Willie Gault’s M45 debut — a sizzling 200 in the low 22s

While sprinters in his age group were burning up a Boston indoor track thousands of miles away, new M45 dashman/hurdler Willie Gault was scorching the outdoor track today at Santa Ana College, south of Los Angeles. Official results aren’t in yet, but meet director Andy Hecker says Willie ran a wind-legal 21.9 hand-timed 200 at the Southern California Masters Indoor Championships (held outdoors) at Santa Ana College. The final “automatic” time, based on a novel video-timing system, may be around 22.3 — just off Kevin Morning’s listed M45 world record of 22.13 set in 2002. It was Willie’s third event of the day.


Willie turned 45 in September 2005 — after a season that saw him set a slew of M40 American sprint records. At today’s meet, Willie also ran the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash. Andy, who spoke with me by cell phone tonight, recalls Willie running the flat 60 in 6.98 seconds — but with an illegal wind of 2.7 meters per second. His 60 hurdles was low 8s.
The listed M45 world record for 60 meters indoors is 7.02 by fellow Californian Stan Whitley in 1991. No official records are kept for the 60 outdoors.
But Andy Hecker (who also also 60 hurdles today) says a record application will be submitted for Willie’s 200, if it turns out to be faster than Kevin Morning’s mark.
A possible challenge to the record may come over the timing system used. To save money (perhaps $500), Andy opted against a traditional electronic-timing system where a wire connects the starting gun to a camera, which renders a photo of each athlete as he/she crosses the finish line.
Instead, Andy employed a system using a video camera — one that he’s used in the past (at junior college and other other meets). No cable is linked to the gun. He just videotapes the whole race, pivoting from the gun (to catch the flash) to the finish line. At 29.97 frames per second, the digital movie (when screened on a computer) can generate a finish time within two-hundredths of a second of the actual time, Andy says. Since times are rounded down to a slower mark, it means Willie me be shown to have run 22.08, for example, instead of 22.06.
At least the video is hard evidence of a race, and excellent accuracy is possible.
Another mark in favor of Andy’s system — it’s a whole lot cheaper than the Pyro video timing system, which has been used at masters indoor nationals in the past.
Another great mark today was posted by M45 Jim Chinn of San Marcos, California, who ran the 400 in 52.86. At the San Senastian world meet last summer, he won his age group in 51.96 (after a 51.79 in the semifinals).
Back in Boston, where masters men and women ran exhibition 200s at the open nationals, these were the results:
Men 200 Meter Dash Masters
1 Jones, David Southwest Sp 23.30
2 Reilly, Jim unattached 23.91
3 Barnwell, Val Central Park 24.00
4 Fields, Don unattached 24.25
5 Marshall, William Synergy Track Club 24.31
6 McCloud, Dexter Southwest Sp 24.46
Women 200 Meter Dash Masters
1 Upshaw-Margerum, Joy unattached 26.57
2 Lawson, Sarah unattached 28.96
3 Board, Jacqueline unattached 29.21
Joy had another thrill at Boston — watching her kid sister, Grace Upshaw, take third in the open long jump, going 6.49 meters (21-03.50).
On Saturday 40-year-old Alisa Harvey missed making the finals of the open 800 by two-tenths of a second:
Women 800 Meter Run
Preliminaries
1 Santin, Frances Santa Monica 2:04.62Q
2 Schmidt, Alice adidas 2:08.11Q
3 Ferrara, Krista The Farm Team, Inc. 2:04.95q
4 Green, Nikeya unattached 2:05.59q
5 Clark, Hazel Nike 2:08.78q
6 Bertrand, Mishael unattached 2:09.17q
7 Harvey, Alisa unattached 2:09.37
8 Schnell, Lindsey Arizona Elit 2:10.08
9 Waterson, Caryn Central Park 2:11.75

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February 26, 2006