They say, as the body gets older, life begins to slow down in a way. Not so for Loma Linda resident James Ho, who turned 78 at the beginning of the year.
Ho, who has been playing badminton since he was six years old, and has been the US National Senior Champion since 1999, recently competed in the 2017 National Senior Games, which took place in Birmingham Alabama from June 12-14 at the Birmingham Convention Center. There, he took home two silvers in men’s' singles and men’s' doubles.
As with every competition, this year's Senior Games brought with it a fresh set of obstacles for Ho to overcome, including a partner, Pravit Choonit, from Maryland, who wasn't able to make it to the games.
"They gave me a guy, Rick White, 80 years old, who had never competed in the U.S. National Senior Games," said Ho. "And we managed to win the silver in the 75-79 age bracket."
Despite having never been introduced to his partner, Ho still managed to score, which he describes as a victory in itself. "He had extremely long legs," Oh said of his opponent. "To be able to win silver against someone like that, with a person I've never played with before, that's an accomplishment."
In the singles games, Ho had to face an opponent who had moved up in the age bracket from 70 - 74 to his age category. Ho said, “This opponent is very tall, and has long legs and arms, to be able to win silver against someone like that is an accomplishment.”
In order to prepare for the senior games, Ho, who had to be declared fit before competing, exercises three times a week at the Drayson Center. He spends an hour on at least eight different machines and does pushups and pull ups to keep in shape. He is also a vegan.
In order to qualify for the National Senior games, Ho had to place in any state competition within the United States for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. He then competed in the Nevada Senior Games, and won two gold medals and a silver, which qualified him for competition.
Throughout the competition, Ho's wife, Christine ensured that he ate healthy meals that provided the energy needed. Ho credits his wife, who never misses a game or a competition, as being his "biggest cheerleader and supporter."
Ho, this year became the Head coach for the Loma Linda Academy badminton team. Out of the six schools Ho is the only active playing coach and has led the team to become the Co-Champions in the San Andreas league.
"I hope to continue coaching," said Ho.