# 1997 World Masters Athletics Championships

29°49′35″S 31°01′58″E﻿ / ﻿29.82633°S 31.03273°E﻿ / -29.82633; 31.03273﻿ (Kings Park Athletic Stadium) 1997 World Masters Athletics Championships is the twelfth in a series of World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships (called World Veterans Championships or World Veterans Athletics Championships at the time) that took place in Durban, South Africa from 17 to 27 July 1997.
South Africa had been expelled by the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1976 due to the apartheid policy of the South African government at that time.
South Africa rejoined IAAF in 1992, after the abolition of apartheid.
1997 marked the first time that South Africa, or any African country, has hosted a Championships in this series. $^{:54}$ Other African countries that were represented for the first time were Botswana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. $^{:23}$
The main venue was Kings Park Athletic Stadium located in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct. $^{:23}$ Another stadium within the complex also hosted many stadia events; $^{:15}$ that stadium was demolished in 2006 to construct the new Moses Mabhida Stadium.
This edition of masters athletics Championships had a minimum age limit of 35 years for women and 40 years for men.
The governing body of this series is World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA). WAVA was formed during meeting at the inaugural edition of this series at Toronto in 1975, then officially founded during the second edition in 1977, then renamed as World Masters Athletics (WMA) at the Brisbane Championships in 2001.
$^{:56}$
This Championships was organized by WAVA in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Monty Hacker, Harry Naidu, and Linda Barron. $^{:23}$
In addition to a full range of track and field events,
non-stadia events included 10K Cross Country, 10K Race Walk (women), 20K Race Walk (men), and Marathon.

## Results

Past Championships results are archived at WMA.
Additional archives are available from Museum of Masters Track & Field
as a pdf
extracted from a National Masters News pdf newsletter. $^{:29}$
Several masters world records were set at this Championships. World records for 1997 are from the list of World Records in the National Masters News September newsletter$^{:21}$ unless otherwise noted. Among the notable performances, Phil Raschker set 7 W50 world records, $^{:20}$ $^{:188}$ $^{:54}$ and the blind athlete Ivy Granstrom, who ran with a wrist tether attached to her guide, set 4 W85 world records. $^{:23}$

### Women

| Event | Athlete(s) | Nationality | Performance |
| W40 100 Meters | Zdeňka Mušinská | CZE | 11.99 |
| W50 100 Meters | Phil Raschker | USA | 12.65 |
| W75 100 Meters | Paula Schneiderhan | GER | 16.12 |
| W85 100 Meters | Ivy Granstrom | CAN | 28.61 |
| W50 200 Meters | Phil Raschker | USA | 25.72 |
| W60 200 Meters | Irene Obera | USA | 29.57 |
| W75 200 Meters | Paula Schneiderhan | GER | 34.40 |
| W85 200 Meters | Ivy Granstrom | CAN | 60.79 |
| W85 400 Meters | Rosario Iglesias Rocha | MEX | 2:13.66 |
| W60 800 Meters | Jeanne Hoagland | USA | 2:41.01 |
| W85 800 Meters | Rosario Iglesias Rocha | MEX | 5:00.58 |
| W50 1500 Meters | Jutta Pedersen | SWE | 4:52.43 |
| W85 1500 Meters | Ivy Granstrom | CAN | 10:33.40 |
| W50 10000 Meters | Jutta Pedersen | SWE | 36:44.47 |
| W85 10000 Meters | Ivy Granstrom | CAN | 95:17.92 |
| W55 2000 Meters Steeplechase | Margaret Orman | NZL | 7:58.43 |
| W65 2000 Meters Steeplechase | Ulla Seger | GER | 11:56.57 |
| W50 80 Meters Hurdles | Phil Raschker | USA | 12.68 |
| W65 80 Meters Hurdles | Asta Larsson | SWE | 16.39 |
| W85 5K Race Walk | Margit Lindgren | SWE | 41:52.51 |
| W50 4 x 100 Meters Relay | Lorraine Tucker, Michael Hill, Johnnie Hill-Hudgins, Phil Raschker$^{:31}$$^{:20}$$^{:188}$ | USA | 53.39 |
| W70 4 x 400 Meters Relay | Johnnye Valien, Shirley Dietderich, Diane Friedman, Patricia Peterson$^{:29}$ | USA | 6:26.99 |
| W55 High Jump | Erika Stähle | GER | 1.38 |
| W60 High Jump | Christiane Schmalbruch | GER | 1.36 |
| W50 Long Jump | Phil Raschker | USA | 5.27 |
| W60 Long Jump | Christiane Schmalbruch | GER | 4.75 |
| W75 Long Jump | Paula Schneiderhan | GER | 3.34 |
| W40 Triple Jump | Conceição Geremías | BRA | 12.48 |
| W50 Triple Jump | Phil Raschker | USA | 10.49 |
| W60 Triple Jump | Christiane Schmalbruch | GER | 10.03 |
| W35 Pole Vault | Petra Herrmann$^{:32}$ | GER | 3.13 |
| W50 Pole Vault | Phil Raschker | USA | 3.06 |
| W60 Pole Vault | Dorothy McLennan | IRL | 1.90 |
| W65 Shot Put | Jutta Schaefer | GER | 10.29 |
| W65 Discus Throw | Ingeborg Pfuller | ARG | 30.00 |
| W80 Discus Throw | Annchen Reile | GER | 18.50 |
| W65 Hammer Throw | Jutta Schaefer | GER | 39.22 |
| W75 Hammer Throw | Ilse Bellin | GER | 22.78 |
| W60 Javelin Throw | Gertrude Schoenauer | AUT | 40.00 |

### Men

| Event | Athlete(s) | Nationality | Performance |
| M90 200 Meters | Richard Gathercole | AUS | 44.24 |
| M65 400 Meters | Ralph Romain | TTO | 57.27 |
| M70 400 Meters | Wilhelm Selzer$^{:21}$ | GER | 61.43 |
| M70 800 Meters | Derek Turnbull | NZL | 2:28.37 |
| M70 1500 Meters | Derek Turnbull | NZL | 5:04.54 |
| M70 5000 Meters | Derek Turnbull | NZL | 18:34.61 |
| M75 5000 Meters | James Todd | GBR | 20:00.13 |
| M90 5000 Meters | Alfred Althaus | GER | 36:00.64 |
| M55 3000 Meters Steeplechase | Ron Robertson | NZL | 9:55.05 |
| M85 80 Meters Hurdles | Vittorio Colo | ITA | 19.82 |
| M60 4 x 100 Meters Relay | Schmitz, Berthold Neumann, Rudolf Boeckl, Jürgen Radke | GER | 48.46 |
| M80 4 x 100 Meters Relay | Eugen Eble, Friedrich Mahlo, E. Pfanzelt, Muller$^{:31}$ | GER | 73.43 |
| M80 4 x 400 Meters Relay | Ludzuweit, Gerhard Theune, Eugen Eble, Friedrich Mahlo$^{:32}$ | GER | 6:26.99 |
| M60 Triple Jump | Pericles Pinto | POR | 12.33 |
| M85 Triple Jump | Vittorio Colo | ITA | 7.32 |
| M55 Shot Put | Wolfgang Hamel | GER | 15.92 |
| M85 Javelin Throw$^{:21}$$^{:22}$$^{:34}$ | Gerhard Schepe | GER | 27.34 |