Archive for March, 2008

South Manchester paper honors memory of Fran Scott

In an article headlined “Fran was a champion of human courage,” the South Manchester Reporter in England recalls the late M45 sprinter Fran Scott, whose death touched many. The new article provides more details on his illness, and it concludes by quoting his training partner Steve Peters: “I saw him run 11.4 seconds in the […]

March 27, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Time for a ‘retro’ meet! 100-yard dash, bamboo poles . . .

Westmont College in Santa Barbara is one of the last schools to chuck its old-style track and install an all-weather oval. But before they spike the old set-up, they’re going “retro” — holding a meet with old distances like the 100-yard dash and time everything by stopwatch. Check out this story on the meet. Made […]

March 27, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

More than 100 videos posted of Clermont-Ferrand action!

Linda Carty, a W40 American sprinter, videotaped scores of events at the WMA world indoor championships last week in France and posted them in AVI format. Click here to see a list of the videos. They take a really long time to download, but they are very big on the screen. This one apparently shows […]

March 26, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Phil Raschker immortalized by Olympic artist on YouTube

Phil Raschker never stood atop an Olympic podium in her youth (and if she had, the tune playing wouldn’t have been “The Star-Spangled Banner,” since she grew up in Germany.) But she gets her national anthem moment now with the posting of an artsy video by fellow naturalized citizen Roald Bradstock, the javelin champ. Roald […]

March 26, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

A special athlete is silenced: Cancer claims Louise Clark

Louise had a spectacular voice and verve for life. Louise Clark, a national-class sprinter who volunteered her world-class singing talents at track meets for more than a decade, died over the weekend, confirms the Armory Track in New York. Private notes indicate that the cancer she’d been fighting for years had reached her brain. Louise […]

March 26, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  10 Comments

Carl Lewis vs. Dennis Mitchell vs. Leroy Burrell in 2007!

Can’t believe I just heard of this, but it almost defies belief: Last August in Japan, former superstar sprinters Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell (respective ages 46, 40 and 41) lined up against each other in a 100-meter showdown. No kidding. The proof is in this YouTube video. The “dream match” doesn’t begin […]

March 25, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Officials among obstacles for world-class M45 hurdler

Georgia hurdler Dexter McCloud, a world champion at 2006 Linz indoors, is the latest athlete to register complaints about the Clermont-Ferrand debacle. Dexter writes: “I’m responding to your blog about the nonsense that went on at the Indoor Worlds in France. If you see the results for the M45 hurdles, you’ll see that I was […]

March 24, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  21 Comments

Eurovet also upset by organization at Clermont-Ferrand

The Yanks aren’t alone. M50 sprint finalist and relay medalist Tom Phillips of Great Britain also finds fault in how indoor worlds was run. Tom writes: “I’ve come away from the championships happy at my own running, and with many good memories and new friends. I saw quite a few occasions where athletes over-reacted to […]

March 24, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Dan O’Brien’s debut in masters? Discus mark reported

Mastersrankings.com reports an M40 discus throw of 48.57 (159-4) at the Baldy Castillo meet Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. Not bad, but not newsworthy — except for the name attached. It’s Dan O’Brien, a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA indoor champion Arizona State University. Apparently out for a fling, Dan might have registered his first M40 […]

March 24, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

First reports from Clermont-Ferrand: Send in the clowns

Indoor track meets have been likened to three-ring circuses. So what can you say about a six-day meet with a couple dozen age groups (male and female)? Not enough. Clermont-Ferrand was overwhelming, especially when every athlete has a story. And the results page (I’ve copied the USA one here) can barely do it justice. For […]

March 23, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments