Correction: AW indeed ran sub-4 mile at 40, and made cover of AW.
Certain distance runners have staying power into their late 30s, like
Bernard Lagat in the 3K or 5K. But in the sprints and middle distances, few M35s are still at the elite game. So check out Britain’s
Anthony Whiteman, now 42. He holds the
M40 world outdoor record for 800 at 1:48.22. This weekend, he barely missed qualifying for the final at
British nationals, running 1:50.92. Anthony, a
two-time Olympian, set the outdoor record two years ago, and he’s still in the elite game. His target: the M40 indoor WR of 1:48.81 by American
Johnny Gray. AW’s all-time best is 1:45.81, according to
his profile. His best mark last year was 1:49.52. On
his Twitter feed, Anthony posted: “I think my 1.50.92 800 today was my 2nd fastest ever [indoors]!! … Although I did split 1.49.5 when I ran 2.18 1k in ’96!” He explained why he missed the finals: “Spot in the final missed by 1/10th! Despite not getting to run in my lucky @swiftwick socks as I mixed them up with my kid’s school socks!”
5 Responses
Anthony tells me he is entered at Budapest worlds. He’d be the favorite, no doubt.
Way to go Anthony!
FYI, The caption on the photo is wrong. Anthony ran 3:58.79 mile in 2012. I remember watching it live. http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/249408-2012-Music-City-Distance-Carnival/video/639431-M-mile-Invite-Anthony-Whiteman-Masters-WR-2012-Music-City-Distance-Carnival#.UvlAnPldVn8
Budapest. Don’t think anyone is going to really provide any competition there for him. Cool that he is competing though.
He may just run 1:52 at age 45 in a few years.
Budapest looks like it is going to fun.
Thanks for the reminder, Bill. In fact, I reported the sub-4 at the time: http://masterstrack.com/2012/06/22529/
But WMA still doesn’t list the record. That’s what threw me off.
http://www.world-masters-athletics.org/records/outdoor-men
My apologies to all. I corrected the caption.
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