Archive for April, 2018

In 2017, Sandro Viana quietly claimed M40 WR in 400: sub-47

Sandro Viana of Brazil is a two-time Olympian and bronze 4Ă—100 medalist from 2008 Beijing. Nearly 10 years later, he’s still in the elite game. But he needs a better publicist. On Wednesday, world-class stat-spotter Matt Bogdanowicz tipped me off to Sandro’s 400 time from last July. Four months after turning 40, Sandro ran a […]

April 25, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Kirsten Leetch sets W50 10K record at Mt. SAC amid thin fields

Masters excelled at the Mt. SAC Relays — but more on Thursday and Friday than the exhibition day Saturday. The headliner was Kirsten O’Hara-Leetch, who at age 52 set a torrid pace around the track at El Camino College in Torrance. Her 10K time of 37:04.87 smashed Kathy Martin’s 14-year-old American age-group record of 37:12.23 […]

April 23, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Steve Scott, 61, retiring as track coach after 19-year Cal State run

Steve Scott made a brief attempt at running the first sub-4 mile outdoors as an M40 in the mid-1990s, but testicular cancer derailed that goal. He ended up helping hundreds of male and female athletes achieve their goals as founding coach of the track and cross country programs at Cal State San Marcos north of […]

April 19, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

WMA replaces website design and manager Jeff Brower of USA

Jeff Brower, webmaster of USATFMasters.org, is done managing the World Masters Athletics website. Last week, the site’s redesign debuted — more than four years after Jeff’s page replaced one led by former Eurovets President Dieter Massin of Germany. (See my January 2014 Q&A) The new site, using WordPress software (like my blog), is pretty spiffy […]

April 13, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  6 Comments

Hundreds mourn Hall of Famer Nick Newton at ‘last track meet’

Covelli “Coco” Crisp took three tries at high-jumping 5-6 1/2 Saturday. Wearing flats and shorts, the 38-year-old couldn’t duplicate the former M55 world record of his grandfather — USATF Masters Hall of Famer Nick Newton. But Coco excelled as emcee of Nick’s memorial service Saturday at Shadow Hills High School in Indio (a half-hour from […]

April 8, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

You can enter Malaga worlds now, but deadline date is debatable

Despite the Malaga website saying online registration is “Coming soon,” athletes who want to compete at WMA worlds in September can sign up here. Closing date for entries, according to the Malaga site, is July 11. But USATF Masters info page says: “The entry deadline for USATF athletes is July 14, 2018 (no exceptions).” Whatever. […]

April 6, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

What’s IAAF Masters Committee doing? No exhibitions at worlds

Writing in the Irish Times, Olympic distance medalist Sonia O’Sullivan makes a pitch for masters exhibitions at major road and track events. She said: “Masters athletics is … a huge growth area that should be used to drive the championships, with exhibition races, or maybe a handicap race, depending on age, which could be a […]

April 2, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Nick Newton dies at 84; Hall of Famer invented modern blocks

About 20 years ago, working out of a Mt. SAC Relays booth, Nick Newton gave me a 50 percent discount on his starting blocks. I still have them — with “KEN STONE’ etched in the rail. His life and legend are etched in me as well. Contacted by his daughter Saturday morning about his death […]

April 1, 2018   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments