Veteran ath AFTER the current extravaganza in Sydney ends this weekend, Australia’s next big ath- letic show will take place next year in Brisbane. And Olga Koielko of West Vancouver will be there to defend her various titles. ‘The occasion will be the World Veterans Athletics Championships, at which she made ber debut last vear in Gateshead, England. Quite a debut. Merely six gold and three silver medals, plus a world record for her age in the weights pentathlon (discus, javelin, shot, hammer and weight throw). Can she top this performance when she goes to O22 OK, there’s a chance that she may have lost a step. After all, she'll be 82. At Gateshead she was a sprightly young 80. On the other hand, she'll have the benefit of more experience. Gateshead Was her first world championship. If it seems strange to vou that she waited until she was 80 to g0 for some global titles, you must understand that she didn’t take up track and field until she was 77, and only then by acci- lent. You see, she was playing second base, as she had been for decades, in a slo-pitch softball game. She went back on a high popfly into the shallow outfield and was run over by a hard- < +> charging centrefielder who thought the ball was his. -. “should have called for that ball,” she says, almost apologet- > ically. “But I didn’t. Then I decided maybe I should try another ”. Sport where accidents like this don’t happen.” -She started out with 5K and 10K walks, but found them bor- ing. The field events in athletics appealed to her because they involved throwing things. After all, she’d been throwing softballs ~~ ever since she was a kid in rural Saskatchewan. And there were books on the subject, weren't there? ~- She got some advice from another retired schoo! teacher, Bob - Robinson — the man who, when he was teaching at North Van : High, steered Harry Jerome from baseball into running. As you _may have read in this space before, Harry went onto hold simul- tancous world records in the 100-m and 100-yard events. Bob helped her get started, but having no special expertise in Sy the Spectator ’ trl Ss R s oydor finishes fifth =~ NORTH Van native ~ Alison Sydor had her :. medal hopes dashed in Sydney on the week- ..Sydor, who now lives in Victoria, cycled to a fifth-place finish in the women's cross country mountain bike ‘final nm Saturday. ‘ - Italy’s Paola Pezzo took. the gold, while Switzerland's Barbara Blatter claimed the sil- ver and Margarita Fullana of Spain settled for the bronze. Bridging the gap between *Fullana and Sydor was Russia’s Alla Epifanova. For a complete wrap-up of Olympic action, sce this Sunday's edition of the News. RURSTIE 2 North Shore Softball Association - Minor Boys Fastbail 987-2255 “would like to thank the following sponsors for their support during the 2000 season. a : : ‘Ast Street Garage “The Cannery Seafood House — Save-On-Foods Norson Construction Ltd. Control Temp Ltd. Don Davis Insurance Agencies Limited Pamicon Developments Limited yo Mount Seymour Lions Club “Cove Bike Shop Benton & Overbury Ltd. * Haida Glass Ltd. Fellview Leasing Ltd. Hi-Tech Custom Coaters K.C. Welding & Design : Dukes & Bradshaw Mechanical Ltd. Optinist International , ~ Congratulations to our Medallists! ” Squirt A Bantam B Provincial Champions Provincial Champions ‘= BC Summer Games Silver Medal Western Canadian Silver Medal Provincial Bronze Medal - “Midget B. HUGH Q, = STARK st MACLISE eA Aguhors of ; 2° “DOMESTIC CONTRACTS”: . - e. A book on marriage and separation agreements ~ bd ~ FAMILY LAW MEDIATION | : “ - 682-4999,” : #602-1166 Alberni St, Vancouver * the throwing events, he steered her into the NorWesters Track and Field Club, where she could get some expert coaching. The fady was a natural, not to mention an instant success. In local, provingial and international meets she has totally dominated her age class, first in the 75-79 group, and now the 80-84. She hurls the discus and javelin, puts the shot and runs the 100, 200 and 400. The medals on display in her living room would totally cover the chests ofa dozen army generals. If you've been watching the Sydney Games on TY, vour'll have seen the throwers in action. They all have the same builds —— like the brick apartment block dawn the street. There's a spe- cial name for the breed — whales. Here comes the punch line, so to speak. Ola is 5°2" and weighs 126 Ib. How does this minnow beat all the whales? She can’t really explain, except to say maybe growing up ona farm near Smuts, Sask., had something to do with it. Milked 15 cows every morn- ing before going to school. And before milking machines were invented. This tends to build strony hands and arms. She and her brothers and sisters would walk as much as six miles to get in a softball game. Good for the legs. Later she attended school in Saskatchewan, 35 miles away, then taught in the same sort of one-room school she attended as a kid. A few years of that, then off to B.C. in 1955 fora teaching job in Burnaby. She’s been on the wet coast ever since, moving to West Van after retirement and now shares a house on Mathers with her daughter. One constant through all this time was softball, until that 200-pounder came roaring in from the outfield and tram- pled her. The new constant is constant travel to veterans’ track and field meets. At time of writing, she had won 60 medals — all gold — so far this year. Three meets to go, including one in early November at Mar del Plata in Argentina. “Hey,” she deadpans. “I could become South American champion.” All this travel takes about $15,000 a year out of her teacher's pension. This woman definitely needs a sponsor. Robinson and friends have helped. They got together a short time back and threw a party, where they raised $2,000 to buy her plane ticket to Brisbane. There's nothing, she says, quite like a world championship. So often in her age category, there’s a shortage of competition. But tf YOU HAVE FIRESTONE TIRES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE RECALL... , WE CAN HE@P! FOUNTAIN TIRE - THE HOME OF THE TIRE EXPERTS - 859-2202 +. 437-4771 +. 941-3150 591-1151 . 33286 South Fraser Way. . . Burnaby . . 5850 Kingsway at Imperial . ¢ Coquitlam... 2764 Barnet Hwy. ; Delia. ~~ 8209- 420th St. bos 4 ~ 7489 Hume Avenue. . Maple Ridge . 20610 Lougheed Hwy. Surrey Vancouver SPORTS ===> throwing weights at $2 “Abbotsford 14540 Riverside Road grees on) . . 059-3513 [Richmond . 5891 No. 3.Rd. open suntay) . 275-3751 . 15392 Fraser Hwy. 13689 - 104th Ave. 19585 - 96 Ave. 1750 Clark Drive . 2725 Kingsway (Open White Rock 2546 King George Hwy. -~- <<. ai\. ” NEWS photo Mike Wakefield OLGA Kote!lko will defend her half-dozen titles at the World Veterans Athletics Championships next year. - ae not at the world level. That’s why she remembers Gateshead so fondly. In some of her events she had to beat as many as 11 oth- ers, And that’s why she’s especially coking forward to Brisbane. And will that be it? : a “Oh my, no. there’s Kuala Lumpur in 2003,” she says. And who knows beyond that. . “All season touring radial ; aod 6°... ne : © GET THE SECOND FOR <> | $9 Soe (a) SQ. "All-Terrain Light Truck Radial _GET THE SECOND FOR. 1 $6871... Giher sizes available. (acialat EDP pricing, and 2 Ro vad conjunc ‘$20 spent en Duniop and at Trading BY. Fail Back Te Basics THIS SERVICE INCLUDES: : $99 1, Lube, oti and filter. replacement to keep your: engine clean.” . a 2. Top-up all tuids*, including brake,” windshield, differential, transmission, | and power steering.” . Rotate all four fires, and adjust air = © pressure. : es . Adjust and tighten belts for improved driving pesformance, as required, ~ . Analyze battery charge and clean as ~ sequired. =. > moe pot .. Inspect front and rear brakes and clean as required. Se ” Provide a 4 litre jug of windshied washer fluid. ; - 993-1948 “Toa marimar af | Mee, Vaid ot mst cas, minivan. i: Ups and SUV'S. Emeronmental choiges Ray apply. me GEMS Gon: 047220 :