World Masters Athletics

Stew Marshall won gold in a 2016 Perth relay and took home three titles at 2018 Malaga worlds.

International April 13, 2020

M35 world champ Stew Marshall puts COVID-19 in rearview mirror, updates WMA site

In 2016, Stewart Marshall of Great Britain competed in his first world masters meet — in Perth, Australia. It didn’t go well. He entered the 200 and 400 but “made the quick decision” not to run the deuce due to injury the week after his nationals. Then in the 400 final, he was DQ’d. But he came home with two M35 golds in the 4×1 and 4×4 relays. And in 2017, he further showed his dedication to our niche sport by becoming the website manager for World Masters Athletics. In 2018, he made up for Perth by winning the M35…

International April 11, 2019

World champ British hurdler calls Toruń worlds ‘without doubt the best ever,’ posts long review

Great Britain’s Donald Brown won the M55 hurdles at Toruń worlds, so he took away some good feelings about the 8th WMA indoor world meet. But he went the extra mile by doing a careful critique off the late-March event. Don posted initial comments on Facebook (below) and then composed a formal review called The Masters’ Voice. (He also came up with a nifty acronym — masters standing for “Making A Statement That Ensures Residual Success.”) Unlike 2018 Malaga worlds, where athletes complained about steeple barriers and relay selection, Poland produced little griping (as far as I know.) In any…

Rants May 16, 2018

WMA posts survey, opens Pandora’s box of giving athletes a voice

Dang! World Masters Athletics went and done it! On Tuesday it posted a survey! Perhaps its first. The 25 questions are basically demographic and commercial — aimed at learning about attendance at WMA world and regional meets, indoors and out. You get a hint of marketing, since one question asks what athletic brands you wear. We’re asked for suggestions on how to improve the experience. Good for WMA. But now a precedent is set (asking our thoughts), and there’s no way back to the days of pretending athletes/officials have no views. I don’t know who will be privy to results,…