Tony Deatherage, former Dallas Masters sprinter, dies at 72
Wayne Bennett passes along the sad news that his friend and former masters sprinter Tony Deatherage died last week at age 72. His funeral is set for today in Wichita Falls, Texas, according to this newspaper obituary. Wayne writes: “Tony was a longtime member of the Dallas Masters Track and Field Club and a very good sprinter for many years until injuries forced his retirement. He will be missed.” Friends and family have posted condolences at the funeral home’s site. Tony competed as recently as 2005, when he ran a 14.2 100 at the Dallas Senior Games in the M65 age group.
Tony Young’s latest (non) world indoor record: 1:55.7 800
USATF posts photo gallery of masters at cross nationals
Victah Sailer, one of the best track/running photographers in the world, shot the USATF cross country nationals a week ago in Maryland. Check out this gallery of masters men and women. Names of the runners can be revealed by clicking on caption below right of the images. I’m curious if the Marc Bloom shown running is the same Marc Bloom who writes for The New York Times and many other running sites/publications. Probably is.
Germany’s Wissing pushes W75 shot WR past 8 meters
Germany’s economy shrank 2.1 percent in the last quarter of 2008. But their masters tracksters aren’t moping. W75 thrower Susanne Wissing of Germany apparently celebrated her birthday with a world indoor record in the shot Saturday, say German sources. She hit a big 8.88 meters (29-1 3/4) to demolish the listed world age-group record of 7.96 (26-1 1/2) by Belgian Hanssens Rachel at Linz worlds in 2006. (It’s also just short of the outdoor best of 8.95 (29-4 1/2). She’ll throw the 3-kilo ball again soon at the German indoor
nationals in Dusseldorf and a month later at the Eurovets indoor championships in Ancona, Italy. Here’s a shot of Susanne outdoors:
Affordable Lahti lodging options popping up, site suggests
Is Lahti loosening up? Appears so from the 2009 WMA worlds website, which has a big blue headline: “Accommodation in all categories available in Lahti!” The site declares: “In all accommodation categories in Lahti, in the Lahti region and in Helsinki there are beds available for World Masters Athletics Championships 2009,” including “school housing right next to the main venue, price 25 € / person / night.” Now we’re cooking with gas! However, the site also says: “The prices and beds stated on the webpages of Lahti Travel and World Masters Athletics Championships 2009 are only available by booking through Lahti Travel. Lahti Travel Ltd is LOC’s city-owned partner for accommodation.” Why the more affordable prices? It could be competition for scarce entrants or someone cracking down on gouging, which we talked about. In any case, thanks to Rita Hanscom for pointing out the new pitch.
WR hurdler Kevin Young in lane next you? It can happen!
Kevin Young, whose 46.78 world record in the 400-meter hurdles may last 50 years, is plotting a masters comeback. That’s the plan anyway. According to this video interview on trackshark.com, Kevin says he’s been in the weight room, lost some fat (by avoiding sweets and refined foods) and that he wants to “challenge myself to be a masters athlete.” Yeah! He said the M-word! Apparently, a friend in Virginia is nagging him to hit the masters circuit. Kevin is 42, and looked pretty buff in the interview, taped at the recent Millrose Games. Already a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Kevin could really challenge some records if he trains hard, including the M40 WR for 400H of 52.76 by James King at Eugene worlds in 1989.
Kevin Young, buttonholed by trackshark.com at Millrose Games.
Fibbing fish: Jennifer Figge didn’t swim Atlantic at age 56
Ha! So geezer sprinters aren’t the only ones fudging their marks. Latest whopper is told by a lady named Jennifer Figge, a W55 fish who generated world headlines for claiming to swim the Atlantic (the first woman to do so. A guy has done it.) But she swam only 250 miles, it turns out. “Over the weekend, the Associated Press (and other outlets including CNN) carried news that 56-year-old Jennifer Figge became the first woman to swim the Atlantic Ocean,” reported the San Jose Mercury-News, and many others. It’s already been dubbed “The Great Atlantic Ocean Swimming Hoax.”
$500 prize again offered at Arizona 800-meter challenge
As he did last year, Doug Thompson is putting on the SISU Foundation 800 Meter Challenge Race. Doug writes: “We have moved the race to May 2, in order to use the Arizona State University track, which has a Mondo surface and a large stadium. Our updated website is: www.sisu800.com; it’s not 100% complete, but the registration form works, as do most other elements. Last year’s race featured a duel between the two fastest M55 middle distance runners on the planet: Nolan Shaheed and Horace Grant, as well as many other excellent performances. This year we’ll continue to offer a $500 first prize, and other donated cash and merchandise prizes. We feel that our new partnership with ASU will help us achieve our goal of making this a truly elite middle distance event. And we’ll be doing several things to capitalize on the connection with this year’s Masters World Championships in Finland – SISU being a uniquely Finnish concept!” Good deal, Doug! Best of luck.
2009 Sydney World Masters Games facing serious questions
The October 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney — competing with Lahti worlds for masters tracksters — face some serious issues. Despite receiving an unusual meet sanction from World Masters Athletics (a possible first in WMA history), Sydney organizers are planning to tweak track rules for their convenience, according to a knowledgeable source. For example, throwers would get four attempts instead of the usual six, and horizontal jumpers would get four tries instead of six. And 100-meter dashes would be contested as timed finals instead of heats leading to finals, I’m told. I wrote to WMG and officials of Australia Masters Athletics Inc., the nation’s governing body of masters track. So far, only their statman has replied.
Extremely precious WAVA newsletters (1980-82) are posted
USATF’s online museum, mastershistory.org, now features seven rare newsletters from the early years of the World Association of Veteran Athletes. How rare? Only 375 souls subscribed to this official publication between 1980 and its demise in 1982. Low-tech but high-minded, this Canadian-based quarterly succeeded the better known Veteris magazine out of Britain. The WAVA newsletter also came with or contained some of the first world masters rankings — by a Dutchman named Gijs Knoppert.
