Santa Clara is not San Diego, and other craziness of WMA records
Here’s a snapshot of WMA records from Sept. 30, 2015, the traditional way of display.
Jean-Luc Duez claims another WR in M50 dec at October meet
Jean Luc, M52 stud, in recent vault competiton.
Here are marks reported in his latest dec WR, topping the M50 Eurocharts.
Coushay relied on bad USADA database in checking on Adderall
GIGO got Brian Coushay. After learning that the M50 multi-eventer had accepted a two-year suspension for testing positive for banned stuff at Jacksonville nationals, I wrote him. He replied Saturday with an honest and plausible account. He said he took Adderall and didn’t find it on USADA’s banned list. (It’s on the WADA list.) But Brian’s experience is instructive. Do a better search. I did two. I typed in Google: Is Adderall on banned doping list? and What is in Adderall? Those would have raised sufficient alarms, since both mention amphetamines. Sorry that Brian didn’t take the extra step. I’m grateful for his sharing. We all need to learn from this.
Here is what Google displays when you ask: Is Adderall on banned doping list?
M50 decastar Coushay accepts 2-year ban in Jax doping case
USADA on Friday released this shocking news. I’ll reach out to “Coush” for his side of the story. “Colorado Springs, Colo. (October 23, 2015) – USADA announced today that Brian Coushay, of Beaverton, Ore., an athlete in the sport of track & field, has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a two-year suspension for his doping offense. Coushay, 51, tested positive for Amphetamine as the result of an in-competition urine sample collected on July 25, 2015 at the National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Jacksonville, Fla. Amphetamine is a substance in the class of Stimulants prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and International Association of Athletics Federations (“IAAF”) Anti‐Doping Rules, both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.” Brian is the listed M50 American record-holder in the decathlon, from 2014. At Jax nationals, he did just two events (long jump and discus) and didn’t medal. Smells like targeted testing, not “random.”
British masters seek magazine editor, webmaster, social media guru
The Brits have a masters magazine that could one day become a “full online news service,” according to a help-wanted ad this week. “You obviously have a passion for masters athletics, but do you also have a flare for writing; an eye for copy layout and IT skills? Do you have networking and communications skills to expand the magazine into a full online news service for masters athletics in the UK, covering the website and social media?” writes BMAF Secretary Bridget Cushen “If so, an exciting opportunity has arisen for you to join a committed team who run the most successful section of British athletics. … You will receive an annual Honorarium of £2,200.” A friend sent me the news, thinking I might be interested. But no. I don’t relish commuting to London from San Diego. (And I doubt telecommuting is an option.) Besides, I don’t know the UK turf. And I’d have to learn a second language.
Jesse Owens biopic ‘Race’ could be best track movie of all time
The trailer is out for “Race,” the latest movie on wish-he-were M100 Jesse Owens. It appears to pull no punches. (I can’t wait to see how it depicts the 220-yard low hurdles world record of 1935.) And as one commenter said: “One of the coolest things about the Jesse Owens story is that Hitler had hired someone to make a movie of the Olympic Games, likely intended for propaganda, and Jesse Owens ended up having a starring role in it, just because he was so awesome that they couldn’t leave him out.” It’s hard to top “Chariots of Fire” and “Running Brave,” some of the many great T&F flicks. But I hope this one — due out in February 2016 — jump-starts interest in our sport and even gets older folks nostalgic and wanting to jump back in the game.
Mexican mess: Marco stunned by lifetime ban, alleges envy issue
Letter of September 2014 to Marco from Mexican masters track president. (PDF)
Bergen, LeBourne, Obera named U.S. Masters Athletes of 2015
Anselm LeBourne has been named USATF Male Masters T&F Athlete of 2015, and Kathy Bergen and Irene Obera will share female honors after a year in which each set a half-dozen world records and won gold at Lyon. The USATF Masters Awards Committee informed them over the weekend, and reactions are coming in. For M55 middle-distancer Anselm, it’s his first time. “Other than being selected to the USATF [Masters] Hall of Fame, this is the pinnacle of accomplishments in USA masters track and field,” he told me Monday. “There is no higher honor than this. I have won the age group Athlete of the Year about 4 times but never the overall athlete of the year. What this mean to me is that the Masters Awards committee appreciated my accomplishments and have rewarded me. I appreciate that.”
Kathy, Irene and Anselm had sensational seasons — among the best of all time.
M40 triple jumper wins German lawsuit over Beijing Olympic snub
Charles won justice, and lots of money, seven years after being left off German Olympic team.
Growing Bolder dissects jump comeback of Dr. Richard Konsens
Growing Bolder has a great video on M55 long jumper Richard Konsens, “who thought his track and field days were over when it was time to graduate into the ‘real world.’ In fact, on the day of his graduation from Dartmouth College, the Ivy League long-jumping champion went to the pits to take his last jump in his cap and gown. Or so he thought.” Thus began a recounting of his comeback, which eventually led to Lyon this summer and a 10th-place finish (5.05 in prelims, or 16-6 3/4). His college best was 7.37 meters (24-2.25). He won state at 23-6.25. Notable in his LJ resurrection was how careful he was. He got coaching help and apparently avoided injury after being out of the game three decades — as befits an orthopedic surgeon. Nice work, Doc! Stay healthy.
Click through here for video of Richard’s inspiring long jump story.
