Another WR for Christa, and a W85 American record in 100 meters

The Huntsman World Senior Games ended with a bang Wednesday as Christa Bortignon of Canada ended her season with a W75 world record in the triple jump and Marjorie Fitzgerald of La Habra, California, broke the listed W85 American record for 100 meters. (See results here.) Marjorie’s mark of 21.80 shattered the 22.30 by Patricia Peterson at 2011 Sacramento worlds. (The WR is jointly held by Mitsu Morita and Nora Wedemo.) Marjorie also holds the W80 AR of 18.76, set at St. George, Utah, in 2007. Meanwhile, Christa writes: “Just thought to let you know that I finished the outdoor track season with a world record in the same event as I began the year: Triple jump.” At St. George (where she set six meet records), she did 8.11 meters (26-7 1/4). She also broke the Canadian record in the 200 with a time of 34.66. Currrent world record is 34.40.” So in 2012, Christa broke world records 24 times in 11 events. Amazing.

Christa shows her triple jump form during WR day. Photo by husband, Attilio.

More about Marjorie from a 2009 article:

Women’s 80+ Masters Athlete of the Year: Marjorie Fitzgerald
By Nancy Averett
Fitzgerald’s speed on the base paths leads to a new sport

Marjorie Fitzgerald was a softball player not a runner. Not once in her 70-some years had she ever dashed around a track. But while playing on her senior women’s softball team, California Spirit, she showed some speed as she rounded the bases.

That got player-coach Cathy Nicholson thinking. “I watched her for about five years,” Nicholson recalls. “And after a while, I thought: ‘This is remarkable.’”

So Nicholson, a retired teacher who once coached high school track, talked Fitzgerald into running in the 50- and 100-meter dashes at meets such as the Huntsman World Senior Games, an event that their softball team had been competing in for a number of years. Nicholson supervised Fitzgerald’s workouts at a community college track.

Their work did not always bring smooth results. The first time Fitzgerald entered a race and heard the gun go off, she jumped straight up in the air instead of running. So the next year, they worked on her starts. Soon she was coming smoothly out of the blocks and setting national records and racking up first- place finishes. “I’m just happier than heck to have all those medals,” says Fitzgerald, now 81.

In 2007, Fitzgerald broke the USA Track and Field national record for the women’s 80-84 age group in the 100-meter dash with a time of 18.76. She followed that up in October at the Huntsman Games, where she set a Huntsman age-group record for the 50- meter dash with a time of 9.85.

Next year, Fitzgerald will compete in the 100-meter dash at the 2009 Senior Olympic Games. There is no 50-meter run in those games so Nicholson is eyeing the 200. “She wants me to try it,” Fitzgerald says, adding with a laugh: “I hope she doesn’t talk me into it.”

Related posts:

  1. Christa Bortignon adds 200-meter hurdles record to W75 collection
  2. Brian Pilcher pulverizes M55 American record for 5000 meters
  3. M90 seeks world record for ’1600 meters’ — OK, whatever you say
  4. Grace Padilla applying for American record in W40 1500 meters
  5. M60 newbie targets American record for 5000 meters

October 14, 2012

3 Responses

  1. Terry Parks - October 14, 2012

    Great picture.

  2. Leo Sanders - October 14, 2012

    Congratulations!!! You are such an inspiration!

  3. BeThereDoThat - October 16, 2012

    He Guys, Awesome post. These athletes are very cool people. I had the chance to meet with a few of them at the Huntsman World Senior Games this week as a rep for Hyland’s Homeopathic. It was a great opportunity, and I even wrote about it. http://betheredothat.hylands.com/77-year-old-track-star/
    More to come so keep checking

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