Huntsman World Senior Games Active Life

#571 Precision, Perseverance, and Possibility of a Champion - Featuring Vera Koo

Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman whose life reads like an adventure in courage and reinvention. She is a 79-year-old wife, mother of three and grandmother of six, author, entrepreneur, and retired professional athlete who broke barriers in action pistol shooting. Through her adulthood, she has enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities, including snow and water skiing, equestrian, windsurfing, and rucking and camping. Action pistol shooting is where she really excelled: Vera has been the national and world titleholder in the sport and won the Bianchi Cup women’s championship eight times. She now competes in shotgun sports, specifically in sporting clay shooting, at the Huntsman World Senior Games. Vera’s memoirs, “The Most Unlikely Champion” and “Wisdom and Things: Essays from an Unlikely Champion,” share her remarkable journey from China and Hong Kong to the U.S., her family’s entrepreneurial success, and the resilience that carried her through loss, faith, and unexpected triumph. Vera continues to mentor others with the hope that we all discover the “unlikely champion” within ourselves. Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/113534/open_sms]

#570 When I Could Run Again, I Didn't Stop - Featuring Margie Mettenet

At just eight years old, Margie Mettenet survived a devastating car accident that left her in traction for months. Once she could walk again, she learned to run and didn’t stop: competing in track in the Junior Olympics, high school, and college. Margie also competed in high school basketball and volleyball at BYU, but after college, her 45-year love affair with high-level tennis began. A broken arm nine years ago changed everything, however. Too painful to hold a tennis racquet, Margie picked up a pickleball paddle, “just to stay active,” and got completely hooked. Now 70, Margie plays every day, holds her own against athletes in their 20s and 30s, and is a 12-year veteran of the Huntsman World Senior Games with 11 medals in basketball, tennis, and pickleball. Margie has coached high-school tennis state champions, taught at Club Pickleball USA, and raised a sports-loving family of five kids and nineteen grandkids.  Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/113534/open_sms]

#569 Foundation of a Healthy Life: Consistency, Nutrition, and Optimism - Featuring Tim McMahon

Former Junior Olympian and college football player Tim McMahon has been a masters track athlete since age 32, having competed nationwide in sprints, hurdles, long jump, and decathlon. He recently expanded his athletic pursuits by competing in masters swimming for the first time at the Huntsman World Senior Games. Just three years ago, Tim was diagnosed with stage-3 lymphoma, and he also underwent a total knee replacement last year at the age of 65. However, this New Jersey decathlete, ocean lifeguard, and lifelong competitor continues to shine bright. Now in remission and cleared to sprint again, he’s rebuilding strength, working through residual neuropathy, and training to return to world-class form.  Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/113534/open_sms]

#568 The Cardiovascular Conversation - Featuring James Neider

James Neider is the Executive Director of Cardiovascular Services for Intermountain Health’s Desert Region, leading a team of more than 75 cardiology providers and 300 caregivers. He focuses on advancing cardiovascular care, operational excellence, and team development across the region. Previously, James directed the Heart Specialty Care & Transplant Center at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas and managed the Comprehensive Epilepsy and Neurodiagnostic Programs at the University of Utah Hospital. He began his career as a registered nurse specializing in heart failure, heart transplant, and cardiac diagnostics, and holds both a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and an MBA from Brigham Young University. An educator and innovator, James has served as adjunct faculty at Ensign College and co-founded the Utah END Institute and the Rocky Mountain Neurodiagnostic Society. Outside of work, he enjoys long-distance running, reading, hiking, camping, and spending time with his wife and four children. Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/113534/open_sms]

#567 Buzzing Around the World for Pickleball - Featuring Bee Kilgore

At 70 years old, Bee Kilgore is proof that adventure doesn’t come with an expiration date. A retired trauma ICU nurse of 20 years who completed three international medical missions, she’s also a mountain climber and a regular on 100-mile cattle drives. Bee began competing in tennis at age eight and was a highly-ranked player from the ages of 8-21 before transitioning to pickleball five years ago. Since then, she has embraced the sport as another avenue to live boldly, traveling the world to play, compete, and teach in places including Japan, Mallorca, and England. Her achievements include three national titles, six U.S. Open titles, and the 2024 English Open Women’s 65’s Singles Championship, and she is currently ranked #6 in the Masters Senior Pro Women’s Doubles division. Here at the Huntsman World Senior Games, she competed at the top level and earned gold in all three doubles events in the combined 60’s to 70’s. Pickleball has given Bee new purpose, lasting friendships, and an ever-widening world to explore. Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/113534/open_sms]