Shooting stars made Malaga magical: Photos by Tom, Rob, Dave, Alex and ‘Shaggy’

Dave Albo is one of several Malaga photographers posting their best work. Check them out!

Four years ago, Jim Ryun came to San Diego and I was over-the-moon. Not from seeing the mile legend (I’d interviewed him a half-dozen times since the mid-1970s). I was ecstatic to meet Rich Clarkson — a fellow KU alumnus who photographed Jim since high school and became the National Geographic’s photo editor for a while. I also have schmoozed with Pulitzer Prize winning shooter Don Bartletti, who retired a few years ago from the Los Angeles Times.

At Carranque Stadium, Karen Huff-Pawlik turned the tables on Rob Jerome.

At Carranque Stadium, Karen Huff-Pawlik turned the tables on Rob Jerome.

So who were my heroes at Malaga?

You betcha — the lensmen and woman (Alex Rotas) whose work I’ve been envying the past two weeks. Dave Albo of Colorado, Doug “Shaggy” Smith of Canada, Rob Jerome of New York and Tom Phillips (like Alex) of UK did absolutely stunning work.

Rob shot 24,000 pictures over 12 days, and Tom took pictures of the Brits (mainly) despite his disappointment in not being able to compete in the sprints — having recently ripped his right hammie. “I’ll probably blog something about the life of a photographer at these Championships,” he says. “It won’t be for the faint-hearted!”

See Doug’s collection here. Links to others are below.

While waiting for USATF to name M70 WR sprinter Charles Allie its Athlete of the Week (my prediction after his five golds and 400 WR), here are samples of stellar art from the marathon men and woman of the camera game.

And in case you were wondering, Team USA did fine — with medals chronicled by thrower Jerry Bookin-Weiner.

Tom Phillips at Malaga

Rob Jerome at Malaga

Alex Rotas at Malaga

Dave Albo at Malaga

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About the Author

Ken Stone
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and webmaster since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials. He worked for 10 newspapers and now reports for Times of San Diego. Write him at TrackCEO@aol.com or kens@timesofandiego.com. Story tips always welcome!

1 Comment on "Shooting stars made Malaga magical: Photos by Tom, Rob, Dave, Alex and ‘Shaggy’"

  1. Thank you so much for this, Ken. You’ve done us proud. For those wanting more (and there is much, much more!), keep an eye on my web site at http://www.tomphillipsphotos.co.uk So far, I have galleries on there for what I shot on the first four days of Malaga’s competition. The target is to get at least one new gallery up there each day. Then I can stop! They say every cloud has a silver lining. If I had also been racing in Malaga, I would not have been able to cover nearly so much action from behind the lens, or spend so much time working alongside the best Masters track and field photographers I know.

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