After a slow start at cross-country and the women’s 60m finals, British masters athletes dominated the 800m races at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville in Florida on Monday (March 24) winning seven gold medals.
First to score gold on the track was W75 world record-holder Sarah Roberts. Leading all the way she produced splits of 48.18, 46.58, 46.71 and 43.06 to clock a championships record 3:04.51. That left former USA’s world record setters Sabra Harvey (3:11.37) and Jeannie Rice (3:15.79) well behind. Cross country medallist Ros Tabor was fifth in 3:36.53.
Zoe Doyle won Britain’s second half-mile title as she put together even splits of 34.34, 34.37, 35.93 and 35.28 to win in 2:19.90, nearly five seconds up on Chile’s Andrea Poblete.
Maria Shaw who led the first lap in a fast 33.76 did well to hold on for bronze in 2:25.19 as she fought a hard 39.64 final circuit.
Ellie Stevens, who last summer won the world masters W40 half-marathon title, showed her great range with a solo 2:15.96 run from the front.
Her laps were 33.72, 33.47, 33.25 and 35.52 as she won gold easily from Spain’s Marta Diez Manzano (2:18.33).
W40 winner Ellie Stevens and W45 winner Zoe-Doyle
The British Isles (and British born runners) were even more successful in the men’s events.
Ireland scored golds in the M80 through Michael Kiely (3:09.35) and M70 Joe Gough (2:31.73 – with a blazing 32.70 last 200m). Furthermore British-born and former Hercules Wimbledon and Shaftesbury Barnet Simon Rayner won M60 gold for Canada by just a hundredth of a second in one of the day’s most exciting race in 2:15.15.
However, Britain did win golds of their own in the M65, M55, M50 and M45 categories and would surely have won M60 gold had world record-holder Rob McHarg not had his flight cancelled.
Northern Ireland’s M65 Dave Clarke was content to sit behind Icelandic favourite Hafsteinn Oskarsson led through 200m in 33.53, 400m in 69.23 and 600m in 1:46.88 before unleashing a 33.63 final circuit to win in a championships record 2:21.00 to defeat the Icelander’s 2:22.70 while John Thomson gained a further GB medal in third in 2:24.79.
M65 800m gold medallist Dave Clarke
Mark Symes was another to run a perfect tactical race as he led the 800m nearly all the way with laps of 31.83, 32.03, 32.09 and 31.07. His reward was a British record 2:07.01 as he held off fast finishing American Charles Novak’s 2:07.58. Steve Baldock was sixth in 2:11.80.
In the next race American Mark Williams tried to control the race like Symes, leading at a fast pace but holding off attempts to pass by holding the inside lane, as he passed halfway in 60.73. British world record-holder Kojo Kyereme made repeated attempts to pass but Williams held him off and the Brit was still behind as they hit the finishing straight. However, courtesy of a strong kick and 30.15 last 200m Kyereme edged by in 2:01.82 to 2:02.21.
M50 800m winner Kojo-Kyereme and M45 champion Keith Hutchinson
Next off was the M45 800m but Keith Hutchinson was only sixth at 400m in 61.90 and a third successive gold looked unlikely.
However he moved up on the penultimate lap and then a big back straight kick 29.00 final circuit and 2:01.69 time gave him victory but it was close as a late kick by France’s Gerald Lecun (2:01.73) fell just 0.05 short.
There was no expectation of gold in the M40 event with 1:47 performer Anderson Teles da Silva of Brazil a surefire winner.
Da Silva eased round with laps of 28.37, 29.96, 29.98 and 28.87 for a 1:57.17 victory but finishing even faster behind him was Scot Chris Loudon who closed with a 28.37 final circuit.
The Cambridge Harrier’s reward in his first ever championship – “a 40th birthday present” – was a 1:57.48 PB which improved on his PB in the heat.
The other silver medal of note came from former W55 champion Virginia Mitchell.
The 2023 world athlete of the year Sue McDonald of USA controlled the race from the front with laps of 37.47, 36.74 and then 34.91 and though slowing on the last lap with 37.41 her time of 2:26.52 was a big championship record.
Mitchell who chased hard throughout was also inside the championships mark but more importantly was a European record 2:28.54.
W60 champion Sue McDonald and W65 800m winner Lesley Hinz
Other American winners of note were W55 Michelle Rohl (2:25.13), W65 Lesley Hinz (2:53.85) and W80 Marie-Louise Michelsohn (5:10.50). Hinz was born in Britain, too.
Overseas winners of note included W35 Elisa Schone of Germany (2:17.52) winning by just 0.03 of a second and W50 Kiwi Vanessa Hodge (2:31.24) who prevailed by 0.09 of a second.
Uruguay’s Ana Giuffra (3:11.88) won W70 gold.
The oldest men’s winner was Mongolian M90 Radnaa Tseren who won in a championships record 3:57.26.
Also setting a championship bests were France’s M85 Jean-Louis Esnault’s 3:05.76. And Finland’s M75 Tarmo Tupala who ran 2:41.78 to outkick Hans Smeet of the Netherlands.
Peru’s Juan Diego Zarauz Vidal won the M35 800m in 1:57.19 and while Alejandro Linan Rimmer won bronze for Spain he bases a lot of time in England and has a thick Southport accent!
British athletes found medals much harder in the women’s 60m races with the men’s finals on Tuesday.
Stacey Downie (7.96) and Angelita Broadbelt (7.97) took silver and bronze behind USA’s W35 winner Odeika Giscombe (7.73).
The next best result was the fourth and fifth in the W60 race for Julie Hicken (9.16) and Eni Font Freide (9.23).
There were championships records for W90 Florence Meiler of USA in 14.85, Canadian W85 Carol LaFayette-Boyd (10.33), Nigerian W45 Olutoyin Augustus (7.93) and Romania’s W50 Adina Gheorghiu (8.15).
The latter won by eight thousandths of a second from Karen Long of Australia who matched the Romanian’s championships best.
Britons Paula Williams (8.66) and Janelle Quinn (8.75) finished seventh and eighth.
Suzanne Wise won W35 weight gold with a 13.80m throw.
Jeanette Ashton won silver in the W65 Pentathlon with 3018 points with marks of 13.15 in the hurdles, 1.16m in the high jump, 6.62m in the shot, 3.18m in the long jump and a winning 3:21.08 in the 800m. Gold went to USA’s Vicki Fox with 3055 points.
Nina Ridge was sixth in the W50 Pentathlon with 3358 points and Adrian Essex was tenth in the M70 pentathlon with 2647 points.
Andrea Jenkins was second in the W45 weight with 13.51m.
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