A large contingent of athletes from the Sunshine Coast came home last week with great results from the World Masters Games in Edmonton.
The event was held July 22 to 31. Based on athlete participation, the World Masters Games is the largest international multi-sport event. Edmonton attracted 23,348 elite and recreational athletes from 84 countries. By comparison, the Athens 2004 Olympic Games hosted 11,099 athletes. The Games are open to people of all skill levels. The average minimum age for most sports is 30. Track and field history was made when Don Benson and son Mark competed in both the outdoor pentathlon and the weight pentathlon. Don, who is the gold medalist, and Mark, who is the silver medalist in B.C. and Canada in the outdoor pentathlon, were ready to take on the world's best and to finish in the top 10 in both events.
The outdoor pentathlon, track and field's most gruelling event, entails sprinting 200 m, running 1,500 m, long jumping and throwing both discus and javelin. In the weight pentathlon, the athletes throw discus, javelin, shot put, hammer and weight hammer.
Don met the challenge by finishing fifth in the outdoor pentathlon and sixth in the weight pentathlon in the 70 to 75 division. Mark rose to the occasion and finished ninth in the outdoor and fifth in the 50 to 55 division.
The Bensons now hold the distinction of being the only father-son duo in the world to have competed in and completed both pentathlons, finishing in the top 10.
David Barnum competed in four individual and three relay events in the pool.
Barnum said he didn't achieve any personal bests but just the same was pleased with his results.
Barnum also competed in the sprint distance triathlon, where he came third in his age group, 40 to 44, and fifth overall.
"I'm extremely happy with that result. It was a pretty competitive event," Barnum said.
Paul Wright competed in the Olympic distance triathlon.
Since he is still recovering from an auto accident of last year, Wright said he was not too sure how he would do.
"It went pretty well considering," Wright said. "It was just awesome to be there. It's like attending the Olympics for amateurs."
Gibsons Larry Nightingale had excellent results.
He finished fourth in the triathlon, just behind Barnum, and captured gold with a time of 4:22.71 in a major running event."The race started at a quite modest 70 second pace for the first 400," Nightingale said. "The second lap was not much faster. Everyone seemed reluctant to play the sacrificial lamb to take an early lead. However, at 900 m, Leon-ard Ferman from California bolted to the front and didn't let up until he had a 20 m lead ahead of me and the rest of the pack. I sat patiently until 400 m to go as per the pre-race plan. However, with such a gap, this strategy might have been poor planning on my part in the race for gold.
"So when I kicked at 400 m to go, it was the silver I was shooting for. But in my effort to drop the rest of the pack, I had managed to make up a substantial distance on the leader. So at 200 m to go my new mission was to go for gold or blow up trying. Obviously as it turned out I nipped Ferman at the line by .07 seconds to the roar of a full stadium."
On the soccer pitch, Carla Paetkau and Sara Shutz played for a team in the women's over-30 division.
The squad finished with a record of 1-1-3. Both players play in the local women's league for the Crushers.
"We had a lot of fun. It was an amazing experience and we hope to go to Sydney for the next Games in 2009," Paetkau said.
Bill Davis also competed, finishing fifth on the over-45 men's soccer team. The squad, made up of mostly players from Vancouver and Victoria, compiled a 4-1 record.
"The competition wasn't what I hoped it would be, but it was still a good experience," Davis said.
On the ice, Sechelt's Sherry Nelsen helped lead the B.C. Misfits to the gold medal in the 30 to 35 recreation division.
Nelsen has been playing ladies' hockey in Sechelt for four years, and most recently, has been playing AA hockey in Vancouver.
She was invited to play on the hand-picked team from Kamloops after playing at a Masters' tournament in Kamloops earlier this year.
"The team had exceptional women with incredible spirit," Nelsen said. "To be in a tournament so large with so many athletes from 82 countries was amazing."
Jan Richey from Roberts Creek rounded out the Coast contingent.
Richey and her volleyball team played eight matches in three days.
"The level of play was very good with most teams having national team members on them," Richey said.
"We were in the 45 to 49 category and ended up fifth overall. Being at the Games was incredible. Talking to athletes from all over the world, watching amazing performances from athletes both older and younger than us. It was very inspiring."
