Irene Obera paces N.C. nationals with records in W80 pentathlon

Irene would catch a foot and fall, but get up and finish.

Irene would catch a foot and fall, but get up and finish 60H.

Hall of Famer Irene Obera isn’t the oldest female pentathlete in history (Olga Kotelko was 93 when she set her record at Jyväskylä indoor worlds in 2012), but at 81, the Northern Californian is pioneering the event post-80. At N.C. nationals Friday, she set a first-ever W80 WR in the event — despite taking a tumble in the 60 hurdles. (Christel Donley is the first W80 indoor heptathlete, however.) As USATF graciously reports: “The USA Track & Field Masters Indoor Championships opened Friday on the first day of Spring with a bolt of lightning at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina…. Irene Obera of Fremont, CA broke existing World and American records, and three other competitors broke U.S. marks.” Results are posted here. Superphotog Rob Jerome (whose shots are shared here) adds: “Irene … would have probably done 300 points better had she not caught her heal on the first hurdle in the first event and taken a nasty fall. But like the true champ she is, she got up, composed herself and went on to accomplish great things.”

Irene keeps her form in the concluding 800 event of her record pentathlon.

Irene keeps her form in the concluding 800 event of her record pentathlon.

USATF’s Christa Mann and masters PR man Bob Weiner continue:

Irene went 2.72 in long jump.

Irene went 2.72 (8-11) in long jump.

Obera set a W80 World Masters Record as the first ever woman over 80 completing an indoor pentathlon with a combined total of 3,817 points. Despite a misstep over the opening obstacle in the 60-meter hurdles, she recovered with American records in the next two events (marks in multi-events count for individual records as well), clearing 1.02m/3-4 in high jump and leaping 2.72m/8-11.25. Obera’s 6.97/22-10.5 shot put was the farthest of any female multi-competitor of the day, and she finished the pentathlon’s final event with a time of 5:10.03 in the 800m. Obera, no stranger to record-breaking performances, set a career seventh AR and eighth WR.

Also with a strong combined events performance was Anne Sluder (Pineville, North Carolina), posting 3,531 points in W40-44 pentathlon. Sluder went up and over 1.59/5-2.5 in high jump and landed 4.79/15-8.75 in long jump, and she followed an 8.29/27-2.5 shot put with a 2:46.33 800m.

Irene went 6.97 in shot.

Irene went 6.97 (22-10.5) in shot.

In distance events, Sonja Friend-Uhl (Nashville, Tennessee) clocked 9:50.60 in the 3,000m for a new W45-49 AR. Coming around the final curve with only 10 seconds to match the current record, Friend-Uhl’s powerful kick brought fans to their feet and the 43-year-old a top, American indoor time.

John Poche (Lake Charles, Louisiana) highlighted field events when he took down the American M85 weight throw record of 10.14/33-3 with his toss of 10.41/34-2.

Another highlight of the day was Ben James in the M55 400m. James defeated cancer one year ago and won his heat final in 57.48.

For highlights from the 2015 USATF Masters Indoor Championships, visit USATF.TV for on-demand videos.

Irene went XX in the high jump — not the best on record but still amazing.

Irene went 1.02 in the high jump — short of Flo Meiler’s recent 1.07 (3-6) AR but still amazing.

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March 20, 2015

7 Responses

  1. Terry Ballou - March 20, 2015

    Irene, you are simply amazing. Your form is fantastic and you are an inspiration. Congrats!

  2. al cestero - March 20, 2015

    awsome ..!! congratulations…! and best wishes to ALL who are competing …i’ll be checking the results…;)

  3. David E. Ortman (M61), Seattle, WA - March 20, 2015

    Yes, and good photo (top) of Pete Taylor announcing as a bonus. As for “results,” not so good.

    http://finishtiming.trackscoreboard.com/#/results/meet/2015023

    Age groups are lumped together (which is how it often goes at Masters Indoor Nationals) but there is no age-group identity in the results, so for lumped events you can’t tell who won what in what age-group. Sigh.

  4. Rob Jerome - March 21, 2015

    Dave, I purposely shot Irene with Pete in the background since she was making history and Pete is the “voice” of history for our sport. It was a great accomplishment for Irene.

  5. David E. Ortman (M61), Seattle, WA - March 21, 2015

    Rob (Poster #4): Pete has always done an A-1 job of announcing and it is great you gave him some “face time” (O.K. Photo #2, not top photo). It would also be helpful to photo shoot some of our excellent officials in action as well. They are usually on duty all day and should also be thanked for their service, as without them, none of us would receive a proper mark or time.

    Thanks for your excellent photos. It is almost (but not quite) as good as being there!

  6. sharron miller - March 21, 2015

    Congrats to our good friend Irene who is a role model for many. We love and support you. By the way, the Stanford women BB team won today.

  7. flo meiler - March 23, 2015

    Way to go Irene? What a great meet for you? I really missed everyone? Flo Meiler

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