Experts confirm .. Bolt is a complete athlete and his extraordinary power is a gift from heaven .
“Berlin has so far stayed clean of doping, and fighting doping is a collective responsibility”
“Chatbi .. a Moroccan shock .. and harsh penalties await drug cheats .
“The Hurricane” closes in on a Berlin double in the 200 m, with the promise of more in the relay .
The Moroccan athletics delegation is going through a harsh shock in the German capital Berlin, after the IAAF decided to exclude Moroccan runner Jamal Chatbi from the 3,000 m steeplechase final the day before yesterday, after it was proven that Chatbi had taken a substance banned worldwide, “clenbuterol”, according to an IAAF statement .. the Moroccan runner had undergone
a test last
Saturday, on the eve of the semi-final, which came back positive, and the federation added that it had summoned the athlete to hear his side of the story. The Moroccan federation, for its part, expressed regret at the exclusion and the circumstances surrounding it, coming as it did on the eve of the race final, while Chatbi himself denied to the media, in brief statements, taking any banned substances, insisting on his innocence and saying he had been suffering from severe sinus allergies since last year, and had consulted an Italian doctor who, after numerous blood tests, advised him to undergo surgery last March in the Italian city of Ceriale, where he and his family live .. for its part, the IAAF, in cooperation with the IOC, is stepping up its efforts and its fierce war against the scourge of doping, which has badly tarnished the reputation and standing of the mother of all sports, by imposing harsh penalties on drug cheats and stripping them of the medals and rewards they obtained by illicit means. On another note .. IAAF spokesman Nick Davies revealed yesterday that all the male and female runners taking part in the Berlin 2009 World Championships had been cleared, saying that all the doping test results for the top eight finishers in the current 100 m had come back negative. Davies said “whether in Paris or Berlin, after the final, semi-final and first round, the results of all the tests taken by the top eight came back negative”.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt had taken first place in the 100 m last Sunday, setting an astonishing new world record of 9.58 seconds, ahead of defending champion Tyson Gay of the United States (9.71 s) and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell (9.84 s). Rumours had circulated since yesterday, especially in the German and Swedish press, that one of the top eight finishers in the final had tested positive for doping, in particular Daniel Bailey of Antigua, who finished fourth and is known to be one of Bolt’s training partners. This confirms that Jamaican sprinter Bolt is the cleanest of them all, and that his tremendous power is a gift from heaven .
“Bolt, a gift from heaven “
As is customary for Europeans when it comes to belittling the achievements of others, the fearsome media machine has begun casting doubt on the “limitless powers” of the “Hurricane” Bolt, hinting at the fantastical numbers he produces and the possibility that he could go far in the world of sprinting, crushing everyone who stands in his way, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt appears a strong favourite to win the world title in the 200 m, and then the relay (4×100) next Saturday, and attention is no longer focused on who will be crowned world champion, since it has become certain that the title will not leave the cabinet of Jamaican hurricane Bolt, but the question being asked insistently on every front is what time he will produce over this distance, since the only rival the Jamaican sprinter currently has is the clock, given his dominance over all his rivals, including American Tyson Gay and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell.
Bolt established himself as the king of the sprints, specifically the 100 m and 200 m, ever since his historic treble of world records (100 m, 200 m and the 4×100 m relay) at last year’s Beijing Olympics, and he cemented his status as a legend of the most famous race in the sport of athletics when he set an astonishing time of 9.58 seconds, overcoming one of his fiercest rivals, defending champion Tyson Gay, who will be the most notable absentee from today’s race after announcing his withdrawal because of a muscle injury
“Usain”, conqueror of time
IAAF statistics confirmed that Bolt’s top speed reached 44.72 km/h as he broke the 100 m world record last Sunday, at an average speed of 37.58 km/h.
Even if Gay had taken part, he would still seem far from being able to challenge the Jamaican star, who history will remember at length for his phenomenal achievements, and it is certain that he has shown extraordinary qualities that have led specialist experts to tip him to cover the 100 m in 9.40 seconds and the 200 m in under 19 seconds. Bolt had shown great interest in the world titles before the championships began, insisting that breaking world records would not happen in Berlin, but after his feat in the 100 m and Gay’s withdrawal from the 200 m, he has come to aspire to improve his own world record in the latter race, and he booked his place in the final without much difficulty. Bolt, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday on 21 August, appears set to repeat the same feat at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, reminding the whole world, and Germans in particular, of the achievement of American Jesse Owens, who won three gold medals on the very same track 73 years earlier, at the 1936 Olympic Games. Bolt said “I’ll go lap after lap just like last year (the Olympic Games). The world record? I’ll try to break it in the final”.
Ironically, Bolt’s dominance at the current World Championships comes despite the fact that his preparations for the new season were not good and were delayed by the accident he suffered in Jamaica, which kept him off the track for quite some time.
Bolt explained “I enjoy running a great deal, I love it, and I hope to keep entertaining the huge crowds who come to support me all over the world”.
Doha 2010 organising committee delegation returns today .
Al Dosari: The promotional pavilion earned recognition and praise .
In God’s care and protection, the delegation of the Doha 2010 World Indoor Championships senior organising committee returns home today
led by Abdulrahman Al Dosari, director of public relations and marketing at the Qatar Olympic Committee, and his working team, following the conclusion of their promotional mission in Berlin on the sidelines of the World Athletics Championships, where the delegation set up a distinctive promotional pavilion that won the admiration and appreciation of the German public and visitors to Berlin experiencing the event, and also earned praise from the IAAF family, represented by Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, who made a point of visiting the pavilion and praising the commendable efforts Doha is making to host the 2010 World Indoor Championships, voicing his full confidence in Qatar’s staff and expertise in guaranteeing top-class organisation that would in no way fall short of the outstanding “German organisation” of the “Berlin 2009 World Championships”
Al Dosari, for his part, described the Qatari delegation’s mission to Berlin as successful, its aim being to promote the 2010 World Indoor Championships and the sporting message it carries, which the State of Qatar is keen to establish worldwide as a hub of sporting radiance .. while praising at the same time the dedication and harmony of the members of the Qatari delegation, most of whom are experienced and skilled in their fields, and saying that the promotional pavilion received high praise from the international family and visitors, highlighting the fruits of the delegation’s inspection tour of the Berlin championships’ facilities to learn from their organisational experience .. Al Dosari also had high praise for German cooperation and the team of the senior committee organising the Berlin championships, as the bilateral meetings held between the two sides to learn from Berlin’s experience were extremely useful and shed a great deal of light on important organisational aspects that, God willing, we will seek to translate into bright points to ensure Qatar continues to excel in hosting the major international events we organise with high professionalism.
It is worth noting that the Qatari delegation consisted of
Abdullah Ahmed Al Zaini, president of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Adel Al Baker, Saadoun Al Kuwari, Hassan Al Mohammadi, Dr Jabbar Al Kaabi, Jose Robles, Maher Safi, Yacoub Abdullah, Khalid Al Muhannadi, Abdulhakim Al Amri, Jean Vlanders, Al Fritit, and Janice Wilter, and the Qatari delegation carried out an inspection tour and held a series of meetings with the German organisers together with the IAAF family, with the tour covering all the facilities of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, where they were given a thorough briefing on the role of the working committees in running the championships and the German preparations that preceded the event .. the delegation also visited the main stadium, the athletes’ lounge, the media platform and other distinctive facilities of the landmark stadium .. the delegation concluded the visit by inspecting the giant media centre in the Berlin stadium’s courtyard and listening to a lengthy briefing from the local media official on the media centre’s contents and the extensive facilities and services it provides for journalists.
German scientists .. reveal the secrets of Kenyan runners:
Their bodies use oxygen efficiently, and their hearts are extraordinary
German researchers have discovered what they see as the reason behind the superiority of Kenyan runners over the rest of the world’s athletes in running: the efficient way their bodies use oxygen while running. Scientists had until now offered other explanations for this superiority, believing that Kenyans have larger hearts, a greater blood volume, and better oxygen transfer to the muscles compared with their fellow athletes, enabling them to produce extraordinary sporting performances, according to the University of Bayreuth in southern Germany. The German university said in its statement that its researchers had now discovered that the size of Kenyan runners’ muscles, optimally matched to the effort required by running, was the reason behind the success Kenyans achieve in running. Through their study, carried out on ten Kenyan runners, the researchers had expected to confirm these previous assumptions, but were surprised to find that the haemoglobin level in the Kenyans’ blood dropped to the same level as that of their German counterparts when athletes from western Kenya, an area some 2,100 metres above sea level, trained for six weeks in the city of Bayreuth in southern Germany, which lies only 350 metres above sea level, with the haemoglobin percentage falling even further over time, even though the Kenyans’ heart size was relatively smaller than that of the Germans. Commenting on the study, German researcher Nicole Bromer, from the team that conducted the study, said they found that Kenyans run in a way that uses oxygen more efficiently when running faster than 18 kilometres per hour, adding that Africans’ muscles need less oxygen when running at a given speed. The researchers explained this by saying that muscle size is optimally matched to the effort involved in continuous running, and that the muscles not involved in the running motion do not need oxygen.
Men’s decathlon gets under way .
The decathlon events also got under way on the track and field at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium .. in the absence of American Bryan Clay, winner of gold in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Germany’s Michael Schrader, who had been tipped to compete for one of the event’s medals, with both men missing through injury. American Trey Hardee topped the standings after running the opening 100 metres in 10.45 seconds, while Cuba’s Leonel Suarez, bronze medallist in the event at the Beijing Olympics, recorded 832 points. Czech title-holder Roman Sebrle appears to be well off the pace this time, despite scoring 825 points at the start of the competition. Jamaica’s Maurice Smith did not finish the first event, and is not expected to complete the competition in which he won silver at the last World Championships in 2007. This morning’s programme also includes the long jump and shot put events. Today’s programme also includes the women’s discus qualifying, the men’s high jump qualifying and the men’s 110 metres hurdles qualifying. The women’s 200 metres heats were cancelled owing to a lower-than-expected number of entrants.
