Kansas Senior Olympics a competition for the ages

Topekan Nadine Latham says she and her husband would have competed in the Kansas Senior Olympics before last year if only they had known about the program for men and women 50 and older.

Now 58, she said she and her husband, Pete, 71, are hooked on the annual event and plan to make the Kansas Senior Olympics a priority each fall. Beyond the thrill of competition, she enjoys meeting other athletes in her age range, she says.

"It keeps us out of our rocking chair," Nadine Latham said Friday morning. "Everybody's great. They're all so nice. It just makes it fun, even if you can't win or be in first place."

The Lathams both are competing in table tennis, horseshoes and bowling at the 16th annual Kansas Senior Olympics, being held this weekend at sites across Topeka.

Individual competition began Thursday and continues through Sunday. Team competition will take place Oct. 7 to 10. The event is sponsored by Parks and Recreation of Topeka.

The Lathams are among 530 athletes taking part in this year's Kansas Senior Olympics, a record number in an odd-numbered year, when individuals and teams don't qualify for the National Senior Olympics.

Qualifying for the national games takes place at state events in even-numbered years and attracts larger numbers of athletes.

The National Senior Olympics, which are held in odd-numbered years, will take place in October in Orlando, Fla. About 220 members of Team Kansas have qualified to participate in Orlando.

This year's turnout in Topeka beat by more than 100 the previous non-qualifying year record of 424 athletes set in 1997, said Topekan Marge Rightmeier, director of the Kansas Senior Olympics.

Contestants came this year from 76 Kansas communities and 11 states. Many who qualified at state events last year saw the Kansas games as a last opportunity to tune up their skills before they compete in next month's National Senior Olympics.

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