INDIANAPOLIS - All-time masters great Phil Raschker of Marietta, Ga., has been named USA Track & Field's Masters Athlete of the Year after a remarkable indoor season where she added numerous championships and records to her unequaled list of accomplishments.
The 2007 World Masters Athlete of the Year, Raschker turned the 2008 World Masters Indoor Athletics Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France into her own personal showcase in bringing home six gold medals and setting a World Indoor record and an American Indoor record.
Competing in the women's 60-64 age group, Rascker set a world record in winning the women's high jump with a clearance of 1.38 meters/4 feet 6.25 inches, bettering the previous standard of 1.37m/4-6 set by Renate Vogel of Germany in 2004. Raschker's winning leap of 9.11m/29-10.75 in the women's triple jump broke her own American record of 8.88m/29-1.75 set in 2007. She also won titles in the 60 meters (8.93 seconds), 200m (29.42) and long jump (4.31m/14-1.75).
At the 2008 USA Masters Indoor Championships in Boston, Raschker crushed the W60 world and American record in the 400 meters, running 68.34 seconds to break the previous standard of 70.15 set by Riet Jonkers of the Netherlands in 2005. She won additional national championships in the W60 200 meters (30.67), 60m hurdles (10.37), high jump (1.30 meters/4 feet 3.75 inches), long jump (4.26m/13-11.75) and triple jump (8.67 meters/28 feet, 5.50 inches).
"I'm honored to receive this award and proud to be in the company of all the past winners," said Raschker. "I greatly appreciate USA Track & Field recognizing masters athletes and I hope this encourages more elite athletes to participate in masters track in the future."
"Phil's American and World record accomplishments are amazing and she is widely recognized as the most accomplished female masters athlete ever," said USATF Masters Track & Field Chair Gary Snyder. "Phil is also an enthusiastic ambassador and is quick to point out that masters track and field is a sport for life."
In 2007, Raschker was named World Masters Athlete of the Year after setting 12 world records, 31 American records, winning 10 gold medals and the Athlete of the Games Award at the World Masters Outdoor Championships and 27 gold medals at the five U.S. National championship events she competed in.Raschker has won 64 World Championship gold medals since she started competing in World Championship Meets in 1983. She was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 1997, and was inducted into the National Senior Games Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2003, Raschker became the oldest nominee and first Masters Track and Field Athlete finalist for the prestigious AAU Sullivan Award, given annually to the country's top amateur athlete. Raschker was also a Sullivan Award finalist in 2008.
About Masters track & field and long-distance running
Millions of Americans take part in masters long distance running or track and field, with roughly 53 percent of all male and 40 percent of female road-race finishers being over age 40. A celebration of fitness and healthy living at any age, masters competition features men and women over the age of 40, setting new standards for what is possible as Americans age.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit USATF.org.
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