Germans are touchy about dictators — for good reason. But a document I recently obtained suggests their track federation demands total subservience when it comes to the Eurovets — aka European Masters Athletics. Already the powerhouse of masters track on the Old Continent, the DLV(German Athletics Federation) has a 500-word “Common Intention Declaration” that it expects people to sign when they join the EMA Council and maybe WMA as well. That’s my impression from several chats with sources familiar with this secret pact. (I can’t find any reference to it anywhere on the Web, even when using the German “Gemeinsame Absichtserklärung.”) In any case, I’m told that Kurt Kaschke, the president of EMA, has signed this doc, which says in part: “He is obligated to be loyal to the German Athletics Federation and his representatives first, in the world of influence and interest world and interest of the EVAA and its members. He cooperates with the specific groups, commissions, structures and the council of the German Athletics Federation.” In other words, no matter what you do in EMA, your first obligation is to toe the DLV line. Who knows what this means in practice? And what good is an agreement known only to a small number of people? But if I were a non-German masters athlete in Europe, I’d be asking questions.
World Masters Athletics started as an athlete-driven group called WAVA, fiercely defending the right of every over-35 woman and over-40 man (at the time) to compete at worlds. But the late Al Sheahen sensed an upside-down change — with WMA leadership taking on the trappings of royalty. (Read his still-relevant “Which Way, WMA?“ from 2001. See page 17) Now WMA has announced the prospect of a “masters conference” at 2018 Malaga worlds. A survey is going to Daegu entrants on this issue, WMA reports. WMA Secretary Maria Alfaro writes: “The IAAF through Gunter Lange will be contacting athletes from the Championships in Daegu regarding a survey to ascertain the feasibility of hosting a masters conference at the WMA Championships in Malaga 2018…. Following the responses, a 2nd detailed survey will be made with the events specifically for Malaga. Winston Thomas and Cesar Moreno-Bravo will be coordinating with the IAAF to make this an athlete driven conference, so your cooperation on this would be appreciated so that it can be planned well in advance of the 2018 championships.” This is big — and strange. Who instigated this? If WMA wanted it, they wouldn’t have to ask. Is WMA being pushed into hosting such an event? Might the inmates again get a chance to run the asylum? Stay tuned.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports: “Masters track meet: The early registration deadline for the 35th annual Hayward Classic is April 17. The meet, organized by Oregon Track Club Masters, is April 30 at Hayward Field. It is open to adults 30 and older, and offers a full slate of running, throwing and jumping events. Late entries will be accepted until April 24. For more information and registration, visit haywardclassic.org.” So if you can’t make it to Penn, here’s a worthy destination. (See videos (and photos) from last year’s meet.) With Southeast Masters gone, Hayward may now be the longest-lived U.S. masters meet outside nationals.
Penn Relays masters majordomo Phil Felton shared entry info — even though deadline was Friday. But perhaps you can still sneak in. In any case, he writes: “The two new events from last year, the women’s 100m and the 80+ mixed 100m, have been kept in the program.” The crowd loves the oldest sprinters, and they don’t disappoint. Always love to see 100-plus types show up for a record shot. (But we’ll miss seeing Champion Goldy in his M100 debut, in light of his sad passing.) Here’s entry info. Tell Phil I procrastinated in posting. Here’s W100 Ida Wheeling last year:
On Sunday, Feb. 29, I nominated Kathy Martin for “Faces in the Crowd” in Sports Illustrated. She had just set W65 world records in the 800 and mile at ABQ nationals, and it’s been my practice to give SI a heads up on notable performers. Though I wanted it to be a surprise for Kathy, a lot of people were looped into a search for a proper headshot, and she soon learned about it. But the photo search — SI is persnickety — took a long time, and it wasn’t until her husband, Chuck, took a picture of her in Daegu (the day of the 8K cross-country race) that we had the proper mug. It also was fortunate that SI delayed publication because Kathy set indoor WRs in the 1500 and 3000 at worlds, making her look even better in SI. This week, she appeared in the magazine. Jim Chinn sent me the image below, bless him.
Kathy’s headshot was the holdup for her getting recognition after ABQ nationals.
I wasn’t in Daegu, but many of my Facebook friends were. They raved about the hospitality. One element was the Opening Ceremony. This 5-minute video devotes a big chunk to the performing acts. They seem professional and energetic. The clips that followed were kind of strange, starting with racewalkers. But a fair mix of throws (even the outdoor jav and discus) and jumps are shown with the sprints and hurdles. We see Bill Collins winning the M65 60, and Christa Bortignon long jumping. Lots of hugging shots (which I love). Who else do you see? Nice work by Andrew Purcell, or whoever made the video he posted.
A month ago, I noted a surprise (to me) American entrant at Daegu — W75 superstar Marie-Louise Michelson. She didn’t show up in last year’s rankings. Now we know why: “I took 2016 off from track in order to do triathlons,” she writes. “I did five of them.” At Daegu, she did a quad — four events in two days. She called it the double-double — 200 and 800 on Thursday and 400 and 1500 a couple days later. (She’s also listed as DNF in the 3000.) The fields weren’t big, but I’m still in awe of anyone who goes back-to-back in sprints and middle distances. She offered how it felt to compete at worlds: “I really loved it. Instead of doing it like a masters runner — running to see what kind of time I could maintain — it felt like I was a high school student or college student at a meet – recruited to compete in four races at a track meet for the team and having to figure out how to hold back in order to win all four. I wasn’t sure how I’d hold up by the last one – the 1500. In fact, it took a couple of laps until I had my legs.”
Here’s how Marie-Louise ranked nationally in 2016 in W75 triathlon. Good 4U!
The North, Central and Caribbean WMA Championships in Juarez, Mexico, have been canceled, according to a letter provided by a Mexican source. The July 20-23 meet — my subject of scrutiny for safety reasons in January — has been “declined,” writes city Parks and Recs guy Javier Ibarra Molina. The letter is dated April 3 and addressed to NCCWMA President Sandy Pashkin, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. I’m still awaiting a reply from WMA President Stan Perkins and USATF Masters Chair Rex Harvey. My main questions: Will entrants get their money back, and will the meet be moved somewhere else? Stay tuned for more.
Letter to Sandy Pashkin seems to say the WMA regional meet in Juarez is kaput.
Bob Lida (right) was pictured in The New York Times five years ago.
For all his honors — including 2012 WMA Best Male Athlete of the Year — one recognition eluded Bob Lida until last last week. That’s when he won his first USATF Athlete of the Week title. How did he hear of it? “Friend of mine, who is the athletic director at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, posted it on Facebook,” Bob writes. “Complete surprise to me.” In a quickie Q&A, I asked Bob what this meant to him. He graciously replied: “Obviously, it’s a personal honor, as so many outstanding people have received it the past. But I’m just as pleased that USATF is recognizing what we do, and achieve, in masters track. The more recognition the masters program receives, the better it is for all of us.”
World Female Athlete of the Year (2013)Christa Bortignon of Vancouver, British Columbia, has made up for what she calls her “terrible 2016 season,” which included pneumonia and a hip issue. In three weeks — March 11 to April 2 — she competed in three meets and 17 events, including Daegu worlds. She won 17 golds and set world records in the W80 long and triple jumps in every meet. “Now I will take a break,” Christa tells me. That gives us time to catch up with her latest WRs — at the BC masters indoor championships over the weekend in Kamloops. (See results here.) There she extended her LJ jumpWR to 3.28 meters (10-9) and TJ WR to 7.42 (24-4 1/4). Just for giggles, she tossed a Canadian record in the shot of 6.76 (22-2 1/4). (For all of that, she was named Canadian Masters Athlete of the Month.) I wrote Christa for details. She graciously replied.
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...]
