Racewalker and senior athlete Alan Poisner is once again a multiple gold-medal winner.
On May 30, he participated in the Double Road Race, a national event held in Corporate Woods in Overland Park. Elite athletes from all over the country came to the area for a unique race that consisted of a 10,000-meter race, followed just a short time later (30 to 60 minutes) by a 5,000-meter race. The times from each race were totaled to determine the winners. Poisner finished first in the 75-79 age division and was awarded the Gold Medal by Billy Mills, the 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist (and KU graduate) in the 10,000 meters. Poisner was the only racewalker in the event.
On July 11, Poisner participated in the USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships held in Olathe. This time he won the 5,000-meter racewalk in his age division (also 75-79) in which athletes from all over the country participated.
Three days later Poisner won another gold medal in the 10,000-meter racewalk at the Olathe District Athletic Center.
“This was a serious competition and with experienced athletes competing in all track and field events,” Poisner said.
Two years ago he won gold medals at both the National Senior Games in Houston and the World Masters Athletics Championships in Sacramento, Calif. The 78-year-old racewalker will be in Cleveland next week to take part in the National Senior Games and plans to race in both the 1,500 meters (a little less than 1 mile) and 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) events. Poisner has attended each of these biannual events since 1993.
Poisner is president of the Heartland Racewalkers club, which has recently announced an affiliation with the Jewish Community Center. The club meets every Saturday morning for one hour, starting at 8:30 a.m., and walks at the nearby Sprint campus. Members currently meet at the pavilion southwest of the tennis courts and near the west parking lot. When the weather turns too cold or wet, Heartland Racewalkers club will use the JCC’s indoor track between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m.
On Aug. 3, Heartland Racewalkers club will have its monthly meeting indoors at the JCC with a review of the recent USATF National Masters racewalking events. For more information, contact Poisner at .