Hurdle champion Barre gets hero’s welcome in N.H.
Laura Barre, 38, may be embarrassed by all the hoopla. She even feels guilty about leaving her work and family for 10 days in France. But so what. Laura is an inspiration to many, and a world champion in the W35 hurdles (here’s the video) and relay at Clermont-Ferrand. Her local paper had this great writeup, headlined “From France, With Gold: Laura Barre Displays the Midas Touch.” Wish we all got such great hometown recognition. “She ROCKED it in France!” wrote her friend and former college rival Ruthlyn V. Greenfield-Webster. “And I’m EXTREMELY proud of her.” As we all are. Welcome home, champ!
South Manchester paper honors memory of Fran Scott
In an article headlined “Fran was a champion of human courage,” the South Manchester Reporter in England recalls the late M45 sprinter Fran Scott, whose death touched many. The new article provides more details on his illness, and it concludes by quoting his training partner Steve Peters: “I saw him run 11.4 seconds in the 100 metres in training last year, which was his personal best. At the time he said to me, ‘I can die a happy man now.'”
Time for a ‘retro’ meet! 100-yard dash, bamboo poles . . .
Westmont College in Santa Barbara is one of the last schools to chuck its old-style track and install an all-weather oval. But before they spike the old set-up, they’re going “retro” — holding a meet with old distances like the 100-yard dash and time everything by stopwatch. Check out this story on the meet. Made me dream: How about a masters meet somewhere with all “old-style” distances?
More than 100 videos posted of Clermont-Ferrand action!
Linda Carty, a W40 American sprinter, videotaped scores of events at the WMA world indoor championships last week in France and posted them in AVI format. Click here to see a list of the videos. They take a really long time to download, but they are very big on the screen. This one apparently shows Bruce McBarnette’s VERY close miss at an M50 world indoor record of 2.01 meters (6-7) in the high jump, which I detailed in my latest blog entry at Masters Athlete daily. Thanks to Joy Upshaw-Margerum for sharing the magical link!
Phil Raschker immortalized by Olympic artist on YouTube
Phil Raschker never stood atop an Olympic podium in her youth (and if she had, the tune playing wouldn’t have been “The Star-Spangled Banner,” since she grew up in Germany.) But she gets her national anthem moment now with the posting of an artsy video by fellow naturalized citizen Roald Bradstock, the javelin champ. Roald writes: “I am very proud of this latest video. . . . Make sure you have the volume turned on when watching to get the full effect.”
A special athlete is silenced: Cancer claims Louise Clark
Louise had a spectacular voice and verve for life.
|
Louise Clark, a national-class sprinter who volunteered her world-class singing talents at track meets for more than a decade, died over the weekend, confirms the Armory Track in New York. Private notes indicate that the cancer she’d been fighting for years had reached her brain. Louise — a W50 sprinter who lived in Queens Village, New York — competed as recently as July 2007 and performed incredible renditions of the national anthem and “God Bless America” at Maine nationals last summer. I met her there for the first time and took several photos that barely did justice to her passion and professionalism. I’m awaiting word on funeral arrangements.
Carl Lewis vs. Dennis Mitchell vs. Leroy Burrell in 2007!
Can’t believe I just heard of this, but it almost defies belief: Last August in Japan, former superstar sprinters Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell (respective ages 46, 40 and 41) lined up against each other in a 100-meter showdown. No kidding. The proof is in this YouTube video. The “dream match” doesn’t begin until about 5 minutes into the video, so skip ahead of the froufrou.
Officials among obstacles for world-class M45 hurdler
Georgia hurdler Dexter McCloud, a world champion at 2006 Linz indoors, is the latest athlete to register complaints about the Clermont-Ferrand debacle. Dexter writes: “I’m responding to your blog about the nonsense that went on at the Indoor Worlds in France. If you see the results for the M45 hurdles, you’ll see that I was disqualified. I have tried to remain calm about this, but this clear ‘hate’ for the U.S. has already kept me awake for two nights since the final.”
Eurovet also upset by organization at Clermont-Ferrand
The Yanks aren’t alone. M50 sprint finalist and relay medalist Tom Phillips of Great Britain also finds fault in how indoor worlds was run. Tom writes: “I’ve come away from the championships happy at my own running, and with many good memories and new friends. I saw quite a few occasions where athletes over-reacted to small, if avoidable problems, but just as many occasions where athletes themselves took liberties with the rules. The conclusion cannot simply be that the French organisers made a number of errors, but IMHO far too much that did go wrong could have been anticipated and prevented by the event organisers.”
Dan O’Brien’s debut in masters? Discus mark reported
Mastersrankings.com reports an M40 discus throw of 48.57 (159-4) at the Baldy Castillo meet Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. Not bad, but not newsworthy — except for the name attached. It’s Dan O’Brien, a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA indoor champion Arizona State University. Apparently out for a fling, Dan might have registered his first M40 mark. He had a little success a few years ago — winning decathlon gold at the Atlanta Games and setting a world record. He turns 42 in July. In October 2005, he telegraphed a comeback, and this might be the result. Go for it, Dan! (And bring Dave along with you!)
