By Danny Daniels
It’s not often in track and field events that you get two for the price of one, but that’s just what Sandy Anderson, 72, achieved last week in St. John’s, N.B.
This year’s Canadian Masters Championship was combined with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Masters Championships, so winning athletes could be awarded medals in both competitions at the same time – which Anderson turned to her advantage.
By winning the W70 pole vault and equalling her Canadian record of 1.50 metres, she became both the Canadian and NACAC champion at the same time. Anderson then had a similar two gold medal triumph in high jump, clearing 1.10 m.
Following her double wins, Anderson also had double silver medal performances in the weight pentathlon (2,923 points), shot put (6.73 m) and the weight throw (8.80 m). In the hammer throw and javelin competitions, she secured Canadian silver and NACAC bronze medals with her respective throws of 20.24 m and 17.20 m, while her discus throw of 14.32 m earned her a Canadian bronze.
Anderson had prepared for the competition by participating in the Washington State Seniors Games event in Olympia, Wash. where she won the high jump (1.16 m), shot put (7.25 m) and javelin (14.94 m) events. She won silver medals in the discus (16.54 m), weight throw (8.77 m) and the hammer throw (21.96 m). The latter result would have been a new B.C. Masters W70 record, except for the fact that the meet officials did not have a steel tape on hand to verify the measurement, so it could not be officially certified.
At the Olympia meet, fellow club master Les East (M70) had his winning high jump leap of 1.29 m verified as a new B.C. record, while he also took the gold in the triple jump (7.98 m), long jump (3.56 m) and hammer throw (33.10 m). To these he added silver in the discus (29.00 m) and in an event not contested in Canada, the standing long jump (1.98 m).
Both athletes are competing in the B.C. Seniors Games in Burnaby Aug. 21-25.