Archive for May, 2008
Andy Hecker’s calendar really tells where the meets are
The No. 1 question in masters track is: Where can I compete? The answer to that simple query tells a lot about the state of our sport. If you ask Andy Hecker of Southern California, he’ll tell you that USATF is doing a terrible job satisfying that simple inquiry. Andy writes: “For my four decades […]
May 21, 2008
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Hinton hovers closer to his M45 world record at 1500
John Hinton’s hunt for a PR in the M45 1500 continued apace over the weekend, reports Alan Sigmon, a track statistician of note. And with an age-group PR comes a nice bonus: a world record. Alan writes: “At the Nike UNC Elite Meet (Chapel Hill, N.C., May 17), John Hinton, 46, ran 3:57.77, his fourth […]
May 20, 2008
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Athletes worry: Masters track reality show in jeopardy?
University of Nevada-Las Vegas played host over the weekend to a two-day masters meet — a preliminary event in the much-anticipated reality game show called “T.R.A.C.K. Live!” Although expertly run with USATF officials, auto-timing and all the trimmings, the event fell short of expectations, according to two athletes who took part. The bottom line: No-shows […]
May 20, 2008
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Track meet promised at 2008 San Diego Senior Olympics
John Schneider, an M60 thrower, had a couple simple questions for the folks running the San Diego Senior Olympics: “Will the games be held this year? If so, will Track & Field be included?” Yesterday, he got a reply from Andy Perez, coordinator of the San Diego Senior Sports Festival: “Yes Sir, we are having […]
May 20, 2008
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Bachman back in the saddle after post-Italy heart attack
In February, I shared the story of how M85 Canadian thrower Garry Bachman suffered a heart attack 10 days after competing at Riccione worlds, where he won five gold medals. He recovered from the cardiac, but didn’t return to competition immediately. Today we learn (from Doug Smith in Ontario): “Garry Bachman writes: Did my first […]
May 19, 2008
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Everad Samuels takes down Bill Collins’ M50 AR at 200
In an Olympic year, it’s common for unknowns to emerge from the woodwork. But M50 sprint phenoms? That’s apparently the case with Everad Samuels, who appears in mastersrankings.com with a 22.66 in the 200-meter dash. Whoa there! That beats the listed M50 American record of 22.79 by Bill Collins in April 2002! But it’s true, […]
May 18, 2008
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Monster discus throw reported for M45 Jim Seifert
Mastersrankings.com and our Forum report a discus throw of 62.30 meters (204-5) by 45-year-old Jim Seifert. The toss apparently came at the USATF-Long Island Spring Opener in Bellmore, New York. It’s a USATF-sanctioned event. But I haven’t seen official results posted for this April 13 meet. Still, it’s plausible. Jim is a one-time world-class thrower […]
May 17, 2008
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USATF Foundation explicitly vows money for masters
Yet again, we read about the USATF Foundation dropping big dimes on youth clubs across the country — $1,500 here, $2,000 there. Not blinking an eye. But is the USATF Foundation turning a blind eye to masters? Not really. I wrote to some of the principals a year or so ago, and they replied: Well, […]
May 16, 2008
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Former prep star hoping for his 70-year-old record to fall
My paper carried the touching story yesterday about a Coronado High School jumper, now 87, who went 23 feet in 1938, a school record — and now cheers on a kid at the same school with a 22-10 PR. Made me wonder: How many of us still hold records at our old high school? I […]
May 15, 2008
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Kingstad vaults American record, gets close to M55 WR
Jeff Kingstad, the Cayman Islands resort operator, reports from Wisconsin that last Saturday he drove four hours to Madison and popped an American M55 vault record 4.15 (13-7 1/4) on his opening height, “then with lots of height barely missed new WR of 4.30 (14-1 1/4), so Wolfie better look out!” (Meet results are here.) […]
May 14, 2008
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