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Senior Olympics Underway; Marred By Athletes Death
 June
15, 2005 The 2005 Senior Olympics are well underway in Pittsburg but
the event has been marred by the death of bicyclist Paul V. Haase Jr.,
77, of Waverly, Tenn. The coroner ruled he died from a broken neck that
occurred while he was warming up. Haase was the eighth person to die
since the games began in 1987.
More than 10,000 senior athletes are on hand for
the 18-sport competition for men and women 50 and over that ends June
18.
The Petersen Events Center on the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh serves as the official Athletes Village of the
games.
To take part in the 2005 Summer Games, an athlete
had to qualify by competing in local and state competitions held in 2004
by the 50-member state organizations. (Learn
more about qualifying in your state for the 2007 Summer Games that
will be held in Louisville, Kentucky.) The Summer National Senior Games
- The Senior Olympics is held every two years.
The games are sanctioned by
The National Senior Games Association (NSGA), which is dedicated to
promoting healthy lifestyles for adults through education, fitness, and
sport. The NSGA says it strives to assist adults 50 and over in
achieving greater value and quality in their lives by staying healthy,
active, and fit.
Haase died at a hospital in Pittsburgh two days
after he broke his neck when he crashed into a barricade during warm ups
for a bicycle race.
In a statement, Haase's wife, Margaret, says she
doesn't regret her husband taking part in his third Summer National
Senior Games, also known as the Senior Olympics.
She
said if someone had asked her husband
whether to compete in the games he would have said "'Go for it!'
"I am not sorry that Paul participated in this
event," she said. "It was what he wanted to do."
"He was an enthusiastic cyclist who had
participated in many competitive and non-competitive cycling events over
the past 20 years. He also helped organize races and lay out courses,"
the family said in a statement.
This was the third time Haase had participated in
the Summer National Senior Games.
He was a retired computer programmer at DuPont
Corp. He was born April 13, 1928, in Oak Park, Ill. and was a 1950
graduate of Eastern Illinois University at Charleston with a degree in
business education.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret Lawson Haase,
whom he married May 31, 1953; two sons, Brian Haase and his wife Karrie
Ford of Chester, N.J., and Mark Haase of Morrow, Ohio; one sister,
Patricia Stevens of Carrolton, Texas; and four grandchildren, Molly
Ford, Sophia Haase, Douglas Haase and Lauren Haase.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American
Heart Association.
For results and photos from the games go to:
http://www.seniorchampion.com/results_2005/index.shtml
For the official site go to:
http://www.2005seniorgames.org/home.jsp
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