Woodard breaks 400m world record on second day of USATF Masters Outdoor Champs
7/15/2016
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan -- The second day of the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships brought great performances, including several current records, both on the track and in the field events. Among the performances, Allen Woodard, Roger Busch and Joy Upshaw succeeded in their respective events.
In the M45-49 400m, Allen Woodard (Houston, Texas) improved his world record to 49.32 Friday, taking over three-tenths of a second off of his previous best (49.69) from April 2015. Woodward led from the gun and kept nearly 30 meters of track between himself and his competitors, cruising through the line to better his previous world record.
“It took a lot of hard work and dedication, I just had to do what I do in practice and execute,” Woodward said following his world record performance. “I just try to lead by example as a [youth] coach, and inspire other people.”
In the M75-79 discus, Roger Busch (Greenwich, Connecticut) used his first throw of 42.30m to break the listed American discus record previously held of 42.18m/138-4 held by Bob Ward in 2002. However, on his fourth attempt, Busch improved upon his record by throwing 42.85m/140-7 to set a new M75-79 American discus record.
“I have mixed emotions,” Busch said of his record-setting performance. “It’s nice to set the record, but the biggest joy was getting to compete with the other throwers. But I am happy to have broken the record at a National meet.”
Following Busch’s performance, 99-year-old Champion Goldy (Haddonfield, New Jersey) took the gold in the M95-99 discus throw, with a winning throw of 10.23m/33-7 on his second attempt. Goldy will take on the 100m, shot put, javelin throw and weight throw throughout the remainder weekend.
World champion sprinter, Joy Upshaw (Lafayette, California) continued her record-breaking year by topping the current W55-59 American record with a 13.06 performance in the 80mH on Friday. Upshaw also initially broke the listed American record with a time of 13.04 at the Sierra Gold Masters Track and Field Festival on June 25, though her previous record has not yet been certified. Upshaw rounded out Friday’s performance with a first-place finish in the W55-59 long jump, with a 4.70m/15-5. Joy will continue her record-breaking run by competing in the 100m, 200m, 300m hurdles and triple jump.
In the W35-39 pole vault, Jamie Connor (Louisville, Colorado) dominated the field vaulters by outperforming the competition by nearly one-meter. Connor’s winning vault of 3.35m/10-11.75 earned her the national championship.
The last record of the day was broken in the M85-89 2000m steeplechase, when Gunnar Linde (Venice, California) crossed the finish line in 13:28.68; one-minute faster than the previous record set by Dan Bulkley in 2004.
Watch all of the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships available on-demand on USATF.TV +PLUS (races posted shortly after completed), and join the conversation by following #USATF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
For full results from the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships, please click here. For more information about the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships, visit: http://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2016/USATF-Masters-Outdoor-Championships.aspx
Contributed by Andy Eisch, USATF Communications
For more information, contact:
Bob Weiner
USATF National Masters Media Chair
Phone: 202-306-1200
Email: weinerpublic@comcast.net
Amanda Brooks
USATF Marketing & Communications Manager
Phone: 317-713-4690
Email: Amanda.Brooks@usatf.org
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