The discus throw has never been short of some pretty special characters. I’m thinking of extroverts like Mac Wilkins, John Powell and Ricky Bruch back in the 80’s (yes, I’m THAT old), and more recently sunnyboy Lars Riedel who has made the event as popular as it can be. Has Benn Harradine topped them all by competing in a suit, or with his recent special performance in Tallinn, Estonia? Have a look. But please kids: don’t try this at home!
European discus champion Sandra Perkovic has failed two doping tests at recent Diamond League meets in Rome and Shanghai. Her test results showed traces of the stimulant methylhexaneamine. A Croatian athletics official put the result down to the athlete inadvertently taking Geranamine extract.
Last weekend an official was struck in the head by a discus at a meet in Pretoria, South Africa. The woman is in hospital in a serious condition. She was officiating at the javelin event which was held at the same time as the discus event. The shaken thrower, national champion Victor Hogan, said he had received the go-ahead to throw.
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Update:
Update: The lady is recovering from a broken skull.
Recently current world number two female hammer thrower Kathrin Klaas voiced her frustrations about the unequal treatment of her event at international level. Several competitions have been either cancelled or moved at short notice this season, and world record holder Betty Heidler has thrown weight behind Klaas’ criticism, asking the valid question why it is that hammer throwers are constantly asked to perform outside the normal program, usually in an empty stadium, and why their prize money is considerably less than that of any other event. So far no one has offered any explanations.
Source: Leichtathletik.de
To say that I am exhilirated would be an exaggeration, but I am very pleased that the IAAF has finally adjusted at least some of the throwing weights for some youth age groups for some female events, and these recently announced changes will apply to Australian competitors from 1 October 2011, in time for the start of next season.
At the traditional spring meeting in Halle (GER) on Saturday 21 May Betty Heidler set a new world record in her first appearance for the year, hurling the 4kg implement tantalisingly close to the 80m mark.
Shortly after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) published its reasons for allowing Marion Jones’ team mates to keep their medals from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games I wrote the following article which was first published in the Australian Track & Field Coaches Association’s National Newsletter.
Check out this interview with US world class shot putter Adam Nelson, following a street competition in Kentucky. Inspiring.
