Wilson loses 300H to Haywood, but not bronze, thanks to UK rival

Ian, George and Thad at M60 medal ceremony. Tom Phillips photo

Ian, George and Thad at M60 medal ceremony. Tom Phillips photo

At 2013 worlds, Thad Wilson won the M60 300 hurdles, with fellow American George Haywood third. Tuesday in Lyon, they swapped places, with George taking gold in 45.31. But Thad had to fight for bronze well after he finished in 45.91 — a half-second behind Ian Broadhurst of Britain. Credit my UK photographer friend Tom Phillips — an M60 sprinter who twice ran sprint relay legs against Thad. Tom writes: “Thaddeus Wilson was third – and then, twenty minutes or so later, he wasn’t. He had been DQ’d for allegedly deliberately knocking over the second-last hurdle. Now, that happened to be exactly where I had been shooting the event, and I really didn’t remember seeing that down the lens. Hardly the action of a gentleman of the track like Thad, either. So I looked back at my photos to see what I’d got. There were two great pictures of a tired M60 athlete just failing to get his heel over the barrier, and nearly demolishing it.”

These Tom Phillips shots saved Thad Wilson from DQ in 300 hurdles at Lyon.

These Tom Phillips shots saved Thad Wilson from DQ in 300 hurdles at Lyon.

Tom continues:

Moments later, Ian applied his sprint speed to swoop past, fortunately unhindered by Thad’s tumbling seventh hurdle. There had been an injustice. Thaddeus deserved that bronze. The U.S. team were already appealing the decision. When I found the appropriate WMA officials to review my shots, I’m happy to say that they agreed, and I got to photograph justice being seen to be done, a couple of hours later on the podium at the Balmont stadium.

Next time you look up the definition of sportsmanship, you’ll see a picture of Tom Phillips. Thanks for stepping up!

Results from Lyon are still hard to sort out, but here are 300H/400H marks from Tuesday:

W55 300 Long Hurdles
================================
    Name                     Age Team                 Prelims     Finals
================================

  1 Horder, Jane             W58 Great Britai           51,26      51,14
  2 Frisby, Susan            W55 Great Britai           52,39      51,69
  3 Suttor, Robyn            W56 Australia              54,15      52,99
  4 Fox, Vicki               W56 United State           57,92      55,86
  5 Turreni, Loredana        W56 Italy                1:01,76      58,44
  6 Kaushik, Indu            W57 India                1:04,67    1:00,95
  7 Richburg, Ginny          W56 United State         1:00,14    1:01,61
 8 Lauridsen, Susanne       W57 Canada               1:05,53    1:05,15

W60 300 Long Hurdles
================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Seed     Finals
================================

  1 Sanguos Espiña, Maria Je W60 Spain                  51,90      51,86
2 Hanscom, Rita            W61 United State           53,65      56,35
3 Vanhorenbeeck, Hildegard W61 Belgium                56,85      57,39
4 Nunes, Irenilta          W60 Brazil               1:09,60    1:01,83
5 Reknes, Bjørg            W62 Norway                 56,10    1:03,35
6 Argent, Fiona            W61 Great Britai         1:02,65    1:06,49
— Ruineau, Colette        W62 France                               DQ

W65 300 Long Hurdles
================================
    Name                     Age Team                    Seed     Finals
================================

  1 Mcmahon, Emily           W65 Great Britai           58,50    1:00,08
2 Kokkonen, Terhi          W68 Finland              1:01,69    1:01,01
3 Arrechea, Amanda         W65 Colombia             1:08,00    1:02,79
4 Perkins, Wilma           W65 Australia            1:07,00    1:03,73
5 Katika, Lathadevi        W65 India                           1:55,09

M60 300 Long Hurdles
================================
    Name                     Age Team                   Semis     Finals
================================

  1 Haywood, George          M62 United State           46,79      45,31
2 Broadhurst, Ian          M60 Great Britai           47,52      45,40
3 Wilson, Thaddeus         M64 United State           46,86      45,91
4 Kreemke, Wolfgang        M60 Germany                48,48      46,17
5 Jacquet-Acea, Russell    M62 United State           48,48      48,50
6 Easley, Rick             M61 United State           49,02      49,06
7 Melguizo, Fernando       M61 Spain                  47,33    1:26,44
— Andreadis, Vasileios    M61 Greece                 47,38        DNF

M65 300 Long Hurdles
================================
    Name                     Age Team                   Semis     Finals
================================

  1 Wiltshire, Rodney        M65 United State           49,83      48,00
2 Davydov, Valeriy         M65 Russia                 49,00      48,09
3 Lamb, John               M65 Australia              49,22      48,40
4 Lech, Ryszard            M67 Canada                 49,74      49,12
5 Wells, Tony              M66 Great Britai           49,56      49,23
6 Negeliskii, Pedro M65 Brazil 50,65 51,16
7 Ram, Munshi M67 India 52,61 53,33
— Hacker, Jürgen M67 Germany 50,24 DNF

M70 300 Long Hurdles
================================
Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================
1 Frühauf, Hans-Jürgen M70 Germany 50,97 47,38
2 Steiner, Dietmar M71 Austria 51,96 50,76
3 Hsu, John Yuan Chung M73 Chinese Taipei 54,44 50,76
4 Mac Dermott, John M70 Ireland 54,18 53,40
5 Poncin, François M70 France 57,20 57,67
6 Ferguson, Barry M73 Great Britai 59,57 1:00,93
7 Bunin, Pio M73 Australia 1:03,20 1:06,06
— van der Schaaf, Jelle M70 Netherlands 51,99

DNF M75 300 Long Hurdles
================================
Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================
1 Müller, Guido M76 Germany 56,73 50,02
2 Knorr, Dr. Hartmann M75 Germany 56,76 55,08
3 Stevenson, Michael M75 Australia 57,28 55,47
4 Jakob, Karl M75 Germany 58,38 56,39
5 Klaus, Willi M76 Germany 57,60 57,46
6 Rowan, Terry M75 United State 57,64 58,63
7 Hatta, Tsutomu M76 Japan 58,19 1:00,21
— Lushchikov, Vladimir M75 Russia 59,86 DNF

W35 400 Long Hurdles
================================
Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================
1 Roggemans, Emmanuelle W37 France 1:04,56 1:03,46
2 Buxton, Leanne W37 Great Britai 1:05,99 1:04,24
3 Owen, Paula W36 Great Britai 1:07,27 1:05,22
4 Selin, Ingrid W35 France 1:06,93 1:06,04
5 Meneses, Claudia W35 Peru 1:08,41 1:07,60
6 Hazard, Stéphanie W36 France 1:08,49 1:07,61
7 Gonzalez, Rosa Blanca W37 Spain 1:07,89 1:08,14
8 Readinger, Danelle W39 United State 1:08,78 1:09,58

W40 400 Long Hurdles
================================
Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================
1 Baggiolini, Emanuela W43 Italy 1:07,61 1:01,30
2 Estriga, Susana W40 Portugal 1:05,96 1:02,95
3 Legendre, Carine W41 France 1:05,66 1:03,82
4 Burke, Sarah W42 Great Britai 1:08,82 1:06,05
5 Gutiérrez Ocaña, Encarna W41 Spain 1:10,40 1:06,47
6 Dendy, LaTrica W42 United State 1:08,21 1:08,24
7 Bonnnet, Virginie W42 France 1:10,62 1:10,15
8 Olivier, Christa W41 South Africa 1:12,24 1:12,40

W45 400 Long Hurdles
=======================
Name Age Team Prelims Finals
=======================
1 Tual-Dorsile, Viviane W48 France 1:07,22 1:07,02
2 Lambert, Lenore W45 Australia 1:08,82 1:08,20
3 Sheludina, Elena W45 Russia 1:10,79 1:08,38
4 Olivari, Paola W47 Chile 1:09,66 1:09,46
5 Guerra, Angeles W46 Spain 1:13,55 1:11,37
6 Zwiener, Michaela W45 Germany 1:15,02 1:11,40
7 Cochrane-Brink, Kate W47 Canada 1:12,92 1:13,38
8 Deckers, Anja W46 Germany 1:16,44 1:15,83

M35 400 Long Hurdles
=======================
Name Age Team Semis Finals
=======================
1 Adamczyk, Jakub M35 Poland 55,77 52,86
2 Collins, Liam M36 Great Britai 55,23 53,65
3 Rouyer, Christophe M37 France 56,75 55,30
4 Felip, Cedric M37 France 56,75 55,44
5 Habl, Gunnar M36 Germany 57,43 55,82
6 Mendy, Evariste M38 France 57,05 56,56
7 Flambard, Romain M37 France 57,66 56,62
8 Bayard, Jean-Christophe M36 Belgium 57,16 1:00,89

M40 400 Long Hurdles
=======================
Name Age Team Semis Finals
=======================
1 Wavelet, Bruno M40 France 55,98 55,12
2 Betts, Edward M44 Great Britai 56,45 55,34
3 Piot, Gerald M41 France 57,78 56,48
4 Thommerel, Benoit M41 France 57,89 57,01
5 Gonzalez, Ivan M42 Chile 58,59 57,59
6 Cela, Juan Marcelo M40 Argentina 58,50 58,13
7 Santi, Marcus M43 United State 58,29 58,14
8 Simoes, Herbert M44 Brazil 58,60 59,59

M45 400 Long Hurdles
=======================
Name Age Team Semis Finals
=======================
1 Chambers, Winston M46 Jamaica 59,44 56,86
2 Abatucci, Antoine M46 France 59,61 58,39
3 Dittmar, Brad M45 United State 1:00,04 58,41
4 Benedickter, Peter M46 Great Britai 59,80 59,19
5 Ramirez Garcia, Donato M46 Spain 1:00,98 1:00,29
6 Durimel, Alexandre M47 France 1:00,56 1:00,81
7 Heuchemer, Klaus M49 Germany 1:02,57 1:01,41
8 Skeete, Marcus M47 Canada 1:03,75 1:03,69

M50 400 Long Hurdles
=======================
Name Age Team Semis Finals
=======================
1 Echeandia, Getulio M51 Puerto Rico 59,32 57,53
2 Tilt, Jonathan M52 Great Britai 1:00,56 58,90
3 van Rookhuizen, Bart M51 Netherlands 1:00,88 59,48
4 Blakemore, Damon M53 United State 1:01,57 59,99
5 Ikeno, Masahiro M51 Japan 1:01,96 1:00,36
6 Zapha, Thierry M51 France 1:01,40 1:00,43
7 Peroni, Frédéric M51 France 1:01,39 1:00,47
8 Božicek, Marko M53 Slovenia 1:02,20 1:02,07

M55 400 Long Hurdles
======================= Name Age Team Semis Finals =======================
1 White, Richard M55 Great Britai 1:03,08 1:02,32
2 Garner, Reggie M55 United State 1:03,71 1:02,53
3 Soba, Albert M56 Slovenia 1:03,88 1:02,61
4 Lopes Correia, Boaventur M55 France 1:03,63 1:03,45
5 Burgos, Alfred M56 Netherlands 1:05,30 1:03,63
6 Gatling, Darnell M55 United State 1:03,95 1:04,82
7 Lüers, Heiner M56 Germany 1:03,97 1:05,91
8 Beca, António M58 Portugal 1:04,89 1:09,75

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August 11, 2015

16 Responses

  1. Peter L. Taylor - August 11, 2015

    Wonderful story, Ken. Photographers help solve crimes in real life and in the movies, and now they help to sort out what really happened in masters T&F. Priceless.

    Note also that George Haywood turns 63 next month. For years he has done great things running relays with such notables as Bill Collins, Charles “Buddy” Allie, and Horace Grant, but now he grabs the spotlight for himself. Yes, George, you should be very proud of that gold and the time of just 45.31 seconds it required you to get it.

  2. David E. Ortman (M62), Seattle, WA - August 11, 2015

    Congrats to George, Thad, Russell and Rick who occupied four of the eight lanes in the M60 300mH finals with a 1,3,5,6 finish (WMA-Porto Alegre (2013) had a USA 1,3,4 finish).

    Really outrageous, however, that the WMA-Lyon schedule called for three 300mH races three days in a row (Q/SF/F), compared to four semi-heats with a two day break before the finals at WMA-Porto Alegre (2013). This is nearly as idiotic as WAVA-Buffalo (1995) making the M40 400mH run preliminary AND semi races on the same day. One wonders if any of the WMA meet schedulers have ever run hurdles. This is another example of having no WMA standard meet schedule, likely caused by having to spread events out at multiple stadiums.

    As for hitting hurdles. Been there, done that, including losing a lead-foot track shoe and hitting hurdles with bare (well, socked) foot.

    Here is IAAF Rule 168:

    7. Each athlete shall jump each hurdle. Failure to do so will result in a disqualification.
    In addition, an athlete shall be disqualified, if:
    (a) his foot or leg is, at the instant of clearance, beside the hurdle (on either side), below the horizontal plane of the top of any
    hurdle; or
    (b) in the opinion of the Referee, he deliberately knocks down any hurdle.
    8. Except as provided in Rule 168.7(b), the knocking down of hurdles shall not result in disqualification nor prevent a Record being made.

    IAAF Rule 146.5 on protests includes:

    “To arrive at a fair decision, the Referee should consider any available evidence which he thinks
    necessary, including a film or picture produced by an official video recorder, or any other available video evidence.”

    So a big thanks to Tom for stepping forward and helping Thad overcome his hurdle.

  3. MICHAEL DE JESUS - August 11, 2015

    CONGRATS TO GEORGE;AM SURE THAD TOOK THE DQ IN STRIDE , LIKE THE CLASSY GENT HE IS.

  4. Courtland Gray - August 11, 2015

    Thad, that’s a very tough break. Get them in the 100 HH.
    I had the same “deliberate knock down” provision called on me at Gateshead in 100 HH until cooler heads prevailed. I simply ran up on it and clobbered it, so an official said it was “deliberate.” A Dutch friend had a video, but the official said they were not allowed to view it. I challenged that argument, as I didn’t think there was any reference to video in the rules. Actually, I heard three reasons for my (subsequently overturned) DQ: “No attempt to hurdle”; “Deliberate knock down”; my hand pushed it down (as if my hand arrived before my foot). They finally got it right, but it was very stressful on an outlying track with no USA delegation there to assist.
    Then I lost a big lead in the final and took 3rd, again clobbering a hurdle. My most disappointing race in masters competition.

  5. Horace Grant - August 12, 2015

    Congrats to George,Thad,Rick,and Russell… all representing with great performances! A special congrats to my teammate George, a WR in the 4×800 at Nationals, now a gold medal in the 300IM hurdles at Worlds… what a year George!

  6. wayne bennett - August 12, 2015

    congratulations to Reggie Garner for silver in the M55 long hurdles

  7. Ty Brown - August 12, 2015

    Congratulations to George and Thad. Two classy hurdlers.

  8. Rick Easley - August 12, 2015

    This was Reggie’s first World Championships I believe and he came real close to the Gold in this event. I am very happy for him and hope he becomes a regular at these championships. He is really a class act.

  9. Stefan Waltermann - August 12, 2015

    “Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors.” Tom Phillips, man, the dude is my kind of guy.

  10. Rick Easley - August 12, 2015

    Thad should never have been disqualified in the first place. An official needs to be certain and some discussion should occur before that happens. Let that official run a long hurdle race and see how hard it is to get his lead leg over at that point.

  11. Phil Ashton - August 12, 2015

    Thad was definitely one of the fastest Athletes in the finals and the DQ for stepping down the hurde more than debatable. Still he was lucky not to be disqualified for leaving his lane, which he repeatedly did after stumbling over the hurdles. Actually he was running all over the place around the last two hurdles. Fortunately it’s about speed and not esthetics. Other athletes where a real pleasure to watch, though.

  12. Mike Walker - August 12, 2015

    I agree with Rick, Thad should never have been DQ’d. For an official who is looking at only one hurdle clearance, it is impossible to determine if it was intentional or not. If an athlete does it over multiple hurdles then it may be possible to infer a deliberate act but not from a single hurdle clearance. Fortunately, in this case, there was video and photos available and the officials reviewed them and made the correct decision.

  13. Philip Greenwald - August 13, 2015

    ON the DQ for not clearing the last hurdle, it should not have happened. The scoreboard showed the DQ and I started the appeal process almost immediately by telling him that he had been DQ’ed and asking him to ask the referee why. Once we determined that it was the (non-)issue of the last hurdle, I filed the written appeal. In addition to the Tom Philip’s pictures we found four videos. Apparent the matter was so clear that the WMA Jury of Appeals didn’t need the videos, they never asked for them.

    On the issue of being out of lane, that is not a violation on the straight portions of the track unless another runner is obstructed or a “material advantage” is gained.

  14. Bill Collins - August 14, 2015

    George,
    What a great year for you, world record to World Champion. I couldn’t be more proud of you. For years you have worked hard, and dealt with lots of injuries.
    But as we talked earlier this year, you kept your head in the game, now look at the results. Go Houston Elite, you make us all proud. Love you man.

  15. Robert Bowen - August 14, 2015

    Congratulations to George, Thad, Rick, and Russell! Great work .

  16. Tony Echeandia - August 24, 2015

    Wow I didn’t know that Thad was DQ’ed, that’s ridiculous, his only mistake was he went out to fast and ran out of gas and crashed into a hurdle, their is no way he deliberately knotted over a hurdle I saw the race and run hurdles, thats really a crime for a valiant effort!

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