Showing that age is just a number and winning medals never gets old, some local athletes made hay at last week's Canadian Masters indoor track and field championship in Edmonton.
New Westminster's Vince Kocourek and Burnaby's Arthur Gee set an impressive pace for the over-45 set, recording triple gold at the national event, hosted by the University of Alberta.
Kocourek picked up three gold medals, topping the men's 65 division's 60-, 200- and 400-metre events. The 66-year-old Royal City runner, who trains with Elite Track and Field Club in New West, won the 60m dash with a time of 9.20 seconds. He picked up the 200m with a timed 32.86 seconds, and was first in the 400m at 1:25.00.
Gee, meanwhile, captured a pair of gold in field and one in track. The Burnaby resident, who trains with the Greyhounds club based in Coquitlam, topped the men's 75-aged division's triple jump, with a distance of seven metres, and the weight throw, reaching nine metres. He also won the 60m dash with a time of 10.25 seconds. Gee placed second in the long jump, clearing 3.42 metres, and finished fourth in the 1500m run.
Another Burnaby resident, Dmitry Babenko, topped a pair of race walking events in the men's 45 division. The 46-year-old won the 1500m race, with a time of 6:30, and the 3000m event, at 13:30.
New Westminster's Julie Valente, with the Greyhounds, captured the women's 50-year division of the 400m, in a time of 1:30.40, and placed third in the 800m, at 3:27.10. She also finished fifth in the 60m dash.
Picking up a bronze in the men's shotput for 50-year-olds was New West's Rafal Czekajlo, hitting a distance of 11.13m. Faraaz Taiyab posted the fourth-best time in the men's 45 division's 200m event, finishing in a time of 32 seconds.
