The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
93-year-old Chardon man defies age
Longtime area track and field standout logs pair of decathlons this summer
Track and field can be a race against time. For George Roudebush it’s a race against the assumptions of age.
“I decided with Sacramento — and probably both of them — hey, I’m in good enough health to do those two things. I better go now. Who knows what’s ahead?” – George Roudebush, 93, on deciding to travel for a pair of summer decathlons
Track and field in part can be a race against time.
For George Roudebush, though, it’s a race against the assumptions of age.
“If I can still do 15 seconds for 50 yards, I’m probably not falling apart too far,” he joked.
“I’ve been able to do that most of the year.”
The Chardon resident is 93 years old now.
Many of his track and field contemporaries in 80- and 90-andover competition at meets have left the stage. But Roudebush still graces it with a feel-good narrative about how to defy age for all of us.
As he has been the last several years, Roudebush was a busy man this summer. The workload was different this time, as he took part in a pair of decathlons.
Roudebush traveled to Spokane, Wash., for USATF Masters Nationals and to Sacramento, Calif., for the National Masters Combined Events Championship.
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He joined with William Jankovich (84), Robert Paulsen (81) and Roger Vergin (80) to make history.
“I lucked out,” Roudebush said. “I was the alternate, and a guy didn’t want to do
the hurdles. So I was on a relay and we established a hurdle record for 80-yearolds — a world record that had never really been set up. We didn’t break a record, because there wasn’t any established. That’s how that’s come along. They dragged me along with them.” The hurdles were the standard variation with the bar in front, which caused an issue for Roudebush as he chops his steps when hurdling. He noted the rules are relaxed at 85 and older for what constitutes a legal clearance, but meet management said this one had to be done “right.” “My crew kept saying, ‘Well, we’ll make you first in case you screw up,’ ” Roudebush said with a laugh.
“I had to make sure every darn hurdle was legal. Everybody in the joint is watching me. So that was fun.”
Roudebush also competed in the 80 hurdles, long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, weight throw, hammer throw, discus and javelin. He said he was pleased with the high jump and is “getting better” with the hammer.
He also ran a 100-meter dash against highly regarded 90-year-old masters competitor Edward Cox, who recorded a time of 19.09 seconds. He said his COPD prevents him from taking on longer races.
“I was really awe-struck,” Roudebush said of Cox. “You look at that guy’s legs, they just look like bridge cables wired together instead of all of us flabby, older people. He looked like a young athlete, and he’s long gone on that 100.”
Roudebush, who amassed 1,816 points with age grading at National Masters in Sacramento, had considered cutting down on his travel after meets last year.
But he elected to keep going and embark on his pair of summer trips to the West Coast. Roudebush — again for emphasis, at 93 — takes a flight, then rents a car to drive to the meets.
He was appreciative of help from meet volunteers, in Sacramento from Walter Cronkite’s niece and in Spokane from a sports commission official who ordered a golf cart to transport him to throwing events a half-mile outside the stadium.
“I decided with Sacramento — and probably both of them — hey, I’m in good enough health to do those two things,” Roudebush said. “I better go now. Who knows what’s ahead?”
Some of Roudebush’s competitors over the years have, sadly, passed away. Charles Ross, a former U.S. Army Ranger and two-time Purple Heart recipient, was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
John Means, whom The News-Herald profiled in 2011, died in 2013.
But Roudebush continues to defy time. He still regularly trains at SPIRE Institute and on the football field at Chardon, and he’s considering traveling back to Washington State for an event in October before indoor season commences.
Track is a race against time — and Roudebush continues to win that battle.
“I’m surprisingly holding up,” Roudebush said. “I’m feeling well.
“I’m supposed to be old at 93, but I don’t feel any older than last year and my health has been able to hold up pretty well.”