Dr. Track reference site is big boost for masters fans
Dr. Marc R. Grosso of Rochester, New York, has announced a new Web site with great implications for masters track fans. Called This Day in Athletics, it offers historical tidbits drawn from a gazillion authoritative track sites and publications. Although history is the focus, many of the athletes in his database (the stars of yesteryear) are the age-group studs of today. This helps more masters to appreciate the gent in the next lane. Best of all, it’s free! (A Finnish site that I relied on for athlete bios used to be free, but no longer.)
Here’s how Dr. Track announced the site on the T&FN Message Board:
I am in the process of developing a new track and field statistics website called This Day In Athletics (DIA).
The concept is along the lines of the history and current event items that regularly appear in newspapers.
The website is located at: http://dayinathletics.drtrack.com/
This is a work in progress. At present it contains a considerable amount of information (nearly 10,000 records), but an even greater amount remains to be added to the database.
Data currently included in the database includes the following:
1. American Records (Men and Women)
2. Olympic Records (Men and Women)
3. World Records (Men only for “standard” events)
4. over 4,000 athletes
5. Birth dates and date of passing for some athletes (885 and 61, respectively)
When logging into the home page, a randomly selected item from the database for the current day will be displayed. Refreshing your browser will display another randomly selected item from the day. (For days without any items in the database, a randomly selected item will be displayed.)
Click on the link near the bottom of the dialog to see all items for the current day
Using the dialog on the left, it is possible to change the day to any other day of the year. An item from the selected day replaces the item from current day in the dialog on the right. (All items for the selected day can be viewed by clicking on the link near the bottom of the dialog.)
The page listing all items for the day contains links to additional information. The links vary depending on the information that ia available. Possible links are:
1. Information on the athlete (all records set, DOB, etc.). More information may be available in the future.
2. List of records set at a meet (e.g., Bislett Games).
3. List of records set at a venue (e.g., Olympic Stadium, Rome, ITA).
Note that no relay performances have been entered. So, the many records set at the major relay meets (Penn, Mt. SAC, etc.) will not appear at this time.
Also, it will NOT be possible to display the record progressions.
There are likely to be errors, omissions, and other problems with the data. Given the amount of data entered, mistakes are bound to happen. If you find an error, feel free to let me know (drtrack@drtrack.com). It may be best to send such notices offline. There are clearly some inconsistencies in the data due to what was available from the sources used.
Check out the site and let me know what you think of it. Suggestions for additions and improvements, and constructive criticisms are welcome.
Enjoy!
