Monday 24th August 2009

CHARLES van Commenee, the head coach of UK Athletics, has warned Britain's athletes not to rest on their laurels after a successful World Championships in Berlin.

Team GB won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals in their best showing in the competition since Seville 1999.

Van Commenee said: "It's important we build on this success. There's not much time to go until London.

"The target was five so it's always clear in this sport, you can always count and at the end say that was a success or it wasn't. The numbers speak for themselves.

"There was some pessimism in some circles so it's always nice to look back and say that wasn't necessary.

"Of course, in the end it's about medals - but for the experts you look also into potential and how the team as a bigger group has achieved. Therefore you have to look at the top eight positions and I know it's not very sexy to do that but it gives a good indication for what the team has done as a group.

"It's important that we build on this success in the next few years. There's not much time to go to London. We have a target there of eight medals and there's a huge difference between five and eight, and nobody cares how many people we have in the top eight there.

"There's a long way to go but I would rather have this result than going home with two or three obviously."

Great Britain finished eighth in the medal table, with Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu leading the way by claiming gold in the heptathlon and triple jump, whilst, 1500m specialist Loughborough-based Lisa Dobriskey and the men's 4x400m relay team won silver.

The 4x100m men's relay team earned bronze along with Jenny Meadows in the 800m.

Friday 21st August 2009

PAULA RADCLIFFE after pulling out of the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championship Marathon in Berlin will now target a global title in Birmingham over the 13.1 mile distance.

The 35-year-old Loughborough University graduate has admitted defeat in her battle to be 100% fit for the marathon in Berlin, where she had hoped to regain the title she won in Helsinki in 2005. However, she is already targeting the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships that take place in Birmingham on October 11th as a way to make partial amends for missing out in Germany.

"Now I've put everything right with the surgery (to remove a bunion and then repair a broken toe), I want to put it behind me. I want to race and race again and don't go over-reaching and put myself on the line in the world championships unless I'm 100%," Radcliffe said.

"In some ways it's been really hard coming here because you want to race, the team is doing well and you want to play your part in it.

"Because I was so close I had go through that process. It's still going to be really hard watching it but I had to give it every shot to be sure in my mind."

Racing in Birmingham in October would fit nicely with the New York marathon a few weeks later and Radcliffe added: "The world half marathon is a good one. It would not make up for, but go some way towards (making up for) not being able to get the (British) vest on now.

"Do I feel I let people down? If you asked me years ago, yes I would have done. There is a little tiny bit, but most of it is just disappointment for myself because I wanted to go out there and it was important to win here.
"I don't think you can feel that you've let someone down when you've done everything that you could to get there."

Thursday 20th August 2009

GREAT BRITAIN's Paula Radcliffe has decided not to race in the marathon at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin after testing her fitness in her first race for 10 months last weekend.

Radcliffe blazed to victory in the New York City half-marathon with a world-class performance after a long absence recovering from a foot operation.

She was delighted with her display but the world record holder believes she is still about three weeks away from the condition required to win the gold medal.

Radcliffe's recovery has been excellent but the New York outing confirmed fears she is not yet quite ready to compete 100% over a full marathon.

"I am devastated that I wasn't able to be ready in time to represent Britain here in Berlin, especially having got so close in such a short time frame," Radcliffe said.

"However, after having the surgery to successfully put the years of injury behind me it is very important to me that I come back to racing often and winning at 100% and continue strongly and successfully through to London 2012.

"It has been great to be here and to spend time with the team, which has performed so well so far, and I look forward to being part of it again in the near future.

"Running in New York was a necessary part of the process to ascertain my race fitness and, after speaking with my coaching and medical team, I knew I was sadly just not quite ready."

UKA head coach Charles van Commenee said: "To lose an athlete of Paula's calibre is disappointing to say the least.

"She won the World Championships in 2005 and a fit Paula would clearly be in contention to regain that title but she has taken that difficult decision and we have to respect that."

Tuesday 18th August 2009

THE Norwegian city of Bergen has been chosen to host the 2010 SPAR European Team Championships.

Following its success in hosting the European Team Championships First League in June, Bergen was considered the outstanding candidate to organise the SPAR-sponsored Super League.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, "Bergen has proved beyond doubt its ability to host such a prestigious event by producing such an excellent European Team Championships First League in June this year.

"I am extremely excited that this fantastic city, which is in a country so passionate about track and field, has the chance to host one of European Athletics' major events and I am confident it will be a resounding success."

The Bergen bid was backed by strong support from the city authorities as well as by Norwegian national television broadcaster NRK.

The 2010 SPAR European Team Championships are scheduled for the third weekend in June.

Friday 14th August 2009

PAULA RADCLIFFE has given her reasons for running this Sunday in the New York City Half Marathon ahead of a possible appearance in the chase for gold at the 12th IAAF World Championships women’s marathon that takes place the following weekend in Berlin.

The 35-year-old Loughborough University graduate and world record-holder over the marathon said in her pre-race press conference in New York that the 13.1 mile test was her only option to test her fitness and flights to the German capital have been booked for Sunday evening straight after the race in the Big Apple as the 2005 global champion in Helsinki chases a second gold to add to her impressive CV.

Radcliffe began by reflecting on her year since winning in New York last November, "It's been a rough road since November and I'm happy to be in the position to test myself over some sort of race.”

Having ran at the BUPA Great South Run in Portsmouth a week before the New York Marathon is she looking to repeat the same situation?

"I will be the first to admit it's unorthodox. It's not ideal preparation. But I won't be trying to run the fastest time in my career. It's about how my body comes through the race one or two days afterwards.

"I would normally do a run like this three weeks out, but I could not do a tempo run in training this week which would tell me as much as this will."

"I don't just want to go into a World Championships and put myself on the line, especially in a marathon, so I want to test that out in a race beforehand. I want to feel good and run well.

Radcliffe insists she is in far better shape than before the Olympics in Beijing last year where she ran virtually on one leg due to recovering form a stress fracture to finish in a distant 23rd place crossing the line inside the Bird’s Nest Stadium in pain and tears.

"It's been a bit complicated in terms of fitness. I have put the work in and in cardiovascular terms I am in good shape but because of the surgery on my foot it was taking time to settle down.

"My foot was not getting into the right rhythm on the road. It was frustrating because I knew I was in good shape and I wanted to run. I've done a lot of work the last two weeks and it's really started to turn the corner.

"The British team management have put no pressure on me but with several athletes missing out on Berlin I would love to put on a good show and retain the title I won in Helsinki, but after Beijing last summer I don't want to put myself on the line if I am not 100 per cent ready so this is the only option we could see.

"I have to be in top shape to go to Berlin and win, that's my reasoning for going. I know I am in shape to go there and perform okay but I am only interested if I am in shape to challenge for the title.”

Live streaming of the New York race will be available online at: www.nyrr.org

Friday 14th August 2009

LOUGHBOROUGH sports scholar Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is encouraging people in the Borough to get behind the brand new Charnwood Sports Awards.



The European U23 100m champion, who has also been named in the GB team for next week’s IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, is backing the inaugural Charnwood Borough Council awards which celebrate the sporting success of individuals, teams and volunteers in the area.



There is also a special Loughborough University Student Sport Award for an individual performer, coach, volunteer, team or club that has made a significant contribution to student sport through outstanding sporting achievement or voluntary service. 

Aikines-Aryeetey, who was also a member of the Team GB squad at the Beijing Olympics, says Sports Awards like this can have a huge impact on an athlete’s focus and drive to succeed.



And he should know. Having won a Sutton Borough Council sports award as an up-and-coming athlete, he was then named BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2005.



“It was awesome winning that,” he said. “When you look at the past winners, you feel a responsibility to keep the standards up.



“When I won the Sutton Borough Council Sports Awards, it was amazing. I was 15 and I trained harder and better. When people recognise what you’re doing, it makes you feel proud and you strive to do better.



“That’s why I would encourage people to send in nominations for the Charnwood Sports Awards – the whole Borough should get involved.”

 The Charnwood Sports Awards are not just about recognising those people who actively compete in a variety of sports. They also look to honour the dedicated volunteers who give up their spare time to coach teams or individuals and those who work behind the scenes to help a club run smoothly.



In all, there are 13 categories and those shortlisted after the closing date of Friday, September 11th will be invited to a presentation ceremony at Loughborough Town Hall on Thursday, October 22nd when the winners will be announced.



Cllr Peter Lewis, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Leisure, added: “These Awards are about people who simply inspire. When you see them, or you cheer them on, you feel better in yourself. So please tell us who has inspired you!



“In doing so, you will be saying thank you to people who make Charnwood a refreshing place to live in – and an exciting place for all our children to grow up.”



To find out more about the Charnwood Sports Awards call Charnwood Borough Council’s Leisure Services team on (01509) 634 673, log on to www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/charnwoodsportsawards or email sport@charnwood.gov.uk All nominees must live, or represent a club, in the Borough of Charnwood.

Thursday 13th August 2009

PAULA RADCLIFFE, the reigning world marathon record-holder will run the New York City Half-Marathon this Sunday (16th August) as she tries to determine whether she's fit enough to race at the IAAF World Championships the following week.

Nine months after Radcliffe ran and won her last race — the 2008 ING New York City Marathon she returns to racing after recovering from bunion surgery on her right foot in March that forced her to withdraw from the 2009 Flora London Marathon.

“After the race in New York, I will consult with my coaching and medical teams and we will make the final determination as to whether I am ready to run the marathon in Berlin,” said Radcliffe.

She won the ING New York City Marathon in 2004, returning after she pulled out with injury during the Athens Olympics. She won New York again in 2007, less than 10 months after giving birth to her first child, Isla.

Radcliffe, 35, will be competing on Sunday against her longtime rivals in the sport, Deena Kastor, 36, the American-record holder in the marathon; and Catherine Ndereba, 37, the 2006 New York City Half-Marathon champion, who has won 15 half-marathons in her career.

Radcliffe has recorded the fastest half-marathon time of any female athlete with a 1:05:40 clocking at the 2003 BUPA Great North Run in Newcastle, which is not an IAAF world-record sanctioned course.

She has also has won every race she entered in New York but her first — back at the beginning of her career, in the 1995 Fifth Avenue Mile. She has since secured six victories, including two in the Mile, and one in the New York Mini 10km.

Radcliffe will face a tough women's field in New York including two-time Olympic medallist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya and the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Deena Kastor of the United States.

www.nyrr.org/races/2009/nychalf/index.asp

Thursday 13th August 2009

JESSICA ENNIS will hope to secure a golden two-days in the heptathlon for Great Britain over the opening weekend of the 12th IAAF World Championships that begin on Saturday (15th August) to underline UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee’s hopes of achieving five medals equaling the total achieved in Osaka two-years ago.

The amiable 23-year-old Sheffield born athlete is currently ranked number one in the world with a score of 6,587 points set in Desenzano Del Garda back in May and is the firm favourite to challenge the Olympic heptathlon champion Natalia Dobrynska for the gold medal on the infield and track of Berlin’s imposing revamped 1936 Olympic Stadium.

The 27-year-old Ukrainian was a surprise winner of the gold medal in Beijing last summer where she set five personal bests when Ennis was forced to miss the games with a stress fracture to her foot and has a season’s best of 6,558 points when winning the prestigious Gotzis title. Sweden’s multiple gold medalist Carolina Kluft will only compete in the long jump in Berlin.

In her final competition last month in the soaking-wet conditions of Loughborough University’s Paula Radcliffe track Ennis improved her personal best in the long jump with a mark of 6.43m increasing her previous mark of 6.16m set two-years ago at the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge in Italy - this with a new technique using her left foot to protect the injury sustained to the right that forced her to miss last year’s Beijing Olympics.

Ennis then followed this by recording a personal best in the shot competition with a throw of 13.96m as she looks to improve on her fourth place finish in Osaka.

Great Britain’s other main medal hopes, reigning world and Olympic 400 metres champion Christine Ohuruogu is having a year to forget struggling with form and fitness, whilst, triple jumper Phillips Idowu, an Olympic silver medalist in Beijing, is only currently ranked fifth in the world going into Berlin. The defending champion Nelson Evora is the man to beat.

Ohuruogu defeated Sanya Richards in Beijing last year when the American tied up badly on the home straight but the elegant Texan has been unbeatable all season with a clean sweep of victories in the Golden League campaign clearly heading the world rankings with 49.29 set at the Oslo Bislett Games and finally looks likely to gain revenge over the Brit and secure her first individual global title.

In the sprints reigning European indoor 60 metre champion Dwain Chambers won impressively in Turin but will arrive in Berlin very short of race preparation due to meeting promoters across the world preventing the Belgrave Harrier from competing on the IAAF Grand Prix circuit and he is certain to struggle up against Jamaica’s imposing world record-holder and triple Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt combined with defending champion Tyson Gay of the USA who is racing into top form ahead of the championships. Chambers 'Project Bolt' will have to be put on hold for this year.

Over 400 metres Martyn Rooney will step out on the stunning electric blue track in the Olympic Stadium full of hope and optimism that his winter training will carry him through, however, it will be a tough ask for the tall sprinter to gain a medal place should he make the final as LaShawn Merritt of the USA looks the firm favourite for gold with compatriot and double world and defending champion Jeremy Wariner for company.

Fellow Brit Michael Bingham and Rooney’s training partner at Loughborough, David Gillick, having already lowered his national record (44.77) in Madrid last month are also in top form leaving the Croydon Harrier with much to prove in the German capital and the longstanding British record of 44.36secs set by Iwan Thomas way back in 1997 looks set to be out of reach for this season. Bingham and Rooney could, however, gain a podium place in the men's 4 X 400m relay.

Mo Farah remains the best European in the 5,000 metres that will be dominated by Kenya and Ethiopia, whilst, pole-vaulters Kate Dennison and Steve Lewis will have to match their national records just to gain a place in the finals.

A trio of Loughborough graduates will arrive at the championships going into the unknown as there are fitness concerns for world 400m silver medallist Nicola Sanders, 1500m Commonwealth champion Lisa Dobriskey and javelin thrower Goldie Sayers as all will have to perform well above their season’s bests to qualify through to their respective finals.

British 800 metres champion Jemma Simpson is convinced that she can win a medal in Berlin, however, as with team-mates Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro they will have to run tactically perfect races just to get through the rounds and reach the final.

Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo's current form is not anything like her breakthrough year of 2008, leaving the women's 800m is a wide open contest, however, the 2008 Golden League Jackpot winner can look to her 1:59.49 season best at the Kenyan trials for inspiration. Reigning world champion Janeth Jepkosgei also looks far from her best as European indoor champion Mariya Savinova has emerged as the most consistent performer over the year so far. Savinova held the world lead briefly, setting a career-best 1:57.90 in Moscow when the 23-year-old won the Russian title.

Compatriot Svetlana Klyuka, the silver-medal winner from the European Athletics Championships, finished second behind Savinova at the nationals, clocking an impressive 1:58.23, whilst, American Maggie Vessey broke through to world class improving her career best from 2:02.01 to 1:57.84 in Monaco.

In the sprint hurdles Olympic champion Dayron Robles will have the golden opportunity to fill the void of the missing World Championships gold in Berlin. The absence of defending champion Liu Xiang, recovering from Achilles surgery, makes the Cuban world record-holder an outright favourite for the title.

Great Britain’s European leader Andy Turner, Frenchman Garfield Darien and European indoor bronze medallist Petr Svoboda are all capable of making it onto the podium. Turner's season-best of 13.30 came during his win at the FBK Games in Hengelo on 1st June.

One other athlete sure to be in medal mix could be Paula Radcliffe, at the time of writing this preview the world record-holder and global champion in Helsinki four-years-ago had decided to race in the New York Half Marathon on Sunday (16th August) to test her fitness ahead of Berlin, although the 35-year-old has not raced since winning the New York City Marathon in impressive style last November because of a foot injury, if she does run, she will be sure to challenge American Kara Goucher in the chase for gold.

Two-time London Marathon winner Irina Mikitenko of Germany has decided to opt out of the championships due to a lack of training following her father's death. A win in Berlin would have ensured a second successive World Marathon Majors Series crown and the $500,000 prize money for Mikitenko.

Preview by Mark Woolley.

Above photo by Nigel Farrow.


AVIVA GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND TEAM:

Men
100m: Dwain Chambers (Belgrave); Tyrone Edgar (Newham & Essex Beagles); Simeon Williamson (Highgate)

200m: Chambers; Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva) 

400m: Michael Bingham (Trafford) Martyn Rooney (Croydon), Robert Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants)

800m: Michael Rimmer (Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton) 

1500m: Andy Baddeley (Harrow), Tom Lancashire (Bolton), James Brewer (Cheltenham)

5000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles)

110mH: Gianni Frankis (Newham & Essex Beagles), Andy Turner (Sale), William Sharman (Belgrade)

400mH: David Greene (Swansea), Rhys Williams (Cardiff)

4x100m: Harry Akines–Aryeetey (Sutton & District), Devonish, Edgar, Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets), Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes), Williamson

4x400m: Bingham, Chris Clarke (Marshall Milton Keynes), Nigel Levine (Bedford & County), Rooney, Tobin, Conrad Williams (Kent)
High Jump: Germaine Mason (Birchfield)

Pole Vault: Luke Cutts (Dearnside), Steve Lewis (Newham & Essex Beagles) 

Long Jump: Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes), Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex Beagles) 

Triple Jump: Larry Achike (Shaftesbury) Nathan Douglas (Oxford), Phillips Idowu (Belgrave) 

Shot: Carl Myerscough (Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde)

Javelin: Mervyn Luckwell (Marshall Milton Keynes) 

Women

200m: Emily Freeman (Wakefield)

400m: Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex Beagles), Nicola Sanders (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)

800m: Jenny Meadows (Wigan), Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury), Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par); 

1500m: Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford), Charlene Thomas (Wakefield), Stephanie Twell (Aldershot, Farnham & District) 

3000mSC: Helen Clitheroe (Preston) 

Marathon: Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County)

20k Race Walk: Joanna Jackson (Redcar)

100mH: Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield)
400mH: Eilidh Child (Pitreavie), Perri Shakes- Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets) 

Pole Vault: Kate Dennison (Sale) 

Javelin: Goldie Sayers (Belgrave) 

Hammer: Zoe Derham (Birchfield) 

Heptathlon: Ennis; Louise Hazel (Birchfield)

4x100m: Emma Ania (Shaftesbruy Barnet), Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Jeanette Kwakye (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Anyika Onuora (Liverpool), Laura Turner (Harrow AC) 

4x400m: Vicky Barr (Rugby & Northampton), Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet), Ohuruogu, Okoro, Sanders, Shakes- Drayton
Venue: Olympic Stadium – Berlin

The German capital is an international metropolis in the heart of Europe, city of culture, sports, politics, and science. A population of almost 3.4 million includes people from more than 200 different countries who have chosen the melting pot of Berlin for their new ‘heimat’.

Originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics the stadium which was highlighted by Jesse Owens who became the first American track athlete to win four gold medals at one Olympics.

The venue was completely renovated for the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup finals, which included the installation of a new roof, seating and the laying of the famous electric blue running track, and has a capacity of 74,000 for the athletics.
Media Coverage:

Full live coverage is available on BBC Television and BBC Radio Five Live and via satellite and cable on British Eurosport.
Event Timetable:
(All times +1 hour BST)
Saturday 15th August
10:05-M-Shot Put-Qualification
10:10-W-100 Metres Hurdles-Heptathlon
10:50-W-3000 Metres Steeplechase-Heats
11:00-W-Triple Jump-Qualification
11:20-W-High Jump-Heptathlon
11:40-M-100 Metres-Heats
12:00-M-Hammer Throw-Qualification
12:50-W-400 Metres-Heats
13:00-M-20 Kilometres Race Walk-Final
13:20-M-Hammer Throw-Qualification
18:15-M-1500 Metres-Heats
18:20-W-Shot Put-Heptathlon.
18:50-M-100 Metres-Quarter-Final
19:00-W-Pole Vault-Qualification
19:25-W-10,000 Metres-Final
20:15-M-Shot Put-Final
20:20-M-400 Metres Hurdles-Heats
21:10-W-200 Metres-Heptathlon
Sunday 16th August
10:05-W-Shot Put-Qualification
10:10-W-800 Metres-Heats
10:45-W-Javelin Throw-Qualification
11:00-M-3000 Metres Steeplechase-Heats
11:35-W-Long Jump-Heptathlon
11:55-W-100 Metres-Heats
12:00-W-20 Kilometres Race Walk-Final
12:15-W-Javelin Throw-Qualification
18:05-W-Javelin Throw-Heptathlon
18:35-W-100 Metres-Quarter-Final
19:00-M-Triple Jump-Qualification
19:10-M-100 Metres-Semi-Final
19:25-W-Javelin Throw-Heptathlon
19:40-W-400 Metres-Semi-Final
20:15-M-400 Metres Hurdles-Semi-Final
20:20-W-Shot Put-Final
20:50-W-800 Metres-Heptathlon
21:35-M-100 Metres-Final
Monday 17th August
18:05-M-Hammer Throw-Final
18:15-W-400 Metres Hurdles-Heats
18:45-W-Pole Vault-Final
19:05-W-100 Metres-Semi-Final
19:30-W-800 Metres-Semi-Final
20:00-W-Triple Jump-Final
20:10-M-1500 Metres-Semi-Final
20:30-W-3000 Metres Steeplechase-Final
20:50-M-10,000 Metres-Final
21:35-W-100 Metres-Final
Tuesday 18th August
10:05-M-200 Metres-Heats
10:05-M-Discus Throw-Qualification
10:20-W-High Jump-Qualification
11:05-M-400 Metres-Heats
11:35-M-Discus Throw-Qualification
12:05-W-1500 Metres-Heats
18:05-M-Triple Jump-Final
18:10-W-100 Metres Hurdles-Heats
18:55-M-200 Metres-Quarter-Final
19:25-W-Javelin Throw-Final
19:35-W-400 Metres-Final
19:50-M-3000 Metres Steeplechase-Final
20:15-W-400 Metres Hurdles-Semi-Final
20:50-M-400 Metres Hurdles-Final
Wednesday 19th August
10:05-M-100 Metres-Decathlon
10:10-W-Discus Throw-Qualification
10:45-W-5000 Metres-Heats
11:00-M-High Jump-Qualification
11:15-M-Long Jump-Decathlon
11:35-M-110 Metres Hurdles-Heats
11:40-W-Discus Throw-Qualification
12:10-W-200 Metres-Heats
13:00-M-Shot Put-Decathlon
18:05-M-High Jump-Decathlon
18:15-M-400 Metres-Semi-Final
18:45-W-100 Metres Hurdles-Semi-Final
19:25-M-200 Metres-Semi-Final
19:45-W-200 Metres-Quarter-Final
20:10-M-Discus Throw-Final
20:25-M-1500 Metres-Final
20:45-M-400 Metres-Decathlon
21:15-W-100 Metres Hurdles-Final
21:35-W-800 Metres-Final
Thursday 20th August
10:05-M-110 Metres Hurdles-Decathlon
10:10-M-Pole Vault-Qualification
11:10-M-Discus Throw-Decathlon
11:45-M-800 Metres-Heats
12:30-M-Discus Throw-Decathlon
13:45-W-Hammer Throw-Qualification
14:25-M-Pole Vault-Decathlon
15:20-W-Hammer Throw-Qualification
18:05-M-Javelin Throw-Decathlon
18:10-M-Long Jump-Qualification
18:15-M-110 Metres Hurdles-Semi-Final
18:55-M-5000 Metres-Heats
19:10-W-High Jump-Final
19:30-M-Javelin Throw-Decathlon
19:50-W-200 Metres-Semi-Final
20:15-W-400 Metres Hurdles-Final
20:35-M-200 Metres-Final
20:55-M-110 Metres Hurdles-Final
21:15-M-1500 Metres-Decathlon
Friday 21st August
09:10-M-50 Kilometres Race Walk-Final
17:05-M-Javelin Throw-Qualification
17:30-M-200 Metres T11-Final
17:40-W-200 Metres T11-Final
18:00-W-Long Jump-Qualification
18:30-M-Javelin Throw-Qualification
19:15-M-High Jump-Final
19:30-M-4x100 Metres Relay-Heats
20:00-W-1500 Metres-Semi-Final
20:20-W-Discus Throw-Final
20:30-M-800 Metres-Semi-Final
21:00-W-200 Metres-Final
21:20-M-400 Metres-Final
Saturday 22nd August
11:45-M-Marathon-Final
18:05-M-Long Jump-Final
18:10-W-4x100 Metres Relay-Heats
18:15-M-Pole Vault-Final
18:55-M-4x400 Metres Relay-Heats
19:30-W-Hammer Throw-Final
19:35-W-5000 Metres-Final
20:00-W-4x100 Metres Relay-Final
20:15-W-4x400 Metres Relay-Heats
20:50-M-4x100 Metres Relay-Final
Sunday 23rd August
11:15-W-Marathon-Final
16:15-W-Long Jump-Final
16:20-M-Javelin Throw-Final
16:25-M-5000 Metres-Final
17:00-W-1500 Metres-Final
17:25-M-800 Metres-Final
17:50-W-4x400 Metres Relay-Final
18:15-M-4x400 Metres Relay-Final

Athletics-leics.com will bring full daily reports as the action unfolds in Berlin.

www.berlin2009.org/

Thursday 13th August 2009

THE (IAAF) International Association of Athletics Federations have agreed at their annual Congress meeting in Berlin ahead of the 12th World Championships that begin on Saturday (15th August) to adopt a no false start rule from January next year.

The resolution was proposed by the IAAF Council and is aimed at preventing athletes deliberately committing a first offence to put pressure on their rivals. Currently one false start is accepted in each race and competitors who subsequently commit another are disqualified.

The IAAF believes 2010 offers a perfect opportunity for athletes to come to terms with the new regulation as there are no major global competitions well ahead of the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Speaking in support of the rule change, IAAF President Lamine Diack pointed to the NCAA's longstanding no false start rule as evidence that such a rule is practical and enforceable. He stated his belief that "the current rule gives sprinters the chance to play the system," he said, "to deliberately false start but not be punished for it."

www.iaaf.org

Wednesday 12th August 2009

IRELAND’s Loughborough-based double European indoor 400m champion David Gillick has received a huge boost ahead of the forthcoming 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin as he has been named the Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month for July by Athletics Ireland.

The 26-year-old Dublin-born athlete was given the award in recognition of his run at the Meeting de Madrid in early July where he became the first Irish athlete to break the 45 second mark in the 400m, posting a time of 44.77 seconds.

The award will be a timely boost for Gillick as he gets ready to take to the track in Berlin on August 18th in the heats of the 400m.

"I am very happy with how things have gone so far this season," he said.

"It was always an aim of mine to break 45 and this is something that hangs over you until you do it and now that I have I can push on. The season has been very consistent for me so far so I just want to try and maintain this."

"The one thing I have been really happy with aside from my times is that I have been placing well.

"When it comes to championships it doesn’t matter what time you run as long as you the placing to progress through the rounds. If it comes to a semi final or final I don’t care what time I run as long as it gets me into the top three."

Crowne Plaza Hotels sponsors the Athlete of the Month Award scheme set up by Athletics Ireland that recognises the outstanding performances of Irish athletes throughout the year.

Tuesday 11th August 2009

KATE DENNISON, the reigning British pole vault record will reflect on her injury-hit 2008 season to inspire the Loughborough-based athlete to place her in contention for a place in the final of the 12th IAAF World Championships that begin in Berlin this weekend with the possibility of an outside chance of a medal.

The South African-born Sale Harrier underwent surgery to both Achilles a month after the Beijing Olympics, having been hit by injury problems throughout the year. She has since returned to form and fitness with tremendous impact breaking the British record a remarkable eight times.

The 25-year-old said: "I spent most of last year injured. I think it was probably good for me because before then I hadn't ever really been injured so I thought I was invincible."

"And now I've learned to look after my body a bit better. I think injuries can be a good thing if you can learn from them.

"I definitely think the injuries contributed to my good form. I think maybe I was at a sort of blip in my career where I had been consistent around certain heights but I needed a push.”

Dennison, coached at Loughborough by Australian Steve Rippon, set a personal best of 4.40metres in Beijing, but has in 2009 broken both Janine Whitlock's indoor and outdoor records.

In her final competition before Berlin, Dennison finished in a solid third place at the 15th edition of the Bayer-Meeting in Leverkusen (31st July) with a best of 4.45 metres set with a second attempt in the third round of the competition.

Dennison raised her own British record for the eighth time this calendar year at the Aviva IAAF London Grand Prix meeting clearing a height of 4.58 metres. A mark is still some way short of Yelena Isinbayeva's world-record of 5.05m, and although the Russian is firm favourite for gold in Berlin despite an inconsistent season and Dennison is aware of the unpredictable nature of the event and will look to qualify for her first major final having also represented England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

www.berlin2009.org/

Saturday 8th August 2009

THE fixtures for the 2009/10 North Midlands Cross Country League have been announced – the first race of the season begins on Saturday 10th October at Markeaton Park, Derby.


Charnwood's Tara Krzywicki is the defending senior women's champion following a successful return to racing last year for the former British international, whilst, Colin Hawkins representing Derby AC is the senior men's title holder.
Full fixture list 2009/10:
October 10th - Derby (Markeaton Park)
November 14th - Corby (West Glebe Park)

December 5th - Mansfield (Berry Hill Park)

January 16th - Nottingham (Wollaton Park)

www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk/

Thursday 6th August 2009

OLYMPIC silver medallist Germaine Mason has withdrew from the Aviva GB and NI team ahead of this month’s IAAF World Championships in Berlin (15th-23rd August).

Mason injured his ankle whilst competing in Stockholm on Friday night and a subsequent scan showed a significant ankle ligament injury in his take off leg, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Toby Sandeman (Thames Valley), the European U23 200m Champion, has also withdrawn citing a lack of fitness due to an ongoing foot problem that has hampered his ability to train since returning from Lithuania.

UKA Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: “This is another blow to the team and the loss of Germaine, a proven championship performer, is particularly disappointing. His was an injury sustained in competition, which is unfortunately an occupational hazard with elite athletes.

“Toby has been receiving treatment for an ongoing foot problem and has been unable to train over the last couple of weeks and of course that is not ideal preparation for competing at the World Championships. However we need to look ahead to the Championships and our focus is on the final preparations for those athletes who will be competing in Berlin.”

Wednesday 5th August 2009

THE LOROS Walk On The Wildside annual sponsored countryside walk takes place on Sunday 13th September over the 6 and 12 mile distances in the surroundings of the beautiful Charnwood Forest and Bradgate Park area starting and finishing at the Severn Trent Water Visitors Centre at Cropston Reservoir, Leicestershire.

The 6 mile event starts at 10.30am and the 12 mile at 9.30am - for further details visit the LOROS web-site at: www.loros.co.uk

Tuesday 4th August 2009

ATHLETES are required to represent the men's and women's East Midlands region teams at the 2009 Experian Robin Hood Half Marathon that takes place in the city of Nottingham on Sunday 13th September.

Twelve months ago the region won both men's and women's team titles and will be looking to repeat the success this year. There is prize money available for the winning teams and anyone interested in selection should contact John Skevington.

e-mail: john.skevington@hotmail.com

www.experianfestivalofrunning.co.uk/

Saturday 1st August 2009

LOUGHBOROUGH graduate David Gillick of Ireland (400m) and Great Britain’s Simeon Williamson (100m) have been nominated for the European Athlete of the Month Award for July.

Gillick set a national record of 44.77 for the 400m in Madrid and remains the European leader heading to the Berlin World Championships, whilst, Williamson emerged as the top British sprinter at the national trials, clocking 10.05 in Birmingham.

At the end of each month, a panel of experts produces a shortlist of the outstanding athletes and performances achieved by European athletes during that month, which is then emailed to the European Athletics media and thousands of fans who have already signed up to receive news from European Athletics.

The poll is situated in the Fan Zone of the European Athletics website, where the public, media and a group of expert statisticians will cast their votes with each category counting as 33.3 percent of the vote.

The winner of each poll will be awarded 10 points, second 9 points, etc. and the athlete with the most points after the three different polls have been counted will be declared the winner. In the unlikely event of a tie, Hansjörg Wirz, the president of European Athletics, will have the casting vote.

The voting will close on Friday 14th August at noon Swiss local time.

The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe. No athlete who has previously served a two year anti-doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.

To vote click on the following link: www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4760&Itemid=208

Saturday 1st August 2009

TEAM England will take on Scotland, Ireland and Ethiopia and a Bank of Scotland Development team in the Falkirk Cup on Wednesday 26th August in Grangemouth.

The event will also feature Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius who will return to Scotland next month for a guest run at the Falkirk Cup. The triple Beijing gold medallist, will race able-bodied athletes over 400 metres having won bronze in the 200m at the Scottish National Championships at Pitreavie last month.

Pistorius said: "I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Scotland earlier this summer, my only regret was that I didn't manage to sign off with a win, but the 400m gives me an opportunity to put that right, even though the Falkirk Cup is a full international match and the opposition will be tough.

"I got such a good reception in Scotland and I'm really looking forward to returning."

GB Olympian Craig Pickering will captain England and has never been beaten in Scotland. "Nobody on the team will want to lose - this will be a massive indicator ahead of the Commonwealth Games so it will be important to everyone on the team to show what they can do," he said.

Scotland will be led by their national 800m champion Claire Gibson, who recently clocked the required standard for nomination for selection onto the Scottish team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi with a lifetime best performance of 2:01.42, rose to the English challenge: "We've won the event for the past three years and we'll be going out to win it again - I think we can push England all the way. A lot of athletes will be chasing Commonwealth qualifiers so the standard will be high."

In support of the event, Ethiopian distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie, who is unable to compete due to his preparations for the Real Berlin Marathon, said: "I am sorry that I will not be able to be in Scotland to be with the Ethiopian team in the Falkirk Cup event."

"Ethiopia is known as a nation of distance runners and we enjoy great success at long distances but, as part of our progress as a sporting nation, we will gradually embrace other events as we get the competitions, the coaching and the facilities at home. This is a chance for our sprinters, jumpers and throwers to take the first steps in that direction and I appreciate the fact that scottishathletics has included my country in the 2009 Falkirk Cup. I hope that everyone competing abroad for Ethiopia for the first time, in whatever event, does so with pride, determination and enjoyment.

"Whenever I have raced in the UK, a large contingent of Ethiopian supporters has always made the effort to come along and create a great atmosphere. They are the best athletics fans in the world. You saw them at the IAAF World Cross Country in Edinburgh last year and they have already been invited to attend The Falkirk Cup. It will be a great night of athletics. Good luck Ethiopia."

Paul Finnie, Falkirk Council's Sport and Leisure Manager said: "Hosting the Falkirk Cup will offer an opportunity to show how committed we are to offering our great sporting facilities to some of the best athletes from across the country. It's recognised as a top event and we wish all the athletes the very best of luck with the competition."

Scottishathletics Chair Mark Hollinshead said: "Building on the success of the last three years, we're delighted to welcome England and Ethiopia to Scotland for the Falkirk Cup 2009. The addition of these teams - both of whom will be looking to win the trophy for the first time - will not only contribute to raising the overall standard of competition, but will also help raise the profile of athletics and demonstrate further the vision and ambition of our sport in the countdown to London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 and our capability to deliver a high quality event. "

Louise Martin CBE, Chair, sportscotland added: "The Falkirk Cup is an innovative event, bringing together aspiring and established athletes in a great showcase for the sport of athletics. This year, with the addition of England and Ethiopia to the line-up, the overall standard will be raised even further."

"As one of scottishathletics' key partners, sportscotland is committed to supporting the development of athletics in Scotland. Events like this are a great way to encourage more young people to participate and to inspire those already involved to achieve their potential.

"I would like to wish all of the athletes the very best of luck and look forward to seeing their sporting careers develop in the build up to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 and Glasgow in 2014."

The Falkirk Cup will take place at Grangemouth Stadium, Falkirk on Wednesday 26th August from 5.45pm. Tickets are £3.00 and will be on general sale from August 11th: Telephone: 0131 539 7320 or email: falkirkcuptickets@scottishathletics.org.uk

Tuesday 28th July 2009

UK ATHLETICS have a selected a 60-strong squad of athletes to represent the Aviva Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany on 15th-23rd August.

A large contingent of the team will draw on experiences from last year’s Olympics including Loughborough-based athletes Martyn Rooney (Croydon), who narrowly missed out on a medal in the 400m and in the 1500m, fourth placer Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford AC), plus fellow alumini Goldie Sayers (Belgrave) in the Javelin.

The team also has national champions, Loughborough-based British Pole Vault record-holder Kate Dennison (Sale) and 110m Hurdles specialist, graduate Andy Turner (Sale).

Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: “This team has been selected to give us the best possible results at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin. I expect to see athletes demonstrating their ability to perform at the highest level under pressure.

“Of course we are on a long term journey to 2012, but we can’t wait three years for the medals and performances, I want to see both in Berlin and then more next year and the year after until we get to London. This is our first staging post on our toughest ever journey.”

Already pre-selected to the Aviva GB & NI team are Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County) in the marathon and UK champion Johanna Jackson (Redcar) in the 20k walk.

The majority of the team will prepare for the major championships at a holding camp in Monte Gordo, Portugal in the week leading up to the competition.
AVIVA GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND TEAM:
MEN
100m: Dwain Chambers (Belgrave); Tyrone Edgar (Newham & Essex Beagles); Simeon Williamson (Highgate)
200m: Chambers; Marlon Devonish (Coventry Godiva) Toby Sandeman (Thames Valley)
400m: Michael Bingham (Trafford) Martyn Rooney (Croydon), Robert Tobin (Basingstoke & Mid Hants)
800m: Michael Rimmer (Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton)
1500m: Andy Baddeley (Harrow), Tom Lancashire (Bolton)
5000m: Mo Farah (Newham & Essex Beagles)
110mH: Gianni Frankis (Newham & Essex Beagles), Andy Turner (Sale)
400mH: David Greene (Swansea), Rhys Williams (Cardiff)
4x100m: Harry Akines–Aryeetey (Sutton & District), Devonish, Edgar, Rikki Fifton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets), Craig Pickering (Marshall Milton Keynes), Williamson
4x400m: Bingham, Chris Clarke (Marshall Milton Keynes), Nigel Levine (Bedford & County), Rooney, Tobin, Conrad Williams (Kent)
High Jump: Germaine Mason (Birchfield)
Pole Vault: Luke Cutts (Dearnside), Steve Lewis (Newham & Essex Beagles)
Long Jump: Greg Rutherford (Marshall Milton Keynes), Chris Tomlinson (Newham & Essex Beagles)
Triple Jump: Larry Achike (Shaftesbury) Nathan Douglas (Oxford), Phillips Idowu (Belgrave)
Shot: Carl Myerscough (Blackpool, Wyre &Fylde)
Javelin: Mervyn Luckwell (Marshall Milton Keynes)
WOMEN
200m: Emily Freeman (Wakefield)
400m: Christine Ohuruogu (Newham & Essex Beagles), Nicola Sanders (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow)
800m: Jenny Meadows (Wigan), Marilyn Okoro (Shaftesbury), Jemma Simpson (Newquay & Par);
1500m: Lisa Dobriskey (Ashford), Charlene Thomas (Wakefield), Stephanie Twell (Aldershot, Farnham & District)
3000mSC: Helen Clitheroe (Preston)
Marathon: Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County)
20k Race Walk: Joanna Jackson (Redcar)
100mH: Sarah Claxton (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Jessica Ennis (City of Sheffield),
400mH: Eilidh Child (Pitreavie), Perri Shakes- Drayton (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets)
Pole Vault: Kate Dennison (Sale)
Javelin: Goldie Sayers (Belgrave)
Hammer: Zoe Derham (Birchfield)
Heptathlon: Ennis; Louise Hazel (Birchfield)
4x100m: Emma Ania (Shaftesbruy Barnet), Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Jeanette Kwakye (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies), Anyika Onuora (Liverpool), Laura Turner (Harrow AC)
4x400m: Vicky Barr (Rugby & Northampton), Lee McConnell (Shaftesbury Barnet), Ohuruogu, Okoro, Sanders, Shakes- Drayton

www.berlin2009.org/

Friday 20th March 2009

DWAIN CHAMBERS is by far the highest profile and most controversial figure in the sport of athletics at the present moment - a profile that in the public perception is fiercely divided by his excellent performances on the track, notably at the recent European Indoor Championships where he claimed gold for Great Britain in the Italian city of Turin and fell just 0.03 seconds short of American Maurice Greene’s world 60 metre record in the semi-final heats; and away from competition where the spectre of his two-year drugs ban in 2003 for taking the banned steroid Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) combined with a cocktail of six other illegal steroids and masking agents, including EPO and Testosterone follows him where ever he goes like a dark cloud.

In the October of 2003 the roof of Chambers dark mysterious drug-fuelled ‘walking junkie’ world fell in when an ‘A’ sample taken for an out-of-competition drugs test provided in Germany on August 1 of that year was then re-examined and subsequently tested positive for the banned substances.

At the same time the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) were investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO); the workplace of both Chambers' coach Remi Korchemny and nutritionist Victor Conte. Both men were to later face charges of distributing illegal drugs to athletes in the United States.

The BALCO scandal uncovered drug use in a wider range of sportsmen and women, including sprinters Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, and in July 2005 Conte pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids and a second count of laundering a portion of a check, and was sentenced to spend four months in prison and another four on house arrest.

In the wake of his positive drugs test in 2003 he received the two-year ban that in the intervening years resulted in Chambers dabbling unsuccessfully with the tough sports of Rugby League with trials for the Castleford Tigers in Yorkshire followed by the American Football team Hamburg Sea Devils before the NFL Europa franchise folded leaving him with no option but to return to his first sport of athletics in 2008 where he gain a highly controversial selection for Great Britain as UK Athletics relented in the face of possible legal action to allow him to run under the flag of Team GB where he subsequently claimed 60 metre silver at the Valencia World Indoor Championships.

So when I was recently invited to attend the latest stop on Dwain Chambers United Kingdom book signing tour promoting his highly controversial autobiography Race against Me: My Story I took the opportunity to sit down and catch-up with the controversial sprinter.

What you find when meeting Chambers for the first time is a man who is actually very polite and engaging, casually dressed in a leather jacket he does not come across as an athletics pariah. He welcomes people as they line-up for a signed copy of his autobiography, quite happy to pose for photographs and spending time talking to members of the public answering their questions however serious they are.

He certainly is someone who is not afraid to hide and shy away from his responsibilities to the education of young athletes in the sport in the wake of his drug-taking past – he does give the air of a changed man, and now in 2009 is also a father children Skye and Rocco with his fiancée, Leonie, and whilst, I can only condone his drug-taking, you feel that the sport of athletics is slowly starting to ease him back, albeit extremely slowly!

However, having said that, Chambers tends to be a victim of his own downfall, lurching from a case of one-step forward, followed by two steps back in the public’s perception, whilst at the same time doing himself no favours in the sport - it’s almost like watching ‘car crash’ athletics.

This was especially highlighted ahead of last months Turin Europeans when Chambers chose to promote his autobiography leading up to the championships with the serialisation in the Daily Mail, which proved to be a huge mistake and was extremely damaging to his already tarnished reputation - better to have attended the event as just another athlete, difficult I know! but his public perception would have been a higher and less controversial.

Chambers wants the public to put his past behind him, however, in the real world that’s never going to happen, the damaging allegations contained in his book that brings the sport into serious disrepute will place his competition future in real doubt as the IAAF look deeper into the text and content of the autobiography, possibly at their forthcoming council meeting in Berlin.

Chambers may also have to face further legal action from his former manager John Regis in light of his allegations of his knowledge of the drug-abuse. All this is something Chambers can ill afford with £120,000 still owed to the IAAF, and although in Turin he was able to keep 75% of the prize money (£2500) earned for his gold medal winning performance on the 60 metre straight of The Oval Lingotto he will still find his earning power diminished with the exclusion from Grand Prix meetings as the outdoor season begins.

He has done irreparable damage to his public perception that will may never by repaired, the controversial interview with Olympic rowing legend Sir Matthew Pinsent (a decent and honest gentleman of sport with true Corinthian values) on the BBC’s Inside Sport programme in 2007 was met with disdain by the world of athletics, notable with Lord Sebastian Coe who commented: “The biggest problem I have with Dwain? It's that he was foolish enough to leave a pretty excellent coaching structure behind and got introduced to dodgy Russian coaches.”

Coe feels personally about this subject because Mike McFarlane, Chambers then coach, is an old friend, and was his room-mate at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

“Mick got him to run 9.97 and then for whatever reason the relationship was deliberately broken up, Mick was shoved aside and Balco then got introduced.”

In the BBC interview, Chambers claimed there would always be athletes using performance-enhancing drugs because drug testers did not keep pace with advances in science. Chambers added that in the Olympics finals athletes who took drugs had an immense advantage over those who remained clean. Commenting: "It's possible, but the person that's taken drugs has to be having a real bad day. That's what I believe."

Following his very successful book signing session in Leicester, that was very well attended underlining the public’s interest in Chambers, I began by asking him about his gold medal winning performance at the recent European Championships in Turin.

Having broken the European record in the semi-finals with a time 6.42 just 0.03 seconds outside of American Maurice Greene’s world-record, you must have been very pleased with your performance and fitness levels - especially having to come into the championships on the back of limited competition in the build-up?

That was so incredible, you know, going into the championships with the lack of competition before Turin, having only competed at the UK trials and the Birmingham Games I wasn’t quite sure how I would run, but I felt good through the heats and then the performance in the semi-final sort of surprised even me to go so close to a world record. The gold medal means so much to me, especially after mistakes I’ve made and the past seven years since, after all that’s gone in the past and after winning the silver last year in Valencia at the worlds this was great, but to go one better in Turin and get the gold was just brilliant.

You have set your aim for the outdoor season with the ‘Project Bolt’ concept. 9.69 seconds is Usain Bolt’s stunning world-record set at last summers Beijing Olympics – do you believe that you have the ability and talent at the age of 30 to possible challenge the Jamaicans domination and attack that phenomenal world mark – especially with Bolt possibly looking to move up to 400 metres to chase Michael Johnson’s legendary world-record from the 1999 Seville World Championships of 43.18 seconds?

Yeah, ‘Project Bolt’ thinking about I’m not too sure about the title – can I break the world record? Probably not, Bolt has taken it to another level, the ‘Project Bolt’ concept doesn’t really mean that I’m going to analyse everything the guy has done stride-for-stride, watch every race he’s ran on TV mainly because he runs differently to me and the other guys out there, we all run differently but if he does decided to run the 100 in Berlin I’m gunning for him. The world championships final is a one off race, I wouldn’t go to Berlin if I thought I could not win. He was flying in Beijing - in Berlin we will have to see, it’s another day, another race – I’m under no illusion that its going to be difficult he is amazingly talented and I’m absolutely delighted that we are going to meet at the Golden League before the worlds in the same stadium, it will be great for the box office with a big crowd.

Your book caused a great deal of controversy prior to the Turin European Championships with the serialisation in the Daily Mail newspaper back in the United Kingdom – would you say in hindsight that the timing of this was inappropriate and if you had your time over again do you think that you would not have gone ahead with this?

Despite what people say the book launch and the newspaper articles were not really planned to coincide with Turin, the newspapers decided to run the serialisation, the publishers decided on the date to launch, that’s their choice, they are in this to sell newspapers and books. I wrote the book because I wanted to give my side of the story, and yes people are going to make assumptions but that’s their choice and opinion. They can, and I hope read the book and make their own minds up for good or bad. It's an opportunity to express my point of view and to set the record straight.

In Turin, Patrick Magyar, the director of the Zurich Weltkasse meeting accused you of using the European Indoor Championships as a vehicle for self promotion with the serialisation of the book and all the publicity surround this with the newspaper serialisation in the UK – however, the Berlin Golden League promoter Gerhard Janetzky has since broken ranks and invited you to compete in Germany - you must by very pleased by their response?

I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I was when the invitation arrived and the chance to compete at the Golden League came through, it was amazing news. I was as surprised as anyone with the decision, this is a real step forward for my athletics future from someone (Gerhard Janetzky) who is prepared to take a big decision and make a stand. People such as the Zurich promoter are entitled to their opinions on the book launch and the newspaper articles, that’s their choice.

Where will you look for your next for competition as the outdoor season begins next month, as the Euro Meets consortium (with the exception of Berlin) will not allow you to run on the continent around the Grand Prix circuit, so will you look further afield outside of Europe, maybe to Asia or America in the run-up to the Berlin World Championships?

We will have to see, hopefully a few other meeting promoters will relent and let me run following the Berlin decision, however, if I have to go outside Europe then that’s where I will go. We will have to sit down and assess the situation, there will be local domestic meets in this country and the UK Championships in Birmingham that I can enter, but the level of competition will not be as high as with the Grand Prix circuit where I could be competing against the best guys in the world.

With the Euro Meets preventing you competing in the IAAF Grand Prix events which would have given you the opportunity to earn appearance and prize money, have you considered possible legal action against the organisation because this could amount to ‘restriction of trade’ and loss of earnings and could be perceived as discrimination especially as you have served the two-year drugs ban?

No that’s not going to happen – for one I cannot afford this financially, and secondarily I would more than likely lose because the meetings are by invitation only and they don’t have championship status. I’m going to have to see what happens over the summer months between now and the World Championships, hopefully I will begin to get further invitations to compete. It’s their choice to invite the athletes so I will have to see what happens. The Berlin Golden League invitation was a great breakthrough so we will see.

In light of your own situation with regard to the two-year drugs ban do you think that the ban should be increased to four-years which is the general opinion of most people in the sport and an initiative that WADA (World Anti-Drugs Administration) and the IAAF are interested in, this would therefore included the four-year Olympic cycle?

That’s really for them to decide, my ban meant that I missed two Olympics anyway in Athens and Beijing so the two-year ban does still involves you missing two games, plus there’s the worlds and Europeans. So as I said that’s something for WADA and the IAAF to decided, I would respect their decision. In many ways I’m having to serve a lifetime ban anyway, I cannot run at the Olympics because of the BOA decision or the Commonwealths, but I’m learning to adapt and working through this.

In three-years time it will be the 2012 Olympic Games in your home city of London - you will be 33-years-old and still realistically capable of competing at the elite level would you consider further legal action against the BOA (British Olympic Association) to have your lifetime ban overturned allowing your participation?

No, as I said about the Euro Meets decision, the cost would be enormous financially, I cannot get into another legal argument, the BOA decision was made before Beijing so that is that as far as I’m concerned, they are not going to turnover the ban and I’ve drawn a line under this and I’m moving on. The Europeans take place next year in Barcelona and that will be my target to try and win the title in Spain. It would have been great to be in London, as you say my home town, but it’s never going to happen so I don’t consider this in any future plans, I wish all the British guys all the best for the Olympics, but I’m moving on. I cannot compete at the Commonwealth next year because of the ban so Barcelona is my main aim.

Do you think that it’s wise to work and link-up with Victor Conte, (who has put Chambers on a program that involves breathing low and high oxygen through a hypoxicator to boost his red blood cell count), even if this is from an educational and coaching view-point - would it not be better to leave the past where it is and make a ‘clean’ break for the future?

This link-up has been misinterpreted in the press and media and blown out of proportion – this was organised with and in conjunction with the relevant bodies such as USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) and Sport England as an educational project giving feedback to help prevent what happened to me in the past to the future generation. I’m the first to say that I don’t want any athlete to follow my path, I made huge mistakes and paid the price, that’s what the book is about - I’ve got to live with this all my life, but we need to learn from our mistakes and educate what ever walk of life you come from. Young kids are impressionable and can be easily led astray, I don’t want people to fall into the same trap.

What’s the best piece of advice you could give young athletes coming into the sport in light of all that you have achieved in the sport and the dangers of the drugs issue and how to avoid the temptation to cheat the system that you fell foul of?

One word - BEWARE! There is so much temptation at an early age, I was 22 when I was temped by the drugs, I’m 30 now and a father of two with big responsibilities to them and their financial future, I’ve grown up a lot in the past couple of years, realised my mistakes, and now I want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to another athlete who gets into bad company or is tempted down the same path as I was - because believe me it’s a very long way back and you have to live with this for the rest of your life.

What do you hope is the one message that the general public and people inside the sport will gain by reading your book?

Writing the book was really great for me, to put down my thoughts and story, to give my opinion was like a release, both emotionally and from a perspective of giving my side of the story. People can and will make-up their own minds but I’ve said what I’ve got to say. I’d been holding so much inside about my situation, the emotional stress on myself and the depths that I had reached in life and how I came back from the brink.

CHAMBERS talks with enthusiasm about ‘Project Bolt’ ahead of this summers world championships with a smile on his face, however, although his talent is without doubt, with the lack of competition opportunities ahead of the World Championships, to outsprint the tall powerful Jamaican over 100 metres on the electric blue track of Berlin’s imposing Olympic Stadium will almost certainly be a bridge-too-far for the reformed Belgrave Harrier – ‘history be thy judge’ is a quote that comes to mind.

Earlier this week the announcement was made that Bolt will run in a special 150 metre street race in Manchester on May 17, however, the organisers also outlined that Chambers would not be invited to compete because of his British Association Olympic ban as the races are geared to help GB athletes preparing ahead of London 2012 with the opportunity to race against world-class opposition.

Chambers book is a very honest and revealing account that pulls no punches on the highs and lows of a life lived on the dark side of professional sport and unlike most autobiographies this is entirely written by the athlete himself with no ghostwriter employed, where he talks about his contemplations of suicide, the brutal pain of steroid addiction and his hope of rebirth in sport.

However, despite the publics divided opinion on the controversial sprinter the watching world will wait in eager anticipation for 8.35pm on Sunday 16 August when Chambers and Bolt will line-up for the final of the men’s 100 metres, and they will be able to enjoy a preview of this possible showdown ahead of the World Championships when the two meet at the Berlin Golden League meeting on June 14 as a dress-rehearsal.

Interview with Dwain Chambers by Mark Woolley - Copyright athletics-leics.com

Above photo: Dwain Chambers at the book signing tour for his autobiography Race against Me: My Story at Waterstones, High Cross, Leicester.

www.dwain-chambers.com