Masters Track News and Muse

My columnist colleague Nick Canepa has joined the knee-jerk gang. You know, the folks who criticize athletes for the unforgiveable offense of wanting to compete past their showtime prime. Check out his latest column, which mocks the boxing comeback of Evander Holyfield and the semipro baseball gig of Jose Canseco, ages 43 and 42, respectively. Now if paying customers are being cheated, that's one thing. Nobody should pretend these middle-age guys are worth the same money as their major-league former selves. But what's wrong with anyone -- of ANY age -- doing what they enjoy doing? That's us, ya know.

What goes up must go upper. M60 John Altendorf of Oregon reported yeterday that he cleared 3.96 meters (12-11 3/4) at an all-comers meet June 29 at the University of Oregon's hallowed Hayward Field. And he posted a video clip as well. That breaks his own pending world age-group record of 3.84 (12-7 1/4) from mid-June.

Besides being a world-class masters athlete, Bud Held is a scholar of the sport with special authority on the throws. Today he responds to some proposed changes in the masters implements. Bud begins: "Norm Deep has done some good work and his arguments make a lot of sense." But after much thought, Bud concludes: "I am an advocate of all masters using the same weight implements at all ages."

Ed Burke, a three-time Olympian in the hammer, is still going strong at age 66. Saturday at the USATF Pacific Association Masters Championships at Sacramento State (site of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Trials), Ed spun the 5-kilo hammer 55.74 (182-10) to break the listed M65 world record in that event of 55.70. He also upped his own WR in the 20-pound weight throw, going 19.98 (65-6 3/4). Also setting records at Sac State were M45 Pete Magill, becoming the oldest American to go sub-15 in the 5K track race, and W50 Karen Kunz, setting an American record in the 2K steeplechase with her 8:43.77 -- in her first-ever attempt at the 30-inch-barrier event.

Two shot putters -- one M55 and one M40 -- tested positive for steroids at the Linz world masters indoor meet in March, WMA President Cesare Beccalli confirmed today. The athletes -- M55 silver medalist Neil Griffin of Britain and M40 silver medalist Andrew Fedyashin of Russia "have been provisionally suspended, pending the outcome of hearings," Beccalli wrote. "In addition it is being announced that the current results listing for shot put M40 competition (at Linz) is under investigation and consequently the published/announced results for the event cannot be regarded as final."

One of these days, a masters athlete wrongly accused of doping will stand up and say: Enough! Enough of the one-size-fits-all policy that lumps the elites with the age-groupers. Enough of a wacked-out system that "allows" medical waivers for masters but makes you sick from jumping through hoops. I think a case may be developing in Britain that pits an inncocent against the anti-doping police. Two British sources tell me that M55 thrower Neil Griffin, suspended for a "steroid" positive, is not a cheater. In fact, he may have been a hoop-jumper victimized by the doping bureaucracy.

Lesley Richardson, photographer of the masters stars, graciously provided a photo of M55 shot putter Neil Griffin in action at Linz. I'm still hoping to contact him about his doping case. But it ain't easy. This note came from a high official with the European Veterans Athletics Association: "Unfortunately I do not have any more information that I can give. But I would ask as a favour that you please do not contact Neil or try to make too much of the situation at the present time, and once it is sorted out I would ask Neil to give you the full story. He has already (been) compromised and I ... do not want to add to the problem." Right. Let's just sweep the case under the rug and not embarrass anyone.

Steve Nearman is an M45 middle-distance standout in Alexandria, Virginia, who writes a running column for The Washington Times. But that's a sideline. His main gig is financial consulting (between training runs). Now he's combined his loves with an ambitious fund-raiser that he calls TREK (Trans America Relay Embracing Kids). The event takes place in May 2007, so he's giving y'all a long-distance heads up. I wish him (and his fellow runners) all the best.

Feel bad about ever-declining marks and ever-increasing age? Consider the folks who never step into to the blocks or the throwing ring. The New York Times' Jill Agostino did. She wanted to know why ex-jocks hang 'em up. It's a question we once never asked. (We all knew the answer, we thought.) But with masters sports becoming more popular and socially acceptable, the question has turned. Now we see the public saying: "Hey, if THESE guys are still out there, where are the others -- the former elites?" This is progress.

Every year, without fail, people show up at masters nationals and say, "How do I enter?" And every year, meet officials roll their eyes and say, "Sorry, but the deadline was three weeks ago." Often these late-bloomers are locals who read about the meet in the hometown papers, not realizing that deadlines have been promulgated and publicized for months. (Gerry Lindgren was an example in 2005.) So I'm hoping that the word has gotten out in North Carolina by now.

Bill Collins, running in his hometown of Houston, clocked 11.41 for 100 tonight at the RunSport/Rice All-Comers meet at Rice University, reports USATF statmeister Glen McMicken. The wind was reported at 0.0. That's Bill's second M55 world-age group record in the 100 this year. Bill, 55, also ran the 400 in 54.21 tonight, Glen reports. A couple months ago, Bill set the M55 record with his 11.50 at the Penn Relays -- demolishing the oldest masters 100-meter record on the books -- the 11.57 set by Britain's Ron Taylor in 1991. The M55 world record in the 400 is 52.24 by American Charles Allie in 2003. That record is toast, too, if Bill focuses it on it.

James Lofton is one of the best long sprinters in the masters world. But he rarely gets the attention he deserves because he doesn't compete at nationals. As wide receivers coach for the San Diego Chargers (with hopes of being a head coach someday), James can't get away from his day job in early August. His NFL team's minicamps compete with the late-summer track season. But James is listed as entered in the two-day USATF Western Regional Masters Championships this month at Long Beach State University, near Los Angeles. And he's a newly minted M50. (His birthday was July 5.)

Merlene Ottey, the 46-year-old Slovenian sensation (via Jamaica and Nebraska) dropped her own W45 world record in the 100 to 11.84 seconds yesterday at the the Cuxhaven world-class meet in Germany. She was sixth out of seven in her heat, but her rivals were young enough to be her kids. The previous record was 11.94, which I detailed June 9.

Former Arizona State University sprinter Michael Sullivan and NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton recently turned 45 and 50, respectively, and at the Trojan Masters Track Meet today at USC, they turned in great marks in the 400. Official results haven't been posted yet, but Sullivan ran about 52.0 and Lofton 53.5 in separate races. Sullivan outgutted 2005 national champ Kettrell Berry and 2005 world champ James Chinn in the process. In the 1500, Pete Magill --running without a younger friend to serve as rabbit -- clocked a 4:00.9x to miss the American record by half a second. He says he'll now focus on the American M45 road records for 5K and 10K. More meet details to come.

Andy Hecker has posted results for yesterday's Trojan Masters meet at USC. Shows some excellent marks, including 400s by M50 James Lofton (53.26), M45 Mike Sullivan (52.05) and M60 Stan Whitley (58.04). Stan was telling folks its was his first 400 in a dozen years or so. M75 Don Cheek ran the 4 in 1:11.15. In the M45 800, Allen McDuffrie beat Pete Magill 2:02.80 to
2:03.71. Great efforts all around.

Had great luck with my Nikon Coolpix 4300 at Sunday's Trojan Masters Meet. See my photo gallery, which includes a nice shot of the finish of a sizzling 400 won by Mike Sullivan. Also, I stuck my camera up James Lofton's nose, and he graciously resisted putting it in some unshiny place. M50 James obviously still pumps iron. Another muscular master is M45 middle-distancer Pete Magill, who ran an amazing 800-1500 double in near record times. I also have shots of M60 Stan Whitley, who broke his age in the 400.

Mexico has a thriving masters program, it appears. This past weekend, they held their own masters nationals, with complete results posted now. The three-day Campeonato Mexicano de Atletismo Master 2006 was held in Guadalajara, Jalisco state -- which is nearly a mile high in elevation. And while marks were uniformly mediocre (by Norte Americano standards), I was very impressed by the depth of the fields. You didn't just show up and collect a medal. You had plenty of competition in most events and age groups.

Bob Minton, 56, had a lot on his plate at the British masters national championships last weekend -- a two-day meet in Birmingham. Bob won the M55 200 in 25.98, the 400 in 56.17, the 800 in 2:14.35 and the 1500 in 4:33.08. I haven't studied all results closely, but I noticed Dr. Stephen Peters still has game at age 53, winning the M50 200 in 23.35 and the 400 in 52.45 (running under his age).

You have to be of a certain age (50-plus) to know who Hayes Jones is. He was a hurdling icon of the late 1950s and early '60s who won gold at Tokyo in 1964. He turns 68 next month, and made a startling comment to a Michigan Senior Olympics audience Wednesday. Noting that his father carried the torch at a 1979 Senior Olympics, Hayes is quoted as saying: "I am trying to follow in my father's footsteps. But in no way am I going to run the risk of some nobody beating an Olympic gold-medal winner. I have to keep my reputation, so I am going to wait a few more years before I actually get out there and compete."

In the news biz, they call this a drop-dead deadline. Anyone trying to enter the Aug. 3-6 USATF National Masters Outdoor T&F Championships after midnight Pacific time today is shit outta luck. Meanwhile, the deadline for entering the USATF National Masters Decathlon & Heptathlon Championships tomorrow and Sunday is, like, a half-hour before the first event. I wrote meet director Daunte Gouge about the last-minute entry policy, and he replied: "We doubt there will be any (late entries), but there are two or three young guys toying with the idea (35-39). And I figured the more the merrier."

Meet director Mark Cleary sends this reminder: "We have a host hotel that will provide free shuttle from Long Beach Airport to and from the hotel and also provide free shuttle to and from Long Beach State. The special rate is $79.00 and Triple A rates them a 3 Diamond rating. The website for the Hotel is www.guesthouselb.com, but when making reservations athletes should call (800) 990-9991 and ask for Vicki Arreguin in the sales department to get the special rate. Also tonight is the online on time deadline for entries without the late fee."

Whew! Bruce McBarnette will have real competition in the M45 high jump after all. Dennis Lewis entered the Charlotte masters nationals today, ensuring the "Clash of the Titans" that I and others have hoped for. The Status of Entries for M45 show that he's listed with "Info needed," which just means that he has to fax his birth certificate to Indy. No problem. He's in. Thanks go to folks in Michigan and elsewhere who notified Dennis of tonight's entry deadline.

Germany's Werner Schallau, a longtime masters athlete who set an M40 pentathlon world record back in 1978, has fallen under suspicion of doping, according to Annette's Seite. Werner, apparently a high official in the German masters organization, is now 67, but he's not entered in the Eurovets championships starting July 19 in Poland. (See the entry list.) Anyway, a rough translation of the German report follows:

This just in from USATF's Glen McMicken in Texas: "Bill Collins set another M55-59 WR last night in Houston -- 23.36 for 200m, with a 0.0 wind. Looked incredibly quick on the curve and actually shut it down a bit in the final 10m. Looks like he is ready for Charlotte!" That nips the listed WMA world age-group record of 23.37 By Britain's Ron Taylor in 1990 -- the oldest 200 record on the WMA books.

With San Diego temperatures near 100 Saturday, M50 James Lofton burned up the track at Cathedral Catholic High School (formerly University of San Diego High School), clocking 51.75 for the 400 in a race against 15- and 16-year-olds at the California State Games. Kettrell Berry reports: "He blew the field away. His splits were 12.5/24.6/37.1. He was never challenged in the race. If he had any competition, he would go under 51.0, but that's just my opinion." James just missed Fred Sowerby's M50 world record of 51.39, set in 1999.

Ever-injured M50 David Ortman of Seattle is overcoming his ouchies at the USATF National Masters Decathlon/Heptathlon Championships. He and 2005 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year Emil Pawlik (M65) are among leaders after Day 1 in Shoreline, Washington. Also impressive are W50 Rita Hanscom of San Diego and W60 Nadine O'Connor of Del Mar, California, both entered in the women's decathlon instead of the traditional heptathlon.

Canada's Ed Whitlock and California's Pete Magill are 30 years and thousands of miles apart but brothers in spirit. Both compete in masters track but also burn up the roads. Normally, I don't cover "the dark side" (asphalt runners), but since Ed and Pete are dedicated trackos, they get some pop here. Over the weekend, both set national age-group record for road 5Ks. M75 Ed ran his 18:45 in Toronto, and the youngster, M45 Pete, ran 15:03.5 at the Bastille Day 5K in Irvine, California, dipping under Doug Bell's 1997 record of 15:07.

German track officials have suspended one of their own, according to the Koops' Web site: "The athlete Werner Schallau (SuS Schalke 96/senior class M65) was suspended by the German Leichtathletik federation (DLV) effective 13 July 2006 because of the suspicion of a Dopingverstosses. This communicated by DLV Justitiarin Anne Jakob, the chief of the anti-doping coordination center of the DLV, as expected ... Monday morning."

Becca Gillespy sends final results from the masters deca/hep nationals at her old high school in Shoreline, Washington: "I believe we had world records in the M80 decathlon, both women's decathlons, and the W60 LJ. The results aren't final yet; we need to go back through some of the field event results and make sure the best mark was entered (one was missed for Emil Pawlik), and I am hoping to get them in a better format." The WR setters would be W50 Rita Hanscom, W60 Nadine O'Connor and M80 Dennis Sulllivan -- with 7357 points to break the listed WR of 6802 by American Fred Hirsimaki in 2005. Runner-up Denver Smith also broke the listed M80 WR with 7067 points.

Marathons see this all the time: Entrants competing for a cause, raising money to help cure an illness or relieve a burden. But this is rare for masters track. The Charlotte masters nationals will see at least one such donor-based effort, though. Randell Sturgeon writes: "Brooks Fleet Feet Racing of Sacramento will be taking 38 athletes to the USATF Outdoor Masters Track and Field Championships this August to defend the team title they won in Hawaii last year. However, this year's meet will not be about scoring points to win a trophy but rather to score points to help a teammate and her daughter."

M60 Grant Lamothe of Canada was a guest competitor at this past weekend's USATF National Masters Decathlon/Heptathlon Championships near Seattle, Washington. He also was an injured competitor, trying to make the best of things. "I tore my hamstring last month and it's still mending," he wrote me. "So I went in injured, and took it easy (or avoided entirely) the events that stressed it. The hurdles I avoided. Believe me, I wouldn't have run those ... times in the 100m and 400m and would have jumped with more abandon if I were healthy. However, I did leave the decathon without limping and managed to finish most of the events anyway." Best of all, he left with a great story, which he shares on his Web site. With great photos, too!

Masters track isn't limited to Southern California and coastal Washington state. In late June, a triangular meet involving Britain, host France and Belgium saw a French team of W40s set a world 4x1 record of 48.22, bettering the listed WR of 49.18 by a German team in 2002. And a gallery of photos of the meet has more than 600 images. (Click on the relay-women shot). Congratulations to Caroline Aubert-Cadinot, Nicole Barilly, Marie Nadine Vaolouvin and Violetta LaPierre. The American record for that age group? 50.21. C'mon, Yanks!

Mike Soule, an M50 vaulter who lives in Minnesota, has put out a call for athlete musicians to perform at Charlotte masters nationals, possibly at the Athletes Banquet. He writes: "Basically what I'm guessin' the song list will be is probably 3-chord rock 'n' roll and some R&B.. . . Anyone that wants to, or could, play can contact me at vaultingeezer@yahoo.com . It would be fun."

Poznan, Poland, is playing host to the European Veterans Athletic Championships through July 30, and results have begun trickling in. The 15th edition of this meet has more than 3,000 entries from 40 countries, Pete Mulholland writes in the current Running Fitness magazine. He also says, "As per usual, the largest contingent will be from Germany with 681 of their athletes taking part, while Great Britain and Northern Ireland will provide the second-largest group with 335 athletes, ahead of host country Poland with 310." Pete, our highly paid UK-based correspondent, has promised occasional reports from Poznan.

This is beyond belief. At age 46, Merlene Ottey has run a legal 11.45 for 100 meters to qualify for the European Championships. As reported by Bob Ramsak, "With her third place finish in the Maribor leg of the nine-meeting Slovenian Grand Prix, 46-year-old Merlene Ottey qualified for the European Championships in the 100 meters yesterday. Clocking 11.45 (w +1.3), the Jamaican-born Slovenian easily dipped under the 11.60 standard to qualify for her first outdoor appearance at the European Championships." This improves on her 11.84 from July 8. According to the WMA Age-Graded Tables, her latest WR is equivalent to an open performance of 10.22!

Well, I found the results for Day 1 of Eurovets as a PDF file deep in the bowels of the main Web site. Decathletes are on pace for some great scores, including M65 Czeslaw Okonski of Poland, whose first day score is 3986 -- on pace to challenge Emil Pawlik's year-old world record of 7900. M70 Lars Wennblom of Sweden has 4261 after Day 1. The best track performance appears to be the M40 10K by Spain's Jose Ramon Torres, with his 31:20.87.

Pete Mulholland of Britain sends his first report from the 15th European Veterans Athletics Championships, held in Poznan, Poland. He begins: "Airline timetables and commitments at home saw me arrive towards the end of the opening day, a day that proved as hot (but more humid) as the 97 Fahrenheit I had left behind in London. The 10,000m races were more about survival than times, as many a runner gave up to save themselves for another and, hopefully, cooler day."

Wayne Bennett is 69, lives in Texas and runs the 100 in the mid-13s. Patricia Porter is 43, lives in New Mexico and high jumps in the high-5s. What do they have in common (besides making my M50 marks look pathetic)? They are telling their track stories online. (Click on their names to see their sites.) They also are part of a trend toward self-disclosure has implications for masters track.

M75 weight thrower Richard Rzehak of Germany has the honor of setting the first world record at the 15th Eurovets championships taking place in Poland, reports Pete Mulholland in Poznan. The weight (thrown like an indoor hammer) is 16 pounds for his age group. Richard is no stranger to world-class masters competition. He won two golds (in the M50 hammer and javelin) as far back as the 1981 WAVA worlds.) Results are percolating online at a good clip.

As promised, Bob Weiner has shipped out his pre-Charlotte press release, which the local organizing committee is shopping to various media in hopes of bringing suitable attention to our national championships. The release is dated July 31, but Bob has given permission to post it here. You can use any of its information to talk up the meet in your own locale. (Bob hasn't specified the Olympians, but I spot these: Bud Held (1952, 1956 javelin), Patricia Porter (1988 high jump), James Barrineau (1976 high jump) and Karl Smith (1984 110H for Jamaica.)

Only a few decades ago, a 70-year-old woman competing in track and field would have been subject to raised eyebrows. Now she gets an admiring nod from her local newspaper. See how the Stamford Advocate told the story of Charlotte entrant Mary Roman. See Bob Greeney's July 23 story below, headlined "Roman Wonder: Norwalk's Roman takes aim at marks in U.S. Masters track as well."

Wayne Bennett leads the Dallas Masters Track Club and directed the Texas Masters Championships on Saturday at Coppell High School in Dallas County. And the amazing part? Despite being at the meet from 7:30 a.m. till 7 p.m., he competed as well -- keeping Bob Lida honest in the M65 sprints. Bob's times bode well for Charlotte nationals. At age 69, he ran 12.68 and 26.20 -- remarkable times for anyone over 60 and WR fodder when he turns 70. On the other side of the gray divide is John Simpson, who clocked a 10.95 for the 100 at age 40. M40 Michael Labay ran the 2 in 22.83. Unsure of wind speeds.

Gerry Davidson, 85, wasn't too sure about running the mile and 400 Saturday -- Day 1 of the USATF Western Regional Masters Championships at Long Beach State University. Southern California temps were off the charts, soaring well over 100 in many spots, including 103 at Long Beach. But what the heck. Gerry ignored the hellish heat and humidity and ran the mile in 11:03.11, reports Jeff Davison. That beats the listed W85 world record of 11:54.3 by the late Ivy Granstrom of Canada in 1998. Gerry also ran the 400 in 2:20.05 , possibly an American record because none is listed for that age group. And Nadine O'Connor upped her own W60 pole vault record to 3.12 (10-2 3/4).

Beckie Rosillio took hundreds of wonderful shots at the mid-July USA national masters deca/hep championships. The photos are available for purchase by writing Beckie at somniumfate@gmail.com. As well, the local paper gave the event a nice writeup. M40 entrant Rod Wilcox said: "It really reminds me that my health is my choice. It's not something I'm just given. So don't take it for granted. You can always get in better shape."

I took a few pictures at Long Beach State on Sunday -- Day 2 of the USATF Western Regional Masters Championships. It was cooler for most of the day Sunday, thanks to a light sprinkle. But by 12:30 p.m., the track had dried off. On Saturday, folks were dropping like flies in 103-degree heat and high humidity. Nolan Shaheed, who had lowered his own M55 American record for 800 with a 2:05.17 a week earlier at the USATF National Club Championships, could only walk/jog the last 20 yards of the 800 Sunday, the effects of a long weekend of running.

RunnersWed reports: "Ed Whitlock, the 75-year old running phenomenon from Milton, Ontario, set two world records this past weekend at the Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships held in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. His times of 19:07.02 and 39:25.16 for the 5,000m (July 21) and 10,000m (July 23), respectively, eclipsed the previous M75 records of 20:00.13 and 41:47.31." So he didn't just dip under 20 and 40, he demolished those barriers. Except for the white mane, Ed has the body of a 25-year-old.

While athletes fight the hot conditions, our reporter in Poznan is fighting technical glitches keeping him off the Internet. Pete apologizes for late report on Day 3 (Saturday) of the Eurovets championships in Poland, saying, "The server at the stadium went down and still not fixed. No internet acess at my hotel. That's modern for you." But with true British grit, he found a way to send me his latest reports. Here's the Saturday installment:

Pete Mulholland of the UK's Running Fitness magazine says two world records were set Sunday at the European Veterans Athletic Championships in Poznan, Poland -- in the M85 long jump and W65 high jump. (Except it was a pending Kathy Bergen record in the high jump that was beaten, not one by Rietje Dijkman of Holland.

On a warm and muggy night in Stockholm, newly minted M40 Jan Zelezny today threw the javelin 85.08 meters (279-1) to beat the listed M40 world record of 84.08 (275-10) by Germany's Peter Blank in 2003. The Czech legend, who 10 years ago set the open world record of 98.48 (323-1), was Olympic champion in 1992, 1996 and 2000 (and runner-up in 1988). Sadly for masters, Jan has said he'll retire at the end of this season.

This is weird. Without even consulting delegates, World Masters Athletics President Cesare Beccalli has basically promised the 2011 World Masters Outdoor Championships to Brazil (where he lives part of the year with his Brazilian-born wife). The 2009 world meet will be in Lahti, Finland. If Brazil does win 2011, then 2013 will likely return to Europe -- making it 2015 before the United States has another shot at it. That's nine years from now -- and 20 years after the Buffalo WAVA world meet, the last held in the States. (I don't count Puerto Rico 2003. Not much of an American ambience.)

To masters throwers, Brian Oldfield is some kind of god. He's the only man over 40 to put the 16-pound shot over 70 feet. That was back in 1985. Since then, his body has gone south, and now he uses a wheelchair to get around. But he's still in the throwing game -- as a part-time coach and friend of fellow Olympian John Powell. Now 61, Brian has come out of his self-imposed shell, with a Web site (still being built) and a long profile in the Chicago Tribune. I hope masters throwers will embrace his return -- and help remove his feelings of pain and rejection.

Now we're cooking. USATF has posted rosters of all entrants at the Charlotte masters nationals, which starts a week from tomorrow. (Ohmygod! I better get into shape!) It's not the Status of Entries site (which takes time to navigate), but the more definitive Competitor List page. The men's entrants are listed separately from the women's entrants. But best of all -- ages and hometowns are given, which is helpful in figuring out potential relay teams (since you have to be from at least the same USATF region). Now the main mystery is the weather. Will it be hot or superhot? You can check Charlotte weather as well.

The eastern town of Dieppe, New Brunswick, hosted the Canadian masters nationals this past weekend, and I've copy-pasted results (below) from the Canadian Masters Athletics site. Ed Whitlock's (listed as Witlock) amazing M75 distance records are here as well as great marks by the reliable W50 sprinter Karla Del Grande. But in keeping with a depolrable trend of bad officiating at major meets, the results report: "The 4x400m relay was not started on the official 3-turn stagger lines and therefore can not be considered for a record."

Actually, M60ish scribe Pete Mulholland is as likely to race M55 sprinter Bill Collins as I am to high jump 7 feet. But I asked British photographer Lesley Richardson to share a photo of Pete, so you can see what our highly paid correspondent in Poland looks like. Lesley took the photo below at the Linz world masters indoor meet last March. But she's shooting up a storm in Poznan now at the Eurovets meet, and her work will soon be on display.

On the eve of the USATF masters nationals in North Carolina, the latest count is 10 Olympians entered, but the Eurovets meet in Poland can boast the oldest Olympian -- 97-year-old Alfred Proksch of Austria, who tied for sixth in the pole vault at the Berlin Olympics of 1936! Pete Mulholland reports more world records from the 15th European Veterans Athletic Championships -- and the fact that the EVAA has narrowly voted to retain "Veterans" in its name, rather than join the trend of groups to adopt "Masters."

Can a country host a world masters meet without bidding for it? That's the case here, I guess. WMA President Cesare Beccalli of Italy and Brazil is reported to be making a strong case for Brazil to host the 2011 outdoor championships -- even though a bid hasn't been made by that country. "It's only a hope being encouraged by Cesare, who is 'looking into it,' " Pete Mulholland reports from Poland and the Eurovets meet. "I was under the impression that a bid (for 2011) might be engineered for London as an opportunity to test out the 2012 Olympic facilities, but that is just gossip at the moment." Love that gossip, though! Wouldn't you love to compete on the same track as Olympians?