The 61-year-old American athlete achieves 3 records in two days

Dan King | is a 61-year-old American athlete who already knows what it means to set records at this age. And a few weeks ago, during a competition in Columbia, he added nothing more and nothing less than three more to his record and all in just over 24 hours. On December 11, this veteran athlete covered the kilometer in a time of 4: 52.68, reducing 0.33 seconds from the existing 60-64 record of 4: 53.01, set in 2012, but adding as many to the one he set in August this year at 4: 49.08, but this was not approved as a record.

But he was not the only one, because the next day, King put his foot on the track again to compete in the 5,000-meter test and finished in 16: 48.67, at an average pace of 3:22 minutes per kilometer , thus surpassing the previous mark (16: 52.00) which has remained since 1985 in its age range. On the way to the 5,000 record, this American crossed the 3,000 meters in 9: 58.77, adding another record to his list, for which he obtained three recordings in the same weekend.

A man of records

If King’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he ran fast for most competitions in 2020. In August, he ran miles in 4: 49.08, when he was thought to be a world record, as I reported at the time. But that meeting was not approved by the US Track & Field, so it was no longer considered a record. However, this veteran athlete does not care that he has not been ratified. And the reason is that this year was “beyond the wildest expectations,” he tells us.

Speaking to Runner’s World, King tells us that during the mile, he came out just a little faster behind the pacemaker, forcing him to have some difficulty in the last 200 meters. “I was closing a little,” he said. “I tried to run to the finish line, but if you try hard at first, it’s a bit hard and you pay for it in the end.” In addition, he confesses that he was not worried about the competitions the next day. “I didn’t hold back at all. I ran as hard as I could for all four laps,” he says.

Keep an eye on World Masters 2021

King, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, will be away for two weeks, which he rarely does before returning to training. In the meantime, he plans his career next year, which will depend mainly on how the pandemic situation is. Of course, he would like to compete next July at the World Masters Championships in Finland, when he will be only 62 years old, if the meeting takes place, of course.

“I think I can still compete well until I’m 62,” he said. “It’s another great opportunity.” After that, with younger men getting older in the 60-64 age group, it becomes increasingly difficult to hunt records. I mean, until you’re 65.

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Via: Runner’s World USA

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