BARRHEAD – Barrhead resident Richard Jacobs has punched his ticket to the Canada 55 Plus Canada Games this August in Kamloops after a strong performance at the Alberta 55 Plus Games.
Last month in Peace River, as part of the Zone 5 Black Gold/Yellowhead contingent, the 75-year-old won four gold medals in swimming in the 50 and 100-metre freestyle and the 50- and 100-metre backstroke events in the 75 plus age category. (He was 74 at the time, but his birthday was on Canada Day).
The Alberta 55 Plus Games are spearheaded by Alberta Sport Connection, a non-profit Crown corporation funded by the Alberta Lottery Fund. Its purpose is to enhance the quality of Albertans 55 and over lives by encouraging active lifestyles and promoting athletic excellence through multi-sport games and fun community initiatives. Camrose hosted the first summer games in 1980. In 2005, Alberta Sport Connection added the winter games. Both games are held every two years.
Jacobs, who is originally from Rimbey, said he has been swimming for almost as long as he can remember. However, he said he did not get into the sport until moving to England, where he started swimming competitively as a youth.
"We (youth) used to swim for our cities, for me, that was Newcastle upon Tyne," Jacobs said.
Upon returning to Canada in the late 1970s, Jacobs settled in Whitecourt, finding work as a carpet and tile installer, he continued to swim, but at a recreational level, until 2005, when he competed in the Masters Games in Edmonton. Jacobs moved to Barrhead in 2000, taking a job with Leon's Carpet and Paint, where he still works.
When the Barrhead Leader interviewed Jacobs, it was after he returned from a tiling job in Lac La Nonne, he said continuing to work helps keep him young.
The World Masters Games, a 10-day multi-sport event patterned after the Olympics, caters to athletes over 30 years old.
Jacobs competed in the same events as he did in the 55 Plus Alberta Games, with his best results being good enough for fifth and sixth place.
"Which I think is pretty good considering the level of competition," he said.
Since then, Jacobs said he has continued to swim competitively at the 55 Plus Alberta Games level, starting in 2009 in Airdrie. He also competed in the 2013 games hosted by Barrhead and Westlock when he was 66, less than two years after undergoing open-heart surgery. In 2013, Jacobs won gold in the 100-metre backstroke; silver in the 50-metre backstroke and bronze medals in the 50- and 100-metre freestyle.
He said training for the games in Peace River was particularly difficult during the pandemic, as the organizing committee had to cancel the 2020 Alberta 55 Plus Games. COVID also limited Jacob's training opportunities as access to swimming pools was extremely limited to non-existent for most of the pandemic.
"So I had to go on a bit of a crash training course for about two months before the games," he said.
Despite the training limitations, Jacobs said obviously he is pleased with his performance winning four gold medals.
"The backstroke used to be my best event, and I guess it still is if you look at my times, but I think I have made real progress with my freestyle," he said.
Jacobs's time for the 50-metre backstroke was 36:48, followed by the 50-metre freestyle at 44:11. For the longer distances, his times for the 100-metre backstroke was at 1:52 and 100-metre freestyle at 1:44.
As for Kamloops, Jacobs is looking forward to the increased competition, not only in calibre, but in numbers. He noted at the Peace River games, attendance seemed to be down from previous games, probably due to COVID and that not as many athletes had the opportunity to qualify at regional events.
"Actually, Kamloops will be my second Canada 55 Plus Games," he said, adding the first was in Strathcona County in 2014.
Jacobs believes he came back home from those games with two or three medals, but he can't remember.
"It all blends in after a while, but I am looking forward to the competition. Although we are all seniors and everyone is friendly and there to have a good time when it comes down to it, we are all there to compete," he said.
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