Silver in Sacramento: Wlodarczyk takes second in WMA return
ORANGE, Calif. – Competing at the World Masters Athletics (WMA) Outdoor Championships for the first time in eight years, Chapman University cross country and track head coach Anna Wlodarczyk earned a silver medal at the 2011 Championships in Sacramento last week. The 60-year-old international track and field star placed second in the triple jump with a result of 9.50 meters in the 60-64 age group.
Wlodarczyk last competed in the WMA Outdoor Championships in Puerto Rico in 2003 where she earned five gold medals competing for her native Poland. The event takes place every two years.
This time around, Wlodarczyk entered just two events and served as a Polish delegate. She also placed fifth overall in the long jump with a result of 4.08 meters. It was her first international competition in a new age group.
Wlodarczyk is a former Olympian from Poland in the long jump, finishing fourth in the 1980 Olympic Games. She has won world championships in both the long jump and triple jump in her career and is currently still the Polish national record holder in the indoor long jump. She won five straight Polish national long jump championships and was ranked in the international top-10 in long jump four times from 1980 to 1984. She has earned 20 international masters championship medals, including 15 gold.
The WMA Championships featured over 4,900 athletes representing 93 countries with athletes ranging in age from 35 to 101 years old. This was the first time in 16 years that the WMA Outdoor Championships have been held in the United States.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director