Dara Torres made a masters splash in Beijing: three medals in the pool.
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As predicted here two months ago, Olympic swim star Dara Torres is Masters Athlete magazineâs Masters Athlete of the Year. Editor Sean Callahan wrote: âTorres . . . gave Masters athletes something special to think about as they get older. Her performance has been credited with creating a surge in attendance of Masters swimmers in the vicinity of Coral Springs, Fla., where Torres did some training. This award is our way of thanking her for showing a host of Masters athletes and potential Masters athletes whatâs possible at 41 and beyond.â No argument here. Dara is a wonderful cover girl for masters sports. Track wasnât ignored this year, though. The magazine gave age-group honors to W50-59 runner Kathy Martin, W60-69 sprinter/jumper Shirley Harper, W80-plus sprinter Marjorie Fitzgerald and M80-plus recordman Orville Rogers, 91. But a strong dissent on the magazineâs awards process has been issued by another M90 track star: Bob Matteson of Vermont.
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December 19, 2008
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USATF has posted this scorecard and summary of rule changes approved, rejected or tabled at the recent annual meeting in Reno. I mentioned a few in the run-up to Reno. The amendment proposals originally numbered 108. Sixty-two were accepted or âaccepted as amended.â As expected, the 200-meter hurdles was approved for women 70 and over, putting USATF into compliance with WMA, whose executive enchiladas in mid-2008 approved the new event (a change from 300 hurdles) for Lahti worlds. The W70s and above will run five 27-inch hurdles.
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December 18, 2008
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Like many parts of the USA, here in San Diego itâs been wet and miserable the past three or four days. (Heck, I havenât even taken Buddy to the dog park since a week ago Monday!) So any opportunity to recall our great trip to Spokane nationals is welcome. Todayâs reminder comes from a blog kept by Warren âWozâ McCulloch of the Phoenix Running Club in Coquitlam, British Columbia. He writes to Ontario masters dude Doug Smith: âYou may find this an interesting read about our trip to Spokane this year: woztherunner.blogspot.com/
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December 17, 2008
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Diane Sherrer, my favorite running columnist in Ithaca, N.Y., writes: âEntries are available now for the 42nd annual Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile, to take place Jan. 24, at Cornell Universityâs Barton Hall. Time to be announced. The event is held in conjunction with a Cornell University Invitational. The oldest and one of the most prestigious indoor masters mile in the world is open to sub-masters women ages 30-39, masters women ages 40-up and males ages 40-up. There are numerous age-group heats, plus four elite invitational masters miles. The entry fee is $17, submitted by Jan. 19. There is no race-day registration. The field is limited. For information, contact assistant race director Rick Hoebeke, 2706 Agard Rd., Trumansburg, NY 14886; call (607) 387-6431 evenings; or contact race director and elite coordinator Tom Hartshorne at 266-8222. You also can download a masters mile application at www.fingerlakesrunners.org.â Best of luck, all. And count on the meet being USATF-sanctioned!
December 16, 2008
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Our masters track friend Pete Magill (forgiven his off-track lapses) won his age group (for the umpteenth time) at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Spokane. He did it in the snow, too. Pete reported on letsrun.com: âThat was the most brutal weather Iâve ever run in. Got carried to the first aid tent after â couldnât breathe. They told me my sinus passage was frozen. Man, first time I felt like a SoCal wimp at one of these things. Still, what a team race my (Fluffy) Bunny teammates ran! One for the ages!â Click here for the masters menâs results. Click here for the masters womenâs results. And hereâs Pete (at left) just after finishing:
December 15, 2008
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Gotta love this. Joe Koza of Saskatchewan resumed track competition a couple years ago. His previous meet? Back in 1955. A local paper reported: âTwo years ago, Joe and Marilyn were asked to compete in the dancing competition at a provincial seniors games. Marilyn wasnât interested so Joe thought, âWhy not track?â âAll I was thinking was: âYouâre going to kill yourself,â said (son) Daryl, a former coach with the Queen City Kinsmen. âHe went to a meet in Moose Jaw and they brought back the pictures and I couldnât believe he could do that.â â You go, Joe! And best of luck this indoor season.
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December 14, 2008
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Reporting from Japan on the longevity of folks there, a British writer has a nice story that opens with this: âLike most outstanding athletes, Takashi Shimokawara has an unvaryingly strict regimen of training and exercise. It begins before breakfast with stretches and bends. A brief jog is followed by press-ups, squat thrusts and horizontal leg raises. . . . It is this discipline that has won him two world records in the past year, in shot put and javelin, and he hopes to add another for discus next year. There is one fact, however, that elevates these achievements from the impressive to the extraordinary: Mr Shimokawara is 102 years old.â Takashi beat the late John Whittemoreâs M100 record of 5.98 (19-7), set at the Club West masters meet in Santa Barbara, Calif., back in October 2000.
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December 13, 2008
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Jim will skip this weekendâs club XC nationals in Spokane.
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Last we heard from Jim Sorensen, he was trying to forget an injury-plagued 2008 after an amazing 2007 that saw him set a bunch of M40 middle-distance records. Now the latest: He recently ran 15:04 in a road 5000, averaging 4:51 (corrected from original) per mile at age 41. Only 21 seconds ahead of him that day in late November was Olympian Gabe Jennings, an ex-fellow Bay Area runner. I shot Jim some questions on his latest comeback, and he replied expeditiously. Hereâs my quickie Q&A with the masters supermiler:
Masterstrack.com: Not bad being only 20 seconds behind Gabe Jennings!
Jim Sorensen: We were actually roommates at one of the meet hotels. He is getting ready for the Cal International Marathon and drove from Eugene the day before. So I am sure he wasnât at his best for the 5km.
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December 12, 2008
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On Monday morning, masters around the country received this note from an M55 sprinter in Fairfield, Ohio: âMy name is Michael Daniels, a masters runner like many of you. I mostly compete in Ohio and Kentucky. When I am not injuried (sic) I go to one or more national meets. How would you like to go to a track meet and earn cash for yourself or your organization?â Michael went on to write about his âcash awards program,â saying: âCompete and earn cash from any track meet you compete at. I call it âTour De Trackâ masters track and field challenge. This is an Age Graded type program. For information go to www.masterstrackchallenge.com. This is a new concept. Check it out!â So I did. And so is USATF. Theyâre not digging it.
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December 11, 2008
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Bob was happy in his USATF element: the 2006 annual meeting in Indianapolis.
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(This report originally appeared on Masters Athlete Daily online. Thanks for your contributions!) Renoâs daily newspaper and local TV stations treated it like another traffic fatality â a jogger, 77, was killed while crossing a major artery in the pre-dawn darkness. The woman driving the 2000 Pontiac that hit him wasnât speeding. Alcohol wasnât involved. End of story. But the victim â Robert âBobâ Fine of Delray Beach, Fla. â wasnât just another jogger. He was among the handful of men who founded Masters track, and wrote the Constitution of the World Association of Veteran Athletes (now WMA) in 1977. He competed in all 17 masters world outdoor championships, usually as a racewalker, and most of the 40 U.S. Masters championships. He was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2002.
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December 10, 2008
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