Cross Country, the 60M, 800M and Pentathlon all saw action on Sunday in “Day One” of the WMA Indoor Championships. The Men’s 70+ and Women’s 70+ (6K) cross country started the day’s events at West End. Team USA’s Rick Becker’s 26:03 and Nora Cary’s 28:14 were the high water mark for the first race on Sunday. The Team Score for Men’s & Women’s (8K) 70+ also saw Team USA in Gold with a combined time of 1:20:11. Thailand finished in second with 1:28:56.
The Women’s 35-69 (6K) was led by Portugal’s Andreia Santos time of 30:16. The Men’s 35-54 (6K) was won by Team USA’s Joseph Gray and his time of 25:54. The Men’s 54-69 (6K) saw Germany’s Miguel Molero-Eichwein’s time of 28:53 win Gold. Women’s Team 35-69 (8K) belonged to Team USA at 1:46:04. In the Men’s Team 35-54 (8K) Spain grabbed gold with their time of 1:23:28. In Men’s Team 55-69 (8K) Team USA’s 1:28:50 bested Spain’s 1:30:20.
West End, the location for the cross-country events, was purchased by Alachua County. Following the WMA Indoor Championships, it will become a public park and a venue for future events including a cross-county course for the community.
The Indoor Pentathlon also took place on Sunday, in seven categories, starting with Women’s 50-54 to Men’s 80+. The Women’s 50-54 division was won by Team USA’s Marsha Baird. The women’s 54-59’s winner was Australia’s Lenore Lambert. Women’s 60-64 saw another American’s gold with Neringa Jaksteine finishing first.
Poland’s Wieslaw Musial won the Men’s 65-69. In Men’s 75-79, Sweden’s Olle Borg took top honors. Men’s 80+ had first-time competitor and Team USA’s Jim Sharps wearing Gold.
“My first world championship,” said Sharps. “It’s absolutely superb. Very nice facility and very well run. It was a tough day but a good day. I’m a jumper. You can see I’m built for flight not for fight so getting out to a lead on the track was big.”
Sunday also saw 15 heats and semi-finals take place in the Women’s 60M and 18 semi-finals in the Men’s and Women’s 800M.
The Marty Liquori Jazztet wrapped up “Day 1” in the Athletes Village with a live performance. Liquori, a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, became only the third American high schooler to run a sub-four-minute mile in 1967, three years after Jim Ryun first did it.
Monday morning will see multiple competitions in two locations. At 9 a.m., the Men’s and Women’s Indoor Pentathlon continues at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center with Women’s 70+ and Men’s 60 categories starting the day. The Men’s 60M heats and Women’s 60M finals will follow. The Men’s Shot Put and Women’s Weight T also get underway at 9 a.m. At 3:30 p.m., the Men’s and Women’s 800M finals start. At West End, at 9 a.m., the Outdoor Throws commence with Men’s and Women’s Discuss, Javelin and Hammer.
Key Event Highlights:
- Competition Dates: Today thru March 30
- Locations: Alachua County Sports and Events Center, Celebration Pointe
- Open 5K Road Race: March 29, following the WMA 10K Road Race at Celebration Pointe
- Volunteer Opportunities: Available throughout the week (sign-up at www.wmaci2025.com)
- Admissions: Free for spectators
- Athlete Village: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with live entertainment vendors and more. Vendor opportunities can be found at https://wmaci2025.com/vendors/
Media Information:
- Local media are invited to attend. Media credentials can be requested through the official event website: https://wmaci2025.com/media-accreditation/
- The Media Center will be located at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center and will be open to credentialed media throughout the competition.
- General Schedule and competition details are available at www.wmaci2025.com
For more information and to contact the on-site media liaison, contact Seth Harp at 251-281-5013 or info@wmaci2025.com.
