Santa Barbara local Sue McDonald dominated the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida at the end of March.
McDonald, competing in the women’s 60-64 age group, captured three individual gold medals in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter. She also helped Team USA set a new world record in the 4×200-meter mixed relay with a time of 1:52.82.
She set new championship record times in the 400-meter and the 800-meter with times of 63.92 and 2:26.52, respectively. In the 200-meter race, she crossed the finish line in 29.24 seconds.
McDonald, a member of the Santa Barbara Running Racing Team and the Santa Barbara Running Association, credits her longtime strength coach, Joel Smith, with having a critical role in her success.
“Joel’s support helped me stay positive and focused, even when I didn’t have support in other areas,” McDonald said.
Her success comes following a back injury on March 4, which she worked her way back from after just a few weeks of rest.
“The pain made even basic tasks difficult—putting on shoes, turning my torso, even breathing,” McDonald said.
The performance in the 2025 Championship meet is just the latest of many successes for McDonald, who previously broke two world records and earned two bronze medals at the 2023 WMA Indoor Championships.
She will look to carry this momentum over to several meets at UC Santa Barbara in April before competing in the European Masters Athletics Championships later this year.