Susanna Kallur Wins 2006 Jerringpriset

Story written by EPelle

Susanna Kallur's dream 2006 season could not have been any more justly rewarded, as the 25-year-old 100m hurdler was voted recipient of the coveted Jerringpriset by the Swedish public last evening during the annual award show held at Globen in Stockholm.

Tre Kronor, our celebrated national hockey team, led much of the voting during the evening, but votes for Kallur poured in as the evening called to a close, with the European 100m hurdles Champion - who turns 26 next month, recording 28 percent of the total vote.

"Honestly speaking, I thought I would never be able to beat Tre Kronor," said Kallur to Radiosporten following the ceremony. "I am very, very surprised."

Tre Kronor, led by Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin, became the first-ever team in global hockey history to win both the Olympic Games and the World Championships in the same year, and received celebratory parades and accolades fit for royalty upon their return from the Olympics.

First indicators during last night's festive evening backed what was thought of prior to the first votes being registered, namely that the Swedish folks had cherished their hockey stars - most of whom play in the NHL - in a hockey nation during hockey season.

However, as she did on the European Circuit during Golden League competition, Kallur surprised when it counted, with voters registering 127.947 to 122.060 for Tre Kronor.

Kallur was visibly affected by winning the prize.

"My legs are shaking," she told Raiosporten after receiving the award. "I can hardly stand."

"I received the Newcomer-of-the-Year-Award here, and never believed that I would stand here five years later and get a prize like this," she said on national television after receiving the prize from King Carl XVI Gustav in front of a crowd on its feet in a standing ovation.

"This feels bigger. This beats everything. Absolutely wonderful to take the prize that the Swedish people have voted for. I want to thank all my coaches through the years, and also all of my training mates who have made sport so fun."

Kallur and Carolina Klüft were 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 (blog link).

Tre Kronor won Team-of-the-Year honours.

Klüft finished ninth in Jerringpriset voting.

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.

Kallur is no stranger to success or awards, having picked up Big Ten Female Outdoor Freshman of the Year and the University of Illinois Female Newcomer of the Year awards in 2001.

Susanna Kallur is a twin sister to Jenny Kallur, with both twins born 1981-16-February in Falun, where they both still live today.

Susanna began competing in athletics at the age of 16, and was picked Newcomer-of-the-Year in 2001. She first broke through internationally for us here in Sweden when, at 19-years-old, she competed in the 2000 European Cup, replacing injured Ludmila Engquist. Kallur won the competition in 13,10 seconds, establishing a new Swedish Junior Record and a new Nordic Junior record in the process.

Prior to that, she came near to standing in the spotlight, finishing third at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France - 0,02-seconds out of first. She was to win the gold medal in 2000, however, running 13,02 - the fastest legal time in the history of the championships' 11-year history, and take home a bronze in the 4x100m.

Susanna has made three IAAF World Championships semi-final races in the 100m hurdles, with her greatest accomplishments, however, the 2005 European Indoor gold medal in the 60m hurdles, and then winning the 2006 European Outdoor Championships here in Sweden on her home turf.

Kallur has a very approachable style, and is personable - two excellent traits above and beyond her merits (eight national indoor titles and seven outdoor national titles), which reached far with the public at large voting on whom they most appreciated during 2006.

Jerringpriset through the years (Source: TV4):

1979: Ingemar Stenmark 1980: Ingemar Stenmark 1981: Annichen Kringstad 1982: IFK Göteborg 1983: Mats Wilander 1984: Gunde Svan 1985: Gunde Svan 1986: Tomas Johansson 1987: Marie-Helene "Billan" Westin 1988: Tomas Gustafsson 1989: Jan Boklöv 1990: National handboll team, men 1991: Pernilla Wiberg 1992: Pernilla Wiberg 1993: Torgny Mogren 1994: National fotboll team, men 1995: Annika Sörenstam 1996: Ludmila Engquist 1997: Magdalena Forsberg 1998: Magdalena Forsberg 1999: Ludmila Engquist 2000: Magdalena Forsberg 2001: Magdalena Forsberg 2002: Carolina Klüft 2003: Annika Sörenstam 2004: Stefan Holm 2005: Tony Rickardsson 2006: Susanna Kallur

Prison Sentences for Drug Offenses?

Story written by EPelle

Jan Fitschen, the suprise European Championships 10,000m gold medalist from Germany, stated to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung today that court-proven doping offenders must be imprisoned if they are found guilty of performance-enhancing drugs.

Fitschen, 29, argues that the current maximum two-year competition ban the IAAF imposes on first-time offenders isn't enough in order to fight the battle against those who cheat.

Fitschen, who clocked a 28.10,94 personal best in defeating the Spanish duo of José Manuel Martínez (28.12,06 SB) and Juan Carlos de la Ossa (28.13,73) by sprinting by them off the final turn of the 25-lap race here in Göteborg last August, sees himself as a role model.

Fitschen was an unheralded 29-year-old ranked only 722nd in the world by the IAAF coming into the championships, yet he managed to time his kick perfectly and claim the gold medal as the best of the Europeans in a championship setting.

Fitschen revealed to the European Athletics Association following his race that a top-10 finish was an ideal placing for him prior to his victory.

“The last 600m was very, very hard for me. I looked up and saw I was fourth, and I said to myself that fourth is the worst place I could finish. So I started to try a bit harder again.

“When I saw that Belz couldn’t go with the Spaniards, I tried a bit harder again. When I passed him, I thought third was good, but there could be a bit better.

“I looked up at the scoreboard and could see the Spanish, and I could see from their faces that they weren’t very happy. I tried a bit harder again, and then I passed them. It was like it was a dream.”

The first half of the race was covered in 14.16,80, leaving a large pack in contention after 12½ laps.

Fitschen told the newspaper that he, himself, has never been tempted to use performance-enhancing drugs, because of his status in the sport.

However, he did concede that his living standard and lack of reliance on athletics to put food on the table may not be seen in the same light by athletes with a different financial background.

Fitschen's track success began with a fifth-place finish in the 5.000m at the 1999 Under-23 European Championships. He was then upped the stakes by winning the German Championships 5.000m title four times (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006), and doubling as 10.000m victor in both 2005 and 2006. The European Championships race was only his fourth-ever attempt at the distance, though he won gold at the distance at the 2003 World Student Games.

Germany has been in the line of fire recently over drugs issues, with Nils Schumann, the 2000 Sydney Olympic 800m champion, and former European 400m champion Grit Breuer facing questioning by the German Athletics Federation (DLV) over suspected violation of doping rules.

Breuer, in a separate action, is seeking 300.000 € in damages from the IAAF, stating it unfairly banned her in 1992 over a violation of good sport rules.

2006 European Championship 10.000m results (Courtesy EAA):

1 451 FITSCHEN Jan GER 2 MAY 1977 28:10.94 PB 14
2 251 MARTÍNEZ José Manuel ESP 22 OCT 1971 28:12.06 SB 12
3 235 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos ESP 25 NOV 1976 28:13.73 7
4 872 BELZ Christian SUI 11 SEP 1974 28:16.93 4
5 965 LEBID Serhiy UKR 15 JUL 1975 28:19.14 8
6 816 MAKSIMOV Dmitriy RUS 6 MAY 1977 28:20.43 SB 16
7 471 POLLMÄCHER André GER 22 MAR 1983 28:22.56 PB 15
8 355 EL HIMER Driss FRA 4 APR 1974 28:30.09 3
9 271 SERRANO Ricardo ESP 29 OCT 1980 28:38.40 13
10 595 MEUCCI Daniele ITA 7 OCT 1985 28:48.30 10
11 535 FAGAN Martin IRL 26 JUN 1983 28:54.04 18
12 762 RAMOS José POR 27 JUL 1968 28:55.45 2
13 342 BENHARI Mokhtar FRA 22 MAY 1974 28:56.07 9
14 184 PETROVIC Slavko CRO 23 SEP 1980 28:56.66 SB 5
15 145 VAN HOOF Willem BEL 18 FEB 1979 28:57.11 6
16 143 STROOBANTS Jesse BEL 10 NOV 1980 28:59.91 11
17 140 RIZKI Monder BEL 16 AUG 1979 29:13.62 1
18 723 KACZMAREK Michal POL 19 SEP 1977 30:14.37 17

Intermediate times:

1000m 2:50.96 140 RIZKI Monder (BEL)
2000m 5:38.45 235 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos (ESP)
3000m 8:33.57 184 PETROVIC Slavko (CRO)
4000m 11:24.79 235 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos (ESP)
5000m 14:16.80 965 LEBID Serhiy (UKR)
6000m 17:09.13 251 MARTÍNEZ José Manuel (ESP)
7000m 19:59.52 235 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos (ESP)
8000m 22:51.94 235 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos (ESP)
9000m 25:39.43 872 BELZ Christian (SUI)

Weather conditions: Temperature: 17 °C Humidity: 80 % Conditions: Partly cloudy

Wishes For a Successful 2007 Season

Story written by EPelle

Good riddance 2006.

Marion Jones bugs me. Trevor Graham annoys me. BALCO won't go away despite how long people try keeping their heads in the sand. Drugs and performance-related issues about drugs have filled up the headlines for the greater half of the year, that I wish that one could put a lid on the media and go one about his life.

But then the skurks would get away with it, having fallen from grace, and slipped from the spotlight to live in obscurity.

My Christmas wish for this year involves opening next year (wow, check that, can it really be only 13 days away?) with a clean slate across the boards. No "Made Marion" filling up my RSS feed, no more conspiracy theories from Trevor Graham, and please, no more athletes who didn't have a clue about their sleeping medications/nasal sprays/Ben Gay/etc. They've ruined the honesty of the sport, and have forced fans to lock the doors behind them at night.

Considering dreams and wishes are only gossamer mind fiction, and this thing I really want is at one moment right at my finger tips, and the next minute, it's gone, here's my top-five wish list for 2007:

1. Clean sport. We're far from it, but seem to be closer to it all the while. If any athlete decides he wants to get caught for performance-enhancing drugs in 2007, please sign up by the grace period ending 31-December. A special cocktail party will be held in your honour, and you won't have to worry about where you got spiked. Great alibi for the WADA/USADA folks, and IAAF may decide this special circumstance actually works in your favour. You'll be able to hold one-on-ones with news reporters, and you can leave with a clear conscious - instead of amnesia and a later recollection of murky waters that Jesus, Himself, would have trouble turning into wine. Exiting quietly away will be unnecessary press conferences by bewildered athletes who want to get to the bottom of their inadvertant positives, and athletes having troublee keeping dibs on their whereabouts can relax as well.


2. This is a long stretch, but I do certainly hope that Alan Webb stays injury-free in 2007. I feel for the kid. Make that man. He's tough. He's got iron lungs and a powerful will. He doesn't compete for "also ran"/"also competed" showings. He's there to lay it all down on the line from start to finish, over two laps to 25 laps. Key for this young lad will be to stay away from the long stuff just yet. He proved in 2006 that he is capable of running 6x1.600m and change without stopping at a very good clip. His workout at Stanford early in the year netted him a 27.34,72 ahead of his old high school nemesis, Dathan Ritzenhein, who set his own PB with a 27.35,65. Webb got his revenge over his long-time battle buddy in 2005 with his AR 2-mile run at the Pre Classic. He needs to keep things tightened under the belt for a bit longer, and keep focussed on the 800m/1.500m/mile distance a good two more years before spreading his talents over the longer distances. I'd like to see Alan Webb, the high-priced NIKE miler, put out some great efforts next summer in the mile (or 1.500m) - right where he left off before the great experiment which was 2006. Let him live and learn from this season and focus back on getting race-smart, developing late-inning stretch wheels, and knocking placers off their goals in Osaka come World Championships time.


3. I am very excited that Stefan Holm has decided to stay with the sport through Beijing in defense of his Olympic title. The man will hit the 100 marker for 2,30m or higher jumps this indoor season. Stefan Holm has a fighting chance of being the superstar of 2008 if he can get over his injury-woes from 2006, translate his strength (he had never felt stronger in any season as he did in 2006) from the training track in Karlstad to a field near you in 2007, and find that little extra which he has commanded this century to stay in the high jump mix. The high jump is a terrific event which is regaining its world-wide popularity. Russia always has an oiled machine awaiting Holm at every juncture, and a André Silnov-Jaraslov Ribakov/Holm-Linus Thörnblad team battle could challenge for the highlight reel of any meet. Stefan Holm has once jumped 2,40m - at the 2005 European Indoor Championships. He has international competition knocking at the door in the aforementioned Rybakov and Silnov, who have taken attempts at some very high, respectable marks, and who both have beaten Holm in 2006 on good occasion. His backyard competition has sprouted up like a bad weed in Thörnblad - a kid who refuses to give up or lose no matter how much one tries to keep him out of the medal hunt. I'd like to see Holm loaded from his self-studies, away from the media pressure which often portrays him wrongly here in Sweden, and injury-free in 2007.


4. The world won't see Kenenisa Bekele run in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but that doesn't stop one from hoping he wins a double/double at the IAAF T&F World Champs. This kid has commanded my total respect for disabling competitors, yanking their chains, and playing catch with fire upon demand since his initial double-double IAAF Cross Country World Championships victories in 2001. He had a tougher time in a altered focus 2006, running miles and 1.500m events indoors and out to work on his basic speed. He fared poorly in his professional debut - an over-four-minute loss to Bernard Lagat in New York, and he took lumps along with a victory on the European Circuit during the summer. I love watching this kid surge 60-second lap splits during the middle of his races, churning lap after lap in a pre-meditated, first-degree assault on his competitors' will and drive to keep stride. He has been rewarded with two of the top-five fastest outdoor 5.000m times ever, including his 12.37,35 world record from 2004, and, in 2006, he became the first man to ever record six sub-13.00 times in one season. Bekele lacks some discipline in his races, however, having twice allowed faster sprinters to stay within striking distance over 5.000m during the past two championships. Bekele kept Eliud Kipchoge in striking distance in 2003, and Hicham El Guerrouj, the most decorated miler in history - as well as the WR-holder and 2nd-fastest 3.000m runner in world history - in the mix at the 2004 Olympics. He skipped the event two seasons ago in Helsinki in favour of winning his 2nd-straight 10.000m title (27.08,33). I'd love to see Bekele develop a kicker's kick to twice sting, hurt, bug, trample and trifle his opponents at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships.


5. The final golden moment of 2007 would be Kajsa Bergqvist jumping over 2.09m either indoors or out. I grappled a bit with the thought of including two Swedes on my top-five list, as so many other athletes come to mind whom I would pay a great many a kronor to watch any one time during 2007. However, Bergqvist gets my hope button alive with talk of improving her world record. She made it clear in no uncertain terms last winter that she was going to make an assault on the 16-year-old world record of 2.07m held by Heike Henkel. She eclipsed that mark with Henkel in attendance, jumping 2.08m in Arnstadt on 2006-February-4, and then made a pact to give a go at seriously attempting to take down Stefka Kostadinova's 2.09m from Rome set 19 years earlier. That perfect-day, best-ever jump was not to unfold outdoors in 2006, leaving Bergqvist even more loaded and focused from having missed nearly a year-and-a-half following her ruptured achilles injury suffered in the spring of 2004. Bergqvist jumped 2,00m and higher eight times in 2006, with her top-two marks, 2.05m and 2.04m respectively, leading the world. Her competition has also duly risen to the challenge, with Tia Hellebaut the latest to make a breakthrough (2.03m in Göteborg at the 2006 European Championships) and elevate the status of the event on par with the men's. My goal for 2007 is to see Bergqvist, Blanka Vlašic, Hellebaut, Chante Howard, Anna Chicherova and Yelena Slesarenko all on their "A" game at the World Championships, with 2.04m yielding only a bronze to the third-best of the group.

I may get an early wish granted, as the IAAF announced today that Hellebaut will take on an all-star cast of athletes indoors at the Golden High Jump Gala in the Belgian capital on 27 January 2007. Five 2,00m jumpers will participate: the European silver medallist Venelina Veneva, 32, of Bulgaria, Vlašic, 23, who was fourth in Göteborg, and has bests of 2.05m indoors/2.03m outdoors; Spanish and Hungarian recordholders Ruth Beitia and Dora Gyorffy, who both hold personal bests of 2.00m outdoors, respectively; and Chicherova, the reigning indoor European Champion who has twice jumped 2.04m indoors (=7 all-time), and has a 2.00m outdoor PB.

In case I am in a sportsworld coma in 378 days- shocked over the fact that drugs found their way into 2007 mainstream discussion groups, have my digital television programme recorder set for 21.40 Japanese time on Monday, 2007-August-27, when the first finalist of the above five events should start his medal chase.