Archive for January, 2014

World seasonal rankings site coming from datamaster John Seto

M50 thrower John Seto, the hero who launched and managed mastersrankings.com for Americans, plans to take his show on the global road. Today he announced (via comments here and Facebook postings) that he’s ready to take up the slack for the hobbled mastersathletics.net site by Austrian Martin Gasselsberger. John is getting help from several people. […]

January 31, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  16 Comments

Olga Kotelko story (and two other Ken Stone samples) need views

Sorry for the fire drill. If you have a moment, please check out three stories I wrote for TravelersToday.com. I submitted them Thursday, and they amount to a tryout for this national news site. The more pageviews, the better my chances. Please share these links on Twitter and Facebook, and Pinterest and other social media. […]

January 31, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Christa Bortignon could be next great masters vaulter — at 77

Toronto’s Globe and Mail, the No. 2 paper in Canada, turned its attention this week to that other track star from Vancouver. Not Olga Kotelko but her W75 pal Christa “IAAF World Best” Bortignon, setter of 14 world records and a birthday girl Wednesday. We learn, among other things, that Christa wants to be a […]

January 31, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Mike Sullivan makes Massachusetts High School T&F Hall of Fame

Bob Marchetti graciously shares news about world-class M50 quarter-miler Mike Sullivan. He’s an Arizonan who frequently travels to California for competition. According to a Massachusetts paper, “Five well-decorated track stars from Brockton High School will be inducted today into the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame, including four national record holders. … Dennis […]

January 30, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  8 Comments

Norwegian indoor nationals expand into Nordic Championships

Here’s a great way to expand your entry list: Rename your meet! The Eurovets website says a Nordic Masters Indoor Championships is set for March 7-9 in Haugesund, Norway. “All five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway) will participate,” the report says. “The Norwegian athletes will have their national championships at the same […]

January 29, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Grace Padilla showcased on masters-friendly British track site

W40 distance ace Grace Padilla, a Southern Californian known for her bikini briefs and world-class marks, is the subject of a delightful profile on a track site I never knew about. “In 2010 she became double masters 1,500 and 5000 Champion,” says a 1,400-word report on British-centric trackfield97.com. “The toughest thing about this double was […]

January 28, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Deadline extended for Budapest worlds; entry lists are posted

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, you can always count on deadlines being pushed back for major international masters meets. The latest is Budapest. Despite a USATF statement that “the entry deadline is February 3, 2014 (no exceptions),” the LOC says: The deadline to enter for the 6th World Masters Athletics Championships indoors, to be […]

January 27, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  9 Comments

Mastersathletics.net dead? Huge loss to sport if reports are true

The most serious and comprehensive masters track statistical site in history has closed. Shut after seven years. That’s the word from an Eastern European friend, with access to other sources. Masters Mole 377(c)2 wrote me in late October 2013: “All masters athletes are probably extremely disappointed to learn that Martin [Gasselsberger] has given up maintaining […]

January 26, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  8 Comments

Bahamas’ Chris Brown claims M35 indoor WR for 400 meters

At the same meet in Glasgow that 39-year-old Bernard Lagat won the 3000 in 7:49.83, another M35 quietly crushed the listed indoor WR in the 400. Chris Brown of the Bahamas clocked 45.93, which beats the 47.45 of France’s Pierre-Mariew Hilaire in 2001. But given the sausage factory that is masters track record-keeping, who know […]

January 26, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Berra, Pritchett, Shaheed among top performers at Hartshorne

Pennsylvania’s Nick Berra, won his first M40 Hartshorne masters mile since 2010, clocking 4:25.09, and London’s Bernadine Pritchett, 47, won the women’s elite race in 5:17.53 as dozens turned in great efforts Saturday at Cornell University’s Barton Hall indoor meet in Ithaca, New York. The top 50-plus woman was Marisa Sutera Strange of Pleasant Valley, […]

January 25, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  7 Comments