REGGIE LEWIS TRACK, 1350 TREMONT STREET; FINALS 3-6PM FRI., 9AM-5PM SAT-SUN

BOSTON, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USA Track and Field National Masters Indoor Championships are set to be held in Boston March 26-28 with perhaps the best field ever -- including 47 new world champions coming to Boston from the World Masters Championships held earlier this month in Canada.  

Entered for the first time in an indoor masters meet is Willie Banks, 54, the beloved two-time Olympian (1984, 88) and former world triple jump record holder, of Carlsbad, California.  Banks is PRESIDENT of the U.S. OLYMPIANS, the 6000 past and present Americans who've competed in summer and winter Olympics. He'll compete in the high jump against current World Champion and American record holder Bruce McBarnette.  He and all the athletes are available for media interviews at the meet.  Banks will be available at the opening of the meet's running finals (3 p.m. Friday), following his own high jump (11:15 a.m. Saturday), and throughout the meet.

Finals begin 3 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Boston's Reggie Lewis Track, 1350 Tremont Street.  "The message and mission of masters track is lifetime fitness and health through ongoing training and competition," say Banks and other athletes.

Also entered: Two-time Sullivan Award Finalist, Philippa Raschker, 63, is in ten events. Raschker was the first-ever masters athlete in any sport to be a Finalist -- one of the top five athletes-- for the Sullivan Award for America's top amateur athlete, and she's done it twice in the past five years – other finalists included Lebron James, Apolo Anton Ohno, Michael Phelps, and Tim Tebow.  She won seven Golds, plus two silvers and a bronze, at this month's World Championships. Raschker, of Marietta, Georgia, has set more than 200 U.S. and world records.

Also entered: Nolan Shaheed, jazz musician/trumpeter who's played with Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Phil Collins, Anita Baker and Natalie Cole – and in January set a new indoor world record in the M60 mile; and Kathryn Martin, 55, a BENGAY Athlete of the Year and Nike TV ad star who won gold in four distance races at Kamloops.

Over 800 competitors ages 30 to 96 are entered in the meet at Boston's Reggie Lewis Track, 1350 Tremont Street. Finals are 3-6 p.m. Friday, 9-5 Saturday, and 9:30-2 Sunday. Spectators are free.

Top New England entrants include M50 Everad Samuels of Boston (60, 200), a national champion and world record holder; M65 Roger Pierce of Essex, Mass (60, 200, 400), who holds national and world masters titles; W70 Barbara Jordan of South Burlington, Vt. (60, 60 hurdles, long jump, triple jump), with many national titles and American records; W75 Mary Harada of West Newbury, Mass. (mile, 3000), also with national titles and world and American distance records; and W75 Flo Meiler of Shelbourne, Vt. (60, 60 hurdles, 200, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, weight throw, pentathlon, who holds two world records).

Oldest entrants are Leland McPhie, 96, of San Diego and Frank Levine, 95, of suburban Philadelphia. The oldest woman is Betty Jarvis, 94, of Aberdeen, N.C.

SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates

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