Archive for August, 2007

52-year-old marathoner at Osaka? Not so fast, IAAF

I don’t pay much attention to the roadies, but I couldn’t overlook this note from Osaka: “Seteng Ayele , a 52-year-old Israeli, is the oldest competitor in history to finish any event at the IAAF World championships . . . He placed 19th in the men’s marathon with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, […]

August 31, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  Comments Closed

New lists of WMA world champions add DOBs, wind

My masters friend Rosa Marchi of Italy shares news of a great new reference: this “Register of Honor” of all world masters champions by event and age group since the inaugural 1975 meet in Toronto. Here’s the list of 100-meter men’s champions, for example. Filippo Luigi Fasolato and Werter Corbelli are credited for this work, […]

August 31, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

WCSN webcast from Osaka is track porn at its finest

And I mean porn in the clean sense. I’ve been sneaking frequent peeks at the wcsn.com webcast of the IAAF world meet in Osaka — both live coverage (which I’m ogling while typing this) and archived video. If you get past the small screen and occasional glitches, you have one of the best track-video experiences […]

August 30, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Danny McFarlane’s M35 world record ignored anew

Jamaica’s Danny McFarlane, who turned 35 in June, ran the 400-meter hurdles in 48.32 on Aug. 26. This shattered the listed M35 world record of 48.93 by American Nat Page in 1992. But will Danny’s mark be ratified? Don’t count on it. The mark occurred in the semifinals at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka […]

August 29, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

M75 vaulter overcomes two bypasses, stroke, other ills

John Gracey, an M75 vaulter in New Grenada, Pennsylvania, plays with pain. How much? According to Joel Rineer’s Sunday piece in the Chambersburg Public Opinion: “Gracey . . . has had to endure a chronic back injury, two bypass surgeries on his heart, having his gall bladder removed, a stroke and, most recently, a shoulder […]

August 29, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Late entries allowed by Italians into Riccione worlds

Annette and Robert Koop share an interesting tidbit on their German masters blog. They report that six Italian athletes (Later correction: Comments point out the nationality wasn’t specified. My apologies –ken) were admitted to next month’s Riccione world meet after the entry deadline. The horror! Actually, the funny part is how this contrasted with Germany’s […]

August 28, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Pond scum makes comeback via masters track stars

More than 10 years ago, I had a field day mocking a fad supplement called Super Blue Green Algae. The scientific name for this stuff is Aphanizomenon flos-aquae. Then a decade passed with no peep from the folks in Oregon hyping this “super food.” But at Orono nationals, W60 multi-eventer Kathy Jager of Arizona buttonholed […]

August 28, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

French launch Web site for 2008 WMA world indoors

The folks in Clermont-Ferrand, France, have begun building their Web site for the third WMA World Masters Indoor Championships in March 2008 (a week before USATF indoor nationals). Entry fees are listed in Euros, and other info is given. Lots of cupboards are still bare, though. But it’s nice that they’ve posted a calendar of […]

August 27, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  Comments Closed

Merlene Ottey’s last IAAF worlds? Don’t bet on it

Merlene Ottey is 47 — and the oldest sprinter at Osaka this week. Alas, she didn’t make it out of the heats at IAAF worlds. But she still made her presence known. USA Today included this note about her performance: “At 47, Merlene Ottey is still running — and nearly at the top level. The […]

August 27, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  Comments Closed

Greek scholar: Masters track recaptures Oly spirit

One of the best things about nationals is meeting new people. At the Orono Athletes Banquet, I chatted with a lady named Margaret Kaufman of Madison, Wisconsin. She’s a national-class W60 sprinter. But even more interesting: She’s a world-class Greek scholar. Margaret wrote me: “I wanted to give you my website address: www.margaretgeorge.com. If you […]

August 26, 2007   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments