PHOTOGRAPH © KAREN PULFER FOCHT
Wanda Martin earned four gold medals and three silvers at the 2019 Memphis District Senior Olympics, winning both a sprint (200 meters) and “the metric mile” (1,500 meters). But those are merely shiny accoutrements, tangible mementos from the Bartlett resident’s recent competitive past. As the 74-year-old Martin prepares for this year’s event (September 24 – October 8, multiple venues), her active lifestyle is itself the reward, and one that shines in its own way every single day.
“A lot of people think if you’re doing Senior Olympics, you’re admitting you’re an old person,” says Martin, stifling laughter. “They need to change the name. I love competing.”
Martin grew up in Charleston, Mississippi, and the roots of her interest in sports and exercise were planted firmly by a rather Norman Rockwellian childhood. She studied hard in school, but when not in school, she tended to be outside.
“I was a tomboy,” she says with a smile. “I had two younger brothers and mostly male cousins. We played in the woods, swung on grapevines. We lived on a gravel road.” Martin played basketball and competed for the track team (relays and the long jump) for East Tallahatchie High School. (She notes that in the 1960s, girls played a version of basketball that required certain players for offense and others for defense. Martin was a defensive guard.) The Warriors contended annually for the Delta Valley Conference championship, infusing her with an early affection for winning.
PHOTOGRAPH © KAREN PULFER FOCHT
“A lot of people think if you’re doing Senior Olympics, you’re admitting you’re an old person,” says Martin, stifling laughter. “They need to change the name. I love competing.”
Ironically, Martin did not compete regularly as a young adult, or even in middle age. She moved to Memphis in 1967, married her husband, Richard, in 1975, and they raised a son, Michael. Her life was active, but strictly the kind of activity common to moms managing a life-work balance. She spent two decades with FedEx as a senior sales analyst, tasked with promoting events. This required her to travel extensively, often for NASCAR races. (A large, framed photo of driver Denny Hamlin — a three-time Daytona 500 winner sponsored by FedEx — hangs prominently in her living room.) It wasn’t until her retirement in 2008 that Martin truly devoted herself to a new level of fitness and, yes, competition.
“Since I retired, I’m at the gym,” says Martin. “I have fitness classes [at the Bartlett Recreation Center] that I love. I walk four miles with my walking buddy every morning at 7 a.m. We walked a lot anyway, but when the BRC closed during the pandemic, we walked every day. We’re still doing that. You can do it anywhere.” A typical weekday for Martin includes four hours of volunteering in the afternoon at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett, then two hours of tennis in the evening.
Martin is a tennis fan and loved watching Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in the 1980s, but relishes current stars like recent Wimbledon champion Ash Barty. There’s irony here, a 74-year-old woman playing tennis on virtually a daily basis, when professionals are classified as “seasoned” at age 30.
An active life includes stumbles. Martin broke her right wrist (during a mishap in a fitness class) in August 2020 so has had to rebuild strength in her racket hand for tennis. She’s also recovered nicely from Lapiplasty on her right foot, a procedure to relieve pain caused by a bunion (a misalignment of the foot’s bones that causes an abnormal protrusion on the instep).
“I’ve had friends undergo more traditional bunion surgery,” explains Martin, “but it’s very painful, and there’s a long recovery. I wasn’t willing to give up six months of activity.” Martin’s right foot is now reinforced with small, titanium braces (which, she points out, do not set off metal detectors), and she intends to have the same procedure done for her left foot (at OrthoNow) this fall, knowing the recovery period is little more than six weeks.
In addition to competing in no fewer than six races — from 50 meters to 1,500 — at the upcoming Senior Olympics, Martin has entered the doubles-tennis tournament. She plays regularly with a group of eight women, one of them 83 years old. Martin is a tennis fan and loved watching Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in the 1980s, but relishes current stars like recent Wimbledon champion Ash Barty. There’s irony here, a 74-year-old woman playing tennis on virtually a daily basis, when professionals are classified as “seasoned” at age 30.
What kind of diet does a septuagenarian fitness nut incorporate? “I try to eat healthy, but don’t all the time,” Martin acknowledges. “I eat breakfast every morning: cereal or a [protein] bar. And I eat salads for lunch. I drink lots of water every day, and rarely have carbonation.”
Martin draws a thought-provoking distinction between the competition she faces today, in her 70s, as compared with what she remembers from her youth. “It’s harder today,” she says, “because people are stronger and fitter. I’m stronger than I was 30 years ago. When I was in high school, I was real skinny. My tennis partner for the Senior Olympics is 78, and you’d never know it.”
The Memphis District Senior Olympics has scheduled all six of Martin’s races on the same day, and this is the way she likes it. (The races will take place at Memphis University School.) And she reminds those counting that there’s actually a seventh test: a 1,500-meter race walk. She feels strongest in the sprints (50, 100, and 200 meters). For previous years, track events were scheduled around field events (long jump and such).
“I won’t have to wait [for field events],” she emphasizes, “and I’m excited about that.” Martin will compete in her age group (five-year increments), and among other women. As for the state competition that follows for winners on the district level, Martin, as she did in 2019, will take a pass. “I’m okay,” she says. “I enjoy competing locally.” And she doesn’t miss traveling.
After sharing a drawer full of medals with a visitor, Martin is asked to name her favorite moment as an athlete, and across her entire life. She walks straight to a plaque that recognized her as “Outstanding Athlete” at the 2019 Memphis District Senior Olympics. “I almost couldn’t go up [to accept the award],” she says. “It was a total surprise.” The honor recognizes one male and one female athlete across all age groups and events.
Martin’s advice for other senior athletes (that word again)? “If you’re my age, and you’ve not been active, you’ll need to start small,” she says. “Find something you like to do. Even if it’s just walking. Get an Apple Watch. Some kind of tracker. My watch motivates me. It tells me if it’s time to stand up. I have moving goals, exercise goals, and standing goals. I want to close those [tracking] rings, every day.”
There are two more important tips Martin stresses, and they’re as good for mental health as physical. “Find a partner,” she says. “There are days that are too hot or too cold, and if I was exercising by myself, I’d stay right on the couch. But not with an accountability partner. Even a dog can help.
“And volunteer,” she adds, with emphasis. “I volunteer at the hospital, at my church, at the library. I love volunteering outside the corporate world. It’s very rewarding.”
Anyone age 50 and up is eligible for the Senior Olympics. For more information visit tnseniorolympics.com. For the Memphis district, call 901-254-9113.
