Greenfield's Carol Grate wins second in National Senior Olympics
By Nellda Friend
From a field of 44 runners in the 70-74 age category, Carol Grate, 74, won second place in the 5K race at the National Senior Olympics on July 24.
This speedster, who can be seen running all through Greenfield and has been competing in races with fantastic wins for the past three decades, looked to this national contest to be her crowning achievement.
A setback in February meant an aggravating healing for a left arm compound fracture. A three-hour surgery at Riverside Hospital in Columbus with two days in the trauma unit plus 12 hours of physical therapy ensued.
Carol had her heart set on this race, and she kept up her speed work, despite the injury. Her grit showed as she completed the therapy requirements in eight of the 12 weeks.
Carol competed in Ohio Senior games in June in which she had to prove her speed as a requirement for the national race. She won first in the 1,500- and the 800-meter races and came in second in the 200-meter race.
Yep, you guessed it! Carol has her heart set for first place at the big national race next year.
