WITH the Olympic Games at the forefront of every athlete’s mind, Birmingham will be an important fixture in their season with seats aboard the Beijing-bound plane hotly contested.
As ever, the Men’s 100m will be one of the showcase events with Craig Pickering, Marlon Devonish, Simeon Williamson and Tyrone Edgar battling it out, but such is the depth in the current squad that there is also a plethora of talent elsewhere.
The Women’s 400m gold and silver world medallists, Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders, will go head-to-head while Becky Lyne, Jemma Simpson, Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro will compete in the middle distances.
One of Europe’s top 400m sprinters, Loughborough-based Martyn Rooney will be looking to book his place for the Beijing Games.
The event takes place next weekend 11th, 12th and 13th July at the Alexander Stadium and will be shown live on BBC Television and available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Event Information:
Doors Open Friday- 17:00
Doors Open Saturday- 11:30
Doors Open Sunday- 13:30
Event Times Friday - 18:00-20:30
Event Times Saturday- 13:00-19:30
Event Times Sunday- 15:00-20:30
FOLLOWING nine months on the sidelines, Australia’s Jana Rawlinson will begin her Beijing preparations tonight at a low-key athletics meeting in Poland.
Operating out of her European base in Loughborough, Rawlinson, the 400m Hurdles world champion, has had a horror year with a toe injury preventing her from returning to the track.
Only three weeks ago she thought her Olympics bid may be over when she was forced to take 10 days off training because the injury had flared again.
But after getting through some solid track sessions last week, Rawlinson's coach and husband, Chris, has entered her in the 400m hurdles at the European Athletics Festival in Bydgoscz, Poland.
Rawlinson won the World Youth Championships title there in 1999.
The hitout is as much about seeing what work is required with her technique, with her competition expected to be well below the gold medal favourite's standard.
Rawlinson's return comes as her main rival, American Lashinda Demus, missed out on a Beijing spot in a shock result at the US trials.
Rawlinson's problems stem from surgery in January to remove cartilage on the second toe of her right foot.
She was expected to return to the track in the US in May but delayed her comeback until she arrived in Europe in early June. However, when she was forced to pull out of races in Turin and Ostrava, her Beijing hopes hung by a thread.
The (AIS) Australian Institute of Sport flew out a specialist physiotherapist to Loughborough to work on the toe during her enforced 10-day break, which now appears to have been a masterstroke.
The demise of Demus, who had clocked the fastest time in the world this year, would also have come as welcome news. Needing to finish in the top three, Demus finished fourth in 54.76sec. Winner Tiffany Ross-Williams clocked 54.03.
Demus finished second at the 2005 world championships and has a personal best of 53.02, which is faster than Rawlinson's career best of 53.22. Christine Spence, who sits third on the 2008 IAAF rankings, also missed out on a spot on the US team when she finished fifth in a slow 55.74.
WORLD champion Tyson Gay ran the fastest 100 metres of all-time to win the American Olympic trials, a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds on the track of the University of Oregon in Eugene on Sunday (29th June).
The victory qualified Gay into his first USA Olympic team, however, the wind speed of 4.1 metres per second deprived the 25-year-old of a world record.
Only marks set with assisting winds of 2.0 metres per second or less can be considered for record purposes.
"The time really meant a lot because that's the time that (co-coach Jon) Drummond has been instilling in my head for a long time, that I could run 9.6," Gay commented afterwards. "I didn't really care what the wind was."
Jamaican Usain Bolt holds the world record of 9.72 seconds. The previous best time under any conditions was a wind-assisted 9.69 seconds by Obadele Thompson of Barbados in 1996.
Gay, who ran a national record 9.77 seconds on Saturday, made a solid start and by 40 metres was in complete control of the race.
Former collegiate champion Walter Dix finished second in 9.80 seconds with Darvis Patton third in 9.84 seconds.
BRITISH 400 metres runner Nicola Sanders, a Loughborough University graduate and Sports Scholar, has her sights firmly set on the Olympic Games when she competes on the track of Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium next month.
Victory at the Aviva AAA National Championships would secure a trip to Beijing for the European indoor champion.
"After kick-starting my season by winning at the European Cup, I am now hoping to build on that," Sanders said.
"Birmingham is a great athletics city and has been good to me. I won European gold there," she added.
It is the first time that the Alexander Stadium has staged the trials since 2003 and a few places in the Great Britain team travelling to China will have been decided before the event which runs from 11th-13th July.
Sanders and Osaka World Champion Christine Ohuruogu are both expected to be capable of challenging for medals at the Games in August.
ENGLAND ATHLETICS (East Midlands) Regional Club Support Day is being held at The Paddocks Conference Centre, Nottingham Race Course on Saturday 13th September 2008 between 9.30am to 4.30pm.
The event, aimed at Club and county administrators and volunteers, will be both interactive and informative. A range of speakers and presenters will aim to give delegates a challenging and motivating experience through workshops and presentations that we hope will further the development of clubs in the Region.
The event will focus on club development, sharing best practice an dealing with day to day issues facing clubs in our region; for example recruiting volunteers, risk assessment, developing links with local partners and finding funds.
John Graves (Chair England Athletics) is among the keynote speakers.
EUROPEAN ATHLETICS is pleased to announce that Portugal has been chosen to host the first ever SPAR European Team Championships in 2009.
Portugal, who has never hosted Europe's premier Team Athletics competition, will create its own history when it organises the Super League in the first edition of the new SPAR European Team Championships.
The Local Organising Committee has received significant support from the Portuguese Government through Laurentino Dias, the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport.
Speaking about his country's selection to host this inaugural event, a delighted Mr Dias said, "It is a great honour for Portugal to be awarded the first ever edition of the European Team Championships and we are confident, no matter which city wins the right to host the event, that it will be a big success."
"Portuguese athletics is on a real high at the moment and we are very fortunate to have athletes of the calibre of double European Sprints Champion Francis Obikwelu, World Triple Jump Champion Nelson Evora and double European Long Jump Champion Naide Gomes. They are big stars in Portugal and I am sure the Portuguese public will come out in droves to support them on home soil in this prestigious competition."
European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, "As part of the competition restructure our organisation is undertaking, the Team Championships is a crucial initiative for us and I believe the expansion of the number of teams to 12 will provide significantly more excitement and drama to our audiences"
"Along with this, the expansion has also allowed us to bring the event to a wider selection of venues and I am delighted to be making history by awarding the event to Portugal which has a huge tradition in organising major athletics events."
Although Portugal has never hosted the top division of the European Cup, it has significant experience in organising major athletics events as can be seen below.
The venues for the other leagues will be announced in October at the latest.
The divisions for the 2009 European Team Championships, which will take place on the weekend of June 20-21, 2009, are as follows:
Super League:
Russia, Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Ukraine, Greece, Sweden, Czech Republic, Portugal
First League:
Belarus, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey, Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, Serbia, Norway
Second League:
Ireland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Austria, Cyprus
Third League:
Moldova, Israel, Denmark, Bosnia, Iceland, Luxembourg, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Armenia, AASSE, Albania, Andorra, Macedonia
UK ATHLETICS have announced the names of athletes who will take their places as part of the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team heading to the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships.
The team will travel to Bydgoszcz, Poland, on Saturday 5th July to prepare for the championships, which takes place 8th-13th July.
UK Athletics Performance Director Dave Collins said: “A number of personal coaches asked us to make allowances for several mitigating factors in selection – namely the unusually short season, the weather conditions at Bedford and the early entry deadline required by the IAAF removing the second wave of selections – therefore we have also considered a number of athletes who have achieved the lower IAAF qualification standard.
“As a result some athletes have been selected with IAAF standards where they have consistently achieved this mark, and where their performance profile matches the philosophy of the selection policy – namely the ability to finish in the top eight at the World Juniors, and the ability to take the experience and turn junior potential into senior potential.
“The team selected know what is expected of them at World Junior level, and I wish them the very best of luck for Bydgoszcz.”
Norwich Union Great Britain & NI team:
Men
100m: James Alaka (Blackheath & Bromley)
200m: Chris Clarke (Marshall Milton Keynes), Richard Kilty (Gateshead Harriers)
400m: Nigel Levine (Bedford & County), Jordan McGrath (Birchfield Harriers)
800m: Chris Smith (Wirral), Rick Ward (City of Norwich)
1500m: Dave Forrester (St Helens Sutton), James Shane (Basildon)
110mH: Alex Al-Ameen (Blackheath & Bromley), Edirin Okoro (Birchfield Harriers)
400mH: Nathan Woodward (Tamworth)
High Jump: Matthew Owens (Liverpool Harriers)
Pole Vault: Scott Huggins (Blackheath & Bromley), Andrew Marsh (City of Stoke)
Shot: Jamie Stevenson (Newham & Essex Beagles)
Discus: Curtis Griffith Parker (Cambridge Harriers), Brett Morse (Cardiff)
Hammer: Peter Smith (Kingston Upon Hull)
Decathlon: Daniel Gardiner (Leeds)
4x100m: Alaka, Eugene Ayanful (Woodford Green Essex Ladies), Junior Ejehu (Harrow), Kilty, Dele Onifade (Herne Hill), Olafunmi Sobodu (Blackheath & Bromley)
4x400m: Clarke, Robert Davis (Birchfield Harriers), Levine, McGrath, Louis Persent (Colchester Harriers)
Women
100m: Ashlee Nelson (City of Stoke), Elaine O’Neill (Woodford Green Essex Ladies)
200m: Shaunna Thompson (Sale)
800m: Alison Leonard (Blackburn Harriers), Lynsey Sharp (Edinburgh AC)
1500m: Emma Pallant (AFD), Steph Twell (AFD)
3,000m: Jo Harvey (Exeter)
5,000m: Emily Pidgeon (Gloucester)
400mH: Meghan Beesley (Birchfield Harriers)
Pole Vault: Jade Ive (Sutton)
Long Jump: Abigail Irozuru (Sale Harriers)
Discus: Shaunagh Brown (Blackheath & Bromley)
Hammer: Sophie Hitchon (Blackburn Harriers)
4x100m: Hollie Croxford (Winchester), Torema Dorsett (Enfield & Haringey), Nelson, O‘Neil, Anike Shand Whittingham (Blackheath & Bromley), Thompson
UK ATHLETICS performance director Dave Collins is hopeful Paula Radcliffe will recover from injury in time for the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 34-year-old Monaco/Loughborough-based Marathon world record-holder is recovering from a stress fracture to her left thigh that threatens her participation.
But Collins said: "I think there is a progression we'd hope to see and that was laid down in the original plan, all the reports I am getting is that she is on schedule."
Last month Radcliffe said she was determined to make the Olympics, despite medical advice claiming the injury would make it impossible for her to achieve full fitness in time.
Since learning of the injury, Radcliffe has returned to her training base at Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees in a bid to make a fourth successive Olympic appearance.
Collins is closely monitoring the situation and added: "It's a significant injury and certainly she's been very committed and worked well.
"She's in the pool and cross training but not actually running. As you would expect from an athlete committed to putting herself on the start line, we will give her all the help we can."
Collins suggested they will wait until 20th July, when the final British team is announced, before making a decision on Radcliffe.
"I would want to give her as much time as possible to see if she is capable of taking her place," he added.
Radcliffe has been selected for Team GB along with Liz Yelling and Mara Yamauchi, with Hayley Haining waiting in the sidelines should be forced to withdraw.
THE 2008 SPAR European Cup takes place this weekend against the stunning back-drop of the French Alpine town of Annecy, this for the final time in it’s present format because as from next year the competition will be revamped as the European Team Championships.
Team GB Men’s squad will be looking to repeat their success the last time the event was held in Annecy and will be spearheaded by Beijing triple jump gold medal prospect Phillips Idowu combined with long jumper Chris Tomlinson and Oslo Golden League ‘Dream Mile’ winner Andy Baddeley, plus in-form Loughborough student Martyn Rooney and fellow top juniors Tyrone Edgar and Californian-based Tom Lancashire as they chase their sixth title.
Britain’s promotion winning Women’s team of last year will be attempting to avoid immediate relegation led by the one-lap specialists Christine Ohuruogu, the World outdoor champion, and European indoor gold medallist Nicola Sanders.
There have been three last minute changes to both the GB teams where Commonwealth broze medallist Andy Turner, has withdrawn due to a minor hamstring problem and will be replaced by Allan Scott in the 110m Hurdles.
Andrew Steele has an infection and will not compete in the 4x400m relay, instead Dale Garland, who will also compete in the 400m Hurdles will step into the team.
Jo Pavey has withdrawn due to feeling unwell and will be replaced in the 5,000m by Kate Reed.
SPAR European Cup - Men’s Preview
A highly competitive Men’s European Cup should unfold in Annecy with the hosts France, reigning Champions Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and possibly Poland again, all likely to be in contention. France notched up four individual wins last year to finish second, only four points behind Germany. Although former 110m Hurdles World Champion Ladji Doucouré is not in top shape and has decided not to compete, 400m man Leslie Djhone, 1,500m star Mehdi Baala and steeplechaser Bob Tahri will all be out to repeat their successes of 12 months ago in Munich.
"Among the boys, apart from Ladji, it's almost the same team that did so well last year so clearly the objective is to combine the fight for the win," commented France's national team technical director Franck Chevallier this week.
Germany also had four individual winners in 2007 and will be looking particularly to their field event men to help them pile up the points.
"I think our men can defend their title," said German head coach Juergen Mallow.
One of last year's winner's, Peter Sack, has progressed to being Europe's top shot putter this summer, one of only two men over 21 metres.
"Like a lot of Germany's leading athletes, the SPAR European Cup plays a big role in my season leading up to the Olympics. However, personally, I prefer to take things step-by-step so I want the best result possible in Annecy and that will put me in the right frame of mind for the German Championships which are coming soon," said the big man from Leipzig who got maximum points on his Cup debut last year.
Among the other men Mallow will be expecting to get maximum points are Pole Vaulter Danny Ecker and Discus Thrower Robert Harting, and those in the know suggested that you keep one eye on young 800m runner Robin Schembera.
19-year-old Schembera's stunning acceleration down the home straight took him to the gold medal at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships and his ability to change gears may be perfectly suited to an unpaced Cup race.
If talent is not enough, Germany may consider that the omens are also in their favour as they won the men's competition on the last occasion the Cup was staged in Annecy in 2002.
Great Britain were close contenders on that occasion and this year have a good chance of regaining the title they last won in 2000.
As proven at the Oslo Golden League meeting recently, Tom Lancashire and Andy Baddeley are in excellent form and the pair run over 1,500m and 3,000m respectively.
"We (Britain's middle-distance runners) are doing all right and hopefully the European Cup will show that. More encouraging is the fact that, for the most part, it is the younger athletes in the team who have started this season well," reflected Baddeley, who celebrates his 26th birthday today (Friday).
Tyrone Edgar will be looking to add his name to a formidable list of British 100m winners in the Cup, a roll call that includes former Olympic Champions Allan Wells and Linford Christie.
Edgar is probably not the best known of European sprinters, having spent recent years at university in the United States, but last month clocked 10.06 to stand second in the 2008 continental rankings.
Martyn Rooney is the fastest man in Europe over 400m this year, and showed his competitive temperament when winning over one lap of the track at the Ostrava Grand Prix meeting last week.
Another Briton leading the best of the rest of Europe is Triple Jumper Phillips Idowu. The reigning World Indoor Champion leapt 17.55m on his season's debut in Greece two weeks ago and, with the anticipated warm condition in Annecy this weekend, may produce something spectacular.
Idowu's team mate Chris Tomlinson can confirm how hot Annecy can be, even in June, as he was a Cup winner in the Long Jump when the temperature gauge rose to 35 degrees in 2002. The silver medallist from the World Indoor Championships in March returns to the scene of his first major international triumph to help Britain's Cup challenge.
Russia may not have too many obvious winners on the track but consistency will be their virtue and only a few of their runners are likely to finish outside the top three of their event.
"And I think our men can get into the top three teams overall," predicted Russia's chief coach Valentin Maslakov, although he is well aware that it has been 15 years since the Russian men stood on top of the podium at the SPAR European Cup.
In the technical events though, Russia could have a field day. High jumper Andrey Silnov, Pole Vaulter Sergey Kucheryanu and the in-form Hammer thrower Aleksey Zagornyi, who threw 81.39m last Sunday, can all serious contemplate victory.
Poland may only be outsiders to add to the solitary Cup victory seven years ago but, as always, it will not be for a lack of effort.
The stars of the Polish team could be Discus Thrower Piotr Malachowski and Hammer Thrower Szymon Ziolkowski. Neither athletes will start as favourite to win their event this year, but both know how to rise to the occasion, and upset the odds, in the Cup.
The 2000 Olympic Champion Ziolkowski has won in the Cup on the last four occasions, as well as back in their triumphant year of 2001, while Malachowski was a winner in 2006 and 2007.
The Mediterranean trio of Greece, Italy and Spain will start the competition as podium outsiders but with crowd pleasers like European Long Champion Andrew Howe (ITA) competing, they are guaranteed to have some memorable moments in Annecy and give their fans something to cheer about.
Greece boasts 2006 European 400m Hurdles Champion and Cup winner Periklis Iakovakis, along with Long Jumper Loúis Tsátoumas, who also won in Munich last year and who tops this year's European rankings with the 8.32m he jumped at last weekend's Greek Championships.
Tsátoumas might have been expecting to face Italy's Andrew Howe but the 2007 World Championships silver medallist is still suffering from a slight shoulder injury and will run over 200m instead, a distance at which he won a World Junior title in 2004. Spanish hopes of success lie primarily with Discus Thrower Mario Pestano and their outstanding contingent of middle-distance runners.
Manuel Olmedo, Arturo Casado Jesus España and Carles Casillejo contest the 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m respectively and it is certainly not outside the bounds of possibility that Spain could be in the top two of each of these events.
SPAR European Cup – Women’s Preview
Russia with 11 consecutive wins stretching back to 1997 are the overwhelming favourites to retain their title, their team is again replete with finalists from last summer's IAAF World Championships and even one World record holder in the shape of 3,000m steeplechaser Gulnara Galkina will be in Annecy.
"Given that their preparations for the Olympic Games are now in full swing, some of our top women athletes have chosen not to compete in the Cup but others have had it included in their training plans since the start of the season and so we will be sending a young, but, I believe, very strong team to Annecy," commented Russia's head coach Valentin Maslakov when the Russian team was announced earlier this week.
"This competition ranks high on my season's list of priorities. I have high expectations and although I will doubtless run up against tough adversaries, such as whoever competes for Russia, I'm not going to Annecy to be beaten," reflected Hurtis-Houairi, who always seems to thrive in the Haute-Savoie city.
"I've got lots of great memories of this track. For instance, I won the 200m at the 1998 World Junior Championships. I think that gold medal then made me a 200m exponent but I also ran the 100m in less than 11 seconds (10.96 to be precise) here at the SPAR European Cup in 2002. This stadium has always brought me luck," added the 29-year-old sprinter, who has been an individual Cup winner on five previous occasions as well as helping France to four 4x100m Relay wins.
Great Britain's one and only second place finish was back in 1994 but this year they could also be in contention for the role of Russia's nearest rival.
Last year's 400m World Champion Christine Ohuruogu will challenge Hurtis-Houairi over 200m while the Osaka 400m silver medal holder Nicola Sanders should make her 2008 debut over one lap of the track.
Few would also be surprised to see Britain gain maximum points at the longer distances with Jenny Meadows in the 800m and Jo Pavey in the 5,000m looking like the favourites in their respective events.
Germany were the last country apart from Russia to win the women's title, triumphing in 1996, and this year they boast a strong line up, particularly in the field events.
Christina Obergföll delighted everybody in the Munich Olympic stadium 12 months ago when she launched the Javelin out to the current European record of 70.20m and all eyes will be on whether she can approach or exceed that distance in Annecy.
"I'm really looking forward to the European Cup, competing in it is always a lot of fun, but I can't guarantee that Annecy will be like Munich last year. European records are something you can't predict beforehand," joked Obergföll on her website earlier this week.
German high jumper Ariane Friedrich has been the World number two in her specialist event so far this season, although Italy's 2007 World Championships silver medallist Antoinetta di Martino will also be one to look out for in Annecy despite not yet hitting the heights of last summer.
There is also a terrific battle in store in the women's Hammer with the leading contenders being Germany's reigning World Champion Betty Heidler, Belarus' World leader Aksana Menkova, who has already thrown 76.19m this year, and Poland's 2000 Olympic gold medallist Kamila Skolimowska.
Another athlete on whom there will be a lot of attention in the very last SPAR European Cup - before it becomes transformed into the SPAR European Team Championships in 2009 - is Belarus' 2004 Olympic 100m Champion Yulia Nesterenko.
After missing the 2007 season through injury, Nesterenko is on the comeback trail ahead of the defence of her title in Beijing. Her intermediate ambition before then is to put behind her the unhappy memory of her only other appearance in the SPAR European Cup, which was in 2001, when she was the lead off runner in her country's disqualified 4x100m relay team.
Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team:
Men
100m: Tyrone Edgar (Newham & Essex); 200m: Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva); 400m: Martyn Rooney (Croydon); 800m: Michael Rimmer (Liverpool, Pembroke & Sefton Harriers); 1500m: Tom Lancashire (Bolton Harriers); 3000m: Andy Baddeley (Harrow AC); 5000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex); 3000m steeplechase: Andrew Lemoncello (Fife AC); 110m H: Allan Scott (Shaftesbury Barnet); 400m H: Dale Garland (Channel Islands AC); High Jump: Samson Oni (Belgrave Harriers); Pole Vault: Steve Lewis (Newham & Essex); Long Jump: Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex); Triple Jump: Phillips Idowu (Belgrave Harriers); Shot: Carl Myerscough (Blackpool Wyre & Fylde); Discus: Emeka Udechuku (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); Hammer: Mike Floyd (Sale Harriers Manchester); Javelin: Michael Allen (Trafford AC); 4x100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Sutton & District), Devonish, Edgar, Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets), Christian Malcolm (Cardiff AAC), Simeon Williamson (Highgate Harriers); 4x400m: Richard Buck (City of York), Garland, Rooney, Rob Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants), Conrad Williams (Kent AC)
Women
100m: Emma Ania (Shaftesbury Barnet); 200m: Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex); 400m: Nicola Sanders (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow); 800m: Jenny Meadows (Wigan & District Harriers); 1500m: Susan Scott (City of Glasgow). 3000m: Helen Clitheroe (Preston Harriers); 5000m: Kate Reed (Bristol & West);3000m sc: Barbara Parker (City of Norwich); 100m H: Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies); 400m H: Tasha Danvers (Shaftesbury Barnet); High Jump: Susan Moncrieff (Trafford AC); Pole Vault: Louise Butterworth (Birchfield Harriers); Long Jump: Jade Johnson (Herne Hill); Triple Jump: Nony Mordi (Belgrave Harriers); Shot: Rebecca Peake (Sale Harriers Manchester); Discus: Philippa Roles (Swansea Harriers); Javelin: Goldie Sayers (Belgrave Harriers); Hammer: Zoe Derham (Birchfield Harriers): 4x100m: Ania, Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Emily Freeman (Wakefield Harriers), Jeanette Kwayke (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies) Anyika Onuora (Liverpool Harriers), Kadi-Ann Thomas (Marshall Milton Keynes AC); 4x400m: Vicki Barr (Rugby & Northampton), Meadows, Ohuruogu, Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet), Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield Harriers).
Competing Nations:
Men
Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Russia
Women
Belarus, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine
Venue:
Parc des Sports, Annecy, France
Television Coverage:
Saturday 21st June
1415-1715, BBC ONE and BBC Sport website
Sunday 22nd June
1415-1650, BBCi and BBC Sport website
1600-1835, BBC TWO and BBC Sport website
LEICESTER-born long jumper Nathan Morgan, the 2002 Commonwealth champion, has said he has put his injury problems behind him and is determined to make the Great Britain Olympic squad. Morgan was forced to miss the Athens Games in 2004 but he said he wants to make amends in Beijing in August.
"It was really hard to take but this time round I am determined it won't happen again."
The National Championships and Olympic trials take place in July at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
The qualifying target for Morgan is 8.20m and he said he is looking forward to the competition.
"As long as my take-off is right, I am confident in my jumping ability.
"There are four of us capable of jumping 8.20m but maybe only two of us will do it on the day, Chris Tomlinson is clearly in the driving seat but it is down to myself, Greg Rutherford and Jonathan Moore to step up and challenge him."
Morgan is also keenly anticipating the prospect of jumping in his adopted city in front of family and friends.
"The Alexander Stadium is my home track and I want to perform there for the Birmingham public who always create a great atmosphere," he said.
"With it being in Birmingham there are no excuses for my family not to come down and support me and I won't want to let them down."
LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY have announced plans to expand the athletics track at the East Midlands UK Athletics High Performance Centre situated on the biggest European university campus in the Leicestershire town.
The plans are to extend the current six-lane circuit to eight lanes, add a 100 metre sprint straight, install 25m high floodlights and convert a grass bank into tiered spectator seating.
Max Hunt, Charnwood Borough councillor for the area commented that the improvements of the sports facilities were to be welcomed, however, the proposals had raised some issues.
Residents living near the track which backs onto Ashby Road have voiced their concerns fearing the plans could lead to more large-scale athletics meetings which have, in the past, caused visitors to clog nearby streets with their cars. They also have concerns that the new floodlights will dazzle their homes.
The university stages two major events in the outdoor athletics calendar - with the Accenture Loughborough International and is part of the (EAP) European Athletics Permit Series with the staging of the L.E.A.P. meeting.
UK Steeplechase record-holder Barbara Parker has withdrawn from the Norwich Union GB & NI Team for next weekend’s SPAR European Cup in Annecy, France, as the 25-year-old former Loughborough student has opted to return to her base in Florida to concentrate on preparations for Beijing.
Hatti Dean, who is currently second in the British rankings, will compete in her place.
Leicestershire's Shot-putter Mark Edwards (Charnwood) has withdrawn due his baby daughter's first birthday. He will be replaced by Carl Myerscough, the current number two in the British rankings.
Michael Rimmer will be replaced by Notts AC's Richard Hill in the 800m.
Scotland's Lee McConnell and Tim Benjamin have also withdrawn from the relay teams.
Dave Collins, UK Athletics Performance Director said: “There is always a possibility of changes to the team leading up to competitions and this situation is only heightened as we are in an Olympic and Paralympic year.
"The European Cup is an important marker in the season but obviously I fully understand why athletes are being cautious in the run up to Beijing."
THE official kit supplier to the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA), adidas have unveiled the kit to be worn by Team GB and ParalympicsGB at the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The new kit was revealed by British Olympic and Paralympic Beijing 2008 hopefuls Tom Daley (diver), Heather Fell (Pentathlete) John McFall (sprinter), Victoria Pendleton (cyclist), David Price (boxer) and Liz Yelling (marathon) at the adidas Performance Store in central London.
The new Team GB and ParalympicsGB kit is specially tailored for each individual sport and has been designed to help athletes cope with the hot and humid conditions in Beijing. In total, adidas will provide over 120,000 units of Olympic and Paralympic apparel and footwear, including for the first time bespoke eyewear to the 500+ members of Team GB and ParalympicsGB. Over 680 different products have been created for athletes, coaches and officials.
For those competitors competing in the heat and humidity the kit incorporates advanced adidas technologies that have been specifically developed with athletes. ClimaCool™ technology will ensure athletes’ bodies stay at the optimum temperature when in competition. ForMotion™ technology will ensure that the kit moves seamlessly with athletes’ bodies when they perform which will be particularly important in the humidity.
In addition, adidas have now included TECHFIT POWERWEB™ in their tennis, boxing, weightlifting and swimming kits. TECHFIT POWERWEB™ has been used successfully in the past to power track & field athletes such as World Champion 100m sprinter Tyson Gay and World Indoor Champion triple jumper Phillips Idowu.
Specialist footwear for each Olympic and Paralympic sport has been developed by working closely with athletes to understand their needs and demands from performance products. adidas makes bespoke specialist footwear for 27 of the 28 Olympic sports including Weightlifting, Wrestling, Fencing and Sailing.
Speaking about the kit, Chris Tomlinson, World Indoor long jump silver medallist and British record holder said: “Athletes analyse every part of their performance now, from what we eat to what we wear. When there are so many world class athletes out there, you’re looking for that tiny detail which will give you an extra edge and it’s important that our kit helps you perform to our best. I’m looking forward to wearing this in Beijing”.
Chef de Mission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Simon Clegg added: “We’ve worked closely with adidas since the Athens 2004 Olympics to create a kit for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games which we believe offers the best advantage to our athletes. We’re pleased that what has been developed will cater for the climatic conditions in China as well as giving Team GB the very latest apparel technologies such as Formotion and Powerweb.”
Phil Lane, Chef de Mission for the Beijing Paralympic Games said, “adidas continue to ensure that all athletes have kit that aids them whatever their discipline and in the heat of Beijing ClimaCool technology is going to be especially vital”.
Nick Craggs, Director of Marketing for adidas commented: “The climate in Beijing will be a key factor in how our British athletes perform. The Team GB and ParalympicsGB kit incorporates the highest level of technology, helping keep athletes performing at their best”.
The adidas Team GB and ParalympicsGB kit will be on display at the adidas Performance Store, 415-419 Oxford St, London for the coming week.
UK ATHLETICS have selected a very strong Norwich Union Great Britain & NI Team to compete at the SPAR European Cup in Annecy, France, from 21st-22nd June.
Leading the way are middle-distance athletes Andy Baddeley (Harrow AC) and Tom Lancashire (Bolton Harriers) both of whom been rewarded for their victories in last weekend’s ÅF IAAF Golden League Bislett Games meeting.
Baddeley (25), who won the 'Dream Mile' in Oslo on Friday with a stunning performance has had his request of racing over 3,000m at the European Cup granted, whilst, Florida-based Lancashire (22), who won the 1500m at the same meeting, will be racing over the same distance again as he makes his Euro Cup debut.
Osaka IAAF World Championships 400m gold and silver medallists Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex)and Nicola Sanders (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow) have both been selected in the Women’s team.
Ohuruogu will compete in the 200m, a distance in which she set a stunning new PB of 22.94 (-0.5m/s) in Oslo, whilst, Sanders will open her season over the one-lap distance despite pulling out of the Prefontaine Classic meeting last weekend.
Charnwood's Mark Edwards also gains a well-deserved call-up having broken his lifetime best in the Shot in Mesa, Arizona, last weekend.
Dave Collins, UK Athletics Performance Manager said: “In an Olympic year, the European Cup is obviously not top of our priority list, but it is still an important competition. We have selected the strongest team available to us and I expect many of our athletes to use this opportunity as part of their build up towards Beijing.
“There were several difficult decisions to make during the selection process and that is a reflection of some of the depth of quality now emerging in some events.”
Full Great Britain & NI Teams:
Men
100m: Tyrone Edgar (Newham & Essex)
200m: Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva)
400m: Martyn Rooney (Croydon)
800m: Michael Rimmer (Liverpool, Pembroke & Sefton Harriers)
1500m: Tom Lancashire (Bolton Harriers)
3,000m: Andy Baddeley (Harrow AC)
5,000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex)
3,000m steeplechase: Andrew Lemoncello (Fife AC)
110m hurdes: Andy Turner (Sale Harriers Manchester)
400m hurdles: Dale Garland (Channel Islands AC)
High Jump: Samson Oni (Belgrave Harriers)
Pole Vault: Steve Lewis (Newham & Essex)
Long Jump: Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex)
Triple Jump: Phillips Idowu (Belgrave Harriers)
Shot: Mark Edwards (Birchfield Harriers)
Discus: Emeka Udechuku (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies)
Hammer: Mike Floyd (Sale Harriers Manchester)
Javelin: Michael Allen (Trafford AC)
4x100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Sutton & District), Devonish, Edgar, Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets), Christian Malcolm (Cardiff AAC), Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes)
4x400m: Tim Benjamin (Cardiff AAC), Richard Buck (City of York), Rooney, Andrew Steele (Trafford AC), Rob Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants), Conrad Williams (Kent AC)
Women
100m: Emma Ania (Shaftesbury Barnet)
200m: Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex)
400m: Nicola Sanders (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow);
800m: Jenny Meadows (Wigan & District Harriers)
1500m: Susan Scott (City of Glasgow)
3,000m: Helen Clitheroe (Preston Harriers)
5,000m: Jo Pavey (Exeter Harriers)
3,000m steeplechase: Barbara Parker (City of Norwich)
100m hurdles: Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies)
400m hurdles: Tasha Danvers (Shaftesbury Barnet)
High Jump: Susan Moncrieff (Trafford AC)
Pole Vault: Louise Butterworth (Birchfield Harriers)
Long Jump: Jade Johnson (Herne Hill)
Triple Jump: Nony Mordi (Shaftesbury Barnet)
Shot: Rebecca Peake (Sale Harriers Manchester)
Discus: Philippa Roles (Swansea Harriers)
Javelin: Goldie Sayers (Belgrave Harriers)
Hammer: Zoe Derham (Birchfield Harriers)
4x100m: Ania, Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Emily Freeman (Wakefield Harriers), Jeanette Kwayke (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies) Anyika Onuora (Liverpool Harriers), Kadi-Ann Thomas (Marshall Milton Keynes AC)
4x400m: Vicki Barr (Rugby & Northampton), Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet), Meadows, Ohuruogu, Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury Barnet), Kelly Sotherton (Birchfield Harriers)
BRITAIN’S world-marathon record-holder Paula Radcliffe is to use technology developed by the NASA space programme in an attempt to make the start line in Beijing on August 17th to chase her dream of Olympic gold.
The Loughborough-based athlete was diagnosed with a stress fracture to her left thighbone two-weeks ago and has been told be medical experts that her chances of making the games are virtually over.
However, the 34-year-old is determined to prove them wrong and is prepared to go to any length to achieve her goal, a decision that has included splashing out £35,000 on a high-tech ‘Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill’ developed to help astronauts exercise in space when enduring long stays at the European Space Station and shuttle missions.
Sounding like something out of Star Trek, Radcliffe, found out about the treadmill developed at the Alter-G company in Silicon Valley, California, when training in at her American home in Albuquerque and subsequently had one installed at her European high-altitude training base in Font-Romeu, France, in the bedroom of her daughter Isla.
To use the treadmill, Radcliffe will step into an inflatable chamber that fits over a conventional running belt and is sealed tightly around her waist. She will then increase the air pressure inside the chamber, which causes uplift and reduces her weight on the belt.
The machine will in effect take off as much as 80 per cent of her body weight, although she has been advised to start at 40 to 50 per cent, where her running stride will feel more normal and less like jogging on the moon.
Tom Allen, an Alter-G representative who flew from America to France to set up the machine in Radcliffe's home, said: "It works by having different levels of air pressure on different sides of an object. If you can regulate that pressure, you can change your body weight, it’s almost like running on pillows.”
"The reason runners really like it is because you don't really feel it, because it's dispersed over your entire lower body. You just feel lighter; you don't feel as if you're being tugged up."
In space the pressure is reversed to great an artificial gravity on the astronauts.
"She was obviously extremely fit before this happened and so if she can maintain that and get to the point where she's getting some real over-ground training as well, sure she can make it.
Radcliffe, who is now off crutches and has begun light exercise in a swimming pool, has been given a first-hand account of how to use the machine by an American runner, Shannon Rowbury, who suffered a similar stress fracture last year and used the Alter-G during her rehabilitation.
The machine has also been used by American Kara Goucher, the World 10,000m bronze medallist in Osaka - who defeated Radcliffe in her comeback race at the BUPA Great North Run last October.
Fellow US international distance runner Danthan Ritzenhein reflecting on his experience with the Alter-G commented: “My running career was being dictated as much by my injuries as by my fitness and training. When I got the MRI results and diagnosis that I had a stress reaction of the third metatarsal in my left foot I caught a plane the next day to Oregon so I could train on the G-Trainer. The reduced impact load allowed me to train pain free and continue running with normal gait despite a stress-related injury.”
JANA RAWLINSON's quest for an Olympic gold medal is being thwarted by foot problems that have forced her to rest completely just two months from the Games.
Rawlinson, the only track world champion on the Australian team, was due to contest a 400m Hurdles race in Turin on Friday night (6th June) and another in the Czech Republic next week.
They would have been her first races since September, but yesterday she announced she had withdrawn from both. The 25-year-old revealed she has felt such severe pain when training that she will rest completely and seek emergency treatment from an Australian foot specialist.
"It is a matter of me being able to run with the pain and I have been able to do that, but I don't want to have to do that at the Olympics," Rawlinson said last night. "So I am pulling out of Turin in the hope that 10 days will give me that final 'goodbye injuries' and I can concentrate on the big picture."
Physiotherapist from the Australian Institute of Sport, Ebony Scase, is flying to Rawlinson's European base in Loughborough to give her specialised treatment to get her right for the Olympics, which begin on August 8th.
The problems stem from the second toe on her right foot, which was operated on in January to remove loose cartilage.
That altered the way she runs, leading to a "chain reaction" of soreness in her Achilles tendon and the arch of her left foot.
"My toe looks fine, but I can't stand up on it, can't get right on my toes," she said.
"That is all it is, a stupid little toe with no range (of movement) that is causing all the problems."
Rawlinson admitted she has had moments where she worried the injury would cruel her dream of winning a gold medal.
But the dual world champion, who had knee surgery a few weeks before the last Olympics and finished fifth, said she was determined to do everything she could to line up for the hurdles in Beijing.
"Until this week I had the opinion that if I can't train I can't win the Olympics, that I can't win if these injuries don't go away," Rawlinson said.
"Now I have to take a different approach and say 'right, let's take some time out, refocus on what we are doing, have someone really go through it and try to get rid of the problem'. I have still 10 weeks, there is still plenty of time to make the Olympics."
It is a serious blow for Rawlinson, who won world championship titles in 2003 and 2007 and has her heart set on adding an Olympic gold medal.
She started 2004 as the favourite to win at the Athens Olympics but a knee injury flared a few weeks before the Games.
The resultant surgery and her race to be fit became a soap opera which was broadcast daily in the Australian media.
A much more mature Rawlinson, now the mother of one-year-old Cornelius, will never subject herself to such public scrutiny again and is determined to keep the injury low key this time.
She is unlikely to race before the end of June, and may not even hit the track until as late as July 25th at the Aviva IAAF London Grand Prix.
"As long as I can run London and run it well ... it gives me three weeks before the Olympics so that is the only race I have definitely keyed in," she said.
THE 2008 UK Athletics Major Events Series is the richest and most prestigious of its kind anywhere in the world.
The six events across the year attract the world’s best athletes and are televised live by the BBC in the UK with the pictures distributed to more than 170 countries globally.
The 2008 UK Athletics Major Events Series are as follows:
Aviva National Championships Incorporating the Team GB Selection Trials
Friday 11th to Sunday 13th July 2008
Alexander Stadium, Birmingham
Aviva London Grand Prix
Friday 25th - Saturday 26th July 2008
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London
Aviva British Grand Prix
Sunday 31st August 2008
Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead
BRITAIN’S Paula Radcliffe has travelled to her French training base in Font Romeau in a bid to remain on course for Olympic glory in Beijing.
Radcliffe was originally thought to be suffering from a left hip injury but revealed on Thursday she had suffered a low-grade stress fracture to her femur.
The world marathon record holder concedes she will need "a bit of luck" to make it to the starting line of the Olympic marathon on August 17th, but is determined to defy those specialists who feel that will be "impossible".
"I'm giving it an extra week on crutches. I will be in the pool at the weekend and hopefully two weeks from Tuesday just gone I will be running," Radcliffe said.
"If there was a fracture it has already healed but we need to wait for the bone to harden up.
"I'm doing everything I can to accelerate the healing and that is generally a two-week period."
Radcliffe's last competitive outing was in November 2007 and, after missing April's Flora London Marathon with a toe injury linked to her current problem, it means she will arrive in Beijing on the back of nine months without a race.
But the 34-year-old added: "I've never had a problem coming out after a lay-off and I'm going to be extremely hungry.
"Things have been very frustrating and changing five or six times over the last couple of weeks. No one really seems to be able to explain how it happened.
"There's a huge amount of frustration - I could have been on crutches earlier rather than walking around on it - but people are doing their job the best they can.
"Maybe I should have stamped my foot a bit harder for a bone scan to rule it out earlier. There is anger at the situation, not a person."
Radcliffe is desperate to make up for the disappointment of not finishing the marathon at the last Olympics in Athens, when she was hampered by illness and injury.
But she is adamant she will be honest with herself about her chances when she returns to training and knows that the next Games, in London in 2012, remain a realistic target.
"I know it's not going to be easy, I know I need to take certain risks and a bit of luck," she added.
"I'm going to have to build up as carefully and quickly as I can. I think it's possible. You can't put a date on it but I'm well aware how quickly things can turn around.
"I won't go if I don't think I'm in decent enough shape. It's important for me to be at the Olympics but I won't go just to get the t-shirt. I'm not going to run through pain. That's going to answer my question if it's healed or not, the first three weeks (after resuming training) will be crucial."
THE Leicestershire & Rutland teams to compete at the Coventry Northbrook 10km event that incorporates the United Kingdom Inter-Counties Road Championships have been announced. The race takes place on Sunday 1st June in the Warwickshire village of Allesley - start-time 10.45am.
Full Teams:
Men
Phil Chritchlow (Beaumont)
Tim Doran (Owls)
Gordon Lee (Owls)
Mark Powell (Owls)
Women
Nicola Clay (Stilton Striders)
Debbie Marsden (Beaumont)
Gemma Steel (Hermitage Harriers)
Claire Wilson (Hermitage Harriers/Charnwood)
ONE of Britain’s top medal hopes Paula Radcliffe is refusing to give up on her Olympic dream despite being told it is "impossible" for her to make Beijing in top form.
Radcliffe was originally thought to be suffering from a left hip injury but revealed she had suffered a low-grade stress fracture to her femur.
The 34-year-old Loughborough/Monaco based-athlete was diagnosed with a low-grade injury to her left femur following an MRI scan on Wednesday.
Despite describing the news as a "bombshell", she insisted she is "90-100% likely" to run in Beijing.
"It's going to go down to the wire and I will need a bit of luck, but I'm not giving up," Radcliffe said. "I won't run through pain and I won't go if I can't be competitive. It's not ideal but I'm trying to stay positive."
Radcliffe revealed she had been told by specialists it would now be "impossible" for her to complete enough training to be fully fit for Beijing.
She said: "Everything has been with Beijing in mind, it's been a huge focal point and it's hugely important to me.
Radcliffe admitted she was "angry" the problem had not been correctly diagnosed earlier despite two MRI scans, one in Germany and one in England.
"There's a huge amount of frustration - I could have been on crutches earlier rather than walking around on it."
She hopes to be able to resume running in two weeks' time having used an oxygen tent at Loughborough University and before then will be swimming and cross-training at her base in France.
"I'm doing everything I can to accelerate the bone healing and that is generally a two-week period," she added.
Radcliffe had turned her focus to Beijing after she dramatically withdrew from the marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics at the 23-mile mark because of exhaustion.
She went on to drop out of the 10,000m final with eight laps to go and later revealed she had been suffering from a quad injury and a stomach upset.
This season her training schedule has already been disrupted by a toe injury on her right foot which first came to light when she finished runner-up in last September's BUPA Great North Run.
She went on to win the ING New York Marathon for a second time in November 2007, despite the niggling injury.
It flared up again while Radcliffe was altitude training in the USA in February, and she was forced to miss the chance to earn a fourth Flora London Marathon title last month.
Earlier this week she was named in the Great Britain marathon team for Beijing along with Mara Yamauchi, Liz Yelling and Dan Robinson.
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4 July 2008 – Stockholm, Sweden – A clash between Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s World record holder in the 100 metres and his fellow countryman, the former World record holder Asafa Powell, is set for the DN Galan - IAAF World Athletics Tour - on 22 July at Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium.
4 July 2008 - Nairobi, Kenya - Commonwealth Games Champion Lucy Wangui Kabuu won the 10,000 metres final on a cool sunny morning during the first day of the Kenyan trials for the Beijing Olympics today at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.