By Stephen Tobey — Correspondent
It started when Pamela Callahan was looking for a way to treat the back issues she experienced while working 12-hour days at a desk in the finance business.
It became a way for her to stay active and fit when she retired a year ago.
And last month, it led her to a world championship.
Callahan, a 33-year resident of Concord, placed first in the long jump in the 65-69 age group at the WMA World Indoor Championships, which took place at the Alachua County Sports Center in Gainesville, Florida, from March 23 to 30.
Callahan, 65, won the event with a personal record of 3.75 meters (12 feet, 3¾ inches). She also placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 1.18 meters (3-10½).
“I was really pleased,” said Callahan, who also won the USA Track and Field’s national championship in the long jump. “Based on what I had done before, I was expecting to place, but not sure if it would have been first, second or third.”
When the student is ready …
Callahan has been competing in Masters track and field for three years. She dabbled in track and field while attending St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and at Princeton University, but she preferred team sports such as volleyball and rugby.
After college, she ran occasionally, but years of working long hours sitting at a desk took their toll, leaving her with scoliosis and back spasms.
“A friend of mine who is a doctor said, ‘Alex could help you,’” she said.
Alex is Olexandr Ponomarenko, who owns Apex Performance, a personal training studio in Acton.
Ponomarenko is a longtime track and field coach, both in his native Ukraine and in the United States. He’s worked with several outstanding athletes from Concord-Carlisle High School, including former pole vaulter and recent CCHS Hall of Fame inductee Anna McFarlane and All-America lacrosse player Hannah Dudley, who both continued to compete at Stanford University. Ponomarenko’s daughter, Olga, was an All-American in the high jump and long jump at CCHS who won state and New England titles and competed for the University of Connecticut.
He’s also worked with several Masters track and field athletes, taking 10 to the USATF New England championships and two to the WMA World championships.
“Training Masters track and field athletes,” Ponomarenko said, “that’s my new hobby.”
The competitive itch
After training with Ponomarenko for a while, Callahan got the itch to compete in something and explored her options.
“We were talking about goals, and I thought about the marathon, and Alex thought it wouldn’t be good for my joints,” she said. “I play tennis in a league, but Alex thought I might want to try track and field.”
At first, Callahan’s main focus was the high jump.
“They’re both very technical events,” she said. “The long jump was in service of the high jump. It can build confidence.”
Training for the long jump and high jump can be challenging during the winter indoor season. They sometimes travel to Boston to train at the Reggie Lewis Center but have to work around the training and competition schedules of high school and college teams. Usually, they train in Ponomarenko’s storefront studio.
“We have to get creative,” Callahan said. “We don’t have the pit for the long jump or the mats and the bar for the high jump.”
During the outdoor season, they sometimes train at local tracks at Emerson Playground or Acton-Boxborough Regional High School.
In addition to working on the technical aspects of the events, Callahan also spends a lot of time doing jumping drills and strength training for the legs with squats and lunges.
Speed, power, endurance
Maintaining and developing the explosiveness that the jumping events require can be a challenge for older athletes.
“First, it’s the speed and the power,” Ponomarenko said. “Then the endurance.”
Said Callahan, “I listen to Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia’s podcasts. They talk a lot about anti-aging topics. Now they’re saying things that Alex has been saying for 15 years.”
When she competes at the national and world championships, Callahan sees plenty of athletes who show what is possible later in life.
“There’s one woman who is 90 years old,” Callahan said. “She started when she was 65. You see how young she looks, and she has not just strength but the mental acuity of someone 15 years younger.”
Ponomarenko also mentioned a 72-year-old athlete who runs the 60-meter hurdles.
Callahan draws inspiration from those athletes, as well as the people of Ponomarkenko’s native Ukraine, who are fighting for the survival and sovereignty of their country.
“They have the resolve that’s so inspiring,” she said.
