Cook County champion swimmers Sally Summer-Mellang and Mark Abrahamson at the St. Cloud competition.
Two local athletes, Mark Abrahamson and Sally Summer-Mellang represented Cook County at the Minnesota Senior Games held in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Senior games are for competitors ages 50-89. Participants could choose from over 22 events in which to compete including swimming, tennis, running, pickleball, golf, cycling, basketball, archery, and more. Participants scoring a gold, silver, or bronze advance to the National Senior Games in Alabama.
This year, Mark Abrahamson (61) participated in the swim meet. Abrahamson earned a silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:35.57. He earned a gold medal in the 500 free with a time of 9:43.41; a gold in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:50.37; bronze in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 0:42.81; and a silver in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:44.44.
Sally Summer-Mellang (61) also participated in the swim meet. She earned a bronze medal in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:01.56; a gold medal in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 2:13.45; a gold in the 50 butterfly with a time of 1:17.36; and a silver in the 100 individual medley relay with a time of 2:22.09.
Summer-Mellang and Abrahamson have been training with the adult swim club for over a year now and have participated in several swim meets to prepare for the senior games. They both scored very high and qualified for the national Senior Games in Alabama. They plan to represent Cook County at nationals in June 2017. In the meantime, they will keep training and encourage their peers to stay active and train in swim or other sports.
The Cook County Community YMCA plans to take a bus of competitors from the North Shore to the 2017 MN State games.
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