Archive for July, 2009

Lahti rest day: Walking tour, Peters chat and Forum debut

Doug Thompson of Arizona, a former Mormon missionary who lived in Finland in 1979-80, gave me and Tom Hartshorne of Ithaca, New York, a quick tour of Lahti on Friday, the meet’s first rest day, while describing local foods, history and customs. We explored the town’s central courtyard, visited the lakefront and the nearby Sebilius concert hall […]

July 31, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  22 Comments

Lahti Day 3: Perfect weather for an American W45 record

Over the main stadium in Lahti, the sun peeked from behind the clouds and went into hiding several times. But the temps were in the low 70s, and the wind was light — sometimes slightly aiding in the 100 prelims. The news of the day was Renee Henderson’s American record of 12.10. She told me it came […]

July 31, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

Lahti Day 2: Rain at end can’t dampen thrilling multis, WRs

Emil Pawlik won the M70 decathlon, running the 1500 in a downpour last night at worlds. Rita Hanscom learned she had broken Phil Raschker’s W55 WR in the heptathlon at the awards ceremony. Bill Murray needed three massage/chiropractic sessions to survive a pinched nerve in his back to win the M55 deca and set an […]

July 29, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments

Lahti Day 1: Gorgeous weather, stunning marks, lost blogger

Didn’t have WiFi connection last night at my guest house, so this entry was delayed. But now, at 8:35 a.m. local time Wednesday, I’m pecking away at my son’s Toshiba Satellite laptop in the Netcafe at the vast hall where info booths are set up, people pick up their packets and declare for events.  (WiFi is […]

July 28, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  14 Comments

Lahti welcomes World Masters Athletics Championships

Opening ceremonies were held tonight in a downtown square — with entertainers singing on a small outdoor stage as my bus from Helsinki arrived about 7:20 p.m. So I saw maybe 10 seconds of the hoohah, witnessed by hundreds of milling, standing age-groupers from around the world. Lahti has old and new areas, new signage […]

July 27, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

Becky Sisley’s sparkling W70 season showcased by paper

Becky Sisley’s masters track career is long and storied. But now that she’s 70, she’s really capturing reporter imaginations (while rewriting the record book). The latest news blast appeared yesterday in her hometown Eugene Register-Guard, which put her on the sports front page. It even glossed over her current role as active athletes rep on […]

July 27, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Sorensen shares Oshkosh memories: sickness and survival

Jim Sorensen Is Jim Sorensen a warrior or what? Silly question. Anyone who sets M40 world records at 800 and 1500 (as he did two years ago) has to be one tough cookie. But his Oshkosh experience adds to his legend. He went to nationals intent on running the 8, 15 and 5K. But he […]

July 26, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  10 Comments

Missouri masters sprint pair profiled as longtime track rivals

Track isn’t just a sport for life. It’s a sport for friends. Marvelous example of this comes in a slice-of-life article in the Columbia Missourian, the local paper produced by journalism students at the University of Missouri (archrival of my William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas). But I’ll forgive my […]

July 26, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Olga! Olga! Olga! Olga! Olga! Olga! Olga! Seven WRs in W90!

A week ago, the Canadians held their masters nationals at Kamloops. The star of the show was no doubt Olga Kotelko, a 90-year-old ironwoman. Doug Smith, the Ontario masters maven, reports that Olga set seven world age-group records in three days! It helps that WMA doesn’t list WRs for W90s in several events. So she’s […]

July 25, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Q&A: WMA president hopefuls Rex Harvey and Stan Perkins

Rex Harvey (left) and Stan Perkins Rex Harvey of Ohio and Stan Perkins of Australia, candidates for president of World Masters Athletics, have graciously submitted responses to my questionnaire. See Rex’s here and see Stan’s here. I won’t comment on their answers — just yet. I’ll let you be the judge. But notice how carefully they craft replies […]

July 25, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments