July 5th, 2008
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Tags: senior - age group - senior games state - state - florida - championships - state championships - florida senior games - senior games - games state championships - athletes year - florida senior - games - gold medals - games state
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Strength and accuracy play key roles in several sports of the Florida Senior Games State Championships. For the two athletes who earned the 2007 Athletes of the Year Award, the two attributes were prominent in their success.
Claudette Braswell, of Lake Wales, won medals in Basketball Shooting, Horseshoes, Racquetball with her accurate shots and Larry Wallen, of Jacksonville, used his strength to record the highest totals of the inaugural Powerlifting competition of the Florida Senior Games State Championships.
They were honored at the 2008 Ambassadors for Aging Day at The Capitol in Tallahassee on February 20, 2008. Ambassadors for Aging Day is an event of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Florida Sports Foundation.
The duo was chosen from a field of more than 1,600 senior athletes who competed in 24 sports over nine days of competition in Lee County and the City of Cape Coral in the 16th Annual Florida Senior Games State Championships.
Among the women’s basketball shooters, Claudette Braswell, 71, won three gold medals in the 70-74 age group and had the highest scores of the day with 23 of 30 points in free throw shooting, 12 of 15 points in spot field goal shooting and 111 points in timed field goal shooting. She won a silver medal in the horseshoes competition, finishing second to longtime horseshoe pitcher, Dorothy (Babe) Hood. As one of only three women racquetball players, she won the women’s singles gold medal in the 70-74 age group.
Since she began competing in the Florida Senior Games State Championships in 2003, Braswell has won 12 basketball shooting gold medals, four racquetball gold medals and a gold and bronze medal in horseshoes.
At the first Florida Senior Games State Championships Powerlifting competition, Wallen, 60, had the best deadlift of the day with 320kg (705 lbs), a USAPL American Record for his age group. Wallen had the best combined total of the day with 460kg (320 deadlift, 140 bench press). His total was 25kg more than the next competitor. He won a total of three gold medals for the event.
During 2007, Wallen won first place in his age group and weight class at the USAPL Florida State Championship [Estero, FL], USAPL Masters National Championships [Milwaukee, WI], Sunshine State Games [Lakeland, FL], USAPL Southeastern USA Regional Championships [Miami, FL] 1st Place and Florida Senior Games State Championships.
He also set 12 USAPL Florida State Records, 8 USAPL American Records and 3 IPF World Masters Record during 2007.
Wallen was unable to attend the 2008 Ambassadors for Aging Day to receive his award.
The 2008 Florida Senior Games State Championships will be held December 6-14, in Lee County and the City of Cape Coral. Local qualifiers for the 2008 State Championships are held throughout the year leading up to the event. The 2008 Florida Senior Games State Championships will be a qualifier for the 2009 National Senior Games, to be held in San Francisco, California.
Florida Senior Games State Championships Athletes of the Year (1994-2006)
1994: Doris Prokopi, Land O’Lakes; Wayne Wakefield, Bradenton
1995: Mary Melehan, Englewood; Leonard Stone, Barefoot Bay
1996: Hope Fage, Largo; F.L. McFadden, Lakeland
1997: Ethel Lehmann, Largo; Seymour Duckman, Daytona Beach
1998: Lucia Schatteleyn, Englewood; Donald Ritenour, Belleview
1999: Patricia Bond, Bradenton; Gordon Johnson, Dundee
2000: Erika Messner, Clermont; Al Treichel, Spring Hill
2001: Sperry Rademaker, Floral City; Howard Hall, Port Charlotte
2002: Janice Lathouwers, The Villages; Allen Bjork, Sebring
2003: Madelaine “Tiny” Cazel, The Villages; James Anderson, New Port Richey
2004: Lillian Webb, Sebring; Harry Carothers, Pinellas Park
2005: Patricia Sargeant, Melbourne; Andy McGuffin, Umatilla
2006: Sari Kisbany, Redington Shores; Roger Gentilhomme, Dunedin
2007: Claudette Braswell, Lake Wales; Larry Wallen, Jacksonville
