Tag Archives: spearmon

Adam Gemili clocks personal best in 200m

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Diamond League Race Zone: Gemili clocks personal best in 200m

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 26 August 2012

Adam Gemili ran the second fastest 200 metres time for a British junior in history when he clocked a personal best of 20.53sec on Sunday.

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Brit special: Adam Gemili (right) ran a personal best in the 200m

What 18-year-old Gemili made of yet another sparkling run was unclear to BBC viewers, with the broadcaster interviewing Tyson Gay, who came second in 20.23sec, after the race.

It was a stellar line-up including Olympic sprint finalists Wallace Spearmon, Churandy Martina and Ryan Bailey but spare a thought for winner Nickel Ashmeade.

The Jamaican wasn’t at London 2012 because he shares the same country as Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, the Olympic 1-2-3. Ashmeade won in 20.12sec.

Jet-heeled Jeter gets revenge

Carmelita Jegter must look back at the Olympic 100 metres final and think ‘What if’ after once again defeating the champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The American veteran came second to her Jamaican rival in London by 0.03sec but beat her in Lausanne last week and again here, recording a meet record of 10.81sec. ‘It’s easy to keep going when you love running. I love to hear that gun click,’ said the 32-year-old, rather ominously.

Fast as lightening: Carmelita Jeter (left) won the 100m in Birmingham

Fast as lightening: Carmelita Jeter (left) won the 100m in Birmingham

Merritt wins again… but isn’t satisfied

Aries Merritt, the Olympic champion, continued his scintillating season’s form to win the 110 metres hurdles in 12.95sec, a meet record. ‘Smooth and silky,’ purred Colin Jackson but Merritt disagreed. ‘I made a lot of technical mistakes,’ he said after beating world champion Jason Richardson by 0.03sec. Britain’s Lawrence Clarke, fourth at London 2012, finished sixth here in 13.52sec.

Adams feels 'robbed'

Valerie Adams won the shot put with a throw of 20.52 metres, then spoke of her anger at being denied a chance to stand on top of the podium at the Olympics. Belarusian Nadezhda Ostapchuk was stripped of gold after testing positive for steroids, promoting Beijing gold medallist Adams to first.

The New Zealander said she had given her silver medal back but not yet got gold and hopes a presentation will be made at the Diamond League meet in Zurich this week or when she returns home.

‘She robbed me of that moment (at the Olympics),’ Adams said. ‘That hurts more than anything. Instead of being upset I should’ve been celebrating. She’s got to live with the consequences for the rest of her life and be known as a cheat.’

Winning throw: New Zealand's Valerie Adams was awarded Olympic gold

Winning throw: New Zealand's Valerie Adams was awarded Olympic gold

I could’ve won a medal if I was fit, insists Meadows

Jenny Meadows was at Sunday’s Birmingham meet sporting a pair of crutches. The 800 metres European indoor champion revealed she has undergone surgery on the long-term achilles injury which effectively ruled her out of the Olympics, but said she would be back next season.

She told how she watched the 800m final, won by Russia’s Mariya Savinova, and said: ‘I definitely thought there was a chance for me on the podium, the bronze was won in 1min 57sec and I have run that time. It’s been a difficult year.’ Britain’s Marilyn Okoro came third in 2min 01.96sec.

Dwain Chambers says clash Usain Bolt will help him

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A clash with Bolt can only help my own times, says Chambers

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UPDATED:

21:02 GMT, 23 May 2012

Dwain Chambers believes his 100 metres showdown with Usain Bolt on Friday can kickstart a dramatic improvement in his times two months out from the Olympics.

The 34-year-old takes on the world's fastest man for the first time in an individual race outside of a major championship when they meet at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.

All smiles: Dwain Chambers jokes with Wallace Spearmon after the 150m event at the Great CityGames in Manchester on Sunday

All smiles: Dwain Chambers jokes with Wallace Spearmon after the 150m event at the Great CityGames in Manchester on Sunday

The Jamaican leads the rankings this year with 9.82 seconds, while Chambers' only outing over the distance so far resulted in a pedestrian clocking of 10.52secs.

That came in Puerto Rico earlier this month in his first race since the court ruling which declared the former drug cheat eligible to compete for Great Britain at London 2012 – although he clocked a 100m split of 10.26s in a straight 150m race in Manchester last Sunday.

He will expect to go quicker against the Olympic champion and world record holder in the Czech Republic and is relishing the chance to test himself at a high-profile grand prix meeting after so long in the wilderness.

'No matter what happens, whenever you get a chance to race against Usain you can only get the best out of yourself,' Chambers said.

'He's in 9.82 form and he's probably going to get faster and faster so I've just got to do my best to keep close to him.'

The main attraction: Usain Bolt in Ostrava on Wednesday

The main attraction: Usain Bolt in Ostrava on Wednesday

Chambers, who served a two-year suspension after testing positive for a banned steroid in 2003 and was subsequently snubbed for years by the major meetings, admitted a sub-10 time 'would be nice'.

The Olympic 'A' qualifying standard of 10.18 is his first target, though, and he feels racing athletes of the calibre of Bolt will be crucial to his preparation for the summer showpiece.

'It's going to make a massive difference because compared to the level of competition I've been running against for the last few years, the quality is higher,' the Londoner said.

'In order to beat the best you've got to compete against the best in the world and those opportunities weren't available to me.

'Now that they are, I've automatically got to get myself into a different mindset.

'I'm going to be going up against runners who are effectively sub-9.8 runners and I haven't been in that calibre for a long time.'

The truth is Chambers has never been in that calibre, with his personal best 9.97 set way back in 1999.

Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers

The tales of a career: Chambers at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton (left) and running in Birmingham back in 2008

But he added: 'I have all the capabilities, I just need to get my mind sharper and my movements quicker. All these factors change. The intensity increases, the pressure increases and your expectations increase as well.

'I haven't had many chances to run against the fastest guys in the world. I have one now and I'm just looking forward to that.

'I'm still on a kind of rollercoaster and trying to find my feet and get myself prepared for competitions that I never expected to be in.'

Chambers will also be up against Jamaican Lerone Clarke and and American Darvis Patton, whose best this year are 9.99 and 10.04 respectively, as well as last year's World Championship bronze medallist Kim Collins.

Chambers prepared for the summer season by training in Jamaica alongside former world record holder Asafa Powell and was in the Caribbean when the ruling overturning the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban was announced.

He returned to Britain ahead of his 150m run at the Powerade Great CityGames, where he got a warm reception on his first paid appearance on home soil in six years.

Chambers will also run as part of a Great Britain 4x100m relay team at the Rome Diamond League meeting next Thursday after for so long being left out of the relay picture because of his Olympic ban.