Archive for August, 2010

M50 sprinter Mike Waller wows as an accomplished pentathlete

Dave Ortman didn’t compete at Sacramento nationals, but he loves the pentathlon. He notes: “Although the outdoor pentathlon is a USATF masters championship event, I don’t know of any masters regional championship that includes it. So I organized a masters pentathlon at Bill Roe’s Club Northwest All-Comers meet on August 11 at Shoreline, Washington.” (Updated) […]

August 25, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  13 Comments

‘Silver-haired, and seeking gold’ is Masters Headline of the Year

More masters wisdom from the Great White North: “People want to achieve things and that doesn’t necessarily disappear because you’re old. If somebody feels capable of doing something, it’s what they want to do, then they should go ahead and do it.” So says Andrew Sixsmith, director of the Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser […]

August 24, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Shabunin runs 4:01.62 mile in Finland — nips Moorcroft M40 WR

Vyacheslav Shabunin of Russia clocked 4.01.62 Saturday in Finland — an M40 world outdoor record for the mile, beating the listed WR of 4:02.53 by Britain’s David Moorcroft in 1993. I came across the stunning result in an Irish athletics report. The M40 mile all-time best remains Eamonn Coghlan’s legendary indoor record of 3:58.13 back […]

August 23, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Eleven complete double throws pentathlon — 9 big events overall

Throwers were in hog heaven over the weekend. The USATF Masters Northwest Throws and Ultraweight Pentathlons were held Saturday at West Seattle Stadium, reports George Mathews. “Nine men and two women competed in both pentathlons,” he writes. “The weight throw — which was the last event of the throws pent. and the first event of […]

August 23, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Greater Philly TC ran age-graded track and throws extravaganzas

Chuck Shields of the Greater Philadelphia Track Club has sent results for a demanding “track pentathlon.” Races were run in this order: 3000, 800, 200, 1500 and 400. Winners were determined by the Age-Graded Tables. Chuck writes: “This competition was held Sunday, August 15, at Gwynedd Mercy Academy in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. . . . […]

August 22, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Unsung Hero Award goes to Bill Roe for all-comers meet series

Bill Roe, former USATF prez, has just wrapped up his all-comers series in Shoreline, Washington. Dave Ortman writes: “Bill just finished up the 42nd annual summer of putting on all-comers meets in the Seattle area. An astounding record considering that he has to drive nearly 100 miles each way from Bellingham each Wednesday night, and […]

August 21, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Throwers’ longevity being studied for master’s thesis at CSU Chico

Young Troy Purdom writes: “I am working with Dr. Tom Fahey on a thesis project at California State University, Chico. The study is regarding power lifting and its effects over time, and to see if it can limit life expectancy. Attached is a list (an Excel file) of the throwers chronologically and by sport emphasis. […]

August 20, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

Deadline for Puerto Rico WMA regional meet extended to Aug. 27

Marilyn Mitchell, our masters maven on WMA regionals and NCCWMA women’s representative, reports that the deadline for entering the 2010 WMA regional championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, “has been extended to August 23 and late deadline is August 27, with penalty fee of $25 for entries between August 23 and August 27.” That’s about a […]

August 19, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Olympian Harold ‘Hal’ Connolly, hammer legend, dies at age 79

George Mathews, our masters hammer friend, passes along very sad news: Four-time Olympian Hal Connolly, a track Hall of Famer, died tonight in Catonsville, Md. Effortlessthrow.org also reported the news. Alluding to Tom Gage, an earlier loss to the sport, George writes: “There seems to be a big hammer meet in heaven this summer. We […]

August 18, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  14 Comments

Scribe discovers that injured athletes don’t like to change sports

Gina Kolata of The New York Times, a bicyclist and runner, got injured recently. When her doctor told her to cool her exercise jets for a long spell, she rebelled. As do we all. She wrote about this process yesterday. Read it here. I love this passage: “There are several reasons some people find it […]

August 18, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  21 Comments