Leesburg man top senior cycler
Dave Viney of Leesburg and Cynthia La Roe of Eustis continued their gold medal winning ways in Florida Senior Games State Championships cycling as the top male and female finishers in both the 20 and 40K road races in Cape Coral Thursday.
Viney completed the 20K race with a time of 30:31.202, finishing less than one second ahead of Lee Hogan of Inverness to win the gold medal in the 55-59 age group. He was the first rider to cross the finish line in the 40K road race with a time of 1:05:01.927, again, less than a second ahead of John Tanner of Clearwater, who the gold medal in both races in the 50-54 age group.
With first-place finishes in both races Thursday, La Roe won four cycling gold medals in the 50-54 age group. She was one of only two riders to accomplish the feat. Donald Werling of Port Charlotte won four gold medals in the 75-79 age group.
The 40K race was a mad dash to the finish as eight riders crossed the line within three seconds of one another.
“It was a conservative pace until the last two miles,” said Viney after the 20K race (12-plus miles). “The crosswind coming down the final stretch made for some interesting riding. Winds like that tend to make the pack go back and forth and have the potential to cause some damage.”
In men’s tennis doubles, Jeff Jordan of Englewood and William Gibbs of North Port won their fourth consecutive gold medal and fifth overall since 2002. They defeated Carlton Dean and Juno Guevara of The Villages in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, in the 65-69 age group. Dean was the gold medal winner in the 65-69 men’s singles.
Calvin Everhard and Benjamin Hughes of North Fort Myers took the gold medal in the 75-79 age group.
Earl Bannister and Fred Martens of North Fort Myers placed second in the 90-94 bracket.
In women’s doubles, Joanne Collier, of Mulberry and Carol Newgent of Kissimmee won their second consecutive gold medal in the 60-64 age group defeating Lynda Fulcher and Sandy Hollinger of Sebring, 7-5, 6-4, in the championship match.
Day seven of nine days of competition finds men’s tennis winding up with all medalists being declared in the 60-64 age group and the bronze medal match in the 70-74 age group.
Basketballs will fill the air at the Estero Community Center Friday for the basketball shooting competition.
The Florida Senior Games State Championships are a program of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization, presented in conjunction with the Lee County Sports Authority. For the most up-to-date information, on the Games, including individual sport schedules and results, please visit www.flasports.com.