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Florida Senior Games Mini Stories
The Games Are Back!
The National Senior Games, a celebration of active lifestyle, resume in Ft. Lauderdale May 10-23 and Growing Bolder will be there.
As the official media partner of the National Senior Games Association, we’re going all in — sharing the inspirational stories of these men and women from 50 to 105 who refuse to live life from their living room couch. We’re launching a special monthly newsletter, a weekly Fountain of Youth podcast and exclusive video features on the men and women who share a love for participating in organized sports.
In December 2021, two Growing Bolder crews traveled to south Florida for the Florida Senior Games. We were at the track when 78-year-old Joe Johnston was surprised with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He didn’t win it for his countless gold medals. No one really cares about that, including Joe. He won it for his countless efforts to teach and encourage others. He won it for welcoming anyone and everyone into the tribe of master’s sports.
Here’s a sampling of those we met at the Florida Senior Games, who embody George Bernard Shaw’s famous quote, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”
DAVE JARVIS, 74 The Villages, FL
Dave Jarvis has so much love for his sport that even major surgery couldn’t keep him out of the pool. Jarvis had quadruple bypass surgery just six months prior to the Florida Senior Games. Instead of letting this life-altering moment keep him at home, Jarvis defied expectations and spent time with doctors and coaches to work on his conditioning throughout the year. His hard work paid off, as Jarvis won three of the six events he competed in! As he proudly showed Growing Bolder the scars on his chest, Jarvis said he plans on competing in the National Senior Games in May.
SANDY GARNER, 62 Daytona Beach, FL
Sandy Garner is a PE teacher at Mainland Highschool in Daytona Beach and the Florida State 2020 Female Athlete of the Year. A multi-sport star who competes in track and field and volleyball, began to cry when we asked her about the physical and social benefits of masters sports. “When you're out there, you don't feel old,” she said. “It's like that adrenaline's going and it just feels good. It's fun finding people with the same interests. I would like to, as I age, be active and enjoy life and then just leave the Earth. I don't want to have to be in the nursing home with people taking care of me. Once you stop moving, it's downhill from there. So keep moving. That's my motto.” After our interview, Sandy led her volleyball team, the Valley Frogs, to first place in the women’s 60-64 age group at the 2021 Florida Senior Games.
GORDON RALPH, 90 The Villages, FL
Gordon Ralph has one rule in swimming, ‘Outlive the competition.’ At 90, many times he’s the only one in his age group. But that doesn’t mean he’s coasting. A swimmer since he was 8 years old, Ralph trains three days a week to become more efficient in the water. He swam in six events at the 2021 Florida Senior Games — three backstroke and three breaststroke — earning gold in all six races. Gordan appreciates that swimming is great for his circulation and strength, without putting any pressure on his legs, and the teammate’s shoulder to help him get into the blocks.
JOE JOHNSTON, 78 Apopka, FL
Joe Johnston is a legendary masters athlete and multiple age group world record holder in the pole vault. But it’s not his athletic ability that he’s most recognized for. It’s his willingness to help others, even his closest competitors. Joe and his wife Janet recently added an indoor pole vaulting room, aka “The Joe Dome,” to their house where anyone of any age is welcome to learn or train. Over the year they’ve helped countless beginners, high school state champions, college stars, and older adults learn or refine their skills. At the 2021 Florida Senior Games Joe was surprised at the track venue when he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for unique form of pole vaulting philanthropy. “It's wonderful. It's amazing. It's awesome,” he told us. “But most of that kind of stuff is after you're dead and I ain't done yet.” After our interview he walked over to the pole vaulting pit and set a state age group record.
MADELAINE CAZEL, 84 The Villages, FL
Most who compete in the Senior Games don’t come to win. They simply come to participate. Madelaine “Tiny” Cazel is an exception. For more than 20 years she’s been the one to beat in multiple sports. The 2002 Florida State Athlete of the Year is retiring from competition after the 2022 National Senior Games in Ft. Lauderdale. “This is my swan song,” she told us. “I've reached that point that I think I'd like to play golf a little bit more and do some traveling because I haven't done that in years. I can still go to the health club and work out and keep yourself strong. But you know, the competition gets to be a little bit tougher, especially if you want to do good. I wanted to be the best I could all the time.” And she’s certainly going out on top. Madelaine won the discus, shot put, javelin, and long jump in the 80-84 age group at the 2021 Florida State Senior Games.
BRIAN HANKERSON, 62 Hollywood, FL
Brian Hankerson began competing in his late 40s and quickly discovered a talent he didn’t know he had. Now in his 60s, Brian is one of the top track and field athletes in the world in his age group. The 2018 Florida Senior Games Athlete of the Year has set American indoor and outdoor records in the long jump and won multiple national championships in the high jump and triple jump. Brian has a PhD in accounting and is the chief operating officer at a 10,000-member church where he also serves as an associate pastor. He and his wife have 12 grandchildren and team up to offer marriage counseling. He says master sports gives him the energy to fuel his active life. “It makes a world of a difference. When I'm not active, when I take time off, man, my body starts to talk to me. It’s just telling me, ‘you need to get out there and exercise!’ And when I do, and I push myself, I feel better. I sleep better. I'm more productive, so maybe it is a fountain of youth.” Brian won all three of the jump events at the 2021 Florida State Senior Games.
GREG LINDSAY, 60 North Ft. Myers, FL
JERRY LAKE, 54 Cape Coral , FL
Greg Lindsay and Jerry Lake are a force to be reckoned with in bowling’s senior circuit. Every sport has its own pinnacle of achievement, and in bowling it’s having a “perfect game” — recording 300 points with 12 consecutive strikes. While many of their competitors have likely bowled a perfect game at some point in their life, Lindsay and Lake admit they are in rare air to have both recorded a perfect game in official Senior Games competition: Lindsay at the 2017 Florida State Senior Games, and Lake at the 2019 National Senior Games in New Mexico. 2021 was no different, as the duo finished 1st in team competition and each won gold in individual competition for their age group as well. However, Lindsay and Lake say it’s the memories they’ve made together over their 20 years as teammates that they cherish the most.
LUANNE & RICH GIRAGOSIAN, 67 & 71
CORINNE BJERKE & DENNY MATHIS, 71 & 72 The Villages, FL
“The Bowling Team” earned four gold and two silver medals at the 2021 Florida Senior Games, including three team golds in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. And while these two couples from The Villages love the challenge of competition, it’s the camaraderie with other bowlers and the fun they have together that keeps them bowling five, and sometimes seven, days a week. Coaching your significant other can be a little tricky, the men add, but it usually works out, and they all enjoy traveling to competitions in different parts of the country and challenging themselves in a game they love.
BRIAN HANKERSON
To learn more about the National Senior Games visit GrowingBolder.com/nsga and to register to compete in the 2022 Games go to nsga.com.
