Archive for June, 2014

Carol Finsrud W35 discus record beaten at last (or yet again)?

Hall of Famer Carol Finsrud, now 57, has set American records in the discus in every age group she’s been in since 1992, when she was 36. She holds ARs in W35, W40, W45, W50 and W55. Quite a run. But Sunday at the USA nationals in Sacramento, 35-year-old Gia Lewis–Smallwood won a national title […]

June 30, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

3 reliables set 4 world records at Ontario Masters Championships

It’s not unusual to see world records at masters nationals, but regionals are blessed to see one or two. If you live in eastern Canada, though, it’s par for the course. That’s because of Karla Del Grande and Earl Fee, aka Record Machines of Masters Athletics. Alice Cole is bidding for RMMA status as well. […]

June 29, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Gatling and Upshaw wins masters exhibitions at USA nationals

American record-holder Darnell Gatling is 54, but he tackled the 36-inch hurdles Saturday (instead of his age group’s 33-inch barriers) when he won the masters exhibition in the 400s at the USA national track championships at Sacramento State. His time of 61.61 was almost exactly the same mark as mine in the 300s at almost […]

June 29, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Irie Hill clears W45 world vault record to crack 3-way deadlock

In a WMA rarity, three women are listed as world record holders in the W45 vault. All went 3.50 meters (11-5 3/4) between 2002 and 2006. They are Aussie Dawn Hartigan, Italian Carla Forcellini and Holland’s Brigitte van de Kamp. So it’s appropriate it took Irie Hill of Britain three meets this season to up […]

June 28, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Weight records set on Left and Right Coasts over the weekend

A slew of weight records were set over the weekend. On the West Coast, M85 Harvey Lewellen of Springfield, Oregon, threw the 12-pound weight 12.24 meters (40-2) to nip the listed American record of 12.21 (40-0) by Karlis Ezerins at 2012 Lisle nationals. And Harvey added the AR in the 25-pound superweight, going 7.42 (24-4 […]

June 27, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Certified proof emerges of Jeanne Daprano sub-7 W75 mile WR

USATF has no excuse now. Andy Hecker of Southern California has dug up docs showing Jeanne Daprano ran a W75 mile world record 6:58.44 in July 2012. Her phototimer image (below) and her signed record application (see it here) were sent this week to USATF masters records czar Sandy Pashkin for annual meeting ratification. Why […]

June 26, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Charles Austin named USATF Athlete of the Week for M45 WR

Wanna be USATF Athlete of the Week? All you need is two things — a world record and name recognition. So it went with Olympic champ Charles Austin, whose 2.05 (6-8 3.4) world record in the M45 high jump over the weekend got the attention of the Mother Ship in Indy. It also helps that […]

June 25, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Olga Kotelko dies at 95; book fame followed years of world records

This hurts to write. Olga Kotelko is dead. I got the tragic news from her Canadian author friend Bruce Grierson on Tuesday afternoon: “A major blood vessel feeding Olga’s brain ruptured on Saturday night. Blood bled into brain tissue and caused severe swelling — technically it was an intracranial hemorrhage. She died this morning. Doctors […]

June 24, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  26 Comments

M80 Bob Hewitt takes break from the dec for long hurdles WR

Bob Hewitt is our Ashton Eaton. If he isn’t setting world records (M75 and M80) in the decathlon, he’s trying the long hurdles. But not even Ashton can boast what Bob did over the weekend at the Portland Masters Track Classic in Gresham, Oregon — set an age-group WR in the 200-meter hurdles. Results aren’t […]

June 24, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Olympic high jump champ Charles Austin quietly sets M45 WR

Charles Austin, the USATF Hall of Famer and Atlanta Olympic high jump champion with a best of 2.40 (7-10 1/2), has made a big splash in a small-pond meet. M45 Charles cleared a world-record 2.05 (6-8 3/4) at the South Texas USATF Association meet Saturday in San Marcos, according to his local paper. The mark […]

June 23, 2014   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments