masterstrack.com

Older, slower, lower: Ken Stone's hobby blog for showcasing and watchdogging adult age-group track and field

Noo Yawk accents galore in Newsday video on Bohemia TC women

Newsday is a big-time news outlet for NYC suburbanites, and this week it profiled several women of the Bohemia TC, including stars Caryl Senn-Griffiths and Mary Trotto, who does everything under the sun. The video is priceless. The story is worth checking out as well. A highlight: “Come and try something. Try anything. You’ll love it,” said Sue Nesbihal, 65, a retired Nassau County probation officer from Islip Terrace. “You don’t have to be great at it. You don’t have to be good at it. If you throw 30 meters in the javelin, people are going to cheer for you. But if you go out there — and it’s your first time — and you throw 10 meters, people cheer for you.”

August 15, 2014  One Comment

Missing the 1972 Games, she isn’t missing out now as W55 star

Yes, you can. That’s the message of masters track to many of us. Yes, you can go back to your track star youth. And Wendy Alexis got the message big time in her late 50s. As Martin Cleary writes in a wonderful Ottawa Citizen profile: “After double leg surgery, a doctor said she would never run again. Alexis, however, tried for five years, but never reached a finish line. A career as a teacher was easier on her health. ‘I loved taking my son to practice,’ Alexis, 59, said. ‘We’d talk track and he’d say there are old people (training) at the track. My life was just so crazy. Teaching sucks you in.’ Track and field has the same effect. ‘I couldn’t sleep that night (after her first masters practice). Part of me lives for the track because I didn’t finish what I had started.’ ”

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August 14, 2014  8 Comments

Steve Peters sweeps M60 sprints at British masters nationals

Athletics Weekly (aka the British T&FN but actually covering all of track) reports on old-reliable Steve Peters taking the 1, 2 and 4 at British masters nationals over the weeken. Steve is tbe UK version of Bill Collins — class act, fast act. AW says: “He had won world titles last year but his commitments elsewhere had limited his own athletic outings. His 12.38 and 57.03 100m and 400m on the opening day were followed by a 200m win at lunchtime on the Sunday in 24.64, faster than the M55 winner. He said he was most pleased by his work with Commonwealth 100m silver medalist Adam Gemili.” Steve is a world-class sports psychologist (whom I tried to psych out at the Lahti wait room to no avail). Results of the Aug. 9-10 meet attracting 650 to Birmingham are posted here. In other British vets news, Jo Pavey won the Euro open 10K Tuesday in 32:22.39 “to become, at 40 years of age, the oldest ever female European champion and claim her first major title.” The listed W40 WR is 31:40.97.

August 13, 2014  No Comments

Curt Morgan on Stephanie Timmer, Marilyn Coleman: Too Good

In his last missive from masters nationals, Curt Morgan writes: Talk about scary good! Over in the women’s heavyweight throw at the 2014 nationals, you’d find W45 Stephanie Timmer, surely the fastest lady marathoner (best: a phenomenal 3:17) ever to cop double masters weight golds (both shot and discus in Winston-Salem). The “scary” part? Since she’s legally blind (from macular degeneration), this former Marine Corps officer actually needs a guide (Linda Swenson) to find her way into the ring. Alternating with other throwers was W35 Marilyn Coleman, whose ballet-like moves as she spins across the ring combine a dancer’s artistry with pure raw power. How she nearly sends the weight into low Earth orbit is also scary (as in, scary beautiful).

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August 12, 2014  One Comment

Field-event qualifying at 2015 worlds? Lyon risks roars of anger

Athletes are privately expressing anger that organizers of the 2015 WMA worlds in Lyon, France, have scheduled qualifying in field events. In other words, you throw or jump one day in a trials and come back the next for the finals. (This applies to most age groups.) See the men’s schedule here. See the women’s schedule here. I wrote to WMA veep Serge Beckers and the LOC, and their responses are below — as well as my thoughts.
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August 11, 2014  22 Comments

Curt Morgan on Doug Torbert: Forget technique; just have fun!

Curt Morgan writes: It’s every masters athlete’s wet dream! You snag a bit of javelin training, you show up at nationals, you skip the long run-up and just shuffle through three short steps. Next thing you know you’re adding another M60 national championship to your trophy shelf. That was the scenario for Quenton “Doug” Torbert last month in Winston-Salem. “Technique Nonesense! Throwing the javelin is just like throwing a football!” asserts Doug. “Or throwing out a guy at home plate! Same difference!” The champ added: “Since I was young, I always liked to throw things. Oranges, rocks, you name it. It just comes naturally I guess.”

 
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August 10, 2014  9 Comments

WMA records updated, but guess which ones missed the cut

WMA’s records pages were updated Friday, but the insanity continues. M85 Earl Fee and M75 Guido Müeller get recognition for 2014 marks. So do M45 Brad Barton and M55 Wolfgang Knabe. But M35s Kim Collins (100) and Chris Brown (400) do not. The historic M90 4×100 team of Ross, Rogers, Englert and Goldy is listed, but not the M90 4×400 and 4×800 teams of Ross, Rogers, Englert and Boyle at the same meet. In other words, Charles Boyle didn’t make it through the record-grinder. (Yet he had to submit proof of age at nationals, right?) On the women’s side, eight WRs from N.C. nationals made the cut (including four by W80 Irene Obera). And W70 Aussie Lavinia Petrie gets credit for three WRs — 3000 in 13:07.79, 5000 in 21:34.08 and 10K in 44:43.27. And finally, justice is served! As a friend noted: “Jeanne Daprano gets her W75 world mark in the mile of 6:58.44 that she ran way back in 2012. A look at the American records, however, shows that this mark never even made “pending” status. Thus, Jeanne’s mark of 7:13.31 for W75 remains unchallenged as the American standard for women 75-79.” Don’t try to explain it. System went off the rails many years ago.

August 9, 2014  8 Comments

Ed Burke named USATF Athlete of the Week, lifting obscure meet

Ed “Olympian and Flag-Bearer” Burke may not have been the best thrower ounce-for-ounce at throws nationals last weekend. But he did something nobody else could do — get USATF to pay attention to an obscure throws meet. In being named USATF Athlete of the Week, M70 Ed gave the College of the Holy Cross meet a higher profile than it normally gets in Trackworld. Bravo, Ed. But just between us girls, who do y’all think was the best thrower last weekend, where more than a dozen records were set?

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August 8, 2014  11 Comments

Curt Morgan on Buzz Gagne: Beating Big C at N.C. nationals

Curtis Morgan writes: As if bagging a national championship isn’t enough of a challenge (in the M65 javelin at the outdoor masters in Winston-Salem), first Buzz Gagne had to beat down the Big C as well. “They took my cancerous prostate out three years ago,” relates Buzz. “It was ‘supposed’ to be non-invasive, but in practice it took me two years to fully recover. But when I got my javelin mark back up to 50 meters — and nothing hurt! — I knew I was ready to compete again at the national level.”

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August 7, 2014  4 Comments

13 American records claimed at USA Masters Throws nationals

Jim Burgoyne graciously shares details on the 2014 USA Masters Throws Championships: “This two-day event was held over this past weekend. We were visited by showers, winds and even a little sun towards the end of the days. The Athletes and Officials Banquet (we renamed it this year to include all involved) was held on the Holy Cross Campus and put on by their catering department. Menu included New England Clam Chowder (CHOWDA for the locals), Steak Tips, Marinated Chicken, Cesar Salad and Veggies. The topped off with an Ice Cream Sunday. The Officials were invited as guests of MF Athletics.” He counted 13 American records!
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August 6, 2014  7 Comments

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• About Ken Stone

  

  Ken Stone

  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...]
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