Old People + Track and Field = Bad

[Franklinnoble]

Updated: June 23, 2005, 3:04 PM ET
Man rushed to hospital after getting hit


Associated Press



CARSON, Calif. -- A man struck in the head by a shot during practice for the shot put at the U.S. track and field championships on Wednesday has died.

USA Track and Field, the sport's governing body, released a brief statement Thursday saying it "is profoundly saddened by the tragic shot put accident that took the life of Paul Suzuki on Wednesday."

The accident occurred about 4:15 p.m. at the Home Depot Center, where the national championships are scheduled Thursday through Sunday and where the 77-year-old Suzuki was helping out during practice Wednesday.

A doctor on site rushed to the Suzuki's aid, as did athletic trainers. Emergency medical technicians from the fire department arrived a few minutes later and rushed the victim to a hospital, where he died a short time later.

The Los Angeles Times said Suzuki, 77, of Los Angeles, was a former landscape maintenance worker who had officiated at local track meets for decades.

"He did this for fun," his daughter Sheila Suzuki Hubbard told the newspaper. "He retired a long time ago."

[Peregrine]

But how about this as a contrasting example?

hxxp://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2005-06-20-geriatric-sprinter_x.htm

A 95-year-old Japanese man who took up track "only" three decades ago has run the 100 meters in 22.04 seconds, a record for his age bracket, according to media reports.

Kozo Haraguchi, 95, sets a world record in the 100 meters for men aged 95-99 in Miyazaki, Japan.

Kozo Haraguchi looked sturdy and fit as he dashed Sunday at an outdoor track slick with rain in the southern Japanese city of Miyazaki.

"It was the first time for me to run in the rain and as I was thinking to myself, 'I mustn't fall, I mustn't fall,' I made it across the goal," Haraguchi told reporters.

Japanese media reports Monday said that Haraguchi had beaten the world record of 24.01 seconds for the 95 to 99 age group set by Hawaii-resident Erwin Jaskulski in May 1999.