Patricia Peterson
Patricia Peterson and John Altendorf set world records early in the morning on the ninth day of the 2011 WMA World Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships.Peterson (Albany, N.Y.), who already set American records in both the 100m and 200m earlier in the meet, blazed a world record time of 2:07.79 in the W85 400m. The previous record was 2:13.68 and was set 14 years ago by Rosario Iglesias of Mexico. With this win, Peterson sealed a sweep of the sprints for her age group.
Altendorf (Corvallis, Ore.) soared to a new world record of 3.84m/12-7.25 in the M65 pole vault. Altendorf, who already owns the M60 world record in the event, bettered the record set by Arthur Parry earlier this month by four centimeters.
Three more AR’s fall
Multiple event winners Joy Upshaw, John Goldhammer and Jonathan Matthews set AR’s as they wrapped up individual competition.
Upshaw (Lafayette, Calif.) crossed the line in the W50 80m hurdles in 12.19, an improvement on Liz Palmer’s American record time of 12.44 set last year. Upshaw won both the 100m and 200m earlier this week, and took second place in the long jump competition. She will compete tomorrow for Team USA in the 4x100m.
Goldhammer (Claremont, Calif.), the M55 shot put, weight and hammer champion, finished up a successful week of throwing with a victory and American record in the weight pentathlon. Goldhammer won all five events of the pentathlon, with marks of 52.62m/172-8 in the hammer, 13.93m/45-8.5 in the shot, 46.17m/151-6 in the discus, 41.11m/134-10 in the javelin and 18.84m/61-9.75 in the weight. His final score of 4,602 surpassed Jim Wetenhall’s previous record by almost 400 points.
Matthews (Helena, Mont.) completed a sweep of the M55 race walk events with an American record performance in the 20k race walk. His time of 1:37:06.55 bettered James Carmines’ record, which he set in 1998, by six minutes. Matthews set American records in the 5,000m and 10k race walk events as well.
Daley wraps up third world title
Lisa Daley (White Plains, N.Y.) and U.S. teammate Charmaine Roberts (Beltsville, Md.) dueled to the finish of the W40 400m, but Daley came out on top to grab her third win of the meet. Daley ran a time of 57.42 to edge out Roberts by three tenths of a second.
“Charmaine’s such a gutsy performer, and I knew I was going to have to come out and really, really run hard,” Daley said. “It was a matter of who wanted it the most, and we both wanted it. It was really gutsy.”
Daley, who won the 200m and set an American record in the 400m hurdles earlier in the meet, couldn’t help but feel relieved as she finished her final individual event.
“When I came over the line it was like a sigh of relief,” she said. “It was just like all the pain, all the sacrifice, all the hard work I put in just came together. It feels fantastic.”
Tomorrow, Daley will continue competition as a member of the 4x100m and 4x400m teams.
“I love the relays,” Daley said. “Last time in Finland we got gold, so we’re just going to back and try to get gold and hopefully American records.”
Godbout defends 110m hurdle title
Mike Godbout (Glenwood, Iowa) defended his world championship title in the M40 110m hurdles and led a U.S. sweep of the podium. Godbout crossed the line ahead of teammates Derek Pye (Long Beach, Calif.) and Don Drummond (Lawrenceville, Ga.), finishing in a time of 14.37.
“The competition was tough within five of us,” Godbout said. “There was a lot of pressure, and the target was on my back. I’ve had a really good run the last few years and always want that title.”
Godbout, who was an All-American hurdler while at Simpson College, works hard to juggle his training and his demanding job as a firefighter.
“I’ve worked huge amounts of hours this summer,” he said. “The last two months I’ve been averaging about 80 hours of overtime a month, so it’s difficult to train. But you know I have priorities, my boys are most important and my family, then my job and what I get out of hurdling.”
Looking ahead, Godbout is unsure of how much longer he will continue with his specialty event.
“It can’t hurdle recreationally, it’s tough,” Godbout said. “I try to do it at the top level. I may hang up my hurdle spikes, and maybe throw the discus or something I can just enjoy and know I’m not going to win, but have fun with it.”
Three-time Oympian Burke wins second title
Ed Burke (Los Gatos, Calif.), a member of the 1964,1968 and 1984 Olympic teams, won his second championship of the meet with a win in the M70 hammer. Burke launched a throw of 55.12m/180-10 on his third attempt to record the winning mark. Burke, who won the weight throw in his age group last Friday, bettered his competition by more than ten feet.
“It’s always an honor to represent your country,” Burke said. “Most of us are competing against our PR’s, so if I beat myself I’m happy.”
Burke still gets the same rush from competition that he’s always had.
“When they call your name, it’s just as real as the Olympic games,” he said. “It gives you a little boost.”
Other U.S. event winners from today’s competition include the following:
-Robert Lida, M70 400m (1:03.58)
-Charlies Allie, M60 400m (55.91)
-Mark Davis, M55 400m (55.85)
-Michael Sullivan, M50 400m (51.93)
-Jai Black, W45 400m (58.71)
-Khalid Mulazim, M45 400m (50.70)
-Eric Prince, M40 400m (49.61)
-Antwon Dussett, M35 400m (47.34)
-David Ashford, M45 110m hurdles (15.37)
-Robert Price, M35 110m hurdles (15.29)
-Dexter McCloud, M50 100m hurdles (14.64)
-Thaddeus Wilson, M60 100m hurdles (14.78)
-Barbara Jordan, W75 80m hurdles (18.73)
-Timothy Muller, M60 weight pentathlon (2490)
-Brian Ashley, M40 high jump (1.87m/6-1.5)
-Steven Morris, M60 pole vault (3.25m/10-8)
-Kathryn Grimes, W45 20k race walk (2:01:24.13)
-Louise Walters, W70 20k race walk (2:13:30.09)
-John Starr, M80 20k race walk (2:30:51.74)
