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| Primoz
Kozmus set new national record again |
|
Ljubljana,
August 5
Our
national record holder in hammer throw, young Primoz
 Kozmus
improved his national record for the second time within 5
days.
On
August
1,
in Zagreb,
Craoatia he improved his previous record set only a fortnight
ago in Poland, and moved it to a new mark at 74,85
m.
But he felt he could do it even better.
And
he was right - today at a meeting in Hungary he did it. His
new record mark is now at 76,84
m,
which means that he also met his Olympic entry standard.
When
a week ago he said he could be throwing the hammer up to some 77
m,
there were few who believed him. |
| Merlene's
schedule of competition |
|
Zürich,
Ljubljana, August 4
According
to latest information received yesterday from her manager Mr.
Zimmermann, we can expect the newest schedule of Merlene's
competitions to be published within few days. |
| Our
National Track & Field Team for Sydney |
| Ljubljana,
August 4
The
Presidnecy of our National Athletic Federation confirmed the
list of 18 athletes that will represent Slovenia at Sydney
Olympics:
-
Alenka
Bikar - 100 in 200 m
-
Helena
Javornik - 1.500 in 5.000 m
-
Anja
Valant - triple jump
-
Eufemija
Storga - javelin
-
Roman
Kejzar - marathon
-
Gregor
Cankar - long jump
-
men's
relay 4 x 100 m (candidates are: Bostjan Fridrih, Matic
Sustersic, Urban Acman, Matic Osovnikar, Tilen Gartner in
Rok Predanic)
-
men's
relay 4 x 400 m (kandidati: Matija Sestak, Bostjan Horvat,
Sergej Salamun in Joze Vrtacic)
-
women's
relay 4 x 400 m (Brigita Langerholc, Jolanda Ceplak, Meta
Macus in Sasa Prokofjev)
-
Brigita
Langerholc - 800 m
-
Matija
Sestak - 400 m
-
Bostjan
Horvat - 200 m
-
Igor
Primc - discus
-
Jolanda
Ceplak - 800 m
-
Saša
Prokofjev - 100 m
-
Primoz
Kozmus - hammer
Of
course, there is also Brigita
Bukovec
as our only medal defender form Atlanta 1996 and she is
expected to be given a special treatment, though she also has
to confirm her Olympic entry standard (13.10) for her
discipline - 100 m hurdles. Her own statement is well known
already and she herself will decide whther to perform in
Sydney or not.
Final
decisions on our National Team are expected on August 21
-
meanwhile all the athletes, mentioned above have enough time
to prepare and to reconfirm their standards. |
| Brigita
is going to run in Sydney |
|
Ljubljana,
July 27
After
yesterday's successful come back at the international
meeting in Trieste, Italy, Brigita came out with her final
decision today. After having discussed and reconsidered
her
situation with her coach Jure
Kastelic,
Brigita
decided to go to Sydney Olympics.
 Her
decision has been well thought over over the night and
today's morning and doesn't
mean that she is definitely going to compete at the Olympics.
One should be aware that Brigita is very responsible person
and she said a few hours ago she will only compete if by the
end of August she feels confident enough to run at least 12.80
seconds.
Her
coach however, is already confident enough in Brigita and
has no doubt whatsoever that she'll soon be capable of
reconfirming her Olympic entry standard (which is 13.10
seconds), if not earlier than by August
21.
Brigita
started her intensive training session today at Ljubljana
stadium and will continue to work in Ljubljana for another 3
days. After that, on Monday she travels to Koper,
where she and her good friend, our fastest female athlete,
national champion and record holder at 100 m and 200 m, Alenka
Bikar
(also coached by Jure Kastelic) will remain for some 10 days.
Brigita's
today's decision besides a fundamental change of her
training also means that she'll have to test her
capabilities at an appropriate competition. She plans to run
at
some 4 races in August
and by the end of the next month she also plans to run at
some GP meetings. |
| Brigita
tomorrow as a "rabbit" in Oslo |
|
Ljubljana,
July 27
 Brigita
Langerholc
left for Oslo, Norway today, early afternoon. She's been
invited to play a role of a
"rabbit" to the world's best female runners at
1.500 m at the Golden League meeting
tomorrow. An exceptional praise to our best 400 and 800 m
runner - national champion at middle distances who proved in
her recent races at home she could pull well over a 400 m as
well as over 800 m. And it had to be noticed by the Oslo
meet organizers.
Brigita
has also been invited to play the same role in Stockholm's
meeting on Tuesday, August 1. |
| Finally:
Brigita's come back |
Trst,
July 26
It
was yesterday late afternoon when I met Brigita
Bukovec
and her coach Jure
Kastelic at
Ljubljana Athletic stadium and both were quite relaxed and
confident about today's Brigita's come back to the track.
They didn't seem to be completely sure in a successful come
back after two years absence, but brigita told me (while
those snapshots were taken): "If
I do it, OK, if not this wouldn't mean the end of the world
has come!"
That kind of approach to her today's return to the track and
competitions after so many injuries and an operation she had
in April this year, must have been the main reason for
success today in Trieste. Brigita's attendance at Sydney
Olympics now all of a sudden becomes a reality. Her coach
Kastelic seemed to be as optimistic as she was -
he told me he expects Brigita to be capable
of running some 12.80 in about a month and a half
(exactly the time at her disposal in case she decides to go
to Sydney).
A
bit worried, of course, ... |
Brigita
Bukovec's
last appearance to the track was "ages ago"
- her last attendance to any track competition
happened in
Moscow two years ago
- after that an era of injuries had come and caused
Brigita's absence even from the normal training
routine. Finally in April this year she had to undergo
an operation and many had cut Brigita out of our National
Team for Sydney,
and there were many who thought her career has ended
forever! While celebrating her 30.th birthday on May
21. This year she was not confident in her come-back
herself.
This
was an awful era when nobody seemed to be able to help
her, but Brigita most certainly knows how important it
was for her to have her friends and her coach at her
side.
And
finally today it had happened what we were all eagerly
waiting for - she made a very successful come-back
as her coach has just told me during our phone
conversation after the race. "Her
result (she ran 13.49) is nothing worth mentioning",
he said, but she ran technically an excellent race!
the most important fact however, is that she felt no
pain - nor during the race neither after it. "She
failed to be enough aggressive between hurdles but
this is normal to me due to her lack of strength",
added Kastelic.
|
who
said I'm not going to ... |
It'
all in here !? |
Both
Brigita and her coach seemed to be satisfied
with the race itself and seemed to be confident enough to
make a positive decision regarding Brigita's attendance in Sydney.
Brigita's
final decision where to continue her training process and to
compete at Sydney Olympics
is
expected tonight or early tomorrow
morning and we will inform you as soon as we hear from Brigita
and her coach.
As
i understood Mr.
Kastelic
the decision is completely up to the athlete herself, but
since he is confident Brigita
could prepare herself to be capable of running some 12.80
at the time of her Olympic races, we
expect Brigita to agree to that. |
| Ottey
misses out automatic Olympics spot |
| Merlene
Ottey misses out on automatic 100 metres Olympics spot
KINGSTON,
Jamaica, July 22, (Reuters)
 Merlene
Ottey
missed out on an automatic spot to run the 100 meters at the
Sydney Olympics when she could only finish fourth in the
Jamaica trials final on Friday night.
But
she gets a second chance of making the Olympic squad on
Saturday when she contests the 200 meters and she could also
still make it as part of the relay team.
Ottey,
40, needing a top-three finish to guarantee selection for
the 100 meters at the Games, ran 11.27 seconds in the final
with Peta-Gaye
Dowdie
retaining her title in 11.19.
It
was Ottey's
slowest effort of the three appearances she made at the
meet. She had clocked 11.09 in the first round Thursday and
11.15 in the semifinal earlier on Friday.
Dowdie,
the U.S. Collegiate 200-metre champion, survived a tight
finish, to beat 1999 world championship 200-metre silver
medallist Bev
McDonald
(11.20) and Tanya Lawrence (11.21).
Ottey
finished in 11:27 seconds - behind winner Peta-Gaye Dowdie,
Beverley McDonald and Tanya Lawrence.
Ottey
and Dowdie
were slow at the start but Dowdie, a student at Louisiana
State University, accelerated in mid-stretch to catch and
beat McDonald and Lawrence and retain her national title in 11:19
seconds.
Thursday
night, at preliminary trials, Ottey beat all those
youngsters in 11.09 seconds.
Still
the 40-year-old Ottey, is expected to make Jamaica's Olympic
squad, but only in the 4x100 meter relay team.
The
four runners are expected to form Jamaica's 4x100 relay team
at the Australian Olympics in September.
Ottey,
winner of seven Olympic medals and 14 world championship
medals including two gold, has been at every summer Games
since Moscow in 1980.
She
said on Friday her enforced absence from athletics as a
result of the drug-taking allegation had been like a ``death
sentence'' but she remained confident she would get in shape
in time for the Games.
Ottey
said: "In
about six weeks I can get to running under 11 seconds ...
I've done it in the past. I have the experience and I have
the confidence.''
Ottey
was banned after testing positive for the controversial
anabolic steroid nandrolone but the ban was lifted on July 3
by an International Amateur Athletic Federation panel. |
| Cankar
sixth in Salamanca |
|
Salamanca,
July 20
 Gregor
Cankar
performed today at Salamanca
meeting in Spain and placed sixth with a jump of 7,78 m.
Today's winner is James
Beckford
from Jamaica - his best today was 8,34 m. World record
holder, world record holder, Cuban Ivan
Pedroso
finished fourth today - he also had no jump over 8 m.
This
meeting was Gregor's
latest official meeting before leaving to our coast where he
will be preparing himself (along with some other athletes
coached by Srdjan
Djordjevic)
for the Olympic Games. |
| Brigita,
Matija & Merlene chasing Sydney |
|
Ravne
na Koroskem, Kingston - Jamajka
 Brigita
Langerholc
(left), our national champion and record holder at 400
m and a record holder at 800 m as well as Matija
Sestak
(below right), our national champion and record holder
at 400 m, will tonight try to catch their tickets for
Sydney - Brigita
in
a race at
800 m, while
Matija is going to try to reconfirm his entry
standard at 400 m.
You
can expect reports on their races late tonight (around
10;00 PM local time).
The
same task is in front of our friend, Jamaican Merlene
Ottey
who will in her hometown Kingston
at Jamaica
try
to confirm her entry standard at 100 m. Tonight around
6:00 PM local time she's having the heats while her
final race is expected tomorrow. If she confirms her
entry standard, which is 11.06 seconds for a 100 m -
females, she travels to Sydney, although there has
already  been
a hint from her national association's president Mr.
Adrian Wallace that Merlene is going to Sydney anyway
- their only condition is that Merlene appears at the
trials tonight.
On
the photo to the left you can see Merlene
Ottey
about a month ago, photographed at Ljubljana stadium
while preparing under guidance of her coach Srdjan
Djordjevic for
her trials as well as for the Games in Sydney.
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