British W60 runner takes cross-country title after journey issues because of Heathrow hearth disrupted her build-up
Clare Elms gained Britain’s first gold medal of the World Masters Championships which started on Sunday in Gainesville in Florida.
The AW masters athlete of the yr had been in good type in 2025 setting world information on the 1500m and 3000m, occasions she is going to take part in later within the championships.
USA dominated proceedings on day one with most medals being fought for on a deceptively robust cross-country course with scorching and sunny situations catching out lots of the opponents.
Elms gained the W60 gold medal within the nicely organised occasion and led Britain to group golds within the W55 class.
This got here regardless of a traumatic few days main as much as the championships as like many Britons she misplaced a day’s journey due to the Heathrow hearth after which being informed the day earlier than the race that her visa wasn’t legitimate and he or she couldn’t journey to the USA.
Whereas that was lastly resolved simply minutes earlier than the gate closed, she needed to run laborious via departures simply to get the aircraft.
The next morning’s 8km race was comparatively simple other than getting misplaced on the best way there as she dominated her age group to win gold in 33:58 by 34 seconds from USA’s Suzanne La Burt with fellow Brit Fiona Usher third in 35:43.
Elms, who struggled within the warmth within the ultimate mile, and Usher joined forces with W55 runner-up Sue McDonald (34:39) to defeat the USA to win Britain’s solely group gold.
Suzanne Le Burt, Clare Elms and Fiona Usher
Different British medalists had been M50 bronze medallist Brent Brodie (29:31), M75 runner-up Ron Cattle and W75 Ros Tabor – who was third within the 6km in 34:56. That got here in among the best contests of the day as Eire’s Eileen Kenny (30:28) handed a number of world-record setter Jeannie Rice of the USA within the ending straight.
Britain’s different group medals got here within the M60 occasion via Stephen Watmough (32:09), Steve Doxey (37:10) and Alan Roberts (42:49) and within the W40 occasion courtesy of Rebecca Luxton (32:06), Sarah Swift (37:17) and Rebecca Mills (41:20).
Eileen Kenny
Portugal’s W35 Andreia Santos (30:16) took the general girls’s race forward of W40 champion Katie Sharron (30:29) of the USA.
The W45, W50 and W65 golds had been additionally gained by the hosts in Erika Holroyd (31:43), Euleen Josiah-Tanner (33:57) and Suzanne Cordes (39:56).
The W55 winner was Iceland’s Frida Ppordardottir (33:52) who handed W60 winner Elms and W50 champion Josiah-Tanner within the ending straight.
Nora Cary of the USA gained the W70 race by virtually 4 minutes in 28:14 whereas Miloslava Rocnakova gained the W80 race unopposed.
W55 podium
Rick Becker gained the M70 race in a USA clear sweep in 26:03 whereas France’s Jean Thomas took the M75 title forward of Cattle in 27:46.
Sweden’s Ake Jonson (33:46) and Mexican Fidel Diaz Mendez (34:00) gained respective M80 and M85 golds.
The general M55-69 race winner was Germany’s Miguel-Eichwin in 28:53 whereas Australia’s John Meaghet dominated the M60 race in 29:57 whereas Finland’s Julia Kauppila (31:51) gained a tough fought M60 race.
The general males’s winner was M40 Joseph Grey (25:44) who’s a 28:18.73 10,000m runner and was sixth within the World Mountain working championships in 2022.
USA remarkably took the primary eight locations within the M40 occasion however Spain’s Ignacio Garcia Ramon (26:59) gained M35 gold and the M45 race went to Luigi Del Buono of Italy in 27:45.
The M50 race went to Santiago De La Fuente Martin (28:08) forward of Eire’s Lea Fulcher (29:00) and Briton Brodie.
Eire gained group gold in that occasion and other than the W55 race which Britain gained, the USA dominated in group competitions successful 16 titles.
The USA gained the M40, M45, M55, M60, M65, M70, M75, M85, W35, W40, W45, W50, W60, W65, W70 and W75.
They surprisingly failed to finish a group within the M35 occasion which Spain gained with the one full group the place an appallingly low turnout of simply eight people emphasised why some critics say the class shouldn’t be run in masters occasions and males ought to begin taking part at M40.
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