Canton Seniors Medal in 9th Annual Western Wayne County Senior Olympics

Canton seniors gathered to celebrate medals earned while competing in the 9th Annual Western Wayne County Senior Olympics.  

In August, hundreds of men and women ages 50 and over from 16 Southeastern Michigan communities participated in a variety of challenging events, including: basketball, billiards, cake baking, cycling, Frisbee toss, golf, Pickleball, tennis, trivia and more.

There were 78 Canton residents who took part in this year's events and brought home a total of 57 medals. Out of 16 participating communities, Canton came in second in the total medal count, following closely behind Westland who took home top honors.

94-year-old Canton resident Jerry Gawura competed in this year's Senior Olympics hoping to win her 100th Senior Olympics medal. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gawaru got involved in competitive sports as a youth playing softball. Gawura was not able to compete in three events this year due weather cancellations, but said she looks forward to competing in the 2014 Senior Olympics to achieve her 100th medal milestone.

Canton seniors who were recognized and honored for their outstanding performances by winning medals included:

Gold Medalists:

Barbara Bak - Golf
William Farmer - Billiards
Virginia Gardner - Basketball Shoot
Jerry Gawura - Bean Bag Toss and Horseshoes
Linda Granfeldt - Golf
Dolores Hrlic - Basketball Shoot and Bocce Ball
Barbara Kemper - Golf
Bud Krukowski - Golf
Ann Lineberry - Euchre
Carolyn Pearson - Marksmanship
Dorothy Skupinski - Swimming-Freestyle
Kim Thrams - Euchre
Chris Walis - Golf and Closest to the Pin
Tsai Yu- Billiards

Silver Medalists:
Janette Allen - Pickleball and Coed-Pickleball
Larry Binstock - Trivia
Gerald Bodenmiller - Billiards
Janet Brady - Basketball Shoot and Marksmanship
Lee Camilleri - Trivia
Deb Chamulak - Cake Baking and Trivia
Donna Freeman - Trivia
Richard Freeman - Trivia
John Groske - Golf
Mike Hora - Bridge
Christine Jarski - Trivia
Chuck Lebert - Trivia
Peter Lioi - Basketball Shoot
James MacDonald- Billiards
Eugene Miklovich - Golf
Robert Olmstead - Golf
Dennis Poet - Golf
Bob Porterfield - Coed-Pickleball
Mary Sidick - Scrabble
Judith Smyczynski - Trivia
Tom Smyczynski - Trivia
James Thomas - Golf
Deborah Rose - Pickleball
Melvin Wiley - Golf

Bronze Medalists:
Laura Anderson - Golf
Carol Bodenmiller - Bocce Ball
Flo Champagne - Golf
Ed Grimm- Golf
Phillip Jarski - Billiards
Theresa Kain - Golf
Irving Kemper - Golf
Richard Koch - Basketball Shoot
Chuck Lebert - Euchre
Robert Olmstead - Bridge
Deborah Rose - Coed-Pickleball
Don Winters - Golf
Hal Winters- Golf

For information about the Canton Senior Center, call 734-394-5485 or visit www.cantonfun.org.

Source: news release