A modest manifesto: Let USATF associations vote online
Peter Hlavin is no bomb-throwing radical. He’s an M50 high jumper in Southern California who flirts with 6 feet. But he’s no fool either, and doesn’t suffer them. So when he attended a recent election meeting of his USATF association, he didn’t like how a reasonable idea was rebuffed. The idea? Let association members vote online. Association leadership apparently wouldn’t even consent to studying the suggestion. So Peter composed a little essay. Of course, Peter has thrown a bomb with this manifesto. The last thing USATF brass want is an honest election. How could they cling to power that way? Anyway, listen to Peter. He’s the future.
Peter, shown jumping at 2009 Oshkosh nationals, also competed at Lahti worlds. (Photo by Ken Stone)
Gault at 49 holds his own; W50 team sets 4×4 record at Millrose
Willie Gault, 49, took third in the “Super 60” exhibition at tonight’s Millrose Games. Complete results are posted here. Willie ran 60 meters in 7.07 — just off the listed American M45 indoor record of 7.02 by Stan Whitley and the pending world record of 6.97 by the Italian Mario Longo a short time ago.В Athena TC won the women’s masters 4×4 in 4:20.03, and the masters men’s 4×4 went to Greater Philly TC in 3:44.79.В But a masters mole informs me:В “Greater Philadelphia Women’s team set an American Club record in the W50 4X400.В Alison Suckling, Joan Affleck, Wendi Glassman and Cheryl Bellaire ran 4:59.41, beating Atlanta TC time of 5:02.25 set in 2008. ”В Stay tuned for details. Read the rest of this post »
BBC tells Roald Bradstock’s hopes for London Games at age 50
Our Florida friend Roald Bradstock, spearchucker deluxe, dreams of returning to the Olympics.В It’s a hope that infects many, but with little reality. In Roald’s case, there’s a smidgen of substance. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008. Now the BBC reports on Roald’s ambition to throw at London 2012 — for the British team (he has dual citizenship). See the story here (or below). The story doesn’t mention the A or B qualifying standard for London, but if it’s the same as Berlin’s (for IAAF worlds: 81 and 78 meters, or 265-9 and 255-11), he has his work cut out. His recent best is 72.49/237-10.
Things were looking up for Roald at Track Town Pizza after he competed in the Eugene Olympic Trials in 2008.
(Photo by Ken Stone)
Masters jump tonight at National Pole Vault Summit in Reno
The annual National Pole Vault Summit will showcase masters tonight, and several Twitter feeds will cover the Reno event. Becca Gillespy Peter has one (whose Web address I need to confirm), and the event has its own Twitter feed here. So theoretically, folks who read these Tweets can get the results before they are posted. (And Summit organizers are notorious for taking two or three days to put results on the Net.) Here are results from last year’s event. The gent to watch this year is Germany’s Wolfgang Ritte, a world record holder and world champ. Also, set your VCR (or TiVO) to record tonight’s Millrose Games (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2), where Willie Gault will hand the kids their lunch in the 60-meter dash. (Check out the NYTimes story.)
Willie Gault (left) and fellow NFL alumnus Tim Dwight promote the Super 60. (Photo by Hiroko Masuike)
John Ward masters meet dodges bullet, will return April 11
Santa Ana College women’s track coach Miriam Mitzell shares good news: Her school’s spring masters meet is returning April 11. Why is this news? Santa Ana College (south of Los Angeles) dropped its men’s track program, and the meet had been a fund-raiser for that team. Whew! But this informational flyer calls the meet the John Ward Games. That’s an eye-opener, too, since the meet has been called the Al Siddons Games the past couple years. (Al Siddons is the school’s former track coach.) Whatever it’s called, the meet offers masters an early reality check on their fitness. The bad news: The meet is held the same day as the Carlsbad 5000 road race. So if you’re a distance runner, the choice is tough.
Got glitch? Here’s how to fix display flub for masterstrack.com
After migrating this blog to WordPress on Tuesday, we quickly became aware of a display problem (screen shot below). This is a nuisance courtesy of Microsoft, whose Internet Explorer browser is the bane of many webmasters’ existence. It can’t understand simple CSS instructions. It sucks. Fortunately, many other browsers display masterstrack.com properly. The best is Firefox. You can download it free. Get Firefox here. Firefox is best for Macs but also has versions for Windows computers. Find your version here. WordPress is a turbocharged system, but Ferraris do have their breakdowns. So please continue to inform me if you spot problems. We aim to please!
If this is how my blog displays, it's probably due to Internet Explorer browser or having an old Windows computer. Using another browser should fix the glitch.
Alisa Harvey soldiered on at Hartshorne despite foot injury
Alisa Harvey’s 5:09.67 at Hartshorne was amazing on its face. She’s 44, after all. But it’s even more amazing on its feet. Hers weren’t in great shape. She finished behind Aeron Arlin-Genet and a 36-year-old last Saturday at Cornell. But don’t call this the end of the legendary Alisa. She confides: “I labored with the decision of whether or not to race.” She opted to run in racing flats, instead of spikes, to protect her tender foot. For Cheryl Bellaire’s part, her victory in the W50 elite race was a relief: “I think I also lost track of the laps and I was very happy to hear the bell.” Below are the results of my quickie Q&A’s with them. Still waiting on a reply from W40 elite race winner Aeron. Read the rest of this post »
Italy’s Carla Forcellini raises world indoor record in W50 vault
Carla vaults outdoors as well.
(Photo by Claudio Petrucci)
Carla Forcellini jumped 3.20 (10-6) in the pole vault last week to beat the listed WMA world indoor record of 3.11 (10-2 1/2) by American Donna Schultz in 2008, reports the Italian track site Web-atletica. She opened at 2.80 and made 3.10 on her third try before the record clearance on her first try at the Italian open nationals January 23 in Ancona. Carla, born in 1959, took eighth. But the winner was born in 1987. (Results are here.) Carla also holds the W40 world indoor record of 3.60 (11-9 3/4), set in 2004.В She also shares the W45 world outdoor record ofВ 3.50 (11-5 3/4), set in Rome in 2005.В Carla started out as a high jumper and morphed into a long jumper before settling on her vault specialty, according to this site. Her bests over the years: 2,80 – 1996 (37) 3,20 – 1997 (38) 3,30 – 1998 (39) 3,50 – 1999 (40) 3,60 – 2000 (41) 3,40 – 2001 (42) n.m. – 2002 (43) 3,20 – 2003 (44) 3,40 – 2004 (45) 3,60 – 2005 (46) 3,50 – 2006 (47) 3,20 – 2007 (48) 3,40 – 2008 (49) 3,30 – 2009 (49) 3,40 – 2010 (51) 3,20.
USATF names Nolan Shaheed as Athlete of the Week for WR
Nolan Shaheed has been USATF Masters Athlete of the Year (twice, in 2006 and 2007). But this is a first for him. USA Track & Field today picked Nolan as its Athlete of the Week (for the whole sport, not just old folks). See the press release. Tom Surber, writing for the Mother Ship in Indy, noted Nolan’s Hartshorne mile and said: “Shaheed ran in the men’s 50-59 mile race where he finished eighth, but his time of 4:57.06 is a new world indoor record in the M60-64 age group. Shaheed’s performance bettered the old mark of 5:01.76 set by American Dan Conway in 1999. Shaheed’s new indoor record is faster than the listed American outdoor record of 4:58.2 by James Sutton from 1991.” USATF normally tells its Athlete of the Week picks on Tuesdays, but we forgive the delay! The folks at Hartshorne share in this honor,
Nolan Shaheed celebrated Jeanne Daprano in 2007, when she set W70 American records in the 400 and 800 at one meet. (Photo by Ken Stone)
Scottish sprinter claims M40 world indoor record for 200 meters
Darren Scott
(Photo by Tom Phillips)
A British newspaper reports that M40 sprinter Darren Scott of Trafford AC a couple Sundays ago ran the indoor 200 in 21.81 seconds, smashing the listed WMA world record ofВ 21.94 by Italy’sВ Enrico Saraceni in 2005. (Results are here.) The report says Darren “insisted he is not on his own at the top. The 40-year-old from Runcorn . . . promptly shared the glory with long-standing hometown coach Morris Condon – father of former international sprinter turned GB bobsleigh star Allyn. “A big thank you goes to Morris because without his expertise and knowledge, I wouldn’t have done it,” admitted Scott. “It is a good partnership.” Scott, of Weston Point, is just a month into his comeback after almost a year out with ankle trouble, says the story.
