Over the hill? Don't bet on it!

Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features

Daisynell Vernon is nobody's spring chicken, but even at the ripe old age of 71 she sped to the end of her 50-metre foot race like a woman possessed.

The five-footer was among dozens of golden agers who gathered at Jamaica College in St Andrew yesterday for a senior citizens' sports day staged by the National Council for Senior Citizens.

The athletes who gathered for the sporting spectacle may have been well up in age, but they were by no means feeble-bodied.

Take Willfred Chambers, for example. This bearded 70-something was the day's most vocal trash talker, getting into contentious spats with his main rivals at the end of each race he participated in. Much of his rantings can't be repeated here. Suffice it to say, being a gracious winner was apparently not high on his list of priorities that day.

"Have dat! Yuh mustn't run wid me, yuh know, for unnu and me ah nuh size!" he shouted to his opponents, who waved him off with obvious disdain.

The athleticism displayed by those who turned out to participate in the activities were, by and large, impressive, particularly in light of the fact that the runners were all more than 60 years old.

The eldest runner of the day was Roy Thomas. At 83, he showed true grit during his 50-metre dash, and although finishing in last place, he attracted the loudest cheers from a crowd made up mostly of less athletically inclined seniors who geed up their peers.

Thomas even appeared to have caught the eye of a silver-haired belle who batted her eyelashes ever so seductively in his direction the second he crossed the finish line.

The senior citizens' sports day is an annual event and is used primarily to encourage a healthy lifestyle at any age.

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com