He cleared the bar in the high jump, jumping just shy of 3 feet. He won the 100 meter dash, (breaking the Senior Olympics record by 27 seconds). He set records in the shot put, discus and long jump.
I read about him in the NY Times. Fox News, San Diego Times, NY Daily News, US Track Field news, and a summary of his career in the Wikipedia.
Here's what he told an NPR, National Public Radio reporter right after the competition:
"At my age, you get some good days and bad days, and this was not one of my better days. But it was good enough to compete and set some records. When I was my 90th year, I competed in a national at Fort Collins, Colo. And I had a good day that day -- set seven world records on that day. Now at age 100 where there's less competition, it's a little more difficult to keep in condition. I eat sensibly, try to do some exercise -- jog, go for a long walk a couple times a week and hope for the best. There's a Japanese fellow -- he's 105 years old, and he's still running. So we'll see what goes in the next five years for me if I can do it."
What he does, what he did, and what he said resonates.
What he's saying to us, saying loudly to me, is don't give in to aging, go for maintaining the essence of you, doing what you know and love to do.
Hey Don, you ain't great to look at -- but you are 100 years young.
See for yourself.
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3 comments:
What a role model. In my retirement community there are a number of centenarians, and even more people in their mid and late 90s . From looking at them and talking to them you wouldn't think they were that old.
Fantastic! That's the attitude I intend to have at 100, though I'll admit that if I did the high jump I'd be more concerned about breaking my hip than breaking a record. :)
Oh My gosh, I don't have half of his energy. Thanks for sharing:)
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