The Herculis Meeting, two weeks ago, had the withdrawal of Usain Bolt, the biggest draw in the sport. Yet, without Bolt, the Herculis Meeting was a near sell out. Not only that, but the women's 100 meters, the deep men's 800 meters, the mens steeplechase, which combined roller derby with a brilliant run for an American record, plus a very deep and fast 1,500m for men and a women's pole vault that shows, no one is guaranteed a medal. 
HERCULIS SUMMARY: 4 world leads, 2 meet records, 2 continental record
MONACO (MON): Four world leads, two meet records, two continental records during and
summer wind-less evening with 16 000 capacity crowd. Stars showed their readiness before
the Games, but also some sensations were registered and top all-time junior marks. In the
All-Athletics.com rankings Herculis is number three behind Eugene and Rome.
Event by event review
Men
200 m: Non London participant Ashmeade wins in a nice race 20.02 over Dutch
possible Flagbearer Martina 20.07 and fast closing Spearmon 20.09.
400 m: Very deep field was ruled by Borlee twins, Jonathan won with 44.74 over
world champ James 44.76 and Kevin 44.94. Merritt limped after 220 m and did not finish.
800 m: Even when non-DL a superb race with all finishers going under 1:45. A. Rotich
Kenyan junior record 1:43.13 (third best junior ever) over team-mate Kosencha 1:43.40,
US Solomon 1:43.44 great PB and Spanish record for Kevin Lopez 1:43.74, also a
European leader 2012.
1500 m: Asbel Kiprop is the king of the milers currently. World lead and PB 3:28.88.
It is the 27th fastest time in the history, but the best since 2004. Chepseba gets
3:29.77 PB and Willis Oceanian record 3:30.35. Other four PB´s were registered.
Steeple: Conseslus Kipruto is the new bright star, despite still having lot of space
to improve his hurdling technique. He clocked second fastest ever by a junior 8:03.49.
Second Kipsiele Koech who was surprised by the winner 8:03.90 and third in best
non-Kenyan mark of the year and new US record Evan Jager 8:06.81.
110mH: Aries Merritt in wind-less conditions equaled his own world lead and achieved meet
record 12.93. Richardson in 13.07 just beat Eurowinner Shubenkov who equaled his Russian
record 13.09.
HJ: Jesse Williams over Robbie Grabarz with 233 on count back, Grabarz needed three
attempts at 226 and that decided. Both had good jumps at 236.
LJ: Watt first loss of the year 812, Saladino is back, in only his second meet
of the year won with 816.
JT: Pyatnytsa won after Paris again with 82.85, other three went over 80 meters.
4x100 m: Top US selection (Kimmons-Gatlin-Gay-Bailey) got world lead and meet record
37.61, second US with Rodgers-Mitchell-Patton-Demps also impressive 37.83, way back
Canada 38.60 ahead of France 38.73 and Italy 38.76.
Women
100 m: Nigerian long jumper Okagbare turns out to be even a better sprinter with
life-time best 10.96 over Madison 10.99, Tarmoh 11.09 and Stewart 11.11.
800 m: Non-London bound Kofanova wins in 1:58.41 over Burundi talent Francine Niyonsaba
1:58.68 (13th best junior ever), new senior record for her country. Semenya not a factor
as 9th 2:01.67.
3000 m: Another non-London athlete win for Mercy Cherono 8:38.51 life-time best.
Second Sylvia Kibet 8:39.14 over World junior champion Buze Diriba 8:39.65
(6th best junior ever). In total 9 personal bests in this race. Russian
Yulia Vasilyeva as 12th 8:51.62 European lead 2012.
400mH: Zuzana Hejnova after not winning a medal in Helsinki showed she is here with 54.12
first place over World champ Demus 54.26, oly winner Walker 54.44 and her main home rival
Rosolova 54.73.
PV: Isinbayeva no-heighted at 470 and Spiegelburg cleared German record and world leading
482 in second attempt. Everybody was there except Suhr.
TJ: Ibarguen showed his class with 14.85 when Jamaican Williams beat 14.50 another
favorite Rypakova 14.46.
DT: Perkovic won again over classy field with 65.29 and is first confirmed Diamond Race
winner with the last provision she must compete in the finals.
4x100 m: Top US team lost the baton between Tarmoh and Jeter at the last exchange and so
the B-team (L. Williams, Anderson, Gardener, Duncan) won with fast 42.24.
Merritt will be ok
MONACO (MON): LaShawn Merritt (stopped after about 220 m into the race) issue turned out
to be not serious. His management confirmed it was a crampt and he did not want to push
it.
Rogge arrived to London
LONDON (GBR): IOC President Jacques Rogge will chair an IOC Executive Board meeting on
21 July and the 124th IOC Session from 24 to 26 July. He was greeted at the airport by
London Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe and IOC member Sir Craig Reedie,
President Rogge told reporters he was confident London would stage fantastic Games
this summer. These will be the last Olympic Games of President Rogge's 12-year term
in office, which began in 2001 and comes to a close at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos
Aires in September 2013. The venues of London 2012 are ready to host world's greatest
athletes. For example the main Olympic Stadium with the flexible design means its
80,000 capacity can be reduced after the Games, when it will continue to host elite
level sport, such as the 2015 IAAF World Athletics Championships. IOC informs.
Moroccan team
RABAT (MAR): Moroccan team for Olympic Games has top names in middle and long distances. The only exceptions ares sprinter Aziz Ouhadi selected for 100 m and 200 m and female 400 m hurdles runners Hayat Lambarki with Lamia Lhabze. Other team members are from the mentioned events also with reserves. Men - 800 m: Amine El Manaoui, Mohcine
El Amine, 1500 m: Abdelaati Iguider, Amine Laalou, Mohamed Moustaoui, Yacine Bensghir,
5000 m: Aziz Lahbabi, Soufyan Bouqantar, Othmane Goumri, marathon: Abderrahim Bouramdane, Ahmed Baday, Rachid Kisri, Adil Ennani, steeple: Hamid Ezzine, Hicham Seguini, Brahim Taleb. Women - 800 m: Halima Hachlaf, Malika Akkaoui, 1500 m: Meryem Selsouli, Btissam Lakhouad, Siham Hilali, Rabab Arafi, 5000 m: Nadia Noujani, steeple: Salima Ouali, Keltoum Bousassriya, marathon: Samira Raif, Soumaya Laabani.
Makau for 10 miles
TILBURG (NED) : Marathon World record holder Patrick Makau has announced
his participation at the 25th edition of the Brabants Dagblad Tilburg Ten Miles
on September 2nd. The 27-year old athlete is scheduled to run either in Chicago
or New York later this year and is running in Tilburg to test his fitness organizers
announce.
OTHER NEWS
BRUSSELS (BEL): Defending Olympic high jump champion Tia Hellebaut told Belgian media it would be a miracle to win a medal at the London Olympic Games. Hellebaut added she has
faced a lot of challenges since winning in Beijing but doesn't exclude a miracle could
happen if she jumps two meters in London.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Coach Glenn Mills told Jamaican media it is very unfortunate Ristananna Tracey missed out on qualifying for the London Olympic Games while adding the youngster will bounce back to full fitness next year. Mills said Tracey needs "intense background preparation" if she is to run fast consistently.
BIRMINGHAM (GBR): Usain Bolt is sleeping in a custom made orthopaedic bed at his training camp to ensure he does not suffer further back problems which disrupted his preparations to retain his Olympic crown. The world's fastest man arrived at Jamaica's training camp at the University of Birmingham this week, but before he laid his head, the sprinter's coach, Glen Mills, asked for his bed to be replaced , reports The Daily Mail.
EUGENE (USA): Register Guard informs that a Eugene judge has swiftly tossed out as
baseless and bogus a complaint under the federal Whistleblower Act that accused
Olympics-bound Oregon runner Galen Rupp of steroid use and his longtime coach,
Alberto Salazar, of injecting him with them. In a motion arguing for expedited
dismissal of the case, lawyers for Rupp and Salazar charged the complaint was
likely the work of Jonathan Lee Riches, a former Pennsylvania federal prison
inmate infamous for using fake names and addresses and flooding courts with
unfounded complaints about celebrities according to the Register Guard.
PARIS (FRA): Noureddine Gezzar, who came fourth in the 3000 m steeple at the
European championships, has been provisionally suspended and will miss the
London Olympics after failing a dope test for erythropoietin (EPO). "Gezzar
tested positive for EPO on June 17 at the French Championships. Pending the analysis
of the B sample, the French athletics federation decided to provisionally
suspend Gezzar," the federation said in a statement.
LAUSANNE (SUI): European Athletics announced that French pole vaulter Renaud
Lavillenie and the Ukraine's triple jump star Olha Saladuha have been voted
as the European Athletes of the Month for June. Lavillenie, the world indoor
champion, lived up to his position as favourite to retain his European pole
vault title at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki. Saladuha,
the defending European triple jump champion, not only retained her title
in Helsinki, she did so with a personal best of 14.99m, the best distance
recorded this year. Both Lavillenie and Saladuha were subsequently named
by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) as the athletes of
the championships for their performances in the Finnish capital. Turkey's
Polat Kemboi Arikan, who followed up his win at the European Cup 10,000m
in Bilbao on 3 June by becoming the first Turkish man to win at the European
Athletics Championships when he unleashed a devastating 57.22 last lap, was
voted second in the men's poll. French sprint sensation Christophe Lemaitre
successfully defended his European 100m title in Helsinki, clocking 10.04,
and was voted third. Bulgaria's Ivet Lalova, who stormed to a European-leading
11.06 in her heat and then took the 100m gold medal with 11.28 in more difficult
conditions at the Olympic stadium in Helsinki, was voted second in the women's
poll ahead of Turkish hurdler Nevin Yanit.
NEW YORK (USA): Race Results Weekly informs that Romanian Lidia Simon left
her Boulder home bound for the London Olympic Games and a date with history.
On August 5, Simon will become the first woman ever to compete in five Olympic
Marathons since the discipline was introduced to the Games for women in 1984
in Los Angeles. "Yes, I am proud of this accomplishment, because I don''t think
anybody else has been able to do it," said Simon, 38, in a statement. "It is a
long time since 1996, and qualifying again this year is something I also wanted
to do for myself."
BUDAPEST (HUN): Now it is confirmed. Hungarian discus thrower Robert Fazekas has tested positive for a banned steroid in his B sample and he denies doping, his lawyer said.
Fazekas was removed from Hungary's squad for the Olympic Games. His lawyer claimed
Fazekas has not been notified of the change. In 2004, Fazekas was stripped of his
gold medal at the Athens Olympics for a doping offense. Miklos Gyulai, president of
the Hungarian Athletics Association, said a hearing in the case would be held on
Tuesday by the disciplinary committee of the Hungarian Anti-Doping Group.
MARBURG (GER): The traditional combined events match USA vs Germany also named
Jim Thorpe Cup will have its 19th edition this weekend with olympians testing their
shape in selected events (for example Jan Felix Knoble or Jennifer Oeser on the German
side and US Ashton Eaton with Trey Hardee). 2008 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bryan
Clay and two-time Thorpe Cup heptathlon champion Bettie Wade will be among the deep men's and women's squads for the full event.
NAIROBI (KEN): AFP informs that fed up with the wet British summer, Kenya's former Olympic and two-time world 3000 metres steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi has opted to return home after a week of pre-Olympic training in Bristol. Kemboi, who is embroiled in a court case over the stabbing of a woman in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret, had joined the first batch of the Kenyan Olympic team which has pitched camp in Bristol, in the south
west of England. Head coach Julius Kirwa said he was happy all the 29 athletes, including
Kemboi had accepted to train together at the residential camp at Kasarani in Nairobi
before their departure for London.
MADRID (ESP): The case of Spanish steeple runner Angel Mullera had a next step. He has
been dropped from the Spanish Olympic team while an investigation into a possible doping
offence takes place. RFEA informs. The Spanish steeplechase champion from 2010 will be
replaced by Sebastian Martos.
RESULTS
MONCHENGLADBACH (GER, Jul 20): During first day of German junior and youth championships, Patrick Domogala won the 100 m in 10.57 (0.0). In the youth shot put (5 kg) the win for Henning Prufer 19.83.
LENS (FRA, Jul 20): Also French Junior and Youth championships started. Ken Romain won
the 100 m in 10.47 (+0.8). Fresh world junior champion Alexandra Tavernier won the hammer
(62.11).