Janvrin wins 15th Drake Relays crown (0)
If our sport ever had an Energizer Bunny it is Kip Janvrin. The 2005 Relay carnival season ended in Des Moines, Iowa with the ageless (actually 39 turning 40 on July 5 th ) Janvrin recording his 15 th career win at the Drake Relays. 15! What does he do with all the watches? It is doubtful that any figure has ever recorded so many career victories at the same major relay meet. 15 Drake crowns is almost beyond belief. Kip won his initial title in 1987 while a junior at Div III Simpson College. His Drake record is even more remarkable since he had been inducted into the Drake Hall of Fame a decade ago. The victory was his 39 th, extending his global record.
“This is my last decathlon at the Drake relays,” Janvrin said. “If I do come back and compete here, it’ll be in the masters 800. I really don’t think I could be competitive here anymore. There are too many younger guys that are so much better. And, with the stadium being renovated, it just seems like it was my time to be done as well.”
“Ill still be back at the Relays, but I just won’t have to do all the work. I’ll just be able to enjoy it. I’ve cut down a lot on my training and don’t want to do the relays any injustice by being that old guy out there limping through the events. It’s time to let the younger generation do their thing and have their time.”
Janvrin continued, “This is a great way to go out. It’s a great way to end my career. It’s nice going out on top—there’s no better ending. It’s just unfortunate that so many of the good guys like Travis Geopfert and Nate Schmidt got hurt and were unable to finish. It’s guys like that who push you and make you work harder. But that’s how it goes in the decathlon.”
“I really surprised myself with how I did the last couple of days, and that I was in the hunt after the 400. The more people started putting it into my head that I could do this, the more I felt I could do it, and as everyone knows, the second day is always my better day.”
Considering that the temperatures never reached above 50 degrees for either day (April 27- 28) Janvrin’s 7671 point score is all the more remarkable.