2013 WORLD MASTERS AHLETICS PORTO ALE GRE WWW.NSWMASTERSATHLETICS.ORG.AU ISSUE 4, DEC, 2013 The singer was worried now. The South African had let her down. What was the second verse of the Australian National Anthem, again? Porto Alegre World Masters Athletics Championships 2013 – Brazil Our Star performer at the World Masters Gianna didn’t go home empty handed 400m and coming second in both the Athletics Championships was Jackie though, winning the 400m and coming 3rd 100m and 200m. A good haul. Bezuidenhout. She eased her way to Jackie in the 100m, then second in the through preliminary rounds to run her 200m. It didn’t all end there. Gianna and Cristine Suffolk, always cheerful and fastest times in 2 years in her two sprint Jackie were joined by Janet Naylon in the keen, came home with a bronze medal in victories. She thought she “just had a (W35) 4x100 relay which they won. Then the 8km Cross Country, a good event for lucky break in getting a good start” and came the 4x400 where Gianna and Jackie her. just “had that extra kick” at the finish to joined a team to again run as 35 year win the 100m but she was better olds and came third, bringing Jackie’s Mary Thomas had mixed success, just prepared than she thought. total to 3 gold and a bronze. Gianna missing out on the medals in the Weight picked up 2 gold, a silver and 2 bronze. Throw but making sure of her best In the 200m she believed she “was the event, the Javelin, with another solid gold underdog”. She said she was 3rd coming Neville McIntyre proved himself again in performance and picking up a bronze in out of the bend but “held her form, international competition by winning the the Weight Pentathlon. didn’t panic and only realised in the last few metres” that she could win. She For most events just making a final was a humbly credits her coach Ron Bendall for challenge with rounds of heats and semis giving her the edge but she had to put in to get through. Terrible weather many hours at the gym. The seriousness interfered with proceedings at times, with which she undertook the task was interrupting events and unsettling some all about shaking off a ‘consistent’ tag athletes. As this was the Americas, a high that she had been lumbered with; always standard of performance had been up there but so often second placed. In anticipated. This meant some of our winning the sprint double she had to turn more talented athletes didn’t make it all the tables on rival and Aussie team mate the way, but at least they know they had Gianna Mogentale. a shot at it, and even a distant placing in Krzysztof Wardecki Don Mathewson and Cristine Suffolk Glenys Whitehead tough competition at the highest level of Mistakes were also made in the Hammer, before going she knew she wouldn’t be a our sport is a great moment in one’s life. by students with no experience or medal chance but was unable to stay training being in charge of the away and didn’t fair badly at all, enjoying Krzysztof Wardecki who once measuring! She went there with a recent a 9th in the Cross country and 11th in the represented Poland as a junior went with performance history that should have 10000m. She was keen for the holiday a plan of just making all his finals, earned her 2 medals, but these are the afterward, travelling with her mother. knowing he would be facing a high level kinds of things that can sometimes of competition. It was then just a matter happen to us when it matters most, and John Fienieg managed a creditable 6th in of finishing as high up as he could. He the lesson learnt is overcoming and the 400m Hurdles but was eliminated in was very happy with his efforts, making moving on. Apart from a 9th in Shot Put the qualifying rounds of the sprints, of all his finals but finishing out of the Jill managed a 9th in Discus, 7th in which there were several. medals. He finished 6th in 100m, 7th in Hammer, 11th in Weight Throw, 7th in 200m and 8th in 400m. Weight Pentathlon. Stuart Paterson didn’t progress through to the finals of the 800 or 1500, finishing Jill Taylor was caught out by some Glenys Whitehead performed to her 18th and 27th respectively. He came 39th horrific officiating in some of the throws usual high standard but just missed out in the Cross Country. events. Firstly in the shot put, when less on medals with a fourth in the hammer, people turned up than were declared and 5th in Weight Pentathlon, 6th in the Adriana Van Bockel had a busy time, after deciding to initially run as qualifiers, Weight Throw, 8th in the Shot put and finishing 15th in Discus, 12th in Shot, 11th the officials changed their minds several 14th in Discus. in Hammer, 15th in Javelin, 13th in Weight times, the first alteration being to just Throw and 15th in Weight Pentathlon. have a straight final, then have a Always game for a run in the biggest qualifying round to choose 8 immediately competition of all, Karen Petley said John and Jacqui Walton both struck a bit followed by a final, then it was changed back to a qualifier to select a larger finals group of 12 with a final the next day, then back to selecting a final 8, after it Copocabana had already begun. Jill finished 9th so was Beach just out of the final. Frustrating for her! and Iguazu Falls 2 of bad luck sustaining injuries in the lead RESULTS FROM PORTO ALEGRE Long Jump up to the event. Jacqui hadn’t recovered W45 J. Naylon 6 4.19 in time from a knee operation and 100m J. Bezuidenhout 7 4.09 couldn’t compete but John did compete W45 J. Bezuidenhout 1 12.82 High Jump M55 J. Fienieg 6 1.15.44 albeit with a sciatic nerve problem. G. Mogentale 3 12.93 Discus However he couldn’t manage a full effort J. Naylon elim 14.90 M45 K. Wardecki 6 11.97 W45 G. Whitehead 14 22.09 as he couldn’t stride out and ended up W60 A. Van Bockel 15 14.31 th rd M55 J. Fienieg elim 13.72 19 in Cross Country, 23 in 10000m and W65 M. Thomas 6 23.30 th M70 N. McIntyre 2 13.39 12 in Steeplechase. It’s a mystery how 200m W55 J. Taylor 9 22.18 he got over the steeples? W45 J. Bezuidenhout 1 26.49 Shot put G. Mogentale 3 26.63 W55 J. Taylor 9 9.06 Injury didn’t stop Don Mathewson M45 K. Wardecki 7 24.41 W45 G..Whitehead 8 8.59 either, who overcame bleeding on the M55 J. Fienieg elim 29.46 W60 A. Van Bockel 12 5.79 W65 M. Thomas 8 8.08 brain a couple of months earlier. He too M70 N. McIntyre 2 27.51 400m Hammer was slowed significantly by the loss of W60 A. Van Bockel 11 21.27 training yet still managed a creditable 8th W45 G. Mogentale 1 1.02.18 M45 K. Wardecki 8 W65 M. Thomas 4 26.56 and 9th in the 5000m and 10000m; a 55.23 W45 G. Whitehead 4 35.12 triumph of the human spirit. M55 J. Fienieg elim 1.05.43 W55 J. Taylor 7 34.24 M70 N. McIntyre 1 1.04.70 Javelin Going to Brazil involved high cost 800m S. Paterson elim 2.39.33 W60 A. Van Bockel 15 13.44 especially if you added on some tourist 1500m W65 M. Thomas 1 24.51 treats, and who wouldn’t want to visit W40 C. Suffolk 6 5.34.35 Wt Throw W45 G. Whitehead 6 10.00 Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro or Machu M55 S. Paterson elim 5.28.67 5000m W55 J. Taylor 11 10.68 Picchu? All relatively close by but still W60 A. Van Bockel 13 8.77 requiring flights and visas. Janet Naylon W55 K. Petley (NZ) 11 22.19.20 M65 D. Mathewson 9 20.09.28 W65 M. Thomas 6 10.76 said she’d saved all year to get there. She 10000m Wt Pentathlon should be pretty happy with her lot M65 D. Mathewson 8 42.31.61 W45 G. Whitehead 6 3100 W55 J. Taylor 7 3222 having made it to the semis in the 100 J. Walton 23 53.58.32 th and finishing 6 in the long jump ahead Cross Country W60 A. Van Bockel 15 2061 of training partner Jackie Bezuidenhout W40 C. Suffolk 3 32.55 W65 M. Thomas 3 3651 and then nabbing a gold in the 4x100m W55 K. Petley (NZ) 9 36.38 Relays 4x100 W35 J. Bezuidenhout 1 52.44 relays. She was also team manager so M55 S. Paterson 39 36.15 M65 J. Walton 19 39.39 G. Mogentale had a bit of working out to do with nearly J. Naylon everything being in the Portuguese 400m Long Hurdles M55 J. Fienieg 6 1.15.44 W35 4x400 language. 2000m Steeplechase J. Bezuidenhout 3 4.15.90 M65 J. Walton 12 11.11.36 G. Mogentale Thanks to the following personnel. For proof reading and advice: Lynette Smith who always does a sterling job. To the contributors: Garry Womsley and Margaret Walker.