When you’re competing in the National Senior Games, it’s good to be Young.
Eric Young is a lead cable splicer and former lineman with Alabama Power in Mobile. Earlier this year, he was in Des Moines, Iowa, and instead of splicing cable, he was pumping iron.
Young brought home a gold medal in powerlifting from the National Senior Games in Des Moines. It’s one of several events he participated in. (He won bronze in cornhole).
Young, 61, took up tennis and cycling to stay active with his wife, Treba. That led to them participating in cycling events around the state, and they learned of a chance to participate in the National Senior Games.
When they attended the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale in 2022, Eric and Treba discovered there were multiple competitions available. That got Eric thinking.
“I’m not really built for racing a bicycle. I ride and I go pretty fast, but some of these other guys, they’ve don’t it all of their lives,” Eric said. “I finally found something I could do, that I’ve done all of my life” in powerlifting.
After those first games, Eric and Treba found other sports and began training, preparing and qualifying for multiple events.
The Alabama Senior Olympics hosted qualifying events based on division and age groups. Most of those were held in Opelika, Auburn and Montgomery last year with cycling held in Mobile.
After qualifying at the state level, Eric and Treba made the 14-hour drive to Des Moines and spent two weeks there July 24-Aug. 4. Both of them competed in multiple events at the National Senior Games.
In track and field, Eric qualified for the 100-meter race, the shotput and the discus, though he didn’t participate in all of those at the national level. He did participate in powerlifting, where he won gold in his division, and cornhole, where he won bronze. He and Treba also participated in pickleball, tennis and cycling.
On top of that, he did a one-mile fun run.
At the Games, Eric had to do the squat, the deadlift and the bench press as part of the powerlifting competition. He did a combined 1,100 pounds, earning him the gold.
“When you lift at the gym, you’re just lifting,” Eric said. “But when you go to a competition, there are actual rules – you have to do this and do that and follow commands – and that was a little taxing on the body and difficult.”
Eric said he would encourage other people who are getting up in age to participate in the National Senior Games and stay active.
“I encourage everybody to stay active, no matter what age you are,” he said. “I used to think just coming to work was physical enough. It’s not.”
A torn rotator cuff sidelined Eric several years ago. He said he used to get up early every morning and go work out.
“You find yourself in a lull not doing anything,” he said.
Just because he couldn’t go to the gym, that didn’t mean he couldn’t stay active. That’s when Eric and Treba took up cycling.
Eric said he and his wife (who is on the state board for the Alabama Senior Olympics) plan to continue participating in the National Senior Games as long as they are able.
“My wife pushes us a lot,” he said. “She signs us up for everything.”
At Alabama Power, Eric spent many years working as a lineman before moving into the network department a few years ago and becoming a cable splicer.
He said the movement and hand-eye coordination of his job benefit from his various athletic pursuits.
“You’re more physically able to do your job because you’re staying active,” he said.
The Alabama Senior Olympics will hold qualifiers in 2026 for the National Senior Games to be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2027.
The National Senior Games will be in Birmingham in 2029.
Courtesy of Alabama News Center
