Day 6 Daegu - Men 5000m Heats - Mo Farah and Bernard Lagat qualified.

Day 6 Daegu - Men 5000m Heats this morning:

While defending champion and WR (12:37.35) holder Kenenisa Bekele has made a 2nd thought and returned to Ethiopia, following strong contenders have qualified among the 15 finalists with results of the morning:

*Mo Farah (GBR) 13:38.03 (WL 12:53.11 Monaco 22 July)
Bernard Lagat (USA) 13:33.90
Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa (KEN) 13:34.46
Dejen Gebremeskel (ETH) 13:34.48

Final : Last day Sun at 19:40 local time

Worlds Daegu - USA Men 4x400m set WL in Heats

Day 6 - Worlds Daegu

USA Men 4x400m relay team set a WL time of 2:58.82 during Heats this morning and has qualified for the Final tomorrow together with :

Jamaica - 2:59.13 (SB)
South Africa - 2:59.21 (NR)
Great Britain & N.I. - 3:00.38 (SB)
Germany - 3:00.68 (SB)
Belgium - 3:00.71 (SB)
Russia - 3:00.81 (SB)
Kenya - 3:00.97 (SB)

The traditional closing event of the meet, Men 4 x 400m relay will be replaced by Men 4 x 100m relay for the first time this time on Sunday at 21:00 local time (after Women 4x100m)

Frightening jinx of daily fallen Star featured on daily cover of Worlds Daegu's "Official Programme", claiming 4 'victims' after first 4 days......

Olga Kaniskina (RUS) walked away with her 3rd consecutive Gold





Day 1 :
Steve Hooker (AUS) - defending world pole vault champion and Olympic champion
-> eliminated without even one successful jump.
Day 2 :
Usain Bolt (JAM) - defending world 100m champion and WR holder
-> disqualified from false start
Day 3 :
Dayron Robles (CUB) - 110m Hurdles WR holder, Olympic n world champion
-> stripped of gold medal
Day 4 :
Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) - Pole vault WR holder, Olympic champion
-> finished at 6th placing after just one successful vault.

Nevertheless the 5th day cover star, Olga Kaniskina (RUS), defending 20km walk champion, broke the 'curse' and walked away with her 3rd consecutive gold in 1:29:42 this morning.

Day 3 Worlds - Another Drama - Robles disqualified after winning gold in 110 m Hurdles

Provisional podium pose of Liu Xiang, Robles and Richardson after the controversial finish n before the disqualification announcement
And The Winner IS ... Richardson of USA....









World 110m hurdles record holder and Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba has been disqualified after winning 110m hurdles final for bumping Liu Xiang of China at the final hurdle.

The Chinese team made the protest which was upheld but the counter-protest lodged by Cuban officials was rejected by the Jury of Appeal and Robles' disqualification stands.


Revised results:
Gold : Jason Richardson (USA) - 13.16
Silver : Liu Xiang (CHN) - 13.27
Bronze : Andrew Turner (GBR) - 13.44

watch on YouTube

Men 110m Hurdles
World Record : 12.87 Dayron Rables (CUB) 2008
World Leading : 12.94 David Oliver (USA)

Day 2 Worlds - 10,000m - Bekele DNF and Jeilan neck-n-neck finish with Mo Farah

Dejected Bekele walks off the track

The anticipated Bekele-Mo Farah showdown did not materialise.

4-time 10,000m defending champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 29, undefeated so far over this distance, dropped out of the race shortly after halfway mark due to a right hip injury, his 1st race since early 2010.

Fellow Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan surged in the last lap to catch up the sprinting leader Mo Farah (GBR), 28, (arrived from Somalia to settle in London 20 years ago), world leading over this distance, and overtook him 10m before the finishing with less than a second separating them.

Jeilan grabbed the gold in 27:13.81, Mo Farah took the silver, the 1st worlds medal by a British male in 27:14.07 while Imane Merga, another Ethiopian took the bronze in 27:19.14.
Zersenay Tadese (ERI) the world half marathon record holder came out 4th in 27:22.57

What they said after the dramatic finish:

Jeilan:
"I am a very good sprinter. I have always very fast last laps. So when Farah was in front and started to sprint his last 400 metres, I knew that if I follow him until 100, 200 metres to go, I can catch him."

Mo Farah:
"With 800 metres to go, I forced the pace,"
"To be honest, with 300 metres to go, I though I had it. I looked at him and tried to hold on."
"I told myself to relax to finish quick, but my legs could not handle it,"

Watch the excitement on You Tube


Men 10,000m
World Record : 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) Brussels 2005
Championship Record : 26:46.31 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) Berlin 2009
WL n European Record : 26:46.57 Mo Farah (GBR) Eugene, USA 2011

Day 2 Worlds - Bolt's sensational disqualification from 100m False Start

Usain Bolt (JAM), 25, world's fastest man and defending champion was dramatically disqualified from the final of the 100m this evening for a false start which took the packed 66k capacity Daegu stadium and the world by a big surprise and disbelief.

Under the new IAAF rule, 2nd chance is not given for a 1st false start and compatriot Yohan Blake took the gold after the restart in 9. 92 and Walter Dix (USA), the Olympic bronze medallist, took silver at 10.08 and 2003 world champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis claimed the bronze at 10.09 ---> watch on YouTube

Watch the sensation on You Tube

Said Bolt on the following day : quote
29th August 2011 - “Firstly I would like to congratulate my team mate Yohan Blake and the other athletes who won the medals.

However I have to move on now as there is no point to dwell on the past. I have a few days to refocus and get ready for the 200m on Friday. After this I have the 4x100m and a few other races before the end of the season. I know that I am now in good shape and will focus on running well in the 200m.

Thanks to all the people who sent me good wishes and I will try my best to make you proud in the 200m.” unquote


Men 100m
WR - 9.58 Usain Bolt (JAM) Worlds Berlin 2009
WL - 9.78 Asafa Powell (JAM) Lausanne 20 June

Day 1 Worlds - 2nd Feat from Kenyan women - a 1-2-3-4 Finish in 10,000m

After performing a stunning 1-2-3 showcase in marathon in opening event, a quartet of Kenyan women repeated the feat even better in the 10,000m event in the evening. This time they took a clean sweep as far as the 4th placing via

Gold : Vivian Cheruiyot - 30:48.98
Silver : Sally Kipyego - 30:50.04
Bronze : Linet Masai - 30:53.59
4th Placing :Prisca Cherono - 30:56.43

Watch on YouTube

Women 10,000m
World record : 29:31.78 Wang Junxia (CHN) Being 1993
Championships Record : 30:04.18 Berhane Adere (ETH) 2003

World Championships Opening - Clean sweep by the Kenyan women marathoners

The 13th edition of the IAAF World Championships 2011 Daegu ,South Korea, kicked-off at 9:00am this morning under cloudy skies and temperatures of mid 20's deg C with the women marathon which saw Kenya completed a historic 1-2-3 clean sweep led by Edna Kiplagat who took the 1st gold medal of the championships despite a dramatic fall as a result of a collision with her team mate Sharon Cherop who finished 3rd, at the 35km drinking station.

Kiplagat, 31, a police officer and a mother of two and coached by her husband, won this championship for the 1st time after winning last year's New York marathon.

Women Marathon
Top 10 finishers:

Gold - Edna Ngeringwonv Kiplagat - 2:28:43
Silver - Priscah Jeptoo (KEN) - 2:29:00
Bronze - Sharon Jemutai Cherop - 2:29:14 (SB)
4th - Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) - 2:29:21
5th - Yukiko Akaba (JPN) - 2:29:35
6th - Zhu Xiaolin (CHN) - 2:29:58
7th - Isabellah Anderson (SWE) - 2:30:13
8th - Wang Jiali (CHN) - 2:30:25
9th - Marisa Barros (POR) - 2:30:29
10th - Remi Nakazako (JPN) - 2:30:52

Watch on YouTube

World Record : 2:15:25 - Paula Radcliffe (GBR) London 2003
Championships Record : 2:20:57 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) Helsinki 2005
Last Worlds winner : 2:25:15 Bai Xue (CHN) Berlin 2009

Countdown 2 Days AND Asafa Powell has withdrawn from the 100m line up due to a groin injury

World Champions Daegu - Countdown 2 days

Jamaica suffer a major blow when Asafa Powell has to withdraw from the 100m line up due to a groin injury and his place has been replaced by Michael Frater.

However he may recover in time to join and defend the 4x100m relay title in the LAST event of the meet on 4 September
The traditional closing event of 4x400m relay has been replaced by 4x100m for the first time this time

IAAf World Championships 2011 Daegu - Men's 10,000m 28 Aug 7:30pm. Bekele - Mo Farah Showdown

Mo Farah - Fastest 10,000m runner this season




Bekele says '2' after winning his 2nd Gold in 10,000m after 5,000m at Worlds Berlin 2009










Men 10,000m

World Record -> 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) Brussels 2005
European Record and WL -> 26:46.57 Mo Farah (GBR) Eugene, USA 3 Jun 2011

Kenenisa Bekele won his 4th consecutive 10,000m world title in the last edition in Berlin 2009 with a championship record of 26:46.31

Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 29, has won 12 consecutive gold medals since 2003 (including 2 Olympic n 4 world titles along with 2 world records) in this 25-lap distance which he has never been beaten.
This will be his 1st race since early 2010.
He will defend his 5,000m title too.
If he wins in Daegu, he will become the first runner at any distance to win five consecutive outdoor world titles.

Mo Farah (Mohammed Farah) (GBR), 28, arrived in Britain from Somalia 20 years ago and settled in West London, has now moved to Oregon in the U.S. to be coached by three-times New York Marathon winner Alberto Salazar.
He has been unbeaten in his last 10 races
If he wins, he will become the first European to do so in this event when it started in 1983

IAAF World Championships 2011 Daegu - Men 100m Final Sun 28 Aug

Berlin 2009 100m Final : Gold - Bolt (2nd from R), Silver - Gay, Bronze -Powell
Usain Bolt after 100m Final Berlin 2009 Aug 16


Men 100m

WR - 9.58 Usain Bolt (JAM) Worlds Berlin 2009
WL - 9.78 Asafa Powell (JAM) Lausanne 20 June

Area Records:
Africa - 9.85 - Olusoji Fasuba (NGR) Doha 2006
Asia --- 9.99 - Samuel Francis (QAT) Amman 2007
Europe-9.86 - Francis Obikwelu (POR) Athina 2004
North, Cent America & C - 9.58 - Usain Bolt (JAM) Berlin 2009
Oceania - 9.93 - Patrick Johnson (AUS) Mito 2003
S America - 10.00 - Robson da Silva (BRA) Mexico 2008


Result of last edition at Berlin 2009 Aug 16:
Gold - Usain Bolt (JAM) -- 9.58 - World Record
Silver - Tyson Gay (USA) - 9.71 (National record)
Bronze - Asafa Powell (JAM) - 9.84


Main contenders:
Usain Bolt(JAM) --- SB 9.88 Monaco 23 July
Asafa Powell (JAM) - WL 9.78 Lausanne 20 June
Walter Dix (USA) --- SB 9.94 USA
Justin Gatlin (USA) - SB 9.95 USA
Michael Frater (JAM) - PB 9.88 Lausanne 20 June 2011


Tyson Gay (USA) SB 9.79 and Steve Mullings (JAM) SB 9.80 have been ruled out due to hip injury and being suspended for a 2nd doping offence respectively

Men 100m - Schedule:
Sat 27 Aug -- 12:55 - Preliminary Round, 21:45 Heats
Sun 28 Aug -- 18:30 - Semi Final, 20:45 FINAL

IAAF World Championships 2011 Daegu - Women's Marathon 27 Aug 9:00am

Bai Xue won China's 1st worlds marathon title


IAAF World Championships - Women Marathon
Championship Record - 2:20:57 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) Helsinki 14 Aug 2005

Berlin 2009 champion - 2:25:15 Bai Xue 白雪 (CHN) - who will NOT defend

Main contenders:

1) Edna Kiplagat (KEN) - 2:20:46 - 2011 London pacesetter
2) Priscah Jeptoo (KEN) - 2:22:55 Paris
3) Sharon Cherop (KEN) - 2:22:43 Toronto Marathon 2010
4) Aselefech Mergia (ETH) - 2:22:45 Champion Dubai
5) Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) - 2:23:42 - 4th London
6) Atsede Baysa (ETH) - 2:23:50 - 5th London
7) Zhou Chun Xiu (周春秀) (CHN) - 2:25:38 4th Worlds Berlin 2009
8) Zhu Xiao Lin (朱晓琳) (CHN) --- 2:26:08 5th Worlds Berlin 2009
9) Yoshimo Ozaki (JPN) PB 2:23:56 Yakohama 2011, n 2nd Worlds Berlin 2009
10) Yukiko Akaba (JPN) - 2:24:09 6th London 2011
11) Remi Nakazato (JPN) - 2:24:29 2nd Yakohama

Results of last edition at Berlin 2009
Gold - Bai Xue (CHN) - 2:25:15
Silver - Yoshimi Ozaki (JPN) - 2:25:25
Bronze - Aselefech Mergia (ETH) - 2:25:32


Mary Keitany (KEN) and Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) - the 2 leading marathoners of 2011 did not enter.

World Record - 2:15:25 - Paula Radcliffe (GBR) London 2003

IAAF World Championships 2011 Daegu - Men's Marathon 4 Sept 9:00am

Abel Kirui won at last edition Berlin 2009










Main contenders :

1) Abel Kirui (KEN) - Defending champion - 2:06:54
2) Vincent Kipruto (KEN) - SB 2:05:33 (ranked 3rd WL) April Rotterdam
3) David Barmasai (KEN) - Dubai champion 2:0718
4) Benjamin Kiptoo (KEN) - Paris champion 2:06:31
5) Gebre Gebremariam (ETH) - PB 2:04:53 Boston 2011
6) Eshetu Wendimu (ETH) - SB 2:07:33 Paris
7) Chala Decasse (ETH) - SB 2:08:47 Rotterdam
8) Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) - SB 2:09:11
9) Abderrahime Bouramdane (MAR) - SB 2:08:42

Winners at World Championships 2009 Berlin
Gold - Abel Kirui (KEN) - 2:06:54 (championship record)
Silver - Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) - 2:07:48
Bronze - Tsegay Kebede (ETH) - 2:08:35


2:03:02 - Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) Boston 2011 - Fastest marathon ever run
2:03:59 - Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Berlin 2008 - World Record

World Marathon Majors

The World Marathon Majors (WMM) is a new series of competition launched collectively by the following 5 world's leading marathons on 23 Jan 2006 :
BAA Boston Marathon
Virgin London Marathon
BMW Berlin Marathon
Bank of Chicago Marathon
ING New York City Marathon

In additional to the above 5 races, this championship-style competition also includes 2 other qualifying non-annual races, viz
- The IAAF World Championship (held once every odd year) and
- The Olympic Games (in years divisible by 4)

Each WMM series spans over 2 years, the inaugural 2006-2007 series was launched at the 110th Boston Marathon on 17 April 17 2006 and concluded on 4 November 2007 at the ING New York City Marathon.

Every new WMM series offers a USD500,000 jackpot each to the top Male and Female marathoners based on the points system of the WMM.

Some statistics about WMM:
............... Since - Capacity - Largest* ----- 2010* - Sp'tators - CR (M) - CR(W)
Boston -- 1897 - 25,000 - 35,868 (1996) - 22,540 - 500k -- 2:03:02 - 2:20:43
London - 1981 - 35,700 - 36,550 (2010) - 36,550 - 1m ----- 2:05:10 - 2:15;25
Berlin -- 1974 - 40,000 - 35,913 (2008) - 34,002 - 1.5m --- 2:03:59 - 2:19:46
Chicago -1977 - 45,000 - 36,088 (2010) - 36,088 - 1.7m --- 2:05:41 - 2:17:18
N York -1970 - 45,000 - 45,103 (2010) - 45,103 -- 2m ----- 2:07:43
* Number of finishers

The 2009/2010 series was won by the late Sammy Wanjiru (KEN) (75 points) followed by Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) (65 pts) and Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) (50pts) while Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) (85points) won the women section followed by Irina Mikitenko (GER) (41pts) and Salina Kosgei (KEN) (36pts)

Meanwhile the top 2010/11 Leader Board as of April stands as follows:
Men:
1) Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) - 55 points
2) Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) - 41 points
3) Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) - 40 points
4) Gebre Gebremariam (ETH) - 35 points
5) Patrick Makau (KEN) - 35 points

Women:
1) Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) - 65 points
2) Mary Keitany (KEN) - 35 points
3) Edna Kiplagat (KEN) - 35 points
4) Brzunesh Bekele (ETH) - 25 points
5) Teyba Erkesso (ETH) - 25 points

Ref.: World Marathon Majors

Final 2010-2011 Standings:
http://worldmarathonmajors.com/US/news/316/

Launching of Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011

Photo courtesy of YB Danny Law





Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad (AGIC), a subsidiary of Allianz Malaysia Berhad becomes the official title sponsor of Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) when they signed a MOU with the Penang state government at the official launching of the " Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon " at Boulevard Hotel, Kuala Lumpur today.

PBIM was represented by its Chairman YB Danny Law Heng Kiang (pix centre) while Allianz Malaysia Berhad was represented by its CEO Mr Jens Reisch (pix right) , and AGIC was represented by its CEO Encik Zakri Khir (pix left).

Allianz Malaysia is a subsidiary of Allianz Group which is one of the leading integrated financial services providers worldwide with its headquarter in Munich , Germany.
AGIC offers a comprehensive and integrated range of general, life insurances and investment solutions by combining a local understanding with their global outlook.

According to YB Danny Law Heng Kiang, the upcoming event on 20 Nov will be officially named "Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011"

He also said that so far 9,000 runners had registered for the various events in 10km, half marathon (21.0975km) and full marathon (42.195km) since the on-line registration began in early May and it will be closed on 20 Oct
There were 24,000 participants last year, a Malaysian record then, and he expects the figure to reach 30,000 this year.

He added that the grand prizes for the lucky draw will be a Proton Saga 1.3 and a motobike like the 2 previous years.

Ref.: Penang Bridge International Marathon official website
Ref.: Kwang Wah Yit Poh of 20 Aug

Prize Money Structure at IAAF World Championships 2011 Daegu

Prize Money reward structure at IAAF World Championship 2011 Daegu

A) World Record Programme offered by Toyota and TDK :
Athletes achieving a World Record will be eligible for a special World Record Award of USD100,000.

B) Prize Money Structure from IAAF
1) Individual Events -
USD60k/30k/20k/15k/10k/6k/5k/4k for Gold/Silver/Bronze/4th/5th/6th/7th/8th placings respectively.

2) Relays -
USD80k/40k/20k/16k/12k/8k/6k/4k for Gold/Silver/Bronze/4th/5th/6th/7th/8th respectively

3) Marathon Cup (Teams)
USD20k/15k/12k/10k/8k/6k for Winners/Silver Medalists/Bronze Medalists/4th/5th/6th placings

Kenenisa Bekele to defend world title in Daegu - Countdown 10 days

Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 29, world and Olympic champion, will defend his 10,000m title in the upcoming World Championships 2011 in Daegu, 27 Aug to 4 Sept, his first race sine early 2003

He has won 12 consecutive gold medals, including 2 Olympic and 4 world titles along with 2 world records in this track distance since 2003.
He also won the 5,000m gold in the previous world meet in Berlin 2009

If he wins in Daegu, he will become the first runner at any distance to win 5 consecutive outdoor world titles.