Masters Track News and Muse

Now THIS was a clash of the TJ titans. Willie Banks, at the age of 49, today nearly matched his masters best (set in 2001) but lost by almost six inches to the current M45 triple jump record holder -- Germany's Wolfgang Knabe. At the San Sebastian world masters championships, Knabe, 46, leaped 14.78 (48-6) on his fifth try to beat former open world-record-holder Banks, who spanned 14.64 (48-0 1/2) on his second try.

Well, you can't judge a meet by its Web site. Despite the hyperprofessional gloss of an outsourced results page, the local organizers of the World Masters Athletics Championships that concluded today in San Sebastian lived up to fears of a botched meet. I bit my tongue for a month, hoping that warnings I was getting would not come to pass. In early August, a high-ranking WMA official told me that San Sebastian meetfolk were refusing help from foreign track officials -- that they were confident they could handle the biggest meet on the planet themselves. The local officials erred.

David Pain will dissolve in agony when he hears about this: official medal counts at the WMA world meet. Thirty years ago, at the first World Masters Track & Field Championships in Toronto, the founders of what would become the World Association of Veteran Athletes (now World Masters Athletics) fought a bitter battle with Canadian authorities to allow 15 white South Africans and two Rhodesians to compete.

Meet director Mark Zeug of the Hawaii masters nationals reports that he's pushing University of Hawaii officials to return the $25 cleaning deposits due several hundred masters athletes who stayed in the dorms at the meet a month ago. When I wrote him about the issue and urged him to light a fire, he replied:
"Have done so, and will be meeting with them on Tuesday to see if I can facilitate the refund process. They have told us that all dorm residents left their dorm rooms in good condition, so no one is in danger of losing their refund. Just may take a while."

Give up? Too many choices? Juggling too many apples and oranges? Not a problem for the WMA Council, which at the close of the World Masters Athletics Championships chose Canadian Earl Fee (M75) and Holland's Rietje Dijkman (W65) as WMA's male and female athletes of 2005 -- and sent them on their way to Monaco for an IAAF bash in connection with the World Athletics Final this weekend in Monaco.

Buried on Page 9 of a British running magazine is blockbuster news for world masters track -- and American masters as well. Peter Snell is coming back! A three-time Olympic gold-medal winner (in the 1960 800 and 1964 800/1500) and six-time world-record setter, Snell "is to compete in the Masters Games in Dunedin in his native New Zealand next February," according to the Masters News section of Running Fitness magazine. Snell, who turns 67 in December, has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, and is a professor of medicine in Texas.

Ever seen a better couple of spearchuckers than Chuck and Carla Greene of Ohio? Chuck reports that his javelin-throwing mate Carla, 42, tossed the spear 42.05 meters (138-0) for a W40 American record, displacing a 2002 mark by Caryl Senn of New York set at Orono, Maine, in 2002. An old-style javelin record for W40 is still listed for Kate (The Great) Schmidt of 43.58 (143-0).

Boy, was I naive. When I interviewed Gerry Lindgren at the Hawaii masters nationals last month, I had no clue about his many-splendored malfeasances. I knew only about his track career. But today I read a 1987 article in Sports Illustrated by Kenny Moore about Gerry's mystery life -- living under an assumed name (Gale Young) for years, ignoring a paternity suit verdict, abandoning his wife, Betty, and their three children.

Maybe this will put Gerry Lindgren on a conventional path: coaching young runners at the University of Hawaii. With little fanfare, the school announced today: "Head coach Carmyn James enters her sixth year with the program and welcomes assistant coach Gerry Lindgren, who will handle the cross country program after Andy McInnis left for a job in his native Canada."

Kip Janvrin was a man on a mission in San Sebastian -- not just to break the M40 world record (which he did) but to crash the 7,000-point barrier for over-40 athletes on the IAAF open tables. He did that with ease, too, scoring 7,525 points in Spain -- and making sure it counted. He asked officials to let him run the 42-inch high hurdles instead of the girlie 39-inchers used by men 40-49. I sent him 10 questions, and he quickly replied with great details.

Tom Borish, a recently married Web geek in Massachusetts, has a hobby site focusing on collegiate track and field. He calls it Trackshark -- probably because it eats its competition alive. This week he also started a blog. I point this out because, frankly, every blog about track is a step toward greater visibility. We need to support folks like these. And getting familiar with collegians of today is a step toward knowing the masters of 2020. See you then!

On the Track & Field News Message Board today, someone who goes by the handle "trackhead" posted this about a reported Peter Snell track comeback: "I just got off the phone with Peter and he asked me to set some things straight: He is not, in any way, making any sort of athletics comeback. 8-min miles are all he manages these days, as far as running goes. He will be cheering on the New Zealand masters runners, as well as competing in masters orienteering, a sport in which Peter plans to continue competing for sometime. But no running comeback in any form. Sorry guys."

The world meet's been over for almost two weeks. But the glories continue. Hometown newspapers from England to India covered their local masters athletes in San Sebastian, and through the magic of Google News, one can read about their exploits large and small. One of my favorites: A 68-year-old UK woman who took silver in the marathon (with temps in the 90s) and then won bronze in the 4x4 relay two hours later!

"Hang on, Sloopy" wasn't written to describe elite track athletes competing into their 40s. But some openettes seem to be using it as their theme song. The latest: javelin world record holder Jan Zelezny, a three-time Olympic champ who has given notice that he's shooting for a European title in 2006 -- when he'll be 40 years old.

In 2005, Canada's Earl Fee won a bunch of medals, set a bunch of records and got himself named the world's Male Masters Athlete of the Year. That should help his book sales. This summer, he produced a revision of his 2001 training tome, "How to be a Champion from 9 to 90," which I reviewed back then. Now I've critiqued the second edition, which is printed and marketed by a German publishing house. Some changes are cosmetic -- full-color photos and charts. But it's still worth checking out. But buy it from Amazon, not directly through Earl's Web site.

We've come a long way, baby. The first World Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships 30 years ago featured grainy black-and-white photos in the results book -- which arrived perhaps a month or two after the fact. Now we got Net. And at least three shooters have posted their photos of San Sebastian worlds. Some are easy to access; others require (free) registration. Somewhere in there, you are pictured, I'll bet.

My biggest regret upon returning from Hawaii masters nationals was not meeting M95 champ Trent Lane. Too busy ogling the W65 women, I guess. Well, his hometown paper has relieved my guilt by running a nice, long profile of the oldest entrant in Honolulu. The story includes a nice shot of the man, with some medals. And Ross Dunton should get a kick out of this: Trent grew up on a farm near Sevierville, Tennessee (where Coach Ross now lives).

A posting today on the Track & Field News message board suggests that "open" athletes (and this can include masters) would be able to compete in an indoor meet Jan. 16, 2006, at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University. This is good news for folks tuning up for Boston masters nationals in March, since California masters rarely get a chance to run on an indoor track in these parts. (Wasn't always so. The late Sen. Alan Cranston used to be among masters sprinters competing in exhibition events in San Diego and Los Angeles. ) Anyhoo, I'll bird-dog this, and report back on what events masters will be eligible for at the Jan. 16 meet.

USATF recently passed along the sad news that longtime Penn Relays announcer Jack O'Reilly had died at age 89. Why should masters care? He was a mentor for our own Pete Taylor. When I informed Pete of Jack's passing, Pete shared this: "I enjoyed working with him at the Penn Relays, and he showed me how to announce a track event. He was the biggest influence on my announcing." Our heart goes out to Jack's family and friends, including Pete.

Last July, an M60 runner/jumper named Jim Snook of Kansas wrote me regarding some software he created to help athletes prepare and analyze their own workouts. He didn't call it "Coach in a Box." That's just sumthin I came up with. I didn't get a chance to mention it until now. (Sorry, Jim!) But since he's now a paying advertiser on this Web site, I spoze it's a good time to give his work some attention. (Thanks, Jim!)

At least seven masters track or running champions are among the 30 finalists for the inaugural GeezerJock of the Year award, sponsored by Michelob ULTRA. A press release says: "The award recognizes supreme achievement in Masters athletics, which is defined as organized athletics for men and women over 40 years of age." The fall issue of GeezerJock magazine will no doubt give more details on the 30 finalists -- chosen mainly by GJ editor and founder Sean Callahan of Chicago. But the magazine is inviting a public vote as well -- and nomination of write-in candidates. So this contest seems pretty fluid. It also lacks specificity on something important -- the winner's prize.

I've been scooped! And I love it! Coach Ross Dunton has posted detailed information on the 25 nominees for the 2005 Class of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, a.k.a. the Hall of Fame in Name Only. (No physical Hall of Fame exists yet, although a presence is promised at the National T&F Hall of Fame at the Armory in New York City.) Anyhoo, Coach Ross put in a ton of time into preparing a page with all the nominees. Shoo-ins for the Hall: Steve Robbins, Sid Howard and Charles Allie. Bud Held has a great shot as well. So thanks, Coach, and how are the world rankings coming along?

By now the world knows Alan Webb lost to the Aussie in the Fifth Avenue Mile -- a New York City road race with lots of pretensions. But don't forget the age-groupers. Great times were turned in by Alston Brown of the Central Park TC (He ran 4:46 at age 56) and Sid Howard of the same club -- 5:39 at age 66. The oldest entrant was David Gerli, 94, who strode home in 18:53. Hey -- YOU try running a mile in your nineties! For more detailed results, see the race home page.

Listen to this. Literally. Polevaultpower.com, a tech-savvy site, is going out and audio taping accomplished vaulters of all ages. This months, they've posted podcast clips of M70 Deke Conklin and M50 Doug "Bubba" Sparks. Sparks is an especially good story-teller, recalling how as a sixth-grader who was inspired to build a vault pit in back yard and broke his first pole then and there. Conklin tells interviewer Becca Gillespy of how he neglected to push his pole back after clearing his opening height at San Sebastian, and lost a chance at instant bronze. (The wind blew it into the bar.)

Online gaming has captured the attention of millions worldwide. But until this year, loyal trackos have been left out of this real-time, multi-player experience. Then what do I discover? An online track and field game featuring 10 standard events, including sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws. It's free. You just register at Trackchamp.com, and try out a game in either time trial mode (play by yourself) or jump right into a contest with someone else around the world.

Almost three months ago -- on July 9 -- my wife and I competed in the hybrid meet known as the 2005 Chuck McMahon Memorial, an event co-sponsored by the San Diego Senior Olympics that also served as the USATF San Diego-Imperial Association masters championships. But the award-presenters (mostly volunteer kids at Patrick Henry High School) messed up and handed out gold medals to everyone who took first, second or third. So more than a dozen athletes couldn't collect their golds. (We won two apiece.)

Rob Lasorsa passes along information on a mid-November conference of the National Throws Coaches Association and writes, "The NTCA Clinic is open to coaches, athletes and officials of all levels.... Many in the masters community will enjoy themselves at the conference." Masters spearchucker Tom Petranoff will give a clinic. Among lots of other things, the group is hosting an induction ceremony for the first class of a throwers Hall of Fame that includes former masters thrower (and part-time Olympian) Al Oerter. The gathering is in Dublin, Ohio.

The letters to the editor section in the current issue of GeezerJock magazine includes the tale of a 52-year-old Ohio man who teamed with a younger player to win the under-25 division of a racquetball tournament. The champ, Mike Hartnett, wrote: "When the tournament director announced my name as winning the gold first place medal, he let the audience know that I was singularly older than each team I played. I don’t think I will ever have that title again, but it is mine until November 2005."