23 December, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The winners of the IAAF Rome Millennium marathon will be awarded the "Trofeo Primo Nebiolo", in memory of the IAAF President, who died on 7 November. It was Nebiolo who launched two years ago the idea of opening the new century with a race starting in St Peter's Square and passing in front of some of the greatest symbols of the history of mankind.
His project became reality: around 12.30 PM on 1 January, thousands of athletes from around the world - and tens of thousands of Romans, including the Mayor of the City, Francesco Rutelli - will set out from this magnificent Square, whose universal vocation is superbly reflected by the masterful hand of the architect Bernini. This human flood of runners will include some of the greatest specialists of the marathon, such as Kenya's Josephat Kiprono, who has set the fastest time of the year on four separate occasions. Ethiopians Abebe Mekonnen, Tena Negere and Moges Taye, Italy's Vincenzo Modica, silver medallist in Seville and Giacomo Leone, fourth-placed in the New York marathon are also entered. But, above all, in the women's race, the unquestioned queen of the distance, Kenyan Tegla Loroupe, who with 2:20:43 once again improved on the world's best performance this year, will head the field.

The athletes - who will receive the blessing of His Holiness Pope John Paul II before the off - will leave Saint Peter's Square, pass through Piazza Venezia and Piazza del Popolo, before heading down the Lungotevere towards the Olympic Stadium. The course will then head back through the centre of Rome, before passing one of the world's most famous Basilicas: San Paolo fuori Mura. From there, passing once again in front of the Cestia Pyramid, the race will head for the Terme di Caracalla and the Colosseum, before
arriving at the finish line in the Imperial Forum, in the heart of Ancient Rome.

Whoever the winners - man and woman - of the IAAF Rome Millennium marathon, they will go down in history: forty years after the Olympic triumph of Abebe Bikila. Another page of history is waiting to be written on these same Roman streets.

17 December, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The men's field for the IAAF Rome Millennium Marathon has been strengthened still further with the entry of World Championship silver medallist  Vincenzo Modica. Italy's Modica and his compatriots Giacomo Leone and Roberto Barbi are the leading Italian entrants in a field that includes many of the world's top marathon runners.

The crowds lining the course through the historic centre of Rome will be able to follow the duel between this Italian trio and international stars of the order of Josephat Kiprono from Kenya, who ran the world's sixth fastest time ever when he won the 1999 edition of the Berlin Marathon and Kiprono's compatriot Philip Tanui, who was the winner of the 1999 Rome Marathon.

Three of Ethiopia's top marathon runners will be defending their country's colours in Rome, headed by veteran athlete Abebe Mekonnen, who set his personal best of 2:07:35 in the 1988 Peking Marathon. Running with 35 year-old Mekonnen will be Tena Negere, laureate of Fukuoka 1993 and Moges Taye, the winner of the 1998 Vienna Marathon.

The undoubted favourite in the women's field is Kenya's Tegla Loroupe, the owner of the world's best performance in the marathon, with her clocking of 2:20:43 in Berlin 1999. Loroupe's strongest challenger, based on past performances, is Italy's Ornella Ferrara who has a personal best of 2:28:01 from her second place in the 1999 Turin Marathon. But, as the diminutive Kenyan would be the first to say, anything can happen over 42 km! After the blessing of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, the marathon will set off from St Peter's Square at 12.30 p.m. on 1 January 2000 and run past many of the greatest historical monuments of the Eternal City, ending this athletic start to the new Millennium in the shadow of the Coliseum.

But this unique marathon is as important for its symbolism as for the high level of competition. It is a lesson in brotherhood and peace at the start of the new millennium. Of the whole world running together in friendly competition towards a better future. A future where the world takes a lesson from sport and strives to achieve equality and democracy for all.

16 December, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF World Cross Challenge 2000 starts in Brussels on Sunday. With the following stages in Seville, Spain  (16 January), Durham, Great Britain (22 January); Loule, Portugal (6 February); Nairobi, Kenya (19 February); Chiba, Japan (20 February, the Challenge will culminate on 18-19 March 2000, in Vilamoura (POR), with the 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The 10th ASLK/CGER Cross Cup, will be held in the Atomium Brupark, with 7 circuits of the grassy 1500m course for the men and four for the women. Some of the world's top cross specialists will be competing in this first leg of
the Cross Challenge. Portugal's Paulo Guerra, who won the European title just a week ago, in Slovenia, and who took bronze in last year's World Championships in Belfast, starts favourite in Brussels. But Guerra will be strongly challenged by Patrick Ivuti, the twenty-one year old Kenyan who came second in Belfast, behind Paul Tergat, after making much of the running ahead of his "captain" and largely facilitated Tergat's victory. Ivuti and Paulo Guerra were the great revelations of that unforgettable day of cross country. On Sunday, in Brussels, another European stalwart - Britain's Jon Brown - will be among the protagonists, especially considering his current form, which gave him a bronze medal in this year's European Cross Championships. More African stars will also be running, in the shape of Evans Ruto and, especially, Charles Kamathi, who, barely 21 years-old, set the best performance of the year over 10,000m, with 26:51.49 at the Brussels leg of the IAAF Golden League, the Memorial Van Damme. Nor should  Ethiopia's Jifar Hapte, who came 6th in the 10,000m in Seville be underestimated. Gete Wami, the Ethiopian who is reigning World Champion in the cross country and the 10,000m, is one athlete who can expect success in Brussels and, probably, also in the overall IAAF Cross Challenge. On Sunday, she will be facing her compatriots Merima Dendoba and Aevleck Worku - two of the world's leading cross country runners - and Kenyans Susan Chepkemei and Jacqueline Maranga, who won last year's World Championships short cross. The rules of the IAAF World Cross Challenge allows for the awarding, for each race, of 25 points for the winner and 22 for second place, 19 for third, 17 for fourth down to 1 point for the 20th place. These points are doubled for World Championship races. The IAAF World Cross Challenge offers the following cash prizes (equal for men and women): 1st place, $25,000; 2nd, $15,000; 3rd, $12,000; 4th, $10,000, 5th, $5,000; 6th, $3,000.

15 December, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF has officially ratified the following world records set during the 1999 athletics season:

Senior Men
1000m 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny KEN Rieti 5 September 99
2000m 4:44.79 Hicham El Guerrouj MAR Berlin 7 September 99

Junior Men
3000m 7:35.08 Sammy Kipketer 81 KEN Paris 21 July 99
1500m 3:33.16 Benjamin Kipkirui 80 KEN Zurich 11 August 99

Junior Women
Pole Vault 4.35m Yvonne Buschbaum 80 GER Waldshut-Tiengen 12 June 99
Hammer Throw 68.40 Bianca Achilles 81 GER Dortmund 25 September 99
4x100m relay 43.38 Alexis Joyce, Aleah Williams, Amber Robinson, Amaris
Buchanan USA Tampa, Florida 11 July 1999

2 December, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - More elite athletes have signed-up for the IAAF Rome Millennium Marathon, the first sporting event of the twenty-first century, that will start from one of the world's most famous places, St Peter's Square, at 12.30 p.m. on 1 January.
Italy's Giacomo Leone and the Kenyan athletes Josephat Kiprono, Philip Tanui and Sammy Korir, in the men's field and superstar Tegla Loroupe for the women are to be joined by Moges Taye (ETH), Salaho Ngadi (TAN) and female athletes Jacqueline Jerotich (KEN) and Gadisse Edato (ETH). Moges Tayo has a personal best of 2:09:21 from his 1998 of the Vienna Marathon. He was also the winner of the inaugural edition of the Rome Marathon, in 1996, with 2:12:02. Tanzania's Ngadi, on the other hand, has a
personal record of 2:13:38, but one should not be misled by this time: the athlete is barely twenty and achieved this time at his first outing over the distance, last October,  at the Venice marathon, where he was a tenth-place finisher.
Ethiopia's Gadisse Edato also set her personal best in Venice last October, with 2:29:57, whereas Jerotich has a best time of 2:34:29 from the Carpi marathon. It is from Carpi, the home of one of history's most celebrated marathon runners - Italy's Dorando Pietri - that the Cup of Queen Alexandra of England will be transferred to Rome and placed on show from Monday 6 December.
The Cup was given to Pietri, as a form of consolation prize after his unfortunate marathon at the 1908 Olympic Games. Queen  lexandra wanted to give him some compensation for being disqualified shortly after being named Olympic champion. The title was taken from Pietri and given to the American John Hayes, after Pietri, who had fallen just a few metres from the finish line, was helped to his feet by race officials. Two years earlier, Pietri, then barely twenty years old, had been obliged to drop out from the "Intercalated Games" of Athens 1906 marathon at the 24 kilometre mark , after suffering stomach pains whilst heading the field.
The arrival of the Queen Alexandra Cup will be marked by a celebration in honour of Dorando Pietri, which will be held at noon on Monday 6 December, in the CONI honour suite (Salone d'Onore). The reception will be attended by the President of the Italian Olympic Committee, Gianni Petrucci and the British Ambassador at Rome, His Excellency Tom Richardson.

1 December 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The news of the death of Volodomir (Vladimir) Yashchenko, of cirrhosis of the liver, aged 40, is especially sad for those of us who remember him, little more than an adolescent, on the highest step of the athletics podiums of the world. For Yashchenko was a magnificent high jumper, perhaps the most elegant proponent of the straddle and, in the opinion of many critics, better than he who had been until then the greatest of them all: Valerij Brumel. With Yashchenko, the adepts of that particular style - including the celebrated Soviet coach Vladimir Dyatchkov - believed that they could show that the future of the discipline did not belong to the school of the Fosbury Flop, but with the followers of the more traditional style.
And Yashchenko proved them right. With a world record of 2.33m, set in Richmond,  Virginia, in 1977, during a USA-USSR Junior meet, he snatched the record from the American Dwight Stones who, in Munich in 1973, was the first man to clear 2m30, using the Fosbury Flop. Stones took the mark to 2.32m, when the unexpected eruption of Volodomir Yashschenko seemed set to launch a
veritable renaissance of the straddle.
The tall slim (1.93m for 74kg) Soviet youngster looked wonderful, with his adolescent's face framed by a mass of blonde curls. His run-up was extraordinarily light, with amazing muscular elasticity. He used to tighten up the muscles of his left leg - his take-off leg - in the final dashing strides to unleash exceptional force: bounding skywards like a coiled spring freed of earthly restraints.
The 1978 European indoor championships - held in the Palazzo dello Sport in Milan, just around the corner from that sanctuary of football, the San Siro stadium - attracted nearly thirty thousand spectators for the two days of competition. On the Saturday, Sara Simeoni had won the women's European high jump title, clearing 1.94m with her fabulously dynamic Fosbury Flop, much to the delight of the crowd. The next day, an equally large crowd came to the Palazzo dello Sport, at the end of the neighbouring football game, to watch the 19-year-old Soviet prodigy at work.
A show, far more refined than that offered by the prestigious team of Inter, was to follow. I remember to this day every jump of Vladimir Yashchenko, the incredible way he seemed to glide through the air as though an invisible rotor blade was holding him up as his blonde curls were already plunging towards the mattress and his body swept over the bar.
Thus, "Helicopter Vladimir" took the world indoor record to an incredible 2.35m. A height he would surely have improved still further if a knee injury had not put paid to his career the following year, at just twenty years old after taking the world outdoor record to 2.34m, at Tbilisi, and winning the European title in Prague.
So it was that the star of Volodomir Yashchenko was to shine but for two short seasons, a supernova burnt out by its own excessive brilliance. With that rapid extinction and the retirement from competition of the East German Rolf Beilschmidt, the era of the straddle was definitively closed.

November 26 1999

Monte-Carlo - Monaco - Kenya's Josephat Kiprono, winner of the Berlin Marathon in 2:06:44 on September 26, has accepted an invitation to take part in the IAAF Rome Millennium Marathon on January 1, 2000.

This race, which starts at 12:30 and will be the first major sporting event of the new century, gets underway in St Peter's Square with the blessing of the Pope, John Paul II. This race coincides with the opening of the great celebrations of the Jubilee - a religious festival of tremendous significance to those of the Christian faith.

Kiprono, who is the fourth fastest marathon runner of 1999 and the fifth fastest of all time, will be joined by other great Kenyan athletes. These include Philip Tanui, winner of the last Rome marathon (March 21 1999) in 2:09:56, and Sammy Korir, who won the Turin Marathon (May 2 1999) in 2:08:27.

Host nation Italy (although the race starts in another sovereign territory - the Vatican) also boasts top level representatives. Giacomo Leone - fourth in New York this year but winner of that famous marathon back in 1996 - has confirmed he will start. It is his way of paying tribute to Primo Nebiolo, the late IAAF President, who came up with the idea for this race and had pursued the project with his customary enthusiasm.

The duel between Leone and the Kenyans will be particularly fascinating, and will ensure a superb performance standard at the elite end of the race. This is also guaranteed in the women's event thanks to the confirmed participation of another Kenyan superstar, Tegla Loroupe.

22 November 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Kenya's Tegla Loroupe, holder of the world marathon best for the marathon (2:20:43 set in Berlin on September 26) is the first star to announce her participation in the IAAF Rome Millennium Marathon.

After the World Athletics Gala 99, which took place last night in the Salle d'Or of the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel, 26 year-old Loroupe announced her intention to compete in this sporting event that opens not only a new century but the third Millennium. "I am running for two reasons," said Loroupe. "First of all, this is something that is unique. On what other occasion will I be able to start in St Peter's Square, in the year of the Jubilee celebrations and with the blessing of his Holy Father the Pope? Like every other athlete, I look forward to making this pilgrimage in the name of peace. Also, I am running because it was the wish of the late IAAF President
Primo Nebiolo, the driving force behind the project."

Loroupe is the first of many elite athletes who will join thousands of more modest runners in an event, made extraordinary by virtue of time and place: 12:30 on January 1 2000, in St Peter's Square. Another chapter in the marvellous history of the eternal city.

19 November 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Through two special events tomorrow in the Principality of Monaco, World Athletics will not only demonstrate its strong connection to culture and performing arts, but also its interest in universal social issues by promoting a "Universal Day of Children's Rights".

Starting with "No Finish Line" at 14.00hrs, a promotional run open to all ages and going continuously for eight days, the Foundation has lent its patronage to this initiative organised by the Monaco Junior Chamber of Commerce and strongly supported by the Principality.  Some top athletes among whom Michael Johnson and Tegla Loroupe are expected to be on hand for an inaugural press conference with HSH Prince Albert of Monaco.

Later the same evening, the International Athletic Foundation will organise directly "An Evening with Julia Migenes" in promotion of the same important theme.

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of the Child on November 20th 1959.  Through these events, the hope is to further promote this initiative so that the United Nations actually declares this the "Universal Day of Children's Rights" world-wide.

Featuring the renowned American soprano, Julia Migenes, this special concert will be introduced by a video look back at some of the most significant moments where Youth and Athletics have been combined for the better of young people around the world.

Best known for her starring role in Francesco Rosi's film adaptation of Carmen, where she had the lead together with Placido Domingo, Migenes has also become a popular star in Monte Carlo.

The video highlights will include scenes from the 1st IAAF World Youth Championships in Poland this summer as well as the Foundation's special programme of "Fun in Athletics" on the occasion of the World Cross-Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

IAAF COUNCIL SELECT DOHA FOR 2000 GRAND PRIX FINAL, DUBLIN FOR 2001 WORLD
CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS AND DEBRECEN FOR 2001 WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS

19 November 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - IAAF Council, meeting for its second session today in Monte Carlo under the leadership of Lamine Diack, unanimously agreed to nominate Arne Ljungqvist (Sweden) as Senior Vice-President of the world governing body.

Three future World Athletic Series venues were approved by Council today. The 16th IAAF Grand Prix Final will take place in Doha, Qatar on October 4 2000, the 29th World Cross Country Championships will take place in Dublin, Republic of Ireland in March 2001 and the next edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships will be held in Debrecen, Hungary in July 2001.

Council also heard reports from the Women's Committee and the Anti-Doping Commission, and agreed that the cases of Linford Christie (GBR), Gary Cadogan (GBR), Itai Margalit (ISR) and Javier Sotomayor (CUB) be taken to Arbitration. Council also decided to provisionally suspend the British athlete Carl Myerscough, (who tested positive on May 28) pending a hearing.

An extraordinary meeting of the IAAF Council has been scheduled for February 12-13.

16 November  1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Council will meet on November 18-19, on the eve of the World Athletics Gala 99 promoted by the International Athletic Foundation.

Following the death of President Primo Nebiolo on November 7, the IAAF Council will be chaired, as established in the IAAF Constitution, by the federation's Senior Vice President, Lamine Diack, who is currently serving as Interim President. Naturally, the Council's first priority will be to discuss the new situation, but the 26 members will also hear reports from the IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai and the Honorary Treasurer Robert Stinson, who will present the 2000 Budget for approval.

Council will decide the venues of the 2000 IAAF Grand Prix Final and the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships. Reports will be received from the Women's Committee, the Anti-doping Commission and various Organising Committees of IAAF World Athletic Series Events.

On Saturday November 20, the Executive Committee and Council of the International Athletic Foundation led by Honorary President HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, will meet and elect the Athletes of the Century as well as the Athlete of the Year (Men and Women). The proclamation of the winners of these two prestigious awards will take place on the evening of Sunday, November 21 during the World Athletic Gala 99 (supported by Compagnie Mon?gasque de Banque and Mondo s.p.a.)

Respecting the wishes of the late-President, this Gala will celebrate a whole century of athletic excellence as well as honour the achievements of the best performers of 1999. The Foundation, on the request of Mrs Giovanna Nebiolo, decided not to cancel the Gala but to use the occasion to celebrate the life and work of Primo Nebiolo, and particularly his efforts to promote the worldwide development of athletics. Over the next few days, the most famous athletes of the past and present arrive in Monte Carlo from every
corner of the globe to pay their respects to a great President, and to remind us all of the exceptional progress made by our sport during the 20th century.

THE WORLD ATHLETICS GALA 1999 DEDICATED TO THE LATE PRESIDENT DR PRIMO
NEBIOLO. NOMINATIONS FOR THE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR AND OF THE CENTURY

12 November 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - By decision of the acting Foundation President, Lamine Diack, and at the specific request of Mrs Giovanna Nebiolo, it has been decided that the 1999 World Athletics Gala and related activities will go on, as planned for the 20-21 November.

Out of respect to the memory and immeasurable achievements of our late President, the Gala programme itself will be substantially dedicated to a commemoration of his life. In what we believe would have been his wish, the Gala will still attempt to celebrate, albeit in less festive tone, the bright moments of this Year in Athletics as well as great athletes who indelibly marked 1999.

Therefore, following the world-wide survey conducted last month, the Foundation Council will proceed to nominate the Athletes of the Year and make the formal announcement, as per tradition, during the Gala evening on 21 November, in the Salle d'Or of the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel, in the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert of Monaco.

Moreover, in accordance with President Nebiolo's specific request prior to his death, a special award will be presented to the "Athletes of the Century". It had been Dr Nebiolo's personal wish to celebrate "A Century of Athletics Excellence" and to this end, some of the greatest athletes of the past had been invited and the renowned Olympic film director Bud Greenspan had been asked to contribute with a special film presentation.

All of these elements will be maintained during the Gala, as will the planned "No Finish Line" race for youngsters on Monaco's Port Hercules - starting at 16.30 on Saturday 20 November - to promote, in conjunction with the Principality of Monaco, "A Universal Day for Children's Rights". The concert of Julia Migenes, which will take place on Saturday evening in the Princess Grace theatre, will also be dedicated to this theme. Both the concert and the Gala will be broadcast live.

According to the results of the poll, the nominations for Athlete of the Year are:
Women: Eunice Barber (FRA), Gail Devers (USA), Ludmila Engquist (SWE), Ludmila Formanova (CZE), Marion Jones (USA), Tegla Loroupe (KEN), Svetlana Masterkova (RUS), Mihaela Melinte (ROM), Gabriela Szabo (ROM), Gete Wami (ETH).
Men: Abel Anton (ESP), Tomas Dvorak (CZE), Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR), Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), Colin Jackson (GBR), Maurice Greene (USA), Michael Johnson (USA), Wilson Kipketer (DEN), Maksim Tarasov (RUS), Paul Tergat (KEN).
Candidates for the "Athletes of the Century" award: Women: Iolanda Balas (ROM), Fanny-Blankers-Koen (HOL), Mildred "Babe"
Didriksen (USA), Heike Drechsler (GER), Florence Griffith Joyner (USA), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA), Stefka Kostadinova (BUL), Jarmila Kratochvilova (CZE), Wilma Rudolph (USA), Irena Kirzenstein-Szewinska (POL), Grete Waitz  (NOR).
Men: Abebe Bikila (ETH), Sergey Bubka (UKR), Sebastian Coe (GBR), Herb Elliott (AUS), Carl Lewis (USA), Pietro Mennea (ITA), Edwin Moses (USA), Paavo Nurmi (FIN), Al Oerter (USA), Jesse Owens (USA), Emil Zatopek (CZE).

2 September 1999

2 September 1999 -  Brussels, Belgium - As all good drivers know, you shift up into overdrive once you are on the open road and shift down a gear to accelerate. Morocco's 1500m World Champion Hicham El Guerrouj is going to be shifting up into overdrive tomorrow night in Brussels' Roi Baudoin stadium, when he makes his first attempt at the World Record in the 3000m.

With both the 1500m and Mile records under his belt (both set in Rome, respectively in 1998 and in July this year), the 24 year old - he will celebrate his 25th birthday on 14 September, just three days after the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Munich - has decided that it is time to have a shot at the 7:20.67 record for the 3000m, set by Kenyan Daniel Komen in Rieti in 1996.

Komen will also be running in the 3000m, but it is El Guerrouj who is calling the shots, with pacemaker Kader Chekhemani (FRA)  set to take the leaders through 1000m in 2:26.5-2:27.00 and 1500m in 3:38.00-3:39.00, equivalent to the record splits of Komen in Rieti.

This race will be one of the highlights of tomorrow's action in Brussels and a major sub-plot to the main story of the IAAF Golden League Jackpot, which sees Wilson Kipketer (DEN) and Gabriela Szabo (ROM), the only two athletes remaining in contention after Marion Jones announced her withdrawal from the competition due to injuries sustained during the 7th IAAF World Championships in Seville.

With El Guerrouj lengthening his stride over seven and a half laps of the track, Michael Johnson has decided to opt for the 200, now that he has finally achieved his latent ambition of demolishing Butch Reynolds record for the 400 with his 43.18 clocking in Seville.

"I feel a lot more relaxed coming here to Brussels. Normally when I have run a good 400, a good 200 will follow; so, though we don't have a special time in mind, it's a fast track here and I think we can do something good."

Johnson will be doing that something good without any much pressure from the field here in Brussels: Ato Boldon is sidelined with a calf injury and Frank Fredericks is suffering from an infected nerve in the hamstring and the neo World Champion in the 200, Maurice Greene, is competing in the UK, after a change in the date of tomorrow's meeting clashed with prior commitments he had taken with UK Athletics. Francis Obikwelu, who looked so promising in the 200 semi-final in Seville and took bronze place in the final after an initial false start, has ended his season and is also absent from tomorrow's start, leaving Canada's Bruny Surin to challenge the Waco Express.

Although Johnson has concentrated on the 400m in the build up to Seville, after running a superb 200m in Rome on 14 July, he has no reservations about shifting down a gear to the faster pace of the shorter race: "It's a lot easier changing from 400 to 200 because in the 200 you just got to plan to get out of those blocks explosively and then go as fast as you can for the line."

Records in view? "I tend to run better at the big championships, because I am at my best and so are all the other athletes and that stimulates me: the biggest performances at the biggest meetings. Money is no longer a stimulus for me. I have been lucky in my career and made enough money.

"You know I am one of the lucky fiew who has a great job that I love. I have to be committed to be the best I can be, because it's also a responsibility to the fans who come here to see us do our best. We can't afford any half  measures.

"I am proud of the fact that I don't have any silver or bronze medals from the World Championships or the Olympics. I think that this is proof enough of my consistency. I am going to go to Sydney next year to defend both of my titles. We (my coach and I) think that it will be easier this time: after all, we have done it before. We won't make a lot of changes in what we did last time."

In all, no fewer than 53 medallists from Seville 99 will be competing in this penultimate leg of the IAAF Golden League, which will take place in the presence of Prince Philippe of Belgium, heir to the throne.

2 September 1999

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The pressure is mounting on the remaining two contenders for the IAAF Golden League million dollar jackpot, as the last but one day of reckoning approaches with tomorrow's Van Damme Memorial, the penultimate leg of this year's series. Romania's Gabriela Szabo, who will be running in the 3000m tomorrow and  renewing her series of head-to-heads with Morocco's Zahra Ouaziz and could also see some surprise competition from Portuguese 1500m specialist Carla Sacramento, who is making a debut appearance in the 3000 here, seems unfazed although she is tired after an intensive season of competition.  "Running the 3000 and the 5000m is not so easy as, say, the sprints," she has said on a number of occasions. "It is hard and very tiring."
The fact that Marion Jones and Bernard Barmasai are no longer in the competition does not make her task any easier either. She still has to win her own race. "The fact that Marion Jones has finished her season doesn't make me happy, even though my possible part of the jackpot increases. She is out because of injury, not because she was beaten on the track, so there's really no reason to jump in the air."
For Denmark's Wilson Kipketer, thrice world champion in the 800m and holder of both indoor and outdoor world records over the distance, the fact that both Barmasai and Jones are out of the jackpot stakes has made things a lot harder: "Now there is just that much more focus on us. The pressure is still higher and that makes things more difficult.
"It is not the pressure of the World Championships, it is different, but it is still there. In Seville I had the pressure of defending my title and there is not really anything more important than that, so it was very hard. "At the end of the day, yes it is a lot of money, but the important thing is competing and winning. It is almost as important to be able to say: 'Yes, I won the Golden League'. It is a little bit like a Championship title in itself.
"I have been doing my own management this year, also because since I had malaria last year, the money has become less important to me. I thought that having a manager was important when you are starting and need to make more money. Now it is important for me to win and to stay focussed on my competition. A lot of athletes could be very good and they often do well for a year or two, then their focus drops off when they have made some money. This is not the case for me. It is important to stay focused 100% all the time."

27 August, 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - More than 200 media representatives attended a press conference earlier today to promote the IAAF Rome Millennium Marathon.

The conference was headed by IAAF President Primo Nebiolo, with the participation of Gianni Gola, the President of the Italian federation, Riccardo Milano, representing the city of Rome and Roberto Castrucci, the Rome Marathon Director. Each speaker stressed the symbolic importance of opening the new century with a major sports event - which would start in St Peter?s Square at 12 noon - and include representatives of every IAAF federation as well as some of the best marathon runners in the world.

The International Athletic Foundation has destined 300 thousand dollars for the organisation of this race. There will also be a major involvement of the Rome City Council and the personal commitment of Mayor Francesco Rutelli.

This unique race has also been backed enthusiastically by the Vatican, with Monsignor Crescenzo Sepe, the General Secretary of the Year 2000 Jubilee committee, offering his complete co-operation.

"His Holiness the Pope, who is a great lover of sport and of athletes, has paid us the singular honour of giving his full approval of this initiative," said Dr Nebiolo. "Marathon runners are very special. They understand the need to plan carefully, to train hard and have to endure a lot to triumph. In a way, they are the ascetics of our sport. This is also why I am convinced that the marathon is the sporting event which can best be associated with an event which has the spiritual and ecumenical importance of this Jubilee."

19 August, 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - The second day of the 42nd IAAF Congress at Seville's Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos continued with elections and, although this was primarily a Constitutional Congress, there were some changes to IAAF rules.

The complete composition of the various IAAF Committees will be known at 18:00 local time, although it is already known that Jorge Salcedo (POR) has been elected as the new chairman of the IAAF Technical Committee, that Mauricio Damilano (ITA), winner of 20 km walk at the 1980 Olympic Games and the 1987 and 1991 World Championships, is the new chairman of the Race Walking Committee and that Ilse Bechthold (GER) and Otto Klappert (GER) have been re-elected as chairpersons of the Women's and Cross Country and Road Running Committees respectively. 1980 high jump Olympic champion and former world record holder Sara Simeoni (ITA) and 1992 Olympic 400m hurdles champion and former world record holder Sally Gunnell (GBR) were elected to the Women's Committee for the first time.

The Congress also considered a total of 51 proposals to amend IAAF rules. Congress agreed on a proposal from Council that athletes will only be able to change their national allegiance when they have received full citizenship of their "new" country and then underdone a period of residence which is normally 3 years but can be reduced to 1 year if both federations agree. A change in citizenship by marriage will also need to backed up by a period of residence in the relevant country rather than be automatically  ranted. However, following some interventions from Congress delegates, it was agreed that Council would have the right to consider cases on an individual basis - for example, in the case of political refugees.

A proposal from the German Athletic Federation to create a new list of world records starting from the year 2000 provoked lively  iscussion among delegates. Most believed that such a sweeping change would send out the message that the IAAF felt that all its records were doubtful - which was unjust to innocent athletes - and, after a vote, the proposal was rejected by an overwhelming majority of Congress delegates.

19 August, 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to start by expressing my thanks to the Mayor of Seville, Alfredo Sanchez Monteseirin, for everything that his city has done and is continuing to do, to ensure that the 7th IAAF World Championships in Athletics is a success. The work that our friend Alfredo has carried out, first as President of the Organising Committee and, since a few weeks, as Mayor of Seville, has been fundamental.

I would ask him to convey my thanks to all of his collaborators, and especially to the new President of the Organising Committee - Luis Navarette - to the Spanish Athletics Federation and its President, Jos? Maria Odriozola and to the thousands of volunteers who are working for the perfect success of the greatest sporting event of 1999 and the last great event of this century.
I have no doubt that the World Championships will be a success. The setting in which they will take place is magnificent: a stadium built in the record time of less than two years - a miracle which many doubted Seville and Andalusia would be capable of realising - equipped with the most modern infrastructures.

Tomorrow, the flags of 205 countries will parade through this stadium and 1952 athletes will compete there during the ten days that follow. This is another record: seven countries and seventy athletes more than in Athens confirming the universal nature of Athletics.

This universal appeal is certainly the fruit of the very nature of our sport, but without constant work and commitment to the spreading of the message of athletics, accompanied when necessary by some serious financial aid, this observation would be no more than a statement of principle. As it is, Athletics today offers young men and women of talent and willpower the possibility of achieving success, in sport, independently of their country of birth or the social class into which they are born.

If we look back to the first edition of the World Championships, in 1983, the winners came from just 14 countries, while in 1997, 25 nations shared the gold medals. This is an extraordinary progression (78.5%). The same applies to the finalists: where we have gone from 45 countries in the finals in 1983 to 67 in 1997 (an increase in excess of 50%).

All of this makes me very proud. It is a pride that I share with all of the friends who have worked with me in the past 18 years, sacrificing their family life and free time to the cause of athletics.

To these friends - the leaders of the 210 IAAF member federations and all those working in athletics clubs around the world - I give my heartfelt thanks. It is they who expressed their confidence in me yesterday, re-electing me to the head of the International Federation.

This is a task that I hope to be able to fulfil during the next four years, with the same passion, the same determination and the same commitment that I have employed during my five previous mandates. The 42nd Congress of our history has demonstrated the strength of our Federation.

Delegates from 202 countries attended, showing the growing influence of Athletics. If I look back, and see how far along the road we have come, even I am occasionally surprised. Today, Athletics has a modern structure, prestigious offices, a large budget, an increasing number of followers and a series of events which attract media attention and gives the means not just to survive, but to progress. To progress on all fronts, and here I would especially like to mention our technological advances and innovations: the Internet. During these World Championships, our web site will also carry live audio broadcasts in both English and Spanish: an absolute first.

This 7th World Championships will be broadcast on television in 215 countries and territories. Over three thousand journalists - between the written press, television, radio and photographers - are here in Seville. For those who are too young to remember, I would point out that just twenty or so years ago, our athletes had only one occasion to receive world-wide coverage: the Olympic Games.

Today, these occasions are multiple. And this has also meant the possibility to earn a decent living. This is another reason for the athletics movement to be proud. Those with talent who apply themselves can secure their future, for the days when they will no longer be able to compete. But the IAAF does not think only of the elite athletes. We look after the younger and the very young athletes: in our recent World Youth Championships , in Poland, we had an exceptional number of competitors: 131 countries and 973 athletes. We watched some magnificent young athletes competing in a particularly attractive and welcoming setting.

The IAAF must continually modernise to keep up with the development of all this young talent. This is our programme for the Third Millennium: to continue along the path  of modernisation, without omitting to defend our independence and the ethical principles that are the foundations of our sport.

One ethical principal that we will never renounce is that of combating doping. We will not hold back in the fight to cure this moral cancer through the diffusion of a culture of honesty in sport. But one I thing I particularly want to underline: no-one can give us lessons on this matter. Our intransigence is total and goes back a long way: we were the first international federation to introduce and expand a programme of out of competition testing. During these World Championships, our controls will be strict and widespread, with between 250 and 300 tests being made.

Yesterday, I received the news that Merlene Ottey had recorded an ADVERSE FINDING for a doping control made at a recent meeting in Switzerland. Merlene Ottey has been one of the greatest athletes in our history. For 20 years she has been an elite performer on tracks all over the world - from the Olympics of 1980 to the World Championships of 1997. Today, we are still not aware whether Ottey has committed a doping offence or whether there has been some mistake. Personally, I hope that this will prove to be just a nightmare for Ottey but in any case I am sure of one thing. Even from this sad event athletics can emerge stronger because we will show that we have the courage of our convictions in the anti-doping war, whoever is the subject. But let us move on to the World Championships.

We are going to see some wonderful athletics: hard-fought and loyal competition full of suspense. These days, nobody can be sure of winning: this is the beauty of the Championships. The fact that no-one can forecast the result gives the athletes a great moral and physical boost. Now let me wish you all a great World Championships. I am sure that Seville 99 will be an experience you will never forget. For this is the last World Championships of this millennium and, I hope, that it will be the best ever!

President Dr. Primo Nebiolo ITA

Vice Presidents Mr. Lamine Diack SEN
Mr. Amadeo Francis PUR
Prof. Arne Ljungqvist SWE
Mr. Dapeng Lou CHN*

Honorary Treasurer Mr. H. Robert Stinson GBR

General Secretary & Council Member  Mr. Istvan Gyulai HUN

Area Representatives
Africa Mr. Leonard Chuene RSA*
Asia  Sheik Khalid Bin Thani Al Thani QAT
Europe Mr. Carl Olaf Homen FIN
NACAC Mr. Neville Mc Cook JAM*
Oceania Mr. William Bailey AUS
South America Mr. Roberto Gesta de Melo BRA

Individual Members
Mrs. Nawal El Moutawakel-Bennis MAR
Mr. Helmut Digel GER
Mr. Alpheus Finlayson BAH*
Mr. Robert Hersh USA*
Ms. Abigail Hoffman CAN
Mr. Alberto Juantorena Danger CUB
Mr. Isaiah Kiplagat KEN*
Mr. Cesar Moreno Bravo MEX
Mr. Jose-Maria Odriozola ESP*
Mr. Jung-Ki Park KOR
Mr. Jean Poczobut FRA
Mr. Jamel Simohamed ALG
Mr. Igor Ter-Ovanesian RUS
Mr. Taizo Watanabe JPN*

* New to post

18 August, 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - The IAAF Congress has elected the following 13 individual members to the IAAF Council:
Istvan Gyulai (HUN)               165 votes
Bob Hersh (USA) *                 156 votes
Helmut Digel (GER)               154 votes
Taizo Watanabe (JPN)*         145 votes
Jose-Maria Odriozola (ESP)* 143 votes
Alberto Juantorena (CUB)      138 votes
Igor Ter-Ovanesian (RUS)      137 votes
Jean Poczobut (FRA)              131 votes
Cesar Moreno-Bravo (MEX)    128 votes
Jung-Ki Park (KOR)                 126 votes
Isaiah Kiplagat (KEN)*             119 votes
Jamel Simohamed (ALG)         102 votes
Alpheus Finlayson (BAH)*        100 votes

* Elected to the Council for the first time.

18 August, 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - Dr Primo Nebiolo, who has led the world athletics movement since 1981, was re-elected as IAAF President this morning by acclamation.

Following the decision by the delegates to the 42nd IAAF Congress not to proceed to a vote, with Dr Primo Nebiolo the sole candidate to the Presidency, Nebiolo expressed his pleasure at the Congress's decision: "Thank you very much, this moment is a great honour, it brings me much happiness.

I would like to say just a few words to express my gratitude, I have made many friends over so many years and I'm very proud to notice the great confidence you have in me. We must continue to work together. I pledge you all my energy and commitment and will strive to live up to your expectations." Dr Nebiolo's new mandate runs until 2003.

Of the five candidates originally standing for the four posts of Vice-president to the IAAF , Nawaf bin Mohamed Al Saud (KSA) withdrew before the voting and the remaining four were elected by acclamation. The four vice president are Lamine Diack (SEN), Amadeo ID Francis (PUR), Arne Ljungqvist (SWE), Dapeng Lou (CHN)

The outgoing Honorary Treasurer, Robert Stinson, was also re-elected by acclamation.

Congress also elected the following Area Representatives elected :Carl Olaf Homen (FIN) for Europe; Khalid bin Thani Al Thani (QAT) for Asia; Leonard Chuene (RSA) for Africa; Neville Mc Cook (JAM) for NACAC; William Bailey (AUS) for Oceania; Roberto Gesta de Melo (BRA) for South America.

16 August, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF has officially ratified the following world records:
Decathlon 8994 points Tomas Dvorak CZE Praha 4 July 99
Dan O'Brien of the United States had set the previous record of 8991 points
on 4/5 September 1992.
Mile 3'43"13 Hicham El Guerrouj MAR Rome 7 July 99
Hicham El Guerrouj broke the record of 3:44.39 set by Algeria's Noureddine
Morceli on 5 September 1993
100m 9.79 Maurice Greene USA Athens 16 June 99
Maurice Greene's time of 9.79 broke the previous record (set by Canadian
Donovan Bailey during the Atlanta Olympics - 27 July 1996) by 0.05 seconds,
one of the largest margins ever recorded.

15 July 1999

BYDGOSZCZ  - Poland - The most promising talents in world youth athletics will be competing tomorrow in the 1st edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships, at the Zawisza Stadium of Bydgoszcz, 250 kilometres north-west of Warsaw. As many as 597 boys and 506 girls from 137 countries are expected to participate during the three-day programme. That means a total of 1103 participants which compares favourably with the 1184 athletes who competed at the last World Junior Championships in Annecy.

This is the first major IAAF event to be held in Poland since the 1987 World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw. But the city of Bydgoszcz has a history of discovering young talents because, in 1979, it hosted the European Junior Championships. On that occasion the list of winners included such great athletes as Steve Cram and Fatima Whitbread (GBR) Dietmar Mogenburg (FRG), J?rgen Schult (GDR) and Josef Pribilinec (TCH).

In recent years the IAAF has introduced new initiatives, such as "World Athletics Day," to attract young people. The same spirit was behind the IAAF's decision to give youngsters, aged 15-18, a chance to compete in their own World Championships. Most importantly, the boys and girls responded with great enthusiasm.

"I cannot wait to get on the track and do the best I can to improve my performances. I am really happy and excited to be here," said Bryan Sears, a 17 year-old sprinter from Georgia, USA. "It will be a terrific experience for all the youngsters of our age who are present here," echoed his countrywoman Monique Anderson from California.

Polish hammer thrower Kamila Skolimoswska - a former world junior record holder - is one of the most outstanding athletes competing here: "I would like to win, but even if I don't make it, this experience will be very useful for the years to come. It is very important from a psychological point of view to get used to high level competition," she said.

In spite of the young age of participants, the overall technical level is expected to be extremely high. There are 39 events in the competition programme with six finals tomorrow: boys and girls' shot put and 100 metres, 110 metres hurdles and boys' 3000 metres.

15 July, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - On the occasion of the celebration of the inaugural edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships - taking place in Bydgoszcz from 16-18 July - the President of the Polish Republic, Aleksander Kwasniewski, today received the President of the IAAF, Dr Primo Nebiolo, at the Presidential Palace. The President of the Polish Athletic Federation and IOC member, Mrs Irena Szewinska, accompanied Dr Nebiolo.

Dr Nebiolo handed to President Kwasniewski the "IAAF Golden Order of Merit", a distinction reserved for Heads of State who, in the course of their public duties, have made a particular contribution to the promotion of athletics. In this particular instance, recalled Nebiolo, the award was especially significant and was intended to emphasise the important role played by Poland in the world athletics movement.

Polish athletes have written many passages in the history of our sport. From the days of Halina Konopaka and Stanislawska Walasiewicz to those of Elzbieta Krzesinska and the legendary Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska; from Janusz Kusocinski to Zdzislaw Kryszkowiak, Jozef Schmidt, Janusz Sidlo, Bronislaw Malinowski, Tadeus Slusarski, Wladyslaw Komar, Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz and Jacek Wszola, to the present day, Poland's champions have been exceptional.

This is another reason why the IAAF elected to launch this first edition of the World Youth Championships - for athletes under 18  ears old - in Poland: a nation where the culture of sport in general and athletics in particular, is almost as deep-rooted as the sense of national identity.

In this same context should be placed the honour accorded by the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, Roman Jasiakiewicz, to President Nebiolo, who becomes the first foreign citizen to be awarded the honorary citizenship and the medal of honour of the city.

From tomorrow, until Sunday, Bydgoszcz will become the world capital of youth athletics, with 1081 youngsters (585 boys and 496 girls) from 134 countries participating in the competition.

Palma de Mallorca (Spain), 8/7

PALMA DE MAJORCA, Spain - FISU President, Dr Primo Nebiolo, yesterday received a delegation from Russia led by Alexei Kisseliev, member of the FISU Executive Council, who officially presented the candidacy of the City of Moscow as host of the Universiades 2003.

The delegation guaranteed to the President of FISU the commitment of the Russian government and of the City of Moscow to ensuring a successful event, which, if the bid were successful, would be organised with the full co-operation with the Russian Students Sports Union.

In a letter handed personally to Dr Nebiolo, the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov repeated his commitment in favour of the niversiades and of the international university sports movement. Mayor Luzhkov, further supported the candidacy of his city by underlining the fact that 2003 would be a particularly significant date for the Russian capital. In 1973, Moscow hosted a splendid edition of the Universiades, in the process opening the country, for the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, to athletes from the world at large. Celebrating this occurrence thirty years later with another Universiades would, added Mayor Luzhkov, be particularly
significant.

6 July, 1999

ROME - Italy - "Last year I had a lot of problems and one of these was trying too hard to come back!" It is a relaxed and smiling Wilson Kipketer who is speaking on the eve of the second leg of the IAAF Golden League meeting in Rome.

The reserved and enigmatic Kipketer of previous years seems a thing of the past, as the young neo-Danish engineer, world record holder over 800 metres indoors and outdoors, addresses journalists in one of the press conferences leading up to the second meeting of this year's IAAF Golden League.

"This year I am taking things easier and I'm a lot more relaxed. I have decided to take things step by step." Last year matters were very different for Kipketer: struck down by a serious attack of malaria during a holiday trip back to his native Kenya, it looked at one point as though his athletics career could have been compromised definitively.

"I am so happy to be here today, healthy. Maybe I will never get back to the same levels as 1997 (when Kipketer broke both world records in the 800, improving the outdoor mark twice in the season to end up at 1:41.11), but the important thing now is to be happy to be here and not in another world. When I had the first attack, I didn't really know how serious it was; it was only when I was getting better and saw the analyses that I realised just how dangerous it could have been."

You seem a lot more relaxed now?

"I have learnt from my mistakes and I have decided that I must do things for myself. I made the mistake last year of pushing myself - it was important that I compete in the European Championships - and that was a big mistake. It was too much too soon. It is important for me to enjoy running and not be desperate to win. The results will come by themselves.

"I have been thinking and I realise that we all have a job to do: to promote our sport. I understand now that it is important that we do this well and give an example for the future generations. We have to enjoy our sport.

"Now I take each meeting one at a time; I don't really have a schedule. I don't think about the jackpot at the end. When I get to the last meeting and have been successful up to then, then maybe I will think some more about it; I don't want the pressure now. At the end it will be like a big bonus, when I have been successful."

6 July, 1999

ROME - Italy - The stakes are wide open as the IAAF Golden League moves to the second of its seven stages here in Rome tomorrow.
Twelve athletes took their first step on the trek towards the 1 million dollar IAAF Golden League Jackpot in Oslo a week ago, but the path is long and uncertain.

To win a share in the jackpot, the twelve contenders must win their chosen event in all seven stages of the IAAF Golden League - a task worthy of Hercules.

After Oslo, the twelve contenders were:

Men
200m - Obadele Thompson; 800m - Wilson Kipketer; 110m hurdles - Allen Johnson; 3000m steeplechase  - Bernard Barmasai; long jump - Erick Walder; pole vault - Tim Lobinger; javelin - Raymond Hecht
Women
200m - Marion Jones; 800m - Svetlana Masterkova; 3000m - Gabriela Szabo; 400m hurdles - Deon Hemmings; high jump - Monica Iagar-Dinescu;

With these twelve athletes chasing their share in the IAAF Golden League Jackpot, their competitors will be hungry to avenge their defeat in the first leg meeting.

Bahamian Obadele Thompson will be facing the double onslaught of Ato Boldon, who was first across the line in Oslo and then saw his hopes dashed by a subsequent disqualification for a lane infringement, and the legendary Michael Johnson, the world record holder in the half-lap race. Johnson will be making a rare appearance in the event in Rome and said: "Ato has been running some great times this year and starts favourite tomorrow, but we will see on the day."

Johnson is concentrating on the 400m this season, with the main aim of attacking Butch Reynolds' world record in the World Championships in Seville in August. Meanwhile, we can expect a true clash of the titans tomorrow evening.

We will only know which contenders will go forward at the end of tomorrow night's Golden Gala, but we can expect more fireworks in the women's 200m, as Marion Jones attempts to repeat her exploit of last year, when she was one of three athletes (Haile Gebrselassie and Hicham El Guerrouj the others) to share the 1 million dollar IAAF Golden League Jackpot of the first edition.
Jones once again showed her superb winning form in Lausanne on Friday and looks almost certain to continue her winning streak in  Rome tomorrow.

Wilson Kipketer is back with a vengeance after a disastrous year in 1998, when the effects of an attack of malaria forced a premature end to his season. He has only two goals for 1999: victory in the IAAF Golden League and defending his 800m title in Seville in August.

Live results from Rome and a full report and further previews will be available on the IAAF web site: www.iaaf.org

17 June, 1999

SEOUL - South Korea - The IAAF President Dr Primo Nebiolo, who is attending the 109th IOC Session in Seoul, made the following comments after being informed of the 9.79 for 100 metres achieved by Maurice Greene last night.

"I would like to congratulate Maurice Greene on a fantastic result. He has returned to the same track in Athens where he became world champion two years ago to achieve a historical performance. This 9.79 100 metres is historical for at least two reasons - it officially breaks the barrier of 9.80 which has been a target for so many world class sprinters like Carl Lewis (USA) and Donovan Bailey (CAN) - but it also shows that a performance which, after the events of the Seoul Olympics in 1988 many believed was unrepeatable, was within human limits after all.

"This record of Maurice Greene is, also, an excellent debut to the 1999 season which will culminate with our World Championships in Seville in August. It demonstrates the seriousness of our athletes who are preparing for this event which will be the most exciting sports spectacle of the end of this century."

16 June 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) has concluded an agreement with the Compagnie Monegasque de Banque (CMB), whereby CMB becomes the Official Bank of the IAAF.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed by IAAF President Dr Primo Nebiolo and Dr Francesco Morabito, the Chief Executive of CMB, the bank will offer special banking facilities to the members of the world athletics movement.

In particular, these facilities will offer special conditions to IAAF officials, those associated with the IAAF Member Federations, athletes and their managers.

Through this agreement, CMB - who already offer a wide range of investment services to their clients - intend to extend their activities in the rapidly expanding field of world-wide sports.

The IAAF is pleased to have as a partner an institution offering a solid tradition of banking expertise and an innovative approach to the financial services and feels that this association will further contribute to the development of the athletics movement.

2 June, 1999

LAUSANNE - Switzerland - At the close of two days of meetings of the IOC 2000 Commission, the IAAF President Dr Primo Nebiolo, who attended the meetings in his dual role of IOC member and President of the ASOIF - the Association which groups all of the Summer Olympic Federations - expressed his satisfaction with the proceedings.

"We have held lengthy discussions on specific matters regarding the restructuring of the IOC itself, the appointment of members and, above all, the selection procedures for host cities for the Olympic games," declared Nebiolo. "These two days have been extremely useful, with all matters being discussed frankly and in a totally transparent manner.

"The problems on the table are many and of considerable importance. The solutions can be found within the current Olympic Charter, as this contains elements allowing for the renewal of the Committee and the involvement of persons of authority who are not directly involved in sports.

"The meetings - Nebiolo concluded - involved the participation of a group of leading personalities from the worlds of politics and international business, who have generously contributed their personal input to our efforts."

28 May 1999

The two undisputed stars of American athletics, Marion Jones and Michael Johnson, will make their first joint appearance at a US meeting on Sunday in the prestigious Prefontaine Classic, the second of the American stages of this year's IAAF Grand Prix circuit, following last weekend's US Open meeting in Edwardsville.Johnson, the Olympic champion over 200m and 400m in 1996, world recorD holder in the 200m and reigning 400m world champion, already heads this year's outdoor lists, with a 44.51 clocking in the 400m in a meeting in his homebase of Waco, Texas on 17 April. Marion Jones, for her part, heads the women's 200m standings with 21.84 at altitude, in the IAAF Grand Prix II in Roodepoort (RSA), in March this year. Johnson also ran in a 200m in Roodepoort, where he too marked his first Grand Prix points of the year. In Eugene on Sunday, Johnson will face one of the strongest 400m fields seen in the US in recent years, headed by Briton Mark Richardson - the only man to beat Johnson over the distance last year - Antonio Pettigrew (USA), who clocked 44.54 in the one-lapper at Roodepoort (at altitude), the 1998 US champion, Jerome Young, Sanderlei Parrela (BRA), who won the Mt Sac Relays 400 with the world's 4th fastest time of the year (44.72), Alvin Harrison
and Danny McCray. Marion Jones, who plans to compete in the 100m, 200m and long jump in the World Championships in Seville this August, runs in the 200m in Eugene, with her strongest competition likely to come from Nigeria's Falilat Ogunkoya and Jamaican Merlene Frazer, though Chandra Sturrup (BAH) and Inger Miller (USA) could also put up a good showing. With the Prefontaine looking like a who's-who of US Track and Field, there will be plenty of other attractions besides Jones and Johnson at  his historical meet. The reigning world 100m champion, Maurice Greene, will compete against training partner Jon Drummond, Tim Harden and Kareem Streete-Thompson (who will double in the long jump) in the 100m and double in the 200m against, Kevin Little, Tyree Washington, Mike Marsh and Japanese revelation Koji Ito. An all-American field in the 110m hurdles, includes Allen Johnson, rising star Larry Wade, Mark Crear and decathlon king Dan O'Brien; the mile lines-up one of the largest teams of sub-4-minute milers ever seen, headed by Noah Ngeny of Kenya and his compatriots Martin Keino, William Tanui and Sammy Langat, to be challenged, possibly, by Steve Holman and Mark Hauser; Mozambican powerhouse Maria Mutola, seems set to dominate a  women's 800m field, including Helena Fuchsova (CZE), Mutola's cousin Tina Paulino and US evergreen Joetta Clark, while there will be no shortage of spectators for the women's high jump, with the presence of Amy Acuff and Tisha Waller no doubt compensating for the small number of contestants.

28 May 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Haile Gebrselassie - last seen winning two golds at the World Indoor Championships in Japan, makes his outdoor debut on Sunday May 30 at the Adriaan Paulen Memorial in Hengelo (the Netherlands). The Ethiopian will attempt to break the world record for 2 miles he set at the same venue two years ago. On that occasion Gebrselassie had been offered a $1 million bonus to be the first man to clock less than 8 minutes - and missed by just 1.09 seconds. Hengelo has a special place in the  Ethiopian's heart as he is based in the Netherlands during the summer season and has been managed by a Dutch former world record holder Jos Hermens throughout his career. Gebrselassie set his first world record in Hengelo in 1994 - 5000m in 12:56.96, and has tried for another every year since, which guarantees a full house at the Fanny Blankers Koen stadium. In 1995 he improved the 10,000m best to 26:43.53. In 1997 he successfully attacked the two miles and last year he set a phenomenal 10,000m mark of  6:22.75. His only "slip up" was in 1996, the year he won Olympic gold at 10,000m, when he  ran 7:34.66 for 3000m, well outside the record of 7:25.11.

But aside from local hero Haile, Hengelo promises some exciting contests. In the women's 400m hurdles, Romania's European Champion Ionela Tirlea, so impressive in Maebashi where she won the 200m and 400m and also in the sprints this summer, takes on the 1995 World Champion Kim Batten. In the women's 5000m, Kenya's marathon ace Tegla Loroupe will test her track credentials against the likes of Anita Weyerman, the Swiss athlete who won bronze at 1500m in Athens 97 and Britain's Paula  Radcliffe, who won the European Challenge at 10,000m in Barakaldo last month. The men's 800m features two talented South Africans: the Olympic silver medalist Hezekiel Sepeng and the rising star Johan Botha, who narrowly beat Wilson Kipketer to
win the World Indoor Championships' title in Maebashi.

Astrid Kumbernuss, the Olympic and World Champion in the shot put, continues her comeback after a period of maternity leave while her compatriot Tanja Damaske, the European champion, is the favourite in the women's javelin.

26 May 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - With less than three months to go now to Seville '99, the Gran Premio Diputacion which will take place on Friday, will serve as a general rehearsal for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Seville's Grand Prix II will offer not only a chance to test the magnificent equipment provided by the newly inaugurated Olympic Stadium but also great duels on the track.
The most interesting of which will certainly be the long jump contest where Spain's Yago Lamela, European indoor record holder and World indoor silver m edallist in Maebashi will be keen on taking his revenge on reigning World outdoor champion, Cuba's Ivan Pedroso. Pedroso defeated Lamela in Japan by just 6 centimetres in his final attempt. Both athletes will have to keep an eye on Jamaican James Beckford, season's world leader with 8.40m. The 200m should offer an interesting duel between such world class specialists as Australian champion Matt Shirvington, Briton Darren Campbell and Sebastien Keitel from Chile. Kenyans will make the pace in the middle distance events with Japhet Kimutai, Benjamin Kipkurui and David Kiptoo heading the field in the 800m with American Mark Everett and local favourite Roberto Parra as outsiders. Kenyan Paul Bitok's task won't be easy in the 3000m race, where 1992 Olympic champion Fermin Cacho, Enrique Molina and Reyes Estevez will have all the support of the local crowd.
In the field events, eyes will be set on the long awaited return to the centre stage of Czech Jan Zelezny in the javelin throw. At the other side of the track the hammer contest will offer a world class battle among Hungarians Balazs Kiss and Tibor Gecsek and Belarussia's Igor Astapovich.
In the women's events, Olympic champion Deon Hemmings will face world record holder Kim Batten in the 400m hurdles; in the 800m, world indoor champion Ludmila Formanova will find strong opposition in Belarussia's Natalya Dukhnova, Moroccan Hasna Benhassi and Portuguese Carla Sacramento. The Grand Prix will also schedule three world class field events. It would be difficult to forecast the name of the winner in a pole vault contest that includes Anzela Balakhnova (UKR), Nicole Humbert (GER), Zsuzsa Szabo (HUN), Vala Flosadottir (ISL) and Melissa Mueller (USA). In the triple jump, world indoor silver medallist Iva Pandzheva seems a likely favourite, with 1997 world indoor champion Inna Lasovskaya, Bulgaria's Marina Marinova and Cuban champion Yamile Aladama ready to challenge her.
Finally, eyes will be set on world champion Astrid Kumbernuss in the shot put. The German will definitely be looking forward to her first international success, after skipping the whole 1998 season as she expected her first child.

19 May 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - The IAAF Council meeting opened here today, chaired by its President, Dr Primo Nebiolo and in the presence of the President of the Organising Committee for Sevilla '99, Alfredo Sanchez Monteseirin, and the President of the Spanish Royal Athletics Federation, José Maria Odriozola. A study of the state of organisation of the 7th World Championships in Athletics was the main item on the agenda for the Council, who expressed their belief that this great athletics event - programmed for 20-29 August - will be an exceptional success. Among other points, Dr Nebiolo also asserted that the Olympic Stadium, which was specifically built for the Championships, was among the most elegant and comfortable of any in the world. The specific nature of the construction - with the stadium surface built below ground level - has already received praise from the athletes who competed before the King of Spain at the inauguration of the stadium on 5 May.
Before listening to the report of the General Secretary, Council listened to the address of the President. During his allocution, Dr Nebiolo advised Council that an important agreement had been reached with the marketing company Dentsu, who have acquired the IAAF World Athletics Series television rights for Japan for the period 2000-2009, for a total of US$ 66 million. In the case of Ben Johnson, who was the subject of a lifetime competition ban by Athletics Canada on 21 April 1993, after testing positive for banned substances on two separate occasions and who recently obtained a judgement by an independent Canadian arbitrator allowing for his re-admission, Council decided to appoint a specific sub-commission to re-examine the case. The sub-commission, composed of Council members Helmut Digel (GER), István Gyulai (HUN) and Robert Stinson (GBR) will make proposals to Council
regarding the matter on 17 August, on the eve of the opening of the 42nd IAAF Congress.
Council has decided to replace Charles Mukora (KEN), as technical delegate to the Olympic Games in Sydney, by Lamine Diack (SEN), First Vice-president of the IAAF. The other two delegates - Dapeng Lou (CHN) and Arthur Eustace (NZL) - remain unchanged.
In respect of forthcoming events, Council confirmed the selection of Palermo (ITA), as host of the World Half Marathon  hampionships, which will take place next October 1999 and awarded Turin the 2001 World Race Walking Cup
and Naumburg (GER) the same event for 2003. Referring to these decisions, Dr Nebiolo said: "I am very pleased that world class athletics is returning to Palermo. The city has made great progress from many points of view, in recent years and the fact that the  IAAF has decided to award the city one of its most important and spectacular events, is recognition of this fact. Insofar as Turin is concerned: the World Race Walking Cup returns to a major city. This is a success for the event and also for Turin. I am sure that the city, which is the city of the automobile, but also a city with a deep consciousness of the environment, will appreciate this most natural of men's efforts: walking." The Council will close its session tomorrow. The IAAF President will give a press conference at 13:00 local time, in the Hotel Alcora, Seville.

18 May 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Council will meet tomorrow and Thursday in Seville, the host city of the 7th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, from 20-29 August and, immediately prior to those dates, the seat of the 42nd Congress of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. In this final meeting of Council before the Congress holds the elections of the governing instances of the Federation, there are a large number of points on the agenda, with, of course, a special focus on the organisation of the forthcoming World Championships, just 90 days before the opening ceremony.
In addition to the report of the Organising Committee for Sevilla 99, Council will hear the reports of the organisers of the inaugural edition of the World Youth Championships, which will be held in Bydgoszcz (POL) from 16-18 July this year; the Grand Prix Final, scheduled for 11 September in Munich; the World Half Marathon Championships - 2 October in Palermo; and, finally, the 8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which will be held in Edmonton, Canada, in 2001.
During its session, Council will also select the host city for the World Half Marathon Championships of the year 2000, with Bristol (GBR) and Mexico standing as candidates and the 2001 World Race Walking Cup, for which the cities of Turin (ITA) and Naumburg (GER) have presented their candidacies. The Council, which will be opened by IAAF President Dr Primo Nebiolo, will hear the reports of the General Secretary and Honorary Treasurer, before discussing other matter, including the reports of the medical and
anti-doping commissions.
At the close of the session, Council will draw the winners of the 1999 World Athletics Day, held in 156 countries around the world on 1-2 May. The 24 athletes (12 boys and 12 girls, representing the six IAAF Continental Areas) whose names are drawn, will be invited to attend the World Championships in Seville this summer

7 May 1999

After a moderately paced start in Rio on 25 April, the IAAF Grand Prix circuit is eastward bound, with the second Grand Prix meeting of the 1999 season taking plac e in Osaka on Saturday. Osaka has attracted a strong field, including Olympic champions Deon Hemmings (JAM), 400m hurdles; Allen Johnson (USA) - also world champion for the 110m hurdles; Fernanda Ribeiro (POR), 5000m and Jan Zelezny (CZE), javelin; and world champions -Hanne Haugland (NOR), high jump and Sarka Kasparkova (CZE) in the triple jump.
But of this panoply of stars, one will be expected to shine a little brighter than the others: Namibian Frankie Fredericks will be the focus of the crowd's attention, as he attempts to maintain his unbeaten record of the early season: "I started this season very well. I ran 19.92 in the 200m in Australia, I ran quite fast in the 100m (9.94 on 20 February) and I'm looking forward to the competition" said Fredericks, who ended his indoor season with gold in the 200m in Maebashi.
Fredericks is on excellent form for the early season in a demanding year, with the challenge of the IAAF Golden League and the world championships in Seville, ahead of him. He will be facing Obadele Thompson  (BAR) in Osaka, the only athlete likely to seriously challenge Fredericks in a field that includes Americans Kevin Little and Tim Montgomery, and Japan's star sprinter Koji Ito.
There is a strong US presence in the men's 110m hurdles, with Allen Johnson facing compatriots Reggie Torian, Mark Crear and Duane Ross,as well as Slovakia's Igor Kovac, while Kevin Young (USA), Samuel Matete (ZAM) and Morgan Dinsdale (JAM) will be doing battle over the low hurdles. James Beckford seems likely to dominate the men's long jump after his convincing win in Rio, but Kareem Streete-Thompson can be expected to challenge the Jamaican if he finds his form.
Osaka will also mark the return to competition of Olympic javelin champion Jan Zelezny, after a shoulder injury sidelined him for much of the 1998 season: "I started throwing the javelin again in January and have thrown 82 metres in practice. It's the longest so far, but competition is different and I am not feeling my best just yet," said Zelezny. The major women's events will be the triple jump, where reigning world champion Sarka Kasparkova, will face the '97 silver medallist Rodica Mateescu; and the women's 400m hurdles, where both Kim Batten - the world record holder from the USA makes her season debut against arch rival Deon Hemmings (JAM), the gold medallist in Atlanta 1996.

Results will be available live on the IAAF web site

7 May 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - USA's Chris Huffins is likely to be the star of the twelfth edition of the "Multistars" combined events meeting, which will take place at the "Tre Stelle" stadium in Desenzano, on the shores of the Lago di Garda near Brescia (Italy). It is interesting to note the name of the organising club: Club 10+7 where 10 stands for the ten events of the Decathlon and 7 those of the heptathlon.
The American, who arrived in Desenzano a few days ago, says that he is aiming for a score close to 8500 points, which would better the meeting's best performance of 8297 established by Robert Zmelik back in 1991. Before coming to Italy, Huffins launched his 1999 outdoor season by clearing 4.55m in the pole vault contest in Athens, Georgia just over a week ago.
But Multistars is also and above all the first stage of the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge which is made up of 14 competitions this year, including the meetings of Götzis (29-30 May), Ratingen (17-18 July) and Talence (18-19 September) but also the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Seville (21-29 August).
Huffins, who looked to be in the running for a medal in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi in March after clocking 6.67 in the 60m, decided to withdraw after some rather mediocre results in the other disciplines.
He had an excellent 1998 outdoor season, with two world class performances at the US Championships in New Orleans - where he established the 12th best performance all time with 8694 points  - and at the Goodwill Games in Uniondale, where he finished second to Dan O'Brien with 8576 points. His main rivals - who all have personal bests over 8000 points - will be Asian Champion Veretelnikov (UZB), 1995 Multistars winner Indrek Kaseorg (EST), 1998 winner Aleksandr Yurkov (UKR), Hungary's Munkacsi who won the Multistars in 1994, the Czech Republic's Ryba and American twins Dan and Darrin Steele.
In the heptathlon, Belarussia's Anzhela Atroshchenko and Taisia Dobrovitskaya whose personal bests exceed 6300 points look likely to be contesting the title in Desenzano, with Tiffany Lott (6211) as the outsider. Italians Gertrud Bacher and Karin Periginelli will try and gain a spot on the podium in front of the home crowd, the first having declared her intention of breaking the national record of 6135 points.

World Combined Events Challenge 1999
Technical Rules
General Principles
The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge is an annual event for Decathlon (Men) and Heptathlon (Women).

The scoring opportunities will be:

IAAF World Championships Sevilla, 20-29 August
Individual Meetings
· Hypo-Meeting in Götzis (AUT), 29/30 May - IAAF Permit
· Decastar in Talence (FRA), 18/19 September - IAAF Permit
· Desenzano (ITA), 15-16 May - IAAF Permit
· Alhama de Murcia (ESP), date tbc - IAAF Permit
Other international competitions

The following conditions must be respected so that the scoring can be taken into account:
i) a full automatic timing system must be in operation; ii) at least six doping controls, three for men and three for women shall
Ranking will be based on the addition of the best totals achieved by one
athlete in any three of the competitions listed under 2.1.

Prize money will be awarded as follows:-
1st US$ 30,000
2nd US$ 20,000
3rd US$ 15,000
4th US$ 10,000
5th US$ 8,000
6th US$ 7,000
7th US$ 6,000
8th US$ 5,000

May 4 1999

SEVILLE - Spain - The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, will officially inaugurate the new Olympic Stadium in Seville tomorrow evening together with the President of the IAAF, Dr Primo Nebiolo.

The stadium, which will host the 7th edition of the IAAF's World Championships in Athletics on August 20-29, is the first designed
specifically for this major event, and despite bad weather affectin  the final preparations, the facility will be ready for the sporting activities of tomorrow night. Over 38,000 tickets have already been sold and over 40,000 are expected to attend.

Following the wish of Dr Primo Nebiolo to find ways of linking track and field athletics and football, a friendly match will be played tomorrow night (kick-off at 21:45) between the national teams of Spain and Croatia - who finished third in last year's World Cup. Both teams are taking the match seriously - Spain are currently rebuilding an impressive young side while Croatia are keeping faith in stars like Davor Suker, the top scorer at the last World Cup who plays his club football with Real Madrid.

But before the match athletics will hold centre stage with two races for men and women over  the classic 1500 metres distance. Not surprisingly, Spain's best specialists were keen to christen the brand new track. In the men's race, the favourite will probably the talented young European champion for the distance, Reyes Estevez. But he will be challenged by Isaac Viciosa, the European 5000 metres champion, and Andres Diaz, who broke the European indoor record for 1500 metres this winter and won a bronze at the  orld
Indoor Championships in Maebashi. But the Spanish armada will have to fight off other world class talents like William Tanui, the  1992 Olympic 800 metres champion, steeplechase star John Kosgei (both Kenyans), and the Briton John Mayock, who memorably beat the best Spaniards in Valencia last year to win the European indoor 3000 metres title.

Among the women, the stars include the reigning World Champion at 1500 metres Carla Sacramento of Portugal and Kutre Dulecha, the Ethiopian who is the World Junior champion at the event. Kenya's Faith Matcharia is also in the field as are Spain's best representatives. They are headed by Mayte Zuñiga, Spanish record holder at 800 metres and 1500 metres, and Rocio Rodriguez, who broke the national indoor record this winter.

The women's race starts at 21:08 while the men will be action at 21:15.

30 April, 1999

MEZIDON - France - Poland's Robert Korzeniowski exudes confidence, as he looks forward to tomorrow's 20km race in this 19th edition of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup.

The 30-year-old reigning Olympic, World and European champion in the 50km walk has never won a World Cup event and he has his sights set firmly on changing that tomorrow, as he strides away from the start line in the little French town of Mézidon-Canon, in the heart of the Calvados region of Normandy.

Korzeniowski is no stranger to France. Since the early nineties, he has spent much of his time living and training in Tourcoing: "I came here at the start of the nineties," he says, in flawless English - one of the five languages he speaks. "In those days, France offered me a safe place to live and train and a promise of financial security, which was then impossible in Poland. Now that things have improved there, I spend much more time at home - where my wife (herself a former 400m runner) and I have a small business - and come to France to train during the winter months."

But the ties with France are still very strong: "Our daughter was born here and speaks French too. It is our second home and I have enjoyed competing on the inter-club circuit in France."

Why the 20km in Mézidon? "I can only really manage one 50km race a year. Two preparation periods for 50km in the year is too much for me. This year, I have been concentrating on the shorter distances and my times have been really good. After Mézidon, I will go back to training for the 50 km and Seville, where I will be defending my title and the same next year, for the
Olympics."

While Korzeniowski has decided to compete in the shorter race, the reigning 50km World Cup champion, Jesus Angel Garcia Bragado will face the "Condor of Ecuador": Jeferson Perez, who is making his début at 50km. "Perez is a bit of an unknown," said Garcia, during the IAAF press conference in Deauville. I am sure that he will put up a good performance, but I believe that the strongest challenge will come from Finland's Valentin Kononen (bronze medallist in the previous two World Cups and the 1995 world champion) and his compatriot Jani Lehtinen, who looks to be on very good form at the moment.

"One thing is sure: it is going to be a very tough and difficult race for us all ."

Preview of Men's 50 Kilometres

30 April 1999

So strong is the Mexican squad that Miguel Rodríguez, their number one last year, is the slowest of their team this year. Rodríguez was only sixth in the 50K race during the Mexican "Walking Week" held last month at altitude in Naucalpan. The race was won comfortably by Joel Sánchez in 3:49:51; he had not previously broken four hours. Second in that race was Carlos Mercenario, who looks set to add to his glittering record in World Race Walking Cups; he already has three won the 50K twice and 20K once, a  nique achievement. With three to score, it will take a lot to stop the Mexicans regaining the 50K trophy they lost in 1997.
Olympic 20K Champion Jefferson Pérez (ECU) has hopes of emulating  Mercenario's feat of wins at both World Cup distances. He won the 20K in 1987 and is entered for the 50K this year, but has not yet completed the distance competitively; he retired at 42K in his début at last year's Pan-American Cup in Miami.
In the absence of Robert Korzeniowski (POL), the European Challenge will be let by Budapest silver and bronze medallists Valentin Kononen (FIN), Andrey Plotnikov (RUS) along with defending champion Jesús Angel García (ESP). García, who won so impressively in Podebrady, is part of a useful Spanish squad including rising star Mikel Odriozola. None of the top Italians have raced of 50K this year but after staging a virtual dead-heat win over 30K in Naples, Giovanni De Benedictis and Giovanni Perricelli look to be their country's best hopes. Similarly the Russian 35K winter championship also provided a pointer. It was won by Yevgeniy Shmalyuk (23), who will be making his 50K début in the World Cup.
The world's fastest 50K time of 1999, 3:48:42, was set by Daniel Plaza when winning the Spanish Championships, but he has opted to contest the shorter distance in Mézidon.

Leading Contenders
Best at 50K
PÉREZ Jefferson (ECU) 1996 Olympic 20K Champion.  Ecuador's first Olympic medallist & the youngest ever Olympic walks Champion . 1997 World Cup 20K winner
GARCÍA Jesús Angel (ESP) 3:39:54 -97 1993 World 50K Champion & silver in 1997. 1997 World Cup 50K winner
ODRIOZOLA Mikel (ESP) 3:47:24 -98 4th in 1998 European 50K
KONONEN Valentin (FIN) 3:41:09-97 1995 World 50K Champion. Twice 7th in Olympic 50K. 1998 European 50K silver medal.
PERRICELLI Giovanni (ITA) 3:43:55-94 Italian 50K record holder. 1995 World silver & 1994 European bronze at 50K
FADEYEVS Aigars (LAT) 3:43:18-98 Reigning European under-23 20K Champion. former European Junior 10,000 Champion. 1998 European 20K silver
MERCENARIO Carlos (MEX) 3:42:03-91 Only man to win both World Cup 20K & 50K. twice Pan-American 50K Champion. 1992 Olympic 50K silver
RODRÍGUEZ Miguel (MEX) 3:42:45-97 1997 World 50K bronze. Top 10 finisher at past four World Cup 50Ks. Uncle was Mexican welterweight boxing champion in 1950s
SÁNCHEZ Joel (MEX) 3:49:51-99 16th in 1997 World 20K. winner of 50K during Mexican "Walking Week" 1999
PLOTNIKOV Andrey (RUS) 3:40:07-90 1998 European 50K bronze medal. Twice Russian 50K Champion. world's fastest
at 50K in 1998.

Preview of Women's 20 Kilometres

30 April 1999

Two women share the world 20K best time of 1:27:30 and both are among the entries for the first ever IAAF World Cup women's race at this distance. Nadezhda Ryashkina (RUS) and Liu Hongyu (CHN) both have good recent form.

Ryashkina, since 1990 the world track walk 10,000 record holder, comfortably won the 1999 Russian winter championships in Adler with her world best. This was by far the best 20K race of the year. Liu, who clocked her 1:27:30 in 1995, won the Asian Games 10,000 title at the end of last year.

Ryashkina and Liu are the best contenders on paper and their countries may well battle out the Eschborn trophy, where three women will comprise a scoring team. Russia have five of the six quickest women of the year, and besides Ryashkina have entered arguably the most successful woman race walker in history - Olympic Champion Yelena Nikolayeva, who was second in Adler.

Less is known about the current form of the Chinese squad, though it does include two former World Cup winners - Gao Hongmaio and Wang Yan.

Belarus, Hungary and Romania also have strong teams. Competing at a longer distance than usual is the reigning European Junior 5000 Champion Claudia Iovan (ROM), who set a new world indoor 3000 record this winter. At the other end of the experience scale comes multi-Australian Champion Kerry Saxby-Junna, now 38. Eleven years ago she became the first woman to walk 20 kilometres in less than 90 minutes, but is still a force in race walking. She tops the world rankings so far this year at 10K.

Leading Contenders

Best at 20K
SAXBY-JUNNA Kerry (AUS) 2-6-1961 - 1:29:40 -88 Former Commonwealth 10K & World Indoor 3000 Champion. 1987 World 10K silver medal. Total of 24 Australian walks titles
KARDOPOLTSEVA Olga (BLR) 20-11-1966 - 1:30:42 -90 Silvers in 1990 European 10K & 1997 World 10,000
SYBULSKAYA Valentina (BLR) 17-3-1968 - 1:32:25 -98 1997 World 10,000 bronze. born-Russia
GAO Hongmiao (CHN) 17-3-1974 1995 World Cup 10K winner. former Asian 10,000 Champion
LIU Hongyu (CHN) 1-12-1975 - 1:27:30 -95 Co-holder of world best for 20K. Reigning Asian 10,000 Champion. 4th in 1997 World 10K
ALFRIDI Erica (ITA) - 12-7-1967 - 1:28:13 -97 1998 European 10K silver medallist. formerly held European 20K best
FEITÓR Susana (POR) 28-1-1975 - 1:31:03 -98 Former World & European Junior 5000 Champion. 1998 European 10K bronze
IOVAN Claudia (ROM) 25-2-1978     - Reigning European Junior 5000 Champion. 1996 World Junior 5000 bronze . new world indoor 3000 record holder with 11:40.33 in Bucharest on January 23, 1999
FEDOSKINA Natalya (RUS) 25-6-1980 - 1:28:59 -99 New Russian under-23 20K Champion
NIKOLAYEVA Yelena (RUS) 1-2-1966 - 1:28:01 -99 1996 Olympic 10K Champion & silver in 1992. 1995 World 10,000 bronze. Holds
World road 10K best
 RYASHKINA Nadezhda (RUS) 22-1-1967 - 1:27:30 -99World 10,000 track walk record holder, set when winning 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle. Made great comeback in 1998. Equalled world 20K best in Adler on February 7, 1999

28 April 1999

The 19th edition of the IAAF World Cup of Race Walking, which will take place on a city-centre course in Mézidon (FRA) on 1-2 May, is a competition redolent of history. There is nothing strange in this, given that it is an event that exalts the tireless, rhythmic pace of walkers. Walkers are a special breed in the world of athletics: even more so than marathon runners, they are the adepts of silent fatigue and efforts that drain the body of every hidden ounce of energy. They are people with endless reserves of patience who, through their walking, remind us all of an ancient truth: man was made not for speed, but for walking. Walking is the fundamental exercise of all living beings, be they humans or animals, until some more pressing need - flight or the pursuit of prey - pushes them
increase their pace.
The walker epitomises calm in the face of the frenzies of modern life. When, in races which start on a track, we see them quitting the stadium to embark upon a road, with no end in sight, we can see how the whole body - following the impulses of the mind - adopts a posture of economy. Economy of movement and even of respiration, to avoid too much oxygen being supplied to the system and burning too rapidly those precious reserves of sugar. Walking is an art, an art that demands hours of daily practice and  ears of training. The development of style is as complex and difficult as the development of the driving force: the physiological qualities that make of the walker an example of extraordinary aerobic resistance.
Race walking is, above all, a question of endurance. Enduring the heat and the cold; the continual twisting of the intestines and stomach which induces pains like a malevolent hand screwing them into a ball. Resisting the insidious temptation to break into a trot and break the restrictive rigidity of the walking style, which often hits walkers.
The strict rules, which must be followed if disqualification is to be avoided, define the thin line of demarcation separating walking and running. It is easy to cross this line when the pace is fast, particularly over the shorter distances.
A major innovation will be introduced in Mézidon: women will walk for 20km, rather than 10km, as was previously the case. This is a radical change, which is intended to valorise the qualities of endurance, which are the real raison d'être of race walking.

When the discipline was first introduced at the Olympic Games, in Antwerp in
1920 (in fact, two walking races, 1500m and 3000m took place in Athens in 1906: but these are classified as "Intercalated Games", not official Olympics), victory went to Italy's Ugo Frigerio. The discipline's historians have no doubt that Frigerio was the greatest of all race walkers, both for the purity of his style and his ability to race over all distances. He won three gold medals (At Antwerp, in the 3000m and 10km and in Paris, in 1924, in the 10km) and then, in 1932 (when race walking was re-introduced to the Olympic programme, following its exclusion in 1928), he won a bronze medal in the 50km.
50km is considered the classic race walk. There is a tendency among new talent in the sport to turn towards this distance, like the 20km Olympic champion, Jefferson Perez of Ecuador, who will make his world debut at the distance in Mézidon. Meanwhile, the reigning Olympic and world champions over 50km, Poland's Robert Korzeniowski - who lives and trains in Tourcoing, not so very far from Mézidon - has decided to compete in the 20km race. This should all make for some interesting competition in this 19th World  up of Race Walking. In fact, the history of the competition itself is fascinating. Its origins date back to 1961, when a journalist and race walker from Ticino (SWI) - Armando Libotte - organised and founded the "Lugano Cup" (Coppa Lugano).
In fact, that Cup was a symbol of protest: protest against the Swiss decision, of 1956, not to participate in the Melbourne Olympics.  hat particular Olympics actually suffered two boycotts: one by Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon, against the Israeli control of the Suez Canal; the second, by Holland, Spain and Switzerland, in protest at the Russian suppression of the Hungarian uprising. However, in Switzerland, there were a large number of protests and the National Olympic Committee voted to participate: but it was too late for many athletes - among them the race walkers - to enter the Games.
It was the intention of the founder that the Lugano Cup be, above all, a team event: and so it has remained, even when the IAAF decided in 1983, t  give the event world championship status. The rules have remained unchanged since the beginning: five athletes may participate for each nation, with points from the best three athletes counting. In the beginning, and up until 1981, the Cup was a purely male affair, but after a trial in the 1979 edition, in Eschborn, the event was also opened to
women.
There is not a single one of the great race walkers of the past thirty years who has not participated in either the Lugano Cup or the IAAF World Cup of Race Walking. This is borne out by the list of past winners: from Ken Matthews, the last great English race walker (together with the Olympic 50km champion from Rome, Donald Thompson) to Abdom Pamich (ITA) in 1961; from Christoph Hohne (GDR) to Daniel Bautista (MEX); to the last two victors: Jefferson Perez in the 20km and Spain's Angel Jesus Garcia, in the    50km, in the excellent edition in Podebrady, in 1997, where Russia was victorious in both the men and women team events.

27 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - With hundreds of thousands of youngsters expected to participate in 156 countries around the world, the IAAF 1999 World Athletics Days - Towards Sevilla 99 - will undoubtedly be the largest mass participation sports event in the world this year.

The continued success of World Athletics Day can be measured by the enormous increase in the number of participants per country. In the first year, 1996, countries averaged between 50 and 100 participants whereas in 1999 many countries are estimating more than 1000 entries in their competitions (BHU 2140; BLR 1100; BOL 1000; BRA 2000 etc). Certain Member Federations such  s
Australia, Cook Islands, and Democratic Republic of Congo have organised several competitions to cover their large territories and  ive their younger athletes nation-wide the opportunity to participate.

In the three previous editions, 24 youngsters - 2 boys and 2 girls from each of the IAAF's six Continental Areas  - have won a trip to a major international athletics event: the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; the 1997 World Championships in Athens and the 1998 IAAF World Cup in Johannesburg. This year, the venue is Sevilla and the youngsters, drawn from among the winners of events organised by each of the participating National Federations, will be invited to follow the whole of the Championships as guests of the IAAF.

The competition has proven to be a great stimulus for young athletes everywhere. Past winners have included Harmon Harmon (1998) and Rob McNabb (1997) from the Cook Islands. Rob Mc Nabb couldn't accept the invitation in 1997: he was already representing his country in the Championships, aged just 19. Both athletes will be competing in this year's Oceania series of
Grand Prix meets.

1996 World Athletics Day winner Nathaniel Esprit (AHO) came fourth in the 100m final of the CAC Games in Venezuela on 16 August last year, clocking 10.49 and recorded 10.37 when he won his semi-final.

The names of the winners will be drawn during the meeting of the IAAF Council, which will be held in Seville on 19-20 May.

27 April 1999

MONACO - Monte-Carlo - The 19th edition of the IAAF World Racing Walking Cup - which takes place in Deauville-Mezidon (France) this weekend - is set to be the biggest ever. No fewer than 57 countries, a massive increase on the 45 who signed up for the previous edition, have entered teams for this showpiece event of the race walkers' calendar.
But as well as quantity, the World Race Walking Cup can boast quality too, with the world's elite all gathered in strength. Probably the most illustrious name is that of Robert Korzeniowski (Poland), the 50km specialist who won the 1996 Olympic title, the 1997 World Championship title and last year's European title as well. In Deauville-Mezidon, the Pole drops down to the 20km where he faces the challenge of last year's European Champion Ilya Markov (Russia) and Daniel Garcia (Mexico) who was 20km World Champion in Athens in 1997 and second behind Jefferson Perez in the World RW Cup two years ago. Perez, the Ecuadorian who  became the youngest ever Olympic walking champion after winning the 20km in Atlanta, will contest the 50km where he will be pushed hard by Finland's Valentin Kononen, the 1995 World Champion at 50km, Mexico's seasoned campaigner Carlos Mercenario  and Spain's Jesús Angel García, the defending champion. Angel Garcia, who won the World Championship 50km gold in 1993, will line up alongside his team mate Valentí Massana, who won the 20km gold in 1993 but has now "moved up." Another to do the same thing is 1995 20km World Champion Michele Didoni, who heads the Italian challenge. For the women, the innovation of 1999 is that they will compete over 20km rather than the traditional 10km. Among the leading contenders  are Hongmiao Gao (China), winner of the 10km at the last edition in Podebrady, and Italy's Annarita Sidoti, who was crowned World Champion in Athens '97. Australia are also fielding a strong team headed by Commonwealth champion Jane Saville and Kerry Saxby-Junna, who has set numerous world  ecords in a long career.

27 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The Congress of the African Amateur Athletics Confederation (AAAC), representing 53 nations of the African continent, ended today in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

At the close of the two days of meetings, the Confederation issued the following resolution approved unanimously by its members:
"The African Amateur Athletics Confederation in its Ordinary Congress meeting held in Abidjan on 26 and 27 April (...) conscious of  he important role played by President Nebiolo for the development of athletics in the world; decides to support the candidature of Dr Primo Nebiolo to the Presidency of the IAAF and asks the African Federations to support this candidature. Mandates its President to take all necessary initiatives within this respect, namely by undertaking contacts with his pairs from the other continents."

The election of the IAAF President will take place during the IAAF Congress in Seville on 18-19 August, on the eve of the 7th IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

27 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The International Amateur Athletics Federation has ratified two women's world indoor records established on 25 February at the Globen Galan indoor meeting in Stockholm:

1000m 2:30.94 Maria Lurdes MUTOLA MOZ Stockholm 25 Feb 99
Pole Vault 4.56m Nicole RIEGER-HUMBERT GER Stockholm 25 Feb 99

The previous records were: (1000m) 2:31.23 held by Mutola and (pole vault) 4.55m by Emma George (AUS).

26 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Arbitration Panel, composed by Christoph Vedder (GER - Chairman), Robert J. Ellicott (AUS) and Lin Koh Loh (SIN), yesterday deliberated in the matter of Mary Decker Slaney (USA), after reviewing the case presented by the parties during the hearings of 29-31 January, 1999 and 24 April, 1999.

The Arbitration Panel concluded that Mary Decker Slaney: "was guilty of a doping offence on 17 June 1996 and that the USATF's Doping Hearing Board decision of 16 September 1997 was erroneous. Accordingly the athlete became ineligible to compete for a minimum of two years from 17 June 1996....According to Rule 60 para.2 (a) (I)...Ms Mary Decker Slaney was therefore ineligible until 16 June 1998."

As a result of this decision, all results and awards that Mary Decker Slaney may have obtained in competition during her period of ineligibility are to be considered null and void.

The Arbitration Panel's decision is final and binding on all parties and on all Members of the IAAF, and no right of appeal will lie from the Arbitration Panel's decision, in accordance with Rule 21, para. 4 of the IAAF Constitution.

23 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO -Monaco - The 1999 Grand Prix I circuit gets underway to the sound of the Samba in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, 25 April and will also showcase the return to the throwing circle of reigning World and Olympic shot put champion Astrid Kumbernuss (GER). Kumbernuss missed the competition circuit last year, as she awaited the birth of her first child, Philip, born on 7 July, but has been back in serious training since October. "We planned it this way," said Kumbernuss when she announced her pregnancy. "1998 is not so important as the following years."This year Kumbernuss' focus is on the World Championships in Seville in August  and one of her strongest rivals, Connie Price Smith (USA), will also be in Rio on Sunday. Their showdown could be the prelude to an exciting series of encounters this season. In the men's 400m hurdles, 20-year-old rising star Angelo Taylor (USA) will face stiff competition from seasoned campaigners Samuel Matete from Zambia and Dinsdale Morgan (JAM). The American youngster was second in last year's IAAF outdoor lists and could pose a serious threat this year.World and Olympic Champion high
hurdler Allen Johnson (USA), will be doubling up in Rio by running in the 200m as well as the 110m hurdles, with only Duane Ross likely to threaten in Johnson's speciality event. In the 200m, Johnson, who clocked a best of 20.34 for the distance last year, looks outclassed by Chile's Sebastian Keitel, who had a great 1998 season, and will also be challenged by fellow US athlete Tony McCall and local star Claudinei da Silva.Look for some fireworks, too, in the women's triple jump, with a star field including world champion Sarka Kasparkova (CZE), Rodina Mateescu from Romania and Bulgarians Teresa Marinova and Maria Dimitrova. Rio is the first serious outing for all of them this season and competition will be fierce in an event which scores for the Grand Prix in 1999.
Results from Rio will be posted live on the IAAF web site and can be accessed through the 1999 IAAF Grand Prix link on the home page: http://www.iaaf.org

23 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco -The IAAF Grand Prix circuit this year includes the seven top meetings that comprise the IAAF Golden League, ten Grand Prix I meetings and eleven Grand Prix II meetings (competition started in Melbourne on 25 February). The Grand Prix season culminates in the Grand Prix Final, which will take place in Munich (GER) on 11 September.

Athletes will compete in the following events this year:
Men: 200m; 800m; 1500m; 3000m; 3000m Steeplechase; 110m hurdles; Long Jump,Pole Vault, Javelin Throw
Women: 200m; 800m; 1500m; 3000m; 400m Hurdles; High Jump; Triple Jump; Shot Put.

Points are scored on the following basis: Place Grand Prix Final Golden League Grand Prix I Grand Prix II
1st 24 12 8 5
2nd 21 10 7 4
3rd 18 9 6 3
4th 15 8 5 2
5th 12 7 4 1
6th 9 6 3
7th 6 5 2
8th 3 4 1

Points from the athlete's best 8 meetings (including record bonus points) will be used for the selection of athletes to compete in the Grand Prix Final and will count towards the Overall Grand Prix Score. Additional points for world record performances are awarded outside the Grand Prix Final, with six points for a world record mark and three points for equalling an existing world record. These additional points are only awarded once in a single event at a single meeting.

Victory in an individual event in the Grand Prix Final will bring the winner US$50,000; 2nd place, 30,000; 3rd place, 20,000; 4th, 10,000; 5th, 8,000; 6th, 7,000; 7th, 6,000 and 8th, 5,000. World record breakers in the Grand Prix Final will receive an award of $100,000. In addition, the winners of the Overall Grand Prix will receive: for 1st place, $200,000; 2nd, 100,000; 3rd, 50,000; 4th, 20,000; 5th, 15,000; 6th, 13,000; 7th, 12,000; 8th, 10,000. Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) was the men's overall Grand Prix Winner last year, Marion Jones (USA) won the women's overall Grand Prix.

20 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The Arabic Amateur Athletic Federation, which groups 21 National Federations in the Arab countries has announced its decision to nominate outgoing IAAF President, Dr Primo Nebiolo, for re-election for the period 1999-2003. This decision was taken during the Arab Amateur Athletic Federation Congress, held in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.

The AAAF comprises the following federations: Algeria; Bahrain, Comores; Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Mauritania; Morocco; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Somalia; Sudan; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

With four months still to go to the IAAF Congress, 126 of the 209 member federations of the IAAF have already pledged their support for the re-election of Dr Nebiolo. The election of the IAAF President will take place during the IAAF Congress, in Seville, Spain, on the eve of the World Championships in Athletics.

INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ATHLETIC FEDERATION

To: mr Dejan Nikolic
Race Director
Belgrade Stark marathon

The news that the 12th edition of the Belgrade Stark marathon will take place as planned on Saturday 17 April, is for myself and the whole world  athletics movement, a signal of hope and also of a profound belief in peace. The IAAF, within its modest capabilities, works every day, in co-operation with its 209 member federations, to ensure that youngsters may enjoy the right to practice sport.
Sport, as it is understood and promoted by our federation, is not just a matter of athletic prowess, but also a means of getting to know and respect others of differing ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious origins.
The Belgrade Marathon was born, like all of the other marathons in the world, with this ultimate aim. It is particularly significant, in this particularly serious situation, that this marathon has been dedicated to the memory of Fred Lebow.
Fred Lebow, who in his lifetime suffered the pain of persecution because of his Jewish origins and became a refugee in the United States, was an extraordinary organiser of marathons because he believed that these races were a means of promoting love amongst mankind. We share this deep conviction and have put it into operation in South Africa, Sarajevo and Belfast. May we also in the future be able to organise in Belgrade and in Pristina, athletics meetings that celebrate peace and the restoration of brotherhood among peoples who today live through suffering and separation.

Primo Nebiolo
IAAF President

16 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Some of the world's greatest road races will take place this weekend, in Europe and the United States:

In Milan, where five-time world cross country champion and owner of the world best performance in the half marathon, (59:17), Paul Tergat competes in the Stramilano;

In London, with Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa, the fastest man in the world over the distance with 2:06:05 will face Olympic champion Josiah Thugwane (RSA);

In Rotterdam, Tegla Loroupe from Kenya will try to better her own (and the world's) best performance of 2:20:47, which she set on the same course last year;

In Boston, where the world's oldest marathon on Monday will once again celebrate the United States revolt against English rule and over a million spectators are expected to watch Moses Tanui (KEN) attempt to repeat his success of last year.

But it is in Belgrade that, on account of the current, dramatic situation, something really exceptional will take place tomorrow: the 12th edition of the "Belgrade Stark Marathon". Athletes from the United States, Russia, Germany, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Greece and Yugoslavia will run the 42.195 metres of th  marathon course, with the aim of crossing the line together in around 3 hours 15 minutes.

The race will be re-dedicated to the memory of Fred Lebow, the founder of the New York Marathon, an American citizen of Romanian and Jewish origins, who responded to the persecution of his youth by becoming the promoter of humanitarian initiatives through sport.

There will be neither winners nor losers.  Nor will there be winners and losers in the 5km fun run, which will include some 100,000 citizens of Belgrade. So it is that running - a symbol of mankind's travail and mirror of life's sufferance and joys - will once again unite men and women, without exclusion.

In a wish to underline this meaning - the pursuit of peace and love between individuals and peoples through the exercise of an athletic activity - that IAAF President Primo Nebiolo yesterday sent a message to Bejan Nikolic, the organiser of the Belgrade Marathon.

Nebiolo wrote:  "The news that the 12th edition of the Belgrade Stark marathon will take place as planned on Saturday 17 April, is for myself and the whole world athletics movement, a signal of hope and also of a profound belief in peace.... Sport, as it is understood and promoted by our federation, is not just a matter of athletic prowess, but also a means of getting to know and respect others of differing ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious origins.... We share this deep conviction and have put it into operation in South Africa, Sarajevo and Belfast. May we also in the future be able to organise in Belgrade and in Pristina, athletics meetings that celebrate peace and the restoration of brotherhood among peoples who today live through suffering and separation.

13 April 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - To all written press journalists and photographers wishing to attend the 7th IAAF World Championships in Athletics to be held in Seville, 20th to 29th August 1999.

The deadline for Media Accreditation for Sevilla '99 being 15 April, only three days remain to return accreditation forms to the Local Organising Committee.

As for all World Athletics Series events, accreditation forms for written press and photographers should be obtained through your National Federation.

Please be aware that a quota system is in place for the World Championships and only original forms will be accepted.

13 April, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The International Amateur Athletics Federation has officially ratified the following World Indoor Records, set during the 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan:

Indoor Women: 4x400m 3:24.25 CHEBYKINA Tayana; GONCHARENKO Svetlana; KOTLYAROVA Olga; NAZAROVA Natalya RUS Maebashi 7 March 1999

Previously 3;26.84, set by Russia on 9 March 1997, during the 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Paris

Indoor Men: 4x400m 3:02.83 MORRIS Andre; JOHNSON Dameon; MINOR Deon; CAMPBELL Milton USA Maebashi 7 March 1999

Previously 3:03.05, set by Germany on 10 March 1991, during the 3rd IAAF World Indoor Championships in Seville.

April 9, 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF has recently learned, through various press agency and newspaper reports, that a draft timetable for the athletics programme at the Sydney Olympics next years has been circulated. The IAAF would point out that the technical organisation of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games is its responsibility and, accordingly, the relevant timetable has to be approved by the IAAF Council.Insofar as the criteria used for establishing this timetable are concerned, the IAAF will employ the same technical principles already applied with great success during the World Championships in Athens '97, which will also be used next August for the forthcoming 7th World Championships in Athletics in Seville.

April 9 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The International Amateur Athletic Federation has officially ratified the following indoor world records:

Men
5000m 12:50.38 Haile Gebrselassie ETH Birmingham 14 Feb 99
Women 4x200m Relay 1:32.55 LG Olympia Dortmund (Ester Möller, Gabi Rockmeier, Birgit Rockmeier, Andrea Phillipp) GER Karlsruhe 21 Feb 99
5000m 14:47.35 Gabriela Szabo ROM Dortmund 13 Feb 99
3000m walk 11:40.33 Claudia Iovan ROM Bucarest 30 Jan 99
The previous records were, respectively: 12:51.48 by Daniel Komen (KEN) in Stockholm on 19 February 1998; 1:32.55, set by SC Eintracht Hamm at Dortmund on 20 February 1988; 15:03.17 by Liz McColgan (GBR) in Birmingham on 22 February 1992 and 11:44.00 by Alina Ivanova (EUN) in Moscow on 7 February 1992.

30 March 1999

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF  has given back Grand Prix status to Britain's two top summer events. The move followed meetings last week between IAAF President Dr Primo Nebiolo and David Hemery and David Moorcroft of UK Athletics.
The Sheffield meeting on August 7 is restored as a Grand Prix I fixture while the meeting in Gateshead, on June 27, is a Grand Prix II.

In a hand-delivered letter to Hemery, Nebiolo said: “I do recognise the extraordinary circumstances which athletics faced in the UK last year and I have tried to offer my personal support. We believe Great Britain does deserve some exceptional consideration in this case.”
Hemery welcomed the news, saying: “This is a great boost for the sport in Britain and I am delighted that Dr Nebiolo has s hown consideration to athletics in this country at such a critical time.”

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