World Masters Athletics WMAC22 Day 2 – Exciting Track, Field and Country Competitions!

Day 2 – Exciting Track, Field and Country Competitions!

Day 2 – Exciting Track, Field and Country Competitions! post thumbnail image

Thank you to all the photographers, especially Torrey Enoksen, Doug Shaggy Smith and Alex Rotas, who spend so much time to capture us so well. The photos featured in these articles are from them and athletes’ posts on social media.

Today was another beautiful day in Tampere with clear sky and high temperature of 27.8. Action on the track, however, really heated up! The track at Ratina featured 100m semifinals and finals, men’s 800m finals and the second day of the M60+ decathlon. Nicole Alexis, W60, FRA, lowered the WMA 100m record in the semis then lowered it again in the finals. Hartmut Kraemer, M80, GER, nipped the 100m WMA record. Perhaps the most competitive race of the day was the M35 100m. Antony Couffe, FRA, 10.49s, edged Rondrick Parker, USA, 10.50s while bronze medalist, Stefan Tärnhuvud, SWE, Chrisdon Hargrett, USA, and Chevon Simpson, TTO, all ran 10.84.

Nicole Alexis, FRA, winning W60 in WMA Record time.

Harmut Kraemer’s record setting victory in M80 100m. Photo: Alex Rotas

Current WMA M60 decathlon record holder, Valdis Cela, M70, LAT, easily surpassed the mostly younger competition. Vytautas Zaniauskas, M60, LIT, 7579pts, was the highest score of the day. Men’s hammer was also contested at Ratina. Dorian Çollaku, M45, ALB, who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, won his division. Multiple WMA record holder and WMA Athlete of the Decade, Arild Busterud, M70, NOR, attending his 11th WMA Championship, met expectations winning his division. Walter Krifka, M85, AUT, fell 3cm short of the WMA record set in May 2022.

2010 – 2019 WMA Athlete of the Decade, Arild Busterud, NOR winning the M70 hammer.

Heptathlon finished up at Hervanta for W50-. W50 athletes, Tatjana Schilling, GER, 6245pts, and Lenorë Lambert, AUS, 5254, had the best scores of the day of all the age groups.

W50 Heptathlon

M55- 5000m race walk was also contested at Hervanta. The M35 race walking twins Dominic, who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and Daniel King, GBR, were on the top of the podium. M40 walker, Juan Manuel Morales Del Castillo’s, ESP, 21:57.31, was the best time of the day.

World Champion Dominic King and Jose Manuel Rodriguez Jimenez, M45, ESP during 5000m racewalk.

The non-stadia events commenced today with the individual and team cross country races. The hosts showed their dominance in winning 10 of the contests including 5 individual: Raino Kiander, M85; Hellevi Mankki, W70; Seija Nurmi, W65; Niina Halonen, W50, Jarkko Järvenpää, M35; The closest race of the day was in W70 where Hellevi edged Eileen Kenny, IRL by less than a second. Margret Goettnauer, GER, followed 3 seconds later and Dorothy Kesterton, GBR, was 9 seconds after the winner. One second separated W50 winner, Niina and Agnes Schipper, NED, as well as M60 winner, Richard Lee, USA, and his countryman, Daniel King.

Getting ready to start the 8km cross country race.