Masters dominate the Millrose Games
Track & Field News once told me that masters track was of no interest to its readers — since it’s a “participant sport” and not a “spectator sport.” Well, tell that to the crowd at Madison Square Garden, where the Outstanding Athlete at Friday night’s Millrose Games is 36, its 400 winner is 36 and its women’s shot winner is 42. Gail Devers led the geezer showcase with an American indoor record in the 60-meter hurdles. Jearl-Miles Clark and Oneithea Lewis broke listed American indoor masters records as well.
Devers, wining at Millrose for the first time since 1992, clocked an American open record of 7.78 in the 60-meter hurdles to beat the listed W35 world indoor best of 8.04 by Russian Yelizaveta Chernyshova on 1-27-93. The listed American indoor W35 hurdles record was 8.96 by Charlene Landrum of New York on 3-24-01.
Miles-Clark, 36, won the 400 in 55.08 (not as good as her 54.00 Jan. 18 at Blacksburg, Va.) but again better than the listed American indoor W35 record of 56.66 by of Alethea Morris of New York on 3-25-00. The listed WR is 53.13 by Nadez Olizarenko of Russia on 2-25-89. Miles-Clark took the women’s 400 meters for the sixth time since 1995.
Lewis, 42, won the Millrose shot put at 14.68 (48-2), beating her own listed American indoor W40 record of 45-7 (13.89) on 3-24-01. The listed W40 indoor shot record is 19.16 (62-10 1/2) by Russian Antonina Ivanova at age 41 on 2-24-74. In 2002 Lewis won the USATF Masters award for Outstanding Female Single Performance for a hammer throw of 55.68 (182-8) — even though she had thrown far longer that year.
Back to Devers. Her time broke the old American mark of 7.81 set by Jackie Joyner-Kersee on Feb. 5, 1989. See her form. It also is the world’s eighth-fastest ever and a Millrose Games record. Devers, who won the 100 in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, led from the start and finished way ahead of Melissa Morrison (7.95).
Devers told reporters doesn’t know if this was her last performance at the Millrose Games — or when she is going to retire.
“You need to ask me about next week, not next year,” said Devers, who was named the meet’s outstanding athlete “I want to say thanks to all my fans. You guys are great. You won’t let me retire. . . . I used to say I’m going year by year. Now it’s day by day. I don’t want to say that ‘R’ word. I have no clue. I honestly think one day I’ll wake up and know.”
Chryste Gaines, who held off Angela Williams to win the 60 in 7.23 seconds, was sitting nearby when she heard Devers and yelled, “Yeah right, she’s never going to retire.”
Devers looked at Gaines and said, “Oh yes she is.”
Finally, The New York Times reported: At age 39, Regina Jacobs had been a heavy favorite to win her fifth consecutive Fred Lebow women’s mile, but she decided earlier in the day not to run. She has been bothered for weeks by a strain in her right hamstring.
“I’m going home and have my doctor take care of it,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t want to take any chances.”
