Last May, USATF HQ suspended Chairman Lionel Leach of the USATF Youth Executive Committee and his entire panel. It didnât involve us, so I didnât report on the firestorm that ensued. But now that a National Athletics Board of Review panel has reinstated 12 members of the YEC (everyone but Lionel), itâs worth noting that a dissent was made. It came from W50 middle-distance star Alisa Harvey, who argued that Lionel should have been reinstated, too, and Indy messed up bigly. I wrote her, asking how she got involved in this high-profile case. She graciously replied: âI was chosen at random I believe because I was once the Potomac Valley Association Masters LDR Chair, back in 2013 and 2014. I received an email from Sarah Austin in the legal office of USATF one day last May. I said, âYes,â and things proceeded from there. I had no idea what the case would be. This was my first National Athletics Board of Review (NABR) Panel.â
Khalidâs 52.02 at ABQ beat the listed WR but not a pending 51.92 by Germanyâs Roland Gröger.
Six years after setting a then-WR in the M45 400-meter dash at 2011 Berea nationals, Khalid Mulazim of Cleveland ran a spectacular indoor 51.21 in January â faster than any known M50 400 â better than Fred Sowerbyâs fabled 51.39 in 1999. Last weekend, he clocked a 52.02 in the masters exhibition at USATF Indoor Nationals. Turns out the 52.02 deserves supreme appreciation. In a quickie Q&A, Khalid graciously shared a secret about ABQ: He was sick â and told nobody but his wife. âI was shivering so badly that I almost passed out after I returned to the warmup area,â he told me Tuesday. âMy body was shutting down slowly.â But heâs one tough cookie â befitting his military roots. (Heâs in the Air Force Reserve.) He also shared why his 51.21 at the Spire Institute track in Geneva, Ohio, wonât be submitted for record consideration. Itâs a 300-meter indoor track â too big under USATF rules for an American record, where the limit is 200. Heâs well aware of the record books but isnât bragging. (Thatâs my job.) Below is his 400 WR from 2011 called by Peter Taylor.
Loris Reed is 69, Liz Wilson is 54 and Sally Gibbs is 53. Among them, they competed in at least 15 events at the New Zealand masters outdoor nationals over the weekend. (See results here.) Most of their races were in the 90-plus age-graded persentage. Great stuff (detailed below). Great hurdle marks spotted include M65 Laurie Malcolmson, who ran 300s in 49.06, and M50 Paul Daborn, who ran 400s in 1:03.28, edging Jack OâConnorâs 1:04.84. My favorite event was a mixed-sex 100-meter handicap race, won by W55 Jill Hayman in 12.68 (but keep in mind she didnât run a full 100; had a head start. Two heats were run, judging by wind readings) The meet also contested the 60 in addition to the 100, giving Daegu-goers a sense of their fitness or at least letting them compare themselves with Yanks and Eurovets.
Results of mixed-sex 100 handicap 100-meter dash at Saxton Track in Nelson.
Two masters-age athletes competed in open championships Sunday â both taking second to men eight years younger. In Albuquerque, M50 Khalid Mulazim was beating Southwest Sprinters TC teammate Gabriel Fuzat at the 200, but lost to Gabriel in the 400 exhibition at the USA Indoor Nationals, 51.58 to 52.02. But Khalidâs mark beat Mike Sullivanâs listed American record of 52.44 from 2011 nationals, also at ABQ. It fell just short of the pending WR of 51.92 by Germanyâs Roland Gröger. In Belgrade, M40 Fabrizio Donato triple-jumped a stunning 17.13 meters (56-2 1/2) at the European Championships to claim the longest hop-step-and-jump indoors and out over 40. The listed M40 outdoor WR is 16.58 (54-4 3/4) by Ray Kimble in 1993. The listed M40 indoor WR is Rayâs 16.08 (52-9 1/4). So Fabrizio beat the age-group indoor record by a monster 2 1/3 feet! On the age-graded tables, itâs worth 18.37 â 60-3 1/4. Incredible. In the masters womenâs 1000 at ABQ, W45 Sonja Friend-Uhl ran by herself, leading from the start and finishing in 2:56.65 â 17 seconds ahead of W50 Lisa Valle, a world-record steepler. No official records are kept in the 1K, but Sonjaâs mark could be the best for her group.
Sacramento entry, scratch analysis by Viddy Jermacans (PDF)
Viddy Jermacans is an M65 Aussie multi-eventer whoâs competed in all WMA outdoor worlds since 2007 Riccione as well as several indoor worlds since 2006 Linz. Heâs also handy at math. Recently he sent me a detailed event-by-event analysis of 2011 Sacramento worlds â how many entered, how many started, how many scratched. Itâs eye-opening. Of 6,913 male entries, 2,146 scratched. Thatâs nearly a third. Among women, a fifth were no-shows at their events. âWhilst it is natural for WMA Championship bidders to promote and highlight high entry numbers (both anticipated and final), it would appear that the actual number of âarrivals in townâ is somewhat less,â Viddy wrote. He suggests that the high percentage of scratching is a result of simply not showing up at the meet â âwhich would further have diluted the final figure for accommodation commission revenue.â In other words, listen up, WMA and meet organizers. Below is an edited version of Viddyâs note. Hereâs his raw spreadsheet.Hereâs a PDF with bad formatting (on my part). All meet organizers factor in no-shows, but Viddyâs study is special for its exactitude. Anyone see flaws in his analysis?
With a last lap of 40.2, Kathy Martin rewrote the mile record books again at the Armory in New York City. Results from Thursday Night at the Races show Kathy clocked 5:51.74 â lowering her recent ABQ nationals WR of 6:01.46. The listed W65 world record is 6:05.85 by Britainâs Ros Tabor. So now Kathy has set at least four world records in three events (800, mile and 3000) so far this season. The 5:51 â buried in 28th place out of 48 entrants â is worth 3:59.5 on the Age-Graded Tables. Freaking incredible.
New Zealand media are reportingthe start of their 3-day masters outdoor nationals Friday. But donât snicker when story says: âMore than 220 competitors will line up at the New Zealand Masters Athletics Track and Field Championships which is being staged in Nelson for the first time this weekend. The championships will feature athletes from right across the country, from Northland to Southland, with 40 making the trip from Christchurch alone.â In other words, 220 is nothing to sneeze at in a nation of 4.6 million. To achieve that proportion, USATF masters nationals would have to draw 15,600! Of course, the Kiwis can travel easier between the islands than we can from coast-to-coast. But geeze, we have trouble breaking 1,100.
A view of modest but modern stadium where New Zealand meet is being held.
An otherwise dull story out of India suggests that the countryâs version of USATF is seizing control of masters track from several rival organizing bodies. Over the years, Iâve written about the masters dysfunction in that country of 1.3 billion. At least two groups claimed to be WMA affiliates â MAFI and VAFI. MAFI had official status but used its power to keep Indian athletes competing in VAFI nationals from entering worlds. (WMA had to step in to sort things out.) Now we learn from Indian Express that the executive council of the Athletics Federation of India has âagreed to conduct future Masters Athletics events under the banner of AFI.â The official AFI site adds: âMadhukant Pathak, President Jharkhand Athletics Association, will head the committee that will look after the Masters Athletics events in India.â What does this mean? Will AFI run masters nationals? Will WMA have to decide again whoâs in charge? Stay tuned. (See answers below.)
Francois Bontemps isnât related to the 18th-century French general by the same name, I learn. But out 21st century sprinter is a warrior for our sport. I asked him to share details on his career, and he graciously replied. An engineer between jobs, he lives in a small city near Toulouse. âIâm 53 and I started athletics when I was 11 (in 1975),â he writes. âI started with hurdles but very early (in 1980) I switched to sprints.â Francois came close to qualifying for the European Championships, but he was on the French national under-23 team in 1985. His 100 PR is 10.56 and 200 in 21.30. He quit open track in 1994 because of his job. âBecause my son expected to practice, I come back by chance in 2012 and planned to participate in European Indoor championship in San Sebastian. The reason? I was born just some miles away and it was a dream since to run in this area.â Surprised that he made the M45 final in 60 (at age 49), he decided to really come back for M50.
In 1969, M55 miler Bob Boal traveled from North Carolina to San Diego, where he would meet his son returning from Vietnam. He took advantage of the trip to compete in the second U.S. masters nationals. It delighted him. âI came home sort of like a missionary,â he said, and soon launched his own masters meet â the first in his region. In 1971, the first Southeastern Masters Track and Field Championships drew 80 entrants to Raleigh, North Carolina. Later renamed after Bob Boal â who died in 2005 at age 93 â the meet became one of the biggest and best on the masters circuit. Len Olsonâs âMasters Track and Field: A Historyâ says: âBoal also fought to break down gender barriers. His [meet] led the way in accepting women in all events and age groups.â But after being canceled in 2016, it ran into more problems in 2017. Now itâs been officially declared dead. At least the USATF Southeastern Regional Masters Championships live on. (They once were held concurrently with the Boal meet.) I contacted Don Lein, president of the nonprofit that put on the meet, and Bill Murray, the USATF Southeastern Regional Masters coordinator. They shared details of the demise â mainly lack of a suitable host. âIt is a shame to lose such a wonderful tradition like his meet,â Bill told me. âIt is impossible to host a meet when you donât have a competent venue available.â
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...]
