Jim Hammond dies at 95, tragically deprived of WR dreams
Jim Hammond had world-class form for a 94-year-old last year.
Four-day rest break at 2012 Trials? What to do, what to do?
USATF CEO Doug Logan yesterday unveiled a new format for the 2012 Olympic Trials in Eugene: Friday-Saturday-Sunday of competition, then four days off, then a concluding three days of competition. So what do they do during the long “rest” break? How about, uh, the USATF Masters National Outdoor Championships! Masters nationals in 2010 and 2011 are spoken for (Sacramento and Cleveland), but 2012 is up for grabs. Eugene hosted nationals in 2000 and 2003. Time for a return to Hayward Field! At the least, the Oregon Track Club Masters might be willing to put on the Hayward Masters Classic during the Trials. Go for it!
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I’m tickled to report that yesterday I won a prestigious award. And you share in the honor! The news came about 2:40 p.m. in e-mail from Ron Bellamy, sports editor of the The Eugene Register-Guard, who wrote me: “Ken: You are the winner of the Track and Field Writers of America’s first annual Adam Jacobs Memorial Award for excellence in blogging in 2008. It was announced this morning at the TAFWA breakfast in Eugene, and will be communicated to the members via email. I have a plaque for you.” Ron, who covered 1989 masters worlds in Eugene, is the president of TAFWA. Soon the honor was posted on the TAFWA Web site.
TAFWA dates to the early 1970s and has several hundred members.
Sorensen’s latest daily double: 1:55 and 4:18 within an hour
Jim Sorensen had a nice workout yesterday at a Los Gatos all-comers meet near his home in the San Francisco Bay Area. As detailed by Pete Magill, Jim ran the 800 in 1:55.78 and clocked a 4:18.49 in the mile about 45 minutes later. Not too shabby for a 42-year-old schoolteacher from San Leandro. “1:55 was my first 800 in two years and the fastest two quarters in two years,” Jim told Pete. “It was a big shock to the system. Someone challenged me with a 100 meters to go, but I pulled away to win by 1 second. . . . . As for the mile, the plan was to get out quick, and if I died, then so be it. When I heard 67 [at the 400], all thoughts of going out in sub-2:10 were over. At the bell, I heard 3:21 and realized that the record of 4:20 was in reach. I decided to kick hard and hit 4:18.49.” M40 rivals in Oshkosh, beware! Jim is fit.
Nominations sought for Canadian Masters Hall of Fame
Seven years ago, Canada joined the United States in honoring its masters track legends: It created a Masters Athletics Hall of Fame. But organizers of that inaugural class “ran out of steam,” and only now is the process back on track. (The idea is to add inductees every year, after all.) Diane Palmason, herself an eventual Hall of Famer, has issued a call for nominations for the next class in Canada. Diane writes: “You can nominate someone who may be unknown to us now, but deserving of recognition; or you can add to the information we have on some potential nominees we can no longer trace.” (Click here for a PDF nomination form.) Now we know of three nations with Halls of Fame (the third being Australia, as I described recently.) Let’s hear of others!
Jim Roth tries to explain joy of vaulting to dimwit reporter
Check out this audio recording of 72-year-old Jim Roth, who has an 8-2 vault best in his four-year masters career and a 12-8 all-time best. (Scroll down the page to “Listen to Roberta’s entire interview with Jim Roth.”) He’s not world-class, but he has fantastic passion for the sport, and represents us well in an interview with Detroit WWJ radio moron Roberta Jasina, who says, “Is this all about showing off? Showing how spry you are?” Oh, man. Gag me with a Pacer pole. Roth survived a heart attack seven years ago, so he’s a born-again athlete now. “Age is not a factor anymore,” Jim says. “I have no idea how old I really am.”
Oshkosh meet official vows a ‘great experience for you all’
Jason Fast
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Coach Jason Fast, assistant meet director of Oshkosh masters nationals, has graciously replied to my quickie Q&A. He couldn’t tell me when the detailed event-by-event timeline will be posted, but I’m guessing that it’s likely to be sometime today or tomorrow at the USATF schedule page. He also noted in a separate email: “(The) quarter-inch pyramid spike and Christmas tree spike-only rule will be strictly enforced by the clerks. No pins, needles or other types of spikes will be allowed, whether they are permanent or not.” Over at Carmel Papworth-Barnum’s site, she and hubby Larry have prepared a page on travel tips for Oshkosh-goers, including a list of restaurants. See it here.
WMA candidate Serge Beckers balks at interview request
Serge Beckers
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Spurning a chance at some free publicity, WMA candidate Serge Beckers has turned down my request for an interview. He writes: “I want to thank you for your interest in my candidacy for Vice-president Stadia in WMA. However, I only want to make my program and my ideas public to the delegates of the National Affiliated Member Federations of the WMA during the General Assembly in Lahti. I hope you can understand that I do not want to make statements before the Athletics tournament in Lahti. I really admire your website and blog which is a connexion point for all masters in the world. Keep up the good work.” Well, thanks for the compliment! But if this site stands for anything, it’s for shining a light on all aspects of our sport. You, sir, aim to steal the batteries. So I’m PO’d. Serge’s note was CC’d to VP-stadia rival Sandy Pashkin, who likely will take this as a signal to blow off the interview as well. Fine. Be that way.
In WMA, Friedel Schunk makes it three’s-an-illegal-crowd
Friedel Schunk of USA?
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Intrigue! Citizenship mysteries! Hints of lawbreaking! WMA politics has it all. When Annette and Robert Koop of Germany picked up the news of Tom Jordan’s appointment as acting president of World Masters Athletics, they added some insider spin. The Koops note that Friedel Schunk, acting executive VP of WMA, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in America for many years before retiring to Lower Saxony and ascending various posts in the DLV (Germany’s version of USATF). The Koops write that Friedel, 70, lacks a German passport, and constitutes a third U.S. citizen on the governing WMA Council (after Jordan and VP-Stadia Rex Harvey) and thus violates the WMA Constitution, which says: “Not more than two members of the Council . . . may come from the same affiliate (nation).” Of course, this is temporary since Tom will leave the council after Lahti’s General Assembly. Still, say the Koops: “Experts wonder (about) this situation with the WMA statute in question.”
Join appeal to Flotrack.org: Please cover masters in Eugene!
USATF has announced that Flotrack.org will do a live webcast of “selected events” at this weekend’s USA open nationals in Eugene. I’m hoping (and begging) that this includes the masters exhibition events Sunday. The masters women’s 1500 will showcase Aeron Arlin Genet, and any time she runs should be good for a W40 national record in the 1500, since she’s bettered the listed AR in “minor” meets a half-dozen times in recent years. The masters men’s 400 will be a fierce battle between a bunch of guys under 52 seconds. The winning time is likely to be in the 49s. But you can help assure the webcast of these events (and archiving on the site) by posting a heartfelt note on the Flocast site. Make your comment here. If they think they’ll get a bunch of geezer eyeballs, they’ll make sure these races are online. Thankee.
Click on this image for the Flotrack.org announcement.
