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Bolt roadshow touches down in Oslo

Usain Bolt's pre-Olympic European roadshow touches down in the Norwegian capital on Thursday, the Jamaican track star aiming to ratchet up the pressure on pretenders to his double sprint crowns.

Published: 6 June 2012 09:14 CEST
Bolt roadshow touches down in Oslo
Usain Bolt takes the Airport Express Train in to Oslo (Photo: Fredrik Varfjell/Scanpix).

Bolt, the reigning Olympic 100 and 200m champion and world record holder in the two events, rebounded from a heavy-legged 10.04sec in the 100m in Ostrava with a blistering 9.76sec in last week's Diamond League meet in Rome.

"I never doubt my ability, never. People forget, and I keep explaining to people, that athletes have bad days," the 25-year-old said of his outing in the Czech Republic, which he still managed to win despite posting the slowest 100m time of his senior career, albeit in cold, blustery conditions.

"Every athlete can – cricket, football, any sport – you have bad days and that was just one of mine and I got past it and now I'm just moving forward."

Bolt has seen compatriots Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake and American Justin Gatlin emerge as his closest rivals this season, and says the fact that the trio are also running fast was good not only for him but the sport as a whole.

"The season is still early. Everybody is running 9.8 so that's good competition. 9.7 is also good for me," he said.

"I'm happy with the way it is and just want to continue working hard and run faster so I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready to go."

He added: "I will run my best and give the audience what they came here for.

"It was a good duel between Powell and me in Rome and I know that he is strong in the start. It is about technique and execution, so this will not be a problem on Thursday."

Powell, the former world record holder who has dipped under the 10sec mark close to 80 times, will also be on the blocks at Thursday's Bislett Games for his second race against Bolt in seven days.

Another star of the track will go in the 5,000m: Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, the reigning Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion who is battling to rediscover
his world-beating form after injury.

Bekele struggled in his season-opening 3,000m in Doha last month, only finishing seventh, and he faces a tall order here, always a target for a slew of compatriots such as Imane Merga and Sileshi Sihine.

He improved to finish fourth in Eugene on Saturday, but was still more than three seconds off Briton Mo Farah's winning time.

The famed Dream Mile will feature a familiar clutch of Ethiopians and Kenyans, led by world indoor bronze medallist Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Eugene 1,500m winner Asbel Kiprop, also the Olympic champion, and Daniel Komen.

Australian world champion Sally Pearson will make her long-awaited European debut after choosing to remain in her native country for the early part of the season after also clinching the world indoor 60m hurdles title in March.

She faces a tough outing in the 100m hurdles against American duo Danielle Carruthers and Lolo Jones, Canadians Phylicia George and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, as well as US-born Briton Tiffany Porter.

British heptathlete Jessica Ennis will also compete in her bid to sharpen up for the multi-discipline event.

Pearson, who claimed the world title in Daegu last year and was named the 2011 women's athlete of the year, said she would arrive in Europe confident in her training to date and what lies on the road ahead before her bid to win gold in London in early August.

"It's going to be a smashing field in Oslo. So many of the girls are running because it provides a chance to run heats and then a final. It will be really exciting."

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CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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