Healthy aging

05/24/2022

2022 Humana Game Changers

Humana, presenting sponsor of the National Senior Games, recognized 12 athletes who exemplify healthy aging and provide encouragement, motivation and inspiration for all seniors to start with healthy as Humana Game Changers.

These athletes participate in various sports, including running, swimming, bowling, cycling, pickleball, tennis, racquetball, softball, volleyball and track & field. Humana Game Changers demonstrate how regular physical activity can positively impact overall health and inspire others to pursue a healthy lifestyle – no matter their age or athletic ability.

The National Senior Games presented by Humana was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from May 10-23, 2022.

Read on for more about the Humana Game Changers and visit www.nsga.com for information about the National Senior Games presented by Humana.

Harry Clark, 96, Tennis

Eighty years ago – at only 16-years-old – Harry enlisted to serve in World War II, volunteering on a PT Boat squadron. While he was always active and involved in his community, it wasn’t until he retired to The Villages, Fla., in 1992 that he found his love for tennis. At 96-years-old, Harry runs two community leagues for tennis, both of which started small and are now incredibly popular. For the last three years, Harry was the Florida State Champion in both singles and doubles and even won gold at his local Florida Senior Games this year. Despite a few injuries from playing tennis, including two broken shoulders and a recently broken rib, Harry competed in the 2022 National Senior Games and earned two gold medals in the 90-94 and 95-100 age groups.

Rose Marie Ray, 81, Triathlon & Cycling

Rosie is a woman with many titles, including beloved mother and grandmother, charity co-founder, author and athlete. Since she was young, Rosie has loved being outside and playing sports. Unfortunately, while training with her husband for a triathlon in 2002, he passed away from sudden cardiac arrest. Following his death, Rosie found comfort from their local swim club, the Mad Dogs, who embraced her with open arms and gave her a reason to keep pushing through and competing. Since then, Rosie has been recognized as one of the nation’s best, competing in nearly every National Senior Games since 2007. She is also a current member of Team USA, planning to compete in Worlds this June. Her passion for athleticism is clear not only through her commitment to competing, but also in her published books, SuperWomen Do IT Less and From Broken Neck to Broken Records: A Masters Cyclist's Guide to Winning. At the 2022 National Senior Games, Rosie won three medals, a silver in the triathlon and bronze for the cycling time trials (5K and 10K).

Alan Grofe’, 77, Road Race

Alan turned to running when he needed to lose weight in his mid-40s. As a physical activity that can be handled alone, Alan started hitting the pavement with short jogs around his neighborhood and now loves being a competitive runner. He appreciates that a brisk run gets the blood pumping and makes sure to run multiple times each week, with the goal of participating in a few competitions each month during the racing season. Now 77-years-old and down 25 pounds, he has been running for more than three decades – only taking a brief hiatus when undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. In his free time, Alan – who is a Vietnam Veteran – finds ways to give back to the community, whether donating platelets to OneBlood or volunteering at Feeding Tampa Bay. He also enjoys playing tennis, dancing and spending time with his family. Alan secured a bronze medal in the 2019 Florida Games and competed for the first time at the 2022 National Senior Games, where he ran in the 5K Road Race.

Lou Colucci, 74, Bowling

Lou began bowling as a teenager with success at the amateur competitive level. Although his college, St John's, did not have a bowling team, he found ways to keep playing by participating in local leagues and tournaments. While he was serving in Hawaii during the Vietnam War, he participated in a traveling team representing the United States Air Force. After his military obligation, Lou took a hiatus from competitive bowling to raise his kids and focus on work. Eventually, Lou made his way back into the sport and competed in many tournaments at the local and state level. He was inducted into both the Monmouth County NJ Bowling Hall of Fame and the New Jersey State Bowling Hall of Fame. He participates in administrative and governing aspects of the game by serving as a delegate to national bowling conventions, raising nearly $100,000 to support youth scholarships and Veterans fundraisers. After 60 years of fostering a love of bowling in his community and seeing others participate in the National Senior Games, Lou realized it was time for him to compete too. He won three gold medals in doubles, mixed doubles and the team event in the 2022 National Senior Games.

David Farrall, 73, Power Walking

David, a retired Veteran, developed a passion for running as a way to stay in shape after securing his first desk job. An accomplished runner, he has completed 52 marathons, over 40 half marathons and countless 5Ks over the years. Unfortunately, running caused a tear in his meniscus so David had to find a sport that would put less stress on his knees. He turned to power walking and also started biking, currently cycling 100 miles per week to stay in shape. David competed in the Men’s 70-79 1500m Power Walk at the 2022 National Senior Games.

Hubie Kerns Jr., 72, Swimming

As the son of a stuntman in Los Angeles, Hubie has always loved action and adventure. Following in his father’s footsteps, Hubie started his first stunt work as an 8-year-old, which has turned into a 62-year career in the industry – including 375 different movies and TV shows like Transformers, Fast & Furious and Spider-Man, and many more. When he was 12, Hubie discovered a love of the water and began swimming competitively. He went on to be an All-American high school swimmer and continued his athletic career at the University of Denver. Despite shattering his femur during a movie stunt in 2009, Hubie went on to break several World Masters Records and won multiple gold medals at the National Championships. Now retired, Hubie recently moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he enjoys surfing, jet skiing, scuba diving and anything in the water. This year, Hubie walked away from the National Senior Games with six medals – one silver in 100 Individual Medley and five gold in 200 & 400 Individual Medley, 100 & 200 Breaststroke and 500 Freestyle, in which he also set a new National Senior Games record.

Mike Welter, 69, Pickleball

Mike is a retired, 30-year Marine Corps veteran and an accomplished pickleball player who has overcome significant adversity. Mike picked up pickleball in 2009, after playing tennis for eight years, and went on to win two world championships, two national titles, 25 state gold medals, and was honored as the 2017 Florida State Senior Games Male Athlete of the Year. In 2018, he suffered a stroke and became paralyzed on the left side of his body. The pickleball community supported Mike through an arduous recovery that has allowed him to compete again. Mike is an advocate for the sport and practices pickleball for three hours per day, five days a week. He has taught many people how to play, including his nephew Kyle Yates, who is now a professional pickleball player and was named the best pickleball player in the world in 2019. Mike competed in the 65-69 Men’s Doubles at the 2022 National Senior Games.

Herman Kelly, 68, Swimming

Dr. Herman Kelly Jr. is a swimmer, university adjunct at Louisiana State University and River Parishes Community College, and pastor of an AME church in Baton Rouge, La. Dr. Kelly began swimming at 8-years-old in a segregated pool in Jacksonville, Fla. and, much to his surprise, became very good. He went on to swim recreationally into his adulthood but hit a wall in 2014 and decided to take it to the next level. Swimming is his passion and was a form of therapy for him when he lost his wife, Linda, to cancer. Now Herman, a seven-time state champion swimmer, swims to raise money for cancer research and has raised so much that the Patient Advocate Foundation set up a scholarship after his former wife, intended for a student who is a cancer survivor. Herman’s lifelong goals are to retire, be a national champion by the time he is 75 and swim internationally in countries he has never been to. At this year’s games, Herman placed 14^th in the nation in his age group in the 100 Individual Medley and 15^th in the nation in 50 Butterfly and 50 Breaststroke, which was also his personal best.

Diane Gannotti McCarthy, 63, Volleyball

Diane has been competing in sports her entire life, excelling on every court or field she stepped foot on. She started her athletic career playing field hockey, basketball, softball and racquetball, but fell in love with volleyball in her later years. At 41-years-old, Diane was diagnosed with breast cancer and began chemotherapy. Unable to live without sports, she helped her softball team to win a national championship just two weeks after finishing treatments. More recently, she suffered an acute heart attack, but it never set back her athletic career, and inspired her to take up pickleball as well. She previously competed in the 2019 National Senior Games in Albuquerque and has been training for the 2022 games ever since. Diane competed in volleyball at the 2022 National Senior Games and won two medals with her team – silver with her women’s 55+ team and bronze with her women’s 60+ team.

Oscar Fabra, 60, Track & Field

Oscar grew up living on a farm in Cuba. When he was 13-years-old he took up running as a pastime and quickly became dedicated to the sport, even having to take three buses to run on the closest track. But one year later, Oscar had to stop running to provide for himself and his family. Later on, he got a VISA to immigrate to United States. Nearly 30 years later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and resolved to get his health back on track by ending his running hiatus and eating healthier. When he turned 51, he registered for the 2013 National Senior Games and won bronze in the 400m sprint. He also won a silver medal in the Huntsman World Senior Games in October 2013 for the 400m event. Off the track, Oscar has a 38-year-long career in teaching and currently teaches at South Dade Senior High School and Broward College. He is passionate about inspiring his students to live healthier, happier lives and says, “It’s my job to build a better world and fight for their goals and dreams.” Oscar won a bronze medal in the 400m and a silver medal in the relay at the 2022 National Senior Games. He also placed 5^th in 200m and 13^th in 100m.

Erica Gonzalez, 56, Pickleball

Erica started playing tennis when she was 7-years-old while living in Puerto Rico. She continued with the sport into adulthood, but once she moved to Florida in her late 40s and discovered pickleball, Erica instantly fell in love. Erica found pickleball to be a smooth transition from her nearly 40 years of playing tennis, while still providing her with a challenge. Following her passion for the sport, she went a step further in her journey and became a certified instructor so that she could share her love of the sport with others and help seniors stay active. Erica competed in the 2017 and 2019 National Senior Games, accumulating five medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze. She has since recovered from a meniscus tear and participated in the 2022 National Senior Games, demonstrating that there’s no limit to what seniors can do. Erica won three medals – gold in singles (age 55-59) and doubles (age 55-59) and a bronze in mixed doubles (age 50-54).

Frank Lopez, 56, Racquetball

Frank grew up playing recreational sports but never competed seriously until he started his career in the Navy at 17-years-old, when a group of friends stationed in San Diego began playing racquetball. Frank quickly excelled at the sport and was encouraged to compete, going on to play locally, nationally and internationally. In the 1990s, he coached the National Puerto Rican Racquetball team, hoping to inspire more Hispanic individuals to get involved in the sport. After serving in the military for more than 20 years, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree, a double MBA and continues to work full-time with no plans to ever fully retire. In 2019, Frank was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery, but was back on the courts two months later. Frank has competed in the past two Florida Senior Games, placing in first for both the 55-59 men’s doubles and 55-59 men’s singles in 2021. This year was Frank’s first time at the National Senior Games, where he won a gold medal in doubles (55+), silver medal in singles (55+) and took 4th place in mixed doubles (55+).