Rex in Olathe.
Four years after
losing the WMA presidency by one vote,
Rex Harvey is seeking a rematch with incumbent
Stan Perkins at the October General Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The USATF Masters T&F Executive Committee on Thursday, meeting at Olathe nationals (where
two WRs were set on Day 1), unanimously endorsed former decathlon star Rex for prez of World Masters Athletics. The 14-member group also backed an American living in Germany for the office of executive vice president and longtime USATF masters official
Marilyn Mitchell for either WMA secretary or women’s representative (she’ll decide later).
Friedel Schunk, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is a former WMA treasurer running for exec VP.
Olympic decathlete Kip Janvrin won the M45 pentathlon wearing a traded jersey from a long-ago Goodwill Games. He set a world record of 4,079 points, which included a monster 53.71-meter (176-2) javelin throw.
The Executive Committee met in a small dining room at the Hilton Garden Inn several miles from the District Activity Center in Olathe (pronounced Oh-LAY-thuh), where throwing events were held a quarter-mile away from the track.
The meet dodged a bullet by fixing a problem discovered only recently — that the track had inaccurate markings. Surveyor information that arrived late led the Games Committee to place tape several inches in front of the painted starting lines.
USATF Masters Media Committee chair Bob Weiner (left) took part in E-Com meeting at the Olathe Hilton.
“They were just pretty weak,” Masters National Chairman
Gary Snyder said of the Local Organizing Committee. “There were too many nuts and bolts they let slip too long. It was unfortunate.”
In December 2010, Olathe beat out Jacksonville, Florida, for 2013 outdoor nationals, Gary noted. But he said site selection czar Mike Travers will try to find a wider assortment of bidders for future meets, and allow folks to learn them
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earlier in the process.
Much discussion Thursday night revolved around transportation issues (airport-to-hotel and hotel-to-track), which Olathe also let fall through the cracks until pushed by Marilyn, who said the shuttle service that “stepped up to the plate” is working out. The bid document that stipulates what the LOC has to do for transit is vague but can’t be made more specific without the USATF national office getting involved (since it applies to all USATF nationals, not just masters).
A handful of horror stories were told about the process of getting a visa for Porto Alegre worlds. Some found it easy, others hard and time-consuming. But team manager Phil Greenwald is still the go-to person for advice on these issues – although athletes were advised not to trust airlines who say they can handle visa issues. Another tip: Say you are a tourist, not visiting Brazil as an athlete.
Finally, Chairman Gary tipped the so-called E-Com off to an initiative for 2014 masters outdoor nationals in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He says the goal is to attract 1,500 athletes to the meet — with Gary vowing to personally underwrite the travel and lodging costs of one entrant who hasn’t before been to masters nationals.
He said he also expects other members of the committee to do the same.
Meanwhile, they held a track meet Thursday.
USATF noted these records:
WR – William Platts (M85, Boise, Idaho), men’s pentathlon, 4,624
WR – Kip Janvrin (M48, Warrensburg, Mo.), men’s pentathlon, 4,079
AR – Kathryn Martin (W61, Northport, N.Y.), 10,000m, 41:10.57
AR – William Platts (M85, Boise, Idaho), men’s pentathlon javelin, 36.55m/119-11
I’ve posted a Day 1 gallery of shots from Olathe.
Notable shots include one of M60 hurdles world-record holder Thad Wilson with his M40 son Thad Jr., entered in the 100-meter dash. Thad Jr. teaches science at a Kansas City middle school.
Thad Jr. and dad plan a motorcycle trip to Mount Rushmore after Olathe.
July 11, 2013
6 Responses
I like Gary’s goal of 1500 attendees at Winston-Salem 2014. The record of 1503 was set 13 years ago in Eugene. How about “1504 in ’14’ at Winston-Salem”?
As for the meet, I have no idea, as I am in Fairfax, Virginia. I did see that they had a sensational M40 800, in which Iowan Lance Elliott burned a 2:00.85 and yet ran 4th. Wow. I am getting daily reports from another Iowan.
The meet seems to be poorly attended, only about 40-60% of those signed up seem to be showing up. Its amazing how longer the time between heats and races appears to take without Peter Taylor’s narrative. The entire atmosphere is different without him, we as a group cannot let this happen again, this is one sure way to keep the numbers down by having a PA announcer who has no direct knowledge of the athletes. The PA announcer is doing his best but no one understands and knows the masters like Pete.
I found a top ten performance in that age group that included a 63.50m Jav throw. I’m more impressed by Kip’s 24.00 into a -2.2 headwind! He has lost a bit on his 1500 time.
A couple sub 4:26’s in the 1500 – not sure what the record is for that discipline but 4:24.5 is impressive.
http://mastersathletics.net/fileadmin/html/Rankings/All_Time/pentathlonmen.htm
I had the great honor of random chance to sit next to Rex Harvey on a flight a few months ago. Longtime hero of mine, I sure hope he gets the position.
good luck Rex, you will make a great president – sure hope you get elected.
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