He found two future Olympic finalists standing in his own driveway — before either of them owned a pair of spikes. Alan Sims has spent 50 years in track and field: as a 9-year-old who fell in love with the sport by accident, a high school record holder, a coach who's sent over 500 athletes to college, and now a 60-year-old masters sprinter and long jumper still competing at a world-class level. In this episode, Alan talks about: — How a knee injury ended his own college career before it started — The driveway conversation that led to coaching an Olympic family — Why recovery matters more at 60 than it did at 20 — The visibility problem holding masters athletics back from real sponsorship and reach If you've ever wondered what it takes to stay in a sport for five decades — and still find new reasons to love it — this one's for you.

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Angela Bickel is a firefighter, a world champion in the weight throw — and the newest inductee into the USATF Masters Athletics Hall of Fame.

In this episode, we celebrate her 2026 Hall of Fame honor and revisit our conversation with Angela from the World Masters Athletics Championships, where she took W50 gold in the weight throw.

Her path to the top was anything but straight: gymnast turned hurdler, heptathlete turned shot putter, Olympic Trials qualifier at 29, firefighter for 17 years — and she didn't return to competition until she was 40.

Angela talks about the two kinds of adrenaline she lives with (butterflies in the ring vs. the rush of running into a fire), why it's never too late to find your event, and what drives her to keep competing at the highest level.

Plus: What is the USATF Masters Hall of Fame? We break down what it takes to earn this honor — and spotlight a few legends who came before Angela.

🏅 Topics: USATF Masters Hall of Fame, weight throw, shot put, masters athletics, firefighter athlete, W50, competing after 40

📩 Have a Hall of Fame in your country? Tell us! Email info@mainathlet.com or DM us on Instagram @mainathlet.

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World Masters Athletics Championships Daegu 2026 – August 22 to September 3.

In this episode, a representative from the Local Organizing Committee (LOC)

joins Boyke to give international athletes the inside track on everything

that matters: competition venues, shuttle buses, free transport cards for all

participants, training facilities, accommodation booking, medical and

physiotherapy services, and how the LOC is managing the heat.

But this is more than a logistics briefing. Daegu is about to become the first

city in history to host both the Indoor and Outdoor World Masters Athletics

Championships – a dream that started with the 2017 Indoor event and comes true

this summer. Our guest also shares personal tips for first-time visitors: where

to eat, what to see, a few Korean phrases that will get you far, and why the

Athlete Holiday programme is worth planning around.

If you're competing in Daegu or still deciding whether to register – this

episode is your starting point.

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