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World Athletics Final From Greece, September 12-13 *Startlist/Results *Watch Live Sat/Sun 11:15am Eastern *Sat: Bekele Goes For 3k Win Against Speedsters Lagat, Mekonnen and Kipchoge

• American Distance Runners Entered In The World Athletics Final
• IAAF Releases Pre-Race Quotes From Worlds
• World Athletics Final Distance Preview
• WAthletics Final Jumps Preview *Throws *Hurdles

LRC LetsRun.com's Race Of The Weekend: Fortis Rotterdam Half Marathon Half marathon WR holder Sammy Wanjiru returns to the roads against brash phenom Sammy Kitwara. Each 22 years old, they will be joined by fellow youngster Tilahun Regassa of Ethiopia and 2:04:27 marathoner James Kwambai in what might be the best half marathon ever seen. Get a feel for the new generation of African road racing stars with our preview, stats and videos.

Nike Tempo Running Shorts Only $19.99

Brief Chat With Colleen DeReuck Former South African citizen Colleen DeReuck just won a US championship over 20k at the age of 45.

*Forest Braden Named Distance Coach At UCLA
*Johnny Gray Coaching Distance At UCLA Both former runners seem to be good hires for the program looking to rebuild.

Usain Bolt Pulls Out Of Asian Meets Citing Fatigue He's going to miss out on at least $750,000 in appearance fees alone as Daegu had reportedly offered him a half a million and Shanghai was surely paying at least his minimum of a quarter million. Your last chance to see him compete this year will be in Greece this weekend in the 200m.

Good Article On Fantastic British Miler Lisa Dobriskey Where She Discusses Semenya, Drug Cheats, And Her Path To London 2012

W Pole Vault: One Great Retires While Another Keeps Chugging

• Event Pioneer, Olympic Champion Stacy Dragila Retires At Age 38 After Another Competitive Year
• Yelena Isinbayeva And Her 27 World Records Wish She Had Competition

*Brett Gotcher's First USA Title Means A Ton To Him And His Coach Greg McMillan
*Dr. Ross Tucker Returns And Offers Intelligent Analysis Of Caster Semanya Situation *London's Telegraph Describes Caster Semenya By The Numbers
*ESPN Hoping To Purchase Olympic TV Rights And Have Much More Live Coverage Once ESPN bought the rights to the MLS and Champions League they started treating soccer like a real sport. Perhaps they will do the same with track.

LRC The Week That Was - Week 36 - For the 2nd-straight week, an American broke 13:00-flat in the 5k (isn't it fun to write that?), for the first time in a long time someone almost broke 1:42.00, and Anna Willard staked her claim to the #1 US ranking at 800 meters. Plus, the Golden League concluded with great runs by Bekele, Richards and Bolt, while the Caster Semenya story got crazier and crazier.

Kenyan News
*Brother Colm O'Connell Says David Rudisha Can Break Kipketer's 800m Record And he should know considering he's coached so many of their great runners at St. Patrick's.
*Kenyan Press Blasts Some Kenyan Runners For Not Talking To The Kenyan Press With the exception of Kiprop after his disasters generally the problem is hardly anyone bothers to interview them. By and large were willing to talk to LetsRun.com! Janeth Jepkosgei here, Asbel Kiprop here, and of course a hilarious Ezekiel Kemboi here. (In our week that was we surmised why David Rudisha went out in the semis at Worlds. Then we found out Wejo talked to him here)
*Kenyans Concerned With Athletes Defecting (Smuggled?) To Qatar And Bahrain

LRC Recap: Bolt Does It Again In Brussels

Track & Field First? Bolt Reportedly Receiving US $500,000 To Race In Daegu, South Korea We understand paying a top marathoner a half a mil to run twice a year, but this is rarified air for a 10-second race. Daegu is hosting the 2011 World Championships (we can't get over what a bad idea that is), so the more excitement he brings, the better.

LRC Ritz Speaks USATF held a teleconference with Dathan Ritzenhein Tuesday afternoon and we quickly give you the highlights. We tell you what Ritz had to say about new coach Alberto Salazar and what event Ritz will focus on for 2012. Plus we tell you what Ritz's next race will be. Is an American 10k record run a possibility?

Ian O'Riordan Column: "Berlin restored a lot of people's faith and interest in the sport ..." But will it all go to waste?

LRC: Dathan Ritzenhein Breaks Bob Kennedy's American 5,000m Record In Zürich Amazed? So are we.

Peter Kamais Runs 27:09 To Win Tilburg 10k In The Netherlands!

London: *Cheruiyot Over Masai - Paula's Record Stands In Hyde Park 5k

US: *Elite New Haven 20k Entrants New Haven is on Monday, Labor Day. The men's field seems to be deep and even, the women's field is led by returning champion Jill Swope (Steffens) and Magdalena Boulet. *3 Team USA Minnesota Runners Head To New Haven *Elva Dryer Interview *2008 New Haven Results

A War Over Internal Testes: South African Sports Minister Threatens World War 3 If Semenya Is Banned Absolutely ridiculous statements pour out of South Africa as political and athletic officials ignore evidence and try to incite public anger.
*Must Read/Hear If You Want The True Story: The 2 Most Informed Members Of The Media Discuss What They Know About Semenya Ross Tucker of Science of Sport (based in South Africa) points us to an audio interview done with news breaker Mike Hurst of The Daily Telegraph. (click on "audio")
*South African Fortress Around Semenya Could Get Her Banned Regardless Of Tests
*IAAF Officially Comments On Leaked News Nick Davies, IAAF spokesman: "ASA's actions can have serious consequences for Semenya if we are not able to speak to her soon. In short, it will come down to her refusing to co-operate. Had it been a drugs issue, she would have been suspended a long time ago, but this is a unique problem for which the IAAF's rules do not make provision. It is important for us to talk to her about the results of the tests.''

LetsRun.com Being Ripped Off In The British Tabloids

The Sun is using a LetsRun.com video of Caster Semenya without attribution.

IAAF Source Leak: Semenya Is A Hermaphrodite And Will Be Banned The IAAF believe they have evidence to strip world 800m gold medalist Caster Semenya of her medal and bar her from competing but must act carefully to avoid PR backlash. Author Mike Hurst of Sydney, Australia's The Daily Telegraph has been all over the Semenya controversy and is a journalist we really respect. He managed to get an anonymous IAAF source to admit that the IAAF "is ready to disqualify Semenya from future events and advise her to have immediate surgery because her condition carries grave health risks. They have also not ruled out stripping Semenya of her 800m World Championships gold medal."
*Based In South Africa, Ross Tucker, PhD Gives His Response
*IAAF Source: Semenya Tests Show She/He Is A Hermaphrodite, Has No Ovaries Or Womb

6 Quotes From Runners, Coaches, Executives And Scientists From Around The World

1. "Our DNA is different than [NBC's]. We serve sports fans. It's hard in our culture to fathom tape-delaying in the same way they have." John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president for content, on why ESPN will do a better job televising the 2014 and 2016 Olympics should their bid win.

2. "You have to understand that most of our athletes live at or below the poverty level. A lot of people don't know that, but distance runners coming out of college, most of them are pretty poor. So when they can have a day like Brett had today, that changes their world." - Greg McMillan, coach of McMillan Elite, talking about new US champion Brett Gotcher's first US win in New Haven and the impact of the $8,000 paycheck.

3. "The most important thing is putting in the work on every given day. If you can put that together then you shouldn’t be afraid on the starting line. I really don't believe in fear; I believe in putting in the work. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control. Those things you should use to learn from and grow from." - American marathon record holder Deena Kastor speaking one week after her New York City Half Marathon disaster. Deena says she may surprise people and win in Chicago if everything goes perfectly.

4. "Doubt is unhealthy for all concerned - it means the benefit of doubt should go to Semenya (quite rightly), but it leaves a lot of scope for future controversy. For Semenya's rivals, many of whom are already highly suspicious if not straight-out convinced of her ineligibility, it means their doubts remain or even grow." - Ross Tucker, PhD, co-author of Science Of Sport writing about the latest Caster Semenya news reports and rumors.

5. "My wife has helped me a lot in my career. She gives me psychological and morale support. Sometimes you need to be told that you are the best in the world and that no one will beat you. She has been there for me and given me the support when I have been down." Kenenisa Bekele thanks his wife Danawit Gebregziabher as another unbelievable season comes to a close for the Ethiopian.

6. "In my opinion, I don't feel there is a need for all of that [USATF relay technical meetings and rules]. What happened happened, and it brings these questions, without a doubt ... We shouldn't be having technical meetings or whatever. We're all adults. We've all done this before. We've just gotten it wrong on the wrong day. I think we're so deep into the negative right now that it won't be a positive if we win the next 10 in a row. Even if we win in 2011 it will be, 'Oh they got it right, but let's wait and see what happens next year.'" - Veteran US sprinter Darvis "Doc" Patton talking about the US relay DQ and why USATF technical meetings aren't going to help anything.

Paula Radcliffe To Run World Half Marathon Paula R, the women's marathon WR setter at an amazing 2:15, will suit up for Great Britain on her home soil in Birmingham. The race is October 11 and also will feature Dathan Ritzenhein of the US.

Recommended Read: Addis Fortune Magazine Takes A Close Look At Kenenisa Bekele's Monetary Earnings This is a really fascinating article as it gives you an idea of how money inspires Bekele and the huge monetary difference between being the world's best distance runner and the world's best golfer (or even the world's best sprinter).

Caster Semenya Results Are In ...

*Too Close To Call: Semenya Results Must Be Given To Independent Agency For Further Investigation We say "tie goes to the runner" and leave her alone.
*Awesome Semenya Quote: "God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself." Of course, this quote goes along with a fashion "makeover" for the biggest English language magazine in Africa, but we don't blame her for cashing in on her celebrity.
*IAAF: "No Matter What The Gender Results Say, Semenya Can Keep Her Medal."
New: Caster Semenya's YOU Homepage Makeover Photos
*Excellent Journalist Mike Hurst Weighs In On Caster Semenya's Coach And Doping Past

David Rudisha Sets African Record 1:42.01 800m In Rieti! 20-year-old Kenyan leads three men under 1:43 and now sits behind only Wilson Kipketer, Seb Coe and Joaquim Cruz on the all-time 800m list.
*David Rudisha, Son Of Olympic 4 x 400m Medalist Daniel Rudisha, Surprises With 1:42.01 The Nation - Kenya
*Boards: Leo Manzano Pr's Again - All 3's 3:33.33
*Results