Lowe upsets World champion Vlasic in high jump

News & Notes, Volume 10, Number 18


Lowe upsets World champion Vlasic in high jump



2010 World Indoor bronze medalist Chaunte Lowe won the women's high jump Thursday at the 2010 Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in the Czech Republic.



The underdog heading into competition, Lowe won the high jump with a best clearance of 1.98m/6-6 over reigning World Indoor and Outdoor champion and meet record holder Blanka Vlasic (CRO). Vlasic ended up third in the competition, needing three attempts at 1.92m/6-3.5 before passing at 1.95m/6-4.75 and going out at 1.98m/6-6.



Two-time World Outdoor champion Kerron Clement easily won the men's 400m hurdles, crossing the line in 48.69. 2010 World Indoor champion Bernard Lagat ran a strategic race, placing third in the men's 3,000m in an outdoor personal best 7:32.49. 2010 USA Indoor runner-up Trell Kimmons took fourth in the men's 100m in 10.22 in a race that saw former world record holder Asafa Powell (JAM) win in a world-leading 9.83. Powell also was clocked at 9.07 through 100 yards, a world best that far surpassed the previous best of 9.21 set by Charlie Greene in 1967.



2010 World Indoor 400m bronze medalist Jamaal Torrance finished fourth in the men's 300m in 32.78. Triple Olympic and World Championships gold medalist Usain Bolt won the race in a meet record 30.97, though he fell short of his goal of surpassing Michael Johnson's 30.85 world best. In the women's 100m hurdles, Danielle Carruthers took third in 12.77, while two-time World Indoor champion Lolo Jones was fourth in 12.85.



For more information and complete results from the Ostrava Golden Spike, visit www.iaaf.org.


Services Scheduled for USATF Past President Patricia Rico



A memorial service for women's track & field pioneer and USATF past President Patricia Rico, who passed away on May 17, has been scheduled for Friday, June 11, at 7 p.m., in Croton-On-Hudson, New York, approximately thirty miles north of Manhattan. Services will be held at:

Holy Name of Mary Church

110 Grand Street

Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y. 10520

(914) 271-4797



In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the USA Track & Field Foundation and targeted for the Rico Memorial Fund, at 132 East Washington Street, Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204.



Fund Established Honoring Patricia and Heliodoro Rico



A fund honoring the "first couple" of USA Track & Field, Patricia and Heliodoro Rico, has been established with the USA Track & Field Foundation. The goal of the volunteer fund committee will be to reach endowment status within the Foundation as quickly as possible, to enable grants to be made annually in one or more of three categories: (a) allowing recipients of USATF's Patricia and Heliodoro Rico Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 2006, to designate a charity recipient, (b) provide one or more grants to women aspiring to leadership, officiating, or coaching roles in the sport, and/or (c) grant stipends to women who are emerging elite athletes in underserved events.



Pat Rico was the sixth president of USATF, served on the IAAF Women's Committee for sixteen years, led the Women's Track & Field Committee twice (once each under AAU and TAC/USATF), and was referee for multiple major championships, including the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Helio Rico, who passed away in 2006, was a longtime meet director for the indoor national championships (both in New York and Atlanta), and served on governance and rules committees for both AAU and TAC/USATF, including several years as Rules Committee chair. Both were active officials at scores of events annually, including more than thirty events in the New York City area each year.



For more information on this fund, contact Tom Jackovic, the Foundation's Executive Director, or Bill Roe, the Foundation's Rico Fund project manager. To make a contribution to the fund, you may download a paper form or make an on-line donation at the Foundation's web site, www.usatffoundation.org, or send a check made payable to the USATF Foundation/Rico Fund to the USATF Foundation at 132 East Washington Street, Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204, and indicate that it is for the Rico Memorial Fund.



Clay vs. Trey matchup featured at Götzis



The world's two finest decathletes, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay and 2009 World Outdoor champion Trey Hardee, will do battle in the classic 10-event challenge this weekend at the 35th Hypo Bank Meeting in Götzis, Austria.



In what has become a popular annual event for the world's best men's and women's combined event competitors, for the first time ever it will be two American champions as the favorites in the men's decathlon. Clay and Hardee proved their dominance earlier this year with Clay winning the gold medal and Hardee the silver in the heptathlon at the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, and Clay recently opened his outdoor season with a career best 13.64-seconds performance in the 110m hurdles.



Although it's been Clay and Hardee that have led a decathlon resurgence in the U.S., also keep an eye on two-time NCAA Outdoor champion Jake Arnold, fresh from a major victory at Italy's MultiStars meet, who is the third American in the 32-man field.



Although the Americans are favored to win this weekend, they'll face a stiff challenge from Olympic silver medalist Andrei Krauchanka (PR 8,617), 2005 World Outdoor Championships runner-up Maurice Smith of Jamaica (PR 8,644), talented Russian Alex Drozdov and Ukrainen Oleksiy Kasyanov, 24, (PR 8,479). Another strong contender will be Olympic bronze medalist and Berlin World Champs silver medalist Leonel Suarez of Cuba, who ended the 2009 season ranked #2 in the world by Track & Field News.



In addition, the ageless Roman Sebrle (CZR), 35, will be making his 14th appearance in the Austrian Alps. He won this event five consecutive times (2001-05) and set the world record of 9,026 points in 2001.



Fountain leads U.S. entries in women's field



Leading the U.S. contingent in the women's heptathlon at Gotzis will be 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist Hyleas Fountain, who will be joined by 2009 USA Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships third-place finisher Bettie Wade.

Favorites to win this weekend include reigning World Outdoor champion Jessica Ennis of Great Britain, who captured the World Indoor pentathlon title earlier this year in Doha. 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist Nataliya Dobrynska of the Ukraine is also in the field, along with Beijing bronze medalist Tatyana Chernova of Russia, who was the 2006 World Junior champion.



For more information on the Hypo Bank Meeting in Austria, including the results at the conclusion of each event, visit: www.meeting-goetzis.at.





About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org