Sydney World Masters Games 2009 - Local Champion - Mario Vesely
THE DRUM
By David Keogh
Mario Vesely competed at The Sydney World Masters Games 2009 in Kayaking and demonstrated tremendous talent as he dominated the competition bringing home a haul of 8 Gold Medals.
He came… he saw… he CONQUERED!
The Sydney World Masters Games has been and gone. Nearly 30,000 participants from 95 countries competed in 28 different sports at 72 venues throughout Sydney during 9 days of competition in which the emphasis was very much on participation and FUN.
People such as 101 year-old lawn bowler Reg Trewin, 100 year-old track athlete Ruth Frith, 98 year-old swimmer Margo Bates and 69-year-old Carl Hebel who walked 1,100 kilometres from Gympie to Sydney be part of the Games, are just a few of the brilliant people who exemplified the Games motto and showed everyone the benefits of being “fit, fun and forever young."
Meanwhile, back in Manly two of our local Games representatives (both kayakers) could hardly carry their respective hauls of Gold medals back to the Peninsula. Games ambassador and Olympic legend Shelley Oates-Wilding, won seven gold medals, while Mario Vesely who I wrote about in The Drum two months ago, won no less than 8 Gold medals in the canoe/kayak competition! And he did it under considerable duress too!
A week out from the Games, Mario was in bed with a high fever (his temperature topped 39.5 deg. C). He had no energy, no desire to eat or drink and certainly no desire to continue training for his events. He’d sacrificed a fair bit for this campaign too. While many participants viewed the Masters as no more than a good excuse to have a run and enjoy the experience, the former holder of 15 National Kayaking Titles in his native Czechoslovakia at age 18, saw the Games as another stepping-stone towards his goal of Australian Olympic selection at age 40!
He also knew he’d be up against some of the best of his age whom he used to compete against 20 years ago… representatives of the former Eastern bloc countries Hungary, Romania and East Germany. Mario had a point to prove.
He got the doctors in, had all the shots, restricted his time on the water, took two days off from his job as a successful realtor and slowly started feeling human again.
After three days he paddled a short distance before collapsing. On the 4th day he completed a whole 200 metres. The day before he was due to compete in his first Games event, he felt as if he was regaining his fitness. He fronted up for competition on Friday October 16. His first race result was disappointing (for him), but he did enough to make the Final.
He regained his strength and his times improved with every race. He’d entered the K2 and K4 event in the 1,000m event and the Single (K1), K2 and K4 in the 200m and 500m events in the 30 plus age category for good measure. (Remember, Mario has already turned 40.) He won the Gold Medal in every event!
Individually Mario paddled faster than he’d ever done before, even when he was in full time competition 20 years ago. And when he teamed with the ‘youngsters’ in the 30+ category, Mario absolutely blitzed ‘em! He won the 600m K4 Gold by the length of the proverbial straight!
Mario’s next big test is the National Titles in March… and if he performs well there, then he opens the door to an unthinkable Olympic selection. He wants nothing more than to represent his adopted homeland in London in 2012… and with Mario’s will to win, I won’t be betting against him to achieve his dream.
Meanwhile, for the many of you who are no doubt wondering, yours truly also competed in the Sydney World Masters Games in the Over 50s Men’s Doubles tennis. I didn’t quite enjoy Mario’s success.
I only lasted a short time before running up against the top seeds and eventual Gold medal winners in the Quarter-Finals. (Gave them a run for their money though – they only beat me and my partner from N.Z. Bill Kridle, 7/6, 6/3.) But I did get to meet my tennis idol, Ken Rosewall again and it was just great to see so many happy people… and truly inspirational to witness those in their ‘old age’ being so active in an amazing range of sports. On to Turin, Italy in 2013!
The author, Dave Keogh, Pictured as he contemplates missing out on Gold
Our Manly columnist Dave Keogh has been a professional writer for some 30 years, contributing to publications as broad as Modern Fishing and Outdoor. He honed a passion writing a regular column – Talking Tennis – for The Manly Daily. With a varied history including work as a music industry publicist, theatrical agent, band manager, poet, editor and tennis coach, he found his niche in advertising, and with loads of awards under his belt, Dave went into business on his own and now runs several very successful businesses, including an online community connecting sport-loving people – http://www.doubledrummer.com/ Most importantly, Dave loves sport, and is an avid supporter of The Manly Sea Eagles…