Archive for October, 2010

Doug Logan fights back, sues USATF for wrongful termination

M65 pink-slipper Doug Logan isn’t going quietly into the night. Yesterday he sued USATF, and Prez Stephanie Hightower issued this statement: “Today, former CEO Doug Logan filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against USATF, which we have anticipated for the last few weeks. USATF looks forward to the resolution of the lawsuit, which we vigorously will […]

October 21, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

An M85 candidate for Congress challenges rivals to a mile race

Wars should be fought by aging leaders in underwear. And political races should be decided by the best miler. Say what? That second idea actually comes from Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, at 87 the oldest member of Congress. According to this story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Republican Hall is proud of his fitness: […]

October 20, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  13 Comments

Committee picks Neni Lewis as USATF Masters Athlete of the Year

Mary Trotto, chairwoman of the USATF Masters Awards Committee, has informed members of her panel (including moi) that we’ve chosen W50 throwing legend Oneithea “Neni” Lewis as Overall Best Master Athlete of the Year. Whether she’ll be invited to the Jesse Owens dinner at the USATF annual meeting Dec. 1-5 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, “is […]

October 19, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  10 Comments

Tom Gage’s daughter expresses love for dad in touching poem

Tom Gage, the great Olympian and model human, died in mid-July, but a memorial service was held over the weekend. His daughter, Ali Gage Kershaw, posted on this site a poem she wrote and read at the service. “I thought sharing it might allow some of you to get a glimpse at the great man […]

October 19, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments

Christel Donley’s season highlight: Not WRs but world relay reunion

Christel Donley was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 1997 — the second class. That means she was THIS close to being a charter member, a very high honor given the candidates. By all rights, she should be inducted every five years. Just because. Now W75, she sets records in the short […]

October 18, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

Friends of Dallas Kloke recall him warmly in Seattle newspaper

Sometimes you have to die to show people how to live. So it seems with M70 steeplechase Dallas Kloke, whose passing in a climbing accident has unleashed an avalanche of fond anecdotes. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer story reports: “Kloke’s passions weren’t limited to activities involving extreme athletics. When he wasn’t making children’s books for his grandchildren […]

October 17, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Marathon champion Uta Pippig endorses masters documentary

Uta Pippig, three-time winner of both the Boston and Berlin Marathons, says of the masters track documentary screening in the USA soon: “A celebration of life force! A movie filled with joy and life. Herbstgold explores the deep drive of the human spirit that exists in all of us, no matter what our age. The […]

October 16, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Masters age-group world records you can trust — posted at last

Andy Hecker, the Masters Rebel with a Cause, has outdone himself this time. Instead of joining the Greek chorus complaining about WMA’s fatally flawed world records, he’s started his own list. Check this page out. Andy is updating age-goup WRs via Wikipedia — a site that exploits the wisdom of crowds. This means that marks […]

October 15, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  39 Comments

We all want to be Ruth Frith: setting world age-group record at 101

Last we saw her, Ruth Frith was winning golds and pooh-poohing attention at the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia. That was then, when she was 100. This is now: At age 101, Queensland’s Queen Ruth upped her own world record in the W100 hammer throw, going 11.30 meters (just over 37 feet) with […]

October 14, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

Marie Kay raring to go to Monte Carlo for IAAF Gala honors

Marie Kay got the email on Oct. 5: You have been selected by World Masters Athletics as an IAAF Masters Athlete of the Year. Her fellow Australian, Peter Crombie, had known about his honor at least two days earlier. But no matter. It would be the first time in the awards’ seven-year history that athletes […]

October 13, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments