Paul Edens becomes oldest to crack 12 seconds for 100 meters
M65 sprinter Paul Edens reportedly ran the 100 in 12.53 seconds at the Hayward Masters Classic over the weekend, but in the course of looking for meet results (still not posted), I came across a story that said Paul ran 11.99 at a June 10 meet elsewhere in Oregon. Here’s what the paper reported: “Former Silverton resident Paul Edens broke the world record in the 65-69 age group for the 100 meters on June 10 in the Oregon championships at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham.” No mention of wind reading, though.
WMA lists the M65 world record as 12.62 by Australia’s Malcolm Pirie in 1994.
Accoirding to Pete Mundle’s flawed but valuable Masters Age Records, Payton Jordan was the previous oldest to go sub-12, clocking a hand-timed 11.8 at age 61 in 1978.
The complete item:
Masters track
Former Silverton resident Paul Edens broke the world record in the 65-69 age group for the 100 meters on June 10 in the Oregon championships at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham.
Edens, currently living in Portland, ran 11.99. The previous record was 12.62 by Malcom Perie of Australia in 1994.
Edens, 65, ran 12.02 in 2004 for the fastest in the world for the 60-64 group that year. He was surprised by the 11.99 time.
“It didn’t sound right, but the timekeepers verified it,” he said. “I was hoping for a 12.5. Midway through the race I thought I could accelerate. It felt like I was running downhill.”
Edens also won the 200 in a hand-timed 24.73. A month ago, Edens was seventh in the 100 in 12.69 in the Willamette Last Chance meet.
