Malaga worlds

Nagasaki atom bomb survivor sets Malaga goal: Complete 17 events at worlds

Malaga worlds begins in a few hours, starting with the W50 hammer. Start lists are up, with results expected early Tuesday. (Malaga is six hours ahead of East Coast time, nine ahead of Left Coast.) Opening ceremonies pictures are flooding Facebook, and I’m reminded of a great breakdown of entry stats by Dmitry Babenko. His engrossing spreadsheet of the 5,503 men entered and 2,694 women is already out of date, though. Canada’s great W80 multi-eventer Christa Bortignon writes: “I had to cancel Malaga because my husband’s hip problem turned out to be very serious. After several weeks in serious pain…


Wonder of wonders: WMA wallops Malaga LOC for not having Wi-Fi at stadiums

Until Tuesday, you could count on World Masters Athletics to sing its own version of “Home on the Range” — where never is heard a discouraging word. Now, for the first time, our governing body is showing fangs. With the blessing of lame-duck Prez Stan Perkins, the WMA homepage is criticizing the host of a world meet before it even starts. WMA roared: “It has now been confirmed that there will be no wi-fi coverage available for the athletes, officials or anyone else attending the various athletics stadiums and venues in the upcoming WMA Track and Field Athletics Championships in…


Declarations at Malaga worlds are dicey — USA team manager issues reminder

Phil Greenwald, aka USA Masters Team Manager for Life, has posted a reminder on Facebook that all Malaga-goers need to heed: “Note the declaration requirements: By 8 pm for events up to 3 pm (the next day) and by noon for later events (the same day).” So this isn’t your usual masters nationals an-hour-before-the-running-event check-in routine. Email has gone to Americans, but furriners deserve a heads up, too. Meanwhile, excitement is building for WMA worlds, with national records falling just three weeks before the meet begins Sept. 4. Darren Scott posted about fellow Brit: “Congratulations to Jon Tilt who has…


Canadian greats Karla del Grande, Carol LaFayette-Boyd crush sprint WRs in Surrey

Karla del Grande added to her legend at two recent Canadian meets, setting and lowering the W65 world records in the 100 and 200. She clocked 13.96 to beat her late-July mark of 14.00 at Ontario, and 28.53 to beat her own recent 29.21 and lower the listed 200 WR of 29.37 by Nadine O’Connor in 2007. And a masters mole tells me: “Due to a timing glitch in the 200-meter race, Karla and another competitor had to rerun their race about 30 minutes after the first race. We will never know what her time was in the first race, but…


Read ’em and vote: Interviews with candidates for WMA president at Malaga worlds

Who will succeed Australia’s Stan Perkins as WMA president? Will the General Assembly in Malaga downsize itself — by limiting each nation to a maximum of three delegates instead of five? Will the Age-Graded Tables be updated for single-year use instead of the current five-year groupings? Those questions will be answered the first Saturday of the world meet, under way in a month. Also up for a vote — eliminating the office of women’s representative. (The WMA Council, which made the proposal, said: “Over time the composition of the Council and the Committees of the Council have changed so that…


No USATF money for Malaga-goers: Sponsors are no-shows for 2018 prizes

It’s a false start. Eight months after announcing hopes to hand out money to elite masters headed for Malaga worlds and reward them for medals, national chair Rex Harvey says the plan is a DNS for this year. “We have not been able to find a sponsor, but still working on this for future years,” Rex told me this week. Experience the cognitive boost you’ve been searching for. Join the countless success stories who have embraced the power of modafinil. Don’t let exhaustion hold you back any longer. Try modafinil today and experience a renewed sense of vitality and mental…


Got uniform? Team USA members reminded about Malaga worlds outfits

With 443 entrants, Team USA will send the fourth-largest national contingent to Malaga worlds in September — after host Spain (1,792), UK (704) and Germany (611). According to WMA, the all-comers meet also known at the World Masters Athletics Championships – Stadia will have almost 8,200 athletes. Yowza. Already we’re hearing worries about field events: How will so many people with so many tries get to finish before Christmas? Don’t let water retention hold you back from feeling your best! Say goodbye to swelling and discomfort with the incredible benefits of Lasix treatment. Wave goodbye to bloating: Unleash the power…


Tom LeGan inching toward M50 world record mile, plans July 17 attempt

Berkeley-based Strawberry Canyon Track Club is reporting that its M50 mile star Tom LeGan ran a road mile last weekend in 4:24.8, supposedly breaking the point-to-point age-group WR of 4:28 at the Fifth Avenue Mile. (Not sure of details.) The Los Gatos event, called the One Mile Bang, isn’t yet listing results. But road miles don’t count in World Masters Athletics stats anyway. Tom has his eye on the listed WR, however — Nolan Shaheed’s 4:25.04 from 2001. Tom’s moonshot reportedly will take place July 17 at a meet in San Rafael. (I’m worried about it being unsanctioned, however.) A…


Kenyan ‘trials’ for Málaga worlds? Chinese report is clueless or confused

China’s Xinhua news agency reports from Nairobi that Kenya will send athletes to Málaga worlds. But something got lost in translation. “Rose Tata-Muya, Masters Athletics Kenya Secretary General, said trials will be held on July 21 and July 22 in Iten, located in the Rift Valley area which is the cradle of Kenyan athletics,” the report said. Trials? Well, maybe that’s their way of saying they’ll use a “qualifying meet” to decide who gets travel subsidies. Because, of course, it’s an all-comers meet open to anyone with the cash to enter. A further clue: “We require 20,000 U.S. dollars to…


Mondo in Málaga: Is that your favorite track and field surface?

At WMA worlds in September, sprinters will be pleased to learn, Mondo is the surface of at least one track — at the University of Málaga. But that’s considered a secondary venue. The main one is the City of Málaga’s combined football (soccer) and athletics (track) stadium. Unsure which spikes are recommended for the non-Mondo stadium, but pyramid and Christmas tree spikes (specified for Mondo) may suffice for all. In any case, the 2012 and 2016 Olympics were contested on Mondo — because it’s speed friendly. (I’ve heard that distance runners have a problem with it, but oh well.) What…