Sacramento Selected to host 2011 WMA Championships

FOLSOM, Calif. - September 17, 2007 - Joy Upshaw-Margerum, 46, of Los Altos Hills, Calif. won four medals for Team USA at the World Masters Athletics Championships held September 4-15 in Riccione, Italy. The WMA Championships are the world's biggest international track and field competition. They are reserved for masters athletes age 35 and over. The 2007 WMA Championships hosted more than 9,000 athletes from 90 countries.

At the event, World Masters Athletics announced that Sacramento, Calif. was selected to host the 201l WMA Championships, winning a bid over Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Upshaw-Margerum's earned her medals in the women's age 45 to 49 division of competition. They included a gold (long jump, 5.27 meters/17 feet 3-1.2 inches), a silver (100 meters, 12.97 seconds), and two bronzes (200 meters in 26.39 and 80-meter hurdles). Her mark of 12.12 seconds in the 80-meter hurdles set a new U.S. women's age 45-49 record, eclipsing her own previous standard of 12.13 set last year.

Among her multiple records and honors, Upshaw-Margerum is the current world indoor 200-meter W45 champion. Last March, she set a W45 indoor 60-meter hurdles record (9.13).

At the WMA Championships, many athletes competed in multiple events which included several rounds of qualifying heats in each event.

"The intensity was tremendous with teams from Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, and other countries raring to go," Upshaw-Margerum said. "Overall, I was pleased with my performances, but there were a few [techniques] that I evaluated and need to improve on. But, that's what keeps me coming back to competition."

Germany won the team competition with 315 medals, Italy was second (219), and the U.S. was third (193).

Upshaw-Margerum comes from a family of outstanding athletes. Her father, Monte Upshaw, set a national high school record in the long jump in 1954 with a jump that broke the previous prep mark set by Jesse Owens. She has coached her younger sister, Grace Upshaw, who is a world class long jumper and a 2004 U.S. Olympian. Upshaw-Margerum is married to Ken Margerum, a former professional football player and Stanford University track and football standout. She has two daughters, ages 15 and 8, who also participate in athletics.

"I was really happy about my long jump gold medal," said Upshaw-Margerum. "Grace [who will compete at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany, September 22-23] was in Riccione to watch me compete. We had a coach-athlete role reversal. This time, she coached me to the win." -- Marty Krulee (Rocklin, Calif.) M50 1st 100m, 11.58 seconds; and 7th 200m, 24.67
-- Larry Barnum (Reno, Nev.) M60 1st 400m, 57.62; and 5th 800m, 2:20.54 -- Aaron Thigpen (Brentwood, Calif.) M40 2nd 100m, 11.07; and 6th M40 200m, 23:11
-- Stephanie Thomas (San Francisco, Calif.) W40 2nd 80m hurdles, 11.81
-- Brian Conley (Livermore, Calif.) M45 3rd 110m hurdles, 16.44
-- Steve Kemp (Campbell, Calif.) M50 4th decathlon, 6,209 points
-- Jay Bray (Greenbrae, Calif.) M70 4th 5,000m race walk, 29:10.15; and 4th 10,00m race walk, 1:02.25
-- Sam Hirabayashi (Greenbrae, Calif.) M80 4th 1,500m, 7:33.45; and 4th 10,000m, 58.18.10
-- Jonathan Akers (Clovis, Calif.) M35 7th 400m hurdles, 1:03.04
-- Suzanne Cordes (Alamo, Calif.) W45 9th 8K cross country, 30:49; and 12th 1,500m, 5:14.58
-- Bill Kaspari (Portola Valley, Calif.) M70 4th USA 4x100m relay team

Securing the bid by Sacramento to host the 2011 WMA Championships was yet another victory for Upshaw-Margerum. As the Chair of the Pacific Association Masters Track & Field Committee, she helped the Sacramento Sports Commission make its winning bid presentation in Italy.

For more information about the 2007 WMA Championships, visit USATF.org.

The Pacific Association is the largest member association of USA Track & Field (USATF). We serve northern California and northwestern Nevada. USATF is the National Governing Body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States. For more information about the Pacific Association, visit our Web site at PAUSATF.org.

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