Masters track founder honored at Masters national championships
By Ken Stone
David Pain trained for the 40th anniversary of the first U.S. Masters national track championships -- a meet he founded in 1968. But Pain, now 86, didn't compete at the Aug. 7-10 event at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington. He just needed the strength to push his wheeled walker across the track. "He's been doing some special therapy in the pool, strengthening his legs and working on his balance," said Robin Hochstadt, the first of Pain's four children with the late Helen Pain. Four years earlier, as a world-class M80 cyclist, Pain suffered severe injuries after flying headfirst over the handlebars on a speedy downhill run. "Basically, he broke everything from his head down to his waist and bruised ever y thing from his waist down to his toes," Hochstadt said, while watching her dad savor Sunday events at the Spokane meet. . . . keep reading...>>
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Michigan motors to hockey crowns
By Brion O'Connor
They may not float like butterflies any more, but they can still sting like bees. The four teams from the Michigan Sting Hockey Club that flew to Rhode Island for the Euflexxa Hockey Championships at the inaugural National Senior Games Festival in September all brought home gold. Only one team, the Maryland Gerihatricks of the over-70 division, escaped the wrath of the Sting, which didn't enter an over-70 squad. "It was an awesome tournament, I'll tell you that," said Phil Parrinello, general manager of the Sting. "The competition was good. The teams that were there were strong. We didn't blow anybody out. The finals were all good, tough games." . . . keep reading...>>
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Binder wins Grand Masters at age group nationals
By Ray Glier
Lauren Binder found a groove athletes yearn for in a race. Her swim in the USA Triathlon National Age Group Championships was smooth, her bike leg was strong, and her run was terrific, and she felt no pain from the exertion. Binder, 61, crossed the finish line 19 minutes before the second-place finisher and won the women's Grand Masters title, which is given to the top finisher over 55 years old. "I'm still blown away with what I did," Binder said. "I trained all summer and I trained all winter, and I never touched the time I had on Sunday (Sept. 21). "My transitions weren't perfect, but what better experience can you have in a race. I was totally in a zone." . . . keep reading...>>
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World Senior Softball Championships provide plenty of drama
At the 2008 ISSA World Senior Softball Championships, which were held in Manassas, Va., in August, no division provided more drama than the 60 Major bracket. The finals in the bracket pitted Joseph Chevrolet against Monkey Joe's. In the finals in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, Joseph Chevrolet was clinging to a 19-18 lead, and Monkey Joe's was threatening with one out. . . . keep reading...>>
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Anderson-Abbs, Hofacker win Masters titles at USA 100-Mile Trail Run Championships
By Patrick Fitzell
Some of the nation's best ultramarathoners gathered in Lake Tahoe, Nev., on July 19 to compete in the USA 100-Mile Trail Run Championships. On a grueling course that had a cumulative elevation change of 22,000 feet, Nikki Kimball of Bozeman, Mont., and Beverly Anderson-Abbs from Red Bluff, Calif., battled before Kimball pulled away to win the overall race. Anderson-Abbs placed second overall and was the first female Masters runner across the line with a time of 23:28:10. Charles Hofacker from Carmichael, Calif., finished fifth overall in the men's race and was the first male Masters runner across the line with a time of 23:12:58. For complete results visit www.usatf.org . . . keep reading...>>
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Fog Canada wins three divisions at USA Volleyball Adult Championships
By Patrick Fitzell
Whoa Canada! At the 2008 USA Volleyball Adult Championships, which were held in Atlanta and ended in June, three teams from the same Canadian club won their brackets Fog Canada W40s narrowly won their bracket by defeating Kashi, a team that had beaten them twice previously in the tournament, in the final match. Fog Canada W50s defeated Brasil Mix in the championship match, 25-16, 25-20. Additionally, Fog Canada M45s won its bracket, defeating Western States Laguna, 25-20, 25-23. And finally Fog Canada 45s placed second in its age group, losing in the finals to Yellow Cab. . . . keep reading...>>
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Koch outduels Herde in downhill
By Allen Lessels
At the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships held at Mount Snow in Vermont in July, Vickie Koch, 46, of West Falls, N.Y., edged Kathleen Herde, 43, of Oxford, Conn., in the women's 40+ downhill. Both racers said they preferred downhill mountain bike racing for practical reasons: "I don't like going uphill," Koch said. Herde echoed: "Cross country is too much work." . . . keep reading...>>
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Walker steps to victory at NMRA International Championships
By Patrick Fitzell
Howard Walker from Austin, Texas, competed in the men's 55+ singles, the bracket with the largest amount of participants, 23, at the National Masters Racquetball Association International Championships, which were held July 16-19 in West Allis, Wis. The size of the bracket didn't seem to bother Walker. He swept through the round robin, winning all seven of his matches and the breezed through the playoffs, knocking off Darryl Warren in the finals. For complete results visit www.nmra.info . . . keep reading...>>
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Steel Dawgs win ISF Senior Softball World Cup
The Steel Dawgs of Columbus, Ohio, won the men's 55+ B division at this year's International Softball Federation's Senior Softball World Cup, which was held June 20-22. The Dawgs went undefeated in the tournament and knocked off Pace Electronics in the finals, 17-8. Dana Garfield of the Steel Dawgs received the MVP award with an .864 batting average, and four other Dawgs were selected to the 55+ All-World team. For complete results, visit www.seniorsoftball.org. . . . keep reading...>>
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Generosity in Louisville
By Justin Sokeland
With no career mountains left to climb, former Olympian and two-time world champion Thurlow Rogers has turned to philanthropy to fulfill his passion for cycling. Adding to his collection of titles during the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships in Louisville, Ky., which were held from June 30-July 6, he won the men's 45-49 time trial and road race with dominant performances. Yet he was willing to give away one championship, and he did the heavy lifting that allowed Amgen-Giant racing teammate Richard Meeker to win the criterium race and deny himself the triple crown for his age group. "I enjoy helping others," said Rogers, who was sixth in the road race during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and won world age group titles in 2005 and 2006. "That's what makes it fun now." . . . keep reading...>>
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Over the top Down Under
By Brion O'Connor
IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRAVEL HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD to compete, crossing the equator along the way, you might as well make a big splash when you finally hit the water. That's exactly what four Americans did in April at the 12th FINA World Masters Championships in Perth, Australia, with the foursome setting a total of nine agegroup world records. "I had a meet that exceeded my wildest expectations," said 70-year-old Karl Wiedamann of Naples, Fla., who set world records in the men's 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events. "Going in, I was feeling that I had a good shot at winning at least one event. I wasn't sure which one it would be." Weidamann had good reason to avoid overconfidence. He narrowly missed gold at the 2006 FINA championships, then underwent major surgery on his right shoulder. And his chief nemesis, Australian Tony Goodwin, had recently set world marks in all three distances, setting the stage for a showdown. . . . keep reading...>>
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Sachse shows heart
By Nate Peterson
THE FORMER NBA AND COLLEGE PLAYERS he repeatedly outhustles under the boards have never questioned Roy Sachse's heart. Most probably don't know that the hardest working player in the gym, the anchor of five consecutive 45+ championship teams at the annual Masters Basketball National Championships in Coral Springs, Fla., is a guy with a pacemaker. Sachse's squad, Roto-Rooter of Cincinnati, Ohio, outlasted Roy's Sports Bar of Margate, Fla., to win the 45+ bracket May 17 by a score of 85-78. "I know only one speed," said Sachse, a 6-foot-6 defensive and rebounding machine from Clearwater, Fla., who played college ball at Division I Eastern Illinois. "I'm not smart enough to slow down." . . . keep reading...>>
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In the money
By Ken Stone
HIGH JUMP 7 FEET AT AGE 40, AND YOU WON'T MAKE A NICKEL. Fling a discus 200 feet at 50? Don't expect one thin dime. But Masters athletes who run the roads -- from a mile to the marathon -- can make a pretty penny. Recent examples include the USA Masters 10k championships April 26 in Austin, Texas, and the Medtronic Twin Cities 1 Mile race May 8 in Minneapolis. In both cases, purses were powerful draws. "Rewarding the top Masters for their achievements and hard work is awesome," says Colleen De Reuck, 44, a four-time Olympian from Boulder, Colo., who won the Austin women's race of 6.2 miles in 34 minutes, 17 seconds -- and pocketed $4,500. "I don't want to sound like a money grabber; however, that is how I get my income right now, so being rewarded for running well is OK and nothing to be ashamed of." . . . keep reading...>>
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Indoor season
By Ken Stone
TO PARAPHRASE WOODY ALLEN, 80 PERCENT of success is showing up. Rebecca Connolly, Charmaine Roberts and James Tylock would have to agree. Three days before the USA Track & Field Masters Indoor Championships in Boston in late March, a press release went out seemingly assuring that those three wouldn't win gold. The release trumpeted the sprints entry of Jearl Miles-Clark, 41, "a five-time Olympian (who) owns a pair of Olympic gold medals in the 4x400m relay and also is the American record-holder outdoors at 800 meters, the event she contested at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney." Another headliner was Paul Babits, "who at age 47 this winter has vaulted a 45+ world record of 16 feet, 10.25 inches." The meet arrived, but Miles-Clark and Babits didn't. . . . keep reading...>>
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Black Knights ice a championship
By Ray Glier
In college they were grinders, who sacrificed their bodies in collisions for the Army hockey team at West Point. The Black Knights played a rude style of hockey, because the Division I teams on the schedule had skill, finesse and future NHL players. Now, the roles have been reversed. The military guys, who maintained their conditioning as officers, have their legs under them when the third period starts in nonchecking, 40-and-over tournaments. They are the ones showcasing skill and finesse, pressuring the puck, and playing a faster pace. . . . keep reading...>>
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