Send us a text Alyssa Blue is a non-practicing aerospace engineer that found the human body more fascinating than rockets. After suffering a health crisis in her early 20's, she went on a decade-long journey learning how to heal herself. Today as an FDNP (Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner), her research background shines, taking a deep d…

Send us a text Daniela Barnea first joined a swim team at 13 through the YMCA, and she now teaches swimming to people aged 2-72! Daniela holds many Huntsman World Senior Games records since she began her journey with our Games 13 years ago, but her excellence extends to national and international stages as well, with numerous USMS national records …

Send us a text Dr. Robert Jamieson is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who is fellowship trained in Total Joint Replacement, focusing on the hip and knee. In 2014, he performed the first outpatient total joint replacement in northern California, where the patient had a knee replacement done in the morning and was recovering at home by that aft…

Send us a text At age 14, humiliation from a PE teacher at Taipei First Girls' High School left a profound impact on May Chou, a young refugee from mainland China. Discouragement and self-doubt evolved to three decades of inactivity. At the age of 43, inspired by a colleague, she began jogging in her backyard and eventually on to joining a running …

Send us a text This week's podcast features several guests from our Huntsman World Senior Games staff. Each was asked to share a story of someone who epitomizes active aging to them. Tune in to hear some inspiring and heart-warming stories!بقلم Kyle M Case & Lil Barron

Send us a text Dori Tharp is a remarkable 73-year-old woman, originally from Salt Lake City and raised in Hollywood, CA. She lives a life rich in family, community, and service. Dori moved to St. George, where she and her husband raised eight children. She considers herself a professional volunteer, and just some of the organizations outside her ch…

Send us a text Raised in the rugged landscapes of New Mexico and inspired by a tradition of faith, family, and frontier values, Kevin Shelley is a true pioneer whose career bridges technology, health, and service. Kevin’s journey began with a groundbreaking project in college, the "Virtual Human," which introduced medical simulations to education. …

Send us a text Dr. Arne Olsen, a Massachusetts native, graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and completed a general surgery residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. He then completed a vascular surgery and endovascular therapy fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville. At Intermountain H…

Send us a text Dr. Herbert (Herb) Wilkinson, father of 5 and grandfather of 24, was born in December of 1923 and is 100 years old. Born and raised in Hurricane, Utah, where his father was the town’s first family physician, Herb developed a strong competitive spirit and excelled as an oral surgeon. As a freshman at the University of Utah, he helped …

Send us a text Born in Wyoming and raised in Iowa, Eva Sorensen will soon be 101 years old and has two children, three grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Throughout her life, she has lived in 21 states and Okinawa, Japan and currently lives in an independent living facility in Virginia. She corrected high school foreign language papers fo…

Send us a text Kathleen Harper-Hall, 86, has participated in the Huntsman World Senior Games since 2004 and served as athlete and team manager since 2022. She has won 104 medals across multiple track and field events, including the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, long jump, standing broad jump, and discus. In addition to national honors from Barbados …

Send us a text We are almost halfway through this year's Huntsman World Senior Games. Kyle and Mindy give an update on some highlights from the first week of competition and festivities.بقلم Kyle M Case & Lil Barron

Send us a text Michelle Rohl was a 15-time All-American during her time at University of Wisconsin-Parkside and National Champion in the 1000-meter and two-mile during her college middle-distance running career. After trying racewalking for fun, she used it to train when she suffered from Achilles tendonitis. Michelle eventually switched to racewal…

Send us a text Dr. Mike Alosco is a clinical neuropsychologist and Associate Professor of Neurology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, where he serves as the Director of the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Clinical Core. He serves as the Director of Neuropsychology at the Memory and Aging Clinic at Boston Medi…

Send us a text From bobsled champion to creating globally renowned sports nutrition, Sandy Kellin is an all-round authority on sport. Sandy’s early background included football, boat racing, and flight instruction. At the track at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics, the former collegiate football player stood next to the bobrun, watching bobsledders race …

Send us a text Lisa Lander, a mother to four physicians, grandmother, and wife of 42 years, is a certified life coach and owner of Lander’s River Trips, an adventure company. She's also known for her brand "Adventures of Lolly." Lisa is a passionate athlete who advocates evidence-based changes to enhance health, happiness, and longevity. She focuse…

Send us a text John Disterdick plays to win in all areas of his life: while he primarily has experience in financial services and film production, he also has a law degree, an MBA, a master’s degree in financial services, and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. John has acting experience in over 30 commercials and film and is a natio…

Send us a text Travis Porter, hailing from Coalville, Utah, had a childhood deeply steeped in sports, influenced greatly by his grandfather, Francis Porter, a semi-professional baseball player. Although initially focused on baseball, Travis shifted gears after starting a family. His passion for sports persisted as he pursued spots on Olympic teams …

Send us a text Starting golf at 10, Karen Pearce achieved a handicap of 4 by age 14 and represented Queensland and Australia in multiple championships. At the time of turning professional at the age of 22, she played off a handicap of +2, the lowest marker in Australia at the time. After 14 years as a touring professional golfer on the European Lad…

Send us a text David Rosin is the Archery - 3D sports director here at the Huntsman World Senior Games. A former prison guard in California for 28 years and drummer throughout his life, David has always loved staying active. He grew up playing baseball and David’s dad and brother got him into archery at the age of 13. In his late 20s, David decided…

Send us a text Kimberly Melton is a seasoned registered dietitian with experience in the health and wellness industry, specializing in nutrition and wellness for longevity. She utilizes a virtual telehealth platform to reach clients of all ages and across diverse socioeconomic and health backgrounds. Her passion is enhancing quality of life, focusi…

Send us a text Shalee Johansen is the Vice President of Sponsorship and Partner Relations here at the Huntsman World Senior Games. Shalee has over 25 years of extensive experience in tourism and real estate. She enjoys renovating old homes and buildings and even is an alpaca farmer! As a county director of tourism in Northern Utah, a board member o…

Send us a text DonnaJean Wilde hails from Welling, Canada in the Alberta province. She has been a teacher, coach, and vice principal in her career, and she relishes time with her 5 kids and 12 grandchildren. A runner for most of her life, DonnaJean now loves to skip, also known as jumping rope, and she and her husband work out almost daily in their…

Send us a text Wisconsin native Kris Rostas is a running enthusiast through and through. At 61 years old, this mother of two has chosen a lifestyle devoid of a couch or television, instead opting to lace up her running shoes every day. While she participated in cross country briefly as a youth, she took up running mostly after her grown children ve…

Send us a text Lara Ray excelled in track, cross country, and soccer during her youth, ultimately thriving as a fullback in the Olympic Development Program. While on a soccer scholarship at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she acquired an art degree. Lara continued her soccer career with the Southern California Blues semi-professional t…

Send us a text Jason Curtis is a highly experienced strength and conditioning coach and bestselling author who has published over a dozen books on the development of health, fitness and sports performance. He owns and runs a strength and conditioning gym in the UK and works with hundreds of clients and athletes each week. Alongside the gym, Jason i…

Send us a text Sanjoy Bhattacharya was born in India and grew up in the Chicago area, finishing all of his education there as an MBA, CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CFP (Certified Financial Planner). He retired at the age of 41 and moved to St. George 25 years ago. Sanjoy has not slowed down one bit since retiring: he has taken classes in 48…

Send us a text Dr. Gordon Larsen, M.D., FACEP is an emergency medicine specialist at St. George Regional Hospital and has over 32 years of experience in the medical field. He graduated from University of Utah medical school in 1991 and completed his emergency medicine residency in Peoria, Illinois at St. France Medical Center. He also completed a w…

Send us a text Scott Nielsen is a businessman by day and an equestrian by night. He is currently a project manager and developer at the Black Desert Resort in Ivins, UT and holds an MBA from University of California, Irvine. However one of the biggest challenges of his life happened earlier this year as he completed a 10-day ultra-endurance horse r…

Send us a text After many years in a primarily sedentary lifestyle, John Challis’s health journey began more than two decades ago at the invitation of some friends to go workout early mornings at the high school gym. Initially, he focused on strength training, and several years in, he added walking on the indoor track. Once he joined a gym, he prog…

Send us a text Kay Glynn is a 70-year-old grandmother of 8 who currently resides in Missouri. She began dancing and acrobatics at the age of 4, and this led to owning her own dance and acrobatics studio for over 20 years. Kay was also a high school track and field phenom who held Iowa’s state long jump record for 30 years. Following graduation, she…

Send us a text Joan Young wrote her first story about the outdoors at the age of 7, titled “The Adventures of Skippy the Field Mouse.” Joan’s life has always revolved around the outdoors from walking the woods with her mother to graduating with a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan and developing a career as …

Send us a text Dr. Joseph C. Maroon is a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, longtime team neurosurgeon to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and neurosurgical consultant for WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). He received his education at Indiana University, Georgetown, University of Vermont, and Oxford Univer…

Send us a text Today’s guest is Nate Marshall, a K-12 charter school executive director in Northern Utah. Nate grew up playing a variety of sports, but his favorite was golf. He also became an avid mountain biker, participating in a cross-country biking event that spanned 850 miles from Washington through Oregon and Idaho when he was a high school …

Send us a text Our guest this week is 49-year-old Travis Marchant, a hematology/oncology pharmacist at Intermountain Health. Like many American young men, Travis played basketball and football during high school and believed he could do anything physically challenging. As an adult, back injuries tested his perseverance as he transitioned to running…

Send us a text As a proud member of the St. George Marathon Legacy Club, 52-year-old Idonna Clarke, mother of six children and grandmother of 5, is shooting for her 24th marathon later this year. Idonna’s first exposure to a marathon was at the age of 12 in Los Angeles, where she distributed water cups to runners. As a rising freshman at Brigham Yo…

Send us a text Dr. Warren Butterfield has been in practice as an orthopedic trauma surgeon since 2007. He came to St. George in 2014 to assist in the transition of then Dixie Regional Medical Center to a level 2 trauma center and is currently the Director of Orthopedic Trauma at Intermountain Southwest Ortho Urgent Care. Dr. Butterfield earned a Ba…

Send us a text Sandra Checketts, widowed mother of 5 and grandmother of 10, has always enjoyed running, including as a cross country and track competitor at Utah State University. She is full or part owner in several health and wellness businesses and enjoys activities like snowmobiling, swimming, and hiking. Her purpose now for staying healthy is …

Send us a text Dr. Vonda Wright is an internationally-recognized practicing double-boarded orthopaedic sports surgeon, author, speaker, researcher, and innovator whose work stands in the intersection of longevity, women's health, mobility, and musculoskeletal aging. Widely recognized for her thought leadership, Dr. Wright is a frequent media and co…

Send us a text Shelley Sybil Gish has spent most of her life learning about the benefits of holistic healing, with fifty-plus years of experience in behavioral genetics, thirty-one years in alternative health modalities, and ten years in herbology. As the single mother of eight children and the proctor mother of many adjudicated youth, her journey …

Send us a text Jason and Heather Ranoa are the Cycling and Triathlon directors for the Huntsman World Senior Games. We are fortunate enough to have had them for the past 3 years. Jason and Heather coach a non-profit Junior Developmental Cycling team based out of St. George. This team helps develop the future for American talent. Jason and Heather a…

Send us a text Nick Cipollino came from humble beginnings and knows the value of hard work. Nick took up sporting clay shooting in 1988 following a knee injury. He was introduced to the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2012, and at the age of 80, he secured gold in all seven shooting events at his first Games. Nick's Army service during the Korean Wa…

Send us a text Ninety-nine-year-old Dutch-Canadian Betty Brussel is happiest when she is swimming. Setting world records, which she did as recently as a week ago, is just icing on the cake. Betty enjoyed swimming as a child when she wasn’t busy helping raise her 10 younger siblings in the Netherlands. Later in life, after she raised her own childre…

Send us a text Karen Straw was born in Massachusetts and considers herself geographically challenged, having lived in Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific and now calls Utah her home. Karen graduated with her Master’s degree from University of Utah in Speech Language Pathology. She has been workin…

Send us a text At the age of 60, Steve Ault faced a Parkinson's diagnosis and the option of Levodopa for symptom management. Rejecting only temporary relief, he spiraled into depression until a chance meeting with Bahram in August 2017 offered hope for a healthy life at 120. Encouraged by his family, Steve underwent a radical transformation, alteri…

Send us a text Pickleball pioneer Barbara Wintroub brought the sport to Santa Monica, CA fifteen years ago and Palm Desert, CA the next year. As one of the best senior players the sport has to offer, Barbara is nationally ranked in pickleball and a tournament tennis player for 63 years. Beyond coaching and teaching pickleball, she is an active agin…

Send us a text Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Frank Powers are nationally recognized relationship therapists in their early 80s who met through a dating app called SilverSingles and later wrote a book together called “Open to Love: The Secrets of Senior Dating.” In “Open to Love,” the two therapists share their personal and professional stories of love…

Send us a text Eighty-year-old table tennis player Charlie Slater loves the fact that age isn’t a major factor in who will win a match. As a senior player, he has been beaten by an 8-year-old when he was 72 and an 84-year-old when he was 62. Charlie currently resides in Decatur, Georgia, where he plays weekly, runs an annual table tennis camp for y…

Send us a text Originally from Spain, Alfredo Aliaga lives in Berlin, Germany and has always enjoyed hiking. He has held a variety of jobs, including as a sheep herder, serving in the military, working for a telephone company, and as a pharmaceutical representative. He has hiked in Spain, the Alps, Nepal, and in many national parks in the United St…

Send us a text Dr. Kelly Starrett is a coach; physical therapist; speaker; and three-time New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of "Becoming a Supple Leopard," "Ready to Run," and "Built to Move." He is also the co-founder of The Ready State, the world's most comprehensive collection of guided movement, mechanics, and mobilit…