The true meaning of masters: We’re all in this together
![]() Joe Lary, heart of gold
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An Alabama paper today profiled Joe Lary, an M60 medalist at the recent WMA regionals in Clermont, Florida. But I wasn’t impressed by Joe’s hardware as much as his soft heart. Andrew Carroll of the Tuscaloosa News wrote: “One day a runner from Nicarauga, who couldn’t speak English, got stranded in the rain at the track venue. Lary and his wife, Laura Sue, stayed with the man and notified meet officials to send a shuttle bus so he could return to his hotel. ‘He was so thankful,’ Lary said. ‘The next day he yelled at me from across the field, ‘Jose, Jose.’ He thanked me and introduced me to all his teammates.”
Andrew quoted Joe:
I saw several instances like that of people trying to help people out. Just about every meet I go to I’m always meeting someone new. I’ve made a lot of friends around the South and the country and now around the world.
Is that not the essence of masters sportsmanship?
Here’s the story, should the link go South:
Going strong at 62
By Andrew Carroll Sports Writer
Published: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA | Joe Lary felt a surge of pride when he competed in his latest track and field meet.
Lary, 62, wore a genuine United States Olympic uniform in the North American, Central American, and Caribbean World Masters Track and Field Championships in Clermont, Fla.
“I felt great overall,” Lary said. “There were some disappointments, but the biggest sense of accomplishment was to put on the Olympic uniform and compete for the United States.”
The meet drew more than 700 athletes from 25 countries. Lary, who was in the 60-64 age group, won silver medals in the shot put (34 feet, 8 inches) and triple jump (22-1). He earned a bronze medal in the hammer throw (88-4).
“I felt the way I always feel,” Lary said. “Some days I have it, and some days I don’t. Every time I go out I try to give it the best I can. When you compete against the best in the country and in the world, it spurs you on to see what you can do against them.”
Lary brought the uniform back along with a T-shirt that listed all the names of the U.S. competitors. The U.S. athletes, who had to pay their own way without government subsidies, earned 496 medals, followed by Mexico (144) and Puerto Rico (126).
Lary placed fourth in the weight throw and fifth in the weight pentathlon, which consisted of the hammer, shot put, discus, javelin and the 20-pound weight throw.
He was seventh in the javelin at 111 feet and eighth in the discus at 115. He said those were his best throws in those events this year.
Lary was disqualified from the 5,000 racewalk, which requires strict attention to form.
“I was very disappointed,” he said. “I had never been disqualified before in my life. I had a real good time going, about 11 minutes a mile. With about three laps left the judges pulled me off the track. The thing that was really irritating was that I had the shot put coming up. I had gone 2 1/2 miles all out, and I was thinking I was probably going to blow my shot put chances. It irritated me enough that I ended up with one of my best throws in a year.”
Lary said the shot put winner, Frederick Evans, had flown in from China, where he coached the Belize team in the Beijing Olympics.
Laray said 70-year-old Richard Cochran, who won a bronze medal for the United States in the 1960 Olympics, competed in the discus.
“The camaraderie there was just great,” Lary said.
One day a runner from Nicarauga, who couldn’t speak English, got stranded in the rain at the track venue. Lary and his wife, Laura Sue, stayed with the man and notified meet officials to send a shuttle bus so he could return to his hotel.
“He was so thankful,” Lary said. “The next day he yelled at me from across the field, ‘Jose, Jose.’ He thanked me and introduced me to all his teammates. I saw several instances like that of people trying to help people out.
“Just about every meet I go to I’m always meeting someone new. I’ve made a lot of friends around the South and the country and now around the world.”
Reach Andrew Carroll at andrew.carroll@tuscaloosanews.com
2 Responses
This is a great story. It’s very true, Masters Track & Field is a very close knit community with Classy people just like Mr. Joe Lary. It’s refreshing to read stories like his. Good going!
Joe and I were teammates at University of Alabama in the mid 60’s, a couple of years age we ran into each other at a Miss Sr Games meet. After not having any contact for @ 40 years it was great to renew our friendship. I assure you Joe is the “real thing “, he really does CARE about people . I consider it an honor to call Joe a friend.
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