Masters News and Muse

Here's the Neni story, in case the link goes away:

When it comes to throws, nothing little about Lewis

Neni Lewis doesn't tip 200 pounds on a scale or pass the 5-foot mark in height, but the veteran thrower is big on the Masters track circuit.

By Tom Brolley
Reading Eagle

Neni Lewis isn't one of the biggest throwers, but she's one of the best for her age.

The Queens, N.Y., native stands just a little over 5 feet tall and weighs less than 200 pounds, but she's an American and world record holder in throwing events usually dominated by much bigger women.

Not too bad for a someone who used to be a sprinter in high school and college.

"People say that the biggest asset I have is my speed and my strength," Lewis said. "I have a lot of power and speed."

Lewis was one of 24 throwers that competed in the eighth annual Masters Throw-a-Thon at Albright College Saturday afternoon.

Athletes from places like Florida, Ohio and North Carolina competed in the event, which involved three throws at three different weights for the hammer, shot put, discus, javelin and weight throws.

Masters athletes are members of USA Track & Field (USATF) who are 35 years of age or older and compete in local, regional, national and international events.

Lewis got involved with Masters after she was introduced to Rosyln Katz at a meet at St. John's University, Lewis' alma mater.

The pair started training together about 10 years ago, and it didn't take long for Lewis to become a world champion.

Lewis holds international records in two different age groups, 40-44 and 45-49, for the hammer, the weight throw and the weight pentathlon.

The weight and hammer throws are now her favorite, but it was an injury that first got her throwing the shot put.

Lewis was originally a sprinter until she injured her ankle during her senior year of high school.

"I needed to find something else in case I didn't come back to my normal speed," she said. "I was going to the weight room and lifting, just trying to stay strong until I could get back to running. My coach said I should become a shot putter because of how big I got."

Colleges soon began to recruit the 135-pound Lewis not only as a shot thrower, but also as a sprinter.

Lewis said her St. John's throws coach, Ken Bantum, couldn't figure out what she was doing in the ring because of how fast she moved.

"With the sprints, it really helped me get across the circle," Lewis said. "I had coaches in college that said I was the fastest shot putter they'd ever seen."

Lewis qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1980, 1984 and 1988 in the shot put.

Her best chance to make the team was in 1988, when she was throwing close to 60 feet leading up to the trials. But her bid was cut short when a car accident injured her hip and back.

While her Olympic dreams are long gone, Lewis still trains like a full-time athlete.

On Mondays and Wednesdays she lifts weights, on Tuesdays and Thursdays she throws for an hour with Katz, on Fridays she receives massage therapy and on the weekends she either competes at Masters events or she practices.

She balances her busy schedule while working as an administrative assistant for an actuarial consulting firm.

Lewis will once again be a favorite in the throwing events for her age group at this year's USA Masters Championship in August and next year's World Championship in Finland.

"She is the best," Katz said. "She's a world record holder in several events and an American record holder in lots of events for a reason. She's just really good."

Getting only better with age

At 80, Tom Rice says he's more competitive than he was in school. He's aiming for the PA Senior Games.

By Ed Mahon
For The Inquirer

After running a 200-meter dash, throwing a javelin, or completing a triple jump, 80-year-old Tom Rice will rest on what he calls "a stupid old lawn chair."

Still, the blue folding chair has meaning to him, perhaps almost as much as the more than 300 medals he's won and the 11 state records he holds.

The chair is covered with almost 40 signatures - all written in black marker -- of competitors, friends and teachers he's met at various competitions.

"I've learned from these elder statesmen in the world of track and field, these guys that are really great," said Rice, who ran track at Upper Darby High School and Pennsylvania State University. "I am much better now than I was then - if you gauge according to age."

So although he might not run as fast, jump as high or throw as far as he once did, the retired salesman and Nether Providence resident does it all with much better form.

Rice will bring his trusty chair to the Delaware County Senior Games, which begin Friday with a 6:30 p.m. opening ceremony at Rose Tree Park in Upper Providence. He has participated in the contest for people 50 and older since its inception in 1990.

"I just enjoy the people and the competition. My wife says I'm too competitive," Rice said, adding that she banned him from the shuffleboard contest. Now he sticks with track and field events at the county games. He views them as a warm-up for the Keystone State Summer Games and PA Senior Games, to be held July 22-27 in York County.

His wife, Dolores, convinced him to enter the Delaware County Senior Games back in 1990, when Rice was 62. "I said, 'Why don't you enter this because you used to be a track star in school?' " his wife said. " 'Why don't you go see what you can do?' "

He did better than expected, and he kept competing. Standing 5-foot-7 1/2 and weighing 155 pounds, Rice weighs 15 pounds less than he did in 1990. He said the contests motivate him to eat healthier, stay in shape and stick to a steady exercise routine.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it's weight-lifting and a brisk one-mile walk at the Ridley Sports Club. Tuesdays, Thursdays and one day during the weekend, Rice will take another one-mile walk around Swarthmore College's outdoor track, followed by a couple of 200-meter sprints. He takes a pill for blood pressure, but no other medication. No vitamins, either. He's very conscious about stretching, though.

In March, Rice won four gold medals - in long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault - at the USA Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. He also won a bronze in the shot-put. His goal this year is to qualify for All-American status in 10 events, and he has qualified in six so far.

The time qualifications lessen for each age group, as do the weight the seniors throw. The discus Rice throws, for instance, weighs 1 kilogram, compared to the 2-kilogram piece thrown by male Olympians.

Rice thinks the adjustments are fair. "When you get to be a certain age, it's not so easy," he said.

He holds 11 records - in different age groups - at the Keystone State Games. (Age groups are typically divided every five years for seniors.) At age 75, he set the 100-meter record at 15.69 seconds. At age 76, he set the 200-meter record at 36.06 seconds. Last year, he broke the high-jump record at 3 feet, 10 inches.

"He gets excited, not in the sense of [blowing] his own horn; but excited because [it] shows that he's still active and still participating," said Trey Jackson, one of the directors of the Keystone State Games and PA Senior Games.

Joe Granahan, 78, said that, for the moment, he has the best chance of taking first-place titles while Rice is in the lower age bracket. Still, Rice is coming up, and there are worse guys to lose to.

"Some guys who are excellent and number one for years and years, they're a little distant," said Granahan, who resides in Glenside, Montgomery County. "But Tom is really down to earth. He's a heck of a guy."