U.S Owned The Medal Table With Assist From Staff Behind The Scenes

Dave Ortman raises the baton for the victorious U.S. 4x400 M70 relay team, which also included Russell Jacquet-Acea, Steve Phillips, and Thomas Jones. ShaggyPhotos.com 

By Ray Glier

The U.S. won 247 medals at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden August 13-25. In the relays, the Americans took 25 medals (17 gold).

One of those relay medals, the bronze in the 4x100 M75, was as free trade and creative as it gets in the sport. 

Roger Parnell, 75, and Philip Felton, 75, fit appropriately in this 4x100. The other two on the squad, not so much. 

Hal Lieberman is 81 and Avital Schurr is 83. They "played up", which means they joined an age group of younger runners...and excelled.

Felton was the anchor for the 1:08.02 run.

"Our USA team managers just did an amazing job recruiting two from an upper age bracket and making it work," Parnell said. "And one of them (Lieberman) was an 800 runner. I just give them and him all the credit in the world."

The relay selection committee was Jerry Bookin-Weiner, Robert Thomas, Phil Greenwald, and Colleen Barney.

They had to use What's App for 600 athletes to pull this off and it made for late nights. They had to choose among people who have indicated an interest in running a relay then group by age. That's the easy part...until people get injured or overworked.

Next, they looked at how many in that group competed in the natural individual events that coordinate with that relay and try to find the top 4 in that age group placing primary importance on the times they actually have run in the championships.

Athletes get dinged in solo efforts, or they signed up for too many events.

"We have to look to someone from an older age group (you can move people down an age group, but not up an age group) to fill in the holes," Barney said.

"Sometimes we have to move multiple people down to fill in gaps and sometimes that includes people who indicate a desire to run, but do not typically run those natural companion events."

That would be Mr. Lieberman.

The committee's work is why the U.S. not only dominated the medal table, but it was the most medals ever in a WMA event on European soil...ever.

(The medal table lists 246, but a bronze is soon to be added, according to Bookin-Weiner).

Team USATF athletes set five new WMA World Records and 24 American age group records..

"We've never done better than third on the medal table at a meet held in Europe," said Bookin-Weiner, the USATF Masters Committee co-chair.

From Robert Thomas of the USATF Masters Committee: "I would like to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to the athletic trainers and masseurs who worked on the masters team last week in Gothenburg, Sweden during the Masters World Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Back row: Ena Weinstein, Taylor Reeves, Marie Valdez.