Why were Indians lousy at Lahti? Official blames pay-to-play
With 1.17 billion people, India should be a masters track powerhouse. You’d think. But at Lahti worlds, India won a mere 10 medals. Only one gold (by an M70 hammer thrower). With a handful of exceptions (mainly male sprinters), the 70-member Indian team was a running joke in Finland. I’ve been hesitant to mention this. But now I have an explanation. My source? Jerry D’Souza, secretary-general of the Veterans Athletics Federation of India. In the course of asking about his First International Veterans Athletic Championship set for January 2010, I threw in some queries about Lahti. And Jerry said a competing masters track group, known as MAFI, controlled who India sent to Finland. And talent wasn’t primary; it was money. In other words, if you didn’t grease the right palms, you didn’t go. A shame for a democratic nation and a blot on World Masters Athletics. How bad were Indians in Finland?
Rani Brahma of India was DQ’d in the W55 long hurdles for missing the point.
USATF posts splits for USA relays at Lahti world masters meet
Now this is service! Marilyn Mitchell prepared several pages of Team USA results from Lahti worlds, and USATF posted relay splits in the 4×100 and 4×400. As mentioned before, every U.S. foursome at Lahti came away with hardware. No finish below third! (Total of 13 medals — seven gold, three silver and three bronze.) U.S. team manager Phil Greenwald says he took the splits from the stands, about 40 meters short of the finish line. He admits the 4x1s were hard to get. But they look pretty accurate (except for mine, which felt a second slower). Marilyn also took some shots of me anchoring the mighty USA M55 4×1 to bronze. See this gallery.
W40 bronze 4×4: Maryline Roux, Lorraine Jasper, Shemayne Williams and Lisa Valle
San Diego Senior Olympics results: more McConkey marks
Jim Waters of the San Diego Track Club, who ran the automatic timing gear at the San Diego Senior Olympics on September 12, has sent out results for the meet at Point Loma Nazarene University. Jim writes: “Please note: missing from the results are the men’s long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Recording sheets were lost.” Oops! Well, give him points for honesty. In any case, click here for the results, which confirm the 50, 100 and 200 times of former NFL star Phil McConkey. I wrote about his appearance the next day. And here are Gene Wild’s photos of the meet. Some nice angles.
Phil McConkey outlegs Dave Hockersmith (center) and Chip Crowl in the M50 50.
September 30, 2009
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He said, she said: Statmeisters clash over 15 world records
Record rift: Ivar Söderlind vs. Sandy Pashkin
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A month ago, we reported how W40 Lisa Valle of Albuquerque made SI’s Faces in the Crowd, noting her great effort earlier in August: “(She) set a world age-group record in the 2K steeple at Lahti worlds. She
ran the race in 7:01.91, beating the listed record of 7:02.96 by
Italy’s Samia Soltane in 2008.” Well sorry, Lisa. The previous month in Essen, Germany, the lady you edged in Lahti, 41-year-old Annette Weiss, ran the same race in 7:01.77. The Koops reported the Weiss WR on July 22, citing a report on the German DLV site. But we overlooked it. Our bad. But up in Sweden, Ivar Söderlind was taking note. He’s the records czar for the Eurovets, and his latest update of European masters records, dated September 24, is now posted here. It’s an eye-opener and jaw-dropper. And not just for the incredible marks.
September 29, 2009
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Whitlock’s track ambitions include Kamloops, Sacramento
Ed Whitlock
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How fast is Ed Whitlock? He replied to my email queries only hours after I sent them — despite his stiffness after running a half-marathon in 1:37:34. Among other things, he gently corrected me on the M75 age-group record for 13.1 miles. I cited an Italian’s 1:36:56 in 2008. Turns out that a respected group called the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, which keeps single-age records, has a 2007 mark of 1:29:26 for a 76-year-old phenom named . . . Ed Whitlock. Thanks for your memory, Ed! In any case, Ed hopes to recover in time for WMA indoor worlds in Kamloops in March 2010 and Sacramento in July 2011, when he’ll be 80. Look out, worlds. You ain’t seen nuthin yet!
Ed Whitlock’s latest stroll: Half-marathon in 1:37 at age 78
When they write Ed Whitlock’s obituary (in about 30 or 40 years), his sub-3-hour marathons in his 70s will be right up there in the headline. But here’s another superhuman mark: 1 hour, 37 minutes, 33.5 seconds for the half-marathon (13.1 miles). He did that yesterday, at age 78, at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon (which included other distances). He was 304th of 3,411 runners overall for the half. (See complete results.) Coming back from his injuries of recent years, Ed took first in the M70-and-over group, averaging 4:30 per kilometer — or about 7:12 per mile! W50 Joan Benoit Samuelson won her age group as well — and was the second woman overall, clocking 1:22:01. (See half-marathon winners.) Sadly, Ed missed the world record for his age group by about 38 seconds. The listed M75 best is 1:36:56 by Italy’s Giovanni Guerini in 2008. But Ed is way older, I’ll bet. Nice run, Ed!
Ed uses road running to tune up for track, such as race at 2007 Orono nationals.
Masters maestro playing host to W30 rehabber Marion Jones
Marion Jones
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Seth Brower, brother of world-class M50 hurdler Jeff Brower, is a meet organizer in South Texas of some repute. He’s a great friend of masters athletes and youth as well. And everyone knows how forgiving masters are. We all have “issues.” Now one of the top “issue” people of all time is coming to one of his youth meets in November. Here’s how Seth shared the news in email: “I’m sure you all know the name Marion Jones. Marion of course got caught up in the illegal substance thing and paid the price. Well, she is on a path to do what she can to make sure kids don’t make the same mistake. Marion will be doing some kind of youth talk and a clinic prior to the meet on Nov. 14.”
September 27, 2009
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Kevin Forde’s masterful comeback: winning Fifth Avenue Mile
Philly’s Kevin Forde gave his mother a present today — the pleasure of watching her son win the Fifth Avenue Mile only three months after calling his season over (and skipping Lahti) with a leg injury. Kevin took the M45 title — his third after 2007 and 2008 — in 4:34, beating former national champ Conor O’Driscoll by seven seconds. Before the race, Kevin wrote on his blog: “My mother has never been to New York, so I’m keen to show her the sights
of the city I consider my home away from home. It’s seldom I get the
bonus of family support in my races, the Athens Marathon in 2005 being the
last time Eileen got to see me run so I’d like to give her a
performance to remember. Sadly my Achilles injury this summer has
probably compromized my chances of a threepeat . . (but) I know how to master 5th Avenue between 80th
and 60th streets so we’ll see what unfolds.” Well, good for you, Kevin! You unfolded just fine. Complete results are here.
Frank Levine’s role in Fast marathon debut is . . . inspiring
Jason Fast
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Frank Levine.
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We talk a lot about inspirational stories in masters track: “He’s my hero,” “She’s such a role model.” But real-life people are indeed moved by what we do on the track and field. No cliche. Latest example is 28-year-old Jason Fast, the de facto meet director of last July’s Oshkosh masters nationals. Check out this story — on how watching M95 Frank Levine chug around the track motivated Jason to tackle a little race known as the marathon. Here’s Jason’ s results. “The defining moment was when he watched Frank Levine, a masters athlete, break a world record for 5,000 meters in the 95-99 age group,” the story says. “Stunned by his performance and dedication, Fast realized that it was an amazing feat. ‘That is when I decided, if he can do something like this, then I can do a marathon,’ the Vikings coach said. ‘I want to emulate this guy who tackles the sport even at his age.’ ”
September 26, 2009
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Ruth Frith poised to make masters history in Sydney WMG
Prediction: Ruth Frith will kick arse in Sydney. And she’ll get even more attention at the World Masters Games than 101-year-old Alfred Proksch got in Lahti. Ruth speaks Strine (understandable to many in the English-speaking world), and she has a sharp tongue. But beyond the records she’ll certainly set in the throws, she’ll be a pioneer in a previously absent age group — centenarian women. (She turned 100 in late August.) I’ve been following Ruth for some time, awaiting the day she shatters the WMA’s W100 ceiling. In recent months, she’s been on a tear — news-wise. She’s featured on YouTube. She gave a hootin’ hilarious interview with John Taylor. She was profiled in Woman’s Day magazine. She already holds about a dozen WMA world records. But this Brisbane superstar will set a bunch at Sydney — spurred on by her Canadian friend Olga Kotelko. Just wish Ruth and Alfred could hook up!
Ruthie, please don’t clobber me for using this shot by Greg Wood of AFP.
