Rosh Hashanah prevented two Jewish athletes the chance to compete at the three-day annual Championships in Derby – the climax of the Masters season – as the event coincided with the Jewish New Year.
Victorious Roger Bruck[Missing Credit]
The competition attracted nearly 1,000 competitors from across the country, ranging from 35-90+ years of age, but Roger Bruck and Rosalind Zeffertt were unable to defend their titles.
However, despite this setback, the two Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers can look back on the season with a certain amount of satisfaction.
Bruck, 87, won his first title with the Harriers back in 1957, the first of 13 successive sprint titles, accompanied with the first of four golds in the European Maccabi Games and the Maccabiah. Despite some injury setbacks this year, Roger remains in the top-three rankings for 60 metres, 100 metres and Long Jump. Pride of place, however, remains his top ranking for the high jump. Twice last year saw him break the British record in the 85-90-year-old age group, while this year saw him mark the 25th occasion when he has topped the national rankings. With two silvers to his name at the World Masters Athletics Championships, Roger has expressed a desire to continue in track and field, with a view to winning a world gold.
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