Covering California Prep Track & Field/Cross Country!

THE CONNING TOWER

August 5, 2002

BY KEITH CONNING

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA EDITOR

California Track and Running News

Official Publication of the California/Northern Nevada Associations of USA Track & Field

USATF is an affiliated member federation of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations)

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Color code: Red=California Athlete, Blue=USA Athlete

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Table of Contents

USATF News & Notes Volume 3, Number 76 August 5, 2002
World Outdoor Lists 400 METRES All Time

THIS DATE IN TRACK AND FIELD HISTORY

Finally: Strong Bears and Fast Women in Action

Youth Camp for Europe´s Hopefuls

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USATF News & Notes
Volume 3, Number 76 August 5, 2002

USA 50 km trail championships

A national-class field is anticipated at the USATF 50 km National Trail
Championship for both Open and Masters runners on August 24 in Sausilito,
Calif.

More than 100 competitors already have registered for the championship,
which will be run as part of the Golden Gate Headlands 50k Endurance Run on
the coastal trails and fire roads north of San Francisco. In an attempt to
appeal to a variety of runners, short portions of the course include beach
running, a ladder, downed trees, technical sections with difficult footing
and pavement, but mainly single track and fire roads with seven significant
climbs and descents.

Registration is open until race day. Only USATF members will be eligible for
USATF Championship awards. USATF membership and event information are
available online at www.usatf.org.

Greene takes on coaching

World 100m record-holder and reigning Olympic and World champion Maurice
Greene has said he will work with the sprinters on the Taft High School
track & field team in Woodland Hills, Calif., as a volunteer assistant.

Greene will volunteer time when his schedule allows, assisting Taft High
head coach and 1992 Olympic 400m and 4x400m gold medalist Quincy Watts.
Watts is an alumnus of Taft High and was hired earlier as the head coach.

Greene is currently training seriously at home in Los Angeles, and will
return to the track for the second part of the IAAF’s European season. His
next competition will be on August 16 at the Weltklasse in Zurich,
Switzerland, which is the next Golden League meet.
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World Outdoor Lists 400 METRES All Time

WR 43.18 Michael Johnson USA Sevilla, 26 08 1999

Mark Wind Athlete Nat Birth Pos Venue Date

43.18 Michael Johnson USA 13 09 1967 1 Sevilla 26 08 1999

43.29 Harry Reynolds USA 08 06 1964 1 Zürich 17 08 1988

43.50 Quincy Watts USA 19 06 1970 1 Barcelona 05 08 1992

43.81 Danny Everett USA 01 11 1966 1 New Orleans, LA 26 06 1992

43.86 A Lee Evans USA 25 02 1947 1 Ciudad de México 18 10 1968

43.87 Steve Lewis USA 16 05 1969 1 Seoul 28 09 1988

43.97 A Larry James USA 06 11 1947 2 Ciudad de México 18 10 1968

44.09 Alvin Harrison USA 20 01 1974 3 Atlanta, GA 19 06 1996

44.09 Jerome Young USA 14 08 1976 1 New Orleans, LA 21 06 1998

http://www.iaaf.org/Results/Lists/AllTime/Outdoor/G/M/400.txt

(Conning: Quincy Watts, the 1992 Olympic champion, is the third fastest 400 meter runner of all-time.)

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THIS DATE IN TRACK AND FIELD HISTORY

1991 - Sergei Bubka becomes the first to clear 20 feet outdoors in the pole vault, breaking his own world record by a half-inch at a track meet in Malmo, Sweden.

6.10 (20- 0 1/4) Sergey Bubka (URS) Malmo 05.08.1991

IDAG Galan '91, Malmo Stadion, 20.30 Hr:

1. Bubka 6.10 (5.70/2 - 5.85/2 - 6.10/3 = 7 jumps)

1997 - Michael Johnson wins his third straight 400-meter title at the World Championships in Athens, Greece, finishing in 44.12 seconds. Sally Barsosio becomes the first Kenyan woman to win a gold medal at either the World Championships or the Olympics, taking the 10,000 meters in a world junior record time of 31:32.92.

44.12 Michael Johnson 1 Athína 05 08 1997

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18^th European Championships in Athletics

05.08.2002 | Preview: What is up on the first day
Finally: Strong Bears and Fast Women in Action

Finally! The day a lot of us have been waiting for so long has come! Tomorrow the Championships will start. The discus throwers´ qualification starting at 9:10 am is the first competition of the 18th European Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Munich.

The Opening Ceremony will start the evening session with a 30-minute modern dancing and music show. Germany´s Home Secretary/Minister for Internal Affairs, Otto Schily, will open the Championships in front of at least 30.000 spectators – that is the number of tickets sold for Tuesday so far.

First glimpse at stars
In the qualifications the big stars can be seen for a first time. For example Jonathan Edwards (Triple Jump), Ingo Schultz (400 meter), Dwain Chambers (100 meters), Staffan Strand (High Jump), Ekaterini Thanou (100 meters), Heike Drechsler (Long Jump) and Jolanda Ceplak (800 meters).

Walkers´ privilege
It is the walkers who will crown their first European Champion. Leaving the Olympic Stadium at 5:35 pm for a course close to the stadium, the athletes are expected to return after their 20 km walk at around 6:53 pm. The first athlete back will most probably be the Spaniard Francisco Fernandez who set a new world best of 1:17.22 hours on April 17th this year. Our guess for the silver and bronze medal as Poland´s Robert Korzeniowski concentrates on the 50 km walk: Andrej Stadnitschuk and Wiktor Burajew from Russia. The first victory ceremony will also be the walker´s – watch out for it at 8 pm!

”Spanish Bear” Martinez
Shot putters are next to fight for medals. Indoor Champion Manuel Martinez could win the second gold medal for Spain. He set a new National Record this year with 21.47 meters and shocked his competitors. Another contender for the title is Denmark´s Joachim Olsen who heads the European rankings with his notable 21.57 meters from Baton Rouge. The German hosts hope that their Ralf Bartels will play a major role in the final.

Radcliffe hungry for first major track title
Commonwealth champion Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain will make the 10.000 meters final a fast race. For a very long time she has been longing for a major track title and tomorrow´s competition can finally bring it. However, the 28-year-old who also finished a marathon earlier this year in remarkable 2:18.56 hours has to watch out for defending champion Sonia O´Sullivan from Ireland and Romania´s Mihaela Botezan who could spoil her big day.

http://www.athletics-ec-2002.com/aktuelles_var_en.php3?did=269

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05.08.2002

In and around the Championship

Youth Camp for Europe´s Hopefuls

The who is who in current European Athletics has gathered in Munich to crown the continent’s best athlete in each event on the track and on the infield. The stars of the future will be in attendance as well. While their role models are fighting for gold and glory, the shooting stars of tomorrow will (yet) be sitting in the stands watching the spectacle carefully.

Intercultural understanding in Olympic atmosphere

53 female and 56 male athletes from 29 European countries are participating in the first-ever Youth Camp around the “championship of the big ones” at the rowing training center “Ruderregatta” in Oberschleißheim (North of Munich). They are between 16 and 18 years of age and belong to the best their respective athletics federations can offer in their age group. An international supporting staff is making sure that every one of the young athletes feels at home, an Olympic home. The 109 boys and girls are accommodated in three different houses, which remind of athlete villages that are used at Olympic Games and also at this year’s European Championships.

The Youth Camp was organized in cooperation of the OC (organizing committee) and Bavarian as well as the German Federations. It serves as an “intercultural border crossing to improve the understanding of each other’s differences” (according to OC president Digel) but, at the same time, bridge the gaps by interactive cross-cultural communication.

V.I.P. visit to open Youth Camp

How important the initiative for the European youth is, was evident when EAA president Hans-Jörg Wirz and OC president Prof. Dr. Helmut Digel showed up in Oberschleißheim to officially open the camp. “The Youth Camp efforts might even have given the edge on the other competing host cities for the championship bid”, Wirz said with a smile on his face.

Cultural activities as part of the daily program

Besides watching the championship and training, cultural activities are also a major part of the Youth Camp’s daily schedule. Trips to the BMW headquarters and downtown Munich, along with a sight-seeing tour to Neuschwanstein Castle in nearby Füssen are offered. Games and a visit to the athlete village of the championship round up the program for the week.

Watching and living like their role models in the city of the 1972 Olympic Games, for sure, will bring up new dreams and motivation to follow the present stars’ footsteps to become the stars which Europe and the entire world is keen on admiring in the future on the burning track.

http://www.athletics-ec-2002.com/aktuelles_var_en.php3?did=254

(Conning: I attended the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. I visited the Neuschwanstein Castle. )

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