Day one came upon me quickly but, of course, I was prepared. I start every morning with MaxOne™ and MaxATP™. I wanted to get to the track early and get in a good warm up so I’d be ready for the 100 meter heats. Knowing that the former Gold and Silver Medalist from the last World Championships were going to be in my heat, I was a wee bit concerned. But then again, I thought, smiling to myself, they don’t have RiboCeine™.

The gun goes off and I spring from my starting blocks like a panther, getting to 60 meters with a comfortable lead. Feeling confident, I geared down and, over the last 10 meters, the Gold Medalist from the last championships surged by me at the line. Since there were three heats, the top eight times posted in those heats make it to the final, so I wasn’t worried about letting the former champ move up on me.

There was one other sprinter who posted a great time in the heats, so I knew it would be between the two of us. The good news is I broke the world record. The bad news is I came in second. So I grabbed the Silver Medal in the 100 meter. But I felt great about my time considering that most of my competition was almost 10 years younger than me.

Next up was the weight throw, also called the ball throw, which involves throwing a ball the same weight as a baseball for distance. Being a thrower and former decathlete, I anticipated an easy victory. I found extra motivation over losing the Gold in the 100 meter. Well, I’m happy to say I set new World and World Transplant World Games records on my first throw, but I still had three throws to go.

But first, I had to participate in a 4 x 100 meter relay for team USA. I didn’t feel like we had a legitimate shot at a medal in this event, but I was intent on having my team give it our best shot. Sadly, I was right. Although we finished second in our heat, we didn’t have a fast enough time to make the top three overall. I also tweaked my hamstring during the relay by probably trying a little too hard to run down the man in front of me. I’m hoping it won’t prevent me from running the 200 meter on Thursday. With a bit of a hobble in my step, I walked back to do my final three throws in the ball throw. Each successive throw went a little farther and I finished with a record throw of 72.67 (240 feet).

So to recap, I finished my first day at the games with a Gold Medal, a Silver Medal, a world record, and a World Transplant Games record. I have to feel pretty good about that! Thanks Max!

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