KNOWING THE ROPES; SENIORS CLIMB TO NEW HEIGHTS AT VALLEY GYMNASTICS MEET.Byline: Leilani Albano Daily News Staff Writer Sanford Werner remembered that ill-fated decision back in 1947 when officials nullified nul·li·fy tr.v. nul·li·fied, nul·li·fy·ing, nul·li·fies 1. To make null; invalidate. 2. To counteract the force or effectiveness of. his rope-climbing record of 2.9 seconds. ``They say that the rope was a half-inch short,'' said the retired gymnast, recounting his early disappointment at an amateur meet in Detroit. Since then, Werner, a consulting geologist from Canoga Park, has shattered other records in the event, and tied the world record at 3.1 seconds four years later in 1951. On Sunday, Werner competed with other rope-climbing greats at the 29th Senior Olympics
Senior Olympics is a sports competition for seniors from North America (United States and Canada). Gymnastics Meet held at Los Angeles Valley College LAVC redirects here. For the software library, see libavcodec. The university is adjacent to Grant High School. Often called "Valley College" or simply "Valley" by those who frequent the campus, it opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1949, at which time the campus was that included tumbling, the uneven bars Noun 1. uneven bars - a pair of parallel bars set at different heights; used in women's gymnastics uneven parallel bars bars, parallel bars - gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights , and the vault. Rope-climbing ``is a very strenuous sport. You're starting from sitting down, a dead position. You then have to accelerate, pulling up 150-180 pounds, and yet, when you think about it, the average person can't do more than a couple of pull-ups,'' said Werner, who has practiced the rigorous sport three times a week for more than 50 years. While men and women from ages 20 to 70 at all skill levels competed at the various events, rope-climbers faced the highest level of competition. The top female contender in the 45-49 age group, Bonnie bon·ny also bon·nie adj. bon·ni·er, bon·ni·est Scots 1. Physically attractive or appealing; pretty. 2. Excellent. Burrow, set an unofficial world record Sunday for women in any age group with a time of 9.35 seconds. Former All-American Bob Hammond of Topanga placed first in the 65-69 age bracket. Werner, who is 67, earned a second-place timing of 5.49 seconds behind 65-year-old Hammond. But not all climbers aimed at setting records. Others saw rope-climbing as a way to get fit. ``I wanted to improve my upper body strength after breaking my arm,'' said Encino resident Lisa Greenstadt, who has lived with Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. for 19 years. Greenstadt, who is 68, completed the 20-foot climb with her best time at 45 seconds. ``It was a fluke how I started,'' said Norton Leeds of West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. , who began competing after taking an introductory gymnastics class 11 years ago. At age 68, Leeds hoped to topple his own score of 8.5 on the parallel bars parallel bars Event in men's gymnastics in which a pair of wooden bars supported horizontally above the floor at the same height is used to perform acrobatic feats. Competitors combine swings and vaults with stationary positions requiring strength and balance, though swings and aspires to take up tumbling or rope-climbing in next year's meet. ``I can't stop now, I'm just beginning,'' said Leeds. CAPTION(S): 3 photos PHOTO (1) Sanford Werner, 67, chalks up before a rope-climbing event Sunday at the Senior Olympics Gymnastics Meet. (2) Lisa Greenstadt, 68, of Encino makes her way up the rope at the event Sunday at L.A. Valley College. (3) Former All-American Bob Hammond takes in a breath before his climb. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
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