Archive for August, 2009

Phil Raschker’s quiet year: No worlds, just 8 golds at NSG

OK, so M20 Usain Bolt won the 200 at IAAF worlds by 0.62 second — the largest margin in Olympic or WC history. And set a WR of 19.19. Ho hum. At the National Senior Games this month, W60 Phil Raschker won her 200 by almost three full seconds! She added gold medals in the 100, 400, […]

August 21, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Charmaine Roberts gets golden coverage in Maryland paper

Charmaine and her Lahti medals. W40 sprinter Charmaine Roberts starred at Lahti for Team USA (and I have the photos to prove it eventually). Her local paper featured Charmaine today with this nice write-up. “We put in a lot of hard work in the weeks leading up to that meet,” Charmaine told writer Ted Black. He […]

August 20, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments

Bubba Sparks starts blog on plans to fly high Down Under

The World Masters Games in Sydney in mid-October are attracting some top-notch USA masters besides Bill Collins. One is Doug “Bubba” Sparks, the M55 Texas vaulter. Web-savvy for years (he started a Web site not long after I did), Bubba now has a blog about his Aussie Odyssey. “I have some pretty good Ozzie connections […]

August 20, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

N.Y. Times explores doping vs. medication in masters track

I guess we’ve arrived. Check out this story in today’s New York Times. You’re not a serious sport anymore until big-time papers investigate doping in your ranks. Of course, there’s little new in this report. But any attention is good, and folks who read this may very well look into track options in their area. […]

August 19, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Results detail O’Connor’s historic 10,234-point decathlon

Complete results are in from Shoreline, Washington, and the USATF National Masters Combined Events Championships. And if Nadine O’Connor’s otherworldly score of 10,234 points doesn’t impress you, maybe her marks will. Keep in mind she’s 67. She ran the 100 in 14.70 (into a slight wind), threw the discus 21.73 (71-3 1/2), long-jumped 4.23 (13-10 1/2), […]

August 19, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  16 Comments

Germany’s Reinhardt Engert, relentless rebel at Lahti worlds

I first met Reinhardt Engert when he was long jumping in the M55 decathlon on Day 1 at Lahti. After he landed, he grabbed a video camera and started shooting jumpers himself. I gave him my card. Uh oh. Instant buddy. The next morning, I ran into him in the stadium parking lot, where he was […]

August 18, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

No change in masters false-start rule, says Beckers of WMA

The IAAF often dictates WMA rules and policies, but not this time. Newly elected Vice President-Stadia Serge Beckers of Belgium has replied to my query on whether World Masters Athletics (and USATF masters by extension) will use the no-false-start rule mandated for IAAF and other open meets starting in 2010. The answer is no. Serge, […]

August 18, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Suzi MacLeod’s WR mile for W75 featured in Eugene TV clip

Suzi MacLeod of Bend, Oregon, has been having fun as a new W75 runner. This month, she ran the mile in 8:16.3, bettering the listed world record of 8:17.4 by Canada’s Hazel Cameron in 1999. It’s also apparently (and strangely) an automatic U.S. record, since USATF doesn’t list a mile record for her 75-79 age […]

August 17, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

M100 Alfred Proksch, other supervets in Lahti photo gallery

Besides our respect, athletes over 90 also deserve masters awe. And all the attention we can muster. So check out this gallery, the latest in a series I’m rolling out. Alfred Proksch, a 1936 Olympian and 101-year-old thrower, attracted the most press. Documentary filmmaker Jan Tenhaven was all over him with his 11-member crew and […]

August 17, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Eurovets set 20 world records at Lahti WMA championships

In 2007, Europeans set 17 world age-group records at Riccione worlds — with an attendance of about 9,000 athletes. At the 2009 Lahti world masters meet, with about 5,000 entrants, Europeans set 20 world records, according to a report from Eurovets statmeister Ivar Söderlind of Sweden. Quality AND quantity. Ivar writes: “It is remarkable that […]

August 17, 2009   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment