nieuws
nieuws
| 
| 
Bolt hits the beach in Monaco – to recruit future stars! – Samsung Diamond League
Usain Bolt on the beach in Monaco (Philippe Fitte)
Monte-Carlo – Usain Bolt hit the beach in Monaco on Wednesday, but it wasn’t to enjoy some of the many charms the Mediterranean Principality has to offer. He was there to share a few tricks of his trade with local youth, and even to recruit a few young converts to track and field. And in at least a few cases, it seems that he succeeded.
The World’s Fastest Man arrived in Monte Carlo on Tuesday ahead of his upcoming 100m outing at Friday’s Samsung Diamond League Herculis meeting, his first race over the short dash since 31 May in Ostrava where he clocked 9.91, and for his first-ever competitive appearance in Monaco.
After a few training sessions at the Stade Louis II, Bolt spent part of the afternoon with some members of the local club, AS Monaco, at La Rose des Vents by Larvotto Beach where, using the sunny surf and sand as an exquisite backdrop, he tutored about 20 aspiring athletes in sprint drills and starts. He was joined by IAAF President Lamine Diack, who was clearly enjoying the event as much as the young athletes whose form Bolt was analyzing and assessing.
To keep the crowd of fans manageable, organisers purposely didn’t advertise Bolt’s appearance too widely. But the Jamaican star always manages to draw a crowd, and when word spread across the beach, the initial crowd of several dozen quickly swelled to a few hundred.
After the initial training session, others later came from the beach to join, some engaging the World record holder in heated head-to-head duels. Among them was seven-and-a-half-year-old Zoe Varvet, who clearly wasn’t intimidated by Bolt’s credentials. After beating him from the blocks and eventually to the finish in a short dash, Varvet added insult to injury and gave the double Olympic champion her autograph. Acknowledging defeat, Bolt reciprocated and gave the young sprinter his cap. Her victory was enough for Varvet to consider a switch in sports.
“Maybe after this I can convince my parents will let me switch to athletics,” Varvet said.
A drawing was held too, to pick a local club member who’ll help Bolt with his gear before and after his 100m race on Friday. That lucky winner was Damien Lopopolo.
The event continued with a photo and autograph session, but no more racing.
“These kids are way too fast,” Bolt said. “This doesn’t look good for me.”
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
.
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/index.html
http://nos.nl/dossier/147081-tennis-roland-garros-2010/thema/samenvattingen-tv/
Bolt stopt wellicht na OS 2012 met sprinten
‘Ik ga zeker nog naar de Spelen in Londen. Ik zal daarna beslissen wat ik verder ga doen’, zei de Jamaicaan tegen de Australian Associated Press. ‘Mijn coach wil dat ik daarna nog een keer als sprinter naar de Spelen ga, maar ik wil op mijn hoogtepunt stoppen, net als Michael Johnson.’
Johnson beëindigde zijn loopbaan na het behalen van het goud op de 400 meter bij de Spelen in Sydney in 2000. ‘Michael vond dat hij geen reden meer had om door te gaan. Hij stond aan de top. Ik heb dat ook bereikt, dus misschien stop ik dan ook wel.’
Bolt zou nog wel een overstap kunnen maken naar het verspringen of de 400 meter.
Apeldoorn wordt sportplaats voor Tennisclassics
| AFAS Tennis Classics met mooie herinnering naar Apeldoorn | |
| De AFAS Tennis Classics vertrekt na de Classics van 2010 met ‘negen fantastische jaren op zak’ van Eindhoven naar Apeldoorn. ‘Eindhoven is de bakermat van dit evenement, maar in Apeldoorn gaan we er weer met vol enthousiasme en een nieuwe spirit tegenaan,’ meent toernooidirecteur Jacco Eltingh. De 10e AFAS Tennis Classics wordt gehouden in Omnisport Apeldoorn, van 6 tot en met 9 oktober 2011. Er is een grondige verbouwing op handen van De Genneper Parken, waarin het Indoor-Sportcentrum Eindhoven ligt. In die plannen zien de toernooibazen Eltingh en Haarhuis onvoldoende garantie dat zij met de Classics in Eindhoven kunnen doorgaan met hun kwaliteitseisen aan accommodatie en evenement. Eltingh: ‘We gaan met pijn in het hart weg uit Eindhoven. De medewerkers hier hebben ons altijd geweldig ondersteund. Zonder hen was dit evenement niet eens mogelijk geweest. Maar ik moet toegeven dat we ook met veel plezier naar Apeldoorn gaan; een nieuwe plek met nieuwe uitdagingen en ook daar een prachtige sporttempel.’ De gemeente Apeldoorn heeft de AFAS Tennis Classics met open armen onthaald. De gemeente wordt een van de nieuwe partners van de Tennis Classics. Eltingh: ‘Daarnaast krijgen we nog een aantal nieuwe partners. We gaan het Omnisport volgend jaar ombouwen tot een enorme evenementenlokatie en de gemeente Apeldoorn is zeer pro-actief in de ondersteuning daarvan.’ De AFAS Tennis Classics komen in Apeldoorn terecht in een typische sportgemeente, met een grote tennishistorie meent Eltingh. Hij speelde zelf voor de Manege, zijn vrouw Hellas ook. De stad telt meerdere tennisclubs. ‘Apeldoorn is natuurlijk al tientallen jaren een enorme tennisstad. De Classics zijn in Apeldoorn echt op hun plaats.’ Eltingh voorziet in de verhuizing geen scheuring met zijn publiek. ‘Integendeel, Apeldoorn ligt heel centraal in ons land. Partners kunnen ons nu nog veel makkelijker bereiken en nieuwe partners interesseren, juist omdat Apeldoorn zo centraal ligt. Naast ons trouwe vaste publiek, zie ik juist een hele nieuwe markt.’ Het hoofdkantoor van hoofdsponsor AFAS, dat zich deze zomer opnieuw voor drie jaar aan de Classics verbond, ligt ook een stuk dichterbij; in Leusden. Eltingh: ‘En Apeldoorn is vlakbij de thuisbasis van ons bedrijf Eltingh Haarhuis Tennis & Events in Epe, dus we kunnen onze kracht nog meer vergroten. Het evenement staat al jaren, maar dit voelt echt als een frisse start. De AFAS Tennis Classics gaan komende drie jaar zeer gezond de toekomst in en aan het jubileum volgend jaar zullen we een perfecte invulling gaan geven.’ |
Het is nog de vraag of de 6 ballen serveerder in 2011 ook weer van de partij zal zijn. Het is dan even afwachten.
ma 06 sep 2010, 17:30
Atleet Bolt wil voetballer worden
![](javascript:fotovenster("http://images2-telegraaf.nl/multimedia/archive/00758/bolt_758776d.jpg","Usain%20Bolt "," ",200,129);)
Usain Bolt
London 2012 Olympics: Usain Bolt set to shun Britain over punitive tax rules
Usain Bolt is ready to turn his back on running in Britain until the London 2012 Olympics because of the country's punitive tax rules for overseas sports stars.
Organisers of next month's Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace had hoped to stage the first 100 metres head-to-head of the season between Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell but the triple Olympic champion is set to shun the meeting because it would expose him to a huge tax bill.
Unless the tax rules are relaxed, athletics administrators fear British fans will be denied the chance to see the sport's biggest star in action again until he returns to the capital in two years' time to defend his Olympic titles.
"I wouldn't be optimistic about seeing Bolt compete on British soil this year and there is a strong chance he won't be back until 2012," said an insider close to the negotiations with the Jamaican.
Since April, foreign sports stars competing in Britain are liable for a top rate of income tax of 50 per cent but, controversially, the tax is charged not just on the money they earn in Britain but on a proportion of their worldwide sponsorship income.
Under the old rules, athletes' tax bills were based on how many days they competed in Britain, so if they competed in the country for one week, they would be charged one 52nd of their endorsement earnings.
Now, HM Revenue & Customs bases its charge on what proportion of an athlete's competitions take place in Britain. An athlete competing in 10 events globally with one of them held in Britain could be charged one 10th of his worldwide earnings at a top rate of 50 per cent.
In the case of Bolt, that would mean a potentially colossal tax bill that could outweigh any prize money or appearance fee he earns from racing in Britain.
Sports chiefs have warned that foreign stars across a range of sports could snub Britain because of the harsh tax regime.
Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia has scaled back his British appearances to just the Open Championship for tax reasons, while the new rule on overseas stars were cited by Uefa president Michel Platini as a key reason why Wembley missed out on hosting this year's Champions League final.
The Government eventually waived the rule as a condition of hosting the final next year.
The absence of Bolt from Crystal Palace on Aug 13-14, a meeting he has competed at regularly in recent years, will be a major disappointment for the International Association of Athletics Federations, which had promised the new Diamond League would deliver a series of mouth-watering head-to-heads.
The only time the world's three best sprinters are now likely to meet this season is at the final Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Aug 27.
Crystal Palace promoters have confirmed that they are interested in signing up the newly-eligible Caster Semenya for a rematch with Jenny Meadows, though the South African world 800m champion would hardly compensate for the missing Bolt.
The Jamaican was also absent from Saturday's Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead, though there was at least a two-way showdown between Gay and Powell, with Gay producing a late surge to edge out the former world record-holder by just 0.02sec.
The American's winning time of 9.94sec was nothing spectacular, though the race was run into a strong 1.7m/s head wind.
Phillips Idowu, the triple jump world champion, and world 1500m silver medallist Lisa Dobriskey were the only home winners in Gateshead. Idowu prevailed with a leap of 7.38 metres while Dobriksey won in 4min 3.69sec.
World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, who was competing for the first time in a month after going down with an inner-ear virus, showed her rustiness by finishing last in the 200m in 23.55sec, though fared better in the javelin with a throw of 46.15 metres that was close to her personal best.
Mo Farah and Chris Thompson both achieved lifetime bests in the 5,000m, clocking 13min 5.56sec and 13min 11.51sec respectively. The fact they finished seventh and 11th spoke volumes for the high quality of the race, which was won by Kenya's Vincent Chepkok in 13min 0.20sec.
Laatst aangepast (zondag 24 juli 2011 22:29)
