Archive for April, 2014
Free gym memberships for some under Silver Sneakers deal
Seattle’s Jessica Seyfert contacted me before 2010 Sacramento nationals, and I met her at the meet. Now she’s working for another outfit and wrote me again last week. Happy to oblige her on this promotion. Jessica writes: “As competitive athletes, most of us make our way to the local gym to train and crosstrain for […]
April 15, 2014
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Happy birthday to Pat Peterson, smiling sprinter of masters track
Pat Peterson has been through the wringer, battling cancer and injuries. But I’ve never seen her sprint without a smile. So I hope today is joyful as she turns 88. She was one of the featured athletes in the 2005 documentary “Racing Against the Clock.” In 1998, she was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall […]
April 14, 2014
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Ashton Eaton gets to watch great masters races at Mt. SAC
Ashton Eaton, some bored deca-dude from Oregon, will make his 400-meter hurdles debut at Mt. SAC this Saturday. If he wants to be inspired, he need only watch one of several masters exhibitions that weekend. I can’t wait to see 53-year-old Willie Gault, recently married, take on former Japanese national champion Hiroaki Akabori and fellow […]
April 13, 2014
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Noel Ruebel, N.C. masters nationals meet director, is one of us
Noel Ruebel was one of the guys I shared a guest house with at Lahti worlds in 2009. He’s a tall, strong gent who can do any event. He was featured in a local North Carolina paper before worlds. (See it here.) But the story left out a key fact — he’s the meet director […]
April 12, 2014
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Texas thrower Mark Chapman facing hospice after major stroke
M70 thrower Mark Chapman, a regular at Texas meets, is returning home for hospice care after suffering a stroke Saturday, meet director Seth Brower reports. “The right side of his brain is totally gone,” says email quoting Mark’s wife, Cheryl. “The swelling from that trauma is going to worsen over the next 3-4 days, putting pressure […]
April 11, 2014
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WMA counts 53 world records at Budapest; Olga shortchanged
World Masters Athletics has posted a list of 53 world records (indoor and out) set at Budapest last week. Many were news to me. But Olga Kotelko, who turned 95 just before worlds, didn’t get credit for one record — the high jump. She answered an email query (as part of research I’m doing for […]
April 10, 2014
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Is anyone All-American in more events than M75 Roger Vergin?
Four years ago this week, I featured a story about Roger Vergin’s discovery of masters track. On Tuesday, he graciously reported his progress, writing me about his national titles. “In 2013, I won all four multi-event championships — indoor pentathlon, outdoor pentathlon, heptathlon and decathlon,” says M75 Roger. “Also: USATF indoors: 200 meter dash; USATF […]
April 9, 2014
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Eurovets invited to get foretaste of 2015 French worlds at meet host
The Eurovets site says: “Lyon – host city of the next World Masters Athletic Championships Stadia – will organize the French Masters in Athletics from June 6th up to June 8th 2014. Marcel Ferrari and his team of the LOC Lyon prepare the World Masters one year before the great event will start. To check […]
April 8, 2014
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USA vs. Britain Multi-Event Challenge doubles as USATF nationals
Every summer for at least a dozen years, the USATF Masters Combined Events Championships have been held about a month before masters outdoor nationals. Sometimes the meet (dec and hep) follow nationals. But they’ve also been a foreign draw, being called the USA vs. Great Britain Multi-Event Challenge. Jeff “Decamouse” Watry details the next edition, […]
April 7, 2014
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Jess Brewer unveils Age-Graded calculator with 2014 WMA factors
As legend has it, Jess Brewer posted a note to an ancient track message board about crossing some desert to masters track. And then Ken Stone said aha, and started a website. (The legends are true, BTW.) But Saint Jess isn’t done inspiring. His latest miracle is taking the new WMA Age Factors and fashioning […]
April 6, 2014
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