Bergen, LeBourne, Obera named U.S. Masters Athletes of 2015
Anselm LeBourne has been named USATF Male Masters T&F Athlete of 2015, and Kathy Bergen and Irene Obera will share female honors after a year in which each set a half-dozen world records and won gold at Lyon. The USATF Masters Awards Committee informed them over the weekend, and reactions are coming in. For M55 middle-distancer Anselm, it’s his first time. “Other than being selected to the USATF [Masters] Hall of Fame, this is the pinnacle of accomplishments in USA masters track and field,” he told me Monday. “There is no higher honor than this. I have won the age group Athlete of the Year about 4 times but never the overall athlete of the year. What this mean to me is that the Masters Awards committee appreciated my accomplishments and have rewarded me. I appreciate that.”
Alan Kolling, W80 sprinter/hurdler Irene’s friend and coach, wrote me: “I called Irene [Sunday] night and she was very pleased and genuinely humbled to hear of the award. She was also very happy to share the award with Kathy, who she recognizes has had such a tremendous record-breaking season. … Irene is always very grateful when she gets any recognition or award, but she still just runs and competes for the sheer joy of it. And that’s what makes working with her so much fun.”
For Hall of Famer Irene, it is her fourth Female Masters Athlete of the Year award — including when she was a W45 in 1979 and again in 1984 as a W50. And last year.
Hall of Famer Kathy — my teammate in the Southern California Striders — had rare world record doubles — in the high jump and sprints. And sharing AoY honors has happened eight other times since 1978.
She shared her reaction Tuesday:
I am stunned, thrilled and honored to be sharing this award with Irene Obera, a track legend. I did work hard this year, but I never expected to receive our highest award in Track & Field. Aging up is a wonderful thing. Congratulations to Irene and Anselm. A little known fact: I graduated from St. Anselm’s Grammar School. … I feel so elated. This is truly the icing on the cake.
Masters Awards Committee Chairwoman Mary Trotto helped prepared this list of AoY winners:
Year Men Women
2014 BOB HEWITT IRENE OBERA
2013 CHARLIE ALLIE/ORVILLE ROGERS MYRLE MENSEY
2012 BOB LIDA JEANNE DAPRANO
2011 NOLAN SHAHEED FLO MEILER/JOHNNYE VALIEN
2010 RALPH MAXWELL/NOLAN SHAHEED ONEITHEA (NENI) LEWIS
2009 WILLIAM MURRAY RITA HANSCOM
2008 BILL COLLINS KATHY MARTIN/KAY GLYNN
2007 NOLAN SHAHEED PHIL RASCHKER
2006/7 NOLAN SHAHEED ALISA HARVEY
2006 BILL COLLINS NADINE O’CONNOR
2005 EMIL PAWLIK NADINE O’CONNOR
2004 RODERICK PARKER KATHRYN MARTIN
2003 BILL COLLINS LEONORE MCDANIELS
2002 LARRY COLBERT PHIL RASCHKER
2001 NOLAN SHAHEED JOHNNYE VALIEN
2000 JAMES STOOKEY PHIL RASCHKER
1999 MEL LARSEN PHIL RASCHKER
1998 JAMES STOOKEY LEONORE MCDANIELS
1997 BILL COLLINS PHIL RASCHKER
1996 JAMES STOOKEY MARY LIBAL
1995 STEVE ROBBINS PHIL RASCHKER
1994 ROSS CARTER PHIL RASCHKER
1993 PHIL MULKEY PHIL RASCHKER
1992 STAN WHITLEY SHIRLEY MATSON/PHIL RASCHKER
1991 JACK GREENWOOD BETTY VOSBURGH
1990 LARRY ALMBERT CHRISTEL MILLER/PHIL RASCHKER
1989 JACK GREENWOOD PHIL RASCHKER
1988 GARY MILLER/STAN WHITLEY PHIL RASCHKER
1987 TOM PATSALIS PHIL RASCHKER
1986 JACK GREENWOOD CHRISTEL MILLER
1985 JIM BURNETT POLLY CLARKE
1984 ED BURKE/PARRY O’BRIEN IRENE OBERA
1983 JACK GREENWOOD POLLY CLARKE
1982 AL OERTER PHIL RASCHKER
1981 JIM BURNETT JUDY FOX
1980 AL OERTER JOANN GRISSOM
1979 ERNIE BILLUPS IRENE OBERA
1978 GEORGE KER
9 Responses
Congratulations to three great champions. Well-deserved.
Congratulations to one of the best athletes in La Canada, CA, Kathy Bergen. Also to one of the top two athletes in La Canada, Bert Bergen. Congrats to Irene and Anselm as well.
On behalf of the people of Success Village Trinidad and Tobago, we salute the accomplishments of our Anslem, you have made an Entire Village and Nation proud, Continued Northward Success .
A well deserved honor Kathy Bergen! Congratulations to you and Irene and Anselm.
Congratulations to all three.
It was such an honor to run with Kathy and Irene in Lyon.
Inspirational athletes and people – congratulations 🙂
Congrats to 3 great athletes.
We all love you, mom! Congrats on a hard-earned and well-deserved honor.
You can’t be as great as Anselm, Kathy, and Irene are without a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication to health and training, and smart training. Congratulations to all three of you on your amazing achievements. All of you are incredible athletes and an inspiration to everyone who knows you or knows of you.
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