Humboldt County’s Mary Agnes Boni and Skip Durand both qualified and competed in their first National Senior Olympic Games in Albuquerque, N.M., that were held June 14-25.
The top three finishers in each state competition earned the right to compete at nationals, with the top eight national winners in each event getting a ribbon.
Boni qualified in six swimming events for the 69 and under division, improving her times in four events and taking eighth for a ribbon in one of them.
“We watched them bring the torch in and light the big Olympic Cauldron, it was really cool to see that,” Boni said. “190 Nevadans marched in the celebration of the athletes as a team and we all had Nevada jackets on.”
Boni concluded, “I have swam all of my life, but I have never really competed until two years ago. I didn’t know how to dive off a board and I ran into the wall more than once trying to figure out how to make turns in the water. I had a big honking bruise on my head for about two weeks after the event.”
Durand took sixth place in 70 to 74 year-old division in the shot put, discus, and javelin nationally, but he was not satisfied with his results.
“I finished about where I thought that I would in the shot put, but I probably should have placed third in javelin and second in discus if I had thrown like I normally do, but you have those kinds of days sometimes,” Durand said. “Fort Lauderdale, Florida is hosting the next games in 2021, so I don’t think I will be going to that one, but I may change my mind because that is a lot of temptation, but you have to stay in shape and train hard to finish in the top three per state to qualify.”
Full results and more information about the National Senior Games can be found at nsga.com.
