Monday 11th January 2010

SUPERSTAR sprinter Usain Bolt is set to miss the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, according to his manager.

Ricky Simms was quoted on Sunday as saying the Jamaican - the Olympic and world champion over 100 and 200 metres and the 4x100m relay - could not consider the October event a priority.

Simms said in the Mail on Sunday: "It's now looking unlikely Usain will be going to the Commonwealth Games. His priorities have to lie elsewhere.

"First and foremost is his four-year plan leading up to the next Olympics, which is exactly what he did prior to Beijing in 2008.

"It's started well enough with what he achieved at last summer's Berlin World Championships, but this year is all about the Diamond League and a continuation of his preparation for 2012. He also views the World Championships in 2011 and 2013 as crucially important."

Bolt broke his own 100 and 200m world records in Berlin, lowering his 100m mark to 9.58 seconds and his 200m mark to 19.19secs.

Simms added: "The timing of the Commonwealth Games is the issue here. By the start of October, Usain will have needed to have rested and then began his pre-season which, as every athlete knows, is massively important.

"If you don't get your pre-season right, then you won't get the following summer right. If Usain ran in Delhi, it would not only require him to stay at his best from pretty much May through to October, but then delay his pre-season until Christmas or the new year. That would be far too late if he wants to emulate his feats so far on a global stage in 2011. It's not as if Usain doesn't want to be at the Games, it's more the case that he most probably can't afford to be there."

Friday 8th January 2010

GREAT Britain's 4x400metres relay squad from the 1997 World Championships will finally receive the gold medals due to them after American Antonio Pettigrew confessed to drug violations.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) took the decision to annul the USA's victory at the championships in Athens after Pettigrew confessed to using banned substances for a period of six years.

Pettigrew, the 1991 World 400m individual champion, admitted to using human growth hormone and EPO between 1997 and 2003 which led to the American team also being stripped of the world record set by their quartet in Greece, when the British team finished in the silver medal position.

Although the IAAF requested the medals to be returned after his revelations, they were unsuccessful so took the decision to produce new medals which were delivered to UK Athletics just prior to Christmas.

Now the British quartet of Iwan Thomas, Roger Black, Jamie Baulch and Mark Richardson will be presented with their awards at a date to be decided by UK Athletics.

"The date for the ceremony will be decided by UKA's Council when it meets at the end of this month," said a spokeswoman for the domestic governing body.

Wednesday 6th January 2010

WORLD heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis will contest two of her strongest events at next month's Aviva Grand Prix meeting in Birmingham.

Ennis will tackle the 60metres hurdles and long jump at the National Indoor Arena on February 20, and can expect to face tough opposition as she prepares for the World Indoor Championships pentathlon in March.

"I had a fantastic year in 2009 but now my focus is on the coming season and trying to win the World Indoors," Ennis said.

"The Aviva Grand Prix is always a great event to be part of as the competition is world-class and the crowd in Birmingham are really into their athletics and a huge support."

Ennis will be joined by two fellow medallists from Berlin last summer, Lisa Dobriskey who took silver in the 1,500m and Jenny Meadows who was an unexpected third over 800m.

Dobriskey said: "The Aviva Grand Prix is a world-class event and always an opportunity to test yourself against some world-class athletes which is great competition for us, but also exciting for the crowd to see."

Meadows said: "I'm really excited about this season and I can't wait to get out there and just race.

Everything has gone well in my training and I'm just excited to see what I can do out there on the track."

Wednesday 6th January 2010

LOUGHBOROUGH University has officially taken possession of SportPark, a bespoke sports administration hub which provides the gateway to the Loughborough Science and Enterprise Park.

The £15m landmark building at the west entrance of the University campus will be home to sports organisations including British Swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association, Volleyball England, the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, UK Sport and the Youth Sports Trust, with more organisations set to sign up in the new year.

Employees will move in as early as January 2010 and will work side-by-side in an innovative environment that encourages partnership working, shared best practice and collaboration.

As well as working more closely together, these sports bodies will be able to access expertise and knowledge from across the University campus including the world-renowned School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences and SportPark’s close neighbours the Sports Technology Institute.

Developed by Loughborough University, and part-funded by emda, Sport England, Charnwood Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council, SportPark is designed to support sports organisations as they strive to raise their game in achieving excellence across performance and participation within sport.

SportPark will become a key national hub for sports development and a centre for sharing, innovation and creative working.

And staff will benefit too. Not only can they access University sports facilities, fitness classes and healthy living expertise, but some of the latest active lifestyle facilities and hi tech gadgetry has been incorporated into the design of SportPark and its parkland surroundings, giving employees the opportunity to reach their own fitness goals and to lead the nation by example.

Loughborough University deputy director of sport (operations) Tim Garfield has worked alongside director of facilities management Andrew Burgess and building project manager Martin Channell in the realisation of SportPark and welcomes this important step in the project’s development.

“We are delighted to officially take possession of SportPark,” he said. “Today marks the culmination of a huge amount of preparation work, not only in terms of construction of the building, but also the extensive consultation with our sport partners.

“Together we aim to create an atmosphere and ambition that will further cement our relationships for the shared aim of driving sport in the UK forward towards Olympic success in 2012 and getting the nation fitter and healthier through promoting sport and physical activity.”

SportPark has been designed and built by Baggaley Construction who officially got the work underway following a sod cutting ceremony last October.

Above Photo:
Baggaley project manager Mark Greasby hands over the key to Loughborough director of facilities Andrew Burgess. Site manager Stuart Adams and Loughborough's Martin Channell, Tim Bacon and Tim Garfield are also pictured.

Wednesday 6th January 2010

A new iPhone application is set to put a smile on the face of track and field enthusiasts.

TrackGeek, the new iPhone application for the running community, takes must-have info from the world of athletics and sends it directly to subscribed iPhones.

The app – available for download at the iTunes store – sends news, features, movies, race reports and images from the world’s best running websites directly to the pocket. It also links running fans to their favourite stars’ Twitter accounts.

TrackGeek covers track and field, cross country and road racing from all over the world, featuring content from Runnerspace, Runner’s Tribe, Let’s Run and spikesmag.com.

www.trackgeek.com/

Monday 16th November 2009

DOUBLE Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba had an excellent 15-kilometre road race debut at 26th Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Race) in the Netherlands on Sunday (16th November) , breaking the world record over the distance.

Defar won the race in 46 minutes and 29 seconds and improved dramatically the current IAAF road race world record by 26 seconds.

The previous mark of Kayoko Fukushi (Japan) from Marugame in 2006 was 46:55. Dibaba’s husband Sileshi Sihine won the men’s race for third time after 2004 and 2007.

His time was 42:14, the sixth best in the history of the event. This race has now both world records as Kenya’s Felix Limo clocked the men’s global record 41:29 here in 2001.

Tuesday 10th November 2009

PAULA Radcliffe will take on a new role later this month when she acts as race starter for the Great Ethiopian Run on November 22nd.

The marathon world record holder will share the task with Haile Gebrselassie and Derartu Tulu as a record entry field of 33,000 takes to the streets of Addis Ababa for the 10kilometre race.

Tulu decisively defeated Radcliffe in the recent New York Marathon where the Briton finished fourth.

It will be the 35-year-old's first visit to Ethiopia and, as well as supporting the race, Radcliffe will have an opportunity to renew friendships with many Ethiopian athletes.

They include Tulu and Gete Wami against whom she has competed during her 17-year international career.

According to Gebrselassie, the announcement of her presence at Ethiopia's annual running festival has already sent ripples of excitement through the athletics community in the country.

The greatest distance runner in history has been instrumental in the race's success and development since its inception in 2001 and he said: "Paula's coming here is fantastic news.

"She is a great athlete and a wonderful person. We want to give her a great experience of the race and of the running scene in Addis Ababa."

Monday 9th November 2009

THE city of Helsinki will host the European Athletics Championships for a third time in 2012, which will also be the first occasion the event switches to a two-year cycle.

The changeover following next summer's championships in Barcelona will see the programme in Helsinki taking place from June 27 until July 1, while dropping marathon and walking events from the schedule because of the close proximity to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

That will raise questions about the stature of the championships and could see leading athletes choosing not to compete in Helsinki, with the Olympics taking place from July 27th to August 12th.

A full programme will be held in the years the championships do not clash with the Olympics.

Speaking after the European Athletics council announced the decision in Barcelona on Monday, European Athletics president Hansjörg Wirz said: "We are very pleased to confirm that Helsinki will be the hosts of the European Athletics Championships in 2012. Athletics is a hugely popular sport in Finland and today we have been assured that we can look forward to a fantastic event."

Helsinki previously staged the event in 1971 and 1994, while the Finnish captial more recently played host to the World Championships in 2005.

Editors Comment

Not too sure about the decision to stage the event just weeks before the Olympic Games. It will be interesting to see how many athletes decide to miss the championships preferring to concentrate on London.

Saturday 7th November 2009

MORE than 40 coaches and support staff from Japan’s Olympic sports teams visited Loughborough University last week to see first hand the range of world class facilities available to their athletes.

Representatives from the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and 17 Olympic sports including athletics, weightlifting, swimming, trampolining, fencing, handball and hockey, made a whistle-stop tour to the University and partner sports facilities in the East Midlands.

The group met with Loughborough University director of sport Chris Earle and his colleagues before undertaking guided tours of the sports facilities, athlete accommodation, dining and recreation areas to get an overview of resources available to them for training camps between now and the Olympic Games.

Business development manager Ben Aherne, who coordinated the visit, was really pleased with its success.

“Enabling coaches and management from the Japanese federations to familiarise themselves with Loughborough is invaluable for us,” he said. “The feedback has been really good and we’re incorporating it into our plans to ensure Japanese athletes have the best possible preparation whilst at the University.

“We have since been approached by a number of sports who are keen to increase the number of camps held here after seeing first-hand what we have to offer.”

Such bookings will see more Japanese athletes visiting Loughborough for training camps in early 2010.

The recent JOC visit means more that three quarters of Japan’s Olympic sport federations have now visited the University.

Wednesday 4th November 2009

Britain's world record holder Paula Radcliffe has vowed to continue running despite suffering more injury problems during Sunday's ING New York Marathon.

Radcliffe, 35, finished fourth in the race but was plagued by knee trouble throughout, having only just returned from six months out after toe surgery.

But Radcliffe allayed fears over her long-term fitness and future in the sport despite her injury history.

"I don't feel the injury will impact on the future," Radcliffe commented.

"I'm not even tired and that is the frustrating thing so I don't think it is the end of my career."

The women's elite race was won by two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, who saw off Russia's Ludmila Petrova in the final kilometre.

Radcliffe attributed the problem to tendinitis in the back of her left knee, which put pay to her attempts to win a fourth New York title, and a third in a row.
"It will go with rest," she stated.

"I'm not concerned about the next marathon I am just disappointed because I wanted to win and I put the hard work in, but unfortunately I was unable to capitalise on that.

"We knew it was a risk but I wanted to come out and race but it wasn't to be. My body almost hung out but didn't."

As well as bunion surgery Radcliffe has had an injury-hit year with tonsillitis and a hamstring injury causing her to miss both the World Championships and world half-marathon championships.

But Radcliffe also dismissed suggestions she is coming to the end of her career and felt had it not have been for the tendinitis she would have won the race.

Radcliffe also revealed she had had a cortisone injection last week to help ease the problem.

"I'm just very disappointed," added Radcliffe. "The really frustrating thing is I don't even feel tired now but my legs just couldn't go any quicker.

"I honestly don't think it (the end) is happening to me yet, I just need to take a little time out and let my body recover and get strong.

"I totally believed that if it (tendinitis) hadn't come that I had a chance, and I think I could have won the race.

"It wasn't won in a really fast time. I think had things carried on to go how they did the first 10 miles I would have been fine."

Tuesday 29th September 2009

THIS Friday (2nd October) in Copenhagen at the IOC (International Olympic Committee) congress the host city for the 2016 XXXI Olympic Games will be announced.

US President Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen to support the bid by the city of Chicago.

Mr Obama will join his wife, Michelle, and others in his administration at the International Olympic Committee meeting in the Danish capital on Thursday.

Chicago faces strong opposition from Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo in the vote.

The Brazilian and Spanish heads of state are also expected to lobby IOC delegates at the meeting.

Mr Obama, who was a senator for Illinois and lived in Chicago before his election, will be the first US president to take on such a direct role in an Olympic bid.

He will be joined on Friday by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who are both from Illinois.

The race to host the 2016 Olympics has been described as one of the closest in history.
But correspondents say Chicago, with President Obama's overt support, could be considered a slight favourite.

In 2005 London and Paris were the runaway contenders for one of sport's most valued prizes. They battled to the wire for the honor of hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Since June of 2008, when all the bidding cities were reduced to the present short list, a feverish campaign of persuasion has been launched by the four contenders. In the spring of 2009, a 10-member committee visited each venue, evaluating the feasibility of hosting such a prestigious event.

Three cities had high marks in that evaluation. Tokyo fell just short of an "A" due to a perceived lack of local support.

Now the time has come for all parties involved to make their final presentation before the 115 voting members in Copenhagen.
The Bid Cities:
Chicago - Was awarded the Summer Games in 1904 but the Games were moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair.
Tokyo - Hosted the Games in 1964. They won the bid in 1940 but the Games were cancelled due to World War II.
Madrid - Has never hosted a Summer Games. Barcelona was the host city in 1992.
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, let alone South America, has never hosted an Olympic Games.

Live television coverage of the bid decision is available on British Eurosport on Friday beginning at 4.00pm from Copenhagen. Additional live coverage will also be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Wednesday 30th September 2009

TEAM 2012 has been launched at the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, with leading payment system Visa announced as its Presenting Partner. It represents a huge new ambition for British sport, and is the largest national team ever sponsored, comprising approximately 1200 athletes from 47 sports and disciplines, Olympic and Paralympic alike.

Team 2012 will help realise the dreams and ambitions of all Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes and is a groundbreaking partnership between the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations (BOA and BPA), the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and UK Sport. The four bodies came together earlier this year to create this initiative for Olympic and Paralympic sponsors to get behind the nation’s top athletes aiming for London 2012 and beyond.

Visa’s sponsorship will help support sporting bodies as they provide the training and competition support needed for athletes aiming to become part of Team GB and ParalympicsGB at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The sponsorship deal, which runs through to 2012, is transformational for the partnership, ensuring Team 2012 is able to deliver on its ambition of providing extra funding for World Class Performance Programmes through a vital ‘third stream’ of private sector income, which will sit alongside existing National Lottery and Government funding, for our most promising athletes. The launch marks the start of a major long term fundraising drive through to 2012 and beyond.

Speaking on behalf of the partnership, LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe said: “Today’s launch of Team 2012 is a ground-breaking moment for British sport. Team 2012 will help bring to reality the dreams of future generations of athletes in competing at the very highest level. We are delighted to have Visa as the presenting partner and driving force behind Team 2012. Their support is vital and complements the crucial funding from the National Lottery and Government. Team 2012 will help ensure that as Olympians and Paralympians head toward London, they are properly resourced to do the job and make Britain proud.”

Visa has been a proud Olympic sponsor for over twenty years, and sees Team 2012 as an immense opportunity to increase the UK’s chances of Olympic and Paralympic success. Peter Ayliffe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Visa Europe commented: “As a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games since 1986, Visa is proud to have created such a prolific partnership with Team 2012. It will embody British pride, courage, effort and achievement and provides a unique opportunity for the country to get behind the UK’s best athletes and help them compete and win more medals than ever before. The athletes’ race for success doesn’t begin at the starting line, it has already begun, and Visa plans to support them every step of the way through Team 2012.”

The drive for private sector sponsorship of the World Class Performance Programme came from Government. Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Minister for Sport added: “This is a terrific vote of confidence by the business community in the work being done to give our medal hopefuls the best chance of striking gold in 2012. It is fantastic that Visa has stepped forward, and I am confident that this extra funding - building on the unprecedented levels of public funding for our athletes - will help our Olympic and Paralympic teams deliver even more medals in London.”

www.london2012.org/

Wednesday 30th September 2009

BRITAIN’s Paula Radcliffe will face strong opposition from the might of Africa at the forthcoming 18th IAAF/EDF Energy World Half Marathon in Birmingham on Sunday 11th October as the 35-year-old chases her fourth global title over the 13.1 mile distance where Kenya are set to field a very impressive and powerful squad.

The women’s team will be headed by the 2007 World Half Marathon silver medallist MaryJepkosgei Keitany who claimed the medal when finishing runner-up to the world-record performance of Lornah Kiplagat in Udine, Italy, and this year will look to go one better and win gold medal especially in the absence of the former Kenyan the three-time reigning champion who is injured this year.

Keitany is the world-leader over the half marathon distance in 2009 after clocking 1:07.00 in Lille, France, with a personal best from Udine in 2007 of 1:06.48, the fourth fastest of all time on courses applicable for record purposes.

Japan-based Philes Moraa Ongori, is the fourth fastest athlete of the year with a 1:07.50 clocked at the RAK Half Marathon back in February, and has been included in the women’s team that also features Filomena Cheyech whose 1:08:44 win in Yamaguchi in March makes her the twelfth quickest this season.

Two places behind her on the world lists is another of the Kenyan team, Peninah Arusei, the only survivor from last year's squad, who took second place in Milan in 1:08.47 in April.

Caroline Cheptanui Kilel completes the squad and last took part in the World Half Marathon in 2005 when finishing 16th, and has recently set her personal best at the distance when winning in Glasgow, Scotland in 69:03 earlier this month.

With this awesome strength in depth Kenya are virtually assured of the team victory in Birmingham.

A total of $245,000 will be offered in prize money, with $30,000 going to the individual champions and $15,000 to the respective men's and women's team champions.

The 2009 IAAF/EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships
 take place on Sunday 11th October in the city of Birmingham and will be shown 
live on Sky Sports 2 beginning at 8.30am.

Thursday 1st October 2009

PAULA RADCLIFFE will aim to add to her legacy as one of the greatest female marathoners, trying to win her fourth ING New York City Marathon on Sunday 1st November following the race director, Mary Wittenberg, confirmation on Wednesday that Radcliffe would enter the field.

Radcliffe, 35, has won the race all three times she has entered it, including the past two years. This year, however, she is coming off a broken toe that forced her to withdraw from the Flora London Marathon and bunion surgery that prompted her to skip the marathon at the world championships over the summer. New York will be her first marathon since winning there last year.

“I think the motivating thing here is that no one since Grete Waitz has been in a position to go for four victories here,” said Wittenberg, the chief executive of the New York Road Runners. Waitz won the race nine times between 1978 and 1988.

Radcliffe returned to action to win the New York City Half Marathon in August and will compete in the 18th IAAF/EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships on Sunday 11th October in Birmingham where she will chase her fourth global title over the distance.

www.nyrr.org/

Thursday 1st October 2009

WORLD record-breaking swimmer, Liam Tancock has been confirmed as the Ambassador of a Loughborough Project which aims to improve the health of young people.

Tancock will front Loughborough Flames: Lighting the Way, a project which has been set up by Loughborough College in association with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Staff from the BHF National Centre for Physical Activity and Health, based at Loughborough University, have trained Loughborough College students to deliver health messages and health based activities. The 100 young leaders subsequently went into primary schools to deliver a six week programme to local children, which will encourage the school children to be more physically active, improve their health and be part of the health legacy of the 2012 Games.

The project is now at the forefront of creating an innovative and exciting health legacy for members of the local community. It is one of only 17 projects in the country, and one of only two projects in the East Midlands, to receive the much sought after ‘Inspire mark’ and formal recognition from the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). It is hoped that the project will now be taken nationwide.

Loughborough College’s Elite Sport Education and Welfare Officer, Chris McGeorge says that World Championship swimmer Liam Tancock was the ideal choice as the Ambassador for this award-winning project: “Liam is a truly inspirational athlete, who has achieved huge success in his sport. This has made him a brilliant role model for young people who aspire to improve their health and fitness levels through physical activity and sport, and the perfect person to front this project.

“Liam is also a student at Loughborough College and is working towards a BSc in Applied Sports Science at the College and trains at the University. The course allows him to study in a flexible way which supports his world class swimming career. Liam’s dedication towards his sport and his application to his studies are also an example to any aspiring elite athlete.”

Liam Tancock says that he is delighted to be appointed as Ambassador for Loughborough Flames: Lighting the Way: “The Loughborough Flames: Lighting the way’ project can make a real difference to the health of the young people in all parts of the UK. I have been inspired by the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and I think London 2012 is also an excellent opportunity to inspire young people to be more active and set themselves a personal 2012 target. I would encourage as many young people as possible to take up the ‘torch’ and ensure that the legacy of the games will be a healthier and more physically active youth for tomorrow.

Loughborough Flames is one excellent example of helping to make this happen and I am delighted to add my support to this project.”

www.loucoll.ac.uk/

Thursday 1st October 2009

MARTA Domínguez of Spain has been voted the 2009 winner of the women's European Athlete of the Year Award presented by MONDO.

The double European 5000m champion's dream of IAAF World Championships gold finally came true in Berlin in August when she claimed first place in the 3000m steeplechase with a new national record 9:07.32 - a European-leading mark of the season. Domínguez was the only European to win a track gold at this year's worlds.

She also broke the Spanish record three times during the season.

Domínguez will be presented with her European Athlete of the Year Award at the European Athletics Convention in Budapest on Saturday 17th October alongside the men's European Athlete of the Year winner and the European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners.

The men's European Athlete of the Year winner will be announced Friday.

Fans, media and European Athletics Member Federations were invited to vote for the European Athlete of the Year on the European Athletics website. Along with the votes from a panel of experts, each group of voters' results count for one quarter of the athlete's final score.

The shortlist for the award was compiled by selecting the top European athlete in each event, based largely on performances at the World Championships in Berlin.

No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for European Athlete of the Year.
Women's European Athlete of the Year presented by MONDO final rankings:
1. Marta Domínguez (ESP)
2. Blanka Vlasic (CRO)
3. Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)
4. Jessica Ennis (GBR)
5. Anita Wlodarczyk (POL)
6. Anna Rogowska (POL)
7. Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS)
8. Olga Kaniskina (RUS)
9. Steffi Nerius (GER)
10. Lisa Dobriskey (GBR)
11. Verena Sailer (GER)
12. Antonina Krivoshapka (RUS)
13. Derval O'Rourke (IRL)
14. Hilda Kibet (NED)
15. Nadine Kleinert (GER)
16. Emily Freeman (GBR)
17. Nicoleta Grasu (ROU)
18. Silvia Weissteiner (ITA)
19. Jenny Meadows (GBR)
20. Ines Monteiro (POR)
21. Natalya Antyukh (RUS)
22. Marisa Barros (POR)
23. Anna Pyatykh (RUS)
Previous winners
1993 Sally Gunnell (GBR)
1994 Irina Privalova (RUS)
1995 Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL)
1996 Svetlana Masterkova (RUS)
1997 Astrid Kumbernuss (GER)
1998 Christine Arron (FRA)
1999 Gabriela Szabo (ROU)
2000 Trine Hattestad (NOR)
2001 Stephanie Graf (AUT)
2002 Süreyya Ayhan (TUR)
2003 Carolina Klüft (SWE)
2004 Kelly Holmes (GBR)
2005 Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)
2006 Carolina Klüft (SWE)
2007 Blanka Vlasic (CRO)
2008 Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS)

Friday 2nd October 2009

PHILLIPS Idowu of Great Britain has been voted the 2009 winner of the men's European Athlete of the Year Award presented by MONDO.

The talented Briton proved his credentials outdoors throughout a fantastic year and got the better of Portuguese nemesis Nelson Évora to take the IAAF World Championships Triple Jump gold in Berlin in August with a world-leading leap and personal best of 17.73m.

Idowu will be presented with his European Athlete of the Year Award at the European Athletics Convention in Budapest on Saturday 17th October alongside the women's European Athlete of the Year winner Marta Domínguez and the European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners.

Fans, media and European Athletics Member Federations were invited to vote for the European Athlete of the Year on the European Athletics website. Along with the votes from a panel of experts, each group of voters' results count for one quarter of the athlete's final score.

The shortlist for the award was compiled by selecting the top European athlete in each event, based largely on performances at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.

No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for European Athlete of the Year.
Men's European Athlete of the Year presented by MONDO final rankings
1. Phillips Idowu (GBR)
2. Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR)
3. Yaroslav Rybakov (RUS)
4. Robert Harting (GER)
5. Primoz Kozmus (SLO)
6. Tomasz Majewski (POL)
7. Bouabdellah Tahri (FRA)
8. Sebastian Bayer (GER)
9. Ramil Guliyev (AZB)
10. Valeriy Borchin (RUS)
11. David Gillick (IRL)
12. Sergey Lebid (UKR)
13. Sergey Kirdyapkin (RUS)
14. Roman Mesnil (FRA)
15. Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS)
16. Mehdi Baala (FRA)
17. Mo Farah (GBR)
18. Aleksandr Pogorelov (RUS)
19. Periklis Iakovakis (GRE)
20. William Sharman (GBR)
European Athlete of the Year previous winners
1993 Linford Christie (GBR)
1994 Colin Jackson (GBR)
1995 Jonathan Edwards (GBR)
1996 Jan Zelezny (CZE)
1997 Wilson Kipketer (DEN)
1998 Jonathan Edwards (GBR)
1999 Tomás Dvorak (CZE)
2000 Jan Zelezny (CZE)
2001 André Bucher (SUI)
2002 Dwain Chambers (GBR)
2003 Christian Olsson (SWE)
2004 Christian Olsson (SWE)
2005 Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)
2006 Francis Obikwelu (POR)
2007 Tero Pitkämäki (FIN)
2008 Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR)

Friday 2nd October 2009

THE city of Rio de Janeiro has won the race to host the 2016 XXXI Olympic Games after Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid were eliminated.

The decision of the International Olympic Committee in Denmark to give Brazil the Games was made after a last minute parade of world leaders and emotional pleas.

Nearly 50,000 people erupted in celebration in a carnival-like party on Copacabana beach when IOC president Jacques Rogge said the words "Rio de Janeiro". The party was expected to go on well into the night and officials said the crowd could easily surpass 100,000.

The announcement was made after early favourites Chicago, despite a personal plea in Copenhagen from the US President, and Tokyo were eliminated from the race.

Barack Obama was seen as having put his personal political credibility on the line by flying in to the Danish capital to urge the IOC to choose his home town. It was the first by a sitting US President at an IOC session.

Howver, Brazil, which is to host the 2014 World Cup, believed it had a strong claim to host the Olympics as they would be the first to be held in South America. The £26.3m bid divides the Brazilian city, which hosted the 2007 Pan American Games, into seven event areas. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for Rio said that no country need the games as much as Brazil, and that it would be the first time the Games have been in South America.

Rio said the IOC would be making a bold move to take the Games to South America, arguing that the continent offers a new frontier for the Olympic movement and that the games should not be the preserve of rich, developed countries.“It is a time to address this imbalance,” Silva said. “It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

Saturday 3rd October 2009

UKA in partnership with England Athletics are pleased to announce that they have joined forces to host a series of Endurance training days this winter. The emphasis will be primarily based around athletes training together, with a specific session and a run as part of the day’s programme. The training days will include an educational element for coaches and athletes, with key workshops and discussions.

Ian Stewart, Head of Endurance at UKA said: “This is a crucial partnership between UKA and England Athletics to deliver a much needed programme of training days. From my experiences as an athlete, I know the value of working together and this is an exciting venture for endurance running in the UK, it will only be successful with the full support of athletes and coaches.”

UKA & England Athletics will coordinate invitations in a number of ways:

UKA will directly invite all World Class Programme athletes and their coaches.

Athletes who have competed in a GB & NI team over the past twelve months, along with their coach, should contact National Endurance Coordinator Spencer Barden via email to confirm their place on the training day.

sbarden@uka.org.uk

England Athletics will coordinate invites through the National and Area Coach Mentor programme.

Any other interested athletes/coaches are more than welcome to attend, they should contact Dave Sunderland via email at:

dsunderland@englandathletics.org

The philosophy of developing large training groups – a concept which is intended to continually evolve, will be an important element of the UKA and England endurance programme going forward. The training days are free to attend for all athletes and coaches.

Monday 5th October 2009

PAULA Radcliffe will not be running at this weekend's IAAF/EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham.

The three-times former champion has pulled out of the GB & NI team because she has tonsillitis.

Michelle Ross-Cope replaces Radcliffe, who said: "I'm devastated. It is a great opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd. Unfortunately, I'm now on a course of antibiotics."

Aviva Great Britain & Northern Ireland team leader Ian Stewart also voiced his disappointment at the 35-year-old's withdrawal.

He said: "We're obviously hugely disappointed that Paula is unable to compete.

"She's a former world half-marathon champion on three occasions and brought a great deal of experience to the team.

"Had she been fit, there's no doubt she would have been in contention for a medal but we have a good team of athletes who still have an opportunity to fight for decent team positions and I hope we can do that."