The Western Illinois Senior Games (previously known as the Senior Olympics) have been held since 1980, and Ralph Whiteman believes he has participated in every single one of them.
The life-long Monmouth resident was back in Macomb for this year’s event.
“I’m in pretty good shape for 98 and I attribute that to being physically active over the years,” he said.
Whiteman said that staying active physically and mentally gives him something to look forward to.
He lettered in football and tennis at Monmouth College and continued to play sports after college. He has competed in six national Senior Games.
This year in Macomb, he participated in track and field events.
TSPR asked Whiteman if he plans to return for next year’s Senior Games.
“Well, I want to invite everybody to the party two years from now when I get to three digits in my age. We’ll have a big party and you’re all invited,” he said.
‘A runny-nosed kid’
Whiteman called fellow Senior Games participant Herschel Surratt “a runny-nosed kid” because he is only age 90.
Surratt, who made the approximately one-hour trip from the small village of Chapin, is celebrating his 44th anniversary of defeating cancer. He credits physical activity with helping make that possible. He rides a four-wheel bicycle to keep in shape.
“I ride it every morning that’s fit to coffee. My coffee car,” he said with a chuckle.
He also walks and works out at a rehab facility.
Surratt participated in the long jump, bicycle races, and other sports at past games. This year, he planned to compete in the 1,500 meter race-walk and the shot put.
“I do hold the record for (ages) 80 to 84 in the 1,500 meter race-walk, and from 85 to 89, I hold that record. And I hope to be the first 90-year-old to walk the 1,500 meter today,” he said.
Organizers said Surratt did complete that walk, becoming the first person to do so in the 90-to-94-year-old category at the Western Illinois Senior Games.
Competition & Camaraderie
The Senior Games are partially about competition, but they’re also partially about camaraderie.
“You get an opportunity while we’re at our events or at the social to chat and learn things about each other,” said Mary Bourn Clark.
Bourn Clark is from Jacksonville, which is only about 15 minutes from where Surratt lives. But she said she never would have met him and become friends with Surratt if not for the games.
Bourn Clark said she went to the national games a couple years ago and medaled in the pole vault. Now she’s primarily a thrower — discus, hammer, javelin, and the shot put.
Keeping the body and mind going
Tammi Bories is in her second year of organizing the Western Illinois Senior Games.
“This weekend, we gather not just to play, but to celebrate the enduring spirit of staying active and engaged no matter what our age,” she said during the opening ceremonies.
Bories is a professor of Health and Wellness Services at Western Illinois University and is the Exercise Science Program Coordinator. She told TSPR that as such, she knows that staying active physically helps you keep going as you get older.
“It’s a great way to age gracefully. It’s one way that we can stay healthy and keep our body and mind going,” Bories said.
She credits volunteers with making things run smoothly during the weekend’s activities.
Bories said the games are officially called the George Hermann Western Illinois Senior Games. Hermann was a WIU physical education professor who founded the Western Illinois Senior Olympics in the fall of 1980. He organized the first regional games in the spring of 1981, and served as the state coordinator for the Illinois Regional Senior Games for 23 years.
The western Illinois games were named in his honor in 2018.
The games were paused for a couple years during the pandemic. Now Bories is working to bring participation levels back up to pre-pandemic levels and she’s added some sports, such as pickleball.
“I felt like I saw the writing on the wall when I took this over last year that we have such a strong pickleball community here at the Y, and I felt like we were missing out on something,” she said, adding that it’s also offered as an event at the national senior games.
Around 70 people participated in the games this year, up from around 45 last year.
“It’s a great community, and we’d love to build upon that and bring the joy and experience to others,” Bories said.
Bories said the games in Macomb basically serve as a warm up event. Springfield will host this year’s state games. Those are the qualifier games for the biennial national Senior Games, which will be held in Tulsa, Okla., next year.
The National Senior Games Association says it’s never too late to become active. The organization says many Senior Games athletes try a sport for the first time in their 50s, 60s, 70s, or even beyond.
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