Submaster hammer thrower pretty good as a bag inventor, too
Nick shows off the versatile carrier he’s marketing.
Canada Masters Athlete of the Month hates running, loves records
The StarPhoenix paper in Canada reports that 81-year-old Ted Rowan set national records for his age group in the 50- and 60-meter hurdles. Then he’s quoted as saying: “I hate running. But I’ve got to do that and that’s what I’m best at. Even at my age, it’s a nerve problem. It’s crazy. … When you’re up to that line, waiting for that gun to go off, it’s almost like you’re throwing up. I think that’s probably why I do well. I get a pump of adrenalin. My competitions are way faster than my training times.” Rowan was named the country’s top masters athlete for March thanks, in part, to his performance at the Canadian Masters Athletics indoor championship in Toronto. He set Canadian records in the long jump, 60 and the heptathlon at the USATF hep championships in Wisconsin. “The truth of the matter is I like throwing. I like javelin and discus,” Ted said. “I could go to the park and throw all day. It’s like batting stones when you were a kid.” He says he’s training for high jump — in his Martensville basement: “I’ve got an L-shaped room and the steps are just right. I can go through a space of about 18 inches.”
Michelle Berg of StarPhoenix caught Ted in hang time at Saskatoon fieldhouse.
Why no masters women’s 100s at Penn Relays? Poor turnout?
Kathy Jager edges Kathy Bergen in masters 100 at 2002 Mt. SAC Relays east of Los Angeles.
Google Docs show status of American record applications in 2015
Renee Shepherd (right) lacked a zero test for a WR 60.
Rose Green the new Mo Greene? Sprint novice is shattering records
Card this lady, please. National sprint champ Rose Green of Maryland is 76 but looks 36. We learn from her local paper: “She had always been fit,” her coach said. “She trains like crazy and I was in masters track. I said, ‘Why don’t you come out and run.’ So, she started running with me downstairs.” Then later, we read: “Medal after medal came flying in for Green, who had found her niche on the track. At the Masters Eastern Regional Championships on March 7, Green posted a time of 10.50 seconds in the 60 meters — a mark later declared an American record by nearly 0.5 seconds. [Listed AR is 10.97 by Audrey Lary, but Kathy Bergen has a pending 9.55.] On top of her crowning moment, Green also took first place in the 200 meters (37.09) and the 400 meters (1:26.27), adding to her collection of accomplishments that only broadened two weeks later in Winston Salem, where Green also anchored her national champion Potomac Valley Track Club to wins in the 800-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay.” I love out-of-the-woodwork stories!
Rose Green and coach Cortez Austin in one of several great Bill Ryan photos.
Allen Woodard is USATF Athlete of Week for oldest sub-50 in 400
Houston, we have a superstar! The latest masters trackster to win USATF Athlete of the Week is Texan Allen Woodard, who set an M45 world record at 400 Saturday and became the oldest human to run a lap under 50 seconds. USATF reports on his 49.69 at Rice: “I felt good during the race, but I didn’t know it was going to be a world record. I was running so easy and I knew it was fast, but I didn’t know it was going to be under 50 seconds. It was the perfect race.” His next goal? “To break 49 seconds. I feel like I have a different type of energy now, and I want that for my next goal. I have been working hard and I know I can do it.”
Allen is the fourth masters athlete of 2015 to win AoW honors from USATF.
Joanna Harper retells transgender story in Washington Post op-ed
Joanna recently shown in Switzerland (and Post).
Masters track featured in Eliquis TV spot? At least it’s legal drug
“I accept I’m not 21. I accept I’m not the sprinter I was back in college,” says a fiftysomething gent going out for a jog in running shoes and green longsleeves top. He’s an actor, probably. But the commercial for the anti-stroke medication Eliquis appears to be using masters track as a setting to promote the drug. Alarm bells go off in my head! Could Eliquis be on the WADA banned list? I shoot off email and get a quick reply from masters chair Gary Snyder, who searched a database of banned substances. Fortunately, the active ingredient in Eliquis is the legal apixaban. “This ingredient is not currently included on the WADA Prohibited List,” says its citation. Whew! Dodged one there. In any case, Eliquis, next time use a real masters sprinter for your TV ads.
Book review: ‘Growing Old Competively’ is rich in images, stories
Many self-published books are vanity affairs. But not the marvelous photo-and-profile effort by Britain’s Alex Rotas. As noted recently, “Growing Old Competitively” focuses exclusively on masters tracksters. She attended major meets and captured dozens of stars in sharp relief. The last of the 43 images is haunting. It shows Belgium’s Emiel Pauwels savoring victory in a 400-meter dash at the Eurovets meet in 2012. Less than two years later, he was dead — in a publicly announced suicide. (She dedicates the book to him.) Alex graciously sent me the 56-page book, which I quickly devoured.
Jeanne Daprano would make a great screensaver for my laptop. She’s also a great cover girl for Alex’s book. (Thanks for featuring an American!)
Sri Lankans must compete in masters nationals to enter Lyon
Sri Lankan masters nationals will be held here.
