Kiama Downs’ Arnie Delaite has continued his successful year in track and field, bringing home four gold and two silver medals from the Pan Pacific Masters Games at the Gold Coast held earlier this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
READ MORE: Masterful Arnie will be back
Delaite won gold in the pentathlon – setting a new Games record in the process – the discus, javelin and shot put and silver in the hammer and weight throwing events.
Marko Zluga, from Slovenia, was the previous record holder with a score of 3341. Arnie managed a score of 3431 for the new record.
He also notched up personal bests in three of the events, including the javelin, discus and pentathlon – all this despite a niggling injury.
“I was able to train a little more for this competition, but I was hindered with a leg injury,” Delaite said.
“I wasn’t able to glide across the circle in the shot put and I couldn’t rotate in the discus. In both events, I used a standing throw to win.
“The lead up to the Pan Pacific was the Winter Weight Throws at Beaton Park Stadium, where I picked up five gold and a silver at that event.”
Delaite’s recent success also follows an outstanding effort at the Australian Masters Athletics Championships, in Perth, where he competed in the 75-79 years category.
Arnie won six events, including the five event pentathlon, javelin, discus, shot put, hammer and heavy weight throw, bagging himself six gold medals.
The Pan Pacific Masters Games were held on the Gold Coast between November 2-11 and attracted more than 15,500 participants from more than 40 countries.
“We had competitors from all over the pacific and beyond – Japanese with limited English, Hindu athletes from India, and of course lots of friends from New Zealand,” Delaite said.
“It was a cultural experience as well as a sporting event.
“One of the highlights was the realisation of how much I am enjoying a sport that I hadn’t participated in for 50 years, and so thought I would never compete in these events again.”
Delaite has no intentions of slowing down, already 2019 looks like a busy schedule.
He will now turn his sights to the 2019 Australian Masters Championships in Melbourne in April, the Oceania Masters in Mackay in August, followed once again by the Winter Weight Throws Championships in Wollongong in October.
“I will practice one day a week until after Christmas, and then I will be concentrating on the national championships, by upping my practice to three times a week and doing more weight training,” he said.
