W50 jumper Joy Upshaw stars again — in San Francisco Chronicle
Much has been written about Joy Upshaw — daughter of a high school record holder, sister of an Olympian, etc. But I like the latest take by the San Francisco Chronicle, which focuses on her training with fellow W50 trackster Debbie Deutsch. See the story here. Writer Sam Whiting notes Joy’s world indoor records in the 200 and long jump at Albuquerque (but doesn’t mention the records snafus.) No worries. That’s Joy’s creed, BTW. Check out the print version of the article. Joy is reportedly ticketed for this Saturday’s Mt. SAC Relays. She’ll be a favorite in the 100 (and maybe the 200, if she runs it). See you soon, superstar!
Joy and Debbie, photographed by Laura Morton, both have track star daughters.
20 Responses
Congratulations, Joy and Debbie. Everyone knows Joy, but “Deborah Deutsch” was pretty much an unknown quantity before Albuquerque, at least to me.
Now you can be called Debbie Deutsch, national indoor champion in the 400.
Joy, I had no idea you had long jumped 5.45 meters/17-10 3/4 at Albuquerque; what a leap. Your 26.24 in the 200, of course, was otherworldly.
A great article on a great champion. Congrats, Joy.
Hey, don’t forget to register for Sacramento Worlds, Joy. I see Debbie’s name but not yours. In fact, I don’t see the names of a lot of the usual US competitors. I wonder what’s up with that.
The deadline for online registration for Worlds is just a little more than a week away (April 24).
Joy and Debbie’s photo is an inspiring advertisement for masters-age athletics!
Congratulations on a great meet Joy!
What a great picture! See you at Worlds, ladies!
Wonderful article about two fabulous women. Love those 5 tips for healthy living. Rules to live by. Best of everything for you both this summer. Make us proud! We will be cheering you on.
Reply to Rob:
No doubt there will be a chance to sign up late, with a penalty, there may be a need for it, depending on how registration goes.
Way to go, Joy and Debbie! Hope the clocks in Sacto work better than they did in ABQ.
Matt, according to the competitors’ booklet, the drop dead date for entering Worlds is May 2 with a $50 late penalty if you enter after April 24.
Wonder how the registration for Sacto Worlds is stacking up against previous Worlds. Probably most of the foreign competitors that are coming have registered by now. Maybe Peter Taylor knows.
Joy is AWESOME!
A very inspiring article. Joy and Debbie both look very fast and strong. Good luck to both of you this season.
Agree with Richard, the ace hurdler, and Terry, the oncoming middle-distance guy, that Joy is very impressive. Agree with Terry about Debbie as well.
I just did a survey; I now pronounce Joy as athlete of the meet (Albuquerque). Of 36 women in the long jump, Joy was one of only two to jump more than 5 meters: Rachel Guest jumped 5.16 at age 35; Joy jumped 5.45 meters / 17-10 1/2 at age 50.
Thus, Joy was first among all women in the long jump even without benefit of age grading. In the 200 she obliterated the world record by running 26.24. She won the 60 hurdles over the very quick Liz Palmer and finished 2nd to Liz in a lightning- fast 60 dash. Thus, Joy was athlete of the meet (that’s my vote and I am sticking with it).
As far as Karl Hawke’s inquiry (post no. 8), we are doing pretty well on the Worlds count. My original prediction was 5400; I am now looking for 5700. I took a look at the high jump, shot put, and 800 and divided the entrants into group 1 (United States, Canada, and Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and group 2 (all other countries).
High jump: 137 competitors, 42% from Group 1.
Discus: 213 competitors, 36% from Group 1.
800: 268 competitors, 45% from Group 1.
Thus, as expected we are way out of balance, as 36% to 45% of the competitors in these three representative events are from just 3 countries, and the rest of the world has only 55% to 64%. Oh, well.
Still, the numbers are good and reflect only a very small amount of duplication (some names were in twice; I found some but must have missed a very small number). Again, looks like 5700 entrants to me when the final totals are in (that is an educated guess). Let me go into the kitchen to see what Buffalo had (1995).
OK, Buffalo had 5335. According to National Masters News, Puerto Rico had 2700 in 2003, a dreadful turnout. Again, based on my survey today we should definitely get more than 5400.
Thanks for the stats, Peter.
Looks like Worlds is shaping up well. Not surprising that your Group 2 (“all other countries”) is less well represented.
Sacto is a long trip, especially for Eastern Europeans plus with countries like Russia, visas are hard to get.
I love it when great people, who are also great athletes, get well deserved attention. CONGRATS!!
Only 17 entrants so far in the mens 40-44 800, looking at other past world championships there were sometimes 50,60 even 70 entrants. Maybe there will be a late rush of entries.
Only 8 in the men’s 40-44 steeple (5 from the US) Also for some reason I’m finding a lot of duplicate entries, it appears the 800 duplicates got cleared up today (all three of them), but take a look at men’s 45-49 steeple – I’m sure there are more examples. Men’s 1500 also has a duplicate and the 5000.
Joy – You’re my Hero! 🙂
Awesome girls, cant wait to see you rock in Sacramento. Not long now for our big athletics family get together..
Happy belated birthday, Joy! Congrats to both awesome ladies. Keep on living “Joyfully!”
Thanks for all the awesome comments! It’s great to be competing again after a quarter century break. Look forward to seeing everyone at Worlds.
….Thanks everyone! YOU all are awesome! It is a fun hobby/sport WE do and it is fun to help represent:-)
We are lucky to be in this great sport… train well & enjoy!
good bloodlines in those fams!
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