Eileen-Philippa "Phil" Raschker (born February 21, 1947 [1] ) is a German-born American masters athlete. [2]
Raschker was born in Hamburg, where she first competed in swimming and gymnastics. She first tried track at age 13. She emigrated to the United States in the late 1960s and now is an accountant in Marietta, Georgia. [3] She has amassed 71 Gold Medals at the World Masters Athletics Championships, [4] including the three she won at the most recent championships in 2011, [5] since she began competing at that level in 1983. As of 2010, she holds ten outdoor Masters World Records across sprints, hurdles and jumping events [6] and another dozen indoors. [7]
August 1988 a major milestone was achieved when she was the first female to pole vault at a major USA track and field outdoor championship. She vaulted 8'-0 1/2" (age 40) at the Masters Track and Field Outdoor Championship. [8]
Competing as a 47 year old Masters athlete, Raschker was invited to the inaugural women's Pole Vault at the 1994 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Such was the status of women's pole vaulting at the time, only a few women were experienced in the event. Raschker finished in second place on fewer misses, tying the meet record set moments earlier by winner, then high schooler Melissa Price at 3.25 m (10 ft 7+3⁄4 in). The following year, Raschker returned to finish in third place behind Price's new American record of 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in) and an upstart from Idaho State University, Stacy Dragila. Dragila went on to win the first Olympic medial in women's pole vault five years later.
Raschker was named the inaugural 2007 IAAF Masters Athlete of the year [9] and is a two time finalist for the Sullivan Award. [10] She was elected to the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 1997 [11] and is also a member of the National Senior Games Association Hall of Fame. [12]
Stacy Renée Mikaelson known as Stacy Renée Dragila is a former American pole vaulter. She is an Olympic gold medalist and a multiple-time world champion.
John Lee Gray Jr. is a retired American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time-Olympian (1984-1996) in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a meet in Koblenz. That time puts Gray as the nineteenth fastest performer of all time. He came seventh in the 1984 Summer Olympics, fifth in 1988, and won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992. In 1993 Gray was one of the favourites to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart as he had won the A-race at the prestigious meeting in Zurich. However, he failed to qualify for the final in Stuttgart. He also set the world 600 meter record in 1986 at 1:12.81. In 1992 and 1993 Gray came close to breaking the world indoor record over 800 m several times. He held the US indoor record at 1:45.00 till February 2019.
Payton Jordan was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. He was born in Whittier, California. Jordan was exceedingly successful as a collegiate track coach for a decade at Occidental College and for 23 years at Stanford University. A star three-sport athlete in his youth, Jordan more recently became one of the most dominant track athletes of all time, as a sprinter, in senior divisions. Jordan died of cancer at his home in Laguna Hills, California on February 5, 2009.
Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups. For international events the first age group is 35 to 39. Men as old as 105 and women in their 100s have competed in running, jumping and throwing events. Masters athletes are sometimes known as "veterans" and the European Masters Championships, for instance, is known as "Eurovets". This and other high level events including biennial World Championships cater largely to elite-level athletes, but many masters athletes are novices to athletics and enjoy the camaraderie offered by masters competition at the local, National and International level. Most National governing bodies for track and field hold annual Masters championships. Prestigious National meets such as the Penn Relays and the United States Olympic Trials put on exhibition events for top masters athletes. Masters athletics is growing Internationally with over 6000 athletes competing at recent World Championships. World; National and Regional records are maintained for each age group.
Jeanette Bolden is an American Olympic athlete who formerly competed in the 100 metres. She was the head coach of the track and field team at the University of Central Florida. She is the co-owner of the 27th Street Bakery in Los Angeles, which is best known for the sweet potato, pecan and sweet potato pecan pies.
Jennifer Lynn Suhr is an American former pole vaulter. She has been an Olympic and World champion, has been ranked #1 in the World, has been the #1 American pole vaulter since 2006, and has won a total of 17 US National Championships. She holds the world indoor pole vault record at 5.03 m. She holds the American women's pole vault record indoors. In 2008, she won the U.S. Olympic trials, setting an American record of 4.92 m and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. She won the gold medal at the London Olympics on August 6, 2012. Track & Field News named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
Franklin Wesley "Bud" Held is an American athlete primarily notable for his performance throwing the javelin. He was born in Los Angeles, California.
Rex Jay Harvey was an American decathlete. He designed and held patents of several nozzles for aircraft engines. Also, he helped design several nuclear reactor power plants.
Nadine O'Connor is a retired mathematics teacher and a world record setting, hall of fame Masters Track and Field athlete. While she specializes in the pole vault, due to her athletic training, she also holds the World Masters Athletics world records in the 100 metres, 200 metres, the Indoor 60 metres and 200 metres. She also holds the American record in the long jump, 80 metre hurdles, 300 metre hurdles and pentathlon.
Jeremy R. Scott is an American pole vaulter from Norfolk, Nebraska. At over 6'9", he is believed to be the tallest world class pole vaulter of all time.
Sylvia Mosqueda is an American long distance runner notable for hard front running over an extended career at an elite level.
Albert Richmond "Boo" Morcom was an American track and field athlete.
The Modesto Relays, now known as the California Invitational Relays is an annual elite track and field meet. It is held about the second weekend in May. For 67 years, the meet was held at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California, a track notable for tight turns and long straightaways, ending in 2008. During its run in Modesto, it was the site of over 30 world records. After taking the 2009 season off, the meet moved to Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California.
Jillian Schwartz is an American-born female former pole vaulter who competed internationally for Israel. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics and competed at five consecutive World Championships in Athletics from 2003 to 2011. Her best placing in international competition was fourth at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Lacy Janson is an American track and field athlete who specialized in the pole vault. She was the 2010 USA indoor champion in the event and represented her country at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At college level, she won both an outdoor and an indoor NCAA title for Florida State University.
Sandi Morris is an American pole vault record holder. She won the silver medal in the pole vault event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also won silver at the pole vault event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and another silver at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics. In 2018 she won gold at the World Indoor Championships. Morris has a personal best vault of 4.95 m indoor, set on March 12, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. She matched this height at the 2018 World Indoor Champships when setting a new championship record. July 23, 2016, Morris cleared 4.93 m at American Track League in Houston at Rice University breaking Jennifer Suhr's American outdoor record in the pole vault. Morris cleared 5.00 m at 2016 IAAF Diamond League Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on September 9, 2016, to set the U.S. women's outdoor pole vault record.
The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, the competition was first held in 1968. Athletes compete in 5-year age groups, beginning from 25 and up to 105. Traditionally limited to athletes over 35, a "pre-masters" group was introduced in 2020 to encourage post-collegiate athletes over 25 to continue competing.
The USATF Masters Indoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national indoor championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, the competition was first held in 1975. Athletes compete in 5-year age groups, beginning from 25 and up to 105. Traditionally limited to athletes over 35, a "pre-masters" group was introduced from 2020 onwards to encourage post-collegiate athletes over 25 to continue competing.