|
Record set at pride
track meet
By
Chuck Martin
Outsports.com
Pride Meet photo gallery
SAN FRANCISCO -- Was is just
fog and low clouds that swirled over San Francisco State's
Cox stadium on Saturday morning or was it the ghosts of gay
athletes past? Was it just drizzle that moistened the lush
green infield and the springy red track surface or tears of
joy from lost luminaries such as Olympic decathlete and Gay
Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell?
Whatever the explanation,
this day -- 07/07/07 -- was special not only to people all
over the world seeking luck and happiness, but to gay and
lesbian track athletes. For one of the few times since the opening
Gay Games in 1982, they had their own meet that is
not part of a larger, multi-sport event. What makes the
event even more special is that the site of this event, Cox
Stadium, was also the site of the track and field
competition at the first two Gay Games.
The inaugural Pride Meet,
hosted by the San
Francisco Track and Field club, was born of the energy
from last summer's Gay Games, when club members were
inspired to create an event, one that may become an annual,
so that gay and lesbian track and field athletes would have
a meet of their own.
(Personal note: in some ways,
this event brings me full circle from when I came out more
than 20 years ago. It was late 1986, shortly after Gay Games
II, and I not only came out, I joined the staff of the
Seattle Gay News as their sports editor and joined the local
gay soccer team. The growth and success of the Games then
tapped similar inspiration in the soccer world, leading to
the first national gay soccer tournament the following
summer in Denver, in which I competed as a part of that
Seattle team.)
Thankfully for many
participants, the weather was typical for San Francisco
summertime: overcast, drizzly early, and cool all day with
the sun never quite breaking through, catching a pleasant
break from the recent heat wave that had temperatures in the
city hitting the 80s. All of this was an especially pleasant
contrast to recent Gay Games: In 1994, New York City was
suffering under conditions of nearly 100 degree temperatures
and 100% humidity; in 2002, Sydney was deep in the throes of
a two-year drought and in 2006, Chicago blistered in a
100-year heat wave.
Marie-Louise Michelsohn,
profiled last year in Running Times, took advantage of
the cool and calm conditions to set a 5K record in her age
group (over 60).
However, her record did not
come without a glitch. The 5K, the first scheduled event of
the meet, was delayed by nearly 30 minutes because the inner
rail along the track surface had not been installed. The
oversight turned into triumph as dozens of members of the
San Francisco track team joined with volunteers to get the
rails quickly out of storage, sorted, and installed.
The rest of the meet, which
attracted about 120 competitors from around the world, not
only ran smoothly, it finished ahead of schedule. It closed
on a high note, with a fun relay featuring one team dressed
as members of the Village People and another team where each
successive member ran with one fewer article of clothing
until the anchor leg ran in little more than a g-string.
Complete meet results are
here (PDF).
Andrew Bundy, president of
the meet host committee, said that he was "extremely happy"
with how the meet turned out. "We ended up with close to 120
athletes from around the world," he said. "Our volunteers
(numbering 60-70 in all) were very enthusiastic and
flexible; when not helping out, they stayed in the stands
and cheered on the competitors. Officials were not only
knowledgeable, but were respectful of competitor's needs;
they managed to rule with an iron fist (as I was DQ'ed from
the 400 hurdles because the toe of my trail leg pass
slightly to the side of the hurdle!), yet remained friendly
and flexible."
San Francisco Track & Field
Club All-Star Allen Eggman -- he has won multiple gold
medals in past Gay Games, including a gold in last year's
decathlon -- competed with several other club members in a
local tune-up met in San Mateo a week earlier and overheard
a couple of other, older competitors chatting and laughing
at the prospect of winning medals and having their names
posted as winning the "Pride Meet," and one added, according
to Eggman, "I didn't know you were of that persuasion."
Eggman stepped in to say that the meet was for everyone, and
sure enough, they were both competing at the Pride Meet.
Eggman goes to many local
Masters meets and knows many of the competitors, and he
estimates that about 15% of the competitors at the Pride
Meet were not gay (of course, with no check mark on the
entry form for sexual orientation, it's impossible to know
for sure), a figure echoed by Bundy, who guessed that
non-gay participants made up 5-10%, including "serious
collegiate- and masters-level athletes looking for
additional competition opportunities ."
July 10,
2007 |
