Archive for December, 2011

Men’s 200, women’s 400 to be Olympic Trials masters exhibitions

The 2012 Olympic Trials (aka USATF nationals) will feature two masters exhibition events — the men’s 200 and the women’s 400, we’ve learned. So if you’re in your 40s, get ready for some fun in Eugene. Mark Cleary, chairman of the USATF Masters Invitational Committee, writes: “The [USATF] Indoor events will be 800 for both […]

December 30, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  22 Comments

Don Sibigtroth dies at 81; was a national class jumper in 1990s

Donald John Sibigtroth may not have been a superstar, but anyone with masters track listed in their obituary deserves a moment of respectful silence. Don, 81, of DeKalb died Dec. 26 at Shabbona Health Care Center, says the Mendota Reporter in Illinois. We learn: “Mr. Sibigtroth was a 1948 graduate of Mendota High School and […]

December 29, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Anselm LeBourne misses M50 indoor world record 1500 by a tenth

Anselm LeBourne, our world-class middle distance star, lowered his own M50 American record for the indoor 1500 in his first indoor meet at the 168 Street Armory in New York. He ran 4:10.07 — equivalent to an open time of 3:35.2. This was Monday at age 52, at the same meet where Marie-Louise Michelsohn shattered […]

December 28, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

Lee Evans update: He’s doing well, no longer in pain, says his sister

Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News tells me this morning: “I just talked to [sister] Rosemary and you can pass this along. Lee is doing well, no longer in pain and his vitals are stable. The hospital’s pituitary specialist is in D.C. until a week from Monday so the surgery won’t take place […]

December 28, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Germans alert masters to new list of PEDs — banned substances

Doping rules posted on the WMA website are still dated 2009, but a German post says the list of banned substances has been updated for 2012. Here is an English version of the banned list. Beware, tokers. Pot and other recreational drugs are still on the no-no list. “Natural (e.g. cannabis, hashish, marijuana) or synthetic […]

December 27, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Marie-Louise Michelsohn smashes W70 indoor AR in the 1500

Running at the Armory track in Manhattan on Monday night, W70 Marie-Louise Michelsohn shattered the American record in the indoor 1500 meters. Her time at the Open and Masters Holiday Classic was 6:14.56, which lowers the listed AR of 6:43.30 by Jeanne Daprano at 2008 indoor worlds in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The meet was USATIF-sanctioned, she […]

December 27, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Lee Evans has brain tumor; Olympic legend tried masters track

A shocker: Lee Evans has a brain tumor and lacks the money to treat it. So says an incredibly sad account in The Nation by Dave Zirin. If you don’t know who Lee Evans is, lissen up, children. He was the God of the 400 in the late 1960s, the WR man who was first […]

December 25, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  18 Comments

Ruth Greenfield-Webster still nursing along Penn track teammates

Writing on a University of Pennsylvania alumni blog, Nicole C. Maloy says: “When I joined Penn Women’s Varsity Track & Field in the fall of my Freshman year, Co-Captain Ruth Greenfield was a positive voice in my ear, and a stellar example of what any collegiate scholar-athlete would want to be both on and off […]

December 25, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  4 Comments

Another record: Kathy Martin repeats at USATF Athlete of the Week

This is rare. W60 distance star Kathy Martin has been named USATF Athlete of the Week — for the second time in three months. This just adds to her legend. And not a second too soon. I spoke at length recently to a New York Times sportswriter who is preparing a story about Kathy. I’m […]

December 24, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Kalembo WRs in the 400s getting a second look by Sandy Pashkin

When I informed Douglas Kalembo that his M50 WR in the 400 was rejected by the USATF Records Committee (on the say-so of masters records chair Sandy Pashkin), he didn’t give up. Doug contacted Sandy. And today he wrote me: “I did talk to Sandy on phone and she was very helpful. She requested for […]

December 22, 2011   Posted in: Uncategorized  8 Comments