2009 FLORIDA SENIOR GAMES STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
PHOTO GALLERY
 

Perry Small of Cape Coral won the first gold medal of the 2009 Florida Senior Games State Championships crossing the finish line of the 10K Road Race with a time of 35:52.32 to win the 50-54 age group.  Small who turned 50 on the day prior to reach the minimum age requirement for the Games.

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Patrice Hirr, of The Villages, had a six for six sweep of swimming gold medals and record breaking performances in the 60-64 age group.  Her time of 35.83 in the 50-yard butterfly was the fastest overall time of all age groups.  She also set records in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard freestyle.

John Shultz, of Inverness, won a Table Tennis medal for the 17^th consecutive year dating back to 1993.  Shultz, who won a gold medal in Men’s Singles and a silver in Men’s Doubles in the 70-74 age group, holds the longest consecutive year medal winning streak in the 18-year history of the Games.   

The two oldest athletes of the Florida Senior Games State Championships met in singles tennis competition as 195 years combined played a 75-minute match.  100-year old Roger Gentilhomme, of Dunedin (right in photo) and 95-year old James Kales, of Bonita Springs (left in photo), each earned gold medals since they were the only athletes in their age group.  Kales won the match 6-2, 5-3 before Gentilhomme retired in the second set. 

 

Corkey Nydle, of The Villages, shot an 85 to establish a new record in the 80-84 age group.  It is her third age group record since setting the 70-74 record in 2003.  She added the 75-79 age group record in 2007. Nydle has won a gold medal in seven of the last eight years

Dave Viney, of Leesburg, completed the 20K Road Race with a time of 30:31.202 finishing less than one second ahead of Lee Hogan, of Inverness, to win the gold medal in the 55-59 age group.  He was the first rider to cross the finish line in the 40K Road Race with a time of 1:05:01.927, again, less than a second ahead of John Tanner, of Clearwater, who the gold medal in both races in the 50-54 age group.




Harry Carothers, of Pinellas Park, won his 11 consecutive Timed Field Goal Shooting gold medal dating back to 1999. Carothers, the 2003 Florida Senior Games State Championships Male Athlete of the Year, posted the overall high score in the Timed Field Goal Shooting with 121 points, hitting 24 shots from the three point line.


 

Competing in his first Florida Senior Games State Championships, Brian Hankerson, of Hollywood, leaped to all-time best performances in the High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump.  His long jump of 19-01.50 broke the previous all-time best by more than a foot.  he broke the previous best high jump with a leap of 5-06.  He rounded out his record-breaking day with a triple jump of 37-09.





Sandra Hults, of Leesburg and Peter Bayer, of Jupiter, were presented with the First Annual Bob Fine Excellence in Race Walking Award. Both Hults and Bayer (pictured with Stephen Rodriguez, of the Florida Sports Foundation) had gold medals in both the 1500 meter and 5K Race Walks in 2008 and followed up in 2009 with the same awards.  Fine, who passed away in 2008 was a veteran race walker and track athlete in the Florida Senior Games State Championships and on a national level. 



Link to 2008 Florida Senior Games State Championships
Photo Gallery

The Florida Sports Foundation is charged with the promotion and development of professional, amateur, recreational sports and physical fitness opportunities that produce a thriving Florida sports industry and environment.

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