Masters exhibition at Des Moines a disappointment, like the meet
So three men ran the masters exhibition 100 yesterday at USA open nationals in Des Moines. Three were DNS — including Lyndon Herzberg, of course. (But he had an excuse: He also was entered in the same race the same day at the Hayward Masters Classic in Eugene, where he was a no-show as well. Sigh.) Video of the event (see below) shows Robert Thomas winning a close race to nice applause. Thanks for stepping up, Robert! (He’s the vice chairman of USATF Masters T&F Committee — akin to USATF Prez Stephanie Hightower taking an open lane in the 100 hurdles.) More worrisome were ESPN and NBC telecasts of the meet, which showed vast stretches of empty bleachers, especially on the backstretch. And ESPN cut away from the end of Friday’s meet to show a no-hitter in progress. Not good. Many elites also were AWOL. Very bad.
Neni Lewis after latest hammer WR: ‘I just take it one day at a time’
Neni at 2005 Hawaii nationals.
Time to gear up for Sacramento nationals: Shop masterstrack.com
Checked our shop lately? Now’s a good time. My son, Bobby, has added some new designs — reflected in the new ad at right. These appear on T-shirts, mugs, training diaries and other gifts. Professionally produced and shipped by CafePress, the items are high-quality. (I’ve seen them in real life.) And here’s another special offer: You gotta club, or team, that needs T-shirts? We gotta way of customizing any of these items. For example, if you’d like the American eagle logo with your club’s name, consider it done. Just describe your special order, and we’ll prepare a sample to view online. If you like it, you can buy it. No extra charge for personalizing. (Individuals can have their names added, too.) Write me if you have questions.
Whole slew of masters track logos are available for imprint on gym bags.
Forever Athletes website seeks our secrets — but not our $$$ yet
A Seattle-based outfit called Forever Athletes has launched a website and plans to visit Sacramento nationals, videotaping interviews and stuff. Jessica Seyfert and Julian Whatley, a serious cinematographer, will represent the site in Sacto. “Forever Athletes is currently acting as a public service, not a business,” Jessica wrote me. But she says “we are making strides towards compiling a monetized ebook/ibook in the near future. Our operations are solely funded by our chairman, Tony Whatley, who originated Forever Athletes to elicit the advice and transferable skills of masters athletes.” I suspect Forever’s folks will be at the Hayward Classic this weekend as well, since managing director Jessica will attend the University of Oregon in the fall of 2011 (seeking a master’s degree). They contacted me to spread the word about a survey. Check it out here.
Neni Lewis hammers W50 world record in the ball-and-chain
According to these results from the USATF Mid-Atlantic Masters Championships in Chester, Pennsylvania, Oneithea “Neni” Lewis spun the hammer 53.14 meters (174-4) and shattered the listed W50 world record of 51.73 (169-8) by Australia’s Marja Leena Parviainen in 1998. (It also beats the 52.24/171-5 by Anne Bellanger of France, noted on mastersathletics.net.) The old American record was 48.18 (158-1) by Vanessa Hilliard in 1996. A 5-foot improvement in the WR is no surprise, since Neni also holds the W40 and W45 WRs. But now she’s throwing the 3-kilo implement instead of the 4-kilo. Neni, a lock for the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, turned 50 on June 11, the first day of the two-day meet, so this likely was her first record in the new age group. Look for many more to come! Great throw, Neni!
Neni, shown discusing in 2008, also won other throws at Mid-Atlantic.
Former 70-footer Rob Suelflohn entered in M50 shot at Sacramento
A masters mole points out that Rob Suelflohn, “who was a 70-foot thrower back in the day, has returned to compete this season.” He’s entered in the M50 shot, and over the weekend he posted a mark of 15.47 (50-9 1/4) with the 6-kilogram ball. He’s third on the seasonal list, however, behind Dennis Diaz and Paul Ossman — also entered at Sacramento nationals. “Then add names like Bob Arello whose PR is 51 feet, Randy Wilson who has thrown 50 feet, Don Bailey 48 -footer, Ed Riewerts and Lance Neubauer at 47 feet,” says my mole. In all, eight of the top 10 ranked throwers in the 50-54 age group in shot put are entered at Sacto. Paul is defending champ. Here’s a video of Rob, who looks and throws like Brian Oldfield:
Russia’s Shabunin reportedly nips M40 world record in 1500 — 2X!
Vyacheslav Shabunin
M45 Tony Young superfit for Sacto nationals, but isn’t entered yet
Tony Young
Douglas Kalembo nearly runs the 400 in 49 at age 49 (or 39?)
Douglas Kalembo, the 1988 Olympian for Zambia we told about in May, blasted the 4 in 50.2 seconds yesterday at an Emory University meet in Atlanta. Late next month he turns 50, and the M50 world record is Fred Sowerby’s legendary 51.39 from 1999. Doug’s reported birthdate of July 24, 1960, means he’ll run in the M45 age group at Sacramento nationals. (He’s not yet listed on the Status of Entries page). In fact, the 400-meter final at Sacramento is July 23, which would make him the oldest in his age group. The Emory meet lists him as an M50, however. But a masters mole reports he ran with the M45 age group See results here. You can still vote in a poll on whether he’ll break Sowerby’s record. One slight wrinkle to check out, however: His old IAAF bio lists his DOB as July 24, 1970 — making him 39 today. Stay tuned.
M55 Rich Burns ‘very surprised’ by his masterpiece mile in Portland
Rich Burns
Rich Burns is an artist of note as well. He painted these tigers.
