Dave Ortman in Seattle shares this hoot of a story: “Poles might be used for more than just vaulting at the 2012 Olympics in London. A group of supporters has started a petition to get pole dancing into the Olympic Games. It’s not what you might think. Often associated with strip clubs, pole dancing is also an increasingly popular way for women to stay in shape. ‘It’s automatically assumed it has something to do with stripping,’ Lizz Schofield, owner of a Utah dance studio where ‘Pole Fitness’ is in vogue, told KUTV.com, the Web site for a Salt Lake-area CBS affiliate. ‘But this is not stripping at all.’ ” Dave’s nakedly pungent comment: “I can’t wait to see the W90 masters competition.”

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Beverley Lewis, an Aussie track Olympian back in the day, is better-known as the respected USATF official who acts as starter at major meets, including her own Club West Masters Meet. Held every October at UC Santa Barbara, the meet attracts elite age-groupers from around the country. And also the neighborhood. John Whittemore, who threw discus and javelin into his 100s, lived in nearby Montecito. That’s the town that just endured a horrific wildfire. The blaze is out, but not the worry. I didn’t know whether Beverley or our masters friends had been affected by the fires. So I wrote her. She replied yesterday. Bev wrote me: “The fire was coming our way, but the wind changed, so we were lucky. We spent the night with an old track official, Lloyd Albright, who was very gracious to us. Since then, we have had so many caring friends call us, it’s been mind-boggling.”

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Adam Jacobs of New Jersey is the CEO of TheFinalSprint.com, a blog-style track site that features podcasts and news blurbs. Today Adam channeled his inner Woodstein, announcing a series of in-depth investigative articles that will question and examine USATF and its governance. Adam appears ready to tackle recent scandals head-on. The series is titled “Dysfunction Run Amuck: USA Track & Field and the Need for Change.” Adam writes: “TheFinalSprint.com’s investigation into this matter (Lynn Cannon’s tales of financial mischief) uncovered disturbing accusations and issues of dysfunction, including infighting, power struggles, racial tension, lack of oversight, and conflicts of interest within the board of directors. While the allegations may not rise to the level of criminality, they do threaten to undermine the organization at a time that it desperately needs cohesiveness and efficiency.”

Illustration by Steven Schiff (courtesy of TheFinalSprint.com)

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Here we go again. Another year, another dearth of candidates. A source inside USATF tells me that the Masters T&F Committee has received no bids to host the summer 2011 USATF masters national outdoor championships. Apparently, some cities or USATF associations have expressed an interest in 2011. But nobody has submitted bid documents. Sacramento will host the 2010 masters nationals and the 2011 WMA worlds (probably July 7-17, 2011.) A vote on the 2011 meet site will be made at the Reno annual meeting in a couple weeks. Get moving!

Dietmar dinked over 5-10 3/4.

Former world record holder and Olympic champ Dietmar Mögenburg of Germany made a laid-back comeback yesterday. Jumping indoors, he cleared 1.80 meters (5-10 3/4) at the Auto Lounge Comeback meet in Gothenburg, Sweden. Video also was shot of some of the jumpers. The IAAF reported: “The technique of 47-year-old Mögenburg was seen to be exactly the same as in 1984 when he won the Los Angeles Olympic title with 2.35m. In his comeback in Gothenburg, he had an awesome jump over 1.80m and then he waited till 1.96 (6-5), a height at which he was close to but could not quite make.” (The listed M45 WR is 2.04/6-8 1/4 by Italy’s Marco Segatel.) The IAAF says German great Carlo Thränhardt had planned to shoot for the M50 WR of 2.00 (6-6 3/4) but “injured himself the day before the event and could not take part.” Drat. Maybe later, Carlo!

Expanding on some ideas and promises in our interview here, USATF president candidate Dee Jensen of North Dakota says on her campaign Web site that USATF should consider “mirroring the elite program of inviting, selecting and fielding masters’ elite athletes for the World Masters Championships.” Very interesting. This wouldn’t preclude shlubs like me from entering and paying our own way to worlds, but USA would be a lot more competitive in WMA if our top masters got help getting there.

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According to posts on the USATF Associations listserve on YahooGroups, Stephanie Hightower’s campaign for president of USA Track & Field is using robocalls to reach potential voters. Jon Krupa wrote the listserve: “This is disheartening. The problem with politics in America is we allow the behaviors to continue and have lost sight of what it means to serve.” An issue being debated: Where did she get the phone numbers? One possibility: usatf.org itself. Its directories include home phones. Stephanie hasn’t commented on this yet, but rival candidate Bob Bowman writes: “Only one candidate is doing this. Neither Dee (Jensen) or myself are involved in this.” Very interesting. It appears that Stephanie is pulling out all stops. Anyone get one of these calls? What do they say? And why bother?

I had a masters track club once — the first virtual masters TC. Called it the Webmaster Track Club. I even found someone to register it within the Illinois Association of USATF. But after it didn’t pass muster with officials at the 1997 San Jose masters nationals (for relay purposes), I gave up. No more WTC. But that shouldn’t discourage you! A springtime query on the letsrun.com message board makes me wonder: How much is USATF doing to foster formation of masters track clubs? First, here’s the letsrun.com exchange:

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Alfred “Al” Guidet, a pioneering masters sprinter and record holder, died of heart failure Oct. 29 in Lancaster, California, his family reports. He was “90 years young,” his three daughters said in a letter to Al’s closest friends. One was Nick Newton, who shared the note with me today in a phone chat. Guidet (pronounced Ge-DAY) was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame less than a year ago. Al’s last major meet was the 2005 Boise indoor nationals, where he won silver in the 60. He last competed in 2006, according to daughter Kim. In the Hall of Fame summary of Al’s career, we learn that Al “set seven world and one U.S. record, mostly in hurdles events. He was the first M55 to break 24 seconds in the 200, setting a record that stood for two decades. He is an eight-time world champion.”

Here is Al with his daughters (from left) Debi Guidet, Karen Dockery and Kim Smith at Christmas several years ago.

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Liz gloried amid the Pyramids.

Three weeks ago, W50 multi-eventer Liz Johnson of Charlotte, North Carolina, was battling symptoms of what she calls the “Egyptian death virus,” an intestinal illness. After a day of recuperation at the Sahara Race 2008, she fought cramps, nausea and sun poisoning to complete 20 miles, stopping only at the behest of race officials “because of upchucking,” Liz writes from home. “I think they thought I was endangering the ecosystem of the desert with my excessive fluid expressions.” Is this lady tough (and funny) or what?

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