A LARGE number of locals will join 15,000 competitors from 37 countries for the 13th Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast from November 1-10.
Mum of three, Jenny Knight has been up at the crack of dawn preparing for her second games.
“I started rowing in the local gym as part of a boot camp about ten years ago,” the 49-year-old recalled.
When Jenny heard about the Pan Pacific Masters two years ago she thought she’d give it a crack and ended up coming away with two silver medals.
“I just keep my fitness up and do my own train- ing. I don’t have a trainer,” she said.
She will be doing 100 metres, one kilometre and a one-minute row.
“I’m pretty confident and enjoy the challenge. There’s not a lot for oldies to work towards. There are some amazing people that go there even in their 90s still competing and pulling out some amazing times so it’s great to be in that atmosphere.”
Jenny will be joining another local, Andrew Jefferies who is also competing in indoor rowing.
Tamborine resident, Naomi Burton, 55, is also gearing up to compete in jumping with her horse, Winnie.
“I won Winnie three years ago after having a couple of years of lame horses,” Naomi said.
“She is very special to me, she has only just turned six, so we will be competing in 70-80 centimetres and aiming for clear and calm rounds which can very often place or win if everyone goes for speed.”
“I am very competitive however, she’s not super brave so I need to ride the horse I have on the day.”
In 2016 Naomi competed in the Pan Pacific Masters in dressage, where she won a bronze medal.
Although Naomi took up riding about the age of four, she took a break at 19 and didn’t return to the horse world until the age of 42 when her husband bought her a green off the track thoroughbred.
There will be 45 individual and team sports on the program including some more unusual ones such as calisthenics, stand up paddle boarding and the uber popular sport, pickleball.
