With the 2016 Summer Olympics in full swing, plenty of smaller, Olympic-inspired competitions are taking place across the United States—and several of them are in senior living communities. Here’s a roundup of how senior living is celebrating the Olympic games.
101-Year-Old Michigan Man Competes in 100-Meter Dash in Senior Olympics—101-year-old Fred Winter “thrilled the crowd” at the Michigan Senior Olympics by finishing the 100-meter-dash in just over 1 minute, People reports. “Believe it or not, I’m up to 100 pushups right now,” Winter said. “You have to do them fast. If you just do them slow, you won’t make it.”
Olympics: Michigan Woman Lobbied for New Event at Summer Games— 91-year-old Frances Jones, now a resident of Samaritas Senior Living in Michigan, once served as the president of the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Association, Hometown Life reports. In fact, Jones led a group of swimmers called the “Lansing Sea Sprites” on two world tours that included stops at the Summer Olympics in 1960 and 1964. If it were up to her, though, the sport would be called “aqua gymnastics.”
Annapolis Senior Activity Center Hosts Olympics for Young and Old—The Annapolis Senior Activity Center in Maryland held its own Olympics, with a twist. Seniors participated in an opening ceremony, and then children from a local Boys & Girls Club chapter earned medals by hitting a whiffle ball through a hula hoop, among other things, Capital Gazette reported.
Olympic Spirit Shines at Clark Meadows— Clark Meadows at Ferris Hills in Canandaigua, New York, hosted an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony hours prior to the real thing in Rio, the Daily Messenger reports. Various residents and employees, representing different nations, took part in an Olympic march before seeing demonstration of martial arts, equestrian events and dancing. Residents also enjoyed appetizers from an international tasting station before sitting down to a Brazilian-themed supper.
A Sporting Morning – Senior Olympics Celebrates 30 Years— Several seniors in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, recently competed in the 30th Tri-County Senior Olympics, put on every year by a group of activity professionals from skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities and other long-term care agencies in the area. The event gives seniors the opportunity to compete in games ranging from putting and bowling to shuffleboard and “lasso golf,” The Journal Times reported.
A New Jersey Nursing Home Held Their own 2016 Olympics—Residents at Spring Hills Cherry Hill Assisted Living in New Jersey hosted their own version of the Olympics, complete with a “cauldron” to “light” with an Olympic torch made of paper. Check out the video, courtesy of SNJ Today.
Hilltop Residents Compete for Gold
Residents at a senior living community in Grand Junction, Colorado, competed against one another in physical and intellectual competitions. “It’s something we need to do rather than just sit in our room and vegetate,” resident Michael Kuich told the local NBC television affiliate.
Written by Mary Kate Nelson
