Klüft, Sanna Kallur Among Jerringpriset Finalists

Story written by EPelle

Two athletics competitors have made the final cut for tomorrow's Jerringspriset - a prestigious annual Swedish award sponsored by Sveriges Radio which honours our nation's best sports performance of the year.

Susanna Kallur and Carolina Klüft have been selected among the 10 finalists vying for the coveted award, and will be on hand tomorrow evening at Globen in Stockholm in anticipation of being selected highest among their peers in sports such as alpine skiing, curling, ice hockey, cross country skiing and biathlon.

Jerringpriset, which had its origin in 1979, is the only sports distinction in Sweden which is solely voted on by the Swedish people rather than by a panel.

The annual prize is handed out for the year's best Swedish sports performance, preferably against an international backdrop and perspective.

Winners can be selected on more than one occasion during their careers - as either individuals or an entire team, and the prize is not limited to athletes. Coaches can also be selected for the award.

Jerringpriset was borne 28 years ago out of the memory of legendary Sveriges Radio's Sven Jerring, who got his start with Sveriges Radio (then called Radiotjänst) in 1925 with calling the shots from Vasaloppet, among other sporting events.

The nominees are selected by Radiosporten's editorial staff, and the total number of candidates can vary from year to year. Fifteen nominees were presented at the end of 2006, with the year's best Swedish sports performance voted upon by the public through several methods including telephone and internet.

Christian Olsson was nominated as well, but did not make the cut.

Kallur seems a very likely candidate from an athletics perspective, having won the European Championships here on our home soil - our third gold of the August championships (Olsson and Klüft won the others).

Kallur handily won the European Championships short hurdles race, winning by 0,13 seconds over Irishwoman Derval O'Rourke, the 2006 World Indoor Champion, who set a new Irish national record with her 12,72 performance. Germany's Kirsten Bolm took home the bronze with the same time clocking as O'Rourke.

Klüft, who won the 2005 Women's Athlete-of-the-Year (video link), the 2003 and 2004 Performance-of-the-year (video link) and the 2003 Jerringpriset award, became historic with her victory in the heptathlon, becoming the first woman to ever win five-consecutive outdoor heptathlon championships. She is trained by Agne Bergwall, and has continued to compete for her hometown IFK Växjö despite living down in Karlskrona.

The categories which athletes will be voted on to win prizes are: The Year's Best Women's Athlete; The Year's Best Men's Athlete; The Year's Best Sports Team; The Year's Best Performance; The Year's Top Newcomer; The Year's Best Sports Leader; The Year's Best Functionally-hindered Athlete; and the Year's Honour Prize.

Other prizes which will be dealt out on Tuesday are the Jerringpriset, itself, as well as TV Sportens Sportspegelpris - an award of honour which is handed out to one recipient who has been on the Sportspegeln programme during the year; Svenska Spel Stipendiet - an award which will enable youth involved in sports at the national team level to both study and compete parallel to those studies; and Forskarpriset - an award which is designated for an established researcher who deepens knowledge for others through their research.

Though both Kallur and Klüft had remarkable seasons, it appears that Anja Pärson may have had the greater success, having captured gold in the Giant Slalom and Super-G at the Winter Olympics in Torino, and taking the overall Super-G grand prix as well.

Stefan Holm was the last athletics winner, taking home the honours in 2004 as well as taking home both the 2005 Men's Athlete of the Year distinction (video link) and the Year's Best Sports Performance (video link). Holm's father, Johnny, took home the TV-Sportens Sportspegelpris (video link).

The year 2005 was also kind to Yannick Tregaro, as he was selected The Year's Top Coach (video link).

Sanna Kallur contests the 100 metre hurdles. She was born on 1981-February-16. She is 170 cm tall and weighs 61 kg at optimum competition. She competes for Falu IK under coaches Agne Bergwall and Karin Torneklint. Sanna won the 2006 European Championships in the 100m hurdles to compliment her 2005 European indoor gold at 60m hurdles. "Sanna", as she is called by fans, has 15 national titles - both indoors and out - to her credit She placed third in the 2006 World Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles.

Carolina contests the heptathlon and long jump. She was born on 1983-February-2. She is 178 cm tall and weighs 65 kg at optimum competition. Klüft competes for IFK Växjö under coach Agne Bergwall. Klüft's record to date: 2006 European Champion in the heptathlon. 2005 World Champion in the heptathlon. 2004 Olympic Gold medalist (heptathlon). 2003 World Champion in the heptathlon. 2003 Indoor World Champion in the pentathlon. 2003 Under-23 European Gold medalist in the long jump. 2002 European Champion in the heptathlon. 2002 World Junior Champion in the heptathlon. 2000 World Junior Champion in the heptathlon. 2004 Indoor World Championships bronze medalist in the long jump. 2002 European Indoor bronze medalist in the pentathlon. 1999 Gold medalist in the high jump at the Junior Olympics.

2006 Nominees: Alpine: Anja Pärson; Curling: Team and Anette Norberg; Hockey: Tre Kronor; Hockey: Damkronorna (women's national team); Athletics: Susanna Kallur; Athletics: Carolina Klüft, Diving: Anna Lindberg; Skiing: Anna Dahlberg–Lina Andersson; Skiing: Björn Lind; Biathlon: Anna Carin Olofsson.

Did Not Make Cut: Golf: Annika Sörenstam; Innebandy: Men's National Team; Swimming: Therese Alshammar; Athletics: Christian Olsson; Canoe: Markus Oscarsson.

Source: Sveriges Radio

Nigerian Onyia Likely to Switch Allegiances

Story written by EPelle

Josephine Onyia, the 18th-ranked 100m hurdler in the world in 2006, is on the verge of exchanging Nigeria's green and white colours for the maroon and gold of Spain - a move which could be both lucrative for the Spanish resident and costly at the same time.

African newspaper This Day reported today that Onyia's consideration to represent Spain has been causing backlash in the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (source). Nigeria, which has lost two exclusive athletes to migration, construes the attempt to be a deliberate one to deny Nigeria an opportunity for a medal shot in the event in Osaka in August.

"Since last year, Josephine (Onyia) has been making moves to dump Nigeria for Spain," revealed a source to This Day.

"We understand a former Nigerian athlete who also dumped the country after the Sydney Games has been facilitating her attempt to switch country," continued the unidentified source.

European sprint champion Francis Obikwelu, who earlier this week won the 2006 Waterford Crystal European Athlete-of-the-year award (blog link), disappeared following his last appearnce for Nigeria in the 1994 IAAF World Junior Championships in Lisbon, ending up in his adoptive country Portugal.

Gloria Alozie, another high profile sprinter - and hurdler - began competing for her new country, Spain, in 2001. African record holder at 100m hurdles, Alozie won the African Championships in 1996 and 1998, and 2nd at African Junior National Championships in 1995. Alozie holds a 100m best of 10,90 seconds, and a 100m hurdles personal best of 12,44 seconds.

“She was not made in Spain but here in Nigeria,” Amelia Edet, chief coach with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and a close friend to Alozie is quoted in The Tribune India 18-August-2001 (source).

“Her exit is a challenge to us to work hard and produce another world-class athlete.”

Alozie's coach, Gad Onumaegbu, who trained her for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, had more understanding for Alozie, stating, “Has she not tried for this country? As a Nigerian, I feel bad about her decision. But what can I do? Nothing.”

Both athletes fled Nigeria mere weeks before the IAAF World Championships were held in Edmonton in 2001.

Onyia, 20, would provide excellent competition for Alozie, who won the Spanish National Championships 100m hurdles in 2002, the Spanish National Indoor Championships in 2003 over the 60m hurdles, and then doubled as 60m hurdles/60m flat champion at her 2006 national indoor championships.

AFN chiefs seem unwilling to let go of their hurdle sensation, who has dropped a remarkable 0,70 seconds from her best two seasons ago, running 12,78 for second place in Helsinki this past summer with a slight wind (+0,76 m/s). Onyia sprinted and hurdled under 13,00-flat four times in 2006, with a windy 12,70 (+3,9 m/s) victory at Bilbao Reunión Internacional de Atletismo win her biggest accomplishment of the season.

Onyia finished the 2006 season with 1260 IAAF points in the 100m hurdles, ranking 18th in the world.

American Michelle Perry (1385 points) led the world, with Alozie (1280), 13th-ranked on the accumulated points scale, and the fifth European.

"AFN is not willing to release her, " the unidentified source revealed to This Day.

"This girl has so much potentials of winning the next All Africa Games as well as qualify for next year's Olympic in China. If AFN refuses her exit, it then means that Josephine will have to wait for almost four years before she can compete for Spain," observed the source.

AFN chiefs are purported to be waiting to block Onyia's petition to change countries by using the fact that invitations were extended to her for both the Commonwealth Games and the African Championship last year. Onyia did not accept either invitation, and did not participate in either of the events.

The IAAF approved new rules on 3-August-2005 to mandate that athletes who change allegiance wait three years after being granted citizenship to compete in a major international event - or one year if both the expatriate and new countries.

Previously, athletes could compete as soon as they had completed three years without representing their former country in any major IAAF competition.

The IAAF council narrowly defeated a proposal for a six-year waiting period, a vote which was fiercely close, 90-80.

Africa has had a great number of its athletes - predominantly distance runners - flee lands like Kenya for greener pastures in Bahrain and Qatar. Two who took a different route were 800m world-record holder Wilson Kipketer, who moved from Kenya to Denmark, and Sierra Leone's Eunice Barber moving to France.

Nigeria has had its share of athletes flee the country, with one of the most prominent - former NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon - taking American citizenship in 1993 to represent the USA at the Olympics.

Nigeria seems adamant at stopping Onyia from making the grade as a Spaniard in Osaka. Not all top-level athletes have been lured to Europe by money, as Mercy Nku states.

"I have made up my mind not to take off. I love Nigeria and will remain here.”

Former AFN President Oluyomi Adeyemi-Wilson seems to have disagreed in 2001, stating that the exodus of Nigerians to Europe and abroad was due to a lack of welfare packages available to athletes.

“When athletes are assured of a brighter future,” he said, “they will not run away.”

If Onyia is unsuccessful, she will have to wait until 2010 to compete for Spain, and will miss two IAAF World Championships as well as the Olympic Games in Beijing.