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Dan John: 2008 Pleasanton Highland Games, Master’s 50+ Champion
Two new field records, six event wins, a second and a third placing earned Dan John first place overall in the Men’s Master’s Division (age 50+) in the scorching heat in Pleasanton, California, last weekend at the 2008 Highland Games.
Of course, the pros were on tap, including five-time world champion Ryan Vierra, who finished out of the top three this year, returning title-holder Sean Betz, who placed second to the eventual overall winner, Eric Frasure, as were the women, where Mindy Pockowski set and re-set a world record in the weight over bar event while her professional competitor husband crouched nearby.
Eric Frasure, Pleasanton Highland Games Pro Winner, 2008
But the attention of our group was solidly on Coach John, a strength coach with a substantial following of athletes and training enthusiasts and who takes the lead in a training Q&A section of our IronOnline forum. How could we not look toward our pal Dan, who once wrote the following of his first highland games competition:
“When I showed up people were dancing, men were in skirts, guys were drinking booze and competing in throwing big stuff. I said to myself: ‘This is heaven.’ “
Don’t you just have to follow around a guy like that?
It’s especially fun when the fellow you’re tracking is taking home all the medals.
Dan John, heavy weight for distance
The event implements are odd and the rules are unusual, some less understandable than others (think caber). Most of the events take a best of three attempts, but a few go on until someone is the clear leader… except in the case of a tie, when the thrower with the fewest misses takes first place. In the one event Dan won this way, and as such explained the rules that allowed me out of the sun for a brief respite, he called it a sloppy way to win, but I noticed he took the medal anyway.
Most interesting was the variety of throwing techniques: Anything goes it seems, and each competitor demonstrated a different throwing style. Dan’s is clearly based in his discus history, but wouldn’t you know it, right when I was starting to get his style down and the timing right for photography, he up and switched mid-event between straight-forward throwing to rotation.
And each event is different. Even though the idea is to throw an implement for distance, in the Stone Put he made no turns; in the heavy weight for distance he took two; and in the hammer it was three.
Oddest of all is the caber, similar to a tree trunk that’s been sanded down to a short telephone pole with one end tapered. The attendants prop the thinner end of the caber in the athlete’s toed-out feet. The competitor then brings the pole upright and while balancing it straight into the air, begins to walk or run down the field. When he or she is confident the pole is stable, a huge heft propels the caber into the air. The goal is to flip it over so the larger end hits the ground first and the smaller end extends straight away from the thrower’s body in the 12:00 position. Many, many throws did not turn the caber at all, and it was great fun to see all three of Dan’s tosses land in near-straight positions after the highest of flights through the air.
Dan John, caber toss
The unofficial results of Dan’s Pleasanton throws, August, 2008:
Stone Put, 1st, 41 feet, new field record
Braemar Stone, 1st, 29′ 5″, new field record
Light Hammer, 1st, 98′
Heavy Hammer, 1st, 83′
Light Weight for Distance, 2nd, 55
Heavy Weight for Distance, 1st, 40
Weight Over Bar, 1st, 15′
Caber, 3rd, 11:30
Here’s what I saw in the midst of throwers’ yells and the all-day drone of hundreds of bagpipes.
Masters competitors Dan John, Larry Sisseck and Jim Walker
The bagpipe parade
Iron sport historian, highland games MC, David Webster
Dan, mid-toss in the weight-over-bar event
Not a dry eye on in the grandstand as the Marine Band performed.
It’s an appreciated time to be in the US military.
I leave you with the most intriguing shot of the weekend:
