Phil Raschker shares memories, photos of IAAF Gala

Phil Raschker, honored a couple weekends ago in Monte Carlo as IAAF Female Masters Athlete of the Year, is back in Georgia (but planning another trip to Europe — visiting her mom in Germany and training with friends). She took a moment to reply to some questions (after sharing some photos) about her experience at the IAAF Gala. I first asked her: Did you meet or talk to any of the elite honorees? Phil replied: “There wasn’t a formal session for meeting elite honorees. However, I met and talked at length with the men’s masters honoree. Additionally, I talked with some of the elite honorees and former/present athletes at the gala, including Meseret Defar, Tyson Gay, Jeremy Wariner, Sergey Bubka, and several others. Generally I congratulated them on the past season and wished them all the best for the upcoming Olympics.”

Here’s the rest of our exchange:

Masterstrack.com: What impressed you most about the Gala?
Phil: The speech made by Meseret Defar of Ethiopia was moving. She spoke about the impact this award would have, not only on her and her immediate family and close supporters, but also as a great inspiration to the women of her country.
If you had to pay for all the travel, lodging and meals of the trip on your own, how much would the value be?
For me, the value of the trip was incalculable, but it probably would have cost about $2,500 had I paid for it. However, this is based on flying from Atlanta, which is less expensive than flying from other areas, such as Australia.
Did you make any speech at the gala? If so, what did you say?
I was not asked to give a speech, nor was there any opportunity provided to do so. However, I commended and thanked the various members of the Association/Federation for the work they have done and for their support of masters athletics.
Did Cesare Beccalli (WMA president) have anything to say?
We did not talk specifically about WMA/IAAF, but he congratulated me on my award.
How can IAAF support masters in ways besides honoring the Top Masters?
Include activities and events regarding the Masters program on their website in order to increase awareness of our program. Another example could be to briefly mention the Masters Program at events such as the Annual Gala.