Sandy Scott Races to the Top at Nationals

Posted June 23, 2011, 9:22 am in GB Topics

This week, more than 10,000 of the country's best athletes gathered near Houston, Texas, for the National Senior Games (aka the Senior Olympics).

The athletes included amateurs, former Olympians and professional athletes and national champions from across the country who competed in a variety of events including track and field, golf, swimming and tennis.

One of the premier events of the competition is cycling. And this week, we kept a close eye on one of our favorite athletes and a man who has embodied the Growing Bolder spirit again and again.
Sandy Scott is a world-class cyclist who didn't even get on a bike until later in life, and when he did, he overcome a horrific wreck that left him with a broken neck.

Now 71, Sandy headed to Houston with one goal in mind -- winning.

But, conditions were less than ideal. For starters, Sandy reports that all the racers had to contend with windy conditions and 100+ degree weather. After spending a few days riding in the brisk wind, he started to get a feel for the weather.

But then, one day before the most important race of his career, the unexpected happened -- Sandy, who has not had even a common cold in years, came down with a full-blown cold that sent his pulse racing. He worried how it was going to affect his performance.

He had no reason to worry.

On race morning, Sandy not only raced past all his competitors on his way to becoming the new national champion for the 5K time trials, he set a new national record! Sandy's age group, 70-74, included three other national time trial champions.

But wait, there's more. When the dust had settled, Sandy discovered that not only did he beat his competitors in his age group, he had the fastest time for ALL 50+ riders that day!

When the official time results were posted, Sandy discovered that one rider, a 55-year-old, tied Sandy's time, but those two beat every other racer in all age groups.

"How I love beating up on the kids," Sandy said.

The day after his race, Sandy was still riding high.

"I could just not believe it when they published the results and I had the fastest time for all age groups, including over 100 male competitors in their 50s!" Sandy told Growing Bolder. "One can not have a better day then winning a national championship with 3 national champions in my age group, shattering a national record that has stood since 1999, and then beating out everyone else in the competition at the age of 71. Life is assuredly good!"

We're big fans of Sandy for his competitive spirit, but we're even bigger fans of his big heart. When Sandy took to the top of podium, he shed his trademark pirate shirt for something more special. He put on a Team Keri shirt in honor of Keri Burns, a fellow cyclist who is battling cancer -- with no medical insurance. Click here to visit the Team Keri Facebook page and learn much more about this special woman and how her friends are rallying around the intensely private person to make a difference in her life and her treatments.

And to learn much more about Sandy, check out our previous stories about Sandy:

-- Meet Sandy Scott

-- Sandy Scott: Criterion Champ

-- Book Review: Sandy Scott's "From Broken Neck to Broken Records"

-- Sandy Scott on the Growing Bolder Radio Show

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