A Nanaimo Track and Field Club member has raised the bar for what an 85-year-old track and field athlete can do.
Joe Giegerich set a new Canadian record for his age group this past weekend when he cleared a 1.6-metre bar in the pole vault competition at the Trevor Craven Memorial track and field meet in Burnaby.
Giegerich “distinguished himself … in ways that go well beyond mere athleticism,” noted a Nanaimo Track and Field Club press release.
Giegerich used to be a distance runner but switched focus to primarily jumping events in his 70s. He didn’t even try out pole vault until he was 81, but set a B.C. record a few months later and has been targeting a Canadian record for some time.
“Joe is quick to grasp the technical aspects of vaulting, and even at an advanced age, he’s obviously capable of mastering new motor skills,” said Sven Donaldson, Giegerich’s coach, in the press release.
Ramage wins race walk title
In other track and field news, Katelynn Ramage, who is from Nanaimo, won the women’s 20-kilometre race walk at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa this past weekend.
She completed the distance in one hour, 45 minutes, 12 seconds.
Also at nationals, Nanaimo’s Jason Clare finished second in his under-20 division in pole vault. Clare cleared 4.6 metres, just five centimetres behind the gold-medal winner, Brennan Seguin. Clare will represent Canada at the U20 Pan-American track and field championships later this month in Lima, Peru.
Mike Mason of the Nanaimo Track and Field Club won the Canadian championship in high jump last week, for an article, click here.