Clara Lee Ripley loves running and interacting with people — and she combined her two loves in going to the Virginia Senior Games. Ripley won five gold medals at the 2014 Virginia Senior Games — taking home the top prize in the 50-meter and 100-meter dashes and in the long jump, discus and shot put.
Ripley ran the 50-meter in 9.49 seconds, the 100-meter in19.65 seconds and jumped 2.37 meters in the long jump. She threw the discus 39 feet, 1 1/2 inches and the shot put 19 feet, 1/2 inch.
“God gets the glory for this because I was able to do it,” Ripley said. “Many people my age can’t, and it just meant a lot to be able to do these things.”
Ripley enjoys sharing her interest for track and field with other people at the games. She loves to also keep herself in shape, and she thanks God that He has helped her compete well over the 19 years she’s been going to the Virginia Senior Games.
“Being with other people and competing — the competitive spirit in me; actually, just thanking the Lord that it’s keeping me going,” she said.
She’s won 104 gold medals, 26 silver and one bronze medal. She thinks the competition at the Senior Games helps drive her to continually work to get better.
“By competing with people, it makes you do better than you think you could have,” she said. “It just gives that extra push to exceed what you think you can do.”
Ripley found the Senior Games intriguing at the time when Danville hosted them, but she was too young at that time.
“I just got interested and thinking, ‘That’s something I can do when I retire, when I get a little bit older,’” she said. “I just started competing when I became of age. At that time it was 55, now they’ve lowered the age to 50.”
Ever since she started competing, she’s only missed two Senior Games — 2005 and 2006.
“In 2005, my husband had heart surgery, and in 2006 I had a foot injury — plantar fasciitis,” she said. “That’s why I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to do it for the last few years. Things can happen — one slip, one fall, and sometimes that’s it competing like that. I’ve been very fortunate and very thankful that I haven’t fallen and hurt myself.”
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