Archive for June, 2008

Masters 3000 at Trials could produce a raft of records

Today is the deadline for entering the final major masters exhibition races of the season — at the U.S. Olympic Trials. On second thought, forget it. The fields in the men’s 3000 and women’s 200 are already stacked. You don’t stand a chance. The headliners in the 3K are the current M45 American record holder, […]

June 11, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Tom Gage, masters hammer great, faces heart surgery

Masters thrower and former USATF Masters T&F chair George Mathews writes: “I would ask all our friends to pray for a successful operation this Thursday for Olympian Tom Gage at The Mayo Clinic.Tom is having open heart surgery to repair an aneurysm in his ascending aorta. Early prognosis is that Tom should be up and […]

June 11, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

Seattle TV station profiles M95 thrower Leon Joslin

Leon Joslin is having a blast at 96, throwing heavy objects and getting heavy coverage from local media. In January, the Seattle Times gave Leon some pop. (Eleven years earlier, it featured him as well.) Now it’s TV’s turn, with Channel 5 (KING) airing a 3-minute feature on Leon this past Thursday. You can see […]

June 10, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Wolfgang Ritte raises M55 vault record yet again: 15-1!

Germany’s Wolfgang Ritte this season became the oldest man to vault 14 feet. Stop the presses. Yesterday, he upped his M55 world record to 4.60 meters (15-1). And Wolfie’s wife, Ute, joined the fun — clearing 2.85 (9-4 1/4) for a W55 European record, breaking the best of 2.81 (9-2 1/2) set by U.S.-based Hillen […]

June 9, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Hartwig loses his vault AR but lifts his M40 world record

Jeff Hartwig watched fellow American Brad Walker erase his American record in the vault today at the Pre Classic in Eugene. (Brad topped 19-9 3/4). “He came up and gave me a big hug,” Walker said of Hartwig in the Portland Oregonian. “He said it was some of the best jumping he had ever seen […]

June 8, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Neni Lewis and M80 Tom Rice featured in weekend papers

You know Neni Lewis, our superstar W45 thrower. Now the readers of the Reading Eagle in Pennsylvania do, too. This story published this weekend profiles her career, which began as a sprinter. Meanwhile over in Philly, the Inquirer tells the story of M80 multi-eventer Tom Rice, who boasts a blue folding chair he takes to […]

June 8, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

‘Sizzle reel’ of ‘T.R.A.C.K. Live!’ pretty much fizzles

Beggars can’t be choosers. So I suppose we should be grateful for the 1½-minute teaser video prepared after the Las Vegas meet of “T.R.A.C.K. Live!” — the masters track reality game show under production. But the so-called “sizzle reel” now posted on the show’s Web site is an embarrassment. Amid kitschy background percussion, a male […]

June 7, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Pair share training logs at National Masters News Web site

Liz Palmer and Randy Sturgeon, tag-team loggers Publisher Randy Sturgeon and fellow Californian Liz Palmer have begun posting their weekly training logs at the National Masters News site — with Randy’s log called “The Road to Spokane” and Liz’s diary labeled “Working Up to Spokane.” Liz writes: “My mantra this year is ‘more rest, less […]

June 6, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

M35 Dragutin Topic tops 7-5 outdoors, but WR is still 7-1?

Serbian high jumper Dragutin Topic cleared 2.27 meters (7-5 1/4) yesterday at a meet in Greece. He’s 37, but don’t look for him in the world age-group records. As I’ve mentioned previously (and incessantly), the M35 world record is listed as 2.16 (7-1) by Russia’s Viktor Bolshov way back in 1974. Dragutin jumped 2.30 (7-6 […]

June 5, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Newbies seek guidance as debut track meets loom

Nevada sportswriter Joey Crandall has announced his goal: running in July and August all-comers meets. He’s apparently well short of masters age, but he cites us in his column. (He admits that he’s just learned that you’re supposed to run on your toes.) But he’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to novices […]

June 4, 2008   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments