Hundreds of Porto Alegre images being posted on Flickr account
Flickr is fantastic for displaying images, and someone with the Porto Alegre LOC is posting great storytelling shots of the world meet. See the main gallery. I don’t see photo credits off the bat, but I’d like to thank the shooter for exploring the whole spectacle. The one below is among my favorites, showing 95-year-old Efrain Wachs (left) and Argentine sprinter buddy 99-year-old Jose Lore Escobar, apparently after their 100-meter dash. (They won silver and bronze.) Doug Smith of Canada, a steeplechaser a stellar photographer, will share his images as well.
The essence of masters track — relaxing with a friend after hard-fought race.
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After a first week of fine warm weather (with a Sunday rest day shooting into the 90s), Monday morning has brought thunder/lightening/wind and a pounding rain. Weather forecast for the rest of the week is off and on more of the same.
In other words, it has turned into a swim meet. Otherwise, it has been a very low key meet. They need a Pete Taylor here. No announcements of age-groups or runners for the 100m finals. The little timer at the finish line gave false finish times that were then corrected by a six line results board way at the end of the stadium. Only a small spectator stand near the finish line and very few tents to shield athletes from sun or rain on the infield.
The athletes seem to be muddling through with taxis picking up a lot of the transportation burden, as buses have been extremely erratic.
Cheers from down under.
I really enjoyed the photos. Thank you!
Updated Monday weather update. After a driving, drenching, bone soaking hard morning rain, the spigot shut off and the afternoon was cool and pleasant with little wind. The early morning took its toll, however, as one woman Triple Jumper, broke her leg slipping on the tape they used for the “board.” There was also some reported screw up in the women’s long hurdles when a race was started before all the hurdles were set up.
Tuesday could be more of the same, weather wise.
Race begun before hurdles set up! Oh my. Have they no white flags? (Or red ones?)
Keep those reports coming, Dave Ortman; they are very instructive. Starting the long hurdles before all the hurdles are in place puts quite a strain on the hurdles crew — the crew members have to put the hurdles in exactly the right place and then scamper away, all while the hurdlers are actually doing the race. Very demanding.
Extremely sad story about the woman who broke her leg on a presumably wet tape that was used in place of a board for the triple jump. My best wishes to her for a full recovery.
Joining in again, we found out that some of the results had to be taken with – a pound of salt – instead of a grain.
Some were corrected, like if the athlete was not competing at all, but got a time.
Dave, where are you competing,? we are finally at the CETE – for the rest of our events.
Tomorrow is a rest day – unless one is involved in the WMA meeting and election – or just a guest.
Weather for tomorrow – RAIN.
We get some info. thru KenÅ› blog.
Tuesday report. Despite forcasts for more rain, Tuesday has been a grand day weather wise, sun – fluffy clouds, a bit of a cross wind.
A bad day to pick to run a bad hurdles race, but even with my fastest time of the year, still took the dreaded fourth place in the M60 300mH, won by Thaddeis Wilson in a time of 43.95, with George Hayward of the US taking 3rd.
Due to scheduling, the M60 High Jump finals was going on at the same time in another stadium across town. I finished the 300mH race, jumped in a taxi, and a half hour later was at the other stadium, just in time to take four consecutive clean jumps including 1.55m for 2nd place. A hurdle/high jump double is not recommended however.
Still no announcing age-groups (Pete they need you) for the 200m Women finals this afternoon and the small “scoreboard” that can list six names at a time was not working either.
At this point, it is not survival of the fittest. It is just survivial.
Christel (no. 6) and Dave Ortman (no. 7): Thanks for those reports. Rick Easley and I, among many others, are interested in how things are going down there in Brasil/Brazil.
Dave Ortman, that sounds like a very hot 300 hurdles race (M60). The last time I announced the world masters, 1995 in Buffalo, the M60 was won by Francois Cornelis of Belgium (I definitely remember announcing him because I possibly mispronounced his last name). Francois ran 46.47, and thus the 43.95 for Thad Wilson sounds very good indeed.
Christel, as you remember so well, you took a second at Buffalo worlds in the heptathlon. I enjoyed announcing up there and am sorry I never got to announce another worlds. In 2011 I was rejected outright by the Sacramento committee, and I never even considered Porto Alegre. But if they had asked me I would have gone down there for expenses only. Oh, well.
Doug Smith of Canada is posting his Porto Alegre photos. Here’s a set from Oct. 21:
https://plus.google.com/photos/100366138259738835327/albums/5937385989646198305?banner=pwa
Yes, David, today was a beautiful day, and even one of the buses came on time, cannot remember what time…. a mad dash to get in!
The 200 m finals were more than on time. The big announcement – 4 more minutes – the athletes were already in their blocks or next to it.
Even the call room at CETE was better organized,
the poor officials? were bombarded with questions,
they spoke some English.
A few of us were telling stories at breakfast,
we must have met for over an hour, YES, the mood
has greatly improved, we like to keep it that way.
Pete, I honestly forgot about Buffalo, but remember
Brisbane much more!!!
As you hopefully noticed, I am trying to stay away from the negative points, there were too many.
Again, David, I could not agree more, survival is the key, but it seems we are getting thru it.
The 10K road race walk had a bit of a “snafu” as well – it was measured somewhere between 470 and 550 metres too long. For the 20K walk on Saturday that means they’ll be walking about 1K extra! It doesn’t sound like they want to re-measure it.
Thanks for that, Sarah. I always want to hear about how the racewalkers are doing. Sorry that your race was 4.7% to 5.5% too long. I wonder how people know that; I assume that the times told the tale (they must have been slow). That’s just speculation, of course.
Dave Ortman – loved your “Taxi to a Silver medal” story!! Congrats to you!! Way to make us USA high jumpers proud :). I heard from Tom Foley (who silvered in M55 HJ) that the high jump standards were comparable to grade school tetherball poles with no height markings and cement-filled tires for the base, LOL. I would say ‘unbelievable’ but I’ve already been to enough masters track meets to believe pretty much anything.
Wed/Thurs Report. Lucky that Wednesday was a rest day. After a cool cloudy day Wednesday, Porto Alegre turned angry and from around 5-8 pm saw a pounding sideways rain/wind storm of epic proportion. Lots of dunder and blitzen and several hotels in the main part of the city lost electricity for a time. Very impressive!!
Thursday was cool, cloudy and calm in the morning. Great for the 400m prelimins and whatever other field events were going on. Afternoon saw a bit of sprinkles and more gusty winds, but the athletes lucked out on the weather today.
Only malfunction to report on Thursday was that Great Britian’s Steve Peters was left off the heats sheet in the M60 400m. A bit odd, as he claimed the best time on his entry form. They did find a lane for him and he handily won his heat. Haven’t found the M60 400 prelimin results but it looked all the US runners advanced.
Fri Report. Again, the weather forecast was a bit off. Today was a cool partly cloudy partly sunny day with lots of wind, swirling this way one moment, then the other. Very confusing for the hurdlers. Some ran with wind, some ran into the wind. The wind really picked up for the 400m semis. Between the 2nd and 3rd semi heats of the M60, the wind blew down a sign, which caused a delay, then the wind blew over the starter’s speaker on the track, causing even more delay. Of course, I was in the 3rd semi heat and is seemed like an eternity before the fixed every thing and got us on our marks.
A couple of finals on Saturday, then the relays on Sunday. It seems like it’s been a very long meet.
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