Santa Barbara local and Masters Track & Field athlete Sue McDonald was named one of USA’s Masters Athletes of the Year after her impressive performances throughout 2023.
McDonald, 60, set a whopping six World Masters Athletics outdoor records as well as two indoor records across many different events.
Early in the year, she won gold in both the 800-meter with a time of 2:25.72 and the 1,500-meter with a time of 5:08.88. She competed in the women’s 60-64 age division in Torun, Poland.
Then, in Greensboro, North Carolina, McDonald captured a trio of gold medals in the 400-meter (62.34), the 800-meter (2:29.97) and the 300-meter hurdles (48.89). On top of those three performances, she won silver in the 200-meter race.
She rounded out her year with a dominant showing at the USATF Masters Combined Events Championships at Mt. San Antonio College.
There, McDonald earned a gold medal in the heptathlon with a record-breaking 6,269 points. Along with that, she set World Masters records in the outdoor 800-meter (2:22.52), 1,500-meter (5:04.27) and mile race (5:28.02).
McDonald earned the honor of Athlete of the Year alongside Jenny Hitchings.
