THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140201
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Tony Besase always thought he had what it took to become an outstanding track and field athlete. He just didn't think it would happen when he was a grandfather of eight.
Now, at 62, Besase is a master blaster who is just catching his second wind.
``Hell,'' says this Virginia Beach resident, ``I beat a lot of 55-year-olds.''
He takes on the 55-year-old kids and the sixty-somethings in the 100-meter dash. And the 200. The pole vault and long jump also are two of his favorite events.
More often than not, he also finds time for the discus, shot put and high jump.
``Some days,'' he says, ``if I have a lot of energy, I do the hurdles, too.''
Tony Besase has energy - and speed - to burn. But until a year ago, he had never channeled his drive into track and field.
``All my life,'' he says, ``I always thought I missed something by not participating in track in high school. When I was a teenager, my mind was on other things.''
Then, last April, he decided he finally would get around to undoing the regrets. After all, an athlete only gets so many peak years.
On the spur of the moment, Besase entered a senior citizens meet in Virginia Beach. He won 11 medals.
``No practice, no nothing,'' he explains. ``I had never done anything like that before.''
And the people who organize the masters division of track and field in Hampton Roads had rarely, if ever, seen anyone quite like Besase.
``They call me the crazy man,'' he says. ``I can't do just one or two events.
``By the end of the day,'' he adds, laughing while striking the pose of a saucer-eyed zombie, ``I'm like this.''
He was standing in the infield of the Norfolk State track stadium. For three hours Friday at the Norfolk Invitational Relays, he shuttled between the high jump, pole vault, shot and long jump. Saturday, he returned for the 100 meters, and set a personal best, 13.20 seconds, finishing second to a runner from New York.
``Excellent!'' exclaimed Tony. ``But whether I come in first, second, third or fourth, it don't make no difference. Being out there is a thrill.''
What a thrilling sight Tony is, too, impeccably dressed in his red and white uniform. Written in script on the back of his crimson warmup jacket is his name.
``My uniforms? I make them up myself,'' he says.
Rodney Moore, president of the Pony Express track club for which Besase competes, just smiles. ``He's an amazing character,'' he says.
That Besase threw himself so successfully into track and field with so little preparation and no previous competition, only adds to his reputation.
``For someone who doesn't have a background in track to come out and do this well, that's a heckuva feat,'' says Moore.
But then, masters track and field is full of surprises for the uninitiated. Besase, who competes in the 60-64 age group, was at Norfolk State with Pony Express teammate Donald Grey, a retired Air Force colonel and attorney.
At a robust 68, Grey, a Norfolk native, holds the Virginia indoor record for the pole vault in the 65-69 group.
Not bad for somebody who didn't pick up a pole until he was 57. But, then, the performances of these seniors attest to a spirit that transcends age.
Besase's time in the 100 meters was more than two seconds faster than what he ran a year ago. And his best long jump has gone from 12 feet, 9 inches to 15-3.
Last year, he finished fourth in his age group's 100-meters competition at an international meet in Buffalo, N.Y., which attracted athletes from 90 nations.
In February, he went to Palm Springs, Calif., for a national event, entered 12 events and returned with eight medals.
This late bloomer, who moved to Virginia Beach from Toledo, Ohio, in 1979, is a sturdy 5-foot-7, 178 pounds. As he streaks down the track, his strong shoulders and compelling gait give him the look of a man at least 10 years younger.
How has he managed to remain in such good shape? A lot of pushups, he says. But maybe good genes help, too.
Sweeping his eyes over the track, Besase says, ``I might have started at 45 or 50 if I'd have known all this was available to an old-timer like me.''
But he's too busy now to wonder what might have been. Or to question when his second wind will give out.
``I hope to live to be 120,'' he says, a twinkle in his eyes. ``Is that confidence or what?'' by CNB