I’m not in Winston-Salem this weekend for indoor nationals, but I’m eager to see results, especially from newbie W85 (and Hall of Famer) Irene Obera (entered in 60, 200, 400, 800, high jump, long jump, shot put and triple jump) and M85 Bill Jankovich (60, 60 hurdles, 200, 400, high jump, pentathlon, long jump, pole vault, shot put and triple jump). Bill set a monster AR in the indoor hep a month ago. Who hazards a guess at Irene’s record-setting at JDL Fast Track?

Also notable:

Jim Barrineau, the Olympic high jumper, is venturing WAY outside his comfort zone. My M60 friend is entered in the pentathlon, which includes the 60 hurdles and 1000 meters. Trust me. This will be tough.

Jim Sauers, the perpetual national high jump champion, is M70 now. The listed indoor AR is 1.53 meters (5-¼) by David Montieth in 2016. Jim jumped 1.58 (5-2¼) last year at Spokane nationals, setting the M70 outdoor AR. (The indoor WR is 1.59 by Sweden’s Carl-Erik Särndal in 2009.)

At 69, Hall of Famer Nolan Shaheed returns to nationals for the middle-distance Blue Plate Special — 800, mile and 300. He’ll also run the 400 as an appetizer.

At 70, former 110 WR hurdler Stan Druckrey of South Milwaukee — another Hall of Famer — is entered in the 60 hurdles — the first time I’ve seen his name in ages.

And Ironwomen Jane Simpson, 77, entered in the 60, 60 hurdles, 200, 400, 800, high jump, pentathlon, long jump, pole vault, shot put, superweight throw, triple jump and weight throw and Barbara Warren, 72, aiming for medals in the 60, 60 hurdles, 200, 400, high jump, pentathlon, long jump, pole vault, shot put, superweight throw, triple jump and weight throw. Whew! Double whew!

Special good-lucks to M85 vertical jumper Jerry Donley, M75 weight thrower George Mathews and M75 sprinter Gary Snyder — all former USATF national masters chairs. Since how often do you see Paul Tagliube playing football or Peter Ueberroth playing baseball?

Here’s the bulk of the release posted on PR Newswire:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — On Friday-Sunday, March 1-3, 2019, more than 1000 Masters Athletes come from all over the US to compete at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.
Many of the top US Track and Field athletes attend the Indoor Championships, including 130 North Carolina and 31 Winston-Salem-area athletes, and two area track teams – Piedmont Pacers and Charlotte Track Club – are among 111 clubs present.

Click this link for lists of NC athletes, all athletes, and club affiliations.

Among the 1026 competitors are 24 world record holders, 22 USATF Masters Hall of Fame members, 28 World Masters Athletics (WMA) world champions, and 153 returning national indoor champions from 2018. 

Also attending is WMA Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year Charles Allie, 71, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who competes in the sprints. Allie set the M70 world record in the 100m, 200m, and 400m last year. 

Also competing are former WMA Athletes of the Year Rita Hanscom (2009), Irene Obera (2016), and Bob Lida (2017), as well as 2018 WMA Middle Distance and Throws Runners up Leslie Hinz and Carol Finsrud.

The meet’s six oldest nonagenarian competitors include well known 94-year old Dixon Hemphill and 96-year-old Roy Englert, who set world marks in the 90-94 and 95-99 age group indoors in the 800M, 1500M, and 3000M at 2018 USATF Masters Indoor National Championship in Landover, Maryland.

***Athlete drug testing will be conducted at the Championships

World Masters Championship (WMA):  More than 200 USATF masters athletes go on to compete in the WMA Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland.  Cheer on #TeamUSATF and follow the results on our social media accounts:

facebook.com/usatfmasterstrack/ and  twitter.com/USAMastersTrack 


Special Thanks to: Jay Wind for assistance compiling this material.

“Many of the athletes here are doing their final tuneup before going to Torun, Poland, to compete in the World Masters Indoor Championships, the highest level of competition of the masters track & field world. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of the U.S. Team; athletes, officials, financial contributors and administrators.  We are truly working together to become the world’s number one masters track and field team,” Rex Harvey, Chair MTF, stated.

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