Britain’s
Jo Pavey, who turns 43 in September, ran 10,000 meters Wednesday in 31:34.61 at the
European championships in Amsterdam, beating the listed W40 world record of 31:40.97 by Russia’s
Alla Zhilyayeva in 2009 but falling short of the unratified 31:31.18 by Kenya’s
Edith Masai, 40, in 2007. Still, Jo has a chance to improve on that at an August meet in Brazil. She’s awaiting the picks for the British Olympic team,
says a BBC report. So she might join
Bernard Lagat, 41, in the geezer contingent if he takes a top 3 spot Saturday in the 5000 at the Olympic Trials. He won his heat Monday in 13:48.36.
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July 6, 2016
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Kettrell checks his 100 time at Striders meet.
This is tough. The jury was out in
Kettrell Berry’s student-sex case for so long — more than a week — that his friends clung to hope for an acquittal or a hung jury. But the news arriving Tuesday afternoon was devastating: guilty on 11 felony counts.
See story on Times of San Diego. This also is a tragedy for his preteen track star son. Kettrell cheered his every step, often taking videos and posting on Facebook. Last time I saw Kettrell was at the mid-May Southern California Striders Meet of Champions in Santa Ana. He had lost weight and overcome knee issues. Unsure if he’ll appeal. But if he behaves in lockup, he can return to track in his 60s.
July 5, 2016
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Kris was a happy winner in the Trials 1500.
NBC’s Live app failed to show the masters 1500s Sunday at the Olympic Trials, switching to swimming instead. What a missed opportunity. Eugene witnessed incredible races by W45
Kris Paaso, who led from start to finish in winning the masters women’s event in 4:36.34, and M40
Neville Davey, a training mate, taking the men’s event in 3:57.67 with M50
Brad Barton lowering his own American record to a jaw-dropping 4:01.77 in third, equivalent to a 4:19 mile.
Dave Albo posted great shots. USATF.tv should post video of both races eventually
under its 1500 category. Also worth noting is W50
Sylvia Mosqueda clocking 4:53.66, less than 2 seconds off the American record of 4:51.86 by
Marisa Sutera Strange. And how about
Chaunte Lowe becoming the first submaster to compete in a U.S. masters nationals and win a top spot on a U.S Olympic team! Do it again in Rio!
Minutes after winning the 400, LaShawn Merritt congratulates Brad Barton for his 1500 AR. Photos by Dave Albo
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July 3, 2016
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To find the exact starting time of your event at Grand Rapids nationals, don’t go to the Schedule page. Check out the Start Lists. Sneaky, sneaky! Thursday’s track finals include an M65 800 with 18 entrants. Same number in women’s steeple Friday. Those should be interesting. (But it’s a 9-lane track, and they’ll use every lane.) The Combined Events sked for Thursday is missing. But those folks are used to adversity. Saturday field events also missing. (Spotted a typo in M60-69 high jump. I’m pretty sure it’s not really set for “Friday 15-Jul-16 – 1:00 AM.”) See y’all soon.
The bad news is I have to jump at 1 a.m. The good news is that fewer spectators will see my unique sit-on-the-bar flop style.
July 2, 2016
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Bernard ran 10K, but he was a 1500 guy, remember. Dave Albo took all these great shots.
is human after all. So are
Amy Acuff, Adam Nelson and
Reese Hoffa. But Olympic champ
Stephanie Brown Trafton advanced to the Olympic Trials discus finals at 36 while AR holder
Gia Lewis-Smallwood, another W35, was a DNS in Eugene. In Friday’s 10K final, after bravely going with eventual winner
Galen Rupp, Kip Lagat quit the race after about 20 minutes.
Said the Sacramento Bee: “He wasn’t injured, he wasn’t suffering from heat exhaustion. Instead, he bowed out because, at 41, strategy becomes important, and the four-time Olympian made a calculated decision to save his body for his final shot at an Olympic berth in the 5,000.” Kip said: “I’m a guy who looks forward, and I’m gonna come back and run the 5,000 and qualify. That’s what I promised my son.”
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July 1, 2016
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Gia Lewis-Smallwood will beat W35 discus AR.
Distance ace
Bernard Lagat, 41, and high jumper
Amy Acuff, two weeks shy of 41, are among quite a few masters-age athletes competing for spots on the Rio Olympic team. Kip (in the 10,000) and Amy go Friday as the Trials start in Eugene. Also in the high jump is W30
Chaunte Lowe, who may be the first athlete in history to compete at a masters nationals (Albuquerque indoors) and Olympic Trials in the same year.
Gia Lewis-Smallwood, 37, is in the discus prelims Friday. Gia set the American open
record at age 35, but ridiculously isn’t credited with a W35 American record. Methinks if she beats the listed AR of 54.52 (178-10) by
Carol Finsrud at Eugene, she should automatically get the record.
Here are startlists for Day 1 of the Trials. Go get ’em, geezers!
June 30, 2016
5 Comments
W50 Sylvia Mosqueda is a road warrior, too.
USATF Masters Media chair, has shared profiles of entrants in Sunday’s masters exhibitions at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. Event coordinator
Mark Cleary says: “In the 16 years of the Masters Invitational Program, this looks to be the highest quality field yet.” Men and women will run 1500 meters, and records are possible, especially by M50
Brad Barton and W50 Sylvia
Mosqueda — chasing the 40-and-over youngsters.
Seed times are here. Bob’s press release begins: “At famed Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon (University of Oregon), the Olympic Trials Masters Men’s & Women’s 1500 Meter Exhibition Races will be held Sunday, July 3, at 5:07 pm (Women’s Race) & 5:16 pm (Men’s Race) These races feature several American & World Record holders, & National Champions.”
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June 30, 2016
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Irene Obera (left) and Joy (green) bookend 200.
Lucky for
Joy Upshaw that last Saturday’s Sierra Gold meet in NorCal was a first-rate operation, ready for her
record-setting. In reply to a quickie Q&A, Joy began by saluting meet organizers: “First and foremost – a big thank you goes out to The Sierra Gold T&F Festival meet director
Clyde Lehman, Anne King and all of their
TRKAC Racing Team for coordinating and rallying terrific community volunteers. I was most impressed with their attention to detail with the signage, the friendly hospitality, the Welcoming Ceremony of the city officials and Taiko Drummers. ALL added to the good energy of the event. There were certified officials, water stations aplenty and the music throughout the meet was fantastic. The medals were nicely designed, too.”Â
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June 29, 2016
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Click here for age-graded lookup of single-age marks.
of Canada and
Howard Grubb of Britain have put their brilliant minds together on a long-overdue project: Posting an Age-Graded Tables online lookup tool that works for single ages and not just five-year age groups. The form is plain, but the results are fancy.
See it here. The form relies on the current WMA factors,
available here. Officially, the Age-Graded Factors are used only for combined event scoring. But in real life, many meet and race directors use the factors to decide the best overall performers. Individuals also can use the form to see how their current marks “translate” or “equate” to an open mark (ages 20-30). Have fun, and let us know if you uncover any glitches.
June 28, 2016
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Dave Albo will carry the torch (and big glass) for masters in Eugene.
What a June for
Dave Albo, our
masters photog friend in Colorado. He turned 60 last week and Sunday
was profiled by
Mike Sandrock in the Daily Camera, where he was called a “fit-looking Fabio-looking guy.” But more thrills lay ahead. He’s shooting the Olympic Trials starting this weekend in Eugene, including the masters 1500s. Look for
images here eventually. I learned from the article that he’s married to former distance star
Patty Murray. Sadly, one masters standout he won’t see is W45
Sonja Friend-Uhl, whose
record-setting season has been cut short by injury. She strained a hamstring in early May, healing very slowly, and last week felt the onset of plantar fasciitis in her right foot, she says. Despite a cortisone shot, it still hurt a lot Sunday. So she’s withdrawn.
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June 27, 2016
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