Blake competed with Bruce Logan of Manhattan and James Lu Morrissey of Miami on the USA M35 team. The three athletes placed second behind Mexico in the team competition, which grouped their performances across the demanding road-race distance.
Blake, 71, and Logan, 61, joined Morrissey, 36, to form the American squad in the 35–39 division under the championship’s team-format rules. Their podium finish came after a 20-kilometer contest that demands sustained pace, technical discipline and endurance.
The World Masters Athletics Championships were held at Daegu Stadium from Aug. 22 through Sept. 3. More than 6,000 athletes age 35 and older from more than 90 countries competed in track, field and road events.
Racewalking is a judged discipline in which athletes must maintain contact with the ground and straighten the advancing leg until it passes beneath the body. At the international level, the event rewards both conditioning and carefully consistent form over a long course.
For Blake, the result is an international accomplishment representing both the United States and his hometown, capping a season of training that carried him to a world podium at 71.
