M55 jumper Chris Wallace of Arizona (unrelated to the Fox newsman or Mike Wallace) is profiled in his local paper, mainly celebrating his comeback from heart surgery. But Chris says some salient things: “You have a heart attack and it kind of brings the reality that there might not be tomorrow, so you just start going out to try things. You kind of have the ‘might as well go for it now’ attitude.” Love it. He also says he was away from the sport for 30 years, and “after that long of a period of time, you just feel awkward coming back, but I did a lot of improving that first year.” Bingo that, too. He doesn’t appear to jump in many USATF meets, but is ranked.

Here’s the story, in case the link goes southwest:

Heart attack motivates Senior Olympic medalist
By Katie Mayer
January 17, 2015 – 5:53 pm

When Maricopa resident Chris Wallace turned 50, he revisited an old love from his high school days – the track field.

As a high school athlete, the former Colorado resident was a fierce competitor in field events. So when he reached the age of eligibility to participate in the Senior Olympics, he hoped to compete once again.

To prepare, the already-fit and health-conscious athlete added some jumping exercises at the track to his workout regimen and geared up to compete in his first meet. But then he suffered a heart attack.

“It came as a total surprise,” said Wallace’s wife Stephanie Wallace.

Paramedics flew Wallace to an area hospital where doctors placed a stent in his artery and told him he was lucky to be alive.

“I didn’t suffer the traditional symptoms so I messed around for six or seven hours before I went to the doctor,” Wallace said.

Instead of getting down about his health or putting off his dream, Wallace became even more determined. Six months after his surgery, he won two silver medals and one bronze medal in the Colorado Senior Olympics. He has since competed in the Arizona Senior Olympics and other state and national competitions around the country.

Today, at the age of 58, Wallace has racked up 72 medals in running long jump, standing long jump and triple jump and is ranked around No. 28 in the world in triple jump in his age group.

In addition to the Senior Olympics, he also competes in the State Games of America and in events through U.S.A. Track & Field. He competed in the Arizona Senior Olympics earlier this year and qualified to compete in the 2015 National Senior Games.

“You have a heart attack and it kind of brings the reality that there might not be tomorrow, so you just start going out to try things,” Wallace said. “You kind of have the ‘might as well go for it now’ attitude.”

Still, Wallace said he was surprised at all he has accomplished after more than 30 years away from the sport.

“After that long of a period of time, you just feel awkward coming back,” Wallace said, “but I did a lot of improving that first year.”

The Arizona Senior Olympics is a nonprofit multi-sports competition for adults age 50 and over. It is a program of the Arizona Lifelong Fitness Foundation in partnership with a number of cities. The state games are held annually and those who qualify can compete in national events every two years.

The Arizona Senior Olympics offers more than 30 events, such as tennis, golf, swimming, powerlifting, aerobic dance and cycling.

“The National Senior Games and our network of state games feature some of the best examples of healthy aging you will find anywhere, and many just began their athletic careers after 50.” said Marc T. Riker, CEO of the National Senior Games Association.

In the last National Senior Games, which was held in Cleveland, Ohio in 2013, more than 10,800 athletes competed and 140 were from Arizona, said Del Moon, spokesman for the association.

Close to 1,500 Arizona athletes qualified to compete, but the costs of traveling prohibit many participants from going to the national games.

“Even if people don’t choose to participate in sports, we hope everyone is inspired to get out and be more active in some way,” Riker said.

Wallace said he has seen incredible athletes in their 90s competing at the games and often sees the same competitors around the country.

“There are a lot of people who go out and do things and have no aspirations to medal or anything, but just go compete and enjoy being around others,” Wallace said.

The sport has also been a fun activity for the rest of the family. Stephanie often joins Wallace at the track to measure his jumps and shoot pictures and videos. Also, the Wallaces’ daughter Amanda and other family members enjoy watching the competitions.

“I’m just so proud of him, and I think he’s an inspiration,” Stephanie said. “When I see him out there warming up, I just look at him and think there could’ve been a chance he wouldn’t be here to do this and now he could win a medal – it’s exciting.”

The 2015 Arizona Senior Olympics Games are scheduled for Feb. 21 through March 15 and will include more than 145 events for both men and women in 11 age groups beginning at age 50 and going to age 100 and up. Age groups are divided in 5-year increments. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to top finishers for each event in each age group.