth in the last stages of the race when he seemed the sure winner. This time around in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guadalajara</place></city>, Nava did not want to fail again. He changed strategy and bade his moment in the shadow of early leaders Guatemalan Anibal Paau and Daniel Jaime Quiyuch, and Andrés Chocho from <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ecuador</place></country-region>, to unleash his decisive attack with just <metricconverter productid="10 kilometres" w:st="on">10 kilometres</metricconverter> to go and thus accomplish at last his first major victory, in 3:48:58, ahead of compatriot José Leyver Ojeda and Quiyuch (1) The last time Mexico had achieved a 1-2 at the 50 Km walk in the games was at the 1999 edition, where Joel Sánchez and Carlos Mercenario got the double. This triumph, which saved the honour of the country, after two previous races where Guatemalan athletes beat them easily, will be a boost of confidence for the <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chihuahua</place></state> walker for the upcoming Olympic Games, where a medal is again the target. <country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region> still waits for a reaction in his favourite specialty in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> and expectations are also held in hopefuls Ever Palma, and Yanelli Caballero in the women's field, for further championships. </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0V9UGaCGEvHxnha4irfyH8NNKFkybLqIir0Y5nHXOswpVrlr5mNIENPnfH4yEFTTJAbTU2V0u84XC8TzP08LlhBVj5_rwfoY5qyI-I7fvWIbr5EqqFH-OUczJ46RAdsoc0piEh3jv5o/s1600/trio+50+km.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="532" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0V9UGaCGEvHxnha4irfyH8NNKFkybLqIir0Y5nHXOswpVrlr5mNIENPnfH4yEFTTJAbTU2V0u84XC8TzP08LlhBVj5_rwfoY5qyI-I7fvWIbr5EqqFH-OUczJ46RAdsoc0piEh3jv5o/s640/trio+50+km.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">50 Km Race Walk podium in Guadalajara. From L to R: José Leyver Ojeda, Horacio Nava and Daniel Quiyuch</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Federación Mexicana de Atletismo</span><br />
<a href="http://www.omarchador.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.omarchador.blogspot.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After all these years struggling, <country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region> has lost its prominent place among the race walking powerhouses in the world and at the same time it is not anymore the overwhelming dominator in the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Americas</place></country-region>. Other nations have progressed quickly in the continent and are increasingly closing the gap. There have always been some excellent Latino race walkers outside of <country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region>: Olympic gold medallist in <city w:st="on">Atlanta</city> and triple world champion Jefferson Pérez was born in <country-region w:st="on">Ecuador</country-region> and Julio René Martínez, who was for three years the <metricconverter productid="20 km" w:st="on">20 km</metricconverter> event record holder, belonged to <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guatemala</place></country-region>. Yet there were isolated cases. Now more and more race walkers in the continent are growing to world class athletes. As a prove of the current depth, no less than five male race walkers covered the <metricconverter productid="20 km" w:st="on">20 km</metricconverter> distance below 1:21:15 at last South American championships, held on the track, and four of their female counterparts dipped under 1:33:20. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 11.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Especially Colombia has become a force, with Luis Fernando López, the bronze medallist in Daegu and one of the most consistent walkers of the moment, but also with Gustavo Restrepo and James Rendón; outstanding young girls as South American champion Ingrid Hernández and Annabel Orjuela; and upcoming athletes as good as Eider Arévalo, the winner of the junior World Cup in Chihuahua. In <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ecuador</place></country-region>, Daegu’s <metricconverter productid="50 km" w:st="on">50 km</metricconverter> finalist Andrés Chocho, Rolando Saquipay and Yadira Guamán try to be good heirs of the great Jefferson Pérez. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Brazil</place></country-region> counts with Caio Bonfim, another teen sensation, and not to be forgotten is the more veteran Moacir Zimmermann. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chile</place></country-region> has the Araya brothers; Venezuela Milángela Rosales. The last to come to stardom have been the Guatemalan walkers but they have done it in the greatest fashion.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsknxziM_Gf7SCZpe1shmmLxzrXQGF82rE22FKT9lDNibQwduDltHhu_HhIN98K11sIFPm9TU1vb3YBudbNQiDWfH8WXdKVtb4cYHs9iQ9UTj4PQLVCowPpVAWDBSfT_i7CgPsRhjt2o/s1600/medina+nubia+guido+diariocolatino-com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsknxziM_Gf7SCZpe1shmmLxzrXQGF82rE22FKT9lDNibQwduDltHhu_HhIN98K11sIFPm9TU1vb3YBudbNQiDWfH8WXdKVtb4cYHs9iQ9UTj4PQLVCowPpVAWDBSfT_i7CgPsRhjt2o/s640/medina+nubia+guido+diariocolatino-com.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Rigoberto Medina and trainee Cristina López in 2005</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Nubia Guido</span><br />
<a href="http://www.diariocolatino.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.diariocolatino.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Cuban Coach Rigoberto Medina owns much of the merit in this meteoric rising of Erick Barrondo or Jamy Franco. (2) “Maca”, as he is popularly known, was previously working for more than four years in El Salvador, where he spotted Cristina López, a young girl who was following the typical tough ways of the poor people of her country, including illegal immigration into the USA and, back home, a 10 hours job as maquiladora, finding time in her busy days for athletic training and for raising her three years old sick daughter. (3) <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Medina</place></city> transformed this rough diamond in a Central American champion in 2005 and also a Pan American two years afterwards, putting a halt to two decades of Mexican domination in the contest. Besides, López won the IAAF challenge meeting of <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on"><personname productid="La Coruña" w:st="on">La Coruña</personname></city></place> in 1:30:08, the second best mark ever by a female American walker. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">However, as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Medina</place></city> recognised, he made her race too much (10 times in 2007) and Cristina started having sciatic nerve recurring troubles. She could not qualify for Beijing Olympics and got pregnant again. (4) Meanwhile, Rigoberto Medina was sacked because of some arguments with the Salvadorian Athletic Federation and a few athletes. He swapped country with Mexican coach José Alvarado, sailing to <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guatemala</place></country-region>, where he has achieved huge success in just one year with his new pupils. <city w:st="on">Medina</city>’s promising group of athletes in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">El Salvador</place></country-region> has come to almost nothing, with only Emerson Hernández competing at last Pan Ams and Cristina López's Olympic dream is long forgotten. For sure "Maka"'s work and dedication are really missed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Guatemala<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> has found with Rigoberto Medina the team spirit <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mexico</place></country-region> had lost long time ago. Firstly they are a God devoted family. Before their workouts and competitions they always pray together and never forget to give thanks to Him after a victory. “Maka” is like a second father for his Chapin kids and felt disappointed when some people discouraged him about training Guatemalan athletes because they were not supposedly able of working hard. In fact, race walking in the country was neglected at the time. As an example, Jamy Franco, who had been a Pan American junior champion at age <metricconverter productid="14 in" w:st="on">14 in</metricconverter> 2005, had almost withdrawn from sport three years later, because she did not get on well with coach Alvarado and his training methods. <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Medina</city></place> rescued her and also helped become Mirna Ortiz, Daniel Jaime Quiyuch, Anibal Paau, Erick Barrondo and other youngsters the excellent athletes they are now. Barrondo was a former 5000 runner but due to an injury he was advised to practice race walking. (5) Despite the trainee inexperience, in only one year he came from nothing to Pan American champion. After his breakthrough victory, the athlete explained the key of success his own way: “In <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guatemala</place></country-region> there is talent. We only needed a true coach with capacity to carry the work and polish up the rough diamonds”. (6) </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 690px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aoH8UAUyvXs?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aoH8UAUyvXs?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="690" height="360"></object></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/PANAMERICANOSGUATE">http://www.youtube.com/user/PANAMERICANOSGUATE</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"><country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></country-region></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The Guatemalan new generation of race walking first came to prominence in the early season, when Jamy won both the Central American Cup and Pan American Cup, and Erick finished runner-up in the second of the outings, held in Envigado, after local athlete Luis Fernando López. Then, the managers thought it would be good for the athletes to acquire experience facing some of the world bests so the team was headed to Europe, where they competed at the international meetings of Dudince, <city w:st="on">Sesto San Giovanni</city> and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Dublin</place></city>. In spite of her young age, Jamy Franco did not feel intimidated by the likes of World medallists Hong Liu and Olive Loughnane, whom she challenged in Dublin until the last stages of the race to finish third in a new national record (1.32:48); while Erick Barrondo, equally outstanding, achieved a huge personal best (1:20:58) to cross the line fourth in the same meeting, after Wang Zhen, Sbaï and Rubino but beating for the first time Wang Hao and Luis López.</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The same brave attitude, free from inhibition and not fearing anybody, was adopted by the Chapines at the two most important events of the season: the World championships and the Pan American games. Jamy and Erick where largely seen leading their respective races in Daegu, along with Russian and Chinese stars. Eventually, the girl from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Santa Rosa</place></city> would finish 19<sup>th</sup>, as the best American in the race, and her male compatriot 10<sup>th</sup>. Not bad for these twenty year-old absolute beginners.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">In <city w:st="on">Guadalajara</city>, to the Guatemalan team were added <metricconverter productid="50 km" w:st="on">50 km</metricconverter> specialists Daniel Quiyuch and Aníbal Paau, and Mirna Ortiz, who had failed to qualify for Daegu, but two weeks afterwards had booked her ticket for <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">London</city></place> at the Polish champs in great fashion, after improving Jamy’s recent national record by 18 seconds. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guatemala</place></country-region>, had only won one gold medal in the whole history of the Pan Americans in track and field and it happened as far as 1955 when Doroteo Flores achieved it at the marathon. Now in the inaugural day of the sport they struck two gold medals and a silver in the same specialty. Only once the same country had triumphed previously in both <metricconverter productid="20 km" w:st="on">20 km</metricconverter> race walking events: <country-region w:st="on">Mexico</country-region> in <city w:st="on">Winnipeg</city> in the year 1999, thanks to Graciela Mendoza and Bernardo <place w:st="on">Segura</place>, with the addition then of Joel Sánchez, gold at the <metricconverter productid="50 km" w:st="on">50 km</metricconverter>. Jamy Amarilis Franco and Mirna Sucely Ortiz pace was too much to handle since the very beginning for Colombians and Mexicans so they went on their own since early in the race. Jamy proved to be the strongest of the duo and left her compatriot mid-race to fly to a new PB (1:32:38), improving Graciela Mendoza’s championship record by nearly two minutes. Mirna could hold Ingrid Hernández, to get the double. Erick Barrondo’s victory was much more difficult but eventually he did not show any trouble in getting rid of the Colombian pair of James Rendón (silver) and Luis Fernando López (bronze), increasing plainly his rhythm in the last <metricconverter productid="5 kilometres" w:st="on">5 kilometres</metricconverter>. The penultimate day Daniel Jaime Quiyuch, culminate the groundbreaking Guatemalan performance in the Games by adding the fourth medal in race walking for the country, getting also the goal of qualifying for London Olympics.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The Guatemalan race walkers has not ceased of raising the audience eyebrows during the whole season but, now that the athletic year comes to an end, it can be risen the question of how far can they improve in the future. Rigoberto Medina should be wise enough to not to demand this time around too much to his young trainees for the upcoming challenges but to build them up with patience for Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, which might be their time. Anyway, the athletes themselves expect to give a great impression as soon as the next major competition, the World Cup, held next year in <city w:st="on">Saransk</city>, the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mecca</place></city> of race walking. The girls expect even to fight for the team championship and get to qualify Mayra Pérez for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> and thus go to the Games with a full trio. So far only two women had represented the country in the Olympics at the race walking event: Teresita Collado in Sidney 2000 and Jamy Franco’s mother Evelyn Núñez in Beijing 2008. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Evelyn, already retired, has been Jamy’s inspiration in sport ever since she was a child and in case she can win a medal in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> she will be glad of dedicating to her the achievement as she did in the Pan Americans. (7) Evelyn Núñez was in contention for the silver at the previous edition in <place w:st="on">Rio</place>, but she was eventually disqualified, so the daughter won the title she could not. Mum had promised Jamy, when she started in race walking, a two-ball ice cream in case she could win at the Pan American Games. The new heroine of race walking can remember it and she will go claim her prize because she is grateful to her mother and still young enough. </span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 690px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HmV8iV0DoC4?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HmV8iV0DoC4?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="690" height="360"></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwprensalibrecomgt">http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwprensalibrecomgt</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">(1) <a href="http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=536497">http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=536497</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">(2) <a href="http://www.laprensagrafica.com/deportes/otros-deportes/226030-ahora-toca-celebrar-con-guate.html">http://www.laprensagrafica.com/deportes/otros-deportes/226030-ahora-toca-celebrar-con-guate.html</a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">(3) <a href="http://jjdalton.blogspot.com/2007/07/cristina-lpez-es-el-oro-del-pueblo.html">http://jjdalton.blogspot.com/2007/07/cristina-lpez-es-el-oro-del-pueblo.html</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> (4) <a href="http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20080929/accion/1147895.asp">http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20080929/accion/1147895.asp</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;">(5) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=62767.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=62767.html</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.prensalibre.com/especiales/panamericanos2011/DIA-HISTORICO-Guatemala-oros-marcha_0_577742325.html">http://www.prensalibre.com/especiales/panamericanos2011/DIA-HISTORICO-Guatemala-oros-marcha_0_577742325.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 35.4pt;">(7) <a href="http://www.mx.terra.com/rumbo-a-2012/guadalajara-2011/noticias/0,,OI5431314-EI17445,00-Jamy+Franco+la+heroina+guatemalteca+que+reivindico+a+su+madre.html">http://www.mx.terra.com/rumbo-a-2012/guadalajara-2011/noticias/0,,OI5431314-EI17445,00-Jamy+Franco+la+heroina+guatemalteca+que+reivindico+a+su+madre.html</a></div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-27903167219967519932011-09-28T17:47:00.002+02:002012-01-09T16:37:36.622+01:00After Daegu Upset Chernova is now the one to Beat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFfriguTKoMv3wMpuoVznqqnzDy7ocbf9YjNxXZhXxqXn-10TCrUixaj97jws_PPTn-CqKKcqXI3ByHXBMxvEZ46LW2Wl0ZDU4Dd1weLwDCAseMtQN4gg981GR8Iuh8Vy2aiHooxqQoF2/s1600/Tatyana%252BChernova%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+getty+asia+pac+stu+forster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFfriguTKoMv3wMpuoVznqqnzDy7ocbf9YjNxXZhXxqXn-10TCrUixaj97jws_PPTn-CqKKcqXI3ByHXBMxvEZ46LW2Wl0ZDU4Dd1weLwDCAseMtQN4gg981GR8Iuh8Vy2aiHooxqQoF2/s640/Tatyana%252BChernova%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+getty+asia+pac+stu+forster.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Jessica Ennis and Tatyana Chernova cross the line in the very last event of their dramatic clash at Daegu Worlds</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Stu Forster/ Getty Images Asia Pac</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Four years have passed since Carolina Kluft retired from the heptathlon discipline. At that moment the Swede champion was just 24 but argued she had lost the motivation for the practice of the sport. There was no more fun in her life but just strenuous workouts and a full schedule of competitive engagements. Despite of her young age she had already won everything and this was a further reason for this retirement: 3 Junior golds, 4 World titles indoor and out, 4 European championships and the Olympic crown in Athens 2004. She left the combined events unbeaten as a senior athlete. (1) </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">When someone who has dominated an event in the way Kluft did retires, a big crisis of results is expected in it. Time is needed for the appearance of a new leading woman in the discipline. However it did not happen in the heptathlon event. Ukrainian Nataliya Dobrynska was the shocking victor at Beijing Olympic Games, improving her PB by almost 400 points for a total tally of 6733. She set new personal records in all disciplines except the high jump and the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter>, with an especially noteworthy <metricconverter productid="17.29 in" w:st="on">17.29 in</metricconverter> the shot put. Dobrynska for the first time in several years had not been annoyed by injuries of any kind and this explains her huge improvement. (2)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The newly crowned Olympic champion has maintained a respectable level of consistency in the following years but has not got to keep her number one status, superseded by the irresistible rising of Briton Jessica Ennis. (3) In the post Olympic year Dobrynska won the classic meetings of Gotzis, Kladno, Talence and subsequently the World Combined Events Challenge, but fell a little sort of her standards in the decisive <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state> outing, finishing just out of the medals. Ennis scored 6731 points, smashing the PB she had set previously in the season in Desenzano del Garda, to win gold ahead German Jennifer Oeser and Polish Kamila Chudzik. Thus she was back in great fashion after the big disappointment of her absence in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Beijing</city></place>, sidelined by a severe right foot fracture. (4) </span></div><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGsNTN6y3NAKSuqwxELqUZcNKROO2mqh_j-3XgtTHVIkmZPmMtGwe12lQHNZ6FRiwYSd8C3IsBLe7RHWn6xFeynHTouFNixfvWAkLDGHaPad9J6iwU8cuqiBgMUycPW0PckjrK7drLnhM/s1600/Img214552434beijing2008.cn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGsNTN6y3NAKSuqwxELqUZcNKROO2mqh_j-3XgtTHVIkmZPmMtGwe12lQHNZ6FRiwYSd8C3IsBLe7RHWn6xFeynHTouFNixfvWAkLDGHaPad9J6iwU8cuqiBgMUycPW0PckjrK7drLnhM/s470/Img214552434beijing2008.cn.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Nataliya Dobrynska, the day she became an Olympic Champion</span><br />
<a href="http://sp.beijing2008.cn/"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://sp.beijing2008.cn</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Dobrynska was not to give up easily and showed herself at her best possible level of performance in the big occasions the following year, achieving a new Ukrainian record at Doha World Indoor championships and a new personal best (6778) at Barcelona European outdoors. Jessica Ennis responded improving also the British best in <city w:st="on">Doha</city> and scoring a massive 6823 points in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city>, a new championship record, to win both contests and prove she was the undisputed number one of the combined events. Dobrynska was especially challenging in the latter outing. Both athletes arrived to the last event, the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter> separated by a mere 18 points, that is to say about one second of margin, in favour of Ennis. The Briton was on paper superior to her rival at the distance but, after several alternatives, Dobrynska only relinquished in the homestretch. Jessica finished just 8 points short of 2000 Olympic champion Denise Lewis national record. Jennifer Oeser achieved her second in a row major medal, tallying 6683 points, the best scoring ever in the championships for a bronze, which just shows the current depth of the heptathlon event. (5) </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">After her two outstanding 2009 and 2010 seasons, Jessica Ennis had become the new golden girl of British athletics. With London Olympics so close she is currently the main hope of the host country for a gold medal in track and field and thus she will be the poster girl of the Games and the one everybody is going to expect to wave the flag’s country after a resounding victory. (6) There is so much pressure to be hold and Ennis has started to pay it already in this year’s World championships. <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Great Britain</place></country-region> aimed for five gold medals in Daegu: Phillips Idowu at the triple jump, Dai Greene at the intermediate hurdles, Mo Farah at the 5000 and <metricconverter productid="10.000 metres" w:st="on">10.000 metres</metricconverter> and Jessica Ennis at the heptathlon. Eventually it became two gold and three silver with only Greene and Farah in the <metricconverter productid="5000 metres" w:st="on">5000 metres</metricconverter> climbing to the top of the podium. If we add Andy Turner and Hannah England respective bronze and silver, it is the best tally since <metricconverter productid="1993 in" w:st="on">1993 in</metricconverter> <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Edmonton</city></place> but British must be ambitious, being the host country of the Olympic Games. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Jessica Ennis’ deliverance in Daegu was quite good but for the first time since being the heptathlon queen she did not reach a new PB in a major competition and was also short of her previous best seasonal score, which she achieved as she won in Gotzis. Eventually it was not enough because of the stunning performance of Tatyana Chernova, who produced one of the biggest upsets of a full of surprises contest. It was one of the nine gold medals won by <country-region w:st="on">Russia</country-region>, seven of them by their women, which equalled their best tally ever in <metricconverter productid="1991 in" w:st="on">1991 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on">Tokyo</city>, when they still defended the colours of the <place w:st="on">Soviet Union</place>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKRDF5wWel6lSUnHtWzWdPmoee5phSosj3rTXvucTuFB_B-cTD4OLOvymHBYx4532XRQxpKUs2y7B16w0UNjnLikxkFOBWojSdB0aJY4ESbiFsvVjWN3X2q0FHojpFZ6Ukh6ByOw7ZOBk/s1600/hyleas-fountain-of-united-states-leads-heptathlon-2011-8-29-0-30-20+newshopper-sulekha-com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="418" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKRDF5wWel6lSUnHtWzWdPmoee5phSosj3rTXvucTuFB_B-cTD4OLOvymHBYx4532XRQxpKUs2y7B16w0UNjnLikxkFOBWojSdB0aJY4ESbiFsvVjWN3X2q0FHojpFZ6Ukh6ByOw7ZOBk/s640/hyleas-fountain-of-united-states-leads-heptathlon-2011-8-29-0-30-20+newshopper-sulekha-com.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Hyleas Fountain with no luck in this 2011 season</span><br />
<a href="http://www.newshopper.sulekha.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.newshopper.sulekha.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Tatyana Chernova is one of eight names of a privileged bunch who has achieved World titles in all possible age categories: youth, junior and senior. Four members of this exclusive club, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Usain Bolt, Yelena Isinbayeva and Valerie Adams went on to win an Olympic gold medal, which obviously is now the immediate target of Chernova. (7) Nothwithstanding, the newly minted heptathlon world champion needed time to live up to the expectations she had created as a youngster. Tatyana, besides her age titles, had improved the youth best, writing off the books no less than Carolina Kluft. She also achieved a windy 6768 score, when winning at the now disappeared meeting of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Arles</place></country-region> in 2007, which is superior to the legal junior record of 6542, also set by Kluft. (8) This feat placed her among the favourites for Osaka worlds but there she started a string of disappointing performances, which characteristically would begin with a below par <metricconverter productid="100 meter" w:st="on">100 meter</metricconverter> hurdles and a weak deliverance at the shot put and would end up with a second day in which she would try in her best events to make up for the disastrous first one. Still Chernova struck a bronze medal at Beijing Olympics, after Blonska was disqualified, with a respectable tally of 6591 points but she followed this up with an 8<sup>th</sup> place in Berlin, 300 points below. (9)</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">There was some kind of improvement in 2010 with a bronze medal at the World indoor championship and a fourth place in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Barcelona</city></place>, besides a triumph in Talence and a runner-up position in Gotzis, which earned her the victory at the World Combined Events Challenge. However the big breakthrough would arrive the following year. We knew she had talent but now she proved she had acquired maturity too and was mentally ready. Another second placement in Gotzis behind Ennis and especially a 6773 new PB in Kladno were a huge boost of confidence for Tatyana Chernova. In the latter meeting she had been consistent in every single event and in Daegu, for the first time in a major contest, she was able to replicate it. Her 13.32 at the hurdles and 23.50 at the <metricconverter productid="200 metres" w:st="on">200 metres</metricconverter>, matching her respective PBs were really another thing, and her 14.17 at the shot put was a huge improvement to everything she had done before. Besides, Jessica Ennis was not as astounding as she usually is in her best events, the <metricconverter productid="100 meter" w:st="on">100 meter</metricconverter> hurdles, where she was even beaten by American Hyleas Fountain, and the high jump. Despite two PBs at the shot put (14.67) and <metricconverter productid="200 meters" w:st="on">200 meters</metricconverter> (<metricconverter productid="23.27 in" w:st="on">23.27 in</metricconverter> a strong headwind) she finished overnight just 151 points ahead of Chernova, who is known for having all her favourite events in the second day. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><br />
</div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25JCGU6jVtQGZ2tEI3RPaPpr00t-d4AsUu1UiMkay009_jCVXCuUeVcgychbgxTGaD_7yEif50h5KUx4qjUuko4gWD8E3ETtjBon3gqe6-hzf1URSuOnSK26JIfR4AHOwfTvwaFxFU5Ox/s1600/Jennifer%252BOeser%252B20th%252BEuropean%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252B+zimbio+getty+europe+michael+steele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25JCGU6jVtQGZ2tEI3RPaPpr00t-d4AsUu1UiMkay009_jCVXCuUeVcgychbgxTGaD_7yEif50h5KUx4qjUuko4gWD8E3ETtjBon3gqe6-hzf1URSuOnSK26JIfR4AHOwfTvwaFxFU5Ox/s475/Jennifer%252BOeser%252B20th%252BEuropean%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252B+zimbio+getty+europe+michael+steele.jpg" width="475" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Jennifer Oeser, the most solid German heptathlete of the moment</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Michael Steele/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> It was easy to anticipate what was going to happen. A visibly worried Jessica Ennis still had the determination to jump beyond her best (6.51), only <metricconverter productid="10 centimetres" w:st="on">10 centimetres</metricconverter> behind Chernova, who is a 6.80+ jumper. Yet, the javelin made the difference: Jessica remembered this time her compatriot Kelly Sotherthon, who never won a global gold medal because of her inability to manage that specialty. Ennis threw under <metricconverter productid="40 meters" w:st="on">40 meters</metricconverter> and lost 251 points against her archrival, who inexorably went close to <metricconverter productid="53 metres" w:st="on">53 metres</metricconverter>. The battle was lost and the last agonistic effort in the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter> and the fourth PB in two days were in vain. Chernova, finished the event just at her shoulders to win the gold medal 6880 to 6751. Anyway, had Ennis matched her javelin PB she would had lost the same. Jennifer Oeser won again the fight for the bronze, ahead of Polish Karolina Tyminska and Dobrynska, all three of them beyond 6500 points. Hyleas Fountain, who was also in contention for the medals had to withdraw in the very last event.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> It is worth to be noted the score Chernova achieved in Daegu is more than 50 points more of what Ennis has ever done and she is likely to improve it further at London Olympics, because she is still 23 years old and has found a consistency, confidence in her possibilities and a mental strenght she never had before. Because of Chernova's superiority in some events, if Jessica Ennis is a 12.79 hurdler and a 1.95 high jumper, she will really need to run 12.79 and jump 1.95 if she wants to have any option of becoming Olympic champion at home. She will also have to overcome this defeat and the fact she is not anymore the unbreakable number one. Maybe the main battle will be in the mental side and the toughest will have the better of her archrival in London. Chernova, after her recent victory, is a couple of steps ahead and right now is the one to beat. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">No athlete should be discounted but if Ennis and Chernova have a normal day I do not think there is a chance for anybody else for the Olympic title in the heptathlon, including the defending champion Nataliya Dobrynska. However, for the minor medals many names come to mind as the same Dobrynska, Jennifer Oeser, Lilli Schwarzkopf, Karolina Tyminska, Kamila Chudzik, Anna Bogdanova, Antoinette Nana Djimou, Jessica Zelinka, Aiga Grabuste, Austra Skujyte, Hyleas Fountain or Margaret Simpson.</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURzPab294P_2QLs5_miLhyY8RCIAvNPNw7doXO2qfXSqJnZLZ_kYFJxVkSb2IMkTAbr65dmdpZRgRfeBG_RlHL8UNLKCNEVn9SIO2oCQCzO5Cf45u3M2UKtH_DEBp__Gj1CEVQR6-DeDP/s1600/eDgLh_St_156+adrian+dennis+AFP+getty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="540" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURzPab294P_2QLs5_miLhyY8RCIAvNPNw7doXO2qfXSqJnZLZ_kYFJxVkSb2IMkTAbr65dmdpZRgRfeBG_RlHL8UNLKCNEVn9SIO2oCQCzO5Cf45u3M2UKtH_DEBp__Gj1CEVQR6-DeDP/s580/eDgLh_St_156+adrian+dennis+AFP+getty.jpg" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Karolina Tyminska getting better and better with the years</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Adrian Dennis/ AFP/ Getty Images</span><br />
<a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.newsobserver.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">As an athlete who has claimed a medal in every one of the three last major championships, Jennifer Oeser must be pointed out as the strongest candidate among this list of outsiders to climb to the podium again. A European U-23 champion in 2003, Oeser was in the shadow of Lilli Schwarzkopf for years, until her breakthrough season of 2009, when she first beat her at the unofficial German championship in Ratingen and then went on to win the silver medal in Berlin, while Schwarzkopf did not finish. Oeser was again the victor in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ratingen</place></city> in the following two editions of the meeting and continued with more medals in the major contests. On the other hand her compatriot, who had been bronze at the European Champs in 2006 and fifth in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Osaka</place></city> in 2007, is having some difficult years, with injuries and disappointments. Eventually, she could achieve a sixth place in Daegu and maybe she will be back soon to her former level. Interestingly, both athletes have similar characteristics as heptathletes, being excellent specialists with the javelin and outstanding half-milers. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">No other German athlete is ready to follow in the footsteps of Oeser and Schwarzkopf. Julia Machtig, Maren Schwerdtner or Claudia Rath are miles behind of the duo and have not reached places of finalist when selected for the national team. However, the future seems really promising with juniors like Sara Gambetta, Tilia Udelhoven or Carolin Schafer. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> A similar crisis in depth of field has been experienced by the other European powerhouse, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Russia</place></country-region>. With Anna Bogdanova and Olga Kurban not competing for nearly two seasons, no replacement has proved good enough to compete along Tatyana Chernova at the big occasions, neither Desenzano del Garda winner Marina Goncharova nor Yana Panteleyeva nor Alexandra Butvina. Fortunately, 2009 indoor European champion Bogdanova is back in full fitness and so is Kurban, who won the Universiade this summer. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLiVdNVpoxcN6fUi1KcY_bLbZ2ZMS4iTcjfFxAO6FEqcwdqme6Asl9n_H0UdVGNrSZ52O3R5xZLNeyoVTNEOcR5WhCt-Yh2m_Lyy_6Y_zVbvbspQx88mKxNt8yRXF3AExv53zf8pt0rRto/s1600/Jessica%252BZelinka%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+mark+dadswell+getty+europe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLiVdNVpoxcN6fUi1KcY_bLbZ2ZMS4iTcjfFxAO6FEqcwdqme6Asl9n_H0UdVGNrSZ52O3R5xZLNeyoVTNEOcR5WhCt-Yh2m_Lyy_6Y_zVbvbspQx88mKxNt8yRXF3AExv53zf8pt0rRto/s640/Jessica%252BZelinka%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+mark+dadswell+getty+europe.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Jessica Zelinka, a experienced Canadian back in competition, after maternity leave</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Mark Dadswell/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKu-3EDbFbm_kDqOObV6_kCw5KhTX9Zqu6J28QPYRxq876CYSJ_mWGVTpIcryTYv92siHgfgftzATHo_DGh_WRe1rK6IxHH3GjqD8wGzzt6CVmT9FIbiN5DYouQySwZcqSHX9pGvbai70d/s1600/Antoinette%252BNana%252BDjimou%252BIda%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BIndoor%252Bzimbio+getty+images+europe+michael+steele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKu-3EDbFbm_kDqOObV6_kCw5KhTX9Zqu6J28QPYRxq876CYSJ_mWGVTpIcryTYv92siHgfgftzATHo_DGh_WRe1rK6IxHH3GjqD8wGzzt6CVmT9FIbiN5DYouQySwZcqSHX9pGvbai70d/s640/Antoinette%252BNana%252BDjimou%252BIda%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BIndoor%252Bzimbio+getty+images+europe+michael+steele.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Antoinette Nana-Djimou, the European indoor champion in Paris</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Michael Steele/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">The most successful team had been lately the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ukrainian</place></country-region>, who obtained the fourth, fifth and sixth positions at Berlin Worlds with Dobrynska, Lyudmila Yosypenko and Hanna Melnychenko respectively; a doubtful honour with no less than three athletes missing narrowly the bronze medal by less than 60 points. All three Ukraine girls swept the podium that year in Gotzis, led by Nataliya Dobrynska and were really close of repeating the feat in Talence, where Chernova’s third place split the trio. This quality jump by Yosypenko and Melnychenko in 2009 was supposed to be the beginning of a great era for the Ukrainian heptathletes but the two following seasons have not been as successful for them. Yosypenko has gone down to 6<sup>th</sup> in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> and 10<sup>th</sup> in Daegu, while the three times European Cup winner has been sidelined by injuries. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">No matter how the powerhouses in combined events have lost in depth in the last years, still the <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region></place> can envy them. As strange as it might be no US woman has achieved the London Olympic A standard in the heptathlon in one year, so were the Games celebrated tomorrow they would only have one representative. Athletes as Sharon Day, Diana Pickler or Jackie Johnson are really far from their performances a couple of years ago and <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Beijing</city></place> silver medallist Hyleas Fountain has been unable to complete the two competitions she took part in this season: the National Trials and the World Championships. As talented as she is, Fountain has often problems to reach her best when it matter most but we hope the Olympic year will be a lucky one for this woman, who has an heptathlon PB of no less than 6735 points from 2010, and performances in single events as 12.78 at the <metricconverter productid="100 meter" w:st="on">100 meter</metricconverter> hurdles and 6.89 at the long jump. The revelation of the year has been Ryan Krais from <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kansas</placename> <placetype w:st="on">University</placetype></place>, who won the NCAA title in her junior year. Hopefully she will help improve the current poor level in the event in the country in years to come.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73mes78XE_M9_J7p4NAVDmjgIzqODGpO0_YviR4a2-6Rx1c5ZdKYWvxR_io5cEfQSV1yPFUtkf50teeLDpPFAVMvCOMYIRU7La1Slp7C9hNR2mJnNYdQRGY_khyphenhyphenQjkxOppZ2qApO31Tti/s1600/Jessica%252BSamuelsson%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+chris+mcgrath+-+copia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73mes78XE_M9_J7p4NAVDmjgIzqODGpO0_YviR4a2-6Rx1c5ZdKYWvxR_io5cEfQSV1yPFUtkf50teeLDpPFAVMvCOMYIRU7La1Slp7C9hNR2mJnNYdQRGY_khyphenhyphenQjkxOppZ2qApO31Tti/s470/Jessica%252BSamuelsson%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+chris+mcgrath+-+copia.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Jessica Samuelsson, the current number one Swedish</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Chris McGrath/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';">Their Canadian neighbours can be much happier with two women this year over 6200 points, Jessica Zelinka and Ruky Abdulai, and a third one, Brianne Theisen, likely to make the Olympic team as well, provided she can overcome her injuries. Abdulai, a Ghana-born athlete, was a former long jumper specialist but has moved to the combined events in the last two seasons with amazing success. She achieved a 13th place at last Worlds in Daegu. Theisen, a senior student in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Oregon</place></state>, has won the NCAA title no less than four times and already finished 15<sup>th</sup> in Berlin Worlds in her first year competing at international level. Jessica Zelinka is the most known of the trio, with a long career behind her. She obtained a remarkable fifth place at Beijing Olympics, where she scored her lifetime PB of 6490. Now she is back after maternity leave. Last year she grabbed the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, after Louise Hazel, another Briton to watch for, and claimed the ninth place in Daegu. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">Also making a come back to the combined events is another illustrious of the event, Lithuanian Austra Skujyte, who had been busy in 2009 and 2010 giving a go to her best specialty, the shot put, where she achieved a 12<sup>th</sup> place at Barcelona European Championships and a stunning PB of 17.86. This veteran, who won the silver medal at Athens Olympics and a 4<sup>th</sup> place the following year at Helsinki World Championships, is an unusual heptathlete who excels in throws but struggle in track events, unlikely great champions as record holder Jackie Joyner, Carolina Kluft or Jessica Ennis, consummate specialists in races and jumps but not as powerful in the shot put or the javelin. Skujyte returned to the combined events last winter with another medal, a silver, behind French Antoinette Nana Djimou and finished in a creditable 8<sup>th</sup> position in Daegu in the summer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="ltr" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM29TI3NX-AXUMHSf49fmgqpDbWMUdTyB32Qe2cWkeFC1h2LR5otY3RiWOYctE5Qe3GuEqT3PaUcJR92IRlFsgS1ml9L7k-ln_Q7L9mzL5qEM0E4-s3gDnHxRY_sM6chlyxI9s0-KWGJGM/s1600/Austra%252BSkujyte%252BEuropean%252BAthletics%252BIndoor%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+ian+walton+getty+europe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM29TI3NX-AXUMHSf49fmgqpDbWMUdTyB32Qe2cWkeFC1h2LR5otY3RiWOYctE5Qe3GuEqT3PaUcJR92IRlFsgS1ml9L7k-ln_Q7L9mzL5qEM0E4-s3gDnHxRY_sM6chlyxI9s0-KWGJGM/s400/Austra%252BSkujyte%252BEuropean%252BAthletics%252BIndoor%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+ian+walton+getty+europe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Austra Skujyte, back to the heptathlon with a silver medal in Paris</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Ian Walton/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;">Nana-Djimou, born in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Cameroon</place></country-region>, has grown steadily as one of the most solid heptathletes of the moment. She won deservedly at the European indoors at home and represented <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">France</place></country-region> at the last 2 editions of the outdoor World Championships, achieving in both a praiseworthy 7th place. She may be one of the heptathletes of the future and has been compared to legend Eunice Barber. Yet her biotype is more Skujyte-like: she threw the javelin to 55+ in Daegu but faded badly in the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter>, losing valuable points. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnrBw8ghLav6LadecqVRrc4mD40AawhTnzTOyqzM6Y6eybmfE4cPilwIG1-ZlCsJMzlxVRxkTuHQ4m_UmywqfWv2S822FsxBA517XLmM63o4CEPz4KOcLOHGvYRAVrrAGhzCJVItJSXsi/s1600/Grit%252BSadeiko%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+mark+dadswell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnrBw8ghLav6LadecqVRrc4mD40AawhTnzTOyqzM6Y6eybmfE4cPilwIG1-ZlCsJMzlxVRxkTuHQ4m_UmywqfWv2S822FsxBA517XLmM63o4CEPz4KOcLOHGvYRAVrrAGhzCJVItJSXsi/s400/Grit%252BSadeiko%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+mark+dadswell.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Grit Sadeiko from Estonia, the European U-23 champion</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Mark Dadswell/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Margaret Simpson is another heptathlete of African origin, also an outstanding specialist in the javelin. Her 56.36 throw at 2005 Helsinki Worlds propelled her to the first ever medal won by her country, <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ghana</place></country-region>, in the history of the championships: a bronze. She has been struggling for years against injuries in order to regain her past fitness. This season she has competed in no less than five combined events outings, with victories in Desenzano del Garda, where she achieved her best mark in four years, and the African Games. In Daegu she finished 14<sup>th</sup> in a loaded contest. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In a discipline as hard as the heptathlon is rare the athlete who gets to stay injury free for a lifetime. Kamila Chudzik of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Poland</place></country-region>, the bronze medallist in Berlin-2009, saw how her promising career was cut by a hurting elbow, which sidelined her for the entire 2010 season. After an unsuccessful return last winter she is expected to come back soon to resume competing. Meanwhile, Karolina Tyminska keeps the limelight as number one heptathlete in the country. Tyminska has competed succesfully in the international circuit for years, but usually she had not been at the same level when it matter most. However, in the last seasons she is getting excellent results also at major championships and not only in her specialty, the <metricconverter productid="800 meters" w:st="on">800 meters</metricconverter>, where she has run in 2:05.21. She achieved a 5<sup>th</sup> place in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city> and an awesome 4<sup>th</sup> in Daegu in a new PB (6544 points), challenging Jennifer Oeser for the bronze medal. She might be a fearsome contender for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city> if she gets to improve further on her weakest events as the high jump. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> In the absence of Chudzik, the up-and-coming heptathlete with the biggest progression in the last years is Latvian Aiga Grabuste. Ida Marcussen has somewhat failed to deliver what was expected from her, after her excellent 6226 score at Osaka Worlds, when she was still a junior. Notwithstanding, among the new generations, Northern European countries are well represented: Jessica Samuelsson from Sweden, Aiga Grabuste from Latvia, Grit and Grete Sadeiko from Estonia, Laura Ikauniece from Lithuania and Helga Margret Thorsteindottir from Iceland. Some of them are likely to join the always consistent Austra Skujyte in the top places of the major championships in the years to come.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 9.5pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Jessica Samuelsson is the oldest of the group. She was famously denied to participate at Beijing Olympics, despite having achieved thrice the A standard. Carolina Kluft had just renounced to defend her title and it seems the National Federation did not accept any replacement for her. From then on, Samuelsson has been in every major contest with modest results: 17<sup>th</sup> in <state w:st="on">Berlin</state>, 10<sup>th</sup> in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Barcelona</city></place> and 16<sup>th</sup> in Daegu, but she is still progressing. Her sole international victory came at the 2009 Universiade. Her PR stands at 6182 points, from last Talence meeting.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m6p8r6Fq_2xwnlTOY3dxU-BttjRic_yvAyac3DkKCZYmlfXJjwsigi2D5fl0V2nl1yPDSLLZYQ3bmC5q67OGACsVVyoib8JUTtrbM6xmt5kg0bm3oPBfB1Sz4RErK9Vv569WzV7iSDX6/s1600/Aiga%252BGrabuste%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+chris+mcgrath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="490" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m6p8r6Fq_2xwnlTOY3dxU-BttjRic_yvAyac3DkKCZYmlfXJjwsigi2D5fl0V2nl1yPDSLLZYQ3bmC5q67OGACsVVyoib8JUTtrbM6xmt5kg0bm3oPBfB1Sz4RErK9Vv569WzV7iSDX6/s490/Aiga%252BGrabuste%252B13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BAthletics%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+europe+chris+mcgrath.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Aiga Grabuste and Louise Hazel, two of the most promising upcoming heptathletes</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Chris McGrath/ Getty Images Europe</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Much more ambitious is Aiga Grabuste, who owns the Area junior and U-23 titles, achieved in 2007 and 2009 respectively. In the latter of the outings she went on to a massive score of 6396 points. After almost a year off the track she has been back this summer, improving further to <metricconverter productid="6414 in" w:st="on">6414 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ratingen</place></city>, where she was only beaten by Oeser. Her tally in Daegu (6229), which earned her the 12<sup>th</sup> place, fell a little short of the expectations but she still needs time to learn how to hold the pressure. Her successor as U-23 champion was Grit Sadeiko. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> </span></span> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> The combined events in both sex categories were among the best finals of Ostrava U-23 and Tallin Junior European championships. In the former competition Sadeiko, Czech Katerina Cachova and Belarus Yana Maksimava, all of them with major junior medals already in their curriculum, battled for the gold after the very last event. The final results can not be compared to what Grabuste did in the precedent edition but winner Sadeiko (6134) smashed her previous PB by more than 300 points and runner-up Cachova (6123) by more than 200. Quartermilers Denisa Rosolova and Zuzana Hejnova, who have tried successfully the combined events, are now focused in their favoured distances, where they are among the best specialist in the world; but the Czech Republic still keep an excellent young heptathlon team with 2010 Kladno winner Eliska Klucinova and the newly arrived Katerina Cachova. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Grit Sadeiko has a younger sister, Grete, who is also a heptathlete. It seems sport amateur parents are following the trend of aping fairy tales to give their daughters almost identical names and enrol them in the same athletic discipline, maybe to confound statisticians; so we have now long jumpers Jana and Dana Veldakova from the Czech Republic, hammer throwers Marina and Zalina Marghieva from Moldova and heptathletes Grit and Grete Sadeiko from Estonia. </span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"> Grete could not win a bronze medal at last year’s World Junior championship like her sister Grit did in <city w:st="on">Bydgoszcz</city> but she is still eligible for the next edition, which will be held in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Barcelona</place></city>. In a still more emotive final than the U-<metricconverter productid="23 in" w:st="on">23 in</metricconverter> <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Ostrava</place></city>, Grete Sadeiko, Thorsteindottir, Ikauniece and German Tilia Udelhoven were all separated by less than 22 points before the last event, the <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter>, for the bronze medal. In an agonistic final the Icelandic runner won the race, just ahead Sadeiko, grabbing the medal by 1 point over the Estonian. Dutch Dafne Schippers confortably won the contest, achieving five PBs in the process, ahead of Sara Gambetta. The same duo repeated place and medal at Tallin’s European Junior. Schippers collected 6153 points, a better tally than the one Grit Sadeiko needed to claim the elders title, but still inferior to the national junior record she had achieved in Gotzis (6172). On the other hand, Gambetta, over 6100, set the fourth German mark in the yearly lists, ahead the likes of Rath and Schwerdtner, while Ikauniece and Udelhoven also broke the 6000 points barrier in an extremely good contest. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> Jolanda Keizer and Yvonne Wisse-Van Langen are still struggling to be back into the elite but the Dutch team has already been reinvigorated by the young blood of Paris indoor medallist Remona Fransen and especially Dafne Schippers. This one, who takes inspiration from national record holder and 2006 European silver medallist Karin Ruckstuhl, is the ultimate heptathlon star and she will be soon challenging the best provided she can improve on her only weak event, the high jump. For the moment she preferred in Daegu focus in the <metricconverter productid="200 metres" w:st="on">200 metres</metricconverter>, where she almost reached the final, after running a groundbreaking <metricconverter productid="22.69 in" w:st="on">22.69 in</metricconverter> her heat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua';"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vxdlI9IcFwoFxr2kt-XG-HT8FxVkkUWjL0PBpjm58vWkTmg7nDdYtTqvzLRbIoX763mNCT-VU6LqiwK9j5bBP21BeCrEGTFG51fnGGs77YWYIUJH9B6IRMMyAWdA6rcn7b1T_qrG4Eg6/s1600/13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BJunior%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+north+america+chris+trotman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vxdlI9IcFwoFxr2kt-XG-HT8FxVkkUWjL0PBpjm58vWkTmg7nDdYtTqvzLRbIoX763mNCT-VU6LqiwK9j5bBP21BeCrEGTFG51fnGGs77YWYIUJH9B6IRMMyAWdA6rcn7b1T_qrG4Eg6/s640/13th%252BIAAF%252BWorld%252BJunior%252BChampionships%252Bzimbio+getty+north+america+chris+trotman.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Dafne Schippers from the Netherlands, the World Junior Champion in Moncton</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Chris Trotman/ Getty Images North America</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.zimbio.com</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">(1) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=2986&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=2986&Odd=33</a></span><br />
(2) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/WCE08/news/newsid=48832.html">http://www.iaaf.org/WCE08/news/newsid=48832.html</a><br />
(3) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=8574&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=8574&Odd=33</a><br />
(4) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/12th-iaaf-world-championships-berlin/british-star-ennis-claims-heptathlon-world-title.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/12th-iaaf-world-championships-berlin/british-star-ennis-claims-heptathlon-world-title.html</a><br />
(5) <a href="http://www.european-athletics.org/20th-european-athletics-championships-2010/ennis-smashes-championship-record-in-epic-finale.html">http://www.european-athletics.org/20th-european-athletics-championships-2010/ennis-smashes-championship-record-in-epic-finale.html</a><br />
(6) <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2011/jul/18/jessica-ennis-london-2012">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2011/jul/18/jessica-ennis-london-2012</a><br />
(7) <a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61814">http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61814</a><br />
(8) <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=46529.html">http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=46529.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">(9) <a href="http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=36571&Odd=33">http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=36571&Odd=33</a></span><a href="http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/NewsListDetail.aspx?id=61814"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"></div></div></div></div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403704755371728012.post-66473487455055234292011-09-13T17:38:00.002+02:002011-10-23T20:21:55.678+02:00Some Respect for Caster Semenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><span style="font-family: Book Antiqua;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8auTDdKroEhL1VGulYRq8Ap8suVUYooGosIeUISZRaYClRCe3A72lMSN2BigeCemKlYn3ffZ2zIYGHBZi0VzhKXZmaqx9hhm8flsb9purT3GJHNrY8zwWfqtfVRHiZVvpC7gcMA_Tbtrl/s1600/62402_FULL-LND.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8auTDdKroEhL1VGulYRq8Ap8suVUYooGosIeUISZRaYClRCe3A72lMSN2BigeCemKlYn3ffZ2zIYGHBZi0VzhKXZmaqx9hhm8flsb9purT3GJHNrY8zwWfqtfVRHiZVvpC7gcMA_Tbtrl/s600/62402_FULL-LND.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Caster Semenya celebrates her silver medal at Daegu World Championships</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Getty Images/ IAAF</span><br />
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.iaaf.org</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"> Caster Semenya was unable to defend her <metricconverter productid="800 metres" w:st="on">800 metres</metricconverter> World title in Daegu but no one could have thought she was disappointed, because of being beaten by Mariya Savinova.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Russian covered the last stages of the race smiling, once she was sure of her victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The South African started smiling too once she crossed the finish line, elated with her silver medal achievement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a nice reward after so many painful moments in the last two years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was perhaps the end of a long nightmare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who could not have loved this girl so sincere and emotive, congratulating her rival and being so grateful to everybody in the stadium. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">… It seems a lot of people! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Semenya’s excellent showing in her semi-final, which pointed her as the favourite, too many spectators were just relieved and glad of watching her lose the decisive race. Again the same sterile debate about whether she is a man or a woman, the same bad taste jokes and the same lack of tact and sensitivity about her feelings. Common people, some athletes and plenty of journalists all seem instinctively biased against the <place w:st="on">Limpopo</place> girl. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in Daegu’s press box, where people is supposed to not encourage athletes, we could live the unusual situation of international media members cheering loudly as Savinova was passing Semenya. (1)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">But what has she done the South African middle distance runner to deserve all this almost unanimous animosity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has not been rude or impolite on the track or talking to the media (actually she has been very little in front of journalists). She has not been a drug cheater. So what? Well, she is abnormally muscled for a girl; her looks and voice are not really feminine. So she must be repulsive for some. In other words: she is different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how ready are we to understand and accept this difference? I am disappointed about the way humanity is increasingly xenophobe, sexist or homophobe, no matter how science has progressed in the last centuries. Discrimination is far from being eradicated and respect to each other is not easily attainable. It happens also in Track and Field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same championship, another South African athlete, double amputee Oscar Pistorius was incomprehensibly left out of the national squad for the 4x400 relay final, despite being the second fastest in the team in the seasonal lists and besides having run a flawless leg in the heats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a controversy about whether the “blade runner” had an advantage over the rest of the field, because of his carbon fibre legs, but once he was allowed to run he should have been treated the same way as any other athlete. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nFo_acITdNg?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nFo_acITdNg?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/letsrundotcom">http://www.youtube.com/user/letsrundotcom</a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Caster Semenya was also thought to be superior of the other half-milers because of her abnormal levels of testosterone for a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specialists stated it was impossible for a teen athlete to win so overwhelmingly a world championship final as she did in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Berlin</place></state> and with such fast clocking. Nevertheless, another junior, Pamela Jelimo, had run just the precedent year even faster to win the Olympic Games. The IAAF considered it was needed to unbury the old gender tests to find out if there was an unfair advantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was maybe necessary but things were not done properly since the very beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The South African Athletics Federation (ASA) had undergone a first analysis, lying reportedly to Semenya about the purpose of it, saying to her it was just a drug testing procedure. The affair finished with the resignation of Caster’s coach, who felt unable to protect her and the dismissal of the ASA responsibles by the South African Olympic Committee. (2) After Semenya’s triumph in the Worlds, the IAAF decided to carry out further gender verifications, forbidding the athlete to compete until the end of the process, which would last for nearly a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Was it necessary so much? It was a really bad time for Semenya. </span>There were even moments the athlete would refuse to keep on training, because of the uncertainty of her future. Authorities thought it was better for Semenya not to make any statement to the press; instead, she was convinced to appear in a local magazine, with make up and transformed in an attractive and feminine woman, in a ridiculous cover, in which she was trying to be what she is not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The required confidentiality of the medical tests was altogether obliterated when the Australian newspaper Daily Telegraph revealed, citing sources close to the IAAF, the supposed hermaphrodite nature of Semenya, advising her strongly to have immediate surgery because of the grave risks for her health which carried her condition. (3) The Athletics governing body dissociated themselves of this information and regretted the way it was revealed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, leak or speculation, it is easy to see how harmful must be this negligent acting for the athlete itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, the information revealed by the newspaper, looking for an easy audience, has been widely assumed by most of the international press. Other interested media dug deeper in the wound, probing Caster’s childhood and showing pictures of her in shirt and blue jeans, while her female classmates were all wearing blouse and skirt, concluding she was undeniably a tomboy. Wisely, the IAAF has kept the secret about the final results, which seemed to be everybody’s concern, when they eventually decided to allow Semenya competing again in July 2010. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Nonetheless this decision, which took so much time and should be enough to legitimate Caster’s athletic career, the same insensitive talking continues and doubts keep being generated by the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The South African athlete had had an irregular season, prior to Daegu and then was stated it was due to medical treatment to reduce her testosterone levels, following a deal with the IAAF, in exchange of letting her compete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another leak? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More speculation? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caster Semenya would rather ignore all the talking and do her job and she did it very well in Daegu. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, some people should think about, whatever her sex nature is, there is no doubt Semenya is a human being and she deserves some respect for it. (4)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jxg86dOFBJSE6Z6c1b9oqB-ymyeLFjPtRAebj6llLhk7qW3NUccw4nvBxmcoXMxwpTS_IHBDJzVtwP16WfoGNUe_DehKYDPnaVzowM_K57296Pbtp24yl_3W8IvsEj0k0oLip0zTQxur/s1600/Caster-Semenya-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jxg86dOFBJSE6Z6c1b9oqB-ymyeLFjPtRAebj6llLhk7qW3NUccw4nvBxmcoXMxwpTS_IHBDJzVtwP16WfoGNUe_DehKYDPnaVzowM_K57296Pbtp24yl_3W8IvsEj0k0oLip0zTQxur/s600/Caster-Semenya-008.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Caster Semenya with friends at their training facility in Pretoria</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Photo: Jeffrey Barbee</span><br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2009/nov/14/caster-semenya-athletics#/?picture=355577576&index=8"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2009/nov/14/caster-semenya-athletics#/?picture=355577576&index=8</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Please read the awesome article published by the Guardian</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(1) <a href="http://www.letsrun.com/2011/worlds800-0904.php">http://www.letsrun.com/2011/worlds800-0904.php</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(2) <a href="http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/presidente/Federacion/Atletismo/Surafrica/suspendido/Caso/Semenya/elpepusoc/20091105elpepudep_9/Tes">http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/presidente/Federacion/Atletismo/Surafrica/suspendido/Caso/Semenya/elpepusoc/20091105elpepudep_9/Tes</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(3) <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245">http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(4) <a href="http://www.ambienteg.com/personajes/caster-semenya-discriminada-por-ser-diferente">http://www.ambienteg.com/personajes/caster-semenya-discriminada-por-ser-diferente</a><br />
<br />
</div></div><div></div><div></div></div>Haile Tuluwamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17051107067196613890noreply@blogger.com0