Cuba’s Olympic 110m hurdles champion Dayron Robles said Thursday that he is now injury-free and will start his build-up to the London Games on Friday in Ecuador. Robles, the world record holder, hurt his back in a training accident in Spain in March which ruled him out of the indoor world championships in Istanbul where he would have defended his title.
“I am completely recovered from my injury and I am going to Guayaquil in Ecuador for two weeks starting from Friday where I will be working on my technique,” the 25-year-old told AFP. “After my accident in Europe, I went back to Cuba to follow a short course of treatment and then worked under my coach Santiago Antunez but without overdoing it,” he added. Robles plans to race on May 1 in Martinique, then in Puerto Rico, on May 12, Havana on May 27, Eugene, Oregon, on June 2 and then New York on June 9 before he heads to Europe.
Fedulova gets Olympic berth after freestyle win: Svetlana Fedulova of Saint Petersburg took gold in the women’s 50-metre freestyle on the third day at the Russian swimming championships here Thursday. With a time of 25.32sec Fedulova won the right to perform for Russia at the 2012 Olympics in London. Veronika Popova was second (25.77), with Natalia Lovtsova in third (25.83). In the championships, which also double as Olympic qualifiers, Danila Izotov of Krasnodar region also received a pass to the Olympics, winning the men’s 200m freestyle in 1:46.56.
The race also opened the way to London for second-placed Yevgeny Lagunov (1:47.47) along with third-placed Artem Lobuzov (1:47.53) and Nikita Lobintsev, who came fourth obtaining a place in Russia’s 4x200m relay team. in the men’s 200m breaststroke, Vyacheslav Sinkevich won gold in 2:11.04, sendingt him on his way to the 2012 Games along with second-placed Anton Lobanov (2:12.35).
Marat Amaltdonov was third (2:12.38) Yulia Efimova won the women’s 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:07.05, earning her an Olympic pass along with the silver medalist Daria Deyeva 1:07.22. Anastasia Chaun finished with bronze (1:08.74). In the women’s 200m backstroke Anastasia Zueva came first with a time of 2:06.59 beating Maria Gromova (2:11.11) and Yulia Larina (2:12.97).
Nikita Konovalov won gold in the non-Olympic men’s 50m butterfly clocking a time of 23.32sec ahead of Yevgeny Korotyshkin (23.95) and Roman Kaigorodtsev (24.20). Meanwhile, Yelena Sokolova won the women’s 800-metre freestyle earning a place in Russia’s Olympic team with a time of 8:36.44. Yelizaveta Gorshkova was second (8:44.48), while Yekaterina Seliverstova came third (8:49.78).
Poland coach Wenta quits after Olympic miss: Poland’s men’s handball coach, former international Bogdan Wenta, announced his resignation on Thursday after his team failed to qualify for the London Olympics. “To halt all the discussion, assumptions, speculation, rumours and lies about me, I wish to inform the media that I am ending my cooperation with the Polish men’s handball team,” Wenta told reporters.
“I already made up my mind in Alicante,” he said, referring to the Spanish city which from April 6-8 hosted an International Handball Federation Olympic qualification tournament. Spain and Serbia won out in that race, while Poland and the fourth participant, Algeria, both failed to make the cut. Wenta, 50, has been a handball star in Poland for years and was an iconic member of his country’s squad in the 1980s and 1990s.
‘German dressage coach Schmezer dies’: Holger Schmezer, the coach of Germany’s equestrian dressage team, has been found dead at a hotel in the Netherlands, the German Equestrian Federation (DRV) announced Friday. Schmezer, 65, was found in a hotel room in the Dutch town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which is hosting the final of the Equestrian World Cup series. The DRV said no circumstances of his death were yet known but paid tribute to one of the sport’s “most devoted” coaches. “It’s unbelievable to think that Holger Schmezer is no longer with us,” DRV president Breido Count said. “The sport of dressage has lost one of its most devoted coaches.”
