Colleen outlegs Rita for USATF Masters Athlete of the Year
No complaints this year. USATF honchos were smart in naming W45 roadie Colleen De Reuck as Masters Athlete of the Year, announced today at the annual meeting in Indianapolis. Unlike 2007’s debacle, when Phil Raschker was named world’s best masters athlete but lost the USATF prize to a W75 roadie, this year’s world’s best (Rita Hanscom, the Masters T&F Committee’s choice for the award) was edged by a distance prodigy who regularly beats top runners in their 20s and 30s — taking prize money at every event she enters. It’s basically a comparison of apples and oranges, though. Colleen, a four-time Olympian, is a professional runner, whose open career never really ended. And Rita is a true amateur, who banks only gold medals. But congrats to Colleen! And also to Rita, whose photo appears on the cover of the current Fast Forward magazine!
Colleen frequently crushes runners half her age in open races.
11 Responses
Congratulations to Coleen De Rueck – USATF Masters Athlete of the Year. Many more years of splendid road running ahead for her I hope.
Both women are amazing athletes and it is nice to spread the awards around isn’t it.
Two crowns please – and two bottles of the best bubbly as well. Cheers.
In a way, I understand that a masters age athlete who can still compete with and even DEFEAT those much younger than themselves deserves recognition as the being the best. That seems much more difficult, for example than many of us who don’t have a lot of competition in our age groups. And we can go into big meets and win 8 or 10 medals, even in events we are not really very good at to be honest.
There’s also not 1, but 2 pictures of our gracious blog host in Fast Forward. Nice issue.
Congrats to Coleen! I do have an interesting question though, does Coleen reperesent herself as a Masters athlete at meets and marathons or is she classified as an Open athlete? Her name or results are nowhere to be found on Mastersathletics.net and on the Masterstrack.com rankings and I do know she occasionally runs the 10,000 meters. The reason I ask is despite her age being that of a masters athlete, if she is at such a high level of competition and does not partake in competing at Nationals Masters meets or World Masters meets that I have read are so important to masters athletes on this site, then doesn’t the USATF open the door for all open competitiors that are 30 and older for the award, boxing out masters athletes that have given up their elite open status? If age is the only criteria for the award, why not give it to two time Olympic Silver medalist, Adam Nelson or Reese Hoffa in the men’s shot put since they are in the 30-34 group? Just Wondering.
That is interesting. I looked up her times and at least three different road races in 2009 after her 45th birthday she broke the American records, bit they are not posted or even pending at the usatf.org site. Why is that?
Regarding those in the 30-34 age category, I believe that is still considered “submasters” and masters start at 35 now.
There are categories for 30-34 at USATF Masters Nationals and I believe at worlds. So if they win, they do not win a masters championships but instead a sub-master championship? I’ve never heard that.
There are no competitions for sub masters at the world level. That’s US invention.
Ok, then the award for usatf masters athlete of the year is an american award and as you say is an american thing. So then why doesn’t 30-34 in the US get nominated?
By definition, submasters were always the age groups from 30 through age 39, both in US and Worlds for men. For women, masters started at age 35.
Just recently, maybe it was this year, the World organization allowed men 35-39 as a new masters category at the World Championships. There is no change to the category of submasters, yes it is called “submasters”, age group 30-34. And that’s the truth.
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