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Activities and News
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20 APRIL 2007 Vojislav Koštunica meets with Powell and Beamon The Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica met today with the promoter and the special guest of the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon, Mike Powell and Bob Beamon, and the organisers of this sports event. In a long and cordial conversation, they touched upon the successful sports careers of the two best long jumpers of all time, the world record holder Powell and his predecessor and Olympic record holder Beamon, and their stay in Serbia and Belgrade.  The Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica with his guests |
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20 APRIL 2007 Powell and Beamon invite the Belgraders to the marathon While the marathoners in men’s and women’s competition are attacking the records of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon, the track-and-field legends will mingle with the Belgraders. The 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon, an event that is awaited impatiently every spring and which always leaves good memories in the hearts of the participants, supporters lined up on the Belgrade streets and boulevards, and the marathon enthusiasts worldwide witnessing the TV images from Belgrade, will start tomorrow at 10 a.m. This year, to such images will contribute, in addition to the elite runners from about fifteen countries, several thousand half marathoners and marathoners and tens of thousands of Belgraders, the participants of the 5.000m Reebok Fun Run, the presence of Belgrade’s guests – the track-and-field legends, Mike Powell and Bob Beamon. Radmila Hrustanović, deputy mayor, welcomed the guests of Belgrade at the press conference held at the City Hall: - It is my honour and my pleasure to introduce and welcome our guests, Mike Powell and Bob Beamon. The two of them will help us make the most important sports event in Belgrade and one of the most important events for the whole of Serbia, even more successful and to create, together with the Belgraders, one of the most beautiful images to travel the world. That is why I am inviting the Belgraders to join us as runners and supporters… The same invitation were delivered by Dragan Atanasov on behalf of the Directorate for Sports of the Ministry of Education and Sports and Draginja Đurić, president of the executive board of the title sponsor Banca Intesa. The title sponsor established a new family trophy for the running family that captures its participation at the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon with the best photograph. In addition to the trophy, the winners will be presented with a cash card with 80.000 rsd… A “track” long 8.95m which is the length of the Powell’s world record set at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991 was set at the City Hall. Only five centimetres shorter stands the mark of Beamon’s world record set at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. The record which for 23 years defied the best world long jumpers including the last year’s promoter Carl Lewis… That is why Powell and Beamon, who attended the 1990 Belgrade Marathon, represent the logical successors of Carl Lewis. Introducing them, Pat Butcher, the man in charge of the world media exposure of the Belgrade Marathon, compared them to supermen, to which the 61 year old Beamon replied. - You speak of supermen, but my name is Be-man (in his pronunciation), which means be a man… I still think that the day when I set the world record was incredible. I remember the sun setting as I stood at the course and it seemed to me as if had been standing on the top of a mountain… And such was the jump: 55 centimetres longer than the world record, 57 centimetres longer than his best jump so far. - I know what kind excitement experienced Mike 23 years later, for those are the events that belong to the future, - said Beamon, whose 8.90m will have spent 40 years at the Olympic records list by the Beijing Olympic Games. - I was one of the greatest fans of Bob Beamon and his jump, but when Carl Lewis came so close I began to realise that even Beamon could be surpassed and to hope that I could be the one to do it, even though I remember that, at the time, everything impossible in athletics was termed – “beamonesque”, - continued the 43 year old world record holder Mike Powell. In an epic bout with Lewis in Tokyo 16 years ago he outjumped both Lewis and Beamon. - Looking at this course I myself wonder if it is possible to jump that far. I am happy to be a part of the eternity, a part of the history initiated by Jesse Owens, and continued by Ralph Boston, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Bob Beamon and Carl Lewis… And the participants of the marathon and half marathon race will give their best to become part of the history, of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon at least. The best way to do that is by achieving a result worthy of remembering, and such are the course records. The winners in men’s (for a result under 2:08) and women’s (for a result under 2:27) competitions can earn up to 30.000 euros with a “Delta Generali Osiguranje” bonus for the course record of 5.000 euros. Zane Branson, manager of the elite runners and Belgrade’s son-in-law, thinks that the course record in men’s competition is feasible. - Tanzania’s Sambu, Kenya’s Kipkorir , Mbithi and Maluni, and Ethiopia’s Feyisa can keep the pace of around 2:11, and then someone should step forward and attack the last years’ 2:10,64 of Japhet Kosgei. As far as the women’s competition is concerned, Cristina Pomacu’s 2:29,44 can be surpassed by Olivera Jevtić, – said Branson. |
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19 APRIL 2007 Record participation in the Reebok RUN EASY Fun Run The elite runners are already arriving in Belgrade, the venue of 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon scheduled for Saturday, 21 April. The promoter Mike Powell, the long jump world record holder (8.95), and the special guest Bob Beamon, his predecessor (8.90), are expected to arrive tonight. - For over a decade, UNICEF and the Belgrade Marathon successfully cooperate in an attempt to popularise sport among children. Last year this cooperation was extended to the campaign “School without Violence”. It is my pleasure to invite all schools involved in the campaign to bring their pupils tomorrow at 16:30 to the stadium of “Partizan” so they can meet Mike Powell and Bob Beamon, as they hold a public class in athletics and support “School without Violence”, - said Jadranka Milanović on behalf of UNICEF. The host of the two legendary track-and-field champions will be “Voda Voda“, which means that the participants of marathon and half marathon races need not fear dehydration, every runner’s greatest peril, as “Voda Voda“ will provide all refreshment points with the indispensable beverages. The mass participation in the 5km Fun Run is the responsibility of the title sponsor Reebok and the city of Belgrade, i.e. its Secretariat for Sports and Youth. - ENTRIX has a long-term contract with the Belgrade Marathon and this year’s Fun Run fits into the global campaign of Reebok – RUN EASY. This means that what counts is the sheer pleasure of running, and not the result itself, - said Desanka Vasiljević, the representative of ENTRIX, agent of sportswear REEBOK. - I would like to commend City Council, its Secretariats and public communal services, and the organisers of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon for their efforts to make Belgrade function in the best possible way on 21 April. Belgrade will serve as an excellent host to the runners and guests from all over the world. Our aim is that every race has at least one runner more than the last year. The same goes for the persons with disabilities who will take part in the Fun Run. We expect that, compared with the last year, the number of participants in the Fun Run will be doubled. The city provided the buses so that the participants of the 5km race from numerous schools from every municipality of Belgrade will come. In this way we are continuing a story that will keep on growing in years to come, - added Goran Kreclović, City Secretary for Sports and Youth. Again this year, all the events taking place in Belgrade tomorrow and on Saturday will be seen on all continents. - Last year we had the best media coverage since the start of the Belgrade Marathon. Thanks to the networks such as BBC and CNN, and programmes and services such as EURO NEWS, EUROSPORT, TRANS WORLD SPORT and GILLETE WORLD SPORT, the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon was seen in about 200 countries. The arrival of Carl Lewis, the best athlete of all time, contributed to that, and I think that Dejan Nikolić made a good choice when deciding upon Lewis’s successor. He reasoned that it had to be the only man ever to beat Lewis, the world record holder Mike Powell, who will be accompanied by his predecessor Bob Beamon, - said Pat Butcher, the man in charge of the launching of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon into the world. It was The Belgrade Marathon Ltd. director Dejan Nikolić’s great pleasure to announce the press conference scheduled for tomorrow at which will be present the promoter Mike Powell and the special guest Bob Beamon, and Olivera Jevtić, the European marathon vice-champion in women’s competition and the most prominent name of Saturday’s race. - We hope that the weather will be fine, not too warm and without wind. Unfortunately that does not depend on us, but the forecast is promising, - said Dejan Nikolić after he had introduced the favourites. Amongst them are: Andrea Sambu, 27 years old (TAN), personal best 2:09,52, Johnstone Kipkorir , 27 (KEN), 2:10,44, Tusse Feyisa, 24 (ETH), 2:11,39, Joseph Mbithi, 31 (KEN), 2:11,53, Simon Maiyo, 30 (KEN), 2:12,56, Paul Korir, 32 (KEN), 2:12,58, Nicholas Chelimo, 24 (KEN), 2:13,05, John Maluni, 26 (KEN), 2:13,17 and John Kioko, 33 (KEN), 2:14,09. The following marathon debutants command attention: Kenya’s Joseph Maina and Philemon Tanui, and seventeen year old Tanzanian Abihorera Borai. In women’s competiton the favourites are Olivera Jevtić, 30 (SRB), 2:25,23, Alena Makolava (BLS), 2:29,12, Karina Perez, 21 (MEX), 2:36,11, Yelena Kozhevnikova, 34 (RUS), 2:39,18, Venera Sarmasova, 38 (RUS), 2:39,22, Lene Duus, 32 (Danska), 2:40,21, Irina Pankovskaya, 21 (RUS), 2:46,52, and the debutant Linah Chirchir (KEN). |
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17 April 2007 Belgrade is ready for the marathon jubilee - announced at the press conference held at the City Hall Ranko Matijašević, president of the Executive Board of the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon, which will be held on Saturday 21 April, announced today at the press conference held at the Belgrade City Hall that the capital is prepared for the marathon jubilee. - All City Secretariats and public communal services have completed their part of responsibilities concerning the preparations for an uninterrupted enactment of the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon. As far as we are concerned, the marathon may take place tomorrow, - said Ranko Matijašević, president of the Executive Board. City Secretariat of Transport plays the most active part in the technical organisation of the marathon, which through different services involves several thousand people. - Directorate for public roads and public transport is prepared for the marathon day during which 30 streets and 28 junctions will be closed for approximately five hours due to the race. We have harmonised alternative routes and public transport timetables, we have altered traffic signalisation so that the Belgraders who do not participate in the marathon may commute through the city, - said Zoran Pešović, City Secretary of Transport. The company “Beograd put” has also finished its part and according to the words of Dragomir Spasić, technical director, the entire marathon course has been repaired and the only thing that remains to been done is the reconstruction of Vojvođanska St. The participants of the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon, among which are the elite foreign runners and the best Serbian athletes led by Olivera Jevtić (the marathon jubilee will serve as the Serbian Marathon Championships), will, undoubtedly, be glad to hear this news. - The Belgrade Marathon has always been a good host of national and Balkan championships, and this year it will stimulate the first three runners of the Serbian Championships with prize money, and even more attractive bonuses for breaking the national records and best times set by the home runners at the Belgrade marathon, - said Ivica Matijević, international secretary of the Athletic Federation of Serbia, who also pointed out that the EAA will, just like the previous year, continue to support the campaign “Let’s Start with Sports” which involves the fastest participants of the Children’s “Smoki” Marathon and whose first coach was the best athlete of all time, Carl Lewis, in 2008. This year the public class in athletics will be held at 16:30 on Friday 20 April at the stadium of “Partizan” and it will be taught by the long jump world record holder Mike Powell and his predecessor Bob Beamon, who arrive in Belgrade as the promoter and a special guest respectively. Alongside the Serbian Marathon Championships, the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon will serve as the venue of yet another marathon within marathon. - The Serbian Army and the Belgrade Marathon successfully cooperate for twenty years now and the result of that cooperation is the third consecutive CISM Army Marathon Championships in which the soldiers and officers from Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Slovenia, Belgium, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and Serbia will participate. Our trump card is the marathoner of the national team Goran Čegar, who has recently became a professional soldier. This year’s championships is a dress rehearsal for the next year when we will host the European Army Marathon Championships, - said major general Miroslav Kovačević, head of the Military Academy. Together with the elite marathoners from all over the world, soldiers-marathoners and half marathoners, it is expected that the lovers of running, recreation and sport in general will flood the streets of Belgrade in large numbers. One hundred persons with disabilities will take part in the Reebok RUN EASY Fun Run. - Our members aided by City Secretariats for Sports and for Social Care are diligently preparing for their third participation in the Belgrade Marathon’s Fun Run. They will run under the slogan “We want to do sports too”. This an appeal to the public to put an end to existing physical and psychical barriers, i.e. to allow access to the persons with disabilities to sporting facilities and to refute prejudice that the sporting activities are not for persons with disabilities, - said Aleksandar Grujičić, secretary general of the Belgrade Association of Sports and Recreation for persons with disabilities. Dejan Nikolić, director of the Belgrade Marathon, announced that the foreign participants, especially those from Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania should start arriving to Belgrade today, in order to acclimatize for the Saturday’s race. - We have received reports that they are in good form, but whether or not will the course records in men’s and women’s competition be broken depends primarily on weather conditions, - said Nikolić, and the importance of weather could be best seen on Monday at the Boston Marathon when strong wind made the marathoners run about seven minutes slower than the usual and expected results… |
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16 April 2007 Mike Powell, the Belgrade Marathon promoter The current world record holder will be joined in Belgrade by the former record holder Bob Beamon, the Belgrade Marathon’s special guest The last trace of mystery has been unveiled from the coming 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon at the press conference held at the company DELTA GENERALI OSIGURANJE. The promoter of this year’s marathon is Mike Powell, the long jump world record holder, and the special guest is – none other than – his predecessor, Bob Beamon, who was the first promoter of the Belgrade Marathon in 1990. - The last year marathon’s promoter was Carl Lewis, the best track-and-fielder and possibly the best athlete of all time, which gave rise to a logical question: who should promote the jubilee, the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon? We were well aware that we had brought this problem on ourselves, but a logical solution appeared. Is there anyone better than Carl Lewis? The answer is yes. Mike Powell is better than Carl Lewis in the long jump, in 1991 Powell ended Lewis’s ten year reign, and broke the 23 year old world record set by Bob Beamon, in a direct contest with Carl Lewis at the competition which had been dubbed the most exciting athletic bout of all time, - said Dejan Nikolić, director of the Belgrade Marathon, while the jumps of Mike Powell and Carl Lewis from the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo were being shown at the screen. But – that was not all. - Our invitation to revisit Belgrade and together with Mike Powell hold a public class in athletics for the most successful participants of the 14th Children’s “Smoki” Marathon was accepted by Bob Beamon, who ruled with his 8.90m long jump from the 1968 Mexico Olympics till Powell’s 8.95 from the 1991 Tokyo Championships. The “rivals” that never met at the track will meet in Belgrade with a sixteen year delay, as the athletic meeting “Clash of the Stars“ which had been planned for 14 July 1991 and intended as an introduction to the World Championships where Powell and Lewis should have meet, and Beamon be a promoter of, but which had been cancelled due to the political situation in the former Yugoslavia, - announced Nikolić. Powell and Beamon will socialise with the Belgraders and the participants of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon starting Thursday, and the quality of the race will, doubtlessly, be enhanced by the stimulative prize money, and DELTA GENERALI OSIGURANJE bonuses for setting world and course records. Ratko Živković, manager of the Marketing Department and PR of DELTA GENERALI OSIGURANJE pointed out that the cooperation with the Belgrade marathon is but continued: - For the first time last year, in cooperation with the Belgrade Marathon, we have decided to stimulate the breaking of world record with 50.000 euros and of course record with 3.000 euros. This year the world record bonus remains the same, but the course record bonus is increased to 5.000 euros and, as we have understood, Olivera Jevtić, a Serbian athlete, has a chance to win this bonus. We realise that the importance of a marathon depends on the importance of its partners and we are aware that the world record will not be broken this year, but that does not discourage us from sending out to the world and sporting community a signal that would contribute to the arrival of better runners to Blegrade every next year, and amongst them, one day, there will be those who may win this extra bonus. Ratko Živković also said that if the course record wasn’t broken, 5.000 euros would be donated to UNICEF’s project “School Without Violence”. The Belgrade Marathon entrusted the role of the official carrier to DELTA HOLDING. - We do this at our mutual pleasure for the fourth year. First it was DELTA AUTO with “Fiat and “Honda”, and now the official carrier is DELTA MOTORS and “BMW”, - said Dušan Dobrijević, director of DELTA MOTORSA, and invited the Belgraders to actively participate in one of the Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon’s races – the 5km Reebok RUN EASY Fun Run, half marathon or marathon… Mark Pullen, editor-in-chief of magazine CorD, invited his readers – the representatives of embassies, Serbian and foreign companies, politicians and NGO heads to take part in the CorD Charity Masters 2007, a humanitarian programme of the 20th Belgrade BANCA INTESA Marathon. - Funds donated by the humane marathoners (from 400 to 40.000 rsd per finished kilometre) will be paid into the accounts of B92 “Safe House”, UNICEF’s campaign “School Without Violence” and ORCA – organisation for care of animals. We expect to raise 10.000 euros, - said CorD editor-in-chief. The final preparations for the marathon are underway according to the schedule. - On behalf of the City Council and Secretariat for Sports and Youth I can only inform you that the preparations are advancing according to the plan, that the efficiency of all communal service is on the necessary level so that the common goal can be achieved – that every new marathon is better than the previous one, - said Goran Kreclović, City Secretary for Sports and Youth.
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BELGRADE’S GUESTS
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Bob Beamon
Seventeen years ago American Bob Beamon was already a nearly forgotten
long jump world record holder. His 8.90 metre jump from the 1968 Olympic
Games in Mexico was dubbed the jump for the new millennium. On that 23
October 1968 Beamo was only 22. It had been a once in a lifetime
achievement, or rather never in a lifetime, and soon after Beamon
finished his sports career and retired. This outstanding athlete was
forgotten by all save the Belgrade Marathon. It was as if the people
from Humska Street had anticipated the new revolution in long jumping…
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 European vice-champion Olivera Jevtić desires victory and course record
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5th April 2007.
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