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(Olathe, KS)— More than 30 reigning world masters track and field champions who won gold at the last World Masters indoor or outdoor championships and five Olympians will be among approximately 1000 athletes 35-98 years old, including the world’s and nation’s best, competing at the USA National Masters Track & Field Championships in Olathe, Kansas, near Kansas City, Thursday through Sunday, July 11-14. The meet will be at the OLATHE DISTRICT SCHOOLS ACTIVITY CENTER, 20925 W. 159th Street. The athletes will display speed, strength and endurance demonstrating that lifetime fitness is possible for all ages in events ranging from 100 to 10,000 meters, while field events will include the full range of jumps and throws.
Entrants include the world’s first woman 75+ SUB-7 MINUTE MILER JEANNE DAPRANO, CHAMPION RUNNER & JAZZ GREAT NOLAN SHAHEED (lead trumpet for Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye). Also competing: Olympian Ed Burke, 70, Los Gatos CA, the 1984 U.S. Olympic flagbearer.
110 athletes are competing from Kansas and Western Missouri. Stars entered from the OLATHE-KC AREA include Olathe 2-TIME TRIPLE NATIONAL CHAMPION KEVIN MILLER. Warrensburg, MO’s KIP JANRIN, now M45, was the oldest Olympic decathlete IN 2000 and is 13-time Drake Relays winner.
Events will be daily from 7:30 AM through 3:30 PM at the track and field complex. (Detailed schedule posted at http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2013/USA-Masters-Outdoor-Track---Field-Championships/Schedule.aspx or go to www.usatf.org). Athletes win and place in five year age categories. The media is invited for coverage and interviews, and the public is invited to watch the meet onsite at no cost.
OLYMPIANS entered include: • Kip Janvrin, M 45-49, Warrensburg, MO, 2000 Olympian and the oldest American to compete in the Olympic decathlon—and winner of the Drake Relays decathlon an amazing 13 times. Other Olympians entered:
• Ed Burke, M70. Los Gatos, California. A 3-time Olympian, Ed Burke was the FLAGBEARER for the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Sunder Nix, M50, Muncie, Indiana. In 1984, Sunder led off the victorious US 4 x 400 team at the Los Angeles Olympics. The final time was 2 minutes, 57.91 seconds, or 44.98 seconds per man.
• Chris Williams, M40, Colton, California. Chris is a 3-time Olympian (2000, 2004, and 2008) for Jamaica who now resides in California. In 2000 he received a bronze medal in the 4 x 400 relay. In 2001 he was named Jamaica’s Sportsman of the Year.
• Jason Rouser, M40, Dade City, Florida. The 6-6 Rouser, out of the University of Oklahoma, won gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in the 4 x 400 relay. (Rouser ran the heats to get the US to the finals and also wins the team’s gold medal).
Among the star men and world Champions entered include jazz great and 800M, 1500M and other distances world record holder Nolan Shaheed, 64, of Pasadena, CA, who played lead trumpet for Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye; Fort Wayne, IN pole vault duo Paul Babits, M 50, world indoor record holder and outdoor pole vault champion, and Gary Hunter, M55, outdoor world PV record holder and world champion; Bill Collins, Houston, TX, 60-64a past champion who startled the world after a severe life-threatening case of Guillain-Barre syndrome in 2011 and came back in 2012 to breal world records in the 60 and 200 meters. Accokeek, MD’s Oscar Peyton, also M 60, broke his record in 2013, has also won American and world championships, so that the Collins-Peyton competion is an outstanding rivalry to watch. Also competing: Peyton’s Potomac Valley Track Club teammate, Bruce McBarnette, Sterling, VA, has won NINE world championships in the high jump including this winter’s world record M55 jump of 6’2” which Bruce precisely predicted before the meet. Possibly Oldest competitor entered: Orville Rogers, Dallas TX, M95-99, who set FIVE world records from the 200 through the 3000 meters at this year’s indoor national masters championships in Landover, MD.
Star women include Kathy Martin, 64, Northport, NY, multiple world champion distance runner and a former BenGay Athlete of the Year; Kathy Bergen, La Canada, CA, the first 70+ woman in history to break 15 seconds in the 100-meter dash as well as the world W70 high jump indoor record holder; Jeanne Daprano, W75, the first 70+ woman, and then the first 75+ woman, to break 7 minutes in the mile, and USATF’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year; Rita Hanscom, W55, San Diego, CA, a recent world masters athlete of the year; also watch: Lorraine Jasper, W50, Birchrunville, PA, 2012 world indoor 800 meter champion with a 2013 American indoor record mark.
Athletes to Watch from Greater Kansas City-Olathe Area
(FROM Peter Taylor, Long-time masters meet announcer, Media Committee member):
M30 (men 30 to 34): Quinton Wilks. Olathe, Kansas. Quinton has a good chance of medaling in the sprints this year. In 2012 at nationals he finished fourth in the 200 dash with a time of 23.83 seconds.
M35: Randy Wasinger. Overland Park, Kansas. At national indoors this year, Wasinger won both the 800 (2:02.51) and mile (4:31.41). Last year at national outdoors, he ran an even more impressive 1:57.06 in winning the 800.
Ryan Anderson. Olathe, Kansas. Last year at outdoor nationals, Ryan ran an excellent 2:02.42 in the 800 but finished a disappointing fourth. Anderson has a great chance for a medal this year in Olathe.
M40: Ron Kochanowicz. Smithville, Missouri. At the 2011 outdoor nationals, Ron was the silver medalist in the 1500. Kochanowicz figures to do well in Olathe.
W40: Gwen Wentland. Manhattan, Kansas. A veteran of five Olympic Trials in the high jump, Gwen was an All-American at Kansas State. Given her lifetime best of 6 feet, 5 inches (1.956 meters), Gwen appears to have a shot at breaking either the world or American mark for women 40-44 when she competes in Olathe. Julia Machin of Great Britain holds the world record at 1.78 meters (5 feet, 10 inches), while Olympian Trish Porter has the American mark of 1.76 meters (5 feet, 9 ¼ inches).
M45: Kip Janvrin, Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2000, at the age of 35, Kip represented the United States in the decathlon at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. In doing so he became the oldest man ever to compete for the US in this event at the Olympics. Kip competed for Simpson College in Iowa and now coaches at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
W45: Menka Scott. Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Menka, an explosive long jumper and a fine 80-meter hurdler, won both events last year at outdoor nationals and figures to do well in Olathe. As a collegian, Menka competed for the University of Tennessee, traditionally one of the nation’s top programs in track and field.
M50: Kevin Miller. Olathe, Kansas. Kevin scored a triple both last year and this year in the national indoors, winning the 800, 1 mile, and 3000 in brilliant fashion. Such triples are very rare in elite completion; to do it two years in a row is a remarkable achievement. At Landover this year, Kevin’s times were 2:11.81 for the 800, 4:39.30 for 1 mile, and 9:11.44 (4:55.8 per mile) for the 3000.
W50: Liz Kyger. Oldfield, Missouri. At the national outdoors last year, Liz finished fourth in the 1500. It will be interesting to see how she does in Olathe.
M65: Tim Wigger. Shawnee, Kansas. Tim won both the 800 and mile in the 2009 indoor masters and figures to do well in Olathe.
FULL LIST OF KANSAS-WESTERN MISSOURI ATHLETES COMPETING AT OLATHE--
from meet contact Ken Ferguson and USATF Associations Manager Sherry Quack:
http://www.weinerpublic.com/20130622.pdf
U.S.MASTERS CONTINUES DRUG TESTING. The USATF Masters Track & Field Committee continues the drug testing program. Testing will be conducted by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
ATTENTION MEDIA – TWO VIDEOS FOR B-ROLL (athletes performing and Background shots):
1) Forever Fast” video, a superb motivating documentary on masters track and field, created by USATF Masters Board Member John Oleski, showing masters T&F athletes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpY6NRH__9M
2) 2012 Outdoor MTF Championship Video by ABC TV Network Reporter Co-project of Midwest Region (Steve Cohen) and National Masters Media Committee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbzhJH8z8kE
MEDIA: For more information and media trackside athlete interviews, contact Bob Weiner, USATF National Masters Media Chair, at cells 202-306-1200 or 202-329-1700 or weinerpublic@comcast.net . Press may email for advance credentialing or see Bob trackside and show media organization credentials. All media are welcome.
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