Bill huffed and puffed his way to another national sprint title — his 5 millionth. Dave Albo photo
Bill Collins guaranteed himself another world record Saturday. At LSU nationals, for the second time this season, he beat the listed M65 WR of 12.37 for 100 (by Steve Robbins and a Slovak) with his 12.34 into a 0.8 mps wind. At Penn in April, Bill zipped 12.33, which really should be vetted and posted by now. (Records czar Jeff Brower’s Google Docsays that mark awaits a FAT photo and zero-control test, which must have been done at such an important meet.) Also assured a WR is W100 Julia Hawkins, who can count on her Baton Rouge 40.12 to be her age group’s debut 100 WR if her National Senior Games’ 39.62 doesn’t pass muster. She was such a star the Washington Post covered her. But two 64-year-olds served notice that they have Bill’s 100 mark in their sights a year from now. Damien Leake beat Oscar Peyton 12.23 to 12.32 in their M60 showdown. As expected, “Grandpa” William Bell became the oldest vaulter on record by clearing 1.35 (4-5) on his first try. He passed 1.40 (4-7), then had his first miss of the morning at 1.45 (4-). Three and out. Still, he secured an M95 WR for the world to chase.
Damien Leake edges Oscar Peyton for the second straight year in M60 100. Both will be M65 next year, when both challenge Bill Collins’ WR. Dave Albo photo
Another day of contrasts at LSU nationals. Day 2 saw American records in the M50 and M80 400-meter dashes — and a near-miss in M40 and W50. And lightning led meet officials to delay seven short-hurdles finals until Saturday morning, along with some throws. But USATF jumped the gun declaring M50 Khalid Mulazim’s 51.13 a world record, even though it beat the listed WR of 51.39 by Fred Sowerby in 1999. (We’ve been reporting how Germany’s Roland Gröger has been chipping away at Sowerby, topped by his 50.73 three weeks ago.) Also not highlighted was M80 Bob Lida’s 73.55, which beats the listed AR of 75.4 by Harold Chapson wayyyyyy back in 1983. (Bob ran 70.20 at Daegu worlds.) Also remarkable is M40 Antwon Dussett’s unpressed 48.94, which missed the listed AR of 48.44 by James King in 1989. W50 Charmaine Roberts clocked 61.95, just shy of the listed AR of Jai (pronounced Jay) Black’s 61.38 of 2012. Baton Rouge also saw Olympic medalist Walter Dix’s submasters debut, running 100 in 10.32 in his first masters nationals. Welcome, Walter! Hurdlers 60-plus on Saturday face a grind, including the shuttles and the long hurdles. But guts is what they’re made of. And here’s a highlight for Saturday:
101-year-old #LSU alum Julia Hawkins isn't letting age slow her down. She's racing Saturday @usatf Masters Outdoors at Bernie Moore Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Kd2Jyo0KhR
M40 Mark Williams easily won the 800 in 1:58.66. Dave Albo photo
LSU’s facility was heaven. The weather was, well, hell. Hot and humid were the words most often seen on social media, describing Baton Rouge masters nationals, where Day 1 was Thursday (and results are here). And when lightning struck at the 50th nationals, people were told to drop metal objects and head indoors. Fortunately, events including the pentathlon were able to finish up indoors. And to answer a question some may be asking: No, the USATF Masters T&F Committee had no choice. Baton Rouge was the only bidder for outdoor nationals when the pick was madeat the 2014 Anaheim annual meeting (which I attended). In any case, the local paper is picking some nice stories, and our cadre are putting on a great show for the paying viewers via usatf.tv. Dave Albo is getting his usual sensational photos, and the lady announcer sounds great. (Pete Taylor not being present this year.) Myrle Mensey’s W65 hammer win — beating her own listed AR with a final-throw 39.97 (131-1) — wasn’t mentioned in the USATF press release. But W45 Sonja Friend-Uhl’s 2:15.05 win got proper notice — being less than 2 seconds off Alisa Harvey’s AR of 2:13.67. And yeah, we want to hear all we can about 92-year-old Baton Rouge native Mary Norckauer competing in 12 events. (And 101-year-old sprinter Julia Hawkins.) Stay cool and dry, you guys.
Don Pellmann barely missed becoming the oldest vaulter in human history when, at age 100, he couldn’t time his leg pull at the 2015 San Diego Senior Olympics. Don’t expect the same mistake Saturday from William Bell. Now 95, the M90 WR man is a shoo-in for the debut WR in his age group. Proof came in a Facebook video posted on Bell Athletics, where Grandpa Bell is shown clearing several heights. Apparently, his best mark was 1.45 meters (4-9). He submitted a mark of 1.50 (4-11) for his LSU masters nationals entry. Son Earl — the former open WR man and Los Angeles Games bronze medalist — isn’t entered, but would be a great M60 vaulter. He coaches and runs camps in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Meanwhile, folks are flooding into Baton Rouge amid heat and rain. Stay safe and hydrated, y’all! And best of luck to Grandpa Bell at 10 a.m. Saturday when he goes for the Oldest Vaulter Title.
Stephanie EARNED her deca gold at late June nationals.
At 39, Stephanie Colby had her “welcome-to-masters” moment late last month when she ruptured her left Achilles tendon a few steps from a pole plant. She was hoping to set a W35 American record in the decathlon at the USATF Masters Combined Events Championships in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Steph asked meet maven Jeff Watry if she would get credit for completing the decathlon if she scratched the last two events. “He said no.” So she said, “Let’s go.” And with help from a golf cart and others, she took a one-legged javelin throw and hop-started the 1500. Her score of 3585 may ultimately be recognized as an age-group AR. Recently, she had surgery. Her rehab will take months. But I suspect she’ll be the latest example of a masters star making a stellar comeback. When she turns 40 this September, she’ll have extra incentive to soar in the W40 group. Intrigued by her story, I wrote her, and she graciously responded to my Q&A request. (My apologies for sharing her painful moment.)
Results from Australia, Britain and Germany show some incredible world records being set in events from the 100 to 5,000. I noted Jane Horder’s W60 hurdle marks, but another British masters nationals star was W70 Angela Copson, whose 5000 mark of 20:56.13 crushed the listed WR of 21:34.08 by Aussie Lavinia Petrie in 2014. But Australia is celebrating the M85 WRs of David Carr in the 800 (3:06.69) and1500 (6:27.3), under the listed WRs of 3:09.10 by Canada’s Earl Fee in 2014 and 6:38.23 by the late Ed Whitlock, his Ontario colleague, in 2016. Finally, a week ago at German masters nationals, W70 Kathy Bergen’s listed WR of 14.76 for 100 fell to Ingrid Meier and her 14.73. Two days later in the 200, Ingrid clocked 31.30 to nip Kathy’s listed WR of 31.39. Other records are being reported, but I like to link to results or authoritative sites just becuz.
Western Australia’s David smiles during race, perhaps his WR 800 down under.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Charles G. Rosswas an ironman in war and masters track who once said: “Every person is unique. Most don’t know what they can do until they try. I believe it’s better to try and fail than to not try.” Charles tried and excelled, and I’m sad to report that he’s reached the end of his record-setting career. His Georgia masters friend Lydia Woods reports that he died July 5 at age 94. “He was an amazing role model for so many of us in masters track,” she said. “He was a veteran of three wars — World War II, Korea and Vietnam (three tours). He served 31 years in the military and was inducted into the United States Army Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1997.” Andy Hecker recalled his athletic heroism at 2010 Sacramento nationals: “They were calling his name [for the triple jump] while he was still on the track doing the 10,000. When he finished the 10,000, he barely broke stride, jogging across the field to take his one attempt, literally minutes after completing our longest distance race.” Charles was the first man over 90 to finish the 2K steeple, and he holds the listed WR of 18:54.10. He formed and was part of the historic 4×1 and 4×4 relays at 2014 Winston-Salem nationals, which set the debut (and still standing) M90 world records.
Army Ranger Hall of Fame citation proved his mettle before his masters medals.
Water, shown at 2011 IAAF worlds, makes the rare jump from Open to masters nationals.
LSU will be Speed City in mid-July when two big names compete at masters nationals. As noted in Bob Weiner’s latest meet preview, Olympian Walter Dix and Senior Olympian Julia Hawkins are entered. Walter has Olympic bronze in the 100 and 200 [thanks to two DQs]. Julia has something even more special — claims to a world record. At 101, Julia became the fastest centenarian on record when she clocked 39.62 at last month’s National Senior Games in Birmingham. (That’s better than Ida Keeling’s 1:17.33 at 2016 Penn relays and Ella Mae Colbert’s solo 46.79 the following month.) Neither made it into the record books, though. Now Julia gets to sleep in her own bed for masters nationals — she lives a few miles away in Baton Rouge, notes this nice Washington Post profile. But she still needs to produce age verification, since records czar Jeff Brower notes he’s still waiting on a birth certificate for her recent mark. No vetting is needed for submaster Walter, whose season bests are 10.21 and 20.44 with a seventh-place finish in the 2 at Sacramento open nationals. He’s 31, and his presence is appreciated. (His PRs are merely 9.88 and 19.53.)
Jane has been a star for years. Tom Phillips photo
Jane Horder is a BEAST! While scanning results from the recent British masters nationals in Birmingham, I came across a stunning result — Jane’s 51.25 for 300-meter hurdles in W60, which would have easily won silver in the M60 event. And it beats the listed world record of 51.64 by Aussie Marge Alison at 2005 San Sebastian worlds. But wait! There’s more! Jane’s Power of 10 rankings show her running 51.2 and 50.5 earlier in her newbie W60 season. (She turned 60 in January.) But hold onto your Nikes. Jane’s season best is 49.80 at the South West Veterans Championships in Exeter on June 18. Oh my. So she not only beats the WR by nearly 2 seconds, she goes sub-50. She’s no stranger to the record books. At Daegu worlds in March, Jane set a W60 WR in the 60 hurdles with a 9.90. (And she holds the listed W55 WR for 300 hurdles of 49.00.) Another star at Birmingham was sprint legend Steve Peters, who at 63 swept the 100 (12.47), 200 (25.37) and 400 (59.87). Lemme know if I missed any other sensational marks at the BMAF meet. And I’d better hear the Brits boasting about Jane, coached by WR man and world-title long hurdler Howard Moscrop.
Tom jumped [high] at 2006 USATF masters nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina
Tom VanZandt of Redondo Beach, California, is a former masters high jump champion looking to raise the bar on pro track’s horizons. Using the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours as a model, he argues elite track and field (ET&F in his parlance) should have four or five times as many invitational meets as the Diamond League and others afford. He also thinks IAAF should bow out of the Summer Games (as NHL has for the 2018 Winter Games) to get a better deal. Big ideas. All debatable. But his 11,000-word manifesto, with 77 supporting footnotes, makes some undeniable arguments about TV coverage and other issues. Attention must be paid. When I suggested he send this work to USATF President Vin Lananna, Tim replied: “Vin was my college coach. I have bugged him for years about these ideas. Many times, he has said, ‘This is exactly what Phil [Knight, Nike boss] is always saying. You should talk to him.’ Any time! He understands the ideas well, but so far he has really focused all of his energy on making very good meets at Hayward Field. There is nothing wrong with this, particularly as he is doing a great job. But most of his stuff embraces the small-format/small-field, which I am convinced will never make the sport into Pro Tennis. Still, I appreciate people’s efforts…. I have just tweeted [USATF CEO] Max Siegel.”
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and web-master since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials, the last three as a blogger and Patch correspondent. [More...]
