Carroll qualifies for Senior mpics

events include swimming, cycling, archery, golf, weightlifting, volleyball among others

"It's really neat when you're looking at 85-year-old men and women running " said Carroll "Not many of them do the jumping, but quite a few do the hammer throw or the discus Javelin is huge There's a ton of javelin throwers "

Sharron Carroll recently turned 50,but the number is just that Carroll, the former Sharron Hodge, a triple jumper from Whitewright who once nearly qualified for regionals instead being out jumped in the final jump of the day by then Howe Lady Bulldog Leandra Hixson Some 32 years later, Carroll is still determined to have success as a triple jumper as she recently qualified for nationals in the Senior Olympics

Every other year is a national qualifying year and 2016 just so happens to be the year In June of 2017, the national Senior Olympics events will take place in Birmingham, Alabama and Carroll will be making the trip She's not only be competing in the triple jump, which is her favorite track event, but she also qualified in the 400 meters and the 100 meters.

In most track and field events, athletes have to place in the top four of their age division to qualify for nationals Carroll is in the 5054 year-old division and finished first in all categories in her age group including triple jump and the 100 and 400 meters - this while rehabbing a quadriceps injury On October 15, she'll be traveling to Oklahoma to try and qualify for nationals in the long jump as well as the other three events

Senior Olympics is much more broad than just track and field The

Carroll had to travel to Louisiana for the event because the Texas meet took place in April while she was still 49 As it turns out, she says she still could have participated in that meet due to rule specifications

"I'm learning more and more about this There are people that show up at nationals are in the masters circuit that travel indoor tracks and do it, not professionally, because you can't be a professional athlete, but these are high competitors "

Carroll got the idea from a couple when her and her husband Shawn were camping at Beavers Bend She began to tell this couple that she would love to still play basketball and sports and they shared with her the information of Senior Olympics

Running long distances is not Carroll's cup of tea You won't find her seeking out 5K races to be a part of But she says her best chance of obtaining a medal is in the triple jump event

"I want to do this instead of turning 50 and getting a senior card at Denny's " Carroll joked "I feel blessed that I'm still healthy and God's given me the opportunity to still do this I was fortunate to not be injured in high school "

The national event will take place eight months from now which Carroll says will give her two continued on page 6 continued from page 5

"I'm going to keep doing this as long as I can " said Carroll. "I got in invited to come back to Bosier City Louisiana does this all the time I'm sure other states do too You could go down there and just practice or compete just for the fun of it It all leads up to that big nationals event

At this point, she has been unable to convince husband Shawn to join her, but she mentioned that he was showing a keen interest in the statistics lately would put place her in the all-time top ten And let's remember - she had an quad injury at the time

"Who wouldn't look at the statistics going into it?" said Carroll "You don't watch the football team next week without watching film I'm not going not compete My goal was not to go to Louisiana to participate, my goal was to qualify for nationals I've looked at all the stats and I know what I need to jump to medal And that's going to be about a 28' or 29'

Carroll said that her kids laughed at her when she first told them what her goals were That was until they saw her getting serious about qualifying "Stratton said that I was going to break a hip It's probably embarrassing for him." Carroll joked.

Carroll was really inspired by the older athletes that were stil competing One mother and son combo were competing at the guesstimated ages of 80 and 60 She was told of a story of a man that was 103 in his last competition He was a discus thrower who was stooped over and walk hunched over But when the discus was in his hand, he straightened up and he launched it

In 1985 in St Louis, MO, a group of seven men and women formed the original leadership for what was initially known as the National Senior Olympics Organization (NSOO) In the fall of 1985 they hosted a meeting of individuals who were currently conducting games for seniors in their 33 states That group planned the first National Senior Olympic Games, held in 1987 in St Louis The games were a great success with 2,500 competitors The NSOO was formalized during the games – with a Board of Directors elected, articles of incorporation filed in the State of Missouri and bylaws adopted Over 100,000 spectators viewed the first Games ceremonies featuring Bob Hope at the St Louis Riverfront Arch

The second National Games also took place in St Louis in 1989, hosting 3,400 senior athletes and were covered by the New York Times, ESPN and ABC’s Good Morning America

In 1990 an agreement was reached with the United States Olympic Committee based on its objection to the use of the term Olympic in the organization’s corporate name and the name was changed to the U S National Senior Sports Organization Today, the organization does business as the National Senior Games Association

The National Senior Games Association moved its corporate office to Baton Rouge, LA, in 1997 where it exists today as a non-profit organization dedicated to motivating adults 50 and over to lead a healthy lifestyle through the senior games movement Its signature event, the National Senior Games, has grown to one of the largest multi-sport events in the world

The 2017 National Senior Games are presented by Humana and will be held in Birmingham, Alabama for the two-week period of June 2-15, 2017

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