Bob Lida destroys M75 world indoor records in the 60 and 200
M75 sprint superstar Bob Lida — my fellow Jayhawk— added to his legend Jan. 12 at Wichita State University, crushing world indoor records in the 60 and 200. He ran 8.49 and 27.03 at the Herm Wilson Invitational, where they have a 200-meter nonbanked Mondo track. (See results here.) He erased German Wolfgang Reuter’s listed WRs of 8.62 and 28.98. I’m assuming the meet was NCAA sanctioned, so it should be OK by USATF. In any case, Bob will have another shot at Bloomington nationals.
Bob was hard to catch at 2009 nationals. Now he's impossible to beat.
Bob turned 75 on Nov. 11 and says: “I haven’t been in this good of condition for a lot of years. First time in seven years my knees haven’t hurt, which allows me to train harder and more often. Plus, I coach the sprinters at a local high school, and have been working them during preseason. Makes me get on the track, when I otherwise might find a reason not to.”
On the Age-Graded Tables, Bob’s marks are equivalent to open (ages 20-30) times of 6.35 and 18.72! (The real WRs are 6.39 by Maurice Greene and 19.92 by Frank Fredericks.)
We are not worthy to even type Lida’s name.
Nice job, Bob. Take the rest of the day off.
Results from Wichita:
Event 31 Men 60 Meter Dash Masters
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Name Year School Seed Finals
==========================================
1 Jim Spencer Unattached 8.27
2 Bob Lida Unattached 8.49
3 Dan Warnke Unattached 8.98
4 Darren Muci Shocker TC 9.24
— Kirk Burgess Unattached SCR
— Lincoln Scott Unattached SCR
— Steve Miller Unattached SCR
— Larry Staton Shocker TC SCR
Event 32 Men 200 Meter Dash Masters
==========================================
Name Year School Seed Finals
==========================================
1 Bob Lida Unattached 27.03
2 Jim Spencer Unattached 27.99
3 Dan Warnke Unattached 29.12
— Lincoln Scott Unattached SCR
— Larry Staton Shocker TC SCR
21 Responses
Bob Lida is simply beyond the pale. The median time in the men’s collegiate/open 200 at this meet was 23.35 seconds by Tyler Swalley of Emporia State. Bob Lida, at age 75, ran 27.03, just 3.68 seconds slower. That is Beamonesque, to say the least.
I do hope that Bob gives it another shot at Bloomington nationals, where the track is banked. So far there are no entries in the M75 200, but there is still time to enter.
Congrats Bob on two amazing performances. That 27.03 on a flat track is over the top. Peter described it properly as “Beamonesque.” This is a record that should last until Usain Bolt reaches M75!
Agree Stephen – BEAMONESQUE! This just blows me away. How awesome is that?!
Outdoor world record 200 is 27.97… And then 27.03 on a flat indoor track!!
Congrats Bob on both records .Your 200 time is truly offscale .You have paid your injury dues . Run smart . I am in awe .
Bob Lida’s performance in the 200 represents a paradigm shift. No longer should we consider male sprinters 75 to 79 to be “older gentlemen” who can run “pretty fast for their age.” Not if they run 27.03 indoors on a flat surface.
In 2005 in Dusseldorf, Germany, Wolfgang Reuter turned in a sensational 28.98 to establish the M75 world standard. Wolfgang’s record has held up ever since, but now we have Bob Lida running 27.03.
What can possibly be said? This is perhaps the single greatest sprint performance in masters track and field of the last 35 years.
I now consider Bob Lida to be close to superhuman. Or will others follow? Again, this is altogether different from what we have seen previously.
It is impossible to show pictures here. I made a graph of all 200 records and indeed this is upsetting the whole picture. Personally I think we will see many more of this outerworldly record improvements, making them less outerworldly at the same time. Todays records in the older classes are by ‘normal’ athletes, but we will see many more athletes who have less declining than the normal ones. In fact the age gradings predict this. They are based on todays records and there are several signs that the older ages are overrated. The Lida’s and Pellmans will correct that.
Thank you for providing that perspective, Weia. Bob’s 27.03 was off the charts, as you indicate, and yet we may see many more otherworldly performances in the future by athletes aged 75+.
I will wait patiently for those other performances but will celebrate Bob’s achievement now.
I have attended only one world masters (I served as an announcer there), and thus I reviewed the M75 200 from that meet. It was Buffalo 1995, and Milt Silverstein won it.
A nice enough man, and admirable, but Milt did not strike me then (or now) as a Bob Lida type. He was not so athletic, not nearly the thoroughbred that Bob is. Rod Parker was second.
Of course, Silverstein and Parker were greatly aided (in comparison to Bob) by running on the outdoor track in Buffalo. I will place their times above Bob’s to show how remarkable last Thursday’s performance was.
Milt Silverstein 31.34
Rod Parker 31.59
Bob Lida 27.03
Way to run, Bob. Once again, you have proven to be one awesome man with awesome achievements. Your performances are breathtaking. Bless you, and what a way to begin this new year! Glad you are healthy.
Jaw-dropping!!!
Peter–I think a big difference between Bob and Milt is that Bob was a national class long sprinter in college. He ran a sub-47 400 at Kansas back in the mid-1950s. I don’t believe Milt was much of a runner in his youth. As Payton Jordon and Bobby Whilden have demonstrated, it helps if you’re 75 and were a world-class athlete in your youth. Research indicates that at least 70% of sprint performance is genetic. If this is true at 20, it’s undoubtedly also true at 75. None of this, by the way, takes one bit away from Bob’s amazing performances.
Agree, Steve. Bob was terrific back in the day as a Kansas University Jayhawk, and now he is off the charts as an M75 sprinter. The two facts are by no means unconnected.
As a youth I was very much aware of M75 star Bobby Whilden when he was a big deal at the Univ of Texas, and look what Bobby is doing now.
Regardless, it is all so mind-boggling. Today I will ask manager Chuck D. at the fitness club what he thinks a man 75+ could run indoors for the 200 on a flat track. When I tell him 27.03 his jaw is going to drop, I guarantee it (thanks, Ed Winslow).
With respect to Gale Sayers, Bob Lida is the new Kansas Comet. Amazing run on a 200 flat track Bob.
“I have attended only one world masters (I served as an announcer there), and thus I reviewed the M75 200 from that meet. It was Buffalo 1995, and Milt Silverstein won it.
Of course, Silverstein and Parker were greatly aided (in comparison to Bob) by running on the outdoor track in Buffalo. I will place their times above Bob’s to show how remarkable last Thursday’s performance was.
Milt Silverstein 31.34
Rod Parker 31.59”
I would never want to contradict the world’s best masters announcer, but please keep in mind two things from WAVA-Buffalo 1995:
1) Buffalo set a 1995 summer high for temperatures during WAVA-Buffalo in July – 97 degrees, the hottest temperature recorded there in July going back to 1922 (with a tie in 1988). That’s enough to zap a 40 year old, much less someone nearly twice that age.
2) Several WAVA-Buffalo days had very strong headwinds. On July 19th, I made the finals of the M40 110m Hurdles. WAVA-Buffalo refused to turn the hurdles around and made us run into a near 5 mps headwind.
So don’t judge Buffalo M75 200m without accounting for heat and headwind.
See: http://www.ortmanmarchand.com/fs2.html
for my July 1999 column: “Wind-aided” My Foot
Too bad that I am in that same age group. What a tremendous achievement. Talked with Bob the night before the race and he really felt good and was pumped for the race. Nice to see my picture with him on your post. I don’t mind losing to this kind of talent.
Re: Milt Silverstein, he was a Northern State(SD) Teachers College grad. He held the 100yd and 220yd records @ 9.6 and 20.9 set in 1940 . Both records were retired with the advent of metrics . Milt passed away in August 2009 . Milt was my elder mentor .
Thanks very much for your contribution, Steven Bowles. For clarification, I will say that as an M75 sprinter, Milt Silverstein did not strike me as athletic a man as Bob Lida is now in M75. Milt was extremely good as a collegian, however, per your report.
Re David Ortman’s objections (above), I moved 2 years forward to the 1997 worlds in Durban. The top 3 in the M75 200 were as follows:
Bruno Sobrero 30.38
Ugo Sansonetti 30.50
Tim Murphy 30.70
Again, Bob Lida’s 27.03 indoors is off the chart vs. these performances. Is Bob one of a kind, or will others follow?
Bob deserves all these accolades and more. He has battled injuries and returned with a vengeance before as a master. He is a freight train with a high speed rail train engine. Nothing he does surprises me.
And let us not forget that he also is a very humble, friendly and kind human being.
Keep charging down those straights Bob…you are setting the Gold standard for those of us following you…..and that is how it should be.
Stay healthy and fast for a long time my friend.
Mr Lida is more than twice my age….but that means absolutely nothing. A 27.03 @ age 7%!!!!
Thats phenomenal. And the indoor season is only now getting under way; I’m hoping he drops some more tenths from that time before the season is completed.
All the best this and all the years you choose to compete (and dominate).
It was my privilege to watch Bob Lida run the 60 and 200 in Wichita, KANSAS! It was Nuclear! It was all I could do to hold on to my cell phone camera as he hit the top of the curve and blasted past my friend, Jim, Age 40. THEN! Bob widened the gap and drove it home! Those of you who know Bob realize that, although a fierce competitor, he is a genuinely humble gentleman. At a time in life when some are gloating over past performances which will never be again, he is walking in present accomplishments with a hopeful and humble stride toward things yet to come. He would be the first to say and has said to me, “I didn’t realize this would be such a big deal.” On the track and on the street, Bob exudes an exceptional talent and strength of character that inspires and encourages so many.
David: I would never want to contradict the world’s best masters announcer, but please keep in mind two things from WAVA-Buffalo 1995:
1) Buffalo set a 1995 summer high for temperatures during WAVA-Buffalo in July – 97 degrees, the hottest temperature recorded there in July going back to 1922 (with a tie in 1988). That’s enough to zap a 40 year old, much less someone nearly twice that age.
2) Several WAVA-Buffalo days had very strong headwinds. On July 19th, I made the finals of the M40 110m Hurdles. WAVA-Buffalo refused to turn the hurdles around and made us run into a near 5 mps headwind.
So don’t judge Buffalo M75 200m without accounting for heat and headwind.
***
David is right about 95 Buffalo.
I ran in that worlds, and it was indeed brutally hot with a headwind. The men in the 100 consistently ran 3-4 tenths slow. Collins and Johnny Thomas photo-finished in the 100 in my age group in 11.31 I think — a time Bill was just about running 10 years later. My own time was 0.40 off my SB.
I was also escorting the New Zealand team around and most of their distance runners had never tried competing in such horrid conditions. We must have had three dozen folks with cups of water and sponges out on the course for the 10k run in 90 F (30 + C). The distance times were not comparable to their actual capacities.
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