Королева спорта. Легкая атлетика.

[Aktovegin]

я продолжаю серию статей о соревновательных дистанциях в легкой атлетике, теперь вы сможете ознакомиться с дистанцей в которой блещет наша звезда Рамиль Гулиев, и так 200м.

This distance is similar to the ancient Greek sprint event the "stadion" (literally length of the stadium), but it derives from a mile-based distance, the furlong, or one-eighth of a mile.

In the USA, the 200m was run in a straight line until around 1960. A curve was only included in Europe and at the Olympics, where the distance first appeared in 1900. The 200m with a full bend on a 400m track became universally accepted in 1958, when two distinct sets of records began to be kept.

The 200m specialist must combine the basic speed of the 100m sprinter with a running technique that allows him to cope with centrifugal forces when sprinting around the bend. Times in a 200m straight race were estimated to be around 3 to 4/10ths of a second faster than races including a bend.

200 metres Men Landmarks

First under 22 sec: 21.8 Luther Cary USA 1891

First official world record: 21.2 Willie Applegarth GBR 1914

First under 21 sec: 20.7 Jesse Owens USA 1936

First under 20.5: 20.4 Henry Carr USA 1963

First under 20 sec: 19.83 Tommie Smith USA 1968

First under 19:5 sec: 19.32 Michael Johnson 1996

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 22 men; gold/silver by Andy Stanfield USA 1952/1956 & Carl Lewis USA 1984/1988

Most World titles:

2 Calvin Smith USA 1983/1987

2 Michael Johnson 1991/1995

Youngest Olympic/World champion:Percy Williams CAN 1928 (20)

Oldest: Pietro Mennea 1980 (28); Michael Johnson USA 1996 (28);

Konstadínos Kedéris GRE 2001 (28)

Three all-time greats

Tommie Smith (USA): Won 1968 Olympic title in world record 19.83, two years after clocking 19.5 on a straight track, a full half second inside previous record.

Pietro Mennea (ITA): His 19.72 when winning the World Students title in Mexico City in 1979 stood until the Atlanta Olympics. He pipped Britain's Allan Wells for the 1980 Olympic crown.

Michael Johnson (USA): Won both his world titles by 0.33 sec, the biggest margin at this level since Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics and went on to become the first man to win double gold in the 200m and 400m at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Development of performances

The development of performances in the 200 m sprint has been affected by its intermediate position between the 100 m and 400 m. All efforts to describe a statistical relationship between either the 100 m or 400 m distance with the 200 m have been unsuccessful. There are successful double-starters from both disciplines: Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA) as world record holder over 100 m and also Michael Johnson (USA) as double Olympic champion over 200 m and 400 m are examples. A widespread specialization upon this distance has possibly not occurred or not yet occurred. Two outstanding leaps in performance (Johnson 19.32 s and Griffith-Joyner 21.34 s) are the most obvious characteristics of the present situation and have not nearly been achieved by the majority of world class sprinters.

Performance factors in sprinting

The sprinter’s goal is to develop the highest possible horizontal velocity. As an example this velocity is developed in the 100m sprint within 43 - 46 strides (men) and 47 - 52 strides (women). A stride consists of a stance and a flight phase. The sprinter’s horizontal propulsion is only produced during the stance phase. The push-off leg (figure 1) presses against the resistance of the floor in a backward-downward direction ("action") and the interactive forces result in the horizontal propulsion of the body in a forward-upward direction ("reaction").

The stance phase is prepared during the flight phase. It is important that all forces acting against the running direction (e.g. resisting movements) are minimized. During the flight phase the legs must actively swing downwards - backwards because from a subjective point of view it seems to the sprinter that the ground is coming towards him. The braking forces are minimized because the feet backward swinging feet and the "retreating" ground have approximately the same velocity.

There is only little time available for the sprinter to develop force during the stance phase. The stance phase of the foot on the ground is only 0.08 s - 0.09 s long in the phase of maximum velocity. However, the greatest possible power must be produced in this short time for forward propulsion. Forces of up to 3.5 times the body weight in vertical direction and a single body weight in horizontal direction are acting during the stance phase. This explains the great importance of strength in sprinting which is comprised predominantly of maximum strength and speed strength.

However, stronger legs must also have a correspondingly strong upper body because (according to biomechanical laws) the swinging arms must produce equal opposite forces to the those of the legs. This explains the generally very strong appearance of sprinters.

The sprinting velocity is mathematically determined by the product of stride length and stride rate. These two factors interact: after they have reached a certain level after a phase of mutually increasing (in the first 50 m) an increase in either parameter will result in a corresponding decrease of the other, i.e. if the sprinter increases his stride length after 50 m then the stride rate must decrease and vice versa. The extent of these changes varies individually depending upon physical capabilities, training level, form of training and body build.

External influences in sprinting

The major factors influencing sprint performance are

footwear

track surface

climatic conditions

the rules

According to international rule the shoes worn in sprinting can have spikes up to 9 mm long. As the sprinters run on the balls of their feet, the spikes located underneath this part of the foot permit a more efficient transfer of force to the track. The foot can not have much room to move inside the very light shoe (no socks). The transfer of force to the track is more effective the thinner and harder the sole is so that the feeling for the direct contact with the track is improved.

The track itself has definite performance influencing characteristics. An important criterion for a "slow" or "fast" track is the level of deformation of the substrate. If the substrate is harder the sprinter can transfer his force better and therefore, gets a better propulsive reaction force. The decisive factors in evaluating a track are the thickness of the artificial surface layer, the substrate material (asphalt or concrete) and the density thereof. The features for the "fast" track in Atlanta were a 5 to 8 mm thick artificial surface layer and suggest an extremely dense asphalt. Similar construction methods have lead to similar conditions in Athens. Fast but hard tracks have the disadvantage that the musculo-skeletal system is heavily loaded which often leads to overload injuries which are especially prevalent in long distance events or in training.

Climatic conditions can be very significant. Tail wind always assists in the 100 m while head wind is always detrimental to performance. The 9.94 s over 100 m run by Jim Hines (USA) in Mexico in 1968 benefited from a number of climatic factors: dry and warm conditions, a reduced air resistance which corresponds to a wind assistance of approximately 1.5 m/s (Mexico-City lies at an altitude of 2,240 m) and also a tail wind of 1.6 m/s.

The dimensions of the track are a width of 1.22 m and a length which can not vary internationally by more than 2 cm.

The windmeter in the 200 m sprint must measure for at least 10 s after the first runner has reached the finishing straight. A record is no longer acknowledged if a tail wind of more than 2.1 m/s is recorded. However, such a wind measurement provides no information about the wind at the start or finish and therefore, has limited meaningfulness.

Biomechanical factors in sprinting

Each sprint is fundamentally divided into different phases:

1. The reaction phase at the start

2. The acceleration phase (increase in speed)

3. The phase of maximum speed (constant speed)

4. The deceleration phase (decreasing speed)

5. The finish

During the reaction phase the highly concentrated sprinter uses the resistance of the starting blocks to initially accelerate from a complete rest position. An explosive force production of the legs in a very short time is vital for a successful start. After the start signal the sprinter must develop horizontal forces reaching up to 1.5 times body weight in less than 0.4 s . The reaction time (the time between the start signal to the first movement of the sprinter) is of relatively small importance to the overall result. However, the desired psychological advantage at the beginning of the race can last right through to the finish.

After leaving the starting blocks the sprinter increases his running speed in the acceleration phase by continually increasing stride length and stride rate with a clear forward lean position. During this phase men achieve stride rates of up to 4.4 strides per second, women reach 4.7 strides per second. The length of the acceleration phase increases at higher performance levels and this is the most important phase for the race performance. Top sprinters reach their maximum speed after about 60 - 70 m (men) and 50 - 60 m (women).

In the phase of maximum velocity (at 60 - 90 m) the sprinters cover a distance of 20 - 30 m at their highest speed. This is where the maximum speeds of 11 m/s (men) and 10 m/s (women) are achieved. Stride length and stride rate vary amongst sprinters and reach personal optimal ratios. Ground contact times decrease.

The following 100 m constitute the deceleration phase. As a result of fatigue of the central nervous system and an accumulation of metabolic waste products the stride rate decreases and the sprinter attempts to compensate with increased stride length. Some sprinters appear to get faster at the end of a race which is only an illusion resulting from varying rates of fatigue.

The following are specific characteristics of the 200 m sprint:

- a greater demand is placed upon the body’s energy reserves, because of the doubled distance of the 100 m, this results in an accumulation of lactate which provides theoretical advantages for 400 m runners in the 200 m

- the high acidity levels resulting from the lactate mean that the 200 m can not be run at maximum speed, but definitely with maximum effort

- the influence of the start and acceleration phases is not quite as dominant in the overall performance as in the 100 m sprint. Speed and speed endurance are more important to the result

- the first 100 m can not be run as fast as the straight 100 m because of the curve, the difference in time is up to 0.3 s. Curve running technique has a considerable influence upon the time

- there is a progressive decrease in speed over the second 100 m - better sprinters distinguish themselves by having less deceleration towards the finish

The finish is the decisive stage of the race especially with minimal differences in ability. Competition rules state that the time is based upon the trunk passing the finish line. A strong forward lean is an advantage to a sprinter. This is achieved by flexing the hips while simultaneously bringing back the arms. The forward lean can lead to forward torque which the sprinter must compensate and which occasionally leads to falls after the finish.

Important biomechanical data for the 200 m sprint

200m Men

Women

World record

19,32 sec

21,34sec

Reaction time at the start

0,16–0,24

0,16-0,20

Duration of acceleration

70-80m

60-70m

Maximum speed

11m/s

10m/s

Average speed

10,14 m/s

9,37 m/s

Position of maximum speed

50-100m

50-100m

Stride length

2,10-2,40m

1,90-2,20m

Stride rate (strides per second)

4,00 – 4,40

4,00-4,70

Number of strides per 200 m

83-85

92-105

[Aktovegin]

и вот мы подошли к дистанции которую бегал ваш покорный слуга, это моя родная дистанция хотя как говорили все специалисты я не должен был её бегать, но тем не менее это произошло.

400м

A distance related to the quarter-mile which is 440 yards or 402.34 metres. This race is probably best described as an endurance-sprint.

The 400m has achieved notoriety as a "man killer" because it is physiologically impossible to run at close to top speed for longer than 30 to 35 seconds before oxygen debt sets in and muscles "fill" with lactic acid. 400m runners must have good basic speed, they must be able to judge pace and they must learn to ignore pain!

The 400m has been run in lanes from start to finish, like the shorter sprints, at the Olympic Games since 1912.The great improvements in this event, although partly explained by the introduction of synthetic tracks in the late sixties, is mostly due to the development of highly intensive training programmes which successfully build both speed and strength. Although 400m runners were traditionally divided into 200m/400m and 400m/800m types, it is the "pure" sprinters like Michael Johnson who now dominate the event.

400 Is it for me?

The race is on: The pace is set Still no one falls behind The bend is rounded: in its crest Is left the weakest mind

The toughest sprint, the 400m can seem both short in time and long in distance. The 400m runner needs to be a courageous sprinter. Willpower battles against pain as muscles become ever-heavier at the end of a race. Alone in his lane, the athlete must start fast, at ninety per cent of maximum effort and control his pace so as not experience the figurative brick wall that awaits the presumptuous. After 30 to 35 seconds of fast running physiological realities – oxygen debt, lactic acid build-up in the muscles – intrude. The whole body can suffer. The 400m is a school of courage in which you learn to surpass yourself

400 m For the Expert

Development of performances

The development of performance in the 400 m sprint at absolute elite level has remained at approximately 43 s (men) and 49 s (women) for a number of years.

Performance factors in sprinting

The sprinter’s goal is to develop the highest possible horizontal velocity. As an example this velocity is developed in the 100m sprint within 43 - 46 strides (men) and 47 - 52 strides (women). A stride consists of a stance and a flight phase. The sprinter’s horizontal propulsion is only produced during the stance phase. The push-off leg (see figure) presses against the resistance of the floor in a backward-downward direction („action") and the interactive forces result in the horizontal propulsion of the body in a forward-upward direction ("reaction").

The stance phase is prepared during the flight phase. It is important that all forces acting against the running direction (e.g. resisting movements) are minimized. During the flight phase the legs must actively swing downwards - backwards because from a subjective point of view it seems to the sprinter that the ground is coming towards him. The braking forces are minimized because the feet backward swinging feet and the "retreating" ground have approximately the same velocity.

There is only little time available for the sprinter to develop force during the stance phase. The stance phase of the foot on the ground is only 0.08 s - 0.09 s long in the phase of maximum velocity. However, the greatest possible power must be produced in this short time for forward propulsion. Forces of up to 3.5 times the body weight in vertical direction and a single body weight in horizontal direction are acting during the stance phase. This explains the great importance of strength in sprinting which is comprised predominantly of maximum strength and speed strength.

However, stronger legs must also have a correspondingly strong upper body because (according to biomechanical laws) the swinging arms must produce equal opposite forces to the those of the legs. This explains the generally very strong appearance of sprinters.

The sprinting velocity is mathematically determined by the product of stride length and stride rate. These two factors interact: after they have reached a certain level after a phase of mutually increasing (in the first 50 m) an increase in either parameter will result in a corresponding decrease of the other, i.e. if the sprinter increases his stride length after 50 m then the stride rate must decrease and vice versa. The extent of these changes varies individually depending upon physical capabilities, training level, form of training and body build.

External influences in sprinting

The major factors influencing sprint performance are

footwear

track surface

climatic conditions

the rules

According to international rule the shoes worn in sprinting can have spikes up to 9 mm long. As the sprinters run on the balls of their feet, the spikes located underneath this part of the foot permit a more efficient transfer of force to the track. The foot can not have much room to move inside the very light shoe (no socks). The transfer of force to the track is more effective the thinner and harder the sole is so that the feeling for the direct contact with the track is improved.

The track itself has definite performance influencing characteristics. An important criterion for a "slow" or "fast" rack is the level of deformation of the substrate. If the substrate is harder the sprinter can transfer his force better and therefore, gets a better propulsive reaction force. The decisive factors in evaluating a track are the thickness of the artificial surface layer, the substrate material (asphalt or concrete) and the density thereof. The features for the "fast" track in Atlanta were a 5 to 8 mm thick artificial surface layer and suggest an extremely dense asphalt. Similar construction methods have lead to similar conditions in Athens. Fast but hard tracks have the disadvantage that the musculo-skeletal system is heavily loaded which often leads to overload injuries which are especially prevalent in long distance events or in training.

Climatic conditions can be very significant. Tail wind always assists in the 100 m while head wind is always detrimental to performance. The 9.94 s over 100 m run by Jim Hines (USA) in Mexico in 1968 benefited from a number of climatic factors: dry and warm conditions, a reduced air resistance which corresponds to a wind assistance of approximately 1.5 m/s (Mexico-City lies at an altitude of 2,240 m) and also a tail wind of 1.6 m/s.

The dimensions of the track are a width of between 1.22 and 1.25 m and a length which can not vary internationally by more than 2 cm.

A record is no longer acknowledged if a tail wind of more than 2.1 m/s is recorded. However, such a wind measurement provides no information about the wind at the start or finish and therefore, has limited meaningfulness.

Biomechanical factors in sprinting

Each sprint is fundamentally divided into different phases:

The reaction phase at the start

The acceleration phase (increase in speed)

The phase of maximum speed (constant speed)

The deceleration phase (decreasing speed)

The finish

During the reaction phase the highly concentrated sprinter uses the resistance of the starting blocks to initially accelerate from a complete rest position. An explosive force production of the legs in a very short time is vital for a successful start. After the start signal the sprinter must develop horizontal forces reaching up to 1.5 times body weight in less than 0.4 s . The reaction time (the time between the start signal to the first movement of the sprinter) is of relatively small importance to the overall result.

After leaving the starting blocks the sprinter increases his running speed in the acceleration phase by continually increasing stride length and stride rate. As opposed to the 100 and 200 m sprints the 400 m runner only runs at 90% of his sprinting ability and does not reach a maximum 400 m speed until about 100 to 150 m. This maximum speed lies 1 to 1.5 m/s lower than for 100 m. Similarly the average stride rate is considerably lower and the average stride length considerably longer than in the 100 m. Again both parameters reach a personal optimum. A fast "entrance" into the race is of great importance to the result.

The distance from 150 m to the finish comprises the deceleration phase. The running speed decreases relatively consistently due to fatigue and an accumulation of the metabolic waste product lactate. The last 100 m, however, is of especial importance because of the great muscular fatigue which can lead to an increasing loss of speed. Runners leading after 100 m often maintain this position until 300 m but lose disproportionately over the final 100 m. Speed endurance is especially important in this portion of the last 60 strides (of a maximum 190 - 200 strides).

The finish is the decisive stage of the race especially with minimal differences in ability. Competition rules state that the time is based upon the trunk passing the finish line. A strong forward lean is an advantage to a sprinter. This is achieved by flexing the hips while simultaneously bringing back the arms. The forward lean can lead to forward torque which the sprinter must compensate and which occasionally leads to falls after the finish.

printemail

[Wansonetka]

Я тоже занималась Легкой Атлетикой :morqqqq: Рамиль Гилиев- крассавчик- молодчина, хотя Руслан не отстает от него :)

[Aktovegin]

800m

The 800 metres is the event where the demands of speed and speed-endurance converge. It is related to the half-mile (880 yards or 804.67m) and was first run in Britain by professionals around 1830.

For a long time, very fast opening laps were the norm. But in 1932 Tom Hampson (GBR) became the first man to break 1:50 with 1:49.7 which he achieved with even paced laps (54.8 + 54.9).

When Germany's Rudolf Harbig smashed the world record with 1:46.6 in 1939 it was largely due to the "interval training" devised by his coach Waldemar Gerschler. This developed specific endurance through fast training repetitions with short recoveries: i.e. 50 x 100m, 20 x 150m.

In 1959 the IAAF decided to act against the frequent jostling in this event by running the first 300 metres in lanes. Today's rules stipulate that, in certain major competitions, the first 100 metres will be run in lanes.

Landmarks

First under 2 minutes: 1:59.8 Arthur Pelham GBR 1873

First official world record: 1:51.9 Ted Meredith USA 1912

First under 1:50: 1:49.7 Tom Hampson GBR 1932

First under 1:47: 1:46.6 Rudolf Harbig GER 1939

First under 1:45: 1:44.3 Peter Snell NZL 1962

First under 1:43: 1:42.33 Seb Coe GBR 1979

First under 1:42: 1:41.73 Sebastian Coe 1981

Most durable world record: 1:41.73 Seb Coe (16 years)

Most times under 1:43: Wilson Kipketer 22 (as at 3 Dec 2002)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Douglas Lowe GBR 1924/1928

2 Mal Whitfield USA 1948/1952

2 Peter Snell 1960/1964

Most World Championship titles:3 Wilson Kipketer DEN 1995/1997/1999

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Ted Meredith 1912 (20)

Oldest: Paul Ruto KEN 1993 (32); Alfred Kirwa Yego KEN 2007 (20)

Three all time greats

Peter Snell (NZL): Won 1960 Olympic title as a complete outsider; four years later, as world record holder, successfully defended as well as winning 1500m.

Alberto Juantorena (CUB): Star of 1976 Olympics where he won the 800m in a world record 1:43.50 and came back to triumph also in the 400m.

Seb Coe (GBR): World record holder from 1979 to 1997, and twice Olympic 1500m champion, he overtook Rudolf Harbig for longevity to become longest single record holder.

800 m - Women Landmarks

Landmarks

First under 2:20: 2:19.6 Lina Radke GER 1928

First under 2:10: 2:08.5 Nina Pletneva URS 1952

First under 2:00: 1:59.1 Sin Kim Dan PRK 1963

First under 1:55: 1:54.9 Tatyana Kazankina URS 1976

Most durable world record: 1:53.28 Kratochvílová 1983 (24 years)

Most times under 1:56: 7 Maria Mutola MOZ (as at 31 Dec 2003)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 12 women

Most World titles: 3 Maria Mutola 1993/2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Maria Mutola 1993 (20)

Oldest: Jarmila Kratochvílová 1983 (32); Ana Fidelia Quirot CUB 1995 (32)

Three all time greats

Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH): With laps of 56.1 and 57.2 the powerfully built Czech set the current world record in 1983, two weeks before becoming the first to break 48 sec for 400m.

Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB): Winner of 39 consecutive finals between 1987 and1990, she nearly lost her life when dreadfully burned in 1993 ... yet made a stunning return to win the 1995 and 1997 world titles.

Maria Lurdes Mutola (MOZ)

The youngest ever World champion who took both indoor and outdoor golds in 1993 as a 20 year-old. Took her fifth indoor and third outdoor World title in 2003. 2000 Sydney Olympic champion. In 2003 she became the first ever athlete to win the IAAF Golden League $1 million Jackpot outright

Not one ounce of power is lost, they turn and twist and scrape They're tense, relaxed, relaxed and tense They fight to reach the tape

Here the athlete must challenge his rivals around two laps of the track: he sizes them up, comes into contact with them – clashing elbows are the norm here. Everyone, big or small, has a chance in this event, where anaerobic effort can unleash a final sprint to snatch victory. The 800m runner must embody boldness, strategy in movement, positional sense and anticipation. Together they can enable you to beat those stronger than yourself. It is a race steeped in romance, in which anything can happen, where the prolonged speed of the 400m meets the endurance of the 1500m. It is the kingdom for ace athletes who can race fast and long.

[Aktovegin]

1500м

The sister distance to the mile (1609.32 m), the 1500m was born on the 500 metre tracks of Continental Europe. It has become the classic middle distance event - demanding a combination of speed, staying power and tactical acumen.

Part of the first modern Olympics in 1896, many 1500m runners also competed at 5000m in this early era. Paavo Nurmi (Finland) became Olympic champion in both events within the space of 50 minutes in 1924.

The rivalry between Sweden's Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson between 1940 and 1944 brought the world record down to 3:43, thanks to Gösta Olander's natural training method of long cross country runs twice a day.

By the mid 1960s, thanks to the marvellous times achieved by the young Jim Ryun (USA), intensive, speed-oriented interval work gained popularity.

Africa, whose athletes have come to epitomise the virtues of talent, hard work and tactical bravery, had their first breakthrough when Kenya's Kip Keino won Olympic gold in 1968. At the 1974 Commonwealth Games, Filbert Bayi (Tanzania) ran a world record 3:32.2 (1:52.2 at 800m).

Just as Roger Bannister achieved immortality by being the first to break four minutes for the mile at Oxford in 1954, fellow Briton Steve Cram was the first under 3:30 for 1500m, in Nice in 1985.

Previously Seb Coe and Steve Ovett had ruled the 1500m/mile scene.Today it is the North Africans who dominate this event. First Algeria's Noureddine Morceli and then his successor Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, with their punishing training schedules and fearless attitude, represent the ultimate thoroughbred 1500m racer.

Landmarks

First under 4 minutes: 3:59.8 Harold Wilson GBR 1908

First official world record: 3:55.8 Abel Kiviat USA 1912

First under 3:50: 3:49.2 Jules Ladoumegue FRA 1930

First under 3:40: 3:38.1 Stanislav Jungwirth TCH 1957

First under 3:30: 3:29.67 Steve Cram GBR 1985

Most durable world record: 3:29.46 Said Aouita (7 years)

Most times under 3:30: Hicham El Guerrouj 33 (as at 15 Apr 2008, includes 3 Mile intermediate times)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 James Lightbody USA 1904/1906

2 Sebastian Coe GBR 1980/1984

Most World titles: 4 Hicham El Guerrouj 1997/1999/2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Ron Delany IRL 1956 (21); Peter Rono KEN 1988 (21); Noureddine Morceli ALG 1991 (21)

Oldest: Bernard Lagat USA 2007 (32)

Three all-time greats

Herb Elliott (AUS): Never lost a 1500m race during his brief career. Supreme achievement was winning 1960 Olympic title by 20 metres in world record 3:35.6.

Sebastian Coe (GBR): Only man to win Olympic 1500m title (1980) and successfully defend four years later. He was also a world record breaker at 800m, 1000m, 1500m and mile.

Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR): see also MILE. Four-time world champion, who brought the world mark down to 3:26.00 in 1998, and in 2004 he became Olympic champion as part of an historic 1500m / 5000m double.

Landmarks

First under 4:20: 4:19.0 Marise Chamberlain NZL 1962

First under 4:10: 4:09.6 Karin Burneleit GDR 1971

First under 4:05: 4:01.4 Lyudmila Bragina URS 1972

First under 4:00: 3:56.0 Tatyana Kazankina URS 1976

Most durable world record: Qu Yunxia CHN 3:50.46 (14 years)

Most times under 3:58:

Tatyana Kazankina, Maricica Puica ROM, Qu Yunxia & Süreyya Ayhan TUR 4

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 Tatyana Kazankina 1976/80

Most World titles: 2 Hassiba Boulmerka ALG 1991/1995; 2 Tatyana Tomashova RUS 2003/2005

Youngest Olympic/World champion:Liu Dong CHN 1993 (19)

Oldest: Kelly Holmes GBR 2004 (34)

Three all time greats

Lyudmila Bragina (URS): During the course of one season (1972) she brought the world record of 4:09.6 down to 4:01.4, clocking that time when winning the inaugural Olympic title.

Tatyana Kazankina (URS): The record stayed at 4:01.4 until she ran an astonishing 3:56.0 in 1976, the year she won the Olympic 800 & 1500m; she won the 1500 again in 1980 and cut the record to 3:55.0 and 3:52.47.

Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG): With one Olympic title (1992) and two world championships (1991 & 1995) to her name, the Algerian is the most successful female 1500m racer ever at that level. Her medal at the 1991 World Championships was the first gold ever for a woman from Algeria.

1500 m - Is it for me?

No wonder when they start off, they all charge to get in front And then slow and change the pace as race dictates And they bunch and push and jostle, hit and miss and bustle To ensure the steps they take don't go to waste

The blue riband race, in which the athlete must strike a balance between oxygen supply and oxygen debt. Here stamina begins to really count, but speed matters too, given the frequent participation of 800m specialists. The great 1500m pioneers never set themselves limits, and so they continually surpassed themselves. Tenacity, energy and mental strength are the principal generators of action. Sometimes they can produce enough spirit for a last-bend attack against someone you have never beaten before.

[Aktovegin]

Hustopece, Czech Republic – European indoor High Jump champion Ivan Ukhov opened his 2010 season in style with a 2.37m clearance to highlight the first leg of the 6th Moravian High Jump Tour in Hustopece on Saturday (23).

It was a one-man show by the 23-year-old Russian. He opened his competition at 2.20m with a warm up jump, and continued with first attempt clearances at 2.28m, 2.30m, and 2.32m.

After removing his warm ups, he sailed clear at 2.37m also on his first try, an early season world-leading performance, a new meeting record and the best ever indoor leap in the Czech Republic.

Competing before a capacity crowd of nearly 1000, he went on with three solid efforts at a would-be national indoor record of 2.41m. His first try was very close.

Competing in his first indoor High Jump-only event, American Dusty Jonas cleared 2.30m on his third attempt to take second.

Italian Alessandro Talotti was third, local hero Jaroslav Baba fourth, and Briton Samson Oni was fifth, all at 2.28m.

Dmytro Demyanyuk of Ukraine, who opened at 2.24m and passed at 2.28m, produced three close attempts at 2.30, and finished sixth.

[Aktovegin]

5000m and 10000m

These races are metric adaptations of the 3 miles (4828m) and the 6 miles (9656 m) and are the track events that most challenge human endurance.

Back in the 1920s Finland's Paavo Nurmi revolutionised these events by training twice a day over long distances, skiing in the winter, and carrying out gruelling sprint repetitions. In the 1940s, as a result of Sweden's Gunder Hägg (see 1500m), the "natural training method" including "fartlek" (speed-play) became popular while in the 1950s, thanks to the phenomenal successes of Czechoslovakia's Emil Zátopek, interval training came into vogue again. Zátopek’s training was incredibly intense. He often ran 60 x400m with short recovery times. Each day he covered 40km, 25 of them on the track. His long runs were usually made in army boots.

In the 1960s Ron Clarke (Australia), a disciple of even pace, put natural preparation first and overturned all the received wisdom. Today Africa boasts the greatest distance runners. Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who has continuously astounded the world with his world records at 5000m and 10,000m, was born at altitude, like his predecessors Kip Keino (KEN), Miruts Yifter (ETH), Henry Rono (KEN) and John Ngugi (KEN). Gebrselassie has succeeded in blending two previously incompatible attributes - speed and endurance.

Women first ran the 3000m distance in Britain in 1953 and official world records have been accepted since 1974. The IAAF held a 3000m race at its inaugural World Championships in 1983 and it made its Olympic debut the following year.

The event was replaced by the 5000m in 1995, although the IAAF had recognised world records at this distance since 1981. The first women's 10,000m races were held in the sixties with IAAF world records recognised since 1981. The event received World Championships status in 1987 and Olympic recognition a year later.

5000m

Landmarks

First under 14:30: 14:28.2 Paavo Nurmi FIN 1924

First under 14:00: 13:58.2 Gunder Hägg SWE 1942

First under 13:30: 13:25.8 Ron Clarke AUS 1965

First under 13:00: 12:58.39 Saïd Aouita MAR 1987

First under 12:50: 12:44.39 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 1995

First under 12:40: 12:39.74 Daniel Komen KEN 1997

Most durable world record: 13:58.2 Gunder Hägg SWE 1942 (11 years)

Most times under 13:00: Haile Gebrselassie 18 (as at 15 Apr 2008)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Lasse Viren FIN 1972/1976

Most World titles: 2 Ismael Kirui KEN 1993/1995

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Ismael Kirui 1993 (18)

Oldest: Miruts Yifter ETH 1980 (36)

10,000m

Landmarks

First under 31 min: 30:58.8 Jean Bouin FRA 1911

First under 30 min: 29:52.6 Taisto Mäki FIN 1939

First under 29 min: 28:54.2 Emil Zátopek TCH 1954

First under 28 min: 27:39.4 Ron Clarke AUS 1965

First under 27 min: 26:58.38 Yobes Ondieki KEN 1993

First under 26:50 min: 26:43.53 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 1995

First under 26:40 min: 26:38.08 Salah Hissou MAR 1996

First under 26:30 min: 26:27.85 Paul Tergat KEN 1997

First under 26:20 min: 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 2005

Most durable world record: 30:06.2 Paavo Nurmi FIN 1924 (12 years)

Most times under 27:10: Haile Gebrselassie & Kenenisa Bekele 9 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Paavo Nurmi 1920/1928

2 Emil Zátopek 1948/1952

2 Lasse Viren FIN 1972/1976

2 Haile Gebrselassie 1996/2000

Most World titles: 4 Haile Gebrselassie 1993/1995/1997/1999

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Haile Gebrselassie 1993 (20)

Oldest: Miruts Yifter ETH 1980 (36)

Four all time greats

Paavo Nurmi (FIN): The "Phantom Finn" whose 29 world records across a range a distances including two at both 5000m and 10,000m, and nine Olympic gold medals made him peerless in the 1920's. He took an unmatched 1500m and 5000m double in 1924 Olympics and the 10,000m titles in both 1920 and 1928.

Emil Zátopek (TCH): The "bouncing Czech" gained an Olympic treble in 1952 which is still spoken of in awe: the 10,000m, 5000m and - in his début – the marathon.

Lasse Viren (FIN): Seen at his very best only when it mattered most, at the Olympics. He won the coveted 5000/10,000m double both in 1972 and 1976 (+ 5th 1976 marathon), setting a world record in the 1972 final despite falling in mid race. He also set a short lived 5000m world record just after the 1972 Olympics.

Haile Gebrselassie (ETH): A world record breaker at 5000m (4 times) and 10,000m (3 times), and unbeaten at the longer distance between 1993 and 2000, he has so far collected four world titles and two Olympic golds at 10,000m. In 2002 he ran his first marathon, finishing third in an Ethiopian record of 2:06:35, the fastest debut in history.

5000m woman

Landmarks

First official world record: 15:14.51 Paula Fudge GBR 1981

First under 15:00: 14:58.89 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1984

First under 14:45: 14:37.33 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1986

First under 14:30: 14:28.09 Jiang Bo CHN 1997

First under 14:20: 14:16.63 Meserat Defar 2007

Most durable world record: 14:37.33 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1986 (9)

Most times under 14:45: Gabriela Szabo ROU & Meseret Defar ETH 12 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: held only 3 times: 1996 Wang Junxia CHN, 2000 Gabriela Szabo ROM; 2004 Meseret Defar ETH

Most World titles: 2 Gabriela Szabo ROM (1997/1999); 2 Tirunesh Dibaba ETH (2003/2005)

Youngest Olympic champion: Gabriela Szabo ROM 1997 (21)

Youngest World champion:Tirunesh Dibaba ETH 2003 (18)

Oldest: Olga Yegorova 2001 (29)

10,000m

Landmarks

First official world record: 32:17.20 Yelena Sipatova URS 1981

First under 32 min: 31:35.3 Mary Decker USA 1982

First under 31 min: 30:59.42 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1985

First under 30 min: 29:31.78 Wang Junxia CHN 1993

Most durable world record: 29:31.78 Junxia Wang CHN (14 years)

Most times under 31:00: Paula Radcliffe GBR 8

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 Derartu Tulu ETH 1992/2000

Most World titles: 2 Tirunesh Dibaba (2005/2007)

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Sally Barsosio KEN 1997 (19)

Oldest: IngridKristiansen 1987 (31)

Four all time greats

Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR): For a while held world records at 5000m, 10,000m & marathon, something no man has ever achieved; world 10,000m champion in 1987.

Derartu Tulu (ETH): Became the first black African woman to win any Olympic title when she triumphed at 10,000m in 1992; world cross country champion in 1995, 1997 & 2000.

Wang Junxia (CHN): After winning 1993 World title she pulverised the world record with 29:31.78 prior to running the second quickest ever 1500m (3:51.92) and setting world 3000m records of 8:12.19 and 8:06.11 ... all in the space of 5 days!

Gabriela Szabo (ROM): Two successive World titles 1997/1999. 11 times under 14:45 for 5000m, but no world records yet. Olympic 5000m title in 2000 and World 1500m gold in 2001.

[Aktovegin]

100 m Hurdles - Introduction(woman)

This modern event first appeared in England around 1830 as a variation of the 100 yards using heavy wooden barriers. In 1864, Oxford and Cambridge turned it into a 120 yards (109.72m) race with 10 obstacles three feet six inches (1.06m) high, ten yards (9.14m) apart, with the first and last obstacles 15 yards from the start and finish respectively. In 1888, the French added 28 cm to the distance, to make it the 110m hurdles. It has remained an Olympic classic (in 1896 it was run with only nine hurdles).

Early hurdling technique was very rudimentary with athletes making 'bundled' jumps by tucking their legs under their bodies. In 1895, the fixed hurdles were replaced with lighter structures with an inverted T-shaped base, allowing them to be knocked over forwards. Athletes were disqualified if they knocked over more than three hurdles and records were disallowed if one hurdle was knocked over. This rule was retained until 1935.

The first great hurdler was Alvin Kraenzlein (USA), who created a new technique by striding over the hurdles and taking three steps between barriers. This style was further refined in 1920 by the Canadian Earl Thomson who became the first hurdler under 15 seconds.

The L-shaped hurdle was introduced in 1935, using an eight pound (3.63 kg) counterbalance which allowed the hurdle to fall over with pressure so eliminating the risk of injury. The introduction of synthetic tracks in the late 1960s has helped hurdlers rebound faster off the track.

The first women's hurdles races took place in 1926 over a distance of 80 metres. The hurdles were 76cm high. This event gained Olympic status in 1932 with the first IAAF world record dating back to 1934. The 100m distance with 84cm high hurdles was adopted by the IAAF in 1969 and made its appearance on the Olympic stage in 1972.

100 metres hurdles Women Landmarks

First under 13.00: 12.93 Chi Cheng TPE 1970

First under 12.50: 12.48 Grazyna Rabsztyn POL 1978

First under 12.30: 12.29 Yordanka Donkova BUL 1986

Most durable world record: 12.21 Yordanka Donkova 1988 (19 years)

Most legal times under 12.40: Donkova 13

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 (at 80m) Shirley de la Hunty AUS 1952/1956

Most World titles: 3 Gail Devers USA 1993/1995/1999

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Maureen Caird AUS (at 80m) 1968 (17)

Oldest: Gail Devers 1999 (33); Ludmila Engquist SWE 1997 (33)

Three all time Greats

Shirley de la Hunty (AUS): Winner of seven Olympic medals, she remains the only woman to have won two hurdling titles. In her day the distance was 80m and she set world records both for that event and the flat 100m.

Yordanka Donkova (BUL): On a time basis she is the best; holder of the world record and with a proliferation of fast times. She was Olympic champion in 1988.

Gail Devers (USA): The only woman to win three world hurdling titles, she is equally adept at the flat 100m. She won the 100m dash at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and looked set for a double in Barcelona until hitting the final barrier in the hurdles. Won World Indoor title at 60m Hurdles in 2003.

There's a rhythm that I know, and my heart starts beating slow Then my legs drive up to clear them and my knees drive up to meet them.

Modern sprint hurdlers are first of all sprinters. They must possess the characteristics of speed specialists - reflexes, power and strength. To this must be added the right physique - hurdlers should be tall, or have proportionally long legs to ease hurdle clearance - and have hurdling technique, without which nothing is possible. It is a question of flowing over the 10 hurdles - 1.067m high for men (exactly three and a half feet) 0.84m for women - like a big cat, without seeming to break stride. Hurdlers must always search for a fluidity that is impaired neither by the aggression of the start, nor the need for rhythmic speed between hurdles, nor the act of hurdling. This event is both a running race and a field event. The 10 jumps must be accomplished with perfect linear movement. Here more than anywhere else, style is king.

[Aktovegin]

110 m Hurdles - (men)

This modern event first appeared in England around 1830 as a variation of the 100 yards using heavy wooden barriers. In 1864, Oxford and Cambridge turned it into a 120 yards (109.72m) race with 10 obstacles three feet six inches (1.06m) high, ten yards (9.14m) apart, with the first and last obstacles 15 yards from the start and finish respectively. In 1888, the French added 28 cm to the distance, to make it the 110m hurdles. It has remained an Olympic classic (in 1896 it was run with only nine hurdles).

Early hurdling technique was very rudimentary with athletes making 'bundled' jumps by tucking their legs under their bodies. In 1895, the fixed hurdles were replaced with lighter structures with an inverted T-shaped base, allowing them to be knocked over forwards. Athletes were disqualified if they knocked over more than three hurdles and records were disallowed if one hurdle was knocked over. This rule was retained until 1935.

The first great hurdler was Alvin Kraenzlein (USA), who created a new technique by striding over the hurdles and taking three steps between barriers. This style was further refined in 1920 by the Canadian Earl Thomson who became the first hurdler under 15 seconds.

The L-shaped hurdle was introduced in 1935, using an eight pound (3.63 kg) counterbalance which allowed the hurdle to fall over with pressure so eliminating the risk of injury. The introduction of synthetic tracks in the late 1960s has helped hurdlers rebound faster off the track.

The first women's hurdles races took place in 1926 over a distance of 80 metres. The hurdles were 76cm high. This event gained Olympic status in 1932 with the first IAAF world record dating back to 1934. The 100m distance with 84cm high hurdles was adopted by the IAAF in 1969 and made its appearance on the Olympic stage in 1972.

110 metres hurdles Landmarks

First official world record: 15.0 Forrest Smithson USA 1908

First under 14.5: 14.4 Earl Thomson CAN 1920

First under 14 sec: 13.7 Forrest Towns USA 1936

First under 13.5: 13.4 Jack Davis USA 1956

First under 13 sec: 12.93 Renaldo Nehemiah USA 1981

First under 12.90 sec: 12.88 Liu Xiang CHN 2006

Most durable world record:

15.0 Forrest Smithson 1908 (12 years)

Most legal times under 13 sec: Allen Johnson USA 11 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 Lee Calhoun USA 1956/60 & Roger Kingdom 1984/88

Most World titles: Most World titles: 4 Allen Johnson 1995/1997/2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Fred Kelly USA 1912 (20)

Oldest: Greg Foster 1991 (33)

Three all time greats

Harrison Dillard (USA): The man who won "the wrong event", the 100m, at the 1948 Olympics after failing to make the team in his speciality, he made no mistake four years later.

Renaldo Nehemiah (USA): He was in 1980 a full two metres faster than the next best performer ever but the US boycott robbed him of his chance of Olympic glory. Next year he was first to dip under 13 sec.

Colin Jackson (GBR): The Welshman set the current world record of 12.91 winning the 1993 world title. He took his second world title in 1999. He has recorded more world-class times than anyone and has been among the elite since 1986. At sub-13.10, sub-13.20 and sub 13.30 Jackson is comfortably ahead of all rivals with 33, 111 and 178 performances respectively. Retired in 2003 after indoor season.

There's a rhythm that I know, and my heart starts beating slow Then my legs drive up to clear them and my knees drive up to meet them.

Modern sprint hurdlers are first of all sprinters. They must possess the characteristics of speed specialists - reflexes, power and strength. To this must be added the right physique - hurdlers should be tall, or have proportionally long legs to ease hurdle clearance - and have hurdling technique, without which nothing is possible. It is a question of flowing over the 10 hurdles - 1.067m high for men (exactly three and a half feet) 0.84m for women - like a big cat, without seeming to break stride. Hurdlers must always search for a fluidity that is impaired neither by the aggression of the start, nor the need for rhythmic speed between hurdles, nor the act of hurdling. This event is both a running race and a field event. The 10 jumps must be accomplished with perfect linear movement. Here more than anywhere else, style is king.

[Aktovegin]

This event was introduced in Oxford, England, around 1860 over 440 yards with twelve heavy wooden barriers 1.06m (3ft 6in) high embedded in the ground.

In the 1900 Olympics, the distance was modified to 400 metres with ten hurdles of 91.44cm (3ft) in height, separated by 35 metres. The first hurdle was placed 45 metres from the start, the tenth 40 metres from the finish. These metric distances have remained unchanged ever since.

The technical development of this event has mirrored that of the 110m hurdles, with the adoption of mobile hurdles and, later, synthetic tracks.Performance evolution has come as specialists have become faster and stronger, so needing fewer strides between hurdles.

400 m Hurdles

The current world record of 46.78 was set by Kevin Young (USA) - also known as "Spiderman"- who successfully switched from 12 to 13 strides between barriers when most of his rivals were running 13 to 14 strides.

The first women's race at this distance, with 10 flights of 76cm (2ft 6in) high hurdles, took place in 1971. The IAAF officially sanctioned the event in 1974 and it was part of the 1983 IAAF World Championships. The first Olympic gold was won the following year by Nawal El Moutawakel (Morocco), who became the first woman to be elected to the IAAF Council in 1995.

Landmarks

First official world record: 55.0 Charles Bacon USA 1908

First under 52 sec: 51.7 Bob Tisdall IRL 1932

First under 51 sec: 50.6 Glenn Hardin USA 1934

First under 50 sec: 49.5 Glenn Davis USA 1956

First under 49 sec: 48.8 Geoff Vanderstock USA 1968

First under 48 sec: 47.82 John Akii-Bua UGA 1972

First under 47 sec: 46.78 Kevin Young USA 1992

ost durable world record: 50.6 Glenn Hardin 1934 (19 years)

Most times under 47.50: Edwin Moses USA 13

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Glenn Davis 1956/19602

2 Edwin Moses 1976/1984

Most World titles: 2 Edwin Moses 1983/1987 and Felix Sanchez DOM 2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Edwin Moses 1976 (20)

Oldest: Edwin Moses 1987 (32)

Three all time greats

Glenn Davis (USA) : Made an unremarkable 400m hurdles début in April 1956 (in 54.4) ... two months later he became world record holder at 49.5! First man to win two Olympic titles.

David Hemery (GBR): His 1968 victory, by a huge seven metre margin in a world record shattering 48.12, is considered one of the supreme achievements in Olympic athletics history.

Edwin Moses (USA): A legendary competitor who won 122 successive races between 1977 and 1987, including two Olympic titles which might have been three but for the US boycott of the 1980 Games.

400 metre hurdles Women Landmarks

First official world record: 56.51 Krystyna Kacperczyk POL 1974

First under 55 sec: 54.89 Tatyana Zelentsova URS 1978

First under 54 sec: 53.58 Margarita Ponomaryova URS 1984

First under 53 sec: 52.94 Marina Stepanova URS 1986

First under 52.50 sec: 52.34 Yuliya Pechonkina RUS 2003

Most durable world record: 52.94 Marina Stepanova 1986 (6 years)

Most times under 53.20: Kim Batten 9 (as at 24 August 2000)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 6 women

Most World titles: 2 Nezha Bidouane MAR 1997/2001 and Jana Rawlinson AUS 2003/2007

Youngest Olympic/World champion:Nawal El Moutawakel MAR 1984 (22)

Oldest: Nezha Bidouane MAR 1988 (31); Irina Privalova RUS 2000 (31)

Three all time greats

Marina Stepanova (URS): Won the 1986 European title in a world record 53.32, followed three weeks later by a barrier-breaking time of 52.94 ... at the age of 36!

Sally Gunnell (GBR): Stepanova's record survived until Gunnell, winner of the 1992 Olympic crown, captured the 1993 world title in 52.74 after an epic race with Sandra Farmer-Patrick (USA).

Kim Batten (USA): With Gunnell out injured, Batten and team-mate Tonja Buford fought out the 1995 world championship. Batten (52.61) won narrowly as both broke the Briton's world record.

[Aktovegin]

Trinec, Czech Republic - Two-time World champion Blanka Vlasic kicked off her season with a 2.01m winning leap to highlight the 18th Beskydska Latka High Jump meeting in Trinec, Czech Republic on Tuesday (26).

Competing before a capacity crowd ovf more than 2000 who turned out a frigid evening, the Croatian star, who is also the reigning World champion indoors, produced a perfect score card through her first attempt clearance at 2.01m, an early season world lead and a meet record. She continued at 2.03m and despite three solid attempts, it proved too much in her first competition of the year.

Vlasic was satisfied afterwards.

"It is always tough with the first meet so I'm satisfied with two metres," she said. "I have many weeks of hard training behind me and I needed to work a lot on my technique. But it will come. Here at the end I was tired."

Vlasic competes next in Goteborg on 2 February.

Chaunte Howard of the USA was second at 1.92, and was the overall Moravian High Jump tour winner.

European indoor champion Ivan Ukhov won for the second time in as many outings on this tour. Though not quite as sharp as in Hustopece on Saturday (23) when he opened his season with a 2.37m clearance, his second attempt success at 2.34m was enough to take the victory over rising American talent Dusty Jonas.

Ukhov's first miss didn't come until 2.32m, which required a second try. After upping his own meeting record to 2.34m, he bowed out with three tries at 2.38m, which were not as close as his attemps at 2.41m in Hustopece.

"With these kinds of results I must be satisfied with my season's start," he said. "I was very tired here, but the season is only starting. Next goals? Now some rest, then I must qualify at our nationals and if that works, then Doha," for the World Indoor Championships.

Jonas competed without a miss through 2.30m, before mastering 2.32m on his thir attempt, a new indoor career best for the 23-year-old former NCAA champion.

Alfons Juck for the IAAF

Leading Results -

Men:

1. Ivan Ukhov, RUS 2.34

2. Dusty Jonas, USA 2.32

3. Dmitriy Demyanyuk, UKR 2.27

4. Jaroslav Baba, CZE 2.27

5. Wojciech Theiner, POL 2.23

6. Jamie Nieto, USA 2.19

...

Women:

1. Blanka Vlasic, CRO 2.01

2. Chaunte Howard, USA 1.92

3. Kamila Stepaniuk, POL 1.90

4. Iva Strakova, CZE 1.90

5. Laverne Spencer, LCA 1.87

6. Barbora Lalakova, CZE 1.87

7. Oldriska Maresova, CZE 1.87

[Aktovegin]

3000 m Steeplechase

This event was born out of a wager among Oxford students in 1850, and initially imitated horse racing. The first events were held over 2 miles (3218 m), with hurdles, other obstacles and streams to cross on a route across open country. Like jockeys, the runners were given weight handicaps!

Steeplechasing was brought to the track as part of the English championships in 1879. It entered the Olympic Games programme in 1900, with two events, at 2500m and 4000m, returned in 1904 over 2500m and took place over 2 miles (3200m) in 1908.

In 1954 the IAAF standardised the rules for this speciality, and specified a 400m track, 0.914 m (3 ft) hurdles, plus a water jump (3.66m wide, 0.70 m deep) in each lap, with a distance of 78 metres between each obstacle. For the first time, official steeplechase world records were ratified.

Today the standard steeplechase distances are 2000m and 3000m.Kenya have won every Olympic Games steeplechase final since 1984 with Moses Kiptanui capturing gold in three consecutive World Championships since 1991.

In 1998 the IAAF Council voted to introduce women's steeplechase into the IAAF competition programme after it had been successfully included on the Continental level. This procedure follows the pattern of the introduction of women's pole vault and hammer throw. Therefore, this event, in principle, may become a World Championship event in the year 2003.

The inaugural world record for women's 3000m steeplechase (0.762m hurdles) was the best performance achieved under world record conditions as at 31 December 1999.

Landmarks

World Record Progression

9:48.88 Yelena Motalova RUS Tula 31 Jul 99

9:43.64 Cristina Casandra ROM Bucharest 7 Aug 00

9:40.20 Cristina Casandra ROM Reims 30 Aug 00

9:25.31 Justyna Bak POL Nice 9 Jul 01

9:21.72 Alesya Turova BLR Ostrava 12 Jun 02

9:16.51 Alesya Turova BLR Gdanska 27 Jul 02

9:08.33 Gulnara Samitova RUS Tula 10 Aug 03

9:01.59 Gulnara Samitova RUS, Heraklion 04 July 2004

Most times under 9:30: Alesia Turava BLR 10 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Landmarks

First under 10 min: 9:49.8 Josef Ternström SWE 1914

First under 9 min: 8:59.6 Erik Elmsäter SWE 1944

First under 8:30: 8:29.6 Gaston Roelants BEL 1963

First under 8:20: 8:19.8 Ben Jipcho KEN 1973

First under 8:10: 8:09.70 Anders Garderud SWE 1975

First under 8:05: 8:02.08 Moses Kiptanui KEN 1992

First under 8 min: 7:59.18 Moses Kiptanui 1995

Most durable world record: 8:05.4 Henry Rono KEN 1978 (11 years)

Most times under 8:05: Saif Saeed Shaheen QAT 19 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 Volmari Iso-Hollo FIN 1932/1936

Most World titles: 3 Moses Kiptanui 1991/1993/1995

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Moses Kiptanui 1991 (20); Matthew Birir KEN 1992 (20)

Oldest: Kip Keino KEN 1972 (32)

Three all-time greats

Volmari Iso-Hollo (FIN): The only man to win two Olympic steeplechase titles. Because of an official's error the field ran one lap too many on the first occasion in 1932.

Henry Rono (KEN): During a 3-month period in 1978 he set world records in the 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m as well as the steeplechase (8:05.4), an unique feat.

Moses Kiptanui (KEN): By the time he had turned 24 he could already point to three world titles and the distinction of being the first to break through the eight minute barrier.

Allegro for the first two laps. Staccato before the jump. Crescendo splash into the water. Pianissimo footsteps on track. Leggero in a rehearsed technique. Forte- forte for more applause. Capriccio, finissimo and score, encore.

All great steeplechasers share qualities with those who run shorter or longer distances - strength and endurance, backed up by a speed born of training. But here, in addition, 28 obstacles must be cleared. So specialists must have a good hurdling technique, but also a special suppleness and power of muscle to enable effortless flight and obstacle clearance. The hurdles and the water jump have to be mastered rather than suffered.

[Aktovegin]

Laverne Jones-Ferrette produced the fastest 60m clocking in two years to highlight the BW-Bank Meeting in Karlsruhe on Sunday (31).

A capacity crowd of 4500 packed the Europahalle for the 26th BW-Bank Meeting, the second of ten IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings in 2010, for the year’s first major international invitational in Europe, and across the board, they were treated to a solid slate of impressive early season performances.

[Note: Updated 1 February 00:45 CET.]

In a dominating performance, Jones-Ferrette lowered her own US Virgin Islands record in the short dash, clocking a world-leading 7.09 in the heats, the fastest in the world since the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia.

She wasn’t quite as fast in the final, but still clocked 7.11, also under her previous best of 7.14 set 16 days ago, and more than two-tenths ahead of the rest of the field. Miryam Soumare of France was a distant second, well back in 7.27.

"I am getting faster and faster," Jones-Ferrette said. "Let’s see what happens in Düsseldorf. At the World Indoors my first goal will be to reach the final, and then I want to be in contention for a medal."

Jones bounces back, NR for Svoboda in 60m Hurdles

In the women’s 60m Hurdles, Lolo Jones shook off the sluggishness that led to a runner-up finish in Glasgow on Saturday with a clear victory in 7.90, another of the seven early season world leads on the afternoon.

The reigning World indoor champion dusted off the cobwebs with a 7.97 in the heats, before cruising to victory in the final over fellow American Yvette Lewis, who clocked a 7.99 personal best.

"It wasn't a bad for me today," Jones said. "In my heat I took the first three hurdles superb but did not do well on the final ones. Strangely in the final it was just the other way round. My aim during this indoor season is to attack the US record and winning gold at the World Indoor Championships."

There was another strong showing in the men’s race as well, courtesy of Czech Petr Svoboda. The bronze medallist a year ago at the European indoor championships first equalled his career best of 7.55 in the heats before taking the final convincingly in 7.50, a Czech national record. American Allen Johnson, at 38, ran well, finishing runner-up in 7.58 ahead of compatriot Eric Mitchum (7.73).

"This is unbelievable!" a thrilled Svoboda said. "I have good technique and my coach tells me that I get better from race to race and that I could run 7.46 in Doha. I would like to win a silver medal there. It is great to beat Allen Johnson – he is my idol and I watch him on video almost daily to improve my technique."

Two metres for Freidrich

For the locals, the biggest draw was high jumper Ariane Friedrich, and the reigning European indoor champion fulfilled any and all realistic expectations with her first two-metre clearance of the season.

Opening her competition with an easy clearance at 1.89m, Friedrich needed three tries at both 1.95m and 2.00m before sailing clear. With the victory clearly sealed - runner-up Viktoriya Klyugina topped out at 1.92m – and with some slight back pain, Friedrich called it a night.

The longest events of the evening, the men’s and women’s 3000m, also produced early season world leads. In his first indoor appearance since the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, 3000m Steeplechase World record holder Saif Saaeed Shaheen took a comfortable victory in 7:43.44, more than five seconds clear of former compatriots Joseph Kiplimo (7:49.08) and Shadrack Korir (7:49.13).

In the women’s race, Kenyan Sylvia Kibet ran away from Russia’s Anna Alminova in the final kilometre to win unpressed in 8:41.24, also a meet record. Alminova, the European indoor champion at 1500m, held on for second clocking 8:47.57.

"I like running in Karlsruhe," Kibet said. "Whenever I run here I achieve a personal best. It worked again today and I now hope that I can may be run a bit faster next week in Stuttgart. After that race I will go back to Kenya to prepare for the World Indoors, where I will want to win a medal."

Strong, dominating opener for Burka

There was an even more dominating display in the women’s 1500m, with Gelete Burka prepping for her World indoor title defence with a solid 4:03.92. Burka, one of just five women who have ever dipped under four minutes indoors, was in a class of her own, romping over the field by more than 10 seconds. Frenchwoman Félix Fanjanteino was a distant second, but was likely nonetheless pleased by her 4:14.64 personal best.

Kenyan Gideon Gathimba, second in the Karlsruhe 1500m a year ago, moved up a notch this time around, beating Ethiopian Gebremehdin Mekkonnen 3:37:01 to 3:37.46, also another world lead.

Former Olympic and reigning European indoor champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy opened his season with a strong 1:45.94 victory in the 800m, but he had unexpected company. Twenty-one year-old Jakub Holusa produced his second personal best of the month, finishing a close second in 1:46.09, a second national record on the day for the Czech Republic.

The men’s 60m was considerably closer that the women’s, with just 0.01 seconds separating the top-three. The photo reading gave Lerone Clarke of Jamaica the victory over Nigeria’s Egwero Ogho-Oghene, both credited with 6.64. For the latter, it was a personal best. Germany’s Christian Blum was just a tick back in 6.65 in third, but ahead of reigning World indoor champion Olu Fasuba who clocked 6.67.

Elsewhere...

In the men’s Long Jump, the eight-metres mark – currently the world lead - wasn’t quite breached, but the top three finishers came as close as they possibly could in a closely fought competition. Frenchman Salim Sdiri took top honours with his first round 7.99m leap, just ahead of China’s Li Jingzhe and Andriy Makarchev of Ukraine, who reached 7.98m and 7.97m, respectively. For the second and third place finishers, both jumps were personal bests.

Another French infield victory came in the men’s Pole Vault, with Romain Mesnil beating Germans Malte Mohr, Alexander Straub and Raphael Holzdeppe on countback. The quartet topped out at 5.61m.

[Aktovegin]

Marathon

The marathon race was the invention of Michel Bréal, a friend of Pierre de Coubertin, who proposed adapting the legend of the messenger Pheidippides to form a centre-piece for the first revived Olympic Games in 1896. The race was to follow the legendary route from Marathon to Athens (40 km) that Pheidippides ran back in 490 BC.

One of the colourful highlights in the history of this great event took place during the St. Louis Olympic Games in 1904. Fred Lorz (USA) took a lift in a car before entering the stadium on foot as the winner. He was disqualified in favour of Thomas Hicks (USA), who was injected with strychnine sulphate in the middle of the race!

In 1908 the distance was officially set at 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards), a curious figure which represented the distance from Windsor Castle to the White City stadium in London, which included the competitors running about two-thirds of a lap on the track.

The great Emil Zátopek de-mystified the marathon with his Olympic victory in 1952. After winning the 10,000m and the 5000m, he ran the first marathon of his career, winning in 2:23:04. Having undertaken no special preparations, Zátopek proved that running talent is the main key to success.

A history of the Fukuoka International Marathon Championships

The first part of a detailed series of historical reports on the Fukuoka International Marathon by K. Ken Nakamura….

1947-1966

In 1947, soon after the end of the war, the first Asahi marathon, predecessor of the Fukuoka International marathon was held. The inaugural race took place in Kumomoto, hometown of Shizo Kanaguri, the godfather of marathon running in Japan. The race, which was an all-Japanese affair, was won by Toshikazu Wada in 2:45:45. For the first seven years of its existence, only Japanese runners participated in the marathon and the venue changed every year. The race began to evolve and in 1954, foreign athletes were invited to participate, a first in the history of Japanese marathon running.

In that year this historic race was won by Reinaldo Gorno of Argentina, the 1952 Olympic marathon silver medallist, in 2:24:55. The European Champion Veikko Karvonen of Finland was second in 2:26:10.

The race entered its second phase in 1955 and changed its name to Asahi International marathon. With the exception of 1956, when the race was held only eight days after the Olympic marathon in Melbourne, foreign runners were invited every year onwards from 1955. Then starting in 1959 (except for the 1963 edition which was run over the 1964 Olympic course in Tokyo) it was held in Fukuoka. Many world class runners were invited to the Asahi International marathon.

In the 1955 edition, the 1954 European Champion Veikko Karvonen of Finland won in 2:23.16. Kurao Hirohsima was second in a new Japanese best performance time of 2:23.51.

In 1957, the course which starts and finishes at the Heiwadai stadium with a turn around point at Gannosu made its debut. This famous course was used from 1959 to 1984 with the exception of 1963 when the Tokyo Olympic course was used. The winner Kurao Hiroshima in 2:21.40 recorded a new Japanese best performance.

In the 1958 edition of the race, Franjo Mihalic, the 1956 Olympic silver medallist, and Veikko Karvonen, Olympic bronze medallist, were invited, but it was with another athlete that the Finn battled for victory in a duel of epic proportions. Karvonen and Nobuyoshi Sadanaga exchanged surges several times, right up until they entered the stadium when Sadanaga prevailed and outsprinted Karvonen in the last lap to win in 2:24.01 with Karnoven three seconds behind in 2:24.04.

In 1959, Kurao Hiroshima won the race in 2:29.34 to became the first second time winner of the race.

In 1960, it was Barry Magee of New Zealand, Olympic marathon bronze medallist, who won in 2:19.04. He became the first runner in the race history to break 2 hours and 20 minutes.

In 1961, Pavel Kantorek of Czechoslovakia ran in the Asahi International marathon for the fifth time, finally winning; he placed fourth in 1957 and 1958, second in 1959, and third in 1960.

In 1962, Abebe Bikila, the defending Olympic champion, and Mamo Wolde, a future Olympic champion were invited, but illness prevented Bikila from starting the race. So it was Mamo Wolde who led at the half way point (1:09), but the cold drizzle and low temperature (10 oC) were not kind to Mamo, and the chase pack caught up with him at the 26km point. Toru Terasawa took the lead to victory and a new Japanese national record of 2:16:18.4. Kenji Kimihara, a future Olympic silver medallist (in 1968) made an auspicious marathon debut by finishing third in 2:18:01.8.

In 1963, the race was held on the Tokyo Olympic course on October 15 as part of a Pre-Olympic meet. Jeff Julian of New Zealand won the race, which was held outside of Fukuoka for the last time, in 2:18:00.6. Kimihara caught Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium with 150m to go on the track to finish second in 2:20:25.2.

In 1964, Toru Terasawa, a national record holder who could only finish 15th in the Olympic marathon 46 days before, ran his race of redemption. He improved his national record to 2:14:48.2.

In 1965, Ron Clarke who had only just broken the 10,000m world record of 27:39.6, established a fast pace as expected. At the turn around point he led the chase pack by 2 minutes 20 seconds, but suffering from heat (21oc), he slowed to a walk by 32.5km. Although Clarke resumed running, he was caught by a chase pack at 35km and dropped out soon after. At the 37km point two runners fought it out to the end: Takayuki Nakao and Hidekuni Hiroshima. Once on the track it was Hiroshima who made the first move, but Nakao had enough strength to stay with him. Then Hiroshima kicked again with 150m to go and won with a seven-metre margin.

Finally in 1966, the race entered its third phase. In September of that year, the JAAF proposed holding the world marathon championships in even years between the Olympic Games. Although the original proposal was not accepted, the marathon race in Fukuoka was sanctioned by the IAAF and changed its name to International marathon Championships. The underlining idea being to invite the winners of all major marathons world wide to a race at the end of the year to crown the best marathon runner of the year.

The 1966 edition of the race invited nine elite runners from eight countries, including a newly crowned European marathon Champion Jim Hogan. The race, which started at 1:00pm on November 27, with 58 runners, began relatively slowly. The leading pack passed the 5km point in 16.16, and soon after Norman Higgins of the USA moved into the lead; he lasted in front until the 10km point, where he was replaced by Japan’s Masaru Nishihama. Then just before the half way, disaster struck the two favourites, Jim Hogan, 1966 European marathon Champion and Toru Terasawa, a 2:13:41 marathon runner. They collided and hit the pavement hard, causing Jim Hogan to drop out of the race.

Nishihama, who led from 10km, had 40 seconds lead on the chase pack at the turn around point. After 20km the pack started to picked up the pace (20km to 25km in 15:25) and caught Nishihama by 25km. Then it turned into the race of attrition. By 30km all the pretenders were gone. Katsuaki Hirai led the race followed by Hidekuni Hiroshima, Mike Ryan, Toru Terasawa and Hirokazu Okabe. Terasawa, one of the pre-race favourites fell behind at 33km, perhaps feeling the effects of his collision with Jim Hogan earlier. After the race, Terasawa, who fell during the race for two years in a row, was very sorry that Jim Hogan had had to drop out of the race soon after the fall.

"I was pushed from behind which caused me to tangle with Jim Hogan. I am very sorry that he had to drop out, especially because he was in excellent shape," said Teraswa during a post-race interview.

At 34km, Mike Ryan moved to the front to force the pace and 1km later he made a decisive move that only Hiroshima was able to counter. As the pair entered the Heiwadai stadium together many fans recalled that Hiroshima outkicked Takayuki Nakao in the 1965 edition of the race. It was Hiroshima who made the first move. After the race Ryan said "I was in good shape, so I thought I could win the race. But when Hiroshima made his move on the track I was surprised." He covered the move easily and measuring Hiroshima's effort as they run around the track and outkicked him at the end. Their times, 2:14:04.6 for Ryan and 2:14:05.2 for Hiroshima, were best performances for both runners, and were the second and the third fastest times of the year, behind Alastair Wood’s 2:13:45 recorded at the Inverness marathon in July of 1966. Mike Ryan, coached by John Davies (1964 1500m Olympic medallist), became the third New Zealander to win the Fukuoka International marathon (counting Asahi International marathon). This was his fifth marathon, and his second victory.

Hiroshima later went into coaching like many top runners in Japan. In this capacity with the Asahi Kasei track team he coached the Soh brothers through the ‘70s and early ‘80s; he is currently coaching the women's track team which includes Yuko Kawakami at the Oki Electric Miyazaki track team.

Mike Ryan of New Zealand, running his fifth marathon, was third at the 1966 British Commonwealth games in Kingston, Jamaica with 2:27:59. Two years later in Mexico City, Ryan won an Olympic bronze medal.

The duel between Ryan and Hiroshima was carried through to track racing. But this particular race was remembered fondly by both years later at the fiftieth anniversary festival for the Fukuoka International marathon when all the past champions were invited. In the Heiwadai stadium, where the champions were gathered, both Ryan and Hiroshima were still talking about their duel. They must have cherished their memory of the race for thirty years.

1966 Results (Japanese unless otherwise indicated)

Weather: Sunny 11C, 56% humidity, Wind NW 0.6m/s

1) Mike Ryan (NZL) 2:14:04.6

2) Hidekuni Hiroshima 2:14:05.2

3) Hirokazu Okabe 2:15:09.2

4) Masatsugu Futsuhara 2:15:36.2

5) Toru Terasawa 2:15:51.2

6) Gyula Toth (HUN) 2:16:36.2

7) Isamu Sugihara 2:16:53.0

8) Yutaka Aoki 2:17:06.0

9) Tadaaki Ueoka 2:17:13.0

10) Akio Usami 2:17:16.0

Splits for Mike Ryan

Distance Time

5Km 16:16

10Km 32:33 (16:17)

15Km 48:19 (15:46)

20Km 1:04:27 (16:08)

Half Marathon 1:07:57

25Km 1:19:53 (15:26)

30Km 1:35:31 (15:38)

35Km 1:50:54 (15:23)

40Km 2:06:48 (15:54)

Finish 2:14:04.6 (7:16.6)

Landmarks

First under 3 hours: 2:55:22 Beth Bonner USA 1971

First under 2:30: 2:27:33 Grete Waitz NOR 1979

First under 2:25: 2:22:43 Joan Benoit USA 1983

First under 2:22: 2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1985

First under 2:21: 2:20:43 Tegla Loroupe KEN 1999

First under 2:20: 2:19:46 Naoko Takahashi JPN 2001

Subsequent record progression:

2:18:47 Catherine Ndereba KEN 2001

2:17:18 Paula Radcliffe GBR 2002

Official World Record as of 1 Jan 2004 -

2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe GBR 2003

Most durable world best: 2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen 1985 (14 years)

Most times under 2:25: Catherine Ndereba KEN 10 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 6 women; gold/bronze by Rosa Mota POR 1988/84Most World titles: 2 Catherine Ndereba 2003/2007

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Fatuma Roba ETH 1996 (25)

Jong Song Ok PRK 1999 (25)

Oldest: Catherine Ndereba 2007 (35)

Three all time greats

Grete Waitz (NOR): A world record breaker at 3000m and five-times world cross country champion, her forte was the marathon. She won in New York nine times, took the inaugural world title in 1983 and set four world bests ranging from 2:32:30 to 2:25:29.

Joan Benoit-Samuelson (USA): A year after smashing the world best with 2:22:43 she ran away from the field in the first Olympic race in 1984 to win by 400m from Waitz in 2:24:52.

Rosa Mota (POR) : The most successful of all championship competitors, she struck gold at the 1987 World Championships, 1988 Olympics and the European Championships of 1982, 1986 & 1990.

Landmarks

First under 3 hours: 2:55:22 Beth Bonner USA 1971

First under 2:30: 2:27:33 Grete Waitz NOR 1979

First under 2:25: 2:22:43 Joan Benoit USA 1983

First under 2:22: 2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen NOR 1985

First under 2:21: 2:20:43 Tegla Loroupe KEN 1999

First under 2:20: 2:19:46 Naoko Takahashi JPN 2001

Subsequent record progression:

2:18:47 Catherine Ndereba KEN 2001

2:17:18 Paula Radcliffe GBR 2002

Official World Record as of 1 Jan 2004 -

2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe GBR 2003

Most durable world best: 2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen 1985 (14 years)

Most times under 2:25: Catherine Ndereba KEN 10 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 6 women; gold/bronze by Rosa Mota POR 1988/84Most World titles: 2 Catherine Ndereba 2003/2007

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Fatuma Roba ETH 1996 (25)

Jong Song Ok PRK 1999 (25)

Oldest: Catherine Ndereba 2007 (35)

Three all time greats

Grete Waitz (NOR): A world record breaker at 3000m and five-times world cross country champion, her forte was the marathon. She won in New York nine times, took the inaugural world title in 1983 and set four world bests ranging from 2:32:30 to 2:25:29.

Joan Benoit-Samuelson (USA): A year after smashing the world best with 2:22:43 she ran away from the field in the first Olympic race in 1984 to win by 400m from Waitz in 2:24:52.

Rosa Mota (POR) : The most successful of all championship competitors, she struck gold at the 1987 World Championships, 1988 Olympics and the European Championships of 1982, 1986 & 1990.

It's a cat and mouse game and we've played it for too long Now I've got to make the move to show her I am strong

Thanks to modern training methods, this is no longer the inhuman race of running lore. Marathon runners are, by nature, athletes who enjoy very prolonged effort and whose physical make-up is well adapted to such exertion. Psychology also plays a key role: marathon runners must know how to overcome the mental and physical weariness that invades the spirit and the muscles, know how to economise their strength and know how not to get carried away when there are several kilometres still to cover. The marathon is an adventure whose outcome is rarely governed by logic. It is rare for favourites to triumph. The marathon gives the greatest number of runners a real chance.

[Aktovegin]

High Jump

This event did not figure in the Ancient Games, but was commonly practised by the Celts.

The first competition was organised in England in 1840 and regulated in 1865 when each competitor was allowed three jumps at each height and the crossbar could not be lowered in the event of failure. Taking off with both feet was forbidden and this rule remains in force today.

The height of six feet (1.83m) was first recorded by Marshall Brooks (GBR) in 1876 using a feet first technique. The "Scissors" was first used by William Page (USA) in 1874, and was soon followed by the Eastern Cut-off, developed by Michael Sweeney (USA). George Horine, in 1912, was the first person to jump 2.00m using the Western Roll.

Until 1936 the rules stated that the crossbar had to be jumped feet first. In 1925 the IAAF decided that the crossbar supports should face each other so that simply touching the crossbar would cause it to fall. In 1941 Les Steers (USA), using the Straddle style, cleared 2.11m. Further changes to the rules limited the permitted thickness of the soles of jumpers' shoes.

In 1968 Dick Fosbury (USA) invented the "Flop", a backwards jump following a very fast run up and only possible because of the introduction of a cushioned landing mattress. This style has been used by all top jumpers since 1978.

Javier Sotomayor (Cuba), the current world record holder with 2.45m, is 1.93m tall. He thus jumped 52cm over his own height, but the world's best "differential" is 59cm by the 1.73m tall American, Franklin Jacobs, who cleared 2.32m in 1978.

The first women's high jump contests took place in the USA in 1895. The event made its Olympic debut in 1928 with the first IAAF world record dating back to 1932. Like their male counterparts, women high jumpers have used many styles, from Scissors to Straddle to the Fosbury Flop, in their pursuit of greater heights. The woman to have jumped highest over her own head is Greece's Niki Bakoyanni, 1.71m tall with a best jump of 2.03m.

Landmarks

First over 2m: 2.00 George Horine USA 1912

First over 7ft: 2.15 Charles Dumas USA 1956

First over 2.20: 2.22 John Thomas USA 1960

First over 2.30: 2.30 Dwight Stones USA 1973

First over 2.40: 2.40 Rudolf Povarnitsyn URS 1985

First over 8ft: 2.44 Javier Sotomayor CUB 1989

Most durable world record: 1.97 Mike Sweeney USA 1895 (16 years)

Most competitions over 2.40m: Javier Sotomayor 20

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 by 26 men; gold/silver by Con Leahy IRL 1906/08,Valeriy Brumel URS 1964/60, Jacek Wszola POL 1976/80 & Javier Sotomayor 1992/2000

Most World titles: 2 Javier Sotomayor 1993/1997 (plus 2 silver medals1991/1995)

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Jacek Wszola 1976 (19) Oldest: Con Leahy 1906 (30)

Three all time greats

Valeriy Brumel (URS): The 1964 Olympic champion set six world records before a motor cycle accident prematurely ended his dazzling international career.

Dick Fosbury (USA): The Fosbury Flop, now used by all leading jumpers, was developed by the American who in 1968 scored a spectacular Olympic victory.

Javier Sotomayor (CUB): The only man to have jumped 8ft, the height of a soccer crossbar, the Cuban has cleared 2.30m or higher in well over 200 competitions.

Landmarks

First official world record: 1.65 Jean Shiley & Babe Didrikson USA 1932

First over 1.70m: 1.71 Fanny Blankers-Koen NED 1943

First over 1.80: 1.80 Iolanda Balas ROM 1958

First over 6ft: 1.83 Iolanda Balas 1958

First over 1.90: 1.90 Iolanda Balas 1961

First over 2m: 2.00 Rosi Ackermann GDR 1977

First over 2.05: 2.05 Tamara Bykova URS 1984

Most durable world record: 2.09 Stefka Kostadinova 1987 (20 years)

Most competitions over 2.05m: Stefka Kostadinova 21

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Iolanda Balas 1960/1964

2 Ulrike Meyfarth FRG 1972/1984

Most World titles: 2 Stefka Kostadinova 1987/1995 and Hestrie Cloete RSA 2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion:Ulrike Meyfarth 1972 (16)

Oldest: Louise Ritter USA 1988 (30), Yelena Yelesina RUS 2000 (30), Stefka Kostadinova BUL 1995 (30)

Three all time greats

Iolanda Balas (ROM): Unbeaten over a decade, she raised the world record in 14 instalments from 1.75 to 1.91m and was Olympic champion in 1960 and 1964.

Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG): As a 16 year-old she was a sensational winner at the Munich Olympics in 1972; 12 years later she triumphed again, having set a world record of 2.02m in 1982.

Stefka Kostadinova (BUL): World records of 2.07 and 2.08m in 1986 were followed by the current mark of 2.09m when winning the world title in 1987, a championship she regained in 1995.

What does it matter Who you can flatter As long as you reach for the sky?

The high jumper must free the body’s mass from gravity’s fierce grip and send it vertically over a cross-bar - ever higher than imaginable limits. Here the athletes have to keep account of their build, of the length of their limbs, of run-up speed, of their ability to relax, of suppleness, of power and of coordination. They are geometricians of space who master supernatural arcs with explosive drive. The movements of each gigantic parabola must be controlled to the millimetre. Everything is linked as they accelerate towards lift-off. The high jumper challenges the infinities of space and gravity.

High Jump

Development of performances and performance influencing factors

The development of performance in the high jump corresponds to a development of techniques. Dick Fosbury’s Olympic victory in 1968 introduced the flop era which followed scissor jumps, roll jumps and the straddle. Today all the best high jumpers in the world prefer this technique. However, if one considers that the first jump by a woman over 2 m was with the straddle technique and that the last men’s world record with the straddle was 2.35 m in 1978, both of which would still be absolute top performances today then it appears that the dominance of the flop originates in an easier to learn basic form rather than in fundamental biomechanical advantages. Beginners have better results with the flop and improve faster.

Apart from body height the performance determining factors in the high jump are primarily the vertical take-off velocity and efficiency of crossing the bar. Body height is important because the center of gravity (CG) of taller people already lies higher after take-off than that of smaller people. Women normally exceed their body height by a maximum of 25 cm, men by maximally 50 cm (the American Jacobs was 1.73 m tall and jumped 2.32 m, i.e. a difference of 59 cm).

The vertical take-off velocity determines how high the CG flies. The take-off angle is irrelevant to the height achieved at the same take-off velocity. Two aspects are important when crossing the bar; firstly the highest point of the CG path should be above the bar and not behind or below it (one reason why Kostadinova lost the Olympic final in Seoul was that the path of the CG passed 16 cm (!) behind the bar). The second aspect is that the CG path should pass as close as possible to the bar. The smallest measured differences in valid jumps are around 3 cm. The theoretically postulated possibility of clearing heights while the CG remains below the bar has not been empirically demonstrated.

External influences in the high jump

In the high jump important external conditions are determined by biomechanical and physiological characteristics. From a biomechanical perspective the ground surface is not as important as in the sprint or in other jumping events. The ground is more important for take-off than for the approach because the jumpers do not require a maximum approach speed. However, there is no surface equally beneficial to all jumpers because these have very variable take-off times (120 - 160 ms). Climatic conditions are important: high jumpers are especially at risk with a wet track because of the curved approach. In addition to this the approach of many high jumpers reaches into the running track. Simultaneous running events therefore, distract the athlete, especially in the concentration phase.

Biomechanical factors of the high jump

Similar to all other jumping events the high jump can be divided into approach, take-off preparation, take-off, flight and landing.

Approach: The aim of the approach is to achieve an optimal approach speed (7 - 8 m/s for men, 6 - 7.5 m/s for women) with high approach precision. Differences in speed depend upon the athletic capabilities of the jumpers. While greater speeds provide more energy for the jumper, they are only useful if this can be diverted into a vertical direction during the short take-off time.

The last curved portion of the approach is a unique characteristic of the flop. A historical anecdote states that the garden in which Dick Fosbury trained was very narrow and that the approach was obstructed by a tree. A more important aspect is, however, that a curved approach facilitates the required rotations about the three body axes (see figure).

Each rotation requires energy which is usually produced during take-off and dissipated in the actual take-off impulse. The curve allows some of this energy to already by produced during the approach. Straightening up from the inward lean of the curve and bringing the swing elements towards the body center both produce rotational energy which therefore, does not have to be produced by the take-off leg during take-off.

Take-off preparation: This decisive phase of the high jump has the aim of providing optimal conditions for the take-off. There are mutual trends despite all the individual differences between jumpers: the stride rate increases in the last few strides with all top jumpers, the ground contact times increase and the flight phases get shorter. This is especially noticeable in the final step: the flight phase prior to planting the take-off foot is only 40 - 60 ms long. It is also noticeable that the lowest CG position is reached in the second to last step and not at take-off. The take-off basically already begins here.

Take-off: The aim of the take-off is to achieve the greatest possible vertical take-off velocity (men: 4.4 - 4.8 m/s; women: 3.6 - 4.1 m/s) which determines the flight height of the CG (men: 0.98 - 1.17 m; women: 0.66 - 0.89 m).The approach speed is reduced by about 50% at take-off which results in a take-off angle of approximately 45 - 55°. The take-off takes between 120 and 160 m/s which is the same for both sexes although men demonstrate a considerably longer acceleration path (averages of the finalists at the world championships in Tokyo, 1991; men: 53 cm , women: just under 46 cm) which indicates greater strength capabilities. The swing leg and arms assist the take-off by initially accelerating sharply and then being stopped just prior to leaving the ground.

The curved approach results in a problem specific to the high jump take-off: the take-off foot is forced into an extremely pronated position which places high loads upon the joints and ligaments.

Flight: The CG path after leaving the ground is set and can not be altered by any movements in the air. Differences in the climbing phase up to the bar (basically extended body position, more or less fixed position of the swing leg) are therefore, only important in so far as they influence either the take-off or the crossing of the bar. Movements executed by the jumper in the air can, however, still influence the height attained. Data showing that valid jumps have been performed in which the CG only cleared the bar by 3 cm, while invalid jumps are known from some world class athletes in which the CG actually cleared the bar by 15 cm indicates that an effective and well timed transfer of segmental centers of gravity can considerably influence performance variability.

Comment: The high jump is one of the most frequently analyzed events at international competitions despite the high measuring complexity necessary because the curved approach requires a three-dimensional analysis. Many data are therefore, available from the world’s best jumpers. Despite this it has not been possible to ascertain performance determining factor which apply universally to all jumpers.

The approach speed is not as influential as in other jumping events although the recently dominating athletes (Kostadinova, Henkel, Sotomayor) are amongst those with greater approach speeds. The stride length characteristics of the final strides is very variable but the stride rate is identical amongst top athletes. The lowering of the CG and the length of the acceleration path does not show clear patterns either. For example Sotomayor performs with a relatively long acceleration path while that of Kostadinova is generally very short.

The take-off time is not a valid factor either. Povarnyzin won Olympic gold in Seoul with 195 ms and Kostadinova silver with 115 ms which was, however, clearly too short.

[spash]

Уважаемый Актовегин! Может немного расскажете о результатах Кубков Азербайджана и Баку, который несколько дней назад прошёл в манеже и о котором ни один спортивный или новостной сайт ничего не рассказал. Есть у нас обнадёживающая молодёжь?

[Aktovegin]

посетил я пару раз соревнования в этом сезоне, что можно сказать, два наших ведущих спринтера не выступают, Рамиль готовится к летнему чемпионату европы и приводит здоровье в полный порядок, Руслан Аббасов недавно вернулся из армии, его опять вызвали тренироваться и уже окончательно. Все соревнования на 60м выигрывает Валентин Булычев, бывший мой соперник на дистанции 400м, теперь он не бегает 400м, а выступает только на дистанции 100 и 200м.

на дистанции 60м все результаты в районе 6.85

на 200м у нас пока серьезно не пробежали.

в длину опять результаты не превышают 7.40 и вся борьба идет на этом рубеже

в тройном прыжке есть спортсмен по имени Кямиль, фамилию не знаю, его тренер Олег Анатольевич, показал результат 6м 11см, причем это ещё начало сезона, для его возраста это превосходно, но Кямиля призвали в армию теперь он в пригороде Баку в учебке и если его не вытащат оттуда мы потеряем спортсмена который может в европе выигрывать медали в своем возрасте. В прошлом году у Кямиля был второй результат в европе перед чемпионатом европы среди юниоров, но он подвернул ногу на соревнованиях и пропустил сезон.

на дистанции 400м наши спортсмены показывают результаты в переделах 49.50-50.00 в манеже, есть спортсмен который пробежал 49.60 в нашем манеже и ему как я понял мало лет, для такого возраста это хороший результат.

на дистанции 800м у нас нет ничего серьезного и перспективного, эта дистанция к сожалению увядает и не имеет перспективы, в данное время.

сейчас когда в юношеском возрасте спортсмены показывают приличные результаты я всегда смотрю первым делом на тренера и прикидываю вероятность применения запрещенных перпаратов, у нас часто было что молодые показывали результаты и с этими же результатами доходили до взрослого возраста и так же заканчивали тренировки. У нас трудно понять какой спортсмен является перспективным так как есть практика раннего использования запрещенной фармакологии, хотя сейчас с этим вопросом стало более лучше чем в мои годы.

всем крепкого здоровья.

[Aktovegin]

похоже у Лены появилась серьезная конкурентка, но все это пока просто результат.

Murer - growing behind the shadow and guidance of Isinbayeva

Undoubtedly, the growth and evolution of women’s Pole Vault has been dramatically marked by the Great Russian Yelena Isinbayeva – two-times Olympic Champion, two-times IAAF World Champion, and setter of 27 World Records. But from Brazil has emerged the figure of an athlete who trains with Isinbayeva, has been inspired by the Russian, and seems capable of collecting medals at major events: Fabiana de Almeida Murer.

Born in Campinas, State of São Paulo on 16 March 1981, and possessor or 18 South American records – 9 outdoors (4.82m ’09) and 9 indoors (4.81m ’09) – Murer has also won every possible title in her region: Pan-American Games, South American Championships and “Campeonato Iberoamericano”, but at the international level, her biggest achievements are only a bronze medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships, and a silver medal at the 2006 World Cup.

“It’s been somehow frustrating to come home with our hands empty from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin,” expresses Élson Miranda de Souza, the 44-year-old coach of Murer. “And it was frustrating because the results obtained by Fabiana during each one of those years weren’t repeated in those competitions, and we later could see that marks possible for her would have brought a medal.”

Due to a logistical problem with her vaults, Murer could only manage a tenth place showing in Beijing, and a year later a fifth place finish in Berlin, where the “open competition”, due to three fouls by Isinbayeva, was taken by Poland’s Anna Rogowska with a “modest” mark of 4.75m.

“These past two years have represented a great evolution on me,” Murer, now 28, says. “I was always able of improving my marks, I keep on learning new things at international events, but for some reason I wasn’t able to reach my whole potential at the two main competitions, something that should have been expected, due to my form. Yet, that’s something that for me is encouraging: I need to train more and mend some technical issues, and in the future I will be on the podium.”.

Petrov and Isinbayeva

“We have been close to Vitali Petrov – Isinbayeva’s actual coach – since 2001, and I credit his influence for Fabiana’s evolution,” coach de Souza says. “Because without the patience and knowledge of Vitali, we wouldn’t have been able to obtain what Fabiana has obtained in a country like Brazil, which doesn’t have good conditions for Pole Vaulting.”

“With her phenomenal results, Yelena has influenced – and keeps doing it – the rest of the field, and made the rest of the competitors think that we must keep improving, if we want to be at least close to her,” Murer says.

“When Yelena started training with Vitali in 2005, we started to have a closer contact, and with her friendship and warmth, she showed us that besides being a great athlete, she is also a great person. She also shared many experiences and anecdotes with Fabiana, but mostly made us believe that it was possible to think, like in her quest of reaching 5.20m, as Vitali says, to conquer higher marks, since the difficulties were similar,” expresses de Souza.

“I have a good relationship with Yelena. It’s logical that during competition each one is concentrated in her own thing. But outside of competition we are good friends. When I’m in Europe I train in Formia, Italy, with Yelena, and we almost compete at all the same meets, so that closeness solidified our friendship, and helped me to improve my marks. Her experience and influence taught me that it was possible to vault higher,” says Murer, who adds: “I don’t see Yelena as a rival when we compete. My goal is always to make my best jumps, and then, I know that the placing will only be a consequence of how I vault.”

Setback in Berlin helps to look ahead

“It’s hard to explain,” Murer acknowledges, “but I still don’t quite know where the obstacle was that didn’t let me reach the podium in Berlin. I thought I was very well prepared, but we deal with a very complex event, where problems can appear at several fronts.”

“What I take as a positive thing from Berlin, is that I was able to recover at the later meets, starting at Zürich (3rd at Weltklasse, 4th at Brussels, =2nd at World Athletics Final), and that made me regain confidence for the future. Actually, the three fouls by Isinbayeva in Berlin is another proof of how complex this event is, and how much any technical problem can affect you in any given day, causing a great upset.”

“I don’t think the whole panorama of women’s Pole Vaulting is going to change much in the next years,” Murer continues. “The majority of the top athletes have almost the same age, and I believe we can keep improving. We are still far from Yelena, but that only shows that our event can keep growing with the influence of the younger girls, added to the actual group of elite. However, I don’t see anyone – besides Yelena, of course – that could have an edge over the rest. The group of finalists from the past World Championships is almost the same, and very competitive. We are practically all at the same level.”

“2010 is for us a year without massive outdoor events, but we have the World Indoor Championships, which for our event is almost the same as an outdoor one,” de Souza says. “From the last WIC, in Valencia, I remember athletes such as American Jennifer Stuczynski, or Russian Svetlana Feofanova, who actually couldn’t compete at the Berlin World Championships.”

“So, our expectations for next season will be the same as the past: keep improving physically and technically to achieve better results, which will maintain Fabiana at the elite of the women’s Pole Vault. To do that, we must continue working with Petrov, looking for the best ways to adapt his knowledge and techniques to our daily work in Brazil. We believe Fabiana is capable of reaching the podium at the Olympic Games of London 2012,” de Souza concludes.

Rio de Janeiro, and not for a carnival date

The announcement of Rio de Janeiro as the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games was seen as a huge triumph for her country, and Murer concedes that she just may extend her career to include Rio on her CV.

“The triumph of Rio in hosting the 2016 Olympic Games was received with great joy by all athletes in Brazil,” Murer says. “It’s going to be great for the whole country, and will mostly help the main Olympic sports, such as athletics, in a dramatic way. We desperately need the investment in the best training facilities, which will be surely reflected, later on, in the younger generations of athletes, who will have access to the best conditions, something that sadly I didn’t always have in my career as a top athlete.”

“Before the announcement of 2 October, confirming Rio as the host city, I always thought I would stop competing in 2014, but such a magnificent event brings a great desire to perform at home in a historical situation. I guess I shall have to evaluate my shape and physical condition by then, but if I can, I would love to say my farewell from athletics in Rio 2016.”

Full slate before and after Doha

“We will begin our indoor season in Stuttgart, on 6 February,” says de Souza. “Then on 10 February in Bydgoszcz.” Competitions in Birmingham on 20 February and Donetsk on 6 March follow before the World Indoor Championships in Doha.

“It will be very hard to repeat the medal (bronze) obtained by Fabiana in Valencia 2008, but we should be in a good position to jump over 4.80m, perhaps even somehow close to 4.90m on this indoor season,” de Souza continues. “We are now training in São Caetano do Sul since the closing of the main track in São Paulo, and we are still adjusting to that, but we are confident.”

“For the rest of the season, we will participate at the “Campeonato Iberoamericano” in Spain, because it’s an important event for our Confederation, the IAAF Diamond League, and we hope to qualify for the IAAF Continental Cup.”

[Aktovegin]

Usain Bolt storming into New York on 12 June – IAAF Diamond League

New York, USA – Sprint sensation Usain Bolt will compete in the 100 metres at the adidas Grand Prix in New York City on 12 June, organisers announced today (2). The adidas Grand Prix, formerly known as the Reebok Grand Prix, will be the fifth stop on the inaugural IAAF Diamond League circuit and will be held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.

Usain Bolt, the reigning triple-Olympic champion (100m, 200m and 4x100m) and triple-World champion, is one of the most popular and sought after sports personalities in the world. A showman both on and off the track, Bolt shocked the world in Beijing in 2008, not just by winning the 100m gold medal but by doing so in a never-before-seen dominating and entertaining World record effort. He followed up this victory just days later with another historic World record at 200m (19.30) and again in the 4x100m Relay (37.10).

In 2009, Bolt outperformed the world as well as his own seemingly untouchable world marks with two more records (9.58 for 100m and 19.19 for 200m) at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin. Topping the world’s lists at 100m and 200m in 2008 and 2009, Bolt was also named World Athlete of the Year in both years.

The adidas Grand Prix will be Bolt’s first competition in the United States since he set his first World record at this event in 2008. “New York was the site of my first world record, the track is lightning fast and the fans, well, they sat through an entire thunderstorm in 2008 just to watch the 100m so I know they appreciate speed,” said Bolt. “I am looking forward to returning to the Big Apple in June.”

Click here link to read the full release on New York’s IAAF Diamond League website

2010 IAAF Diamond League Calendar

Doha (QAT) – Fri 14 May

Shanghai (CHN) – Sun 23 May

Oslo (NOR) – Fri 4 June

Rome (ITA) – Thu 10 June

New York (USA) – Sat 12 June

Eugene (USA) – Sat 3 July

Lausanne (SUI) – Thu 8 July

Gateshead (GBR) – Sat 10 July

Paris (FRA) – Fri 16 July

Monaco (MON) – Thu 22 July

Stockholm (SWE) – Fri 6 Aug

London (GBR) – Fri 13 and Sat 14 Aug

Zürich (SUI) – Thu 19 Aug

Brussels (BEL) – Fri 27 Aug

[Aktovegin]

Станислав Емельянов – рекордсмен мира!

02.02.2010

Международная ассоциация легкоатлетических федераций ратифицировала мировой рекорд среди юниоров в ходьбе на 10 километров Станислава Емельянова, который он установил на Финале Вызова ИААФ в Саранске.

На имя президента Всероссийской федерации легкой атлетики Валентина Балахничева пришло поздравление от генерального секретаря ИААФ Пьера Вайсса, в котором говорится, что Международная ассоциация легкоатлетических федераций утвердила результат Станислава Емельянова 38:28 в качестве мирового рекорда для юниоров.

Станислав Емельянов показал этот результат 19 сентября 2009 года на Финале Вызова ИААФ по спортивной ходьбе, который проходил в Саранске. Как уже сообщал Станислав финишировал вторым с результатом 38:28, уступив победителю Андрею Рузавину 11 секунд.

Напомним, что в 2008 году Станислав Емельянов выиграл чемпионат мира среди юниоров в польском Быдгоще, а 2009 году стал чемпионом Европы в сербском Нови - Саде в этой же возрастной категории.

[Aktovegin]

Борзаковский – лидер сезона31.01.2010

Юрий Борзаковский одержал победу в немецком Карлсруэ, на втором турнире серии IAAF Indoor Meetings, выиграв бег на 800 метров с лучшим результатом сезона в мире - 1:45.94.

Первые двести метров дистанции пейсмейкер пробежал за 24.21. 400 метров были пройдены за 51.43. На отметке 600 метров лидировал уже Юрий Борзаковский (1:19.41), который и победил с лучшим временем мирового зимнего сезона 1:45.94. Вторым с национальным рекордом стал Якуб Холуша из Чехии 1:46.09. Дмитрий Богданов финишировал пятым – 1:47.96.

Анна Альминова стала второй на дистанции 3000 метров с лучшим результатом сезона в Европе 8:47.57. Аня тащила на себе весь забег с самого начала. Первую тысячу метров она пробежала за 2:52.62, на отметке две тысячи результат был 5:50.15. Но в соперницах у россиянки была грозная кенийка Сильвия Кибет, которая и обошла нашу зимнюю чемпионку Европы-2009 на финише. Результат Кибет 8:41.24. Это лучший результат сезона в мире и рекорд соревнований.

В прыжке в высоту у женщин второе место заняла Виктория Клюгина. Результат бронзового призера чемпионата Европы в помещении – 1.92. Это второй старт Виктории в этом сезоне. Победу в Карлсруэ праздновала чемпионка Турина и бронзовая медалистка Берлина Ариана Фридрих, которая прыгнула ровно два метра. Ирина Гордеева, которая недавно преодолела 1.94, в этот раз смогла преодолеть только 1.86. В итоге у нее шестое место.

В прыжке с шестом у мужчин выступали два представителя нашей страны Виктор Чистяков и Сергей Кучеряну. Чистяков стал шестым, взяв только начальную высоту 5.51. А Кучеряну с результатом 5.31 остался на девятом месте. Четыре человека смогли прыгнуть 5.61, но победу по количеству затраченных попыток праздновал француз Роман Меснил.

Также на этих соревнованиях были показаны несколько лучших результатов сезона в мире. Американка Лоло Джонс, которая накануне уступила Джессике Эннис из Великобритании, похоже, пришла в себя и показала отличный результат 7.90. Второй, повторив личный рекорд, финишировала Иветт Льюис - 7.99, а замкнула призовую тройку Келли Уэллс – 8.01.

Все три американки в понедельник отправятся в российское консульство в Бонне для получения визы, чтобы приехать на соревнования «Русская зима», которые 7 февраля пройдут в Москве.

У мужчин на дистанции 60 метров с барьерами чех Петр Свобода дважды улучшал свой же лучший результат сезона. В забеге он пробежал за 7.55, а в финале показал 7.50. Это национальный рекорд Чехии. Вторым стал знаменитый американец Аллен Джонсон – 7.58. Наш Константин Шабанов финишировал восьмым в забеге с результатом 7.86 и в финал не попал.

Лаверна Джонс с Виргинских островов пробежала в забеге 60 метров с лучшим результатом сезона и национальным рекордом своей страны 7.09. В финале она победила, показав 7.11.

Гелете Бурка из Эфиопии быстрее всех в мире на сегодняшний день пробежала 1500 метров – 4:03.92. На этой же дистанции у мужчин Гидеон Гачимба из Кении также показал лучшее время сезона 3:37.01. Рекордсмен мира в беге на 3000 метров с препятствиями Саиф Саид Шахин из Катара победил на гладкой «трешке» с отличным результатом 7:43.44.

[Aktovegin]

Влияют ли новые правила фальстарта на время реакции элитных спринтеров?

Massimiliano Ditrolio, Andrew Kilding

Время реакции является важным компонентом в конечном результате спринта. Так хороший старт может определить победителя и проигравшего в беге на короткую дистанцию. Для того чтобы покинуть стартовые колодки в кратчайшее время спринтеры стараются как можно быстрее реагировать на стартовый сигнал. В соревнованиях спринтеров преждевременная реакция на выстрел является фальстартом. До конца 2002 года каждому спортсмену позволялось сделать один фальстарт, и только при втором он дисквалифицировался. С начала 2003 года был разрешен только один фальстарт для всего забега. Любой спринтер, сделавший последующий фальстарт, дисквалифицируется.

Задачей представленного исследования было определить, как новые правила влияют на время реакции спортсменов мирового класса. Иными словами, стали ли спортсмены более осторожными перед возможной дисквалификацией. Такой ответ возможно получить при сравнении времени реакции при старых и новых правилах. Анализировалось общее время спортсменов и время реакции на старте в беге на 100 метров, 110метров с барьерами у мужчин и 100 метров у женщин на чемпионатах мира 2001 года в Эдмонтоне и 2003 года в Париже. Было определено, что нет существенных различий во времени реакции спринтеров, однако в барьерном беге время реакции спортсменов в Париже было большим, чем в Эдмонтоне.

M.Ditrolio завершил обучение в 2002 году. С 1994 года работал тренером, a в настоящее время работает научным сотрудником на Факультете двигательной активности Университета Урбино (Италия).

A.Kilding закончил аспирантуру по специальности «Физическое воспитание». В настоящее время работает в Университете Шеффилд Аллам (Великобритания).

Введение

Время реакции в процессе спринтерского старта определяется длительностью паузы между звуком выстрела стартового пистолета и началом движения спортсмена, оно является одним из факторов успешного выступления в беге. Однако все же результативность в беге в большей мере определяет эффективность стартового ускорения, значение максимальной скорости бега и уровень специальной выносливости. Соотношение между конечным результатом и временем реакции достаточно спорно, однако считается, что время реакции существенно для самого короткого спринта.

Обычно спринтеры тренируют свои способности для быстрого реагирования на выстрел. Проводились специальные исследования связанные с возможность улучшить время реакции, однако в конце концов было определено, что наилучший способ улучшения старта заключается в совершенствовании двигательных действий в момент старта.

Все спринтеры после команды «Внимание» стараются выбежать из стартовых колодок как можно быстрее после стартового выстрела. Однако при желании сократить время реакции спортсмены зачастую стараются «попасть в выстрел», что является фальстартом. Если время реакции спринтера менее 100 миллисекунд, он считается нарушившим правила. Основная задача судей определить фальстарт, используя специальную аппаратуру. Зачастую в этот момент возникают определенные недоразумения между спринтером и судьями.

Старые правила в беге на короткие дистанции позволяли спринтеру делать один фальстарт перед дисквалификацией. С целью удовлетворения требований телевизионных компаний и сокращения времени проведения соревнований, ИААФ на Чемпионате мира в Эдмонтоне решила ввести новые правила фальстарта. Новое правило гласит, что «разрешается лишь один фальстарт для забега (за исключением многоборий), любой спортсмен, сделавший последующий фальстарт дисквалифицируется». Спринтеры и тренеры по-разному отнеслись к этому нововведению, тем более что с начала сезона 2003 года было произведено несколько дисквалификаций.

Новое правило отразилось на дисквалификации спринтеров, но каким образом оно повлияло на результативность бегунов на короткие дистанции? Задачей нашего исследования являлось определение изменения времени реакции спортсменов в результате введения новых правил старта на двух Чемпионатах мира.

Методы

Анализировались время реакции, а также результаты в барьерном беге и в беге на короткие дистанции на чемпионатах мира в Эдмонтоне и Париже.

Сравнивались время реакции и общий результат. Заведомо слабые результаты не принимались в расчет, в беге на 100 метров в забегах не учитывались результаты хуже 12 сек и 11 сек в следующих кругах соревнований, в женском спринте не учитывались результаты в 14сек и 13сек соответственно. В барьерном беге не брались в расчет результаты 15 сек. и хуже у мужчин и женщин.

Сравнивались также данные спортсменов, которые принимали участие как в Эдмонтоне так и Париже. Для обработки использовался t-тест Колмогорова-Смирнова статистическая значимость верна при Р<0.05.

Таблица 1. Результаты в беге на 100 метров и времени реакции у мужчин.

Круг соревнований

Количество

Эдмонтон

Время/Время реакции

Количество

Париж

Время/Время реакции

Забеги

74

10.61±0.38/0.167±0.021

74

10.58±0.47/0.156±0.019

2 круг

38

10.81±0.15/0.160±0.012

30

10.19±0.11/0.154±0.020

Полуфинал

15

10.21±0.13/0.144±0.013

17

10.23±0.13/0.167±0.031

Финал

8

10.00±0.14/0.149±0.010

8

10.12±0.06/0.141±0.015

Таблица 2. Результаты в беге на 100 метров и время реакции у женщин.

Круг соревнований

Количество

Эдмонтон

Время/Время реакции

Количество

Париж

Время/Время реакции

Забеги

54

11.86±0.78/0.177±0.044

54

11.97±0.82/0.172±0.031

2 круг

31

11.34±0.19/0.145±0.016

29

11.30±0.19/0.159±0.016

Полуфинал

16

11.22±0.17/0.146±0.017

15

11.17±0.14/0.150±0.022

Финал

8

11.01±0.14/0.149±0.019

8

11.00±0.08/0.171±0.031

Таблица 3. Результаты в беге на 110 метров с барьерами и время реакции у мужчин.

Круг соревнований

Количество

Эдмонтон

Время/Время реакции

Количество

Париж

Время/Время реакции

Забеги

37

13.68±0.14/0.143±0.016

29

13.61±0.19/0.174±0.039

Полуфинал

22

13.52±0.20/0.146±0.014

24

13.62±0.19/0.175±0.036

Финал

8

13.41±0.30/0.143±0.011

8

13.36±0.17/0.151±0.006

Таблица 4.Результаты в беге на 100 метров с барьерами и время реакции у женщин.

Круг соревнований

Количество

Эдмонтон

Время/Время реакции

Количество

Париж

Время/Время реакции

Забеги

29

13.06±0.27/0.151±0.020

37

13.15±0.33/0.168±0.036

Полуфинал

14

12.81±0.16/0.140±0.016

23

12.95±0.19/0.159±0.025

Финал

8

12.67±0.19/0.145±0.022

8

12.73±0.12/0.155±0.008

Таблицы 1 и 2 показывают значения времени бега и времени реакции в спринте на 100 метров у мужчин и женщин, в таблице 3 и 4 приводятся значения времени бега и реакции в барьерных дистанциях на Чемпионатах мира в Эдмонтоне и Париже. На рисунках 1-4 приводятся данные спортсменов, соревновавшихся на двух чемпионатах.

Обсуждение результатов и заключение

Задачей исследования являлось определение, каким образом отразилось введение нового правила в соревнованиях спринтеров на время реакции спортсменов. Определено, что увеличение времени реакции отмечено только у спортсменов-барьеристов. При сопоставлении времени реакции и одних и тех спортсменов на двух чемпионатах также не отмечается существенных отличий за исключением времени реакции у некоторых барьеристов.

Таким образом, можно утверждать, что введение нового правила определения фальстарта не повлияло радикально на время стартовой реакции спортсменов. В предстоящих исследованиях необходимо проверить факт замедления реакции на выстрел в барьерных дистанциях, что, по-видимому, связано с психологическими или техническими особенностями барьерного бега. Возможно, в дальнейшем следует проанализировать общее количество дисквалификаций и рассмотреть вопросы произошедших инцидентов.

(Перевод Эдвина Озолина, ВНИИФК)

[Aktovegin]

8 лучших результатов сезона в мире в Дюссельдорфе

Дюссельдорф (03.02)

Мужчины.

60 м.

1. Марк Джелкс (США) - 6,56;

2. Лерон Кларк (Ямайка) - 6,62;

3. Рональд Поньон (Франция) - 6,64;

4. Эгеверо Огугенеонано (Нигерия) - 6,65 (в заб. 6,64);

5. Чуранди Мартина (Антильские О-ва) - 6,65;

6. Паскаль Манчини (Швейцария) - 6,68;

7. Морне Нагель (ЮАР) - 6,75;

8. Дуайт Филлипс (США) - 6,80 (в заб. 6,75).

800 м.

1. Юрий Борзаковский (Россия) - 1.45,77;

2. Ахмад Исмаил (Судан) - 1.45,99;

3. Адам Кшчот (Польша) - 1.46,00;

4. Боаз Лаланг (Кения) - 1.46,37;

5. Реубен Бетт (Кения) - 1.47,44;

1500 м.

1. Огустин Чоге (Кения) - 3.36,75;

2. Хуан Ван Девентер (ЮАР) - 3.37,25;

3. Джоффри Роно (Кения) - 3.38,10;

4. Меконнен Гебремедхин (Эфиопия) - 3.38,36;

5. Уильям Бивотт (Кения) - 3.38,62;

6. Гидеон Гатимба (Кения) - 3.39,46;

7. Кристоф Лохсе (Германия) - 3.43,76;

8. Вольфрам Мюллер (Германия) - 3.43,97;

9. Артур Ленц (Германия) - 3.45,07;

5000 м.

1. Пол Коэч (Кения) - 13.02,95;

2. Даниэль К Комен (Кения) - 13.06,27;

3. Даниэль Салел (Кения) - 13.15,89;

4. Эсса Исм Рашед (Катар) - 13.19,10;

5. Йонас Черуйот (Кения) - 13.34,56;

6. Джеймс Косгей (Кения) - 14.14,75;

7. Алберт Минчер (Венгрия) - 14.24,54.

60 м с/б.

1. Дайрон Роблес (Куба) - 7,50;

2. Эрик Митчум (США) - 7,55;

3. Шамар Сандс (Багамские О-ва) - 7,62;

4. Дайрон Капетилло (Куба) - 7,64;

5. Грегори Седок (Нидерланды) - 7,73 (в заб. 7,71);

6. Даниэль Кишш (Венгрия) - 7,74;

7. Артур Нога (Польша) - 7,74;

8. Йенс Веррман (Германия) - 7,78.

Шест.

1. Александер Штрауб (Германия) - 5,70;

2. Хендрик Грубер (Германия) - 5,70;

3. Ромен Меснил (Франция) - 5,60;

4. Рафаэль Хольцдеппе (Германия) - 5,60;

5. Матеуш Диденков (Польша) - 5,50;

6. Сергей Кучеряну (Россия) - 5,50;

7. Мальте Мор (Германия) - 5,40;

8. Стивен Льюис (Великобритания) - 5,40;

9. Вут Ван Венгерден (Нидерланды) - 5,20;

10. Робберт-Я Янсен (Нидерланды) - 5,20;

11. Ричард Шпигельбург (Германия) - 5,20;

11. Майкл Фройен (Германия) - 5,20.

Ядро.

1. Ральф Бартельс (Германия) - 20,70;

2. Иван Маевский (Польша) - 20,55;

3. Давид Шторль (Германия) - 20,08;

4. Дилан Армстронг (Канада) - 19,90;

5. Лайош Кюрти (Венгрия) - 19,09;

6. Анди Диттмар (Германия) - 18,54.

Женщины.

60 м.

1. Лаверне Джоунс (Виргинские О-ва(США)) - 7,09;

2. Кармелита Джетер (США) - 7,13;

3. Чандра Старрап (Багамские О-ва) - 7,23;

4. Эбони Флойд (США) - 7,30;

5. Ивет Лалова (Болгария) - 7,32;

6. Анжела Уильямс (США) - 7,40 (в заб. 7,38);

7. Кристин Амертиль (Багамские О-ва) - 7,42;

8. Марион Вагнер (Германия) - 7,47 (в заб. 7,43).

800 м.

1. Наталья Лупу (Украина) - 2.02,86;

2. Ленка Масна (Чехия) - 2.02,96;

3. Лилия Лобанова (Украина) - 2.03,95;

4. Клаудиа Хоффманн (Германия) - 2.04,45;

5. Аня Клауснитцер (Германия) - 2.06,37.

1500 м.

1. Хелен Клитероу (Великобритания) - 4.10,29;

2. Ангелика Чихоцка (Польша) - 4.10,54;

3. Ирене Джелагат (Кения) - 4.11,20;

4. Рената Плис (Польша) - 4.11,83;

5. Ингвилл Макестад (Норвегия) - 4.13,82;

6. Марсела Листигова (Чехия) - 4.14,66;

7. Элина Суев (Германия) - 4.17,46;

8. Саскиа Янссен (Германия) - 4.20,64;

9. Дениз Кребс (Германия) - 4.21,13.

60 м с/б.

1. Лоло Джоунс (США) - 7,85;

2. Иветт Льюис (США) - 7,91 (в заб. 7,90);

3. Анай Техеда (Куба) - 7,98;

4. Келли Уэллс (США) - 8,02;

5. Каролин Нитра (Германия) - 8,06;

6. Элине Берингс (Бельгия) - 8,11;

7. Тойин Огустус (Нигерия) - 8,22 (в заб. 8,07);

8. Вонетт Диксон (Ямайка) - 8,35 (в заб. 8,07).

Тройной.

1. Яргелис Савинье (Куба) - 14,84;

2. Дана Велдакова (Словакия) - 14,29;

3. Мабель Гай (Куба) - 14,26;

4. Йоанна Скибинска (Польша) - 13,93;

5. Бильяна Топич (Сербия) - 13,75;

6. Тереса Нзола (Франция) - 13,69;

7. Кристин Гириш (Германия) - 13,68;

8. Светлана Мамеева (Украина) - 13,28;

9. Патрисия Саррапио (Испания) - 13,02.

[Aktovegin]

Gothenburg, Sweden - The undisputed main event at the 2010 edition of the SamsungGalan in the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg on Tuesday (2) was the return to the international Triple Jump "wars" by a now finally healthy Christian Olsson. It was extra special as the leading triple jumper of the 2000's is also a local hero born and raised in Gothenburg and as he was brave enough to take on the Berlin World champion Phillips Idowu!

Olsson and Idowu had met 20 times between 2000 and 2007 and the score was an emphatic 18-2 in favour of Olsson as he had lost only the 1st and the 20th of their encounters. But this time Idowu was regarded as the favourite on the strength of him being the top jumper of 2009 while Olsson had been struggling with injuries for the last few years.

However, the answer to the "Olsson or Idowu?" question this evening was "neither" as the event was ruled by the Cuban trio of David Giralt, Alexis Copello and Yoandri Betanzos who all displayed both a good "bounce" and a crisp technique on the built-up runway. So not only did they occupy the top three position in the meet – they also moved into positions No. 1, 2 and 4 on the 2010 World list!

While Copello and Betanzos were showing the best consistency it was Giralt that hit the big one as he bounded all the way to 17.27m in the third round to win by over a quarter of metre ahead of Coppelo and Betanzos who hit close to the 17m-mark (one centimetre over and two centimetres below respectively).

As for the Olsson vs Idowu match-up it ended in favour of Olsson (16.87m vs 16.74m) who thus now is 19-2 in head-to-head score. However, it should be noted that Idowu had a massive final attempt (way beyond 17 metres) which however got a red flag as he fouled by a few centimeters at the take-off.

So the Cubans should not expect to continue to have the event all for themselves in the future. And the Triple Jump world also better be prepared for Olsson soon re-joining the 17m-club! Among those he left far behind today was former World leader Walter Davis who actually had to be content with 7th place.

The women's High Jump has always been a main attraction at the SamsungGalan thanks to athletes like Kajsa Bergqvist, Blanka Vlasic and Ariane Friedrich and there was every intention to build on that tradition in 2010 with Vlasic being the first athlete being announced last autumn. However, two days ago Vlasic had to cancel her appearance due to a virus infection.

Then a slight groin problem stopped hometown jumper Emma Green from competing but still the High Jump turned out to be a decent competition with Russia's Svetlana Shkolina and Kazakhstan's Marina Aitova clearing 1.92m and Laverne Spencer (Saint Lucia) and Chaunté Howard (USA) 1.90m.

Wiberg upsets Hardee in three-eventer

Despite Vlasic's DNS Phillips Idowu wasn't the only Berlin champion in action at the SamsungGalan: Decathlon dominant Trey Hardee of the USA was competing in a special three-eventer consisting of the 60m Hurdles, Shot Put and Long Jump where he was challenged by three other athletes from the Berlin top-eight: Cubans Leonel Suarez and Yordani García plus Sweden's Nicklas Wiberg.

Hardee was off to a blazing start in the "triathlon" storming through the Hurdles race in 7.70. The quality of that effort is probably best illustrated by the fact that in the following preliminaries for the specialists only David Oliver (7.57) was faster than Hardee! Also Garcia and Suarez opened strongly by dipping well below 8 seconds while Wiberg after a slow start had to be content with 8.20.

The Shot Put was dominated by Garcia whose 15.91m while the other three top contenders had to be content with marks in 14's. Most happy with that was Wiberg who improved his indoor PB to 14.87m. Going into the Long Jump Garcia was leading by 60 points over Hardee who was +66 on Berlin silver medallist Suarez.

But then the Long Jump turned everything around once more: While Wiberg had three solid jumps (7.45m – 7.39m – 7.12m) none of the others managed to reach even seven metres. Hardee – who had 7.83m in his World championships series last summer - never managed to get on the take-off board and had to be content with 6.96m. And despite being almost a full half metre behind Wiberg the American still ended up second in the event!

When the final scores were computed it turned out that Wiberg had gone from fourth to first place winning with 11 points from Garcia and 13 from Hardee. So despite not having his three best Decathlon events (Javelin Throw, High Jump and 1500m) Wiberg managed to defeat the top-two from Berlin which ought to strengthen his chances to be considered for one of the "wild cards" for the Heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in mid-March.

Especially if can perform as well in eight days at the GE Galan meet in Stockholm where there will be another three-eventer. There the events will be 60m Hurdles, Long Jump and 400m and the top-four today will be there as will Berlin bronze medallist Aleksandr Pogorelov who will be added to the mix.

Kiss cruises to upset in 60m Hurdles

With no oval track the SamsungGalan meet has always focussed on the jumping events and the straightaway races with and without hurdles. The top event there this year was the men's 60m Hurdles with David Oliver as the big favourite. Oliver was impressive in the heats running 7.57 despite taking it easy in the run-in from the last hurdle. As the other finalists qualified by times between 7.75 and 7.87 everything but a clear win for Oliver would be a major surprise.

It did become a major surprise because Oliver got a race where he seemed to be struggling to keep his balance all the way. No momentum, just fighting to "survive" and despite weaving off into the lane to the right a couple of times Oliver did manage to reach the finish line. But not first as Hungary's Daniel Kiss managed to keep a 0.02 advantage. How bad the race was for Oliver was clearly shown by the clock: After an easy 7.57 in his heat he was 0.15 slower in the final.

In the women's hurdles Russia's Aleksandra Antonova was off to a blistering start while USA's Danielle Carruthers seemed to be almost two metres behind at the first hurdle. But Carruthers didn't panic and gradually worked herself back into contention and at the finish line she outdipped Antonova: 8.12 vs 8.15.

The women's Pole Vault belonged to Germany's Lisa Ryzih who entered at 4.24m where the last of the other competitors were eliminated. Ryzih went on to clear 4.40m emphatically before failing three times at 4.50m.

The men's event on the other hand was quite competitive with five clearing 5.45m and four clearing 5.55m. But at 5.65m Belgium's Kevins Rans – fresh off a new national record of 5.71m during the weekend – was the only one to clear the bar as Maksym Mazuryk, Przemyslaw Czerwinski and Göteborg native Oscar Janson all failed three times. Rans had the bar raised to 5.76m and had one very good attempt.

Gothenburg, Sweden - The undisputed main event at the 2010 edition of the SamsungGalan in the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg on Tuesday (2) was the return to the international Triple Jump "wars" by a now finally healthy Christian Olsson. It was extra special as the leading triple jumper of the 2000's is also a local hero born and raised in Gothenburg and as he was brave enough to take on the Berlin World champion Phillips Idowu!

Olsson and Idowu had met 20 times between 2000 and 2007 and the score was an emphatic 18-2 in favour of Olsson as he had lost only the 1st and the 20th of their encounters. But this time Idowu was regarded as the favourite on the strength of him being the top jumper of 2009 while Olsson had been struggling with injuries for the last few years.

However, the answer to the "Olsson or Idowu?" question this evening was "neither" as the event was ruled by the Cuban trio of David Giralt, Alexis Copello and Yoandri Betanzos who all displayed both a good "bounce" and a crisp technique on the built-up runway. So not only did they occupy the top three position in the meet – they also moved into positions No. 1, 2 and 4 on the 2010 World list!

While Copello and Betanzos were showing the best consistency it was Giralt that hit the big one as he bounded all the way to 17.27m in the third round to win by over a quarter of metre ahead of Coppelo and Betanzos who hit close to the 17m-mark (one centimetre over and two centimetres below respectively).

As for the Olsson vs Idowu match-up it ended in favour of Olsson (16.87m vs 16.74m) who thus now is 19-2 in head-to-head score. However, it should be noted that Idowu had a massive final attempt (way beyond 17 metres) which however got a red flag as he fouled by a few centimeters at the take-off.

So the Cubans should not expect to continue to have the event all for themselves in the future. And the Triple Jump world also better be prepared for Olsson soon re-joining the 17m-club! Among those he left far behind today was former World leader Walter Davis who actually had to be content with 7th place.

The women's High Jump has always been a main attraction at the SamsungGalan thanks to athletes like Kajsa Bergqvist, Blanka Vlasic and Ariane Friedrich and there was every intention to build on that tradition in 2010 with Vlasic being the first athlete being announced last autumn. However, two days ago Vlasic had to cancel her appearance due to a virus infection.

Then a slight groin problem stopped hometown jumper Emma Green from competing but still the High Jump turned out to be a decent competition with Russia's Svetlana Shkolina and Kazakhstan's Marina Aitova clearing 1.92m and Laverne Spencer (Saint Lucia) and Chaunté Howard (USA) 1.90m.

Wiberg upsets Hardee in three-eventer

Despite Vlasic's DNS Phillips Idowu wasn't the only Berlin champion in action at the SamsungGalan: Decathlon dominant Trey Hardee of the USA was competing in a special three-eventer consisting of the 60m Hurdles, Shot Put and Long Jump where he was challenged by three other athletes from the Berlin top-eight: Cubans Leonel Suarez and Yordani García plus Sweden's Nicklas Wiberg.

Hardee was off to a blazing start in the "triathlon" storming through the Hurdles race in 7.70. The quality of that effort is probably best illustrated by the fact that in the following preliminaries for the specialists only David Oliver (7.57) was faster than Hardee! Also Garcia and Suarez opened strongly by dipping well below 8 seconds while Wiberg after a slow start had to be content with 8.20.

The Shot Put was dominated by Garcia whose 15.91m while the other three top contenders had to be content with marks in 14's. Most happy with that was Wiberg who improved his indoor PB to 14.87m. Going into the Long Jump Garcia was leading by 60 points over Hardee who was +66 on Berlin silver medallist Suarez.

But then the Long Jump turned everything around once more: While Wiberg had three solid jumps (7.45m – 7.39m – 7.12m) none of the others managed to reach even seven metres. Hardee – who had 7.83m in his World championships series last summer - never managed to get on the take-off board and had to be content with 6.96m. And despite being almost a full half metre behind Wiberg the American still ended up second in the event!

When the final scores were computed it turned out that Wiberg had gone from fourth to first place winning with 11 points from Garcia and 13 from Hardee. So despite not having his three best Decathlon events (Javelin Throw, High Jump and 1500m) Wiberg managed to defeat the top-two from Berlin which ought to strengthen his chances to be considered for one of the "wild cards" for the Heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in mid-March.

Especially if can perform as well in eight days at the GE Galan meet in Stockholm where there will be another three-eventer. There the events will be 60m Hurdles, Long Jump and 400m and the top-four today will be there as will Berlin bronze medallist Aleksandr Pogorelov who will be added to the mix.

Kiss cruises to upset in 60m Hurdles

With no oval track the SamsungGalan meet has always focussed on the jumping events and the straightaway races with and without hurdles. The top event there this year was the men's 60m Hurdles with David Oliver as the big favourite. Oliver was impressive in the heats running 7.57 despite taking it easy in the run-in from the last hurdle. As the other finalists qualified by times between 7.75 and 7.87 everything but a clear win for Oliver would be a major surprise.

It did become a major surprise because Oliver got a race where he seemed to be struggling to keep his balance all the way. No momentum, just fighting to "survive" and despite weaving off into the lane to the right a couple of times Oliver did manage to reach the finish line. But not first as Hungary's Daniel Kiss managed to keep a 0.02 advantage. How bad the race was for Oliver was clearly shown by the clock: After an easy 7.57 in his heat he was 0.15 slower in the final.

In the women's hurdles Russia's Aleksandra Antonova was off to a blistering start while USA's Danielle Carruthers seemed to be almost two metres behind at the first hurdle. But Carruthers didn't panic and gradually worked herself back into contention and at the finish line she outdipped Antonova: 8.12 vs 8.15.

The women's Pole Vault belonged to Germany's Lisa Ryzih who entered at 4.24m where the last of the other competitors were eliminated. Ryzih went on to clear 4.40m emphatically before failing three times at 4.50m.

The men's event on the other hand was quite competitive with five clearing 5.45m and four clearing 5.55m. But at 5.65m Belgium's Kevins Rans – fresh off a new national record of 5.71m during the weekend – was the only one to clear the bar as Maksym Mazuryk, Przemyslaw Czerwinski and Göteborg native Oscar Janson all failed three times. Rans had the bar raised to 5.76m and had one very good attempt.

Gothenburg, Sweden - The undisputed main event at the 2010 edition of the SamsungGalan in the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg on Tuesday (2) was the return to the international Triple Jump "wars" by a now finally healthy Christian Olsson. It was extra special as the leading triple jumper of the 2000's is also a local hero born and raised in Gothenburg and as he was brave enough to take on the Berlin World champion Phillips Idowu!

Olsson and Idowu had met 20 times between 2000 and 2007 and the score was an emphatic 18-2 in favour of Olsson as he had lost only the 1st and the 20th of their encounters. But this time Idowu was regarded as the favourite on the strength of him being the top jumper of 2009 while Olsson had been struggling with injuries for the last few years.

However, the answer to the "Olsson or Idowu?" question this evening was "neither" as the event was ruled by the Cuban trio of David Giralt, Alexis Copello and Yoandri Betanzos who all displayed both a good "bounce" and a crisp technique on the built-up runway. So not only did they occupy the top three position in the meet – they also moved into positions No. 1, 2 and 4 on the 2010 World list!

While Copello and Betanzos were showing the best consistency it was Giralt that hit the big one as he bounded all the way to 17.27m in the third round to win by over a quarter of metre ahead of Coppelo and Betanzos who hit close to the 17m-mark (one centimetre over and two centimetres below respectively).

As for the Olsson vs Idowu match-up it ended in favour of Olsson (16.87m vs 16.74m) who thus now is 19-2 in head-to-head score. However, it should be noted that Idowu had a massive final attempt (way beyond 17 metres) which however got a red flag as he fouled by a few centimeters at the take-off.

So the Cubans should not expect to continue to have the event all for themselves in the future. And the Triple Jump world also better be prepared for Olsson soon re-joining the 17m-club! Among those he left far behind today was former World leader Walter Davis who actually had to be content with 7th place.

The women's High Jump has always been a main attraction at the SamsungGalan thanks to athletes like Kajsa Bergqvist, Blanka Vlasic and Ariane Friedrich and there was every intention to build on that tradition in 2010 with Vlasic being the first athlete being announced last autumn. However, two days ago Vlasic had to cancel her appearance due to a virus infection.

Then a slight groin problem stopped hometown jumper Emma Green from competing but still the High Jump turned out to be a decent competition with Russia's Svetlana Shkolina and Kazakhstan's Marina Aitova clearing 1.92m and Laverne Spencer (Saint Lucia) and Chaunté Howard (USA) 1.90m.

Wiberg upsets Hardee in three-eventer

Despite Vlasic's DNS Phillips Idowu wasn't the only Berlin champion in action at the SamsungGalan: Decathlon dominant Trey Hardee of the USA was competing in a special three-eventer consisting of the 60m Hurdles, Shot Put and Long Jump where he was challenged by three other athletes from the Berlin top-eight: Cubans Leonel Suarez and Yordani García plus Sweden's Nicklas Wiberg.

Hardee was off to a blazing start in the "triathlon" storming through the Hurdles race in 7.70. The quality of that effort is probably best illustrated by the fact that in the following preliminaries for the specialists only David Oliver (7.57) was faster than Hardee! Also Garcia and Suarez opened strongly by dipping well below 8 seconds while Wiberg after a slow start had to be content with 8.20.

The Shot Put was dominated by Garcia whose 15.91m while the other three top contenders had to be content with marks in 14's. Most happy with that was Wiberg who improved his indoor PB to 14.87m. Going into the Long Jump Garcia was leading by 60 points over Hardee who was +66 on Berlin silver medallist Suarez.

But then the Long Jump turned everything around once more: While Wiberg had three solid jumps (7.45m – 7.39m – 7.12m) none of the others managed to reach even seven metres. Hardee – who had 7.83m in his World championships series last summer - never managed to get on the take-off board and had to be content with 6.96m. And despite being almost a full half metre behind Wiberg the American still ended up second in the event!

When the final scores were computed it turned out that Wiberg had gone from fourth to first place winning with 11 points from Garcia and 13 from Hardee. So despite not having his three best Decathlon events (Javelin Throw, High Jump and 1500m) Wiberg managed to defeat the top-two from Berlin which ought to strengthen his chances to be considered for one of the "wild cards" for the Heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in mid-March.

Especially if can perform as well in eight days at the GE Galan meet in Stockholm where there will be another three-eventer. There the events will be 60m Hurdles, Long Jump and 400m and the top-four today will be there as will Berlin bronze medallist Aleksandr Pogorelov who will be added to the mix.

Kiss cruises to upset in 60m Hurdles

With no oval track the SamsungGalan meet has always focussed on the jumping events and the straightaway races with and without hurdles. The top event there this year was the men's 60m Hurdles with David Oliver as the big favourite. Oliver was impressive in the heats running 7.57 despite taking it easy in the run-in from the last hurdle. As the other finalists qualified by times between 7.75 and 7.87 everything but a clear win for Oliver would be a major surprise.

It did become a major surprise because Oliver got a race where he seemed to be struggling to keep his balance all the way. No momentum, just fighting to "survive" and despite weaving off into the lane to the right a couple of times Oliver did manage to reach the finish line. But not first as Hungary's Daniel Kiss managed to keep a 0.02 advantage. How bad the race was for Oliver was clearly shown by the clock: After an easy 7.57 in his heat he was 0.15 slower in the final.

In the women's hurdles Russia's Aleksandra Antonova was off to a blistering start while USA's Danielle Carruthers seemed to be almost two metres behind at the first hurdle. But Carruthers didn't panic and gradually worked herself back into contention and at the finish line she outdipped Antonova: 8.12 vs 8.15.

The women's Pole Vault belonged to Germany's Lisa Ryzih who entered at 4.24m where the last of the other competitors were eliminated. Ryzih went on to clear 4.40m emphatically before failing three times at 4.50m.

The men's event on the other hand was quite competitive with five clearing 5.45m and four clearing 5.55m. But at 5.65m Belgium's Kevins Rans – fresh off a new national record of 5.71m during the weekend – was the only one to clear the bar as Maksym Mazuryk, Przemyslaw Czerwinski and Göteborg native Oscar Janson all failed three times. Rans had the bar raised to 5.76m and had one very good attempt.

[Aktovegin]

Monte-Carlo - The following World records have recently been ratified...

WOMEN - SENIOR

15km (Road)

46:28 Tirunesh Dibaba ETH, Nijmegen, NED, 15 Nov 09

previous: 46:55 Kayoko Fukushi JPN, Marugame, JPN, 5 Feb 06

[optimist1]

Кстати Дима, Борзаковский вчера опять в хорошем стиле выиграл 800 м в Дюссельдорфе.

[Aktovegin]

да Оптимист вы правы, он показывает уже воторой высокий результат в мире, посомтрим что будет на ЧМ в закрытых помещениях который приблизительно начнется в начале марта и пройдет на стандартном манеже с кругом 200м.

в 2001 годы мы общались с Борзаковским в Амстердаме и обсуждали где выступать в сезоне, я его спросил почему он практически не выступает на ЧМ И ЧЕ, он сказал что на коммерции лучше платят и бежать надо один раз, на ЧМ очень серьезная конкуренция и 2-3 забега в которых много спортсменов и идет серьезная борьба за место на дорожке, а на коммерции ты приезжаешь, есть плеймейкер, бежишь один раз и получаешь хорошие денежки.

так что может быть мы не увидем его на ЧМ, но это я постараюсь выяснить через менеджеров.

[Aktovegin]

кстати в том же Амстердаме если бы не судьба и я не попал на первую дорожку то прошел бы в финал, а там бы мы встретились с Юрой, на дорожке дистанции 400м, жаль, были времена.В тот год он стал чемпионом европы на 400м среди молодежи.

всем крепкого здоровья.

[Aktovegin]

Long Jump

The long jump has been part of all sporting competitions since ancient times. It figured in the Games of 708 BC as part of the pentathlon: the jumper took his run-up holding a small weight in each hand which gave greater impetus.

The modern event was regulated in England and the USA in 1860: the take-off had to be made from a 20cm wide board into a sand pit. Hand weights were not used.

Until the 1920s, technique was fairly rudimentary, with the legs tucked under the body immediately after take-off, then extended and subsequently drawn up under the body again for landing.

Between 1922 and 1927, the Americans William De Hart Hubbard (co-holder of the world 100 yards record of 9.6) and Robert LeGendre introduced the "hitch kick", a running motion of the legs in mid-air. Variations of this, and the more simple 'hang' technique, remain the norm today.

The first women's long jump contests took place in the USA in 1895. The first IAAF women's world record dates back to 1928 although the event did not make its first Olympic appearance until London in 1948.

Landmarks

First over 7m: 7.05 John Lane IRL 1874

First over 7.50: 7.50 Myer Prinstein USA 1900

First over 26ft: 7.93 Silvio Cator HAI 1928

First over 8m: 8.13 Jesse Owens USA 1935

First over 27ft: 8.24 Ralph Boston USA 1961

First over 8.50 & 28/29ft: 8.90 Bob Beamon USA 1968

Most durable world record: 8.13 Jesse Owens 1935 (25 years)

Most competitions over 8.50m: Carl Lewis USA 39

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 4 Carl Lewis 1984/1988/1992/1996

Most World titles: 4 Ivàn Pedroso CUB 1995/1997/1999/2001

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Randy Williams USA 1972 (19) Oldest: Carl Lewis 1996 (35)

Three all time bests

Jesse Owens (USA): On the day in 1935 that he set six world records, he took only one jump ... but his leap of 8.13m survived for 25 years. Four golds at 1936 Olympics, including long jump.

Bob Beamon (USA) : His sensational 8.90m leap at altitude at the 1968 Olympics threatened to outlast even Owens' record, but it was finally surpassed after nearly 23 years by Mike Powell.

Carl Lewis (USA): He never held the official world long jump record but was unbeaten for a full decade until 1991. At Atlanta in 1996 he won his ninth and lastOlympic gold medal. He and Al Oerter (US discus thrower) share the distinction of being the only athletes to have won 4 consecutive Olympic golds in the same event.

Landmarks

First official world record: 5.98 Kinue Hitomi JPN 1928

First over 6m: 6.12 Christel Schulz GER 1939

First over 6.50: 6.53 Tatyana Shchelkanova URS 1962

First over 7m: 7.07 Vilma Bardauskiene URS 1978

First over 7.50: 7.52 Galina Chistyakova URS 1988

Most durable world record: 7.52 Galina Chistyakova (19 years)

Most competitions over 7.30m: Heike Drechsler GER 23

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles:

2 Heike Drechsler GER/GDR 1992/2000 (+ silver 1988)

Most World titles:

2 Heike Drechsler 1983/1993

2 Jackie Joyner-Kersee USA 1987/1991

2 Fiona May ITA 1995/2001

Youngest Olympic/World champion:Heike Drechsler 1983 (18)

Oldest: Niurka Montalvo ESP 1999 (31); Tatyana Lebedeva RUS 2007 (31)

Three all time bests

Mary Rand (GBR): Despite a stiff headwind she broke the world record with a leap of 6.76m when winning the 1964 Olympic title, the last contested from a cinder runway.

Heide Rosendahl (FRG): Followed Rand's example by first winning the Olympic long jump title (1972) and then placing second in the pentathlon; set world record of 6.84m in 1970.

Heike Drechsler (GDR/GER): With more than 400 individual jumps over 7m she has been a model of consistency for nearly two decades; a former world record holder in the 200m as well as long jump. She was Olympic long jump champion in 1992 and 2000

[gnom]

как там дела у нашего у Рамиля Гулиева? новый сезон-то начался ))

[Aktovegin]

Результаты Штутгарта-2010

Штутгарт (06.02)

Мужчины.

60 м.

1. Лерон Кларк (Ямайка) - 6,57;

2. Чуранди Мартина (Антильские О-ва) - 6,58;

3. Эгеверо Огугенеонано (Нигерия) - 6,62;

4. Крэйг Пиккеринг (Великобритания) - 6,64 (в заб. 6,63);

5. Тобиан Унгер (Германия) - 6,71;

6. Паскаль Манчини (Швейцария) - 6,76 (в заб. 6,72).

800 м.

1. Абубакер Каки (Судан) - 1.46,47;

2. Якуб Голуша (Чехия) - 1.46,82;

3. Джексон Кивуна (Кения) - 1.47,03;

4. Антонио Рейна (Испания) - 1.47,88;

5. Кевин Откур (Франция) - 1.48,24;

6. Георг Эберхардт (Германия) - 1.49,21;

7. Юрий Колдин (Россия) - 1.52,15.

1500 м.

1. Дерессе Меконнен (Эфиопия) - 3.34,17;

2. Уильям Бивотт (Кения) - 3.36,93;

3. Буабдаллах Тари (Франция) - 3.37,31;

4. Бетуэлл Бирген (Кения) - 3.39,14;

5. Хуан-К. Игуэро (Испания) - 3.40,76;

6. Штефан Эберхардт (Германия) - 3.41,12;

7. Йоанн Коваль (Франция) - 3.47,18;

8. Мохамед Аль-Гарни (Катар) - 3.59,53.

3000 м.

1. Элиуд Кипчоге (Кения) - 7.32,99;

2. Тарику Бекеле (Эфиопия) - 7.33,81;

3. Сэмми Мутахи (Кения) - 7.37,01;

4. Эдвин Сои (Кения) - 7.38,60;

5. Абрехем Черкос (Эфиопия) - 7.40,04;

6. Диего Руис (Испания) - 7.52,86;

7. Кристоф Лохсе (Германия) - 7.53,11;

8. Арне Габиус (Германия) - 7.54,11;

9. Альваро Фернандес (Испания) - 7.57,89;

10. Джозеф Киплимо (Кения) - 8.04,42.

60 м с/б.

1. Дайрон Роблес (Куба) - 7,48;

2. Дэвид Оливер (США) - 7,49;

3. Дуайт Томас (Ямайка) - 7,64;

4. Дайрон Капетилло (Куба) - 7,68 (в заб. 7,67);

5. Петр Свобода (Чехия) - 7,75 (в заб. 7,57);

6. Морис Уигнолл (Ямайка) - 8,13 (в заб. 7,73).

Шест.

1. Александер Штрауб (Германия) - 5,75;

2. Рафаэль Хольцдеппе (Германия) - 5,70;

2. Виктор Чистяков (Россия) - 5,70;

4. Рено Лавилльни (Франция) - 5,70;

5. Ромен Меснил (Франция) - 5,60;

5. Хендрик Грубер (Германия) - 5,60;

7. Дамиэль Доссеви (Франция) - 5,60;

8. Мальте Мор (Германия) - 5,60;

9. Тим Лобингер (Германия) - 5,45;

10. Фабиан Шульце (Германия) - 5,45;

11. Бьорн Отто (Германия) - 5,45;

11. Максим Мазурик (Украина) - 5,45.

Длина.

1. Ли Цзиньчже (КНР) - 7,92;

2. Салим Сдири (Франция) - 7,87;

3. Игнисиус Гайсах (Гана) - 7,73;

4. Дуайт Филлипс (США) - 7,72;

5. Ндисс Каба Баджи (Сенегал) - 7,66;

6. Ремигиус Роскош (Германия) - 7,57;

7. Кристоф Штольц (Германия) - 7,56;

8. Ю Жэньвэй (КНР) - 7,53;

9. Нильс Винтер (Германия) - 7,42.

Женщины.

60 м.

1. Лаверне Джоунс (Виргинские О-ва(США)) - 6,97;

2. Кармелита Джетер (США) - 7,05;

3. Мириам Сумар (Франция) - 7,19;

4. Эбони Флойд (США) - 7,30;

5. Анжела Уильямс (США) - 7,32.

1500 м.

1. Гелете Бурка (Эфиопия) - 4.03,44;

2. Анна Альминова (Россия) - 4.03,88;

3. Ирене Джелагат (Кения) - 4.07,45;

4. Хелен Клитероу (Великобритания) - 4.10,08;

5. Фанянтейно Феликс (Франция) - 4.11,95;

6. Хилари Стеллингверф (Канада) - 4.17,79.

3000 м.

1. Месерет Дефар (Эфиопия) - 8.24,46;

2. Сентайеху Эйигу (Эфиопия) - 8.25,27;

3. Сильвия Кибет (Кения) - 8.42,15;

4. Инес Монтейру (Португалия) - 8.59,05;

5. Рене Кальмер (ЮАР) - 9.02,92;

6. Сабрина Мокенхаупт (Германия) - 9.13,72.

60 м с/б.

1. Приссилла Лопес (Канада) - 7,82;

2. Лоло Джоунс (США) - 7,97 (в заб. 7,96);

3. Каролин Нитра (Германия) - 8,02 (в заб. 8,01);

4. Вонетт Диксон (Ямайка) - 8,04 (в заб. 7,98);

5. Надине Хильдебранд (Германия) - 8,08;

6. Ласена Голдинг (Ямайка) - 8,10 (в заб. 8,06).

Шест.

1. Фабиана Мурер (Бразилия) - 4,81;

2. Анна Роговска (Польша) - 4,71;

3. Зильке Шпигельбург (Германия) - 4,61;

4. Кристина Гадшив (Германия) - 4,50;

5. Анна Баттке (Германия) - 4,40;

6. Каролин Хингст (Германия) - 4,25.

[Aktovegin]

Рамиль поживает хорошо, вы его увидите на соревнованиях в конце мая, пока он будет тренироваться и набирать форму.

Всем крепкого здоровья.

[Aktovegin]

Результаты "Русской зимы"-2010

Москва (07.02)

Мужчины.

60 м.

1. Марк Джелкс (США) - 6,64

2. Олусоджи Фасуба (Нигерия) - 6,67

3. Петер Эмельезе (Нигерия) - 6,69

4. Роман Смирнов - 6,70

5. Кендалл Стивенс (США) - 6,71

6. Александр Вашуркин - 6,78

Забеги:

1.

1. Олусоджи Фасуба (Нигерия) - 6,70

2. Александр Вашуркин - 6,72

3. Кендалл Стивенс (США) - 6,73

4. Михаил Идрисов - 6,77

5. Дариуш Куч (Польша) - 6,81

2.

1. Петер Эмельезе (Нигерия) - 6,69

2. Роман Смирнов - 6,75

3. Марк Джелкс (США) - 6,75

4. Морне Нагель (ЮАР) - 6,77

5. Александр Бреднев - 6,77

6. Рамис Абдулкадеров - 6,89

400 м.

ф1:

1. Максим Александренко - 47,51

2. Ярослав Холопов - 47,73

3. Павел Кириллов - 47,93

4. Илья Охремов - 48,09

5. Алексей Кениг - 48,26

ф2:

1. Дмитрий Буряк - 46,83

2. Павел Тренихин - 47,21

3. Артем Сергеенков - 47,79

4. Владимир Антманис - 47,83

ф3:

1. Грег Никсон (США) - 46,72

2. Рабах Юсиф (Судан) - 46,97

3. Валентин Кругляков - 47,58

4. Дмитрий Петров - 47,99

5. Александр Деревягин - 48,00

600 м.

ф1:

1. Виталий Козлов (Литва) - 1.17,20

2. Иван Тухтачев - 1.17,68

3. Михаил Василенко - 1.17,95

4. Евгений Шармин - 1.18,18

5. Владимир Краснов - 1.18,53

ф2:

1. Юрий Борзаковский - 1.16,02

2. Ахмед Исмаил (Судан) - 1.16,12

3. Уилфред Бунгей (Кения) - 1.17,36

4. Максим Дылдин - 1.17,45

5. Белал Али (Бахрейн) - 1.19,10

3000 м.

1. Хуан Ван Девентер (ЮАР) - 7.49,91

2. Йонас Черуйот (Кения) - 7.52,87

3. Сергей Иванов - 7.53,62

4. Эдвард Мутаи (Кения) - 7.55,05

5. Андрей Фарносов - 7.56,07

6. Станислав Анищенко - 8.00,12

7. Акмаль Ишов - 8.00,55

8. Вячеслав Шабунин - 8.01,44

9. Игорь Комаров - 8.08,54

10. Антон Усольцев - 8.09,97

60 м с/б.

1. Евгений Борисов - 7,65

2. Максим Лынша (Белоруссия) - 7,77

3. Константин Шабанов - 7,79

4. Станислав Олияр (Латвия) - 7,82

5. Алексей Дремин - 7,92

6. Сергей Молчанов - 7,97

Высота.

1. Иван Ухов - 2,32

2. Александр Шустов - 2,32

3. Дасти Джонас (США) - 2,25

3. Андрей Сильнов - 2,25

5. Алессандро Талотти (Италия) - 2,20

6. Андрей Терешин - 2,20

7. Эдуард Мальченко - 2,20

8. Жак Фрайтаг (ЮАР) - 2,15

Длина.

1. Андрей Макарчев (Украина) - 8,04

2. Луис Мелис (Испания) - 7,99

3. Александр Меньков - 7,95

4. Павел Караваев - 7,87

5. Марин Стажак (Польша) - 7,60

6. Уолтер Дэвис (США) - 7,30

7. Мигель Пейт (США) - 7,29

8. Станислав Ионов - 7,08

Женщины.

60 м.

1. Юлия Кацура - 7,20

2. Евгения Полякова - 7,24

3. Мария Боликова - 7,29

4. Наталья Муринович - 7,30

5. Юна Мехти-Заде - 7,37

6. Екатерина Бутусова - 7,50

Забеги:

1.

1. Екатерина Бутусова - 7,26

2. Евгения Полякова - 7,28

3. Наталья Муринович - 7,38

4. Юна Мехти-Заде - 7,39

5. Джойс Мадуака (Великобритания) - 7,41

6. Ольга Халандырева - 7,54

2.

1. Юлия Кацура - 7,22

2. Мария Боликова - 7,32

3. Светлана Набокина - 7,40

4. Анжела Уильямс (США) - 7,41

5. Екатерина Филатова - 7,47

6. Наталья Погребняк (Украина) - 7,59

200 м.

1. Елена Болсун - 23,87

2. Екатерина Вороненкова - 23,93

3. Наталья Иванова - 23,96

4. Анна Гурова - 24,00

5. Валентина Карнаухова - 24,78

400 м.

ф1:

1. Дарья Сафонова - 51,90

2. Ксения Вдовина - 52,89

3. Ольга Первякова - 54,21

4. Анна Седова - 54,57

5. Анастасия Трифонова - 56,83

ф2:

1. Татьяна Фирова - 52,09

2. Дебби Данн (США) - 52,53

3. Юлия Гущина - 52,59

800 м.

ф1:

1. Татьяна Палиенко - 2.03,51

2. Татьяна Андрианова - 2.03,90

3. Лилия Лобанова (Украина) - 2.04,37

4. Александра Буланова - 2.05,15

5. Анна Лучкина - 2.05,74

ф2:

1. Мария Савинова - 1.59,23

2. Дженифер Медоуз (Великобритания) - 2.00,71

3. Евгения Зинурова - 2.00,98

4. Евгения Золотова - 2.01,47

5. Татьяна Петлюк (Украина) - 2.04,02

6. Джанет Джепкосгей (Кения) - 2.12,04

60 м с/б.

1. Татьяна Дектярева - 7,94

2. Лоло Джоунс (США) - 8,02

3. Александра Антонова - 8,10

4. Евгения Снигур (Украина) - 8,22

5. Ольга Корсунова - 8,22

Забеги:

1.

1. Лоло Джоунс (США) - 8,09

2. Александра Антонова - 8,11

3. Евгения Снигур (Украина) - 8,26

4. Татьяна Филатова - 8,32

5. Шон Эйдиган (США) - 8,33

6. Марина Андрюхина - 8,37

2.

1. Татьяна Дектярева - 7,96

2. Ольга Самылова - 8,16

3. Ольга Корсунова - 8,19

4. Екатерина Штепа - 8,28

5. Келли Уэллс (США) - 8,59

Шест.

1. Елена Исинбаева - 4,85

2. Юлия Голубчикова - 4,70

3. Светлана Феофанова - 4,60

4. Татьяна Полнова - 4,50

5. Моника Пирек (Польша) - 4,50

6. Анастасия Шведова (Белоруссия) - 4,40

7. Александра Киряшова - 4,40

8. Лиза Рыжих (Германия) - 4,20

Длина.

1. Дарья Клишина - 6,87

2. Ольга Кучеренко - 6,71

3. Анна Назарова - 6,67

4. Карен Мей (Турция) - 6,52

5. Брианна Гленн (США) - 6,52

6. Виктория Рыбалко (Украина) - 6,40

7. Ивана Шпанович (Сербия) - 6,07

[Aktovegin]

Jones-Ferrette shocks with 6.97 dash in Stuttgart

Stuttgart, Germany - A tantalizingly close distance world-record attempt and the fastest sprint performance in 11 years were just a sample of the eight world-leading marks and three meeting records at 24th Sparkassen-Cup meeting in Stuttgart, the third of nine IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings, on Saturday (6).

Major breakthrough for Jones-Ferrette

The big eye-opener of the programme came from Laverne Jones-Ferrette, who sped down the outside lane of the sprint apron to a world-leading 6.97 in the Women’s 60m, the first sub-7.00 run in more than a decade. Not since Ekaterini Thanou won the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi with 6.96 has the distance been covered as fast. In all, only five others have covered the distance faster.

The US Virgin Islands sprinter had less distraction after Chandra Sturrup, originally on her outside, was disqualified after a false start. Leading the field out of the blocks, Jones-Ferrette smoothly covered the distance in a time that shocked even herself.

“I always felt with my form I could run faster, but to run under seven seconds I never ever thought about that - it is a big surprise,” Jones-Ferrette said.

Carmelita Jeter of the US finished second in a PB 7.05, a clocking which would have led the world in six of the last eight seasons. Far back in third was France’s Miryam Soumaré in 7.19.

Defar pushed to 8:24.46, third fastest run ever

“Darn, why did I run so fast in 2007?” Meseret Defar must have asked herself moments after the finish of the women’s 3000m, her third consecutive close-but-futile attempt at her own World record from three seasons ago.

The reigning World champion in the event made the most of a valiant effort, however, as her 8:24.46 time was the third-fastest performance of all-time, less than a second off her 8:23.72 global standard and also the season’s best. It was her fifth consecutive Stuttgart victory.

After dropping almost three seconds behind her 2007 record pace with only three laps left, she used a push-from-behind strategy with countrywoman Sentayehu Ejigu providing the pressure. Increasingly fast closing laps of 33.0, 32.6 and 31.4 made the race as close to the record as it was.

Ejigu gets much of the credit for the end result, as she held tight in the final stages for second in 8:25.27, itself the fourth-fastest performance ever. Silvia Kibet of Kenya was a distant third in 8:42.15.

World leads for Lopes-Schliep and Robles in sprint hurdles

Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep capitalized on the electricity still left in the hall after Jones-Ferrette’s win and sped away with a 7.82 world-leading and PB win in the women’s 60m Hurdles. Running next to Lolo Jones, who had dominated the event during the season until today, the Berlin silver medallist took a quick lead over the first barrier and sailed to a big victory ahead of Jones’ 7.97.

Carolin Nytra of Germany took third in 8.02 after having registered a PB 8.01 in the heats.

The men’s event saw Cuba’s Dayron Robles break out to an early lead but just barely hold off David Oliver’s late finish for a world-leading 7.48, as the American was close behind in 7.49. Jamaican Dwight Thomas was third in 7.64.

Another Jamaican, Lerone Clarke, recorded two PBs in the men’s 60m, his 6.57 in the final enough for a narrow win over the PB 6.58 posted by Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles. Egwero Oghoogheneonano of Nigeria was third in 6.62, also a PB.

Mekkonnen and Burka take 1500m wins for Ethiopia

Deresse Mekonnen, the reigning World indoor champion in the men’s 1500m, took a great step toward a title defence in Doha with his season-opening 3:34.17, a world-leading time. It was also a personal best by more than a second, and it moved the Ethiopian into twelfth place among all-time indoor performers in the event.

Mekonnen stayed close to the 56.78 and 1:54.70 pace of German Artur Lenz before pushing aside second pacer, Vickson Polonet, with three laps remaining. Finishing with laps of 28.8 and 28.4, Mekonnen pulled a season bests from Kenyan William Biwott (3:36.93) and Bob Tahri (3:37.31) in the next two spots.

Mekonnen’s counterpart and compatriot on the women’s side, Gelete Burka, also made a bold move to repeat her world indoor 1500m title with a world-leading 4:03.44 victory over Anna Alminova. The Russian, who shadowed Defar so closely in last year’s exciting 3000m race, finished in a Europe-leading 4:03.88.

After Tamara Tverdostup of Ukraine brought the field through 800 metres in 2:09.52, Alminova and Burka were left at the front. Burka went to the lead just after the kilometre mark and was able to stay a step in front of the Russian the rest of the way. Watching from behind was Kenya’s Irene Jelagat in third with 4:07.45.

Kipchoge outduels T. Bekele in 3000m

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge joined the world-leader club as he outlegged Tariku Bekele over the final 150 metres in his PB 7:32.99 victory in the men’s 3000m, as the Ethiopian, the winner here two years ago, finished in 7:33.81.

Bekele made a move to the front coming into the bell, but Kipchoge responded well down the final backstraight with a solid kick and held off the Ethiopian for the victory. Sammy Mutahi won an intra-Kenya battle for third ahead of Edwin Soi, 7:37.01 to 7:38.60.

Murer debuts with 4.81m effort

The women’s Pole Vault yearly mark took a giant leap upward as two competitors bettered the previous world-leading height of 4.65m. In the end, it was Brazil’s Fabiana Murer who took away the win as her 4.81m evening best equalled her own PB and South America area record. Three unsuccessful attempts at 4.85 ended her evening.

Berlin World champion Anna Rogowska of Poland, who has been training in Germany during the winter, saw her attempts at a would-be national record 4.81m fall short, but she still held second with a Europe-leading 4.71m, as Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg was third at 4.61m.

Alexander Straub of Germany registered his second win of the week with a third-attempt 5.75m success in the men’s Pole Vault. Viktor Chistyakov of Russia - who celebrates his 35th birthday next Wednesday - finished tied for second at 5.70m with the youngest vaulter in the field, Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe, as Renaud Lavillenie of France took fourth at the same height.

Even the presence of former Olympic and four-time World champion (indoor and outdoor) Dwight Phillips could not jump start the Men’s Long Jump, won by relatively unknown 20-year-old Li Jinzhe of China at 7.92m. France’s Salim Sdiri (7.87m) and Ignisious Gaisah of Ghana (7.73m) also finished ahead of fourth-place Phillips, whose 7.72m was the season opener in his specialty after two European sprint appearances.

Abubaker Kaki appeared on the way to a steamroller win in the men’s 800m as he covered the first 400 in 51.7, but suddenly in the third lap, the field coalesced and the Sudanese runner had to work hard to preserve a 1:46.47 win ahead of the determined finishes of Czech runner Jakub Holuša (1:46.82) and Kenyan Jackson Kivuna (1:47.03 PB).

[Aktovegin]

Competing in just her second meet of the year, Blanka Vlasic of Croatia cleared 2.06m at the 34th International High Jump Meeting in Arnstadt, Germany, today

The clearance elevated Vlasic, the reigning World champion indoors and outdoors, another notch on the all-time list indoors, joining Stefka Kostadinova as No. 3 all-time. Only World record holder Kajsa Bergqvist (2.08m) of Sweden and former World record holder Heike Henkel (2.07m) have sailed higher indoors. Vlasic’s previous indoor best of 2.05m was set nearly four years ago, with subsequent clearances in 2008 and 2009.

Vlasic’s success came on her second attempt, after she required three tries at 2.02m. A third miss at the lower height would have meant a loss to Russian Svetlana Shkolina who improved her lifetime best to 2.00m, a height the Croatian chose to pass.

“On my first try at 2.06, the bar was shaking and shaking, and then fell,” Vlasic said. “But with the second everything was fine and I’m really happy.”

Vlasic, who was forced to skip scheduled appearances in New York and Gothenburg recently due to a virus, continued with three attempts at a would-be World record of 2.09m. One attempt was quite close, which pleased the 26-year-old. “I knew that I had the height,” she said.

Vlasic’s next appearance is slated for Wednesday night in Stockholm.

In the men’s competition, world leader Ivan Ukhov of Russia prevailed with a 2.35m clearance on his third attempt, before bowing out with three tries and 2.41m. His compatriot, the reigning World champion outdoors Yaroslav Rybakov, was second at 2.33m.

[Aktovegin]

Triple Jump

The original triple jump as practised by the Greeks was no more than three long jumps one after another. The Celts invented a style of three jumps in a continuous action and this was regulated at the end of the XIX century, first by the Irish and then by the Americans.

Originally a hop-hop-jump, with the first two hops taken from the same foot, the triple jump became the hop-step-jump after 1900.

Records of a women's triple jump contest held indoors in the USA date back to 1899 and, although it had no official recognition, the event was staged regularly, particularly in the USA, the USSR and China. The first IAAF women's world record was ratified in 1990 and the event appeared for the first time in the IAAF World Championships in 1993.

Landmarks

First official world record: 15.52 Dan Ahearn USA 1911

First over 16m: 16.00 Naoto Tajima JPN 1936

First over 16.50: 16.56 A F da Silva BRA 1955

First over 17m: 17.03 Józef Schmidt POL 1960

First over 17.50: 17.89 Joao Carlos de Oliveira BRA 1975

First over 18m: 18.16 Jonathan Edwards GBR 1995

Most legal competitions over 17.50m: Jonathan Edwards 43

Most durable world record: 1911 (15.52m) Daniel Ahearn (13 years)

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 3 Viktor Saneyev URS 1968/1972/1976

Most World titles: 2 Jonathan Edwards 1995/2001

(+ silver 97 / bronze 99)

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Gustaf Lindblom SWE 1912 (20)

Oldest: Jonathan Edwards GBR 2001 (35)

Three all time greats

Adhemar Ferreira da Silva (BRA): Undefeated from 1951 to 1956, he was Olympic champion in 1952 and 1956 and the first to jump in excess of 16 metres.

Viktor Saneyev (URS): Came close to emulating discus star Al Oerter's feat of four Olympic titles. He won in 1968, 1972 and 1976 and was second in 1980.

Jonathan Edwards (GBR): A barrier breaker who in 1995 raised the world record to 17.98, 18.16 and 18.29m (the first 60ft jump), won the world title by a huge margin and cleared 18.43m with wind assistance. Won Olympic gold in 2000 and second world title in 2001. Retired in 2003.

Landmarks

First over 14m: 14.04 Li Huirong CHN 1987

First official world record: 14.54 Li Huirong 1990

First over 15m: 15.09 Anna Biryukova RUS 1993

First over 15.50: 15.50 Inessa Kravets UKR 1995

Most durable world record: 15.50 Inessa Kravets 1995 (12 years)

Most legal competitions over 15m: Tatyana Lebedeva RUS 27 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 1 for three athletes - Inessa Kravets 1996, Tereza Marinova BUL 2000 and Francoise Mbango CMR 2004.

Most World titles: 2 Tatyana Lebedeva RUS 2001/2003

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Anna Biryukova 1993 (25)

Oldest: Inessa Kravets 1996 (29); Trecia Smith JAM 2005 (29)

Three all time greats

Yolanda Chen (RUS): The daughter of a world class triple jumper, she briefly held the world record with 14.97m in 1993 and set a world indoor record of 15.03m in 1995 when taking the world title.

Anna Biryukova (RUS): Successor to Chen as world record holder when she cleared a barrier-breaking 15.09m at the inaugural world championship at this event. She went on to claim the European title in 1994.

Inessa Kravets (UKR): Taking a leaf out of Jonathan Edwards' book at the 1995 World Championships in Göteborg, she not only won the title but obliterated the previous world record by a massive 41cm margin with 15.50m.

He unleashes an almighty hop, To which mammals and reptiles show awe And then streches on with a very long step And steadies himself for some more

Its complex technique - jumping while sprinting (same leg, then alternate leg) makes the triple jump is a combination of swiftness, power and coordination. The aim is to lose the minimum of speed and momentum during each phase. Athletes of any build can make their mark, provided they have strong joints and muscles of steel. Triple jumpers must know how to monitor their physical form all the time. The triple jump was long considered a refuge for the mediocre, but, thanks to superbly talented champions, it has won its spurs. In athletics, triple jumpers are the human kangaroos.

Development of performances

The development of the triple jump over recent years has been characterized by the passing of the 18 m mark. J. Edwards (GBR) with his world record and performance consistency has been primarily responsible for throwing open interesting questions concerning performance development.

Triple jump is still a relatively young event for women and there is therefore, a lack of biomechanical data for developing a separate performance profile independent to the men.

Performance factors

The aim of the triple jump is to achieve the furthest possible distance with three one-legged jumps in a prescribed order (left-left-right or right-right-left). This sequence is generally described as a hop-step-jump.

In order to achieve his aim the triple jumper requires a precise approach with an optimal, almost maximum approach speed with which he produces kinetic energy. A successful triple jump performance is characterized by the athlete using a good technique which permits a maintenance of horizontal velocity and therefore, kinetic energy during the three jump segments. Special prerequisites for a triple jumper are therefore, sprinting speed for the approach, primarily reactive jumping strength and also a high degree of movement coordination and feel for rhythm, balance and arm-leg coordination.

External influences in the triple jump

Triple jump performance, i.e. the official distance jumped is measured in the approach direction from the front edge of the take-off board to the first identifiable mark made by the athlete in the sand during landing. The sum of the official distance and the distance "conceded" at the board gives the so-called "effective distance" which is a theoretical value describing how far the jumper really jumped independent of the official result. The official distance is usually smaller or at the most equal to the effectively jumped distance.

At the elite level the take-off boards are positioned 13m from the sand pit. The athlete is permitted to touch the ground with the swing leg during the individual jump segments although this seems to be of little benefit to correct jumping technique. The distances of the individual jump segments is one means of obtaining information concerning the quality of the jump. The measurements have been standardized to: hop tip of foot, step tip of foot and jump heel.

Further influencing factors in the triple jump are climatic conditions (wind, air resistance) and the construction of the approach track. Tail wind and low air resistance are beneficial to distance but must also be taken into account in the approach and consequently affect the approach precision.

The track construction can benefit jumping performance in a similar fashion seen in the sprint. The resistance to deformation of the substrate is an important criterion for a "slow or a "fast" track. The jumper can transfer forces more directly to the ground and thus produce forward propulsion if the substrate is harder. The ground is described through the thickness of the artificial surface, the substrate material (asphalt or concrete) and the density thereof. The features of the "fast" track in Atlanta were a 5 to 8 mm thick artificial surface layer and suggest an extremely dense asphalt. Similar construction methods have lead to similar conditions in Athens. Fast but hard tracks have the disadvantage that the musculo-skeletal system is heavily loaded which often leads to overload injuries.

Biomechanical factors in the triple jump

Kinetic energy is produced through the approach speed in every take-off and is converted into height and distance. The jumper loses some speed in the take-off so he is always faster prior to take-off than when leaving the ground. The prerequisites for good distances are better if the kinetic energy available prior to take-off is greater. The distance jumped in the triple jump is comprised of the sum of the three individual jump segments. These separate distances are strongly dependent upon the available horizontal velocity or kinetic energy in each of the three take-offs.

The jumping technique of the separate jump segments should involve small leading leg angles at ground contact, small height differences and short ground contact times. Successful jumps are characterized by a minimal loss of energy. This is biomechanically achieved by a stiff setting of the musculo-tendon complex of the complete extensor musculature of the take-off leg. This includes fixing the hip joint with especial consideration of the thigh musculature.

The ratio of the distances jumped varies within certain tolerance limits and has individual variations. However, it generally lies around 36 - 37% for the hop, 29 - 30% for the step and 33 -34% for the jump for most elite jumpers. The step is therefore, the shortest and the hop the longest of the three jumps.

As in the long jump the approach consists of approximately 18 - 23 steps over 35 - 50 m. As opposed to the long jump the triple jumper attempts to increase the stride rate and decrease the stride length over the last 3 - 6 strides with the aim of achieving a relatively flat take-off for the hop. Approach speeds correspond to those of the long jump, i.e. over 10 m/s.

The take-off angle in the hop is considerably lower than in the long jump (12 -15° as opposed to 19 - 23°). The jumper must attempt to stem as little as possible in the take-off for all jumps, that means he must try to pull the take-off foot as close as possible under the body. This is known as an "active gripping" movement. Simultaneously the ground contact should be as short as possible (0.12 - 0.14 s).

This depends upon high speed and a well developed jumping (reactive) strength. These are therefore, the abilities distinguishing better jumpers. During the hop the athlete performs a leg change so that the take-off leg is in front again for the step. A long reach followed by a backwards-downwards active gripping of the take-off leg are typical at this stage.

The hop landing is also the take-off for the step. This is the most difficult phase for the athlete. The body weight must be caught by the same leg and again accelerated with the least possible decrease in horizontal velocity. This take-off (0.15 - 0.18 s) is consequently longer than that of the hop, the loss of velocity is greater, the partial distance less and the athlete flexes the jumping leg slightly more. After another flat take-off (12 - 14°) the jumper maintains his position, must remain balanced and performs a double arm swing. Neither the hop nor the step are jumped with maximal effort because a large increase in the hop will always decrease the step distance.

Only the jump is performed maximally and with a take-off angle similar to that of the long jump (approximately 20°). The contact time is again slightly longer and has values of between 0.16 - 0.19 s. In this jump segment which still reaches distances of over 6 m a tuck or hanging position is assumed to prepare for a successful landing.

The aim of the landing is to minimize the loss of distance. The jumper must attempt to place the feet as close as possible to the contact point of the parabola and then to "sit his backside" as close as possible to the heels. This is only possible with a correspondingly high forward torque (somersault torque).

[Aktovegin]

Pole Vault

Pole vaulting was known to the ancient Greeks, and the Cretans used long poles to vault over bulls. The Celts used to pole vault - but for length. This event became a vertical jump in Germany around 1775, during gymnastics competitions.

The year 1850 saw the first competition of "running pole leaping". The heavy, rigid poles were made of ash and the athletes climbed them as they jumped.

In 1889, the Americans banned the movement of the hands along the pole and invented the technique of reversing the legs upwards, clearing the crossbar with stomach facing down.

In 1900 lightweight bamboo poles were used for the first time, remaining in use for several decades (the last world record using bamboo was Cornelius Warmerdam's long-standing 4.77m in 1942), and the receiving 'box' for the pole was also introduced. In 1957 another American, Bob Gutowski, used an aluminium pole to set a world record of 4.78m which was broken in 1960 by Don Bragg (USA) who used a steel pole to clear 4.80m. This period also saw the introduction of landing mattresses which meant improved safety for competitors.

The fibreglass pole, which permitted flexion and has revolutionised vaulting technique, saw the light of day in the USA in 1956. The first world record using this material was set in 1961 by George Davies (USA) with 4.83m.

Although women's pole vault performances have been registered since 1911, the event has only been taken seriously - with the Chinese in the vanguard - in the last few years.

The IAAF began ratifying women's world records in 1995 and the first official international championship was staged at the 1996 European Indoor Championships with Vala Flosadottir (17) of Iceland the winner at 4.16m.The event became part of the World Indoor Championships programme for the first time in 1997 and outdoors two years later. The gold medallist was the same at both competitions: Stacy Dragila from the United States.

Landmarks

First over 4m: 4.02 Marc Wright USA 1912

First over 15ft: 4.57 Cornelius Warmerdam USA 1940

First over 5m: 5.00 Brian Sternberg USA 1963

First over 5.50m: 5.51 Kjell Isaksson SWE 1972

First over 6m: 6.00 Sergey Bubka URS 1985

First over 20ft: 6.10 Sergey Bubka UKR 1991

Most durable world record: 4.77 Warmerdam 1942 (14 years)

Most competitions over 6.00m: Sergey Bubka 44 (incredible 13 consecutive season over 6 metres 1985-97).

Superlatives

Most Olympic titles: 2 Bob Richards USA 1952/1956

Most World titles: 6 Sergey Bubka 1983/1987/1991/1993/1995/1997

Youngest Olympic/World champion: Lee Barnes USA 1924 (17) Oldest: Sergey Bubka 1997 (33)

Three all time greats

Cornelius Warmerdam (USA): At his peak when there were no international opportunities, the first 15ft vaulter used a bamboo pole to set a world record in 1942 which stood for 14 years.

Bob Richards (USA): The "vaulting vicar" was the second man to clear 15ft but unique in claiming two Olympic pole vault titles. Sergey Bubka (UKR): The first 6m & 20ft vaulter has set more world records than anybody (17 outdoor and 18 indoor). He won gold at each edition of the World Championships between 1983 and 1997.

First over 4m: 4.00 Zhang Chunzhen CHN 1991

First official world record: 4.05 Sun Caiyun CHN 1992

First over 4.20: 4.20 Daniela Bartovà CZE 1995

First over 4.40: 4.41 Emma George AUS 1996

First over 4.50: 4.55 Emma George 1997

First over 4.60: 4.60 Emma George 1999

First over 4.70: 4.70 Stacy Dragila USA 2000

First over 4.80: 4.81 Stacy Dragila 2001

First over 4.90: 4.90 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS, 2004

First over 5.00: 5.00 Yelena Isinbayeva 2005

Most competitions over 6.00m:Yelena Isinbayeva 41 (as at 15 Apr 2008).

Superlatives

Most World titles: 2 Stacy Dragila 1999/2001 & Yelena Isinbayeva 2005/2007

Three all-time greats

Emma George (AUS): The former acrobat set her first world record of 4.25m in 1995, one year after taking up the event, and raised it in several instalments to 4.60m in 1999.

Stacy Dragila (USA): The successor to Emma George as world record holder, the Californian won both inaugural world - indoors in 1997 and outdoors in 1999 - and has attempted as high as 4.90m. Retained outdoor World title in 2001.

Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS): 2004 Athlete of the Year. 2004 World Indoor and Olympic titles, and 2005 World champion (incidentally all three won with World records).

And the stick just takes a lick Wishing that it all goes well I hold my breath and wait

The pole vault, a jump for height achieved with the aid of a pole, demands a high jumper's skills of relaxation and coordination, a sprinter’s speed and a gymnast’s control. Every vault includes a fast run-up, a driving of the pole into the box, a catapaulting upwards of the athlete by the unbending pole, and an attempt to clear the bar. A pole vaulter must have very strong arms and shoulders, as well as boldness and a taste for risk. Vaulters are intrepid acrobats whose poles transform running speed into upward thrust to escape earth-binding gravity. They are truly cosmonauts of the stadium.

[Aktovegin]

краткая информация о матчах США - СССР по легкой атлетике.

В 1952г. впервые после революции 1917г. сборная СССР приняла участие а Олимпийских играх. Дебют оказался удачным: 2 золотые, 10 серебряных и 7 бронзовых олимпийских медалей. А состоявшийся в 1958г. в Лужниках первый матч СССР - США по легкой атлетике принес победу нашим спортсменам (счет 172:170 очков).

Эти традиционные в последствии матчи по накалу борьбы и результатам заслуживают более подробного рассказа. В последующих пяти матчах победу одерживала советская команда. В 1959г. на филадельфийском стадионе состоялся второй матч США - СССР, завершился он победой сборной СССР. Интерес к следующему «матчу гигантов» в Москве в 1961г. был непередаваемым. Вновь победила наша команда со счетом 179:163. На этой встрече было установлено 6 мировых рекордов. В 1962 году в американском городе Пало-Альто советские атлеты опередили хозяев вновь. И снова «поединок гигантов» порадовал великолепными результатами: мировые рекорды установили В.Брумель, прыгнувший на 2,26 и Г.Конноли, метнувший молот на 70м 66см. Итог матча 1963г. в Лужниках 189:147.

Это событие было центром внимания для миллионов любителей спорта. Стало традицией, что в каждом матче СССР-США обновляется таблица мировых рекордов. И Валерий Брумель установил новый рекорд, прыгнув на 2,28. Лишь в шестом матче в 1964г. на стадионе «Колизеум» в Лос-Анджелесе - американцы одержали первую в таких встречах победу (счет 187:156).

В матче в Киеве 1965 года мужской состав сборной СССР впервые одержал победу над американскими легкоатлетами (118:112), а женский состав сборной СССР опередил на 20 очков. Следующая страница - восьмая - была лишь через четыре года, вновь в Лос-Анджелесе, спортивное счастье в тот раз было на стороне американских атлетов - 195:174.

Через год старые соперники встретились в Ленинграде, наша сборная победила со счетом 200:173. Первая ничья в поединке «гигантов» была зафиксирована в десятом матче (186:186). Одиннадцатый матч 1973 года в Минске принес непредвиденный разрыв в очках - 216:163 в пользу советской сборной.

Матч 1974г. проводился в Дареме и комментатор телекомпаний Эй-Би-Си сообщил: «Советские спортсмены победили в традиционном матче - 192:184. Мировые рекорды гостей явились украшением матча». Л.Брагина пробежала 3000м за 8:52,74. В эстафете 4х440 ярдов наши бегуньи установили новый рекорд - 3:34,28 сек. В 1975г. в Киеве были разыграны призы тринадцатого матча СССР-США. Счет 225:138 в пользу сборной СССР, остается рекордным, кажется, и до сих пор.

В Вашингтоне в 1976г. американские легкоатлеты вновь проигрывают. И вновь мировые рекорды: Л.Брагина - на 3000м -8:27,12, в тройном прыжке вновь стал героем матча В.Санаев. Прилетев в 1977г. в Сочи, американские легкоатлеты потерпели двенадцатое поражение в пятнадцати матчах.

В 1978г. на стадионе Калифорнийского университета американцы победили со счетом 190:177. Но семнадцатая встреча в Ленинграде вновь закончилась победой хозяев (204:178). В 1982г. местом поединка вновь стал американский континент и завершился убедительной победой сборной СССР - 207:167. В ходе этого матча показал свой экстракласс выдающийся спринтер Карл Льюис, выигравший стометровку с новым рекордом матчей - 10,09 сек.

Последний матч СССР-США состоялся в Токио в 1985г. Советские спортсмены смогли одержать пятнадцатую победу в традиционных матчах. С 1958г. по 1985г. регулярно встречались две сильнейшие легкоатлетические сборные планеты - СССР-США. Любители спорта, поклонники легкой атлетики тех лет не забудут эти матчи.

[Aktovegin]

Современная легкая атлетика стапливается с многочисленными испытаниями. Главной головной болью международной федерации легкой атлетики (ИААФ) остается проблема допинга, который продолжает атаковать легкоатлетический спорт со всех сторон. С января 1997г. на каждого легкоатлета, попадающего в число двадцати лучших в мире, заведена специальная удостоверительная карточка, в которую заносится вся информация о прохождении атлетом внесоревновательного допингконтроля. Карточка получила название «Элитный клуб атлетов ИААФ».

Только обладание этим документом откроет путь к получению денежных премий на чемпионатах. В карточке атлет расписывается также под обязательством: «Будучи одним из лучших атлетов в мире, я согласен поддерживать руководящий орган мировой легкой атлетики - ИААФ в его усилиях по утверждению чистой и честной легкой атлетики. В качестве своего вклада в эту благородную борьбу обязуюсь руководствоваться правилами и законами ИААФ». Думается, что «королева спорта» окончательно рассталась с последними признаками любительства после того, как трем призерам чемпионата мира 1997г. было выплачено 50. 20 и 10 тысяч долларов и 50 тысяч за мировой рекорд.

Не все в высших спортивных кругах поддерживают коммерческий почин президента ИААФ Примо Небиоло. Высказываются опасения, что легкой атлетике грозит опасность порабощения коммерческими интересами. И в то же время все понимают, что сегодня большой спорт - это спорт профессионалов. Занятия легкой атлетикой - это работа, это карьера, как в любом бизнесе, только отрезок в ней более короткий

[Aktovegin]

Dobrynska, newly crowned Miss Sport of Ukraine, escapes Kiev frost for sunny Crimea – IAAF Online Diaries

As the unusual frost affected her home city of Kiev, Olympic Heptathlon champion Natalia Dobrynska has been forced to leave for the sunny Crimea to continue her preparation for the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Doha. Recently crowned Ukraine’s Miss Sport, Dobrynska is now looking forward to the main competition of her season.

“Hi everybody,

“I am now in the Crimea by the Black Sea, but it is far too cold for swimming. This place is a famous summer resort but in winter there is no talk of sunbathing! Actually I was forced to leave Kiev due to the cold temperatures. It was so cold outside that I could not get warm even in the indoor stadium. Maybe the heating was not strong enough, I don’t know... But training on the cold track did not feel great. So I decided to move to the Crimea. It is still too cold for training outdoors, but at least indoors it is warm. These frosts are actually quite unusual for Ukraine. So I am happy I am finally training in warm conditions.

“My training is going very well. The main thing is that I am healthy. I am knocking on wood three times so not to put the evil eye on it! I am going to do my first competition of the season on 17 February at the Ukrainian championships. I have not decided yet if I will compete in the Pentathlon or just some separate disciplines. It will all depend on my shape at that moment. There is enough time left before the World Indoors. I need this season opening just to check some things in my preparation.

“Although Doha is now my main focus and I have already accepted the invitation from the IAAF, I had to take another brief break in my trainings. In fact I have recently won the photo contest, “Miss Sport of Ukraine”, can you believe it!

“It was totally unexpected and very pleasant for me. Among my so called competitors there were lots of female athletes, from different kinds of sport. First the final was decided by people voting on the website, and then the special jury composed from our famous veteran athletes selected the winner. The victory ceremony was broadcast live and in the end I received a huge crown. It was so special – being on a popular TV show, in an evening dress and with the crown. It really gave me inspiration for further training.

“Another thing on the agenda for me apart from the track are the coming Winter Olympics. The Ukrainian team is not big but I think I personally know half of the athletes there. I will keep my fingers crossed for them.

“I was recently watching the farewell ceremony on TV when our team was leaving for Vancouver and remembered my own feeling when I was on their place two years ago. This was the beginning of one of the best things in my life. I hope all the effort and pain will pay off for our Olympians in Vancouver.

Take care,

Natalia