Over 1100 World & Nation's Best Athletes 35-95 To Prove Lifetime Fitness Possible At USA National Masters Championships Aug. 2-5 At Benedictine University, Lisle, IL; Over 30 Reigning World Champions Competing

WORLD CHAMPIONS ENTERED INCLUDE ATHLETE OF YEAR JAZZ GREAT NOLAN SHAHEED (LEAD TRUMPET FOR COUNT BASIE, STEVIE WONDER, ARETHA FRANKLIN, DIANA ROSS, MARVIN GAYE); FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR JOHNNYE VALIEN and FLO MEILER; WINNER OF 200M OLYMPIC TRIAL MASTERS INVITATIONAL ERIC PRINCE; FEMALE ATHLETE OF YEAR RITA HASCOM; DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION (100M AND 200M) OSCAR PEYTON;

82 YEAR-OLD HALL OF FAMER AND ILLINOIS NATIVE HARRY BROWN AMONG 100+ ILLINOIS PARTICIPANTS

EVENTS 8AM-5 PM DAILY (see detailed schedule); Spectators Free

ATTENTION MEDIA:  "FOREVER FAST" AND MIDWEST REGIONAL VIDEOS OF MASTERS ATHLETES NOW AVAILABLE FOR B-ROLL

LISLE, Ill., July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- You don't have to go to the Olympics this year to see world-class athletes compete. More than 30 reigning world masters track and field Champions who won gold at the July 2012 World Championships In Sacramento last year will be among 1118 of the world's and nation's best athletes 35-97 years old competing at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL, near Chicago, at the USA National Masters Track & Field Championships.  The meet takes place Thursday through Sunday, August 2-5.  The athletes will display speed, strength and endurance demonstrating lifetime fitness for all ages in events ranging from 100 to 10,000 meters, while field events will include the full range of jumps and throws.

Events will be from 8AM-5PM daily at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex. The media is invited for coverage and interviews, and the public is invited to watch the meet onsite at no cost.

World Champions entered include jazz great and 800M and 1500M world record holder Nolan Shaheed, 63, of Pasadena, CA, who played lead trumpet for Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye; Overall athlete of the year and 2011 World Champion in no less than six field events including high jump, javelin, long jump, pole vault, triple jump, and shot put, Johnnye Valien, 85-89, of Los Angeles, CA; Winner of 2012 USA Olympic Trial Invitational 200M and 2011 400M World Champion Eric Prince, 42, of Dallas, TX; 75 year-old Jeanne Daprano of Fayetteville, GA, the first 75+ woman in the world ever to break 7 minutes in the mile, just a few days ago, on July 21;  2010 athlete of the year, Women's Master Athlete of the year, and 2011 Pentathlon and Pole Vault World Champion, Rita Hanscom, 58, of San Diego, California; Winner of 100M and 200M in Sacramento World Championship last year Oscar Peyton, 59, of Accokeek. MD, and 82-year-old Hall of Famer Harry Brown (Wauconda, IL) set the indoor 200M record at a blistering time of 31.23 seconds.

Oldest competitor entered: From Phoenix, Oregon, Southern Oregon Runners' 95 year-old Daniel Bulkley, a sprinter-hurdler, who took third at the World Championships in Sacramento last year and is a member of the masters Hall of Fame.

Two Illinois-native World Champions include Harry Brown, the Hall of Famer from Wauconda, Illinois, who ran the amazing time of 31.23 in the 200 at age 80 to set the American indoor record for men 80-84.  Harry is out of DePaul Univ. in Chicago, in addition to Antwon Dussett (35) from Peoria, who won the M35 worlds last year in the 200 (21.57) and 400 (47.34) at Sacramento. 

U.S. MASTERS CONTINUES DRUG TESTING LAUNCHED LAST YEAR—The USATF Masters Track & Field Committee continues the drug testing program launched last year. Testing will be conducted by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

ATTENTION MEDIA – TWO VIDEOS FOR B-ROLL (athletes performing and Background shots):
1) "Forever Fast" video, a superb motivating documentary on masters track and field, created by USATF Masters Board Member John Oleski, showing masters T&F athletes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpY6NRH__9M
2) Inspirational Video organized/submitted by Midwest Director Steve Cohen (driving force in creating this year's national championship in Lisle, a member of the Northbrook IL Park District Hall of Fame and the East Chicago IN Sports Hall of Fame) from last year's Midwest Region Masters Outdoor Championships:
http://youtu.be/38yBLlbtj-0 

Updated detailed daily schedule and athlete entry list is available at http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/USAMastersOutdoorTFChampionships/.

ILLINOIS ATHLETES ENTERED INCLUDE (information from meet announcer Pete Taylor):

• Ruth Welding, 56, of Oak Grove Village, Illinois, won both the hammer and weight throw at last year's outdoor worlds (W55 age group) and should be very formidable in the throws at Lisle. She set a national record in the Weight Throw at the Midwest masters meet on July 15 at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI.
• Nancy Rollins, of Evanston, Illinois, a former age-group winner at the Boston Marathon and second in the marathon at the 2011 world masters outdoor track and field championships, will be hard to beat in the W65 distance races at Lisle.
• Rich Novelli, (54) of Highland Park, Illinois, will be trying to do some damage in the sprints at Lisle.
• Elena Shemyakina (53) of Geneva, Illinois, won the cross-country race at the 2011 world masters outdoors and should do well in the W50 track races at Lisle (there will be no cross-country there).
• Michael Straza, (42) of Bloomington, Illinois, has a shot in the 1500 and 5000 at Lisle.
• Pierre Dobrovolny, of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, was born in Brno, Moravia (Europe), in 1933.  At Lisle he will run in the 100-meter dash in the M75 group.

MEDIA: For more information and media trackside athlete interviews, contact Bob Weiner, USATF National Masters Media Chair, at cells 202-306-1200 or 202-329-1700 or [email protected] . Press may arrange advance credentialing or see Bob trackside and show media organization credentials. Media is welcome.

Thanks to Mary Trotto, Masters Active Athletes and Awards Chair, and Peter Taylor, Media Committee member and Meet Announcer, for much analysis and information included in this release.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TOP ATHLETES AT LISLE'S USA MASTERS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS, Benedictine University, Aug.2-5, 2012

TOP ATHLETES TO WATCH (FROM Pete Taylor, Meet Announcer)

Women

Kathy Bergen, La Canada, California.   Kathy will be competing in the 70-74 age group.  A relative latecomer to track and field, she has been nothing short of sensational in recent years. 

At the July 21, 2012 Western Regionals just completed, she ran 31.39 in the 200 to break her own American 70-74 record and beat the world record as well. At the 2012 indoor masters championships this year in Bloomington, Indiana, Kathy ran a then-unthinkable 31.86 seconds in the 200 meters to destroy the world record.

In 2010, she became the first 70+ woman worldwide to break the 15-second barrier in the 100-meter dash, as she screamed down the straightaway in an amazing 14.76 seconds.  Kathy is also the world indoor record holder for W70-74 in the 60 dash (9.21 seconds) and the high jump (1.30 meters).  Outdoors, she is the American record holder for the 70-74 group in the 200 dash (31.65 seconds).

Renee Henderson, Merchantville, New Jersey.  Renee "The Jet" Henderson took a long vacation from competing after the University of Pittsburgh, but she came back with a vengeance. Renee holds the American outdoor records in the 100 for 40-44 (12.31) and 45-49 (an amazing 12.10).  "The Jet" holds the American outdoor mark for 45-49 in the 200 with 25.28, but she rang up a 25.19 earlier this year.  Essentially, she has the appearance and speed of a current collegiate competitor.

Marie-Louise Michelson, Stony Brook, New York.  A mathematician out of the University of Chicago who competes in the 70-74 age group, Marie-Louise holds a bevy of records.  Among her outdoor standards are the world marks in the 65-69 age group for the mile (6:16.28), the 5000 (20:27.08), and the 2000-meter steeplechase (9:00.2).  For the 70-74 age group she holds the world outdoor mark in the 10,000 (46:38.5, set in 2012).  As she continues in the 70-74 group she should break many other records.  Marie-Louise will compete in a variety of running events in Lisle.

Carol Finsrud, Lockhart, Texas.  Carol, out of the University of Texas, last competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000, even though she is now in the 55-59 age group.  Carol likes the discus so much that she made sure to set all of the American masters records in that event through 50-54.  Her 50-54 mark is also the world standard (45.67 meters/149 feet 10 inches).  Carol should wreak havoc in the throws at Lisle.

Jeanne Daprano, Fayetteville, Georgia.  Jeanne, out of the University of Nebraska, holds so many records and so many world titles that it is hard to list them all.  July 21, at the Western Region Masters, Jeanne ran 6:58.44 in the mile to become the first 75+ woman in the history of the world to break 7 minutes in that event.  The listed world mark? How about 7:47.4, or 49 seconds slower! Five years ago, in May 2007 at Duke University, she became the first 70+ woman in world history to break 7 minutes in the mile. 

Men

Bill Collins,  Houston, Texas.  Arguably the greatest male sprinter in the history of masters track and field in the United States, Bill was an All-American at Texas Christian University and later a member of the U.S. national team.  After a withering bout with Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2011, Bill somehow came back to set a world mark in the 60 dash for men 60-64 by running a scorching 7.58 seconds in the 2012 national indoors.  Bill also holds the 60-64 record in the 200, an amazing 24.32 seconds.

Nolan Shaheed, Pasadena, California.  A well-known jazz musician who has played with many of the best in the business, Nolan enjoys setting American and world records on the side.  In the 60-64 group he has already broken American records this year in the 2000-meter steeplechase (7:09.91), the mile (4:53.01), the 3000 (9:49.76), and the 5000 (16:56.96).  Look for Nolan to do major damage at Lisle.

Michael Brown, Jacksonville, Florida.   The world outdoor champion in the javelin for the 55-59 group, Mike holds the world record in that category as well, an amazing 66.11 meters (just under 217 feet).  The preliminary schedule indicates that Brown will unleash the spear on Saturday, August 4.  A single  throw should give him the gold medal, but expect Brown to take all six as he shows what true javelin throwing looks like.

Bob Lida, Wichita, Kansas.  A former standout at Kansas University in Lawrence, Bob pulled off an historic triple this year:  he broke the world indoor marks for the 75-79 age group in the 60 (8.56 seconds), the 200 (27.64), and the 400 (1:03.90).  The youthful-looking Lida may be in just the right frame of mind to break some American or world marks at Lisle.

Antwon Dussett, Peoria, Illinois.  The reigning world outdoor champion in the 200 and 400, Antwon is out of Grambling State University in Louisiana.  At the worlds he ran 21.57 in the 200 and 47.34 in the 400.  These are very respectable collegiate times, but Antwon is in the 35-39 age group (he was an Olympic Trials qualifier in 2000).

TOP ATHLETES By Mary Trotto, USATF Masters Active Athletes and Awards Chair—Charts below:

World and National 2012 Indoor Champions and/or 2011 Outdoor Champions Competing at this year's Outdoor Championships in Lisle

                                     

MORE FROM MARY TROTTO, Masters Active Athletes and Awards Chair

Some outstanding women athletes to look for at Nationals

Kathy Bergen W70, Jeanne Daprano W75, Rita Hanscom W55, Flo Meiler W75, Johnnye Valien W85

And Some of the top male athletes:

Nolan Shaheed M60, Bill Collins M60, Eric Prince M43, Khalid Mulazim M45, Oscar Peyton M59, Ralph Maxwell M90

Female athletes who are coming off of a stellar year, each receiving their age group award for 2011.

Male athletes who are coming off of a stellar year, each receiving their age group award for 2011

Thanks to Mary Trotto, Masters Active Athletes and Awards Chair, and Peter Taylor, Media Committee member and Meet Announcer, for much analysis and information included in this release.

MEDIA: For more information and media trackside athlete interviews, contact Bob Weiner, USATF National Masters Media Chair, at cells 202-306-1200 or 202-329-1700 or [email protected]. Press may arrange advance credentialing or see Bob trackside and show media organization credentials. Media is welcome.

Contact: Bob Weiner, USATF National Masters Media Chair, or George Clingan, 301-283-0821, cell 202-306-1200, or 202-329-1700, [email protected]

SOURCE USATF Masters Media Committee and Robert Weiner Associates