This Doctor Delivers Babies – And Records
Dr. Leopoldo Gracia Vilches, 64, Navojoa, Sonora Mexico Power Walk has been around for a long time as a fitness exercise but is new as a medal sport, having been introduced nationally at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. In the second gathering in Fort Lauderdale in 2022, it was therefore hard to know
- Published in Athlete of the Month
THE LONG RUN – MARCH 2023
ASSOCIATION NEWS Personal Best Feature: Reversed Roles Our next athlete feature highlights the 2023 theme “Bridging Champions Through the Ages” which shows the intergenerational impact of Senior Games. Jody Smith was a standout high school and college basketball star and was excited to find that she could still play ball at 61. Her 28-year-old daughter
- Published in Newsletter
The Driving Force of Positivity March 2023 Athlete of the Month
Paula Franetti, 67 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania To see Paula Franetti mixing it up in women’s basketball competition at the National Senior Games last year, we marveled that the Pittsburgh native had worked her way back to a fully active life after a horrific car crash. In September 2016 Paula was driving to her Pittsburgh office when
- Published in Athlete of the Month
2023 National Senior Games Offers Registration Open Entry Parameter
- Published in Press Releases
Reversed Roles
Jody Smith, 61, Atlanta, Georgia Jody Smith should have been named Jody Sports. It’s been her passion for as long as she can remember, and basketball was her favorite pastime. She was a standout player in high school and college and has been inducted into her college hall of fame. Jody and her husband Mark
- Published in 2023 PB
The Long Run February 2023
ASSOCIATION NEWS Fountain of Youth Podcast Enters Season 2 The Fountain of Youth Podcast is one of the many offerings that Growing Bolder has brought to life since becoming NSGA’s Official Media Partner. The podcast features interviews by Emmy award winning host Marc Middleton with a wide array of senior athletes, most of whom compete
- Published in Newsletter
Around the World in Wavy Ways Athlete of the Month February 2023
Chuck DiMeglio, 62 McLean, Virginia Chuck DiMeglio admits he’s a detail-oriented guy who is driven by challenges. Like keeping records of his lifetime swims and achieving the goal of “swimming around the world” in 2022 at age 62. If you’re counting, that’s 1.75 million pool lengths to get around the globe. And Chuck loves to
- Published in Athlete of the Month
The Long Run January 2023
ASSOCIATION NEWS Astronomical 2023 Personal Best: Making Space for Sports The NSGA Personal Best athlete feature series, now in its tenth year, exemplifies the many ways that athletes find their path to ongoing fitness and well-being. This time, the story takes us into space with multisport athlete Larry DeLucas, a bioresearch scientist and optometrist who
- Published in Newsletter
Making Space for Sports
Larry DeLucas, 72 Birmingham, Alabama There are many singular achievements that can be made in sports, but only Larry DeLucas can say he once slam dunked a basketball weightless more than 250 miles above Earth. That’s one of the interesting facts discovered when we followed up on the rumor that there was an astronaut playing
- Published in 2023 PB, Personal Best Featured Athletes
Pickleball + Airstream = A Lovely Way to Play January 2023 Athlete of the Month
Gene Berg, 70 Margaret Berg, 61 Litchfield, New Hampshire Many senior athletes travel to multiple events each year to enjoy the competition and camaraderie. Noticing a shiny Airstream travel trailer with New Hampshire plates glinting in the sun at the 2022 Georgia Golden Olympics reminded us that some go the RV route and travel in
- Published in Athlete of the Month