Kathy Bergen

Kathy Bergen keeps her head down and eyes up for a 2022 that could include more world titles.

Records November 27, 2021

Kathy Bergen bulldozes through pandemic with latest AOY award, plans winning 2022

Depending on your view, Kathy Bergen chose the exact right or wrong time to turn 80. It was December 2019, when only a few had heard of COVID-19. But while some elite masters hunkered down and bloated up, Kathy kept on trackin’ — her eyes on the record-setting prize. She’s a legend of age-group sprinting and high jumping — inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2008 and named USATF Masters Female Athlete of the Year in 2015. What to do for a W80 encore? How about another AOY? “I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award,” Kathy…

Kathy Bergen (shown at a Mt. SAC Relays) now has notched 22 world age-groups records.

Records October 11, 2020

W80 Kathy Bergen ups 2020 world record total to 5 with Texas marks in 100, high jump

In September 2019, Kathy Bergen told her story to Rachel Lapidos of wellandgood.com. Kathy counted 17 world records to her name and hoped for more as a W80. “I’ll be working harder, because next year I want to break six world records,” she said. “When I move to a new age group, I break records.” You don’t say. Earlier this month, SoCal Kathy notched WRs 4 and 5 for the year. Returning to the state where she set three indoor WRs in February, Kathy ran 100 meters in 16.62 seconds with a barely legal wind of 1.8 meters per second….

Kathy Bergen (shown at a Mt. SAC Relays) now has notched 22 world age-groups records.

Records February 19, 2020

Kathy Bergen, Jenn Suhr lead Americans setting early 2020 world records

The race is on. Who will set more masters world records this year — Americans or Europeans? A month ahead of the Eurovets indoor meet in Braga, Portugal, and USATF indoor nationals at Baton Rouge, the Americans hold a big lead. The Yanks boast 13 indoor WRs. Our Europeeps have four. (But some U.S. marks are relays, where many of those WRs are soft or nonexistent because the M65, M75, W85 types are new, being 5-year age groups. Old records were in 10-year increments.) Leading the way is SoCal’s Kathy Bergen, who traveled to the USATF Masters Southwest Region Indoor…

Rants June 26, 2019

National Senior Games age-group rules debated: Should USATF practice apply?

Kathy Bergen doesn’t turn 80 until late December, and Brenda Matthews doesn’t turn 70 until early July. But at last week’s National Senior Games in Albuquerque, Kathy won W80 sprints and Brenda won W70. For those in the parallel USATF masters circuit, this is crazy. In Senior Olympic state, regional and national events, it’s par for the quirky course. As I’ve explained to newbies for decades, USATF (and World Masters Athletics) assigns your age group based on your actual age on the first day of a given meet. (This leads to some folks aging up in the middle of the…