Meet Our Humana Hero - Athlete of the Month for November 2017 Thank you, Carol & Kim for sharing your story! They make a great team, teaching their family (three children and five grandchildren) and friends the impact that an active lifestyle has for health and wellness. Don’t worry, everyone in your age group is just as old, stiff and tired as you, so don’t let it be your excuse.”Ĭarol mentioned how fun it has been having her daughter cheer for her and how Kim keeps sharing photos of her mother wearing gold medals. She also encourages people who did track in high school to get back and try again and says, “You’ll be amazed at how great it makes you feel. Kim suggests finding a mentor, someone who can help encourage and show you the way.
She mentioned that you can start out small and you’ll get better and better. She feels great after working out and fantastic after competing. She even broke the Long Jump Record 1998 for her 2.6 m jump (previous record was 2.43 m set by Delores Nixon in 1998.)Ĭarol’s motivation on staying active is that she believes it keeps her young. Kim took Gold in all of her events including Discus, Hammer, Javelin, Long Jump and Shot Put. In addition, she won gold in the Discus, Javelin and Shot Put events as well. For Carol, running the 100m was thrilling and, as the crowd was cheering, she really turned it on and surprised herself with winning the Gold medal in her age group. What a day it was for Kim and Carol this past August when the mother and daughter duo came to the WSO Track Event, accompanied by Karma, Kim’s service dog. Carol would come to Madison to practice and then she would, as she just puts it, “throw things in my backyard!” to improve her strength and distances. Since they don’t live near each other (Kim in Madison and Carol in Illinois), training meant they would see each other more often. Last year, Kim suggested to her mother that she try competing in the throwing events of Track and Field, thinking it would be fun for them to do it together. In 2015, she competed in the NSGA Minneapolis games where she won Gold in the Hammer Throw and Javelin events. Since then she has consistently won gold medals in Discus, Hammer, Javelin and Shot Put each year in her WSO age group. She started training and then competed in the Badger State Games, USTAF events as well as the WSO. While active in many sports, Kim gave up track and field for thirty years and returned to it when,Kim_discus in her late 40s, she received a flyer from US Track & Field. Her brother and dad played football, and really feels sports, activity and fitness is in the family blood. After college, she participated in bike racing, triathlons, speed skating and ski racing. Then they moved to a lake and water skiing, sailing, canoeing, skating and more was possible. Now 55, Kim’s been involved with sports when she started swim team in kindergarten, and skiing in third grade. Competing as a track and field athlete was not on Carol’s agenda, but Kim thought her mom would enjoy the experience. Her fitness routine includes going to a local wellness center three to four times a week for Zumba, warm water Pilates and aerobic dance classes. She states that fitness and wellbeing runs in the family with much of them involved in one sport or another. Her real passion is classical ballet which she started at five years old and she continues to dance today. She first got involved with sports back in high school back in early 50's when she competed in synchronized swimming, field hockey, soccer and half court basketball. This intergenerational story starts with Carol who just turned 80 this year. They were both born competitors but life, ballet and career took them both on different paths after competing in sports as girls and young women. Meet our Humana Heroes of the Month - December 2017įor daughter and mother, Kimberly Virden and Carol Couts, the WSO means so much more than just a one-day track & field competition. Kimberly Virden and Carolyn Couts, Mother & Daughter Team
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