John Gracey has a love for competition

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http://www.publicopiniononline.com/sports/ci_6721861

SUNDAY SPECIAL: John Gracey has a love for competition
By JOEL RINEER Staff writer

It's not often you'll find a 75-year-old man sprinting down the runway with a pole in his hand, propelling himself over 6 feet in the air.
Then again, John Gracey of New Grenada isn't your average senior citizen.

This past July, Gracey, who works out at the Chambersburg Fitness Center every Monday, competed in the field events that make up the pentathlon at the Pa. Senior Games, none more daring than the pole vault.

Gracey, who first tried the sport 50 years ago at Hustontown High School -- the pit was made of sawdust -- took home the gold medal, clearing 6 feet, 6 inches, a Pa. Senior Games record that placed him in the top 10 nationally for his age group (75-79).

At the Blair County Games earlier in June, he won a gold medal in the javelin and the home run derby -- he hit shots out of Blair County Ball Park, home of the Altoona Curve, from the edge of the outfield grass -- and a silver in the shot put.

All that doesn't, however, trump the 15 medals he won in one single senior games at Shippensburg.

Let's just say Gracey doesn't have too much down time, even though he retired in 1992 from his Pa. Bureau of State Forestry supervisor job.

"The person I scare the most (with pole vaulting) is my wife. She won't watch any more because she thinks I'll land on my head," Gracey said. "I tried the sport in high school when we didn't have a coach and we jumped into sawdust pits. In 2000, I decided I wanted to try a decathalon and that was one of the


events.
"Pole vaulting, for some reason, just seemed easy to me, so I just up and bought a pole from New Jersey, that's how much confidence I had in myself."

There hasn't been much Gracey hasn't enjoyed competing at.

The northern Fulton County resident has competed in everything from the Iron Man World Championship in Hawaii to shooting crossbows in Europe and Asia. Through it all, the lifelong athlete has continued his love for competition.

"I don't really know why I do it. People say how dumb I am because there is no money in it and here I am still running around the country and not making any money for it," Gracey said. "It's just a drive I have."

Born on New Year's Day, 1932, Gracey excelled in soccer, track and field and baseball in high school.

He was scouted by several Major League Baseball teams and even had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. But a serious car accident derailed his career, though he played another 15 years in local county leagues.

"I think I threw six or seven no-hitters in all my years," he said. "The back injury messed up my delivery and I wasn't the same."

Instead of surgery, the doctor who saw Gracey after the accident wanted him to try some stretching exercise.

"I'm convinced the doctor was teaching me yoga all those years," he said.

It was the beginning of Gracey's lifelong obsession with physical fitness. After his arm wore out, Gracey turned to running to stay in shape. In his 40s, he became proficient enough to run a marathon.

"My wife told me one day that people were talking and saying they thought I was crazy," he said. "That was before the whole road running phase. But I didn't quit."

He competed in the Boston Marathon three times and at age 51 started training for triathlons by teaching himself to swim. Gracey finished the Iron Man World Championship in 1985 by swimming 2.4 miles in the Pacific Ocean, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles.

While not documented, Gracey said doctors told him at the time he was believed to be the first man to complete such an endurance event after bypass heart surgery.

"That required a lot of training, I'll tell you. I started even taking a couple of half days at work to get ready in the afternoon when it was the warmest to cycle or run in the heat to get accustomed to that," Gracey said.

"I had no trouble over there except after the bicycle. Somehow a piece of volcanic ash got in the bottom of my foot. I had an awful pain. I got off the bike, reported to the medic and he worked on my foot, massaging it for 30 minutes. I thought there was no way I could run 26.2 miles, but I went out and finished.

"The crowd cheering along the way ... that keeps one going."

The thing about Gracey, though, is he doesn't like to sit around. Because those events were competed mostly in the summer, he needed to find something to do in the winter months.

Gracey combined his love of hunting with skiing to compete in biathlons, which included skiing and rifle shooting. He competed in the New York Empire State Games and at age 56 won the best skier over 40 award in a 12-race Allegheny Series.

He later graduated to shooting cross and compound bows, taking his success to the national level.

In 1990, he went on to set various records and became regional, state and national champion with the crossbow, making the United States team five times and competing in Europe and Asia.

Three years later, Gracey learned the art of the compound bow and won the 1995 National Senior Olympic Championship in San Antonio, setting a record, and went on to win many more tournaments over the next 10 years.

Remarkably, Gracey has done it all through less-than-stellar health.

Besides the aches and pain of daily training, Gracey, who is a vegetarian, has also had to endure a chronic back injury, two bypass surgeries on his heart, having his gall bladder removed, a stroke and, most recently, a shoulder injury.

It hasn't slowed down his athletic endeavors.

"I'm proud of the fact that I've done more sports and did it better than anybody in the country, I believe," Gracey said. "What I mean is all that I've done -- shooting rifle, compound and crossbows, cross-country ski racing, biathlons and triathlons, all the individual races and the track meets, I don't know too many people that have done all that good enough to win at a high level."

In 1998, he joined the USA Crossbow team on a trip to Velance, Hungary, and won a gold medal at the World Championships. At the time, Gracey was 66 competing against men mostly in their 40s.

A week prior to the event, a doctor told Gracey he shouldn't go after he experienced pain in the middle of his chest. He did anyway and was filled with pride when the national anthem played.

Six years later, two weeks after having a stroke, Gracey returned to capture the 2004 Pa. State Championship Indoor Crossbow Open Class. He credits physical fitness as the reason he has been able to overcome his ailments.

"When I'm working out, in my mind I think I'm helping out my javelin throw or my discus," Gracey said. "I can't quit. It's been proven after being injured so many times. Physical fitness has been a blessing."

He is still busy today, working out at the Chambersburg Fitness Center and the YMCA in Roaring Springs.

In 2005, he won the Pa. Senior Games Master Athletic Award. He also has participated in the Chambersburg Senior Softball League and previously came up just short of a black belt in martial arts.

His next endeavor? Golf.

"I'd like to give it a try," Gracey said, "if my shoulder cooperates."

Here's guessing he won't need a cart or a caddy.

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Joel Rineer may be reached at 262-4819 or jrineer@publicopinionnews.com.

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The Gracey file

John Gracey has taken on every challenge with plenty of success and hasn't stopped competing, even into retirement.

Last month, Gracey, 75, competed at the Pa. Senior Games and won the pole vault at 6 feet, 6 inches, placing him in the top 10 nationally in his age group while setting a Senior Games record.

Here is a profile of Gracey:

Hometown: New Grenada

School: Hustontown High School

Job: Retired from Pa. Bureau of State Forestry job in 1992

Wife: Mary (married 45 years)

Children: Steve, John and Joni

Grandchildren: 5

Great grandchildren: 1

Achievements: Among others, has run in 3 Boston Marathons, finished the Iron Man World Championship in Hawaii, won a gold medal at the World Crossbow Championship in Hungary and once won 15 medals at one Pa. Senior Games.