SPORTSWEAR giant Nike has been let off the hook by the UK’s advertising watchdog following a controversial tweet by Wigan-based athlete Holly Bleasdale.Pole vault star Holly posted on her Twitter site in support of Roger Federer during his Wimbledon final win over Andy Murray last Sunday week, linking it to their joint sponsor, Nike.Her tweet read: “Come on Federer!! Team #Nike #makeitcount” with the final hash tag being the Nike slogan.Such tweets have become a contentious issue following a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ban a Nike Twitter campaign last month following similar tweets made by Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshire – both of whom are also sponsored by Nike.Rooney’s tweet read: “My resolution – to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion …#makeitcount gonike.me/makeitcount”.Wilshere had posted “In 2012, I will come back for my club – and be ready for my country Continue reading →

The Russian pole vault queen is the female equivalent of Sergei Bubka. She’s broken 28 world records, just seven short of the Ukrainian pole vault legend’s mark. The two-time defending Olympic champion will look to make it three in a row, buoyed by gold and a world record at the indoor world championships earlier this year, her first record after a rare two-year barren spell between 2009 and 2011  more

Decathlete not giving up on goal of competing for Haiti in Olympics. Josue Louis envisioned himself walking into the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics later this month as a member of the Haiti track and field team, a dream accomplished and a family back home beaming with pride.All he needed was an all-around good performance in the decathlon during the qualifying stage to etch his name onto the roster.But on the second day of the two-day event, the former Ramapo High School track athlete and football player missed a height that he needed to hit in the pole vault, ending his chance of being in London. Almost immediately, the 25-year-old Louis, a Spring Valley native, redirected his attention away from England and toward Brazil, eying a spot on the 2016 team in Rio de Janeiro.  more

Australia –The continuing struggles of Olympic champion Steve Hooker have left the shaggy-haired pole vaulter bereft of answers on the threshold of the London Games.Australian athletics officials crossing their fingers in hope of a miracle after Hooker failed on all three of his attempts at 5.40 metres in the rain-affected London Grand Prix last weekend.This continues a miserable run of form since he vaulted 5.72 metres at his private training base in May to qualify for the Games.Since that emotional day, which raised hopes in Australia that the mental demons that scuppered his domestic season had finally been banished, Hooker has cleared only 5.42 metres in competition, and failed to launch on a number of attempts.He has three weeks to climb out of the abyss before the pole vault qualification kicks off at the Olympic Stadium on 8 August.”I am definitely not standing here in the same place where I was four years ago,” Hooker said after the London Grand Prix, where four years ago he vaulted 5.97 metres in a warm-up to his triumph at the Beijing Games.”I am not going to give up. I am going to go out there and fight the whole time.”Hooker’s woes are a far cry from the glory days of 2008-10 when he jumped 5.90m to become the first Australian man to win Olympic athletics gold in 40 years, and later swept both the outdoor and indoor world titles.  more

Renaud Lavillenie has been left flying the French flag for his country’s athletics team at the Olympic Games, the pole vaulter arriving in London in the form of his life and odds-on favourite to claim gold.After claiming a disappointing bronze at last year’s World Championships in Daegu, Lavillenie underwent an operation on a hand he broke when a pole broke in training in December.Suddenly, his Olympic hopes were put on ice. But the 25-year-old Clermont native returned to competition in February and since then has been unbeatable.He successfully defended his world indoor title in Istanbul in March with a soaring best of 5.95 metres, before dominating the European outdoor season and going on to also defend his European title in Helsinki, with a season-leading 5.97m.Lavillenie’s battle in the Finnish capital with German rival Bjorn Otto has been one of the highlights of the athletics year.The duo employed a brazen gamesmanship that saw the Frenchman hold his nerve to the end and cement his world number one ranking with a classic podium-grabbing performance.It was his ninth victory in a row this season and another in which he has never vaulted lower than 5.82m to win.Lavillenie said that sceptics who doubted his entry into the European championships so close before the Olympics had been answered.   more