Archive for May, 2014
Kamloops sees Kotelko add 6 notches to her world record belt
They held a little meet in Kamloops over the weekend. A little lady named Olga Kotelko showed up. The result? BOOM! SIX more world records. I don’t know if the Canadian records czar will ratify marks set at the two-day Centennial meet at Hillside Stadium. But it shows our 95-year-old friend hasn’t let fame go […]
May 22, 2014
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W35 sprinter April Jace slain; won world title in Sacto 4×1 relay
April Jace, a masters sprinter in Southern California who won gold at 2011 Sacramento worlds in the 4Ă—100, was shot to death Monday night at her Los Angeles home. The suspect is her husband, actor Michael Jace, who played a cop in “The Shield” and “Southland” TV shows. “Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles […]
May 21, 2014
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Strange brew: British hammer thrower also ran marathons
Much is being made of James Harris of Florida State, a 45.23 quarter-miler who won an NCAA indoor high jump title at 2.32 (7-7 1/4). Well, masters tracksters are often wont to combine disparate events. One was the focus of a British newspaper. We learned of Peter Barber, now 81, who in his 60s was […]
May 20, 2014
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Marie-Josée Le Jour cracks 4K barrier for throws pent WR
One of the oldest throws pentathlon records on the books fell Saturday when W35 Marie-JosĂ©e Le Jour scored 4,047 points at the Toronto Track & Field Centre. She topped the listed WR of 3,730 by Christi McCahill of New Zealand set in Brisbane in 2001. News of the milestone was reported by Ontario Masters Athletics. […]
May 19, 2014
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More than 130 are underwriting world masters rankings site
John Seto is sizzling. His self-serve masters rankings (aka seasonal lists) are taking over the world. And his fan base is growing as well, with close to 140 athletes listed as donors. One M55 sprinter, Mark Davis, has kicked in at least $500. John’s mastersathletics.co site also pledges planned improvements, including age-graded rankings and converted […]
May 18, 2014
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Diane Cummins is threat to Podko’s W40 WR for 800 meters
I really want Diane Cummins to break the W40 world record for 800. Why? Her name is so much easier to type than Yekaterina Podkopayeva, the listed WR holder from Russia. (That’s why I generally write Podko for short.) Diane showed her fitness Thursday night at the Oxy elite meet in Los Angeles, when she […]
May 17, 2014
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Mel Patton dies at 89; inspired many masters sprinters of old
Mel Patton, the USC sprinter and Olympic champion of the late 1940s, may not have run masters track — but his example of overcoming adversity (a shattered leg) inspired many tracksters back in the day and probably even some of us still competing. He died May 9 at his Fallbrook home north of San Diego, […]
May 16, 2014
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Ruth Frith achieved her Olympia dream before dying at 104
W100 superstar Ruth Frith died at age 104 three months ago. But for days, nobody seemed to care (outside this blog). Obituaries finally popped up, however, especially Down Under. Now comes the best story of all — on a Greek site. It says: “It was her perseverance and determination that created some of her life’s […]
May 15, 2014
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Anthony Whiteman revives masters gripe for new generation
Masters track is the Rodney Dangerfield of sport: We don’t get no respect. This refrain goes way back. (I uttered it in the mid-1990s, when I began spouting off.) After Lahti worlds in 2009, Anselm LeBourne took up the cause — trying to rally elite masters especially to get free uniforms for worlds and the […]
May 14, 2014
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Let masters compete at Beer Mile World Championships in Austin
Runner’s World online reports that an inaugural Beer Mile World Championships will be held at an unspecified locale this fall in Austin, Texas. “The first of its kind, the event hopes to draw the best-of-the-best beer milers in the world. American middle-distance elite runner Nick Symmonds is one of them,” the story says. Mark Floreani, […]
May 13, 2014
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