The myth of world masters championships
For all the marvelous marks at Carolina, we might keep in mind the athletes left behind. An unknown number of entrants never made it to the stadia of Puerto Rico. Many could have medaled. This is always the case, but the relatively low turnout at Carolina (probably under 2,500) underlines the point. So did a weekend masters meet in California, where six marks would have medaled at worlds — four for gold!
Saturday was the ninth day of competition at the 15th World Masters Athletic Championships. It also was the lone day of a low-key masters meet at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego. Directed by 1976 Olympic long jump champion Arnie Robinson, still hobbled by a serious hit-and-run car accident three years ago, the meet provided automatic timing as part of the California State Games.
In San Diego, M40 sprinter Kettrell Berry of the SoCal Track Club, wearing golden Nikes, won the 200 in 21.97 seconds. Although a wind gauge wasn’t present, the wind was negligible. The time would have beaten the wind-aided 22.45 that Canadian D. Lee Provo clocked to win the M40 200 at worlds.
Berry, 40, was giddy about having recovered from a nagging lower-back injury this season. Less than an hour later, he went out and ran the 400 in 50.36 — which would have won bronze in Puerto Rico behind the 50.18 by Venezuela’s Rafael Diaz and 50.28 by American Sal Allah.
In the M65 age group, Harold Tolson would have done Berry one better — winning two gold medals at worlds.
San Diegan Tolson, 65, won the 100 at the California State Games in 12.72. The winning time at Carolina was Robert Lida’s 12.90. Tolson then won the 200 in San Diego at 25.69, compared with Lida’s winning mark in Carolina of 26.28.
Masters great Stan Whitley, 57, also ran the 200 in San Diego. His time of 24.43 would have been good for the silver medal at Carolina, behind the 24.11 by American Charles Allie and ahead of the 24.75 by Austria’s Franz Hohl.
Another masters standout, Joy Upshaw-Margerum, competed in four events at the California State Games. And Margerum, 42, would have won gold with in the W40 200 at worlds with her 25.61 at San Diego. The winner at Carolina was Australia’s Marie Kay with 26.09. Margerum also ran a solo 80-meter hurdles in San Diego. Her time of 12.52 would have taken sixth in W40 at worlds.
Just missing a high jump medal at worlds would have been John Little, 53. In San Diego, he straddled 5 feet 4 inches, or about 1.62 meters. That would have been good for fourth in M50 at Carolina, ahead of David Ortman’s 1.60.
A few others in San Diego would have been finalists at Carolina, including W55 shot putter Ingrid Mancini, 59, who threw 28-0 3/4 (8.55 meters) — a mark good for seventh at worlds. And Lloyd McGuire, 71, did a solo 5K track race walk in 35:52 — which would have been good for ninth in the M70 event at PR.
So what does this all mean?
It means that a small-turnout San Diego masters meet alone could have provided three world champions in Carolina. Think of all the Aussies and Brits who would have won gold as well had they made the trip to the Caribbean.
Some dropouts at worlds also were significant — including M45 triple jump world record holder Willie Banks — who is listed as an entry at Puerto Rico but who stayed home to run a series of Wednesday night all-comer meets at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California.
It also means the masters world championships are a myth. They might not be a priority for many masters. Or expense could be the crucial factor. Or injuries might dissude athletes from entering the meet in time.
In a perfect world, all the best athletes would make it to worlds — subsidized by their national governing bodies. Or at least encouraged to enter. But in the real world, the Berrys, Tolsons and Upshaw-Margerums toil in obscurity and know only in their hearts that they would have won.
Champions at Puerto Rico should be proud of their efforts. But the powers-that-be in the movement should be ashamed that world masters events are little more than biennial international all-comer meets.
With the growing attraction of World Masters Games, the situation can only grow worse. It’s time for some soul-searching on the future of age-group track.
6 Responses
Thanks to gentlemen like Ken Stone, some of us are not as obscure as it may seem. Thanks for the recognition Mr. Stone. Your comments identify you as a seeker and speaker of truth. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.
Thanks again.
Hal (soon to be gone) Tolson
There no 2 ways about it.. KB ran a fantastic time for the 200m.
But you can never compare that to any other meet that weekend. WMA had 2-3 rounds of races, weather conditions, track surfaces, etc.
Remember the boycott in 1980? Having the USA go to Europe to run some equivalent Championship meet during the same time? It’s the same!
Thanks Ken. I appreciate your comments. I realized a long time ago, I don’t need a big stage to produce times.
People who are truly serious about the sport go to the world championships. Saying that a few injured athletes would have won is meaningless; Competing uninjured is part of proper preparation. The fact that a few athletes achieved marks at a minor meet means nothing; why didn’t they do it against the best in the world when it counted?
In answer to Tom’s question: “The fact that a few athletes achieved marks at a minor meet means nothing; why didn’t they do it against the best in the world when it counted?” … I can’t speak for all the masters athletes who missed the meet. But as for myself and several of my friends (Tony Young, David Olds, Danny Martinez, to name a few), we simply couldn’t afford to compete against “the best in the world when it counted.” We have families. We have bills. We have budgets that limit our travel plans–and generally have families who’d like to spend that vacation money going somewhere other than Puerto Rico in July. For many of us, even attending the Nationals in Eugene will prove a financial burden. Add in the requirement to pay excessively large, up-front entry fees, and it’s unfair to blame struggling masters athletes for not being able to participate in these meets. We’d be there if we could! So we do the next best thing: we compete where we can afford to compete.
Suggesting that we’re not “serious about the sport” is absolutely unfair. The above-named athletes and myself all train 75-80 miles a week, including hard intervals, hill repeats, technique drills, etc. We train hard. We race hard. And we travel as our budgets can handle it.
All right, see you at Nationals!
I remember reading this blog after I returned from the 2003 WMA and thought how unfair it was to the athletes who did compete. Although I promised that I was done for that season, I competed in the Western Regionals in San Diego and won the 400 meters easily against some of the people that you mentioned above, Ken. So thanks to you, I was able to find the energy to go toe toe one last time that summer.
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