#moneghetti

stained glass, Church of Saint-Martin, Moneghetti, Monaco   (1976)

Turning 60 makes you eligible for a seniors card, which you can use for concessions on public transport, art gallery and movie tickets. Most senior citizens enjoy these perks while following a sedate lifestyle. But some seniors just can't stop running. And an elite few can't stop running really, really fast.

Last Thursday night in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia, a much decorated star of Australian distance running, Steve Moneghetti, clocked 15:52.9 for 5000m. An unremarkable time until you learn that Steve has just turned 60 years of age.

Steve was ecstatic after the race because his time broke the previous world record for his 60+ age group by more than three seconds. But a day later, Steve's Instagram post carried the news that the meet "wasn't sanctioned for WR or Oz (Australian) record". So it appeared that his great run would only be recognised as a State (Victorian) record. 

This news rang a bell for me because in the 2018 Toronto Marathon, I ran with American runner, Gene Dykes, who shortly afterwards set a 70+ marathon WR in Jacksonville, Florida. He later found that the race had not been sanctioned by USATF, the governing athletics body in the USA. As far as I know, Gene was never recognised as the WR holder, and his time has now been surpassed by a Dutch runner, who ran 2:54.19 earlier this year.

But the marathon is a road event and we all know about the distance certification requirements for road races so that there is never a repeat of Alberto Salazar's overturned marathon WR in 1981. Surely there is no such issue with track records, so why was Steve so concerned about the sanctioning issue? Setting a world record on the track should be pretty straightforward, shouldn't it? As long as the track is 400m around, and you run faster than anyone else has ever run for the distance, then you are a world record holder, right? Well maybe, or maybe not ...

Here's how it works in Victoria (and I assume the other Australian states) for track record claims. For any given track meet, a state athletic body can issue a "State Permit". Performances at a State Permit meet can be submitted as State records or national qualifying times. In order for an Australian record claim, the relevant meet must have a "National Permit" from Athletics Australia. The Clifton Hill meet had only a State Permit, which is why Steve thought that he could not claim an Australian record. And the Clifton Hill meet could never obtain a National Permit because the track has only six lanes.

But wait, this is not the end of the story as far as Steve's record claims go. The State and National Permit requirements only apply for open age and underage records, not Masters records. Clyde Riddoch, the Records Officer for Victorian Masters Athletics, has assured me that Steve's performance will be recognised as State and National Masters records "as long as the paperwork is in order". Steve's run was hand timed and three different timekeepers were required to have recorded his time, among other requirements. The organisers of the Clifton Hill meet shrewdly engaged highly qualified Athletics Victoria officials to oversee the meeting, and as a result there is no doubt that the paperwork will meet the required standard.

That just leaves the big one - the world record. Will World Masters Athletics recognise a hand timed performance on a six lane suburban track at an unsanctioned meet (i.e. a meet without a National Permit)? Here's the advice from Hazel McDonnell, the Secretary of Oceania Master Athletics:

"When the record was obtained there are certain forms to be filled out and verified by the officials at that time. These must then go through your state statistician to be verified again and then onto your National body who will lodge it with WMA."

Keith Bateman is another very fast Australian senior citizen. He holds numerous State and National overage records, and most importantly for this article, the M55 world records for every track distance from 1500m to 10,000m - a truly incredible feat. And here's the good news for Steve: not all of these records were set at National sanctioned meets, but were accepted by WMA as world records nonetheless. In other words, the record requirements for Masters are less onerous (and bureaucratic) than for open and underage athletes, something of a seniors concession if you like.

stained glass, Church of Saint-Martin, Moneghetti, Monaco   1976