National Athletics Championship

ISLAMABAD: The 44th National Athletics Championship is starting at Jinnah Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex here from Friday (tomorrow).

 Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) president Major General (r) Mohammad Akram Sahi said that more than 500 athletes from 18 departments would take part in the national championship. “Pakistan Army are the defending champions and cash awards will distributed among top players,” he added.

Sahi said that men would compete in 22 while women in 20 disciplines during the three-day national event. “Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Federally Administrated Tribal Ares (FATA), Pakistan Education Boards (PEB) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) will make their maiden appearance in the athletics meet,” he said. The other participating teams are Army, Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan Navy, Pakistan WAPDA, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Police, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK), Balochistan, Islamabad, Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) Wah and Pakistan Still Mills.

The event was earlier scheduled to take place in Karachi but the AFP shifted it to Islamabad mainly because the athletics track in Karachi was not in good condition. Sahi said the AFP’s efforts for uplifting athletics in the country were yielding positive results and that was evident from the performance of athletes in the recent past. He said two Pakistan athletes Liaquat Ali and Rabia Ashiq would take part in the London Olympics on wild cards. – Dailytimes

Americans sweep Penn Relays titles

PHILADELPHIA: Reigning 100-meter world champion Carmelita Jeter and last year’s 100 and 200 world runner-up, Walter Dix, anchored US 4×100 relay routs of Jamaica on Saturday at the Penn Relays.

With an eye toward showdowns at the London Olympics, the Americans swept all six “USA Versus the World” events, although Jamaican men’s superstars Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell were not at the meet. The US men’s 4×400 relay, anchored by reigning Olympic 400m champion Lashawn Merritt, also set a 2012 world best by winning the two-heat final in 3:00.15 and the US 4×400 women won in 3:21.18 to beat Jamaica by 5.37 seconds.”If today is a preview of what we’re going to see in the Olympic Games, we’re in great shape,” said Max Siegel, who becomes USA Track and Field’s new chief executive on Tuesday.

In cool conditions with a slight breeze, the American women’s foursome of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Jeter won in 42.19 seconds, this year’s world-fastest time. “The US is definitely ready for London,” Jeter said. “We’re prepared. Now all we have to do is stay healthy.”Jamaica was a distant second in 43.31 with a lineup that featured Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart and anchor Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 2008 Olympic 100 chmpion, from last year’s world runners-up plus Aleen Bailey as third leg. Felix pulled away in the second leg and Knight handed Jeter a huge edge and watched the world champion pull away from Fraser-Pryce to the finish line.

“We wanted to come out and run a great race,” Jeter said. “We have great chemistry. We had great handoffs. I’m glad we got it around.” In the men’s 4×100, American Mike Rodgers and Jamaica’s Nesta Carter were even after the first leg but US star Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic and 2005 world 100 champion who was disgraced by a four-year doping ban in 2006, pulled away in the second leg, Darvis Patton kept the edge and Dix stretched the gap even more at the finish to win in 38.40.

“This is definitely what they may see in London,” Dix said. “I can’t wait to get there.” A second US squad with Ivory Williams, Shawn Crawford, Trell Kimmons and Ryan Bailey was second in 38.47 with Jamaica third in 38.98.Merritt, who served a 21-month doping ban after winning the world 400 crown in 2009, anchored the US 4×400 relay victory at last year’s world championships in South Korea and did the same at Franklin Field at the 118th Penn meet. – PT

Usain Bolt

LONDON: Reigning Olympic champion Usain Bolt has said that he is looking for another breathtaking performance at the London Games, aiming to go as fast as possible for the 100 and 200 metres.

“People are looking forward to me running 9.4, 19 seconds, anything that’s amazing,” the 25-year-old Jamaican told the BBC in an interview to mark the 100-day countdown to the start of the Games in the British capital on Wednesday. “So, I’m working as hard as possible so I can go as fast as possible.” Bolt was one of the main stars of the last Games in Beijing four years ago, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, establishing him as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.

The sprinter clocked world records of 9.69secs and 19.30secs in the 100m and 200m, while the Jamaican team’s 37.10secs in the 4x100m was also a new world best. Bolt cemented his position in the sporting pantheon by lowering his own world records to 9.58secs for the 100m and 19.19secs for the 200m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Bolt made a triumphant start to his 2012 season last Saturday, anchoring his Racers team to 4x100m relay victory in the UTech Classic in Kingston, Jamaica. – Dailytimes

Bolt’s eyes grew big. He pulled his shirt over his face, then ripped it off and whipped it around in his hand. Grudgingly, Bolt left the stage he has dominated since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Instead, it was left to another Jamaican to wrap himself in the country’s flag — Yohan Blake, a 21-year-old up-and-comer that former Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene predicted to win.Blake finished in a modest time of 9.92 seconds, 0.16 seconds ahead of American rival Walter Dix. Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the 2003 world champion and now an aging 35-year-old veteran, was third.On the morning after his disqualification, Bolt realized Monday he had to move forward as quickly as possible.”There is no point to dwell on the past. I have a few days to refocus and get ready for the 200 on Friday,” the Jamaican said in a statement.The 200 is his favorite event and more gold could be waiting in the 4×100 relays on Sunday, the last day of the championships.

“I know that I am now in good shape and will focus on running well in the 200,” Bolt said.”Definitely, I wasn’t focusing on beating Usain,” Blake said. “I was just focusing on finishing in the top three.”This was also a day that Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter known as the “Blade Runner,” showed he indeed belongs on the same track with able-bodied athletes at big meets. Springing along on his carbon-fiber blades, Pistorius advanced to the semifinals of the 400.”A big sense of relief,” he said.On the track, it was a big show for the Americans. Defending champion Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton gave the U.S. its first 1-2 decathlon finish at the worlds. Brittney Reese defended her long jump title, and Allyson Felix breezed into the finals of the 400 with an easy win in her heat.

This entire competition was setting up as a stroll for Bolt. Jamaican teammate Asafa Powell withdrew just before the event began because of a groin injury, and American rival Tyson Gay was out with a hip injury. As if to underscore how easy this might be, Bolt cruised through his previous two rounds.Then he false started. It wasn’t even close. He’s 6-foot-5 and it’s clear when he stands up in the blocks too soon.His night done, Bolt gathered his stuff, slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed down the tunnel that leads out of the stadium. He wouldn’t talk, glaring at anyone who got too close or tried to ask any sort of question as he walked up a path. He went through a fenced gate that leads to the warmup track, typically off limits to all but the competitors.Once there, he joined a group of friends and coaches, throwing down his backpack, taking a swig of water, dumping some on his head and tossing the bottle aside. He sat down briefly before jumping up and heading onto the track.

Bolt lined up in Lane 6 — one spot from his lane assignment in the final — waited a second to compose his thoughts and took off down the runway with just a few eyes watching him. He traveled about 100 meters, turned around, jogged back and went again.Four times he repeated that. Four times he paused at the starting line.He was getting back on the horse again.
After his cool-down, some encouraging words from the Jamaican contingent and a quick massage, Bolt trudged across a grass field to catch a ride. Before he could reach the safety of his car, though, he was met by a few reporters.”Looking for tears? Not going to happen,” said Bolt, his agitation beginning to subside. “I’m OK.”Enough to run the 200 meters?”You’ll see on Friday,” he said, referring to the start date of the race.Change the false-start rule?Silence. And then the car ushered him away.”I didn’t really think they were going to kick him out,” Dix said. “How can you kick Usain out of the race?”

This is typically Bolt’s stage, but the world-record holder had a little company Sunday in Pistorius and Hardee. Other winners were Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia (10,000), Valeriy Borchin of Russia (20-kilometer walk) and Li Yanfeng of China (discus).Still, Bolt found a way to steal the spotlight from Pistorius and everyone else. This 100 will be known not so much for Blake’s crowning achievement but the one in which Bolt jumped the gun.”I didn’t expect that from him,” Blake said. “I had to just keep my head, keep the focus and get the job done for Jamaica.”Leading to the worlds, Dix, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, said he was in the kind of shape to possibly upset Bolt. Only he didn’t count on Blake, or being so hesitant following the ousting of Bolt.

“You kind of wanted to sit in the blocks and not move,” Dix said. “I definitely thought I could have been more competitive than running from the back. It was great to put the U.S. back on the medal stand.”As did Hardee and Reese, who defended their world titles, along with Eaton, who used a fast 1,500 in the final event of the decathlon to move into second place.A smooth-running Felix had no trouble moving on to the final of the 400, while teammate and defending champion Sanya Richards-Ross had all sorts of anxiety.Richards-Ross fought back tears as she watched the final heat of the semifinals. She had a tenuous grip on the last ticket to the final after a shaky performance. Only when her spot was secure did Richards-Ross deeply exhale.”That was more than close,” she said. “Got to shake it off.”Felix is chasing a double in Daegu in the 200 and 400. She has been trying to conserve energy and not push the pace. Yet even when she’s trying to hold back she’s difficult to beat.Bolt used to be impossible to beat at major championships. But that was before he jumped the gun. – news.yahoo

Oscar

Every national federation can select three athletes for the World Championships or Olympics, providing they meet the ‘A’ standard, with only one allowed if they only meet the ‘B’ standard.Before his run in Italy, Pistorius was only the fourth fastest South African – behind LJ van Zyl, Ofentse Mogawane and Lebogang Moeng – over the distance this year.A time of 46.65secs in gusty conditions in Padua on Sunday had left Pistorius with only one more chance to qualify for the World Championships and his emphatic victory in Lignano resulted in him leapfrogging Mogawane and Moeng.

His winning time on Tuesday would have been good enough to earn him fifth place in the 2008 Olympic final in Beijing.”It was just a dream race,” said Pistorius. “I just have not been able to sleep. I must have 300 messages congratulating me.”I am sure tomorrow when I wake up it [the accomplishment] is going to hit me. It is really humbling to know I have gotten so much support from everyone.”Pistorius is only in contention to compete at the highest level of the sport after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) overturned an IAAF ruling that his prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage in May 2008.Five months earlier a study commissioned by the IAAF, which compared Pistorius with six able-bodied athletes capable of a similar performance, had claimed that Pistorious’s blades required him to use 25% less energy than his rivals to run at the same speed.

Pistorius had argued that he was running at a disadvantage, with less blood in his body and no calf muscles.Cas concluded that the evidence was inconclusive and cleared him to compete.A congenital condition meant Pistorius was born without fibulae – lower leg bones – and led to the decision to amputate both legs below the knee when he was 11 months old.He preferred rugby union, water polo and tennis as a schoolboy and only took up running seriously in 2004 after being prescribed it as part of his rehabilitation from a rugby injury.It proved a successful decision, with Pistorius having won four gold medals at the Paralympics and holding world records for disabled athletes in the 100m, 200m and 400m. – BBC

Greene

Greene is already the European and Commonwealth champion and is a genuine contender for gold at this year’s World Championships, which begin on 27 August in Daegu, South Korea.”Dai Greene is a world-class hurdler now. He’s running a lot of times between 48.2 and 48.4 and, on my reckoning, that seems to suggest that he’s ready to run a time of anywhere between 47.7 and 47.9,” Akabusi added.”That quite clearly puts him within record-breaking distance.”When I was competing, I always used to think that come the major championships I could always run half-a-second faster than my season’s average.

“When I left athletics… I felt pretty sure it wouldn’t take long before my record was eclipsed but I’ve been the British record holder now for 21 years, although Dai is the only other British athlete to go under 48 seconds and ‘break’ the record I broke in 1990.”As I’ve got older I’ve realised that I did set a very good mark.”However, Akabusi has warned Greene away from fixating on records and says that he will overtake the mark just by winning big races.

“If I was able to speak to Dai I would suggest he really needs to take his eyes off the record now, it’s a bit of a distraction to be talking about a record every time he’s going to race,” Akabusi said.”Dai’s got all that is required to break the record, all he needs to do is keep on winning races and it will come when he least expects it.”Just go out there, run your race… and the athletics gods will give it to you at the appropriate time – not when you think you’re going to take it.” – BBC

Tyson Gay

“But he has to be able to show fitness and be able to run,” said USATF President Stephanie Hightower.Gay’s doctor, Marc Philippon, appeared to rule out that possibility, saying Gay should only be able to resume training within the next six to nine weeks.”It is a big blow,” said Dix of Gay’s potential loss to the relay squad. “Tyson at his best is one of the top runners in the world. We’re going to have to step up.”Gay has been badly affected by injuries since winning the 100m and 200m world titles in Osaka in 2007.In 2008, he was injured during the 200m at the US Olympic trials and later that year failed to make the 100m final at the Beijing Games.

The following year, he pulled out of the 200m after taking 100m silver behind Bolt when the Jamaican broke the world record at the World Championships in Berlin.Former world record holder Asafa Powell edged out Bolt’s training partner Yohan Blake to win the Jamaican 100m trials for the World Championships.Powell clocked a winning time of 10.08 seconds into a headwind and was joined by Blake (10.09) and Steve Mullings (10.10) in claiming berths for Daegu.World record holder Bolt did not compete in the trials because he has a wildcard bye as the defending champion in both the 100m and 200m. – BBC

Great

Idowu, the world and European champion, could not dethrone Tamgho with his best effort of 17.52m.Meanwhile, Britain’s European and Commonwealth champion Andy Turner ran a personal-best time of 13.22s to come fourth in the 110m hurdles.Cuban world record holder and Olympic champion Dayron Robles won the event by the slightest of margins after looking laboured over the final 50m.His time of 13.12 will do little to worry the absent world leader David Oliver.Jamaican Dwight Thomas came through in second in 13.16, while Jason Richardson of the USA was third in 13.17. Britain’s William Sharman, still recovering from a recent soft tissue injury, trailed home in last place in 13.71.In the women’s 100m hurdles, Ofili-Porter almost earned herself a British record but the high wind speeds made her time of 12.64 illegal as she just pipped Virginia Crawford to third place.Crawford had stormed out of the blocks but Australian Sally Pearson came through to take the victory in 12.47 seconds. She was trailed by Danielle Carruthers of the USA in 12.48.

The women’s long jump was won by American Brittney Reese with a jump of 6.85m. Russia’s Darya Klishina placed second with 6.76m, a season-best performance. Britain’s Shara Proctor took third with 6.66m.There were signs that world champion Sanya Richards-Ross is getting back to her best after injury as she came second in the 400m.The American ran a season-best time of 50.61 behind winner Amantle Montsho of Botswana, who ran 50.23.Richards-Ross told BBC Sport: “Missing the entire 2010 season with a career-ending injury was tough but training is going great and this performance is encouraging.

“Milcah Chemos of Kenya won the women’s 3,000m steeplechase in 9:19.87.David Rudisha cruised to a simple victory in the 800m in 1:44.15, putting the Kenyan world record holder in prime position for this summer’s world championship crown.Ukrainian Mariya Ryemyen beat Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas to take the women’s 200m in 22.85.In the women’s 1500m, Caster Semenya could only manage 13th place behind Morgan Uceny of the USA, who won in 4:05.52 ahead of Anna Mishchenko in 4:06.00. – BBC

Tyson Gay

Gay had qualified from his heat in a wind-assisted 10.01 seconds, second behind Ivory Williams and third fastest overall, but withdrew before the semi-final citing a recurrence of a problem in his right hip and adductor.”I’ve been bandaging it up, couldn’t really take anymore,” Gay said. “I decided to stay healthy. It’s pretty painful running in pain.”The race was again won by Williams, who was then disqualified from the final as Walter Dix won in 9.94sec.Gatlin, the disgraced 2004 Olympic champion, finished just one hundredth of a second behind in second with Michael Rodgers third to complete the US trio for the World Championships.Gay could still be part of the 4x100m relay team if he recovered in time, USA Track and Field (USATF) officials said.

“But he has to be able to show fitness and be able to run,” said USATF President Stephanie Hightower.”It is a big blow,” said Dix of Gay’s potential loss to the relay squad. “Tyson at his best is one of the top runners in the world. We’re going to have to step up.”Gay has been plagued by injuries since winning the 100m and 200m world titles in Osaka in 2007.In 2008, he was injured during the 200m at the US Olympic trials and later that year failed to make the 100m final at the Beijing Games.

The following year, he pulled out of the 200m after taking 100m silver behind Bolt when he set his world record at the World Championships in Berlin.Former world record holder Asafa Powell edged out Bolt’s training partner Yohan Blake to win the Jamaican 100m trials for the World Championships.Powell clocked a winning time of 10.08 seconds into a headwind and was joined by Blake (10.09) and Steve Mullings (10.10) in claiming berths for Daegu.World record holder Bolt did not compete in the trials because he has a wildcard bye as the defending champion in both the 100m and 200m. – BBC