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 GeezerJock Magazine Names Top Boomer, Senior
Athletes for 2005
Top award goes to Bill Collins, 54-year old sprinter
Dec. 5, 2005 – Outstanding boomer and senior
athletes take center stage in the winter issue of GeezerJock, which
names Bill Collins, a 54-year-old sprinter from Houston, as the winner
of the first Michelob ULTRA GeezerJock of the Year Award. They also name
male and female winners in five age groups ranging from age 40 to 80
plus.
GeezerJock claims to be the first Masters sports
and fitness magazine to cover the spectrum of competitive athletics for
people 40 and over. The new award recognizes supreme achievement in
Masters athletics, which is defined as organized athletics for men and
women over 40 years of age.
Despite being at the older end of his age bracket,
Collins swept the men's 50-54 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter races
at both the 2005 USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships in
Honolulu and the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton, Alberta.
"The voters and the editorial staff at GeezerJock
believe that Bill Collins represents the best that Masters sports has to
offer," said Sean Callahan, the magazine's editor.
"Not only is he a talented athlete, but he's a big
believer in the Masters movement. He has embraced his sport's
camaraderie and is quick to offer advice and tips to his competitors."
Callahan added, "Selecting the GeezerJock of the
Year was difficult, because there were so many deserving choices. How do
you pick from nominees like Larry Raffaelli, a 62-year-old Los Angeles
County lifeguard who not only is a remarkable distance swimmer but is
still participating in life-saving rescues; or Ed Whitlock, a
74-year-old marathoner who has broken the magical three-hour barrier; or
Haze Thompson, a woman who at age 60 discovered that she has a talent
for cycling and is breaking age group records left and right?"
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About the most senior winners |
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Lois Nochman – Women 80+
Huntington Woods, Michigan - Swimming
Record Setter
Growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, Lois Nochman was taught that
it was “not appropriate” for women to be athletic. Her brother
swam in college; she was discouraged from playing sports.
“I didn’t have much choice about it,” she recalled. “There were
no mentors for women."
Decades later Nochman decided to mentor her own swimming career,
entering her first competition in 1987. Since then, she’s been
blowing everyone else out of the water. Between 1994 and 2000,
Nochman set no fewer than 38 world records.
She currently holds all the world records in the 50-meter, 100-
meter, and 200-meter butterfly in the women’s 80-84 age group.
“I had no idea I would be as good as I am,” Nochman said.
A former college English teacher, Nochman was active in the
women’s rights movement during the 1960s. “I don’t want woman to
forget that Title IX was passed by Congress and could be
rescinded anytime by Congress,” she said.
Even now, she says, most older women lack access to serious
athletic training, and she herself has never had any formal
coaching.
“It’s a bummer,” she acknowledged. “Where does an 80-year-old
woman look for a coach?” The lack of training hasn’t held her
back. This fall, Nochman unofficially broke her own world record
time of 4:36.80 in the 200- meter butterfly at the Huntsman
World Senior Games in Utah in October with her best time yet:
4:31.97.— Cynthia Joyce
Trent Lane – Men 80+
Baker, Louisiana - Track & Field
The Man Can Throw
Whatever Trent Lane is drinking, get some.
Lane is 95. He can throw the javelin 68 feet. The discus 52
feet.
Lane currently holds five USA Track & Field age group records in
throwing events. He’s not getting the records just by showing
up.
This guy is fit.
How fit? Example No. 1: He owns and maintains a 25-acre hobby
farm near Baton Rouge. “I work back on the place, cutting trees
and piling brush and rolling logs and cleaning up,” he said.
Example No. 2: Lane flies his own single-engine airplane, which
he lands on his own grass airstrip.
Example No. 3: Lane is pursing a Ph.D. in physics. He didn’t get
to finish his doctorate seven decades ago — marriage, family and
the Great Depression intruded.
Lane’s secret to good health? “I enjoy life. I don’t try to
listen too much to other people’s ailments. I figure there are
other things that are worthy of paying attention to,” he said.
Lane also credits his amazing longevity to a good base. When he
was a teenager in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, he lived
seven and a half miles from the nearest high school. So Lane
walked and ran his way back and forth, every day.
This former research chemist gave up organized athletics for 73
years, until his daughter told him about the National Senior
Games a few years ago. He wasn’t interested in running anymore —
but he still could throw things a country mile. — Steve Boman |
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In addition to honoring the best overall Masters
athlete, the GeezerJock of the Year award program also recognizes the
GeezerJock Executives of the Year as well as 10 age-group winners -- a
male and female in each of five age categories: 40-49, 50-59, 60-69,
70-79 and 80-plus. The GeezerJock of the Year age group winners are:
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MEN 40-49 - Sam Renshaw, Kingsley, Mich. (Speed Skating)
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WOMEN 40-49 - Bonnie Macrae-Kilb, Calgary, Alb. (Volleyball)
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MEN 50-59 - Rob Duncanson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (Track & Field)
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WOMEN 50-59 - Mary Bennett, Lawrenceville, N.J. (Diving)
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MEN 60-69 - Larry Raffaelli, Oxnard, Calif. (Swimming)
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WOMEN 60-69 - Haze Thompson, Tres Pinos, Calif. (Bicycling)
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MEN 70-79 - Ed Whitlock, Milton, Ont. (Long Distance Running)
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WOMEN 70-79 - Irene Camp, Tucson, Ariz. (Triathlon)
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MEN 80-PLUS - Trent Lane, Baker, La. (Track & Field)
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WOMEN 80-PLUS - Lois Nochman, Huntington Woods,Mich. (Swimming)
The GeezerJock Executives of the Year, the
association leaders who have made the most significant contributions to
Masters athletics during the past year, are: Bill Bankhead, CEO of the
National Senior Games Association (NSGA), Baton Rouge, La., and Phil
Godfrey, COO of the NSGA.
Other stories in the winter issue of GeezerJock
that hits the first week in December include:
● Coverage of the AARP Minnesota Senior Olympic
Hockey Championships, which attracted 22 teams including three in the
70-plus bracket. One of the players receiving the most attention at the
NSGA-sponsored tournament was 94-year-old skater John "Mr. B" Burnosky
of suburban Detroit.
● A story on how health clubs are beginning to
market to their fastest-growing customer base, the Baby Boomers. The
story includes tips for Masters athletes selecting a health club.
● An interview with Robert McKeague of Villa
Park, Ill., who at 80 became the oldest man to finish the Ironman
triathlon in Hawaii.
Throughout 2005, GeezerJock is offering free
subscriptions to the magazine, available by registering at
http://www.geezerjock.com/ .
About GeezerJock Magazine
GeezerJock is the first Masters sports and fitness
magazine to cover the spectrum of competitive athletics for people 40
and over and to inspire everyone in that age group to stay fit and
compete in sports at any level. Today, more than 7.2 million Americans
40 years of age and over compete in athletic events. GeezerJock also
offers training tips in the areas of nutrition, vitamins and
supplements, gear and sports medicine. For more information, visit
http://www.geezerjock.com/ .
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