Day 4 at Eurovets: Two world records in the field
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.
Pete’s report:
A bit of a quiet day on the track – only the long hurdle finalists strutting their stuff. Meanwhile the organisers thought it a good idea to have the oldies of the long jump fraternity in action at 2pm – when the heat of the ever present sun is at its peak.
However, this didn’t prove a problem for Norway’s M85 Gudmund Skrivek who, with a legal but favourable wind of +1.6, soared out to 3.77 (12-4 1/2) for a world record.
This effort added a mere 2cm to the previous record set by Japan’s Mazumi Morita in 1998.
The second world record arrived thanks to W65 Ursula Stelling of Germany and her high jump of 1.37 (4-6) to add 3cm to Rietje Dijkman’s (NED) mark. Of interest, this effort would have won both the W55 and W60 competitions here – and with room to spare!
M80 Erik Eriksson of Finland heaved the shot out to 12.21 (40-0 3/4) to improve on his own European record of 12.15 (39-10 1/2).
Two European records in the 300m hurdles; and both provided by a Briton.
First up was M75 Colin Field who massively improved on his British record of 57.08 set two weeks ago in his National Champs to tour three-quarters of the track in 55.81. This was well inside the 56.95 set by Germany’s Heinz Krenzer at the WMA 2003 Champs in Puerto Rico.
M70 Tony Bowman enjoyed setting a European record – also in the British champs – so much, that he did it again here; and how, as he skimmed to a time of 50.67, a major improvement on his two-week old time of 51.22.
After major heart surgery some two years ago, Bowman was advised to discontinue athletics. He answered his doctor by completing a decathlon!
Good to see Britain’s Howard Moscrop back on the international scene after indicating two years ago that the European Championships in Denmark would be his final such competition.
Winning the M45 400m hurdles in a modest – for him – 57.82 after carrying a slight hamstring problem, Moscrop (still M40 WR holder with 53.20 at Gateshead WMA 1999) maintained his record of never having been beaten at either a World or a European Championship.
However, as a school head-teacher, Moscrop is unlikely to attend Riccione (WMA). “It clashes with the start of the school year and there is no way I could get leave,” he admitted.
With the later than usual holding of the 2007 World Championships, this could be a sentiment echoed by the large contingent of school teachers currently operating on the British masters’ scene.
2 Responses
I understand that the 2009 WMA meet in Finland will also be held in late August or early September – and if the 2011 meet is held in Brazil as the president of WMA is claiming – that is likely to be in the late Fall – so much for school teachers participating any time soon in WMA outdoor meets. Our summer is winter time in Brazil.
I have been to Rio many times during their winter and the weather was usually very good.They get an occasional rainstorm, but so does North Carolina in August. They should hold the meet in early August. That way I wouldn’t have to come up with some lame excuse to miss work. I am running out of dead uncles.
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