Daprano, Condon crush U.S. records at West Regional
The same day Alan Webb was erasing the 25-year-old American record in the mile, Frank Condon was doing a number on the 35-year-old U.S. mile record in his age group. Saturday at the USATF West Region Championships, Frank turned four laps in 5:12.21 to beat the listed American M65 outdoor mile record of 5:22 set by Monty Montgomery in 1972 — the oldest mile record on the USATF books. (See complete results from Occidental College near Los Angeles.) But the athlete of the meet probably was 70-year-old Jeanne Daprano of suburban Atlanta, Georgia, who set American age-group records in the 400 (Saturday) and 800 (Sunday), going 78.64 and 3:07.69. In May, Jeanne became the first W70 to crack the 7-minute barrier for the mile, so she’s definitely in world record form.
The listed W70 American records in the 4 and 8 were 82.52 by Patricia Peterson (set at the first Orono masters nationals in 1998) and 3:13.90 by Suzi MacLeod (set at the 2005 Decatur masters nationals). On Sunday, Jeanne also won the 200 at Oxy in 37.50.
At next month’s Orono masters nationals, Jeanne is entered in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500. Her goals might include these world age-group records:
400: 78.26 by Veronica Welgemoed of South Africa.
800: 2:59.55 by Elfriede Hodapp of Germany.
1500: 6:12.14 by Elfriede Hodapp.
Frank also is entered at Orono (in the 800, 1500 and high jump), and the world record number he can shoot for is:
1500: 4:39.87 (correction for time listed earlier)
by Simon Herlaar of the Netherlands.
According to Jess Brewer’s online lookup, the Age-Graded Tables say Frank’s 5:12 mile corresponds to an Open (ages 20-30) equivalent of 3:57.90.
Jeanne’s 400 corresponds to an Open (ages 20-30) equivalent of 51.99 and her 800 corresponds to a nifty 1:59.28.
West Regionals had lots of other stars, including W40 Carmel Papworth-Barnum, the new editor of National Masters News, who won the mile Saturday (actually an exhibition event) in 5:17.91 and the official 1500 championship Sunday in 4:56.63. (Hubby Larry Barnum, meanwhile, won the M60 400 in 58.59 Saturday and the 800 Sunday in 2:18.13.)
Photos of Carmel and many others will be posted soon.
On to Orono.
4 Responses
Frank lied about his age. He is only 35.
What a great race. Nobody works harder than Frank on the track. I see him training in the cold and blistering heat. He earned the record. Well done!
Jeanne: Congratulations and come back with many medals from Italy. Juan Bustamante
Jeanne, Frank, Carmel, and Larry, congratulations!
Frank, you’re a wild man on the track. We haven’t compared biceps in awhile. See you in Orono.
Great job, Frank! Your smart work ethic is paying great dividends. Keep it up.
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