A President’s Pride

     I can remember as a young boy taking the President’s Physical Fitness Exam in elementary school. The goal was for all students to learn the life long values of exercise and fitness, in order to live a long, healthy, happy life. Now at the young age of 46 I find myself watching the next generation of athletes encroach on the standards set by my generation. As a collegiate athlete from a Division III school, my 10.90 in the 100m Dash was a critical part of the 4 x 100m school record, which still stands today. Three years ago, my oldest son, Anthony (Pictured Above, left) beat me in a head to head match in the 100m (not one of my “golden moments” as an athlete, but a proud one as a father). Just three years later, Anthony’s younger brother Brandon (Pictured Above, right) is shown beating him at the finish line in the 100m Dash during the first event of the Decathlon at the President’s Open, the third stop of the Empire State Liberty Tour Track & Field Series. I can recall all too vividly the words of my father when I was a young lad, “Records are made to be broken!”

     And as expected, the President’s Open saw nearly 90 meet records fall! It also saw the emergence of the first Liberty Tour Signature Event, the Albert W. Mills Sr. 800m Run. This is the first event to be contested with prixe money attached to it. Although he did not set a meet record this time, the winner, Justin Bishop, did set a very good standard for the next competitor to break by running the 800m in 2:01.78. This meet also welcomed the first Combined Event mix with any Liberty Tour meet, as the Midget Boys Pentahlon, Master’s Men’s Pentathlon, and the Decathlon were all contested during the regular meet schedule.

     The Adirondack Junior Olympic Championship meet is the next stop for the Empire State Liberty Tour, which is open only to youth in the Adirondack Association between the ages of 6 – 18. We will be in Averill park on Saturday, June 21st. The meet begins at 9:00 am. This is the qualifying meet for all youth to advance to the Region 1 Junior Olympic Championships to be held at Icahn Stadium, where history was just recently made when Usain Bolt (Jamaica) broke the 100m Dash record with a lightning fast time of 9.72 seconds. For More of the records set, scroll down and enjoy the photo gallery from the 2008 President’s Open! For all of the Results, just click on “Results” from this page.