April 2025 Athlete of the Month
By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller
Ann Hegstrom, 69
De Soto, Iowa
Ann competing at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
The National Senior Games showcases older adults performing impressive athletic feats, but some, like Iowa native Ann Hegstrom, stand out from the crowd with their personality and presence.
Ann captured our attention in Albuquerque in 2019, dressed in festive red, white and blue with a broad smile and swinging pigtails as she competed in her Race Walk, Power Walk and Track & Field events. “I’m your average athlete and was never somebody who got a lot of awards when I was in school,” she says. “My motto is, if you’re not going to win the race, you’ve got to look good. People won’t remember who won, but they will remember my outfits!”
The practice has a purpose, since Ann has always loved helping people through her career as a nurse and then teacher. At 45, she started doing charity 5K races with her late husband Gary, who had quadriplegia. The couple met when Gary was a patient of Ann’s. “He would be in his power wheelchair, and I’d be struggling to keep up with him,” she recalls. “It took some training to be able to go at his pace.”
After Gary’s passing Ann dedicated her activity to his memory. She stepped up her game, joining the all-ages Iowa Games and State Games of America events in her mid 50’s. Normally outgoing, she was shy at first, fearing she would make a fool of herself. However, she drew inspiration from her years teaching and motivating students who are blind at the Iowa Braille School.
Ann and Gary. Photo courtesy Ann Hegstrom.
Blind Inspiration
“I started running seriously to show my students that you can take on a new endeavor and overcome fear,” she says. “Crossing the street when you’re totally blind is just as scary as jumping out of a plane. So I did my first half marathon and actually skydived to inspire them,” she says.
“Once you’re a teacher, you’re always a teacher,” Ann continues. “Even though I now do Senior Games, I will always still do the Iowa Games because I want to see the future. It’s humbling to go out there and be the oldest person on the track, but one day I overheard a girl talking to her mother, and she said, ‘I want to be like her when I’m that age.’”
Ann was delighted to join the Iowa Senior Games to be among more age peers and to have the opportunity to compete on a national stage. She is pleased to have won most of her state events and has collected nine National Senior Games medals, including three gold, since 2019. Not bad for an “average” athlete.
“There’s an honor and a privilege to qualify, and then it’s magic when you get there,” she says. “It’s people from all over. It’s people who are like me. And when you see somebody who has that natural talent, it’s a beautiful thing to behold. And it’s not like the elites have some kind of an attitude. They will share ideas and help coach you. The first time I did a triple jump, somebody who always gets gold medals was telling me how to do it.”
Ann on the medal stand at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
Ann had another fear and challenge to overcome just as she was preparing for her first trip to Nationals in 2019. “I was so honored to qualify and excited to participate,” she remembers. “Registration was completed, housing was secured, and I had procured tickets to fly to Albuquerque, then take Amtrak home because I love trains. Then, I had my annual mammogram and my future didn’t seem as sure.”
Her medical team wanted to have surgery right away, but they consulted and agreed to start medical treatment to slow the tumor’s growth and perform surgery right after her return.
“I wore my breast cancer awareness outfit one of the days in Albuquerque,” she says. “An incredible number of women approached me to share their cancer journey and gave me comfort and hope. I am now nearly six years cancer-free and one of the survivors who can offer hope to women that they, too, may come through stronger.”
Ann is proud and excited that The Games are coming to Iowa. “I’m 20 minutes from Des Moines and an hour from Ames where Track and Field is going to be held, and it’s a great track. Des Moines is special, and I hope people see that.”
