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.
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.
Other African countries that were represented for the first time were , , , , and .
The main venue was Kings Park Athletic Stadium located in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct.
Another stadium within the complex also hosted many stadia events;
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.
This Championships was organized by WAVA in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Monty Hacker, Harry Naidu, and Linda Barron.
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.
World Records 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.
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 unless otherwise noted. Among the notable performances, Phil Raschker set 7 W50 world records,
and the blind athlete Ivy Granstrom, who ran with a wrist tether attached to her guide, set 4 W85 world records.
Women EventAthlete(s)NationalityPerformanceW40 100 MetersZdeňka MušinskáW50 100 MetersPhil RaschkerW75 100 MetersPaula SchneiderhanW85 100 MetersIvy GranstromW50 200 MetersPhil RaschkerW60 200 MetersIrene OberaW75 200 MetersPaula SchneiderhanW85 200 MetersIvy GranstromW85 400 MetersRosario Iglesias RochaW60 800 MetersJeanne HoaglandW85 800 MetersRosario Iglesias RochaW50 1500 MetersJutta PedersenW85 1500 MetersIvy GranstromW50 10000 MetersJutta PedersenW85 10000 MetersIvy GranstromW55 2000 Meters SteeplechaseMargaret OrmanW65 2000 Meters SteeplechaseUlla SegerW50 80 Meters HurdlesPhil RaschkerW65 80 Meters HurdlesAsta LarssonW85 5K Race WalkMargit LindgrenW50 4 x 100 Meters RelayLorraine Tucker, Michael Hill, Johnnie Hill-Hudgins, Phil RaschkerW70 4 x 400 Meters RelayJohnnye Valien, Shirley Dietderich, Diane Friedman, Patricia PetersonW55 High JumpErika StähleW60 High JumpChristiane SchmalbruchW50 Long JumpPhil RaschkerW60 Long JumpChristiane SchmalbruchW75 Long JumpPaula SchneiderhanW40 Triple JumpConceição GeremíasW50 Triple JumpPhil RaschkerW60 Triple JumpChristiane SchmalbruchW35 Pole VaultPetra HerrmannW50 Pole VaultPhil RaschkerW60 Pole VaultDorothy McLennanW65 Shot PutJutta SchaeferW65 Discus ThrowIngeborg PfullerW80 Discus ThrowAnnchen ReileW65 Hammer throwJutta SchaeferW75 Hammer throwIlse BellinW60 Javelin ThrowGertrude Schoenauer
Men EventAthlete(s)NationalityPerformanceM90 200 MetersRichard GathercoleM65 400 MetersRalph RomainM70 400 MetersWilhelm SelzerM60 800 MetersJohn WilsonM70 800 MetersDerek TurnbullM70 1500 MetersDerek TurnbullM70 5000 MetersDerek TurnbullM75 5000 MetersJames ToddM90 5000 MetersAlfred AlthausM55 3000 Meters SteeplechaseRon RobertsonM85 80 Meters HurdlesVittorio ColoM60 4 x 100 Meters RelaySchmitz, Berthold Neumann, Rudolf Boeckl, Jürgen RadkeM80 4 x 100 Meters RelayEugen Eble, Friedrich Mahlo, E. Pfanzelt, MullerM80 4 x 400 Meters RelayLudzuweit, Gerhard Theune, Eugen Eble, Friedrich MahloM60 Triple JumpPericles PintoM85 Triple JumpVittorio ColoM55 Shot PutWolfgang HamelM85 Javelin ThrowGerhard Schepe
References