Ashford threatens masters hurdle record
Dave Ashford of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, came THIS close to breaking the M40 world record in the 110 hurdles yesterday in Puerto Rico. Running with a legal (0.2 mps) wind, Ashford clocked a sensational 14.02 in the prelims — nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up in Heat 1.
Heat 2 was won by USA-based Jamaican Karl Smith — who set the current M40 world record of 13.96 two years ago in the Brisbane world finals — the milestone 13.96. Yesterday, also with 0.2 aiding wind, Smith ran 14.67 to set up one of the best showdowns of the meet. The M40 finals are Friday afternoon.
Other highlights from Wednesday:
Allan Williams of Britain won the M50 pole vault at 4.25 (13-11 1/4) as American favorite Steve Hardison no-heighted. Hardison, a three-time NAIA national champion, has cleared 4.11 this year and 4.27 indoors last year.
Poland’s Anna Wlodarczyk, fourth place in the dramatic Moscow Olympic long jump in 1980, won the same event here in W50 with a legal 5.20 (17-0 3/4) short of Phil Raschker’s world age-group record of 5.40 (17-8 1/2).
For her part, Raschker took silver in the W55 long jump. Germany’s Ingrid Meier, jumped a legal 4.98 (16-4) to Phil’s 4.74 (15-6 1/4). Ingrid fell just short of the W55 world record of 5.01 (16-5 1/4) by Germany’s Christiane Schmalbruch.
A day after winning the M50 200 final is a still-unknown time (due to photo camera malfunction after a lightning strike), American Bill Collins was a scratch from the M50 400 prelims, leaving Ed Gonera an easier path to gold.
Perhaps the most remarkable women’s mark yesterday was the 57.07 for 400 meters in the W45 prelims by Marie Lande Mathieu, 46, of Puerto Rico. The world age-group record is 56.82, set at the Buffalo WAVA world meet in 1995. Marie was a member of a Puerto Rico 4×400 relay team that qualified for the finals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics but did not start.
Another great performance yesterday was put on by American multi-event star Leonore McDaniels in the W75 long jump finals. Her series: 3.33, 3.21, 3.03, 3.32, 3.32. All marks were legal except the last. Her winning effort of 3.33 (10-11) fell just one centimeter short of tying the listed world age-group record of 3.34 by Germany’s Paula Schneiderhan in 1997. But McDaniels jumped 3.38 (11-1) last month at the National Senior Games in Norfolk, Virginia — a mark that WMA may ignore.
Finally, world M40 long jump record holder Aaron Sampson backed up his 25-2 1/2 mark of last year by winning the Puerto Rico long jump title yesterday with a wind-aided (4.1 mps) leap of 7.08 (23-2 3/4).
Today is a rest day — but no rest for the wicked. The WMA General Assembly will meet at the Ritz Carlton Hotel to consider a slew of major proposals for changes in the WMA bylaws and Constitution, including a proposal to lower the entry age for men to 35 from 40 years old. Stay tuned.
