Russian Team Escapes Blanket Ban From IOC For Rio Games Instead, the 28 individual sports federations that make up the summer Games will make their own decisions. On the positive note, Russia won’t be able to enter any athletes that have ever been sanctioned and those who do compete will have to pass stricter analysis of their anti-doping record. *Discuss

*More Bad News: IOC Decided Against Allowing Yuliya Stepanova To Compete As A Neutral Athlete In Rio This is a huge mistake if the IOC wants to encourage future whistleblowers to come forward. Although some would argue that’s exactly what they don’t want. Yelena Isinbayeva is quoted as saying Stepanova should be ”banned for life.”

American Track League Houston *Results

LRC Clayton Murphy Versus Centro Lives Up To The Hype, De Grasse Defeats Powell & Gives The Stare, Prandini Gets The Double Centro and Murphy both brought it in the 1,000m and Murphy was too good and got the win. Ajee Wilson won the 800.

LRC Sandi Morris Breaks The American Record In The Pole Vault Video

2016 World Junior (U20) Championships *Live Results, Schedule, Start Lists *Streaming And Radio

• Ethiopia’s Kalkidan Fentie Gets Upset Victory In Women’s 5,000 (15:29) Coming in, Fentie had one of the slowest PRs in the field with only a 16:26 to her name. US’s Anna Rohrer was 11th (15:49).
• Ethiopia’s Selmon Barega Gets 13:21 Victory In Men’s 5,000 Djibouti’s Dijamal Direh lost in a sprint finish only .29 back.
• USATF: Dakin Volz Gets Surprise Win In Men’s Pole Vault As USA Sweeps Men’s And Women’s 4 X 100 Gold Maybe the youngsters can teach the senior Olympic team something about good handoffs?
• IAAF Saturday Recap: Neeraj Chopra Smashes World U20 Javelin Record With 86.48m Taylor McLaughlin – older brother of high school Olympian Sydney – got silver in the 400H behind Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde. Kipyegon Bett ran the fastest 800 semis with 1:46.37 as USA’s Brian Bell was the last man into the final.
• IAAF Saturday AM Recap

Random But Interesting

Previous London Diamond League News

• Mo Farah Hasn’t Been Satisfied With His Races; Expects Double Gold In Rio Will Be Tougher Than London 2012 “People always think Mo is going to double up … It ain’t going to be that easy. The Kenyans aren’t going to make it easy.”
• Farah Is A Die-Hard Arsenal Fan And Said It Will Be Tough To Run In The Olympic Stadium Clad With West Ham United Colors
• Usain Bolt Hits Back At Justin Gatlin, Who Accused Him Of Getting Preferential Treatment When He Got A Medical Exemption To Miss The Jamaican Trials Bolt: “For me I felt it was a joke – I felt it was a disrespect they think I’d back out of a trials. … I was disappointed, especially in Justin Gatlin.”
• Laura Muir Says Breaking Kelly Holmes’ Record Will Always Be One Of Best Achievements “It’s not just any record, it’s Kelly Holmes’ Olympic gold medal record.”
• RunBlogRun: Agony, And Now, Ecstasy For Keni Harrison Harrison said the thought of breaking the WR was “the only thing that kept” her going after not making the Olympics.
  *Harrison Teleconference Quotes She wants to possibly do the 100H/400H double at Worlds next year.
• The Guardian’s Owen Gibson: “Dark Clouds Hang Over Anniversary Games As Bad News Keeps Pouring In” Gibson writes “attempts of positivity at the Olympic Stadium feel forced as the hangover from London 2012 kicks in hard.”
• IAAF: Usain Bolt Blasts Back To Fitness In London Bolt said he’s not “fully in shape” and didn’t think he “executed well.”
• IAAF: Keni Harrison Says She Wanted To “Come Out Here With A Vengeance” After Not Making The Olympics
• LRC London DL Preview:  Saturday: Mo Farah Vs. Bernard Lagat In 5K

Previous 2016 World Junior (U20) Championships

LRC What A Day For High School Sprint Stars: Michael Norman Wins World Juniors 200m And Lyles Brothers Turn Pro Noah Lyles gets all the attention but his younger brother has better range. Video of Norman’s run.

• Kenya’s Caroline Chepteek Chespol Breaks Steeplechase Championship Record And World Under-18 Best With 9:25.15 Victory She destroyed the field winning by about 9 seconds.
• IAAF: USA’s Michael Norman And Anna Cockrell Impress Cockrell dominated the 400H running 55.20. Qatar’s Abdalelah Haroun smoked the field in the 400 with 44.81 victory. *USATF
• Morning Qualifying: Alexa Efraimson And Christina Aragon Both Advance To 1,500m Final USA got one to the men’s 800 semi with Brian Bell as Kenya’s World Youth champ Willy Tarbei ran the fastest time of the day (1:48.95).
• SPIKES Picks Their Highlights From The World U20 Champs So Far The diving finish in the men’s 1,500 tops their list.

More Sprint Stuff

• Q&A With South Africa’s 9.89 Man Akani Simbine Simbine shocked himself when he ran a .07 PR to take down Asafa Powell earlier this week.
• The Telegraph Complies Some Of Usain Bolt’s Best Quotes Bolt once said, “When I’m at the gym, I think about chicks, going to the beach, and looking good. I do it for the girls.”
  *“Adjectives Are Inadequate”: A Look Back At Some Of The Best Usain Bolt Racing Commentaries
• USA’s Allen Woodard Sets Masters (45-49) World 400m Best With 49.32 At 47, Woodard is the oldest man to dip under the 50-second barrier.
• Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare May Drop Long Jump Or 200 In Rio She is listed for the 100, 200 and LJ, but the LJ and 200 start the same day.

Good And Bad Olympic News

• The Bad: Brazilians Arrest 10 Members Of Islamist Militant Group That Was Planning Olympic Terrorism
• The Good: Collins And St. Kitts & Nevis Kiss And Make Up: At The Age Of 40(!), Sprinter Kim Collins Will Compete At His 5th Olympics
• Is Cornell Alum (’15) Stephen Mozia Now A Rio Medal Contender In SP After Massive 3-Foot PR?
• 40-Year-Old Scott Westcott – Finally Realizes His Olympic Dream At Age 40 He’s in the marathon for Australia.
• Jamaican Press Fondly Remember The Career Of The Jamaican-Born Sanya Richards-Ross “Of all the Jamaicans who have competed for other countries in sport, Sanya Richards-Ross is perhaps the one received most warmly by those who wear black, green and gold in their hearts.”

Mary Decker And Zola Budd Are In The News

• A Review Of The New Book – “Olympic Collision: The Story Of Mary Decker And Zola Budd” You can pre-order the book, which the review highly recommends, here.
• Another Review Recommends “The Fall” – A Documentary Film About Budd/Slaney “An intriguing look at the ugly, inglorious side to the Olympics.”

Distance News And Questions

• Kevin Sully’s Looming Questions For Rio: 1) Will Genzebe Dibaba Run? 2) How Good Will Bolt Be? 3) What Stories Will NBC Focus On?
• Jenny Simpson Wants To Meet Gregg Popovich As Her Dad Often Used Pop’s Quotes To Remind Her To Train Smart
• Mo Farah Says It’s Hard To Leave His Kids For 6 Months Of The Year But That’s What It Takes To Be The Best Distance Runner In The World

The Kenyans Are Talking Big Yet Again

• Eunice Sum Isn’t Handing Gold Medal To Caster Semenya As She Knows From Her Own Experience Last Year That The Favorites Often Lose The 800 Sum also said she’s raced less than in the past to make sure she’s not burned out in Rio.
• “Pastor” Paul Tanui Says Kenyan 10k Team Isn’t Conceding Gold Medal To Farah “I have no fear, when I enter the track I always believe in myself. We are aware he (Farah) is working very hard to defend his Olympic title, but we are not playing second fiddle to him.”
• Wesley Korir Says Kenyans Have Two Goals In Rio – 1) Win Gold 2) Prove They Are Clean Sorry, Wesley, you can’t prove you are clean at a competition. It’s the out-of-competition tests that count.
• Viola Lagat – Bernard’s Brother – Happy To Be Going To Olympics For Kenya As Her Brother Goes For USA

Previous Russian Doping Updates

• IOC Delays Decision On Whether Or Not To Ban Russia From Rio As They Seek Legal Advice The final decision will wait until at least Thursday when CAS makes their decision on Russian track atheltes.
• Liliya Shobukhova Ordered To Pay Back About $500,000 To London Marathon For Cheated Prize Money It will be difficult to go after her in Russia, but London says they are determined.
• Dick Pound Says IOC Is “Very Reluctant” To Ban Russia From Rio Pound says it’s time for Russia to “take a vacation” and that he has a hard time believing anyone at the top of that system is clean.
• Yelena Isinbayeva “Optimistic” About Russian Success At CAS Appeal Isinbayeva “made a speech” at the hearing and said she is “hoping for the best.”
  *Seb Coe Traveled To Switzerland To Be There In Person
• Who Is Richard McLaren? Some quick facts on the Canadian lawyer who might go down as the one who kept Russia out of Rio.
• Canadian News Source Does Q&A With Richard McLaren
• The Telegraph: “IOC Humiliates Vladimir Putin With Order To Re-Test Every Sochi Sample”
• Kremlin Tells Russian Athletes To Get Ready For Rio Despite Possible Ban Vitaly Mutko was stubborn as ever as he said, “… there are not and cannot be accusations against me” … even though there are. *2nd Article
• Sean Ingle: “After The McLaren Report should Russia still have the World Cup?” They are supposed to host in 2018.
• Putin Spokesperson Says Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko Hasn’t Been Suspended Because He Wasn’t Directly “Mentioned As A Perpetrator” McLaren’s report said it was “inconceivable” that Mutko wasn’t aware of the doping program, but it is deputy Yuri Nagornykh who has been suspended.
• The Guardian‘s David Goldblatt: “Why the IOC’s love of inclusion must be sacrificed.”
• FIFA Asks WADA For Complete Details On Russian Soccer Cases Referenced In McLaren Report *2nd Article

News From Europe

• Renaud Lavillenie Bounces Back From No-Heighting At Euro Champs To Clear 5.96m In France His brother Valentin was 2nd in 5.60m.
• CAS Rejects Italian Racewalker Alex Schwazer’s Request To Lift Provisional Ban CAS said they will review his case as soon as possible, but for now he is still banned. Hopefully one less doper for Rio.
• Provisional Entry Lists For This Weekend’s London Diamond League Meet
• Dina Asher-Smith To Have Achieved Her Dream Of Becoming An Olympian After Being A Worker At The 2012 London Games She’ll continue with her Rio prep at the London DL meet this weekend.
• Former Olympic Champ Denise Lewis Says “Betting Against Jessica Ennis In Rio Is Foolish” Lewis talks at length about her own career, calls Ennis “the complete heptathlete” and backs Russia’s ban from Rio.
• Rome Mayor Says She Will Wait Until October To Make Decision On Whether Or Not To Back Bid For 2024 Olympics She has been very outspoken against Rome bidding.

Russian Doping Scandal: WADA Calls For International Russian Ban *PDF Of Richard McLaren’s Full Report

• Washington Post: WADA Recommends Banning Russia From Olympics After Investigation Reveals Far-Reaching Doping Program The latest report by Richard McLaren found “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the Russian government ran a widespread doping system for years in multiple summer and winter Olympic sports with hundreds of elites positive doping results covered up, some with help from the FSB (successor of the KGB). *Full WADA Statement
• Here Are The Key Points From Richard McLaren’s Russian Doping Report A rundown of the most important info that came out of the 97-page report.
  *Full 97-Page Report By Richard McLaren
• *The Guardian: Five Things We Learned From WADA’s Report Russian doping cover-ups go back to at least 2010 when Russia sought to improve on their “abysmal” Winter Games medal tally. 577 athlete profiles were cover-up including 139 from track and field. *The Telegraph *BBC
• IAAF Statement The IAAF will seek further info on the 139 track cases mentioned in the report.
• IOC Promises “The Toughest Sanctions Available;” Will Have A Telephone Conference Today Will they have the guts to ban Russia? Will Thomas Bach go against his long-time friend Putin?
• CAS Hearing For Russian Track Athletes Is Today With Verdict Expect Thursday
• Russian President Vladimir Putin Issues Statement Putin called the WADA report “a dangerous relapse of politics’ interference into sports.”
  *Putin Says Olympic Movement On “Verge Of Splitting” As Of Results Of McLaren Report So Russia and not-Russia?
• WADA Calls For Russians In Rio Only As An “Exceptional Entry” With “Strict Criteria” And Under A Neutral Flag WADA also wants Russian government officials denied access to international competitions including Rio.
• Russian State-Owned Sport Channel Airing Documentary Claiming Russian Athletes Are Victims Of A Political Smear Campaign As you would expect, based on the review, the film is laughably inaccurate. Includes an interview with banned 800 runner Ekaterina Poistogova crying through tears about her suspension and blaming it for her divorce.
• McLaren Says Russia Used A “Disappearing Positive Methodology”
• The Telegraph‘s Olvier Brown: “Russia committed the ultimate crime, and now they must face the ultimate punishment.”

Non-Russian Doping News

• Agent Federico Rosa And Coach Claudio Berardelli Appeared In Court Yesterday In Connection With Rita Jeptoo’s Doping Rosa was released on bail. Interestingly, former doper Mathew Kisorio has claimed that he was “pressurized by some people to falsely incriminate” Rosa.
• 2:25 Lithuanian Marathoner Zivile Balciunaite Gets 8-Year Doping Ban Balciunate won Euro gold in 2010, but was stripped of the medal after testing positive for testosterone and EPO. We don’t know why this is an 8-year ban instead of life.
• Ethiopian Marathoners Sentayehu Merga (2:09) And Taemo Shumye (2:34) Get Drug Bans WADA and the IAAF are also investigating 4 other Ethiopians.

The Real Winners From The Trials

LRCMeet The $200,016 Running Warehouse Trials Prediction Contest Winners And Proof LetsRun.com Is As American As Apple Pie

Weekend Results *Padua *Heusden *NACAC U23 Champs (link fixed)

• Eric Avila And Amanda Eccleston Get American 1,500 Sweep At Atletica Mondiale Meeting In Padua, Italy
  Avila won in a 3:36.37 PR ahead of Kyle Merber and Johnny Gregorek while Eccleston won in 4:04.88 ahead of Heather Kampf. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the 100 in 11.25. *Results
  *MB: ERIC AVILA IS BACK BABY – 3:36.37!!!
  *MB: Cristian Sorotos runs 3:44 in Europe
• Results 2016 KBC Night Of Athletics In Heusden, Belgium Ayanleh Souleiman won the 1,500 in 3:31.68 with Ryan Hill 7th (3:35.38), Albert Rop dominated the 5K in 13:09.98, and Kenya’s Timothy Kitum won the 800 (1:45.43) as Charles Jock was 10th (1:48.23).
  *MB: Ryan Hill runs 3:35 in Hesuden
  *MB: Charles Jock- 1:48 (DFL) in Heusden
• MB: Mary Cain Finishes 2nd In 2016 NACAC Under-23 Championships 1,500
  *Live Meet Results NCAA indoor mile champ Henry Wynne won the 1,500 as Thomas Awad was 3rd.
• European Youth Championships Recap: Alina Shukh’s World Under-18 Heptathlon Best Highlights
• Next Week: Provisional Entry Lists For World Under-20 Championships

Usain Bolt Gets Cover Of Sports Illustrated

Great Read On Usain Bolt In Sports Illustrated Tim Layden once again showing why he’s the best track writer in America. It’s two straight SI covers for Tim as he also had the Caitlyn Jenner cover article.
*Be Like Jon Gault, Read SI Cover-To-Cover Each Week For Under $1 A Week And support LRC – we get a small commission if you sign up.

GB News: UK Athletics Crushing Dreams

Latest Report On Russian Doping Comes Out Tomorrow

MB: USATF Women’s Track And Field Chairman Sue Humphrey Suspended A USATF statement stated it was “for repeated violations of USATF policies and procedures regarding credentialing at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.”

African Discus Champ Victor Hogan Dropped From South Africa Olympic Team After Getting 2-Year Drug Ban

USATF Sending 80 Athletes To World Under-20 (Junior) Championships
*List Of Collegians On Team USA For IAAF U20 Champs

Doping: Aden Updates; Rosa Charged In Kenya

• Jama Aden Speaks: In An Exclusive Interview, Aden Tries To Explain Away His Recent Arrest And Doping Accusations Aden denies everything, saying that drugs were found in someone else’s room, not his, and that the needles he through away were for his own use. However, with statements like, “There is no way in the world you can get away with cheating if you have a high level athlete,” it’s hard to take anything he says seriously.
  *Genzebe Dibaba Ran 3:59.83 In A Low Key Spikeless 1,500 In Barcelona Last Week Ayanleh Souleiman also ran 1:44.06 in the 800.
  *MB: Jama Aden Interview after arrest
• Italian Agent Federico Rosa Charged With Six Counts Of Doping Athletes, Including Rita Jeptoo Rosa manages many top Kenyans (Asbel Kiprop and London Marathon champ Jemima Sumgong among others), and was charged with doping Rita Jeptoo. No word on what evidence they have. This could be big, but we’ll have to see as the Kenyans do like to blame foreign agents for their doping problems, but this is the first agent charged that we know of. *Discuss
• Italian Racewalking Doper Alex Schwazer Has Gone To The Police To Try And Prove He Was Sabotaged In His Latest Doping Positive People would be more likely to buy his story if he hadn’t already doped his way to an Olympic gold medal.