World records to Bergen, Wettenhall, Kortbeek over the weekend
Nothing like aging up to stoke your athletic fires. Just ask California’s Kathy Bergen, who turned 70 in late December. Competing at the USATF Mid-America Regional Masters Indoor Championships at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Kathy set world age-group records in the 60-meter dash and high jump on Sunday. Her 9.29 in the 60 crushed the listed WR of 9.70 by Germany’s Christine Schmalbruch in 2008. In the high jump, Kathy flopped 1.29 meters (4-2 3/4). That beat the listed WR of 1.24 (4-0 3/4), also by Schmalbruch. Meet results aren’t posted, but this info came from meet organizer Christel Donley, who claimed a prize of her own: an American record 14.90 in the 60-meter hurdles for W75. Kathy, a Masters Hall of Famer, also ran the 200 in Colorado — and broke Barbara Jordan’s listed American record of 34.58 by more than a second, clocking 33.46. Whew! Kudos to Kathy!
Kathy Bergen leads WR holder Nadine O'Connor in a 2009 race.
(Photo by Ken Stone)
Meanwhile up in Canada, all the action wasn’t in Vancouver. M55 Jim Wettenhall of Toledo, Ohio, competed in the Ontario Masters Indoor Championships in Toronto — and heaved the 25-pound weight 19.79 (64-11 1/4) to beat the listed WR of 19.70 (64-7 3/4) by fellow American and Olympian Tom Gage in 2002. (See complete results here.) Ontario Masters Prez Doug Smith (who also provides this Canadian roster for Kamloops) shared some great shots of the Toronto meet, which also produced a dozen or more Canadian records.
Jim Wettenhall, whose wife Kathy also threw (and set a meet record) in Toronto, gets good extension during his spin.
(Photo by Doug Smith)
Finally: Across the Pond, Holland’s Janine Kortbeek was getting into the WR act with a W55 indoor record in the triple jump at Dutch nationals. In fact, Janine broke the listed world indoor record on every legal jump in her series, which included two leaps of 10.36 meters (34-0). All were better than the listed WR of 9.42 (30-11) by Germany’s Christine Freidrich in 2009. Janine’s results are here. Complete meet results of the weekend meet are here. And Weia Reinboud, the high jump guru, took this incredible series of shots of Janine jumping:
Janine's hop, step and jump broke the old record by 3 feet.
And a big happy birthday (the big eight-oh) to Jerry Donley, Christel’s main squeeze. Jerry, a Masters Hall of Famer, has been a masters jumper — and USATF official and leader — for decades. May your every clearance be clean.
5 Responses
No wonder that Kathy Bergen is in the Hall of Fame. She is so fast that it’s getting ridiculous. Wow. I’m off to my fitness club and will tell my friend Chuck D. about Kathy’s 200. Bet he guesses she did not break 36, even after I tell him she’s a superstar. She ran 33.46, what?
Kathy,
Go, girl! Way to sky! Congratulations on your high jump world record.
CONGRATS to Janine Kortbeek in Holland on her FANTASTIC world record Triple Jumping. Very inspiring for this fellow triple jumper!
GREAT shots by Weia Reinboud!
And you can see Kathy Bergen in person if you come to the indoor masters nationals next month in Boston. That meet has received very little attention on this board, but it should be a good one (and the track is banked).
Right now, Kathy Bergen is one of 10 women entered in the 60 dash at Boston (she is also in the 200 and high jump). Last year at Landover, with a flat track, there were 58 women entered in the 60 dash (were probably a few additions from foreign countries). There are still a few days to enter Boston, however, with regular entry closing 1 week and 6 days from today (will close March 1).
Results from the Mid-America meet arrived today in the form of an Excel file. I converted it to a Web page:
http://masterstrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/midamerica2010.html
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