Masters athlete qualifies for world championships

By Bryant Carpenter Record-Journal staff

Bottles of Advil might have been as ubiquitous as bottles of Gatorade. Knee and ankle braces were set along with the battle faces. But they were fixed firmly all the same at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Track & Field Masters Championships in Greensboro, N.C., where an elevated age bar did nothing to lower the competitive bar.

In the mix at the July event was Jack Banks, a javelin thrower from Berlin. A career spent owning and running gyms, including Powerhouse Gym in Webster Square, has Banks looking far younger than his 65 years far fitter, too, even if his bone-on-bone right shoulder joint might beg to differ.

Mounting his best performance ever at the national meet, Banks finished second in the 65-69 Division with a throw of 142 feet, 3 inches. It came on the third of his six attempts. Only Len Garza of the Greater Philadelphia Track Club, who landed 145 feet, 9 inches, threw farther.

Berlin resident Jack Banks, co-owner of the Powerhouse Gym in Webster Square, placed second in the javelin in the 65-69 age division at this summer’s U.S. Amateur Track & Field Masters Championships and qualified for next year’s World Championships in Sweden. Submitted photo