44-year-old Italian leaps 6-8 1/4 in open meet

As we await Sunday’s high jump showdown between M45 Dennis Lewis and Bruce McBarnette at Charlotte nationals, I’m reminded that the United States doesn’t have a monopoly on elite masters grasshoppers. Across the pond, M40 world champion Marco Segatel of Italy cleared 2.04 (6-8 1/4) at age 44 in this open meet on July 29, reports M40 stud Tom VanZandt. Tom writes of his friend: ” If he keeps jumping as an M45 … he will be even more dominant in the next few years. Bravo to Marco!”

Later, Italian masters runner and webmaster Rosa Marchi wrote: “Marco wasn’t at the European (Masters) Championship because of an injury, but he surprised all of us for this peformance (P.B. M40!!! and Italian record M40).”
Here’s a shot of flopper Marco from his Web site: