Archive for December, 2013

M60 Dan Radiff savors silver from Porto Alegre 4×4, wants gold

Former sub-47 quarter-miler Dan Radiff has been to eight world meets, including the 1993 biggie in Japan. At Porto Alegre, the M60 hurdler hoped for more than his silver medal on the American 4Ă—4 team. But he pulled a hammie in his first race (the 100) and was handicapped in his individual events. “It was […]

December 31, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Aussies post masters history: Who knew Nixon was a booster?

Age Is No Barrier, a colorful history of masters track in Australia by Bryan Thomas, is a book published several years ago. It’s now online as a 154-page PDF with lots of photos. Bryan draws on earlier works by Jack Pennington and Gloria Seymons. Lots of ground covered. It notes the “fun runs” of the […]

December 30, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Book ’em, Olga! Parade article says Kotelko study is out soon

Bruce Grierson, an exceptional writer based in Vancouver, first contacted me about Canadian masters legend Olga Kotelko in 2010. The resultant New York Times Magazine piece was titled “The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian.” But Bruce didn’t stop there. He began research for a book on Olga (and interviewed me again this past April). Now the world […]

December 29, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

What was your 2013 track highlight? Mine was hurdling at 59

I once asked a multi-eventer friend of mine why he did masters track. He said: “Because I enjoy it.” But I was too shy to ask why. For me, the enjoyment comes via self-discovery. I tell people that masters track gives you a chance to test yourself and, with luck, surprise yourself. My test in […]

December 28, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  21 Comments

Radical Rad enters dec, pent and 10 other events at Oceania

The biggest early meet of 2014 isn’t in Budapest or Boston (corrected from earlier reference to Landover). It’s in Bendingo, Victoria — a town not far from Melbourne in southeast Australia. Bendigo will host the biennial Oceania Masters Athletics Championships. Results will appear here starting Jan. 4, 2014. About 500 athletes (mostly from Australia but […]

December 26, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

An old masters Christmas story via Texas, Norway and Bulgaria

Several weeks ago, a Bulgarian reader sent me a link to a 1996 article about a Norwegian marathoner named Tor Aanensen. The Bulgarian — Ventseslav “Ventsi” Ivanov — wrote me: “[Tor] trained patiently for 25 years till he became a world [10K] champion at the age of 55. … This story about patience and persistence […]

December 24, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Ed Burke in mighty Q&As: ‘I’m trying to beat myself all the time’

Hammer legend Ed Burke won’t be carrying the American flag at the 2016 Rio Games, but his appetite for throwing is still Olympian at age 73. In a wonderful three-part interview with hammer guru Martin Bissinger, Ed remarks: “I must admit my competitive juices began flowing as I read that Boris Zaitchouk and Arild Busterud […]

December 23, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

‘Masters Bubka’ Ritte adds M60 indoor vault WR to vast resume

When Germany’s Wolfgang “Wolfie” Ritte jumped an M60 world outdoor record of 4.32 meters (14-2) in May, it seemed only a matter of time before the indoor WR fell as well. On Dec. 15, in his first indoor meet of the year, Wolfie delivered. According to a German report, he cleared 4.10 (13-5 1/4) at […]

December 20, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

New Zealand makes plans to host 2017 World Masters Games

If you age up in early 2017, you’re in luck. The World Masters Games will be held that year in Auckland, New Zealand. If you’re counting coins, you may have to make a choice. The WMA world outdoor meet is in Perth, Australia, in 2016. So take your down-under pick. According to a press release, […]

December 20, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Wentland calls out USATF for failure to explain HJ record rejection

Gwen Wentland-Mikinski competed for Kansas State University in the 1990s and was a two-time USATF national indoor champion. So Olathe nationals was a perfect venue for going high. (She even got a profile on USATF.) The result? A national record 1.77 jump (5-9 3/4). Her celebration was soured in December when she learned the mark […]

December 19, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  28 Comments