South African 800m world champion Caster Semenya has shrugged off talk of injury, weight issues and a rift in her camp to declare herself ready to defend her title inDaegu,South Korea, early next month.?
Local media reports suggested Semenya and her coach Michael Seme had fallen out and also claimed that the 20-year-old was overweight, but the runner?s management team moved swiftly to dispel the rumours.?
?The recent media reports that Caster Semenya is not ready to defend her world 800m title are untrue,? Semenya?s management team said in a statement on Thursday.?
?Semenya remains disciplined, focused and excited about representingSouth Africaat the World Championship inSouth Korea. In true championship style, she has embarked upon a stringent training programme in preparation for the world event.?
?Currently she is doing light, final training at the home base inPretoria,South Africa. We wish to dismiss any rumours that there is trouble in her camp.?
?These rumours are seen as attempts to discourage and distract her from her glorious quest for gold.?
?We furthermore wish to assure South Africans and Caster?s supporters that all is well with our champ and that she is going to put up a strong fight in defence of her title,? the statement added.?
Semenya pulled out of this month?s World Student Games inShenzen,Chinawith a back injury but has also struggled for form this season, running below two minutes only twice, well short of the 1:55.45 she set to win the title inBerlinin 2009.?
The World Championships run from August 27-September 4, with the women?s 800m final taking place on the final day of competition.?
Castle Lager Tri-Nations comes to Nelson Mandela Bay?
The Springboks will host and take on the New Zealand All Blacks for their Tri-Nations Rugby encounter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 20 August 2011.NelsonMandelaBayplays host to the return match betweenSouth AfricaandNew Zealandto round out the 2011 Tri-Nations Series. This will beSouth Africa?s last match in the 2011 Tri Nations Series before they take on the world in September this year.?
Castle Lager, the beer behind the boys who back our boys, has long recognised the power and emotion that go hand in hand with great sporting moments, and has always supported initiatives that rally this wonderful country and bring South Africans together. The brand has created a very exciting platform called the ?Stadium Mosaic? to get ordinary South Africans attending the match to send out a message of support to the Boks on match-day and to also be part of South African sporting history. Never before in South African rugby history have fans come together to relay a unified message that will be viewed by the world.
As the Springboks take to the field, and the Springbok team song begins to play, each Bok supporter at the stadium will hold a banner which will together spell out a message in huge letters across the entire stand.?
?Castle Lager is a brand well known for bringing people together and this is a great opportunity to rally the nation behind the Boks by sending a collective message of support to the Springboks through this stadium mosaic?, said Charl Bassil, Marketing Manager, Castle Lager.?
To add to the match day experience, Castle Lager will be crowning the Springbok Superfans as the national search for the ultimate Springbok SuperFans culminates during halftime at the game on Saturday. Five winning regional teams will battle it out to win the ultimate prize of being named the Castle Lager Springbok Superfans and an all expenses paid trip toNew Zealandto accompany the Boks as they take on the world in September this year.?
?As we set out on our journey to find the ultimate Springbok SuperFans, we are starting something greater than just a trip to New Zealand?, continued Bassil. ?As September draws closer, we?d like to remind every South African that it is time to come together and rally behind the boys and help them on their way to glory?.?
No Olympic bid for 2020, but maybe 2024, says SA?
South Africa will not reconsider a bid for the 2020 Olympics, ending a long-running saga over whether the country will try to host the next available summer games.?
Officials fromSouth Africa?s Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the national Olympic committee said on Wednesday that there would be no bid for the 2020 Games after the sports minister had said he wanted to revive a possible candidature.?
The country ? which successfully hosted last year?s football World Cup in 2010 ? will go for the 2024 Olympics instead, the ministry and Olympic committee said.?
The 2022 Commonwealth Games was also ?certainly? on the agenda, said Sam Ramsamy of the South African Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation (Sascoc).?
No African country has ever hosted the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.?
Widespread support
South Africa?s Cabinet made the surprising announcement in May that it was not the right time for an Olympic bid. It wanted to focus on social priorities in a country where many people are still affected by poverty. The country was considered a strong 2020 contender following the widely praised World Cup.?
South Africa?s chances were also boosted after it staged the 123rd International Olympic Committee (IOC) session inDurbanin July. The city was favoured to beSouth Africa?s candidate.?
Department of Sport and Recreation spokesperson Paena Galane said the country had been lobbied by many IOC members at theDurbansession to reconsider 2020.?
But Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula decided against asking the government to rethink its original decision.?
?We are not going to resubmit the request to bid to Cabinet,? Galane said. ?There will be no bid fromSouth Africafor the 2020 Olympics. After careful consideration, the minister [Mbalula] has decided to respect the Cabinet decision.??
Galane added ?the ambition is to consider 2024 [Olympics]? as well as the Commonwealth Games.?
No government, no bid
Ramsamy was sympathetic to the 2020 decision.?
?We are disappointed but we understand the complexities of the issues,? Ramsamy said. ?We will certainly go for 2024. We will engage government and even though there is nothing official yet [for 2024], the indication is that the government will be favourable to a bid.?
?We always made it very clear that without the government we would not bid.??
Sascoc president Gideon Sam said in an interview in April that front-runner Durban ? which hosted World Cup matches ? would still require at least $4.5-billion to build new venues for the Olympics.?
Rome,Tokyo,MadridandIstanbulhave all formally announced they will bid to host the 2020 summer games. The United States Olympic Committee filed preliminary paperwork required by the IOC ahead of any potential bid.Doha,Qatar, is also a possible contender.?
National Olympic associations have until September 1 to announce candidate cities for 2020. ? Sapa-AP?
Blade runner could be SA?s revelation at World Champs?
Double amputee runner Oscar Pistorius will beSouth Africa?s secret weapon in the 4x400m relay in the World Athletics Championships inDaegu,South Korea.?
While his participation in the event comes with recommendations from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Athletics South Africa (ASA) says his position in the team will not be revealed before the event.?
Three years ago, Pistorius won a court battle to compete against able-bodied athletes. This year, he eventually qualified to compete in the 400m and the relay.?
Now the IAAF wants Pistorius to run the first leg ? for his own safety and that of the other athletes because of the mad scramble at the change overs. ASA vice-president Motlatsi Keikabile says it depends on the coach and athletes on how they put their athletes.??
His inclusion in the relay team has re-introduced the debate of the so-called ?unfair advantage? he has over able-bodied athletes. Having him run the first leg would nullify that advantage because he?s slow out of the blocks.?
Sports physician Dr Jon Patricios says the blades store energy better than a human limb might, and the second is that the blades are lighter than a normal adult limb and that allows his acceleration a bit better. Hence in long distance, he may increase in speed as opposed to others who fatigue..?
A prosthetist Trevor Brautman says up to this stage he is still the only amputee that has run qualifying times so if he has got this advantage surely in the last four years. Many more athletes should have come to the front and done it but they have not. The championships start on August 27.
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Source: http://www.thegremlin.co.za/2011/08/19/sports-news-13/
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