Published September 24, 2000

By Ken Stone

CHULA VISTA -- Everett Hosack flew all the way from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for this? A headwind on the homestretch in 102-degree heat? No sweat.

His 400-meter dash of 3 minutes, 53.10 seconds was perhaps laughable by schoolboy standards. But Hosack has been out of sixth grade for what -- eight decades?

At the ARCO Olympic Training Center last weekend, Hosack did the Olympians’ practice track proud -- becoming the oldest one-lap sprinter in history. Hosack is 98. The previous oldest: 96-year-old Herb King.

So it went last weekend at the Chuck McMahon Memorial Masters Meet, part of the California State Senior Olympics.

While the eyes of billions were riveted on southeast Australia, the families of hundreds huddled under makeshift shade tents at ARCO, yelling, “Go, Grandpa! Stay tough, Mommy!”

Some 381 athletes age 40 and older competed -- some from as far as Maryland and Georgia. But the ones past 70 made the most history.

Bert Morrow of San Marcos (pictured several years earlier) ran the 80-meter hurdles (eight 30-inch barriers) in 25.56 seconds -- not great for the Banana Man (he used to star in Chiquita TV commercials), but not bad considering he’s now the oldest hurdler in human history.

He turns 88 in November.

But tough luck for Johnnye Valien (shown long jumping at 1997 San Jose nationals) of Los Angeles, who became only the second-oldest female hurdler in the books.

She’ll just have to suck it up and settle for having crushed the W75 age-group world record in the 80-meter hurdles with her 21.87 time -- an impressive six-second improvement.

Same for poor old Leland McPhie of San Diego. At 86, he’s 10 years shy of being the oldest high jumper in history. He’ll have to be satisfied with setting a world record for his age at 3-foot-7 3/4 .

Winfield McFadden of San Diego missed his chance at glory, however. At age 95 years, 6 months, he could have been the oldest race walker on record by three months.

But in the 1,500-meter walk Sept. 16 at ARCO, he was carded -- warned twice and then disqualified for illegal technique.

No sweat. There’s always next year.