John Whittemore was oldest tracko until this week.
John Whittemore was six weeks short of 105 when I saw him set an M100 javelin record in Santa Barbara in 2004. Until this week, I considered him the oldest track athlete in history. No more. Stanislaw Kowalski has set a new standard, taking M100 golds in at least three events at the European Masters Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland. He’s three weeks shy of 105. (His DOB is April 14, 1910.) If he competes after the Ides of April, he’ll be the only M105 track athlete on Earth. (But WMA doesn’t have an M105 age group. Sigh.)
With no other major meet to distract USATF attention, the folks in Indy named Irene Obera as its Athlete of the Week “after her outstanding performance at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships Friday, March 20-22 at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Obera (Fremont, California) set multiple records including two world records and three American records. She became the first woman over 80 to complete an indoor pentathlon, recording 3,817 points for her first world record mark of the weekend. She set the next record in the 60-meter hurdles with her time of 13.76, and Obera’s three American records came in the long jump (2.72m/8-11.25), high jump (1.02m/3-4) and 800 meters (4:49.74).” She’s the third masters trackster so honored this year — after Anselm LeBourne and Mary Norckauer. Mazel tov, Irene!
Irene wins at Sacramento worlds — adding to legend to continue in Lyon.
Last year, the IAAF held its first World Relays Championships in the Bahamas. World Masters Athletics and national affiliates should follow suit. This could boost interest in our niche and give many more people a chance of setting a record — in many more events. This idea was sparked by a note Wednesday from world champion middle-distance runner Stephen Chantry. Steve writes: “After returning from indoor nationals at Winston-Salem this past weekend
I was thinking about all of the relay records that were set. After I ran the 3000 on Friday and the mile on Saturday, I joined a group Saturday afternoon and we went for the 4×800 record for M60 but came up short. Still, just being able to compete again after my extensive Achilles surgery was wonderful. Anyway, the bottom line is that relays are fun. Everybody loves them.”
Sacramento worlds saw many great relays, which made golden memories.
A week before North Carolina nationals, the Maitres Canadiens held their two-day indoor nationals in Toronto. Their showing was 235, not exceptional by American standards but still “the largest turnout at a Masters Indoor event in Canadian history,” said CMA. It helped that at least a half-dozen south of the border types took part, including M55 long sprinter Ben James, who won the 4 in a meet record 57.74. Some 19 Canadian records were set at the March 14-15 event, plus 98 meet records, detailed on this page. M30 American high jumper Richard White Jr. set an MR at 2.05 meters (6-8 3/4). M65 Yank Lewis Breese threw a MR in the shot of 10.82 (35-6) and M70 Yank John Kasperski claimed a weight throw MR of 14.87 (48-9 1/2). Results are here. (Other Americans competing Up There were M55 Rodney Wilson and the alliterative Horace Hudson in M60 and Phillip Pillin in M50.) Nice job, gents!
After Day 1 of the Eurovets meet in Torun, Poland, we’ve already seen some great marks. Britain’s Guy Bracken, 54, ran the 3000 in 8:52.38. The listed M50 WR is 8:49.37 by countryman Nigel Gates. In the M95 high jump, Emmerich Zensch of Austria cleared 0.95 meters (3-1 1/4), just short of American Leland McPhie’s listed WR of 0.96. Emmerich had three failed efforts at 0.97 (3-2 1/4). Results are being posted here. Here’s where you see the real competition for Lyon worlds. Here’s EZ doing the flop at 91:
Rob Jerome had a keen view of North Carolina nationals — behind a camera. And he gives the meet two thumbs up. “Everyone was very much in agreement that these nationals were exceptionally well-run,” he writes. “Events were on time and the officiating was great. Kudos to Mary Trotto, who made the suggestion, which was adopted, that the men’s and women’s pentathlon be divided into two groups each. This new approach certainly sped things along on Friday, and the lively pace continued for the next two days. The facility was excellent as well.” USATF counts eight world records and 29 American records at JDL Fast Track. Rob also writes: “Christel Donley had a busy morning — competing simultaneously in the high jump and triple jump. She also had a great result in the high jump at 1.05 meters.” Thanks for all his shots here and in recent days.
Irene Obera won all of her events and added to her W80 WRs by running the 800 in 4:49.74. Her old friend Alan Kolling displays a medal as well.
Hurdling at 80 is rare for men but almost unheard of for women. But Irene Obera upped the age limit to 81 Saturday at North Carolina masters nationals. After stumbling in her pentathlon race Friday, she stayed clean in the open 60 hurdles Saturday to finish in 13.76 seconds and adding the indoor WR to her outdoor ones from 2014. (Christel Donley’s silver-medal effort of 14.66 thus becomes the No. 2 mark all-time W80.) Rob Jerome, sharing photos again, also reports that Irene extended the listed American record in the long jump but didn’t jump as far as she did in the pentathlon. Rob adds: “Great anticipation during the day for the M90 Indoor 4×200. I got a nice shot of the 4 gentlemen BEFORE they were thronged by the media after their (inaugural WR) performance” of 5:40.82. And M75 Don Isett cleared 2.91 (9-6 1/2) on his first try to better Bud Held’s listed AR of 2.90. The listed WR is 3.00 (9-10) by Hungary’s Zoltan Kurenczi. Finally, W65 Myrle Mensey added to her national titles with a shot mark of 9.26 meters (better than her own listed AR of 9.25) but short of a 9.48 (31-1 1/4) she had recently.
Potomac Valley TC foursome of (from left) Orville Rogers,97; Charles Boyle, 91; Roy Englert, 92; and Charles Ross, 92 — first all-90 relay team in indoor history.
Irene would catch a foot and fall, but get up and finish 60H.
Hall of Famer Irene Obera isn’t the oldest female pentathlete in history (Olga Kotelko was 93 when she set her record at Jyväskylä indoor worlds in 2012), but at 81, the Northern Californian is pioneering the event post-80. At N.C. nationals Friday, she set a first-ever W80 WR in the event — despite taking a tumble in the 60 hurdles. (Christel Donley is the first W80 indoor heptathlete, however.) As USATF graciously reports: “The USA Track & Field Masters Indoor Championships opened Friday on the first day of Spring with a bolt of lightning at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina…. Irene Obera of Fremont, CA broke existing World and American records, and three other competitors broke U.S. marks.” Results are posted here. Superphotog Rob Jerome (whose shots are shared here) adds: “Irene … would have probably done 300 points better had she not caught her heal on the first hurdle in the first event and taken a nasty fall. But like the true champ she is, she got up, composed herself and went on to accomplish great things.”
Irene keeps her form in the concluding 800 event of her record pentathlon.
To the pantheon of British photographers who excel at masters track images, add Alex Rotas. She joins Tom Phillips and Lesley Richardson as sharp shooters of our niche. I learned of her via a wonderful video by Growing Bolder magazine. Alex is shown focusing on Florida’s Joe Johnston, the M70 vaulter with his own backyard training camp. Alex’s story is inspirational — she took up the camera late in life. Her new book — “Growing Old Competitively: Photographs of Masters Athletes” — looks like a keeper. It features American stars including Jeanne Daprano as well as some of the last shots of Olga Kotelko. Alex writes: “Although you become a ‘veteran’ in the sports world at the tender age of 35, my real interest lies in photographing athletes in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. These people demonstrate that ‘lifeyness’ (if I can call it that) and vigour do not necessarily decline with age. They show too that it’s possible to look wonderful without pretending to be younger than you are.” Welcome to the game, Alex! We’re honored to have you.
Catching up with the Kiwis, we learnthat W50 Sally Gibbs of Katikati ran the 1500 in 4:45.94 at her outdoor masters nationals. That’s only 5 seconds off the listed world record of 4:40.7 by Denmark’s Gitte Karlshöj in 2009. It was one of many national records at Tauranga Domain as February turned to March. “The national event was being held in Tauranga for the first time since 2009, with 201 athletes competing in track and field events over three days.” the local paper said. “In all, there were 887 event entries. … At least 16 new national marks were set over the weekend – with more possible once the full results have been collated.” (Complete resultsare here.)
Sally Gibbs was 2013 Porto Alegre world champ in the 5K, 10K and marathon.
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and web-master since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials, the last three as a blogger and Patch correspondent. [More...]
