I would hope triple jumper Aldama Yamile of Great Britain gets swift recognition of her W35 indoor triple jump world record. She had witnesses — at IAAF Indoor Worlds in Turkey. Masters Mole 26688c3 writes: “She jumped 14.62 (47-11 3.4) for a WR in qualifying and then a 14.82 (48-7 1/2) in the finals for another WR. Plus she won the whole dang thing! Gold medal and $40K.” The listed W35 indoor world record is 14.44 by Ukraine’s Inessa Kravetz in 2003. And how amazing is this? Aldama, who was born in Cuba, turns 40 in August! Speaking of W40, Chandra Sturrup of Bahamas ran 7.19 in the 60 at worlds, just missing Merlene Ottey’s WR of 7.17 seconds. Finally from our friend Milan Jamrich: “Slovak athlete Vladimir Vybostok ran a new world record in 60 meters in M65 during the Masters Championships of the Czech Republic in Prague. He ran 7.82 seconds. The old world record was 7.99.” Congrats to all!

Moles and websites report this out-of-the-blue record: “Ken Ernst set an American record in the [outdoor] 5000 meters for men 50 years and older Saturday to highlight the Ben Brown Invitational Track and Field Meet hosted by Cal State Fullerton and Asics. Ernst was clocked in 15:34.62 while finishing sixth in the Class “D” 5K run.” (See results here.) Ken beat the listed AR of 15:41.67 by Mike Heffernan set way back in 1991. The listed world record is the incredible 14:53.2 by David Martin Rees of Britain in 2003. According to a 2010 Pete Magill column, Ken has struggled with osteoarthritis. But he was fit enough to win gold and silver cross country medals last year at Sacramento worlds in the M45 age group. Nice run, Ken! Go get an arthritis medicine endorsement.

This is ominous. The meet schedule for the mid-April Mt. San Antonio College Relays, or Mt. SAC, shows only two masters events this year: the 100 and shot put. Absent are the 200, 800 and 110 hurdles — plus the hammer throw, which was held in 2011. Last year, Nolan Shaheed set an M60 world record at Mt. SAC in the 8, clocking 2:09.02. And the hurdles have been smoking. But in recent years, scratches have left many open lanes, and embarrassed meet management (and the masters movement). So I’ve written to the meet directors asking if my reading of the schedule is correct. Meanwhile, the USATF Masters Invitational Program page indicates that the 200 and 800 masters exhibitions are in the mix. So what’s up? I’m writing several folks for answers. Stay tuned.

Thad Wilson is my hero. And not just because he gave me the stick in Lahti and guaranteed me a bronze medal at worlds in the 4×100. He’s just a guy who ran no faster than me in high school but found a way to preserve his speed, strength and skill at 60 — and set a world record in the 100-meter hurdles in Berea. (He beat Courtland Gray’s amazing mark of 14.62 by going 14.37 seconds — into a wind!) But I didn’t get a chance to interview him until last week. (I’m still the world champion procrastinator webmaster.) The biggest revelation: He’s decided to hang up his spikes. But don’t sweat it. That won’t be until the year 2052.

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World champion long hurdler Tony Echeandia from Puerto Rico writes: “I am putting together the first (as far as I know) Masters Grand Prix meet here in Puerto Rico. It is tentatively schedule for July 21st & 22nd and will involve both Men and women ages 35-60 and some over 65-year-old events. It will also be both track & field including but not limited too the following events: 4×100, 4×400, 100, 100/110 Hurdles, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000 or 5000 or both, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin. The meet is being sanctioned by the Puerto Rican Masters, the meet director is Mr. Michael Serralta (who is absolutely brilliant). He was the meet director for the 2003 World Championships here in Puerto Rico and he did an incredible job.”

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Just got this note from Charles Mosbrucker: “Hot off the presses! It appears that through the American Athletes League efforts the hearing set for March 9th has been postponed until after the Masters National meet . Despite this fact, USATF and INUSATF have still not come to the table with any reasonable solution to this situation. And INUSATF is continuing to refuse to provide the financial information which some of its members and Board members have requested. Stay tuned for more details. Check out the americanathletesleague.com website for more details as they become available.”

Any time you beat an Alisa Harvey record, you know you’re good. So good on Sonja Friend-Uhl, who ran a mile Saturday in 4:44.81 at Virginia Tech. That crushes Alisa’s listed W40 world indoor record of 4:47.26 from 2007. See results here. Sonja says: “I am preparing all documents now and already received the required signatures on site the day of the meet. Just waiting on the surveyor’s certificate so I can mail everything in to Sandy Pashkin. I’m very excited and hoping to run faster this spring.” In fact, she’s not the fastest W40 middle-distancer of all time. That title will ever belong to Russia’s Yekaterina Podkopayeva, who ran an indoor 1500 in 4:05.19 at age 44 in 1997. But Sonja’s mark is still amazing. In the video, announcer is acutely aware of WR prospects.

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At 11 a.m. today, we made the official announcement: I’ve been promoted to associate regional editor of Patch sites in south and east San Diego County. I’m no longer editor of La Mesa Patch but will supervise six editor colleagues to help them be the best they can be and grow their Patches. So even though I have tons of stuff to report on this blog (including several American records at the indoor combined-events nationals), please be patient with me as I make the transition to my new job. (Yes, I got a raise.) And I’ll be contacting Steve Robbins for advice on newbie management. This is a first for moi. Thanks for your understanding.

I jumped the gun earlier today in how I read a note on the USATF lawsuit. Apparently the plaintiffs offered to drop the suit contingent on USATF agreeing to a deal. But Indy balked, and the Bloomington nationals are still at risk theoretically. My apologies for not reading between the lines: “AAL representatives, including Mosbrucker, persuaded Collesano to agree with him to dismiss both of their lawsuits against Indiana USATF and USATF which included Mr. Collesano’s request for preliminary injunction that could potentially cancel the 2012 National Track and Field Masters Championship.”
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Check out the Facebook page for 2012 indoor worlds. (It helps to be a Facebook member, but don’t feel obligated.) Facebook is where more masters are connecting with friends and learning about meets and stuff. About 2,500 athletes are entered, but the Facebook page has been “liked” more than 3,600 times. The meet is a month away. According to the Team USA page, the oldest American entrant is M80 thrower Ray Feick. But the best news is that Bill Collins is entered in M60 sprints — a sign he’s recovered from his mystery illness of last year.