PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 12 — SUNDAY 13, JANUARY, 2013
Consultant hopes 2013 will be a better year for golf
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Former 15km world champ Limo goes into ‘limbo’
he well-known Kenyan distance runner Felix Limo has taken a bow from the game that gave him world acclaim. The Kenyan chose to hang his spikes after attaining a top-level career that spanned more than a decade. He twinkled and sparkled in the 15km marathon race in 2004 when he became the world’s fatest man on the road. He first came into lime light when he ran 27:04.54 for 10,000m for second place at the 2000 Van Damme Memorial meeting in the Belgian capital of Brussels, which is now one of the finals of the IAAF Samsung Diamond League.
But road race was his forte and on 11 November 2001, he ran 15km in 41:29 at the Seven Hills Run in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, famously beating Haile Gebrselassie. The time was the inaugural standard for the distance when the IAAF ratified road running world records at the start of 2003 and stood as the best time ever until November 2010. Limo, now 32, ran his first marathon in 2003 when he finished second in the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:06:42, at the time the second fastest debut ever.
The following year, he was the fastest man in the world over the classic distance when he won the 2004 Rotterdam Marathon in 2:06:14. Later in 2004, he won the Berlin Marathon in 2:06:44. Between 2004 and 2006, he won four out of his five marathons, his other victories coming at the 2005 Chicago Marathon and 2006 London Marathon, the latter in 2:06:39. Although those three years can be considered to be the pinnacle of his career, and he was arguably the number one marathon runner in the world during that period, he remained close to the top of his profession until the end of 2012. “At the end of last year, I had some tough decisions to make. I had some back problems which meant I could not train as well as I would have liked, which lead to me dropping out of the Toronto Marathon last October,” reflected Limo. “In fact, I have had back problems for a number of years. They have never been serious but were the reason why I also dropped out of the Chicago Marathon in 2007 and they have become a little worse in recent years. “I feel confident I could still run marathons in 2:09 or 2:10 but I can’t do the intensity of training that I was able to do seven or eight years ago. I also have to be realistic, those times are not going to get me into the top three of the best marathons these days,” added Limo, with a smile on his face. “In addition to obviously spending more time with my family, I’m looking forward to being able to devote more of my energies to my business affairs away from athletics as I have interests in real estate, dairy farming and tea plantations. “However, I will always run, I love the sport. I would like to thank the man most responsible for my success, Patrick Sang, who coached me throughout my career and adidas, who supported me for many years. “I would also like to thanks all the race organisers I have dealt with over the years. They were very kind and generous to me,” commented Limo.
Baas in the eleventh round. He retained the belt by knocking out Gideon Buthelezi of South Africa in the second round before losing to Porpramook; his only defeat in 13 fights. The 27-year-old Cabarca has a record of 13-6, with 5 knockouts. He made his professional debut in June 2006, losing on points to David Paz, and in October 2011 he was outpointed over six rounds by Karim Guerfi. Cabarca had only two fights last year. He beat Manuel Videas on a split decision over eight rounds and stopped the inexperienced Jonatan Bravo in six. The challenger has never been beyond eight rounds and has fought outside Panama only once. He is likely to lose inside the distance. On the same card, Ricardo Dominguez takes on Luis Arceo in a lightweight rematch over ten rounds. Dominquez has twice challenged for a world title and his record stands at 36-82, including 22 knockouts. Arceo’s is 2411-4; 17. When they fought in March 2011, Dominguez won on a split decision.
In Mexico City, WBC Continental Americas super-featherweight champion Dante Jardin defends his title against
Carlos Cardenas of Venezuela. The 24year-old Jardin has compiled a record of 21-3; 18. Cardenas stands at 20-6-1; 13.
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amuel Emehelu, a golf consultant, said the country’s golf circuit might record a more successful year, if the Professional Golfers Association could sustain the 2012 momentum. Emehelu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said in Lagos that with more corporate sponsorships in place, the sport could soar to the desired height. “Golf will grow tremendously this year if we can consolidate on the achievement of last year, more golf courses are sprouting up now; for instance in Akure, we now have one. “And towards the end of last year, we witnessed the biggest golf tour, sponsored by Globacom Telecommunications, which shows that golf is gradually gaining ground,” Emehelu said. Emehelu said the recent collaborative efforts between the PGA and Globacom was a foretaste of what lies ahead if the partnership was sustained stressing more of such partnership are likely to be seen this year. “It is essential for the development of golf,” the consultant added. He stressed that with more championships, players would be kept busy all through the year, thereby improving their ratings internationally. “Nigerian players will be better off for it, they will make more money and remain in form, and their rating too in Africa and the world at large,” he said. It would be recalled that the Glo Golf Tour West Africa, which was held from Nov. 8 to Dec. 9, 2012, coursed through some major golf courses across the country. The tour featured 50 amateur golfers and 300 professionals in each of the cities that hosted the event, plus prize money of N62.5 million attached to it. Major golf turfs like the Asaba Golf and Country Club, the Sagamu Golf Club, the IBB Golf Course Abuja and the Oturkpo Golf Course, where the tour ended, all rose to the occasion.
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Kuroda to challenge WBA champ as Hernandez stakes WBC title
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asayuki Kuroda will challenge WBA flyweight champion Juan Carlos Reveco for his title on February 27. The Japanese fighter’s handlers said on Monday Kuroda would fight the Argentinian at the Todoroki Arena in Kawasaki near Tokyo. It will be a first shot at a world title for the 26-year-old Kuroda, who is ranked ninth by the WBA and has a record of 21 wins, including 13 knockouts, against three defeats and two draws. Reveco, a former light-flyweight champion, has 29 wins, including 16 knockouts, and has lost only once. Meanwhile, Adrian Hernandez, one of many Mexican stars, is scheduled to make the first defence of his WBC junior flyweight belt when he takes on Dirceu Cabarca of Panama in Toluca tonight. Hernandez, who has a record of 25-21, with 16 knockouts, comes off an impressive sixth-round stoppage win over Kompayak Porpramok, a 46-3 veteran. He won the WBC light-flyweight belt on April 30 2011 when he stopped Gilberto Keb
Adrian Hernandez (252-1, 16 KOs) regained his WBC light flyweight title by dethroning the reigning champion Kompayak “Suthico” Porpramook (46-4, 31 KOs).