Can Birger Ohlsson push Tony Young to 1500 indoor WR?

Tony Young is flying cross country this weekend to compete in the masters exhibition 1500 at the USATF indoor championships in Boston. He’s in shape, we know from his recent 4:13 mile and 1:55 half-mile clockings on the oversized track at the University of Washington. Can he replicate those efforts Sunday afternoon on the 200-meter track at Roxbury Community College? The listed M45 indoor world record for 1500 is 4:02.24 by Spain’s Jesus Borrego in 2008. The listed American record is 4:04.80 by Ken Sparks way back in 1990. A 4:13 mile is worth a 3:56 for the 15. So Tony should be in kissing distance of the WR. Fortunately, he’ll be pushed (or pulled) by Sweden’s Birger Ohlsson, a 40-year-old cross counntry champ who ran the 800 last year in 1:53.94 and an indoor 800 in 1:55 last month at the Armory. The women’s exhibition at Boston is the 400, with no obvious favorite. Here’s Birger, BTW:

 


Here are the current fields, as listed on the USATF Status of Entries page:

Men’s Masters 1500m Qual. Mark Entry Declaration

Birger Ohlsson Nike Central Park Track Club 3:58.77 qualified declared

Kevin Forde Greater Philadelphia Track Club 4:09.27 qualified declared

Tony Young Club Northwest 4:13.00* qualified declared
Jason Cakouros HFC Striders 4:15.96 qualified declared

Francis Burdett Greater Springfield Harriers, Inc. 4:19.00 qualified declared

Paul Kelly HFC Striders 4:21.00 qualified declared
Christopher Simpson Black and Tan Track Club 4:23.13* qualified declared

Women’s Masters 400m Qual. Mark Entry Declaration

Terry Ballou Millrose AA 1:03.80 qualified declared

Rebecca Connolly Millrose AA 1:04.42 qualified declared

Lisa Valle So Cal Track Club 1:05.20 qualified declared

Mary Thane Mountain West Track Club 1:06.10 qualified declared

Terri Rath Athena 1:06.46 qualified declared

Jennifer Draughon Mountain West Track Club 1:08.00 qualified declared

Sue McCarthy Mass Velocity TC 1:10.33 provisional open

Gail Johns-Rees Mass Velocity TC 1:11.21 provisional open

BTW, I just came across a great series of shots of the Millrose masters relays by Sue Pearsall. Check out this gallery.

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February 25, 2009

4 Responses

  1. tyoung - February 25, 2009

    So much for sneaking across the country for a legit (200m oval) track race!
    Looking forward to a good effort & showing from all of the Masters participants.

  2. Martha Mendenhall - February 26, 2009

    Personally…I will be watching for that orange jersey. “Fly TY!”

  3. David E. Ortman (M55) Seattle, WA - February 26, 2009

    Good luck, Tony! Too bad the world’s oldest indoor track championship isn’t being shown on regular TV. What’s up with that? Perspiring minds want to know. Sigh!

  4. Anonymous - March 1, 2009

    I was looking at the final times for the women’s masters 400 meter times. The qualifying time to enter was suppose to be at least 68 seconds. I see that Jennifer Draughon ran it in 74 seconds. I wonder if she recently ran a 68 second 400 meter. If not she should have been honest and let someone more qualified to take her place.

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