GRANT Stocks, 86, won eight gold medals at the 2025 Australian Masters National Championships held in Adelaide on Easter Monday.
Competing in the 85-89 age group, Mr Stocks won gold in all events he contested: shotput, discus, hammer, long jump, triple jump, weight throw, javelin and pentathlon.
Showing early signs of ability on the sports track, he was named Tasmanian schoolboy athletics champion in five disciplines in the 1950s.
Mr Stocks told News Of The Area his secrets for success are motivation, self-discipline, perseverance and regular training.
It’s hard work, he said, while noting that “a lucky gene pool is a prerequisite to being a good athlete”.
“I walk, jog, run, jump for flexibility as well as practicing field events and lift weights,” he said.
“Elastic band resistance training is essential to strengthen muscles and joints as we age.
“Muscle bulk and strength deteriorates so resistance training is vital.
“I do leg squats each day to develop knee and leg strength, rest days assist my recovery, and I manage loading to avoid niggling injuries which are more frequent with age,” he said.
Supporting the training is good health habits and diet, and abstaining from alcohol and smoking.
“It is challenging to get the balance right but worth the effort to be the Australian champion,” he said.
It has not been all smooth sailing however, with re-entry into athletics after a lapse of 60 years proving difficult.
Unscheduled health issues had to be confronted and resolved, making the eventual success story even more remarkable.
Mr Stocks had his prostate removed due to cancer, followed by a heart attack in 2016, which rendered his left ventricle partly dysfunctional.
“Walking to and from the beach was a huge effort,” he said.
“I was tired and had no energy.”
With his running capacity reduced, Mr Stocks concentrated on field events, having learned the techniques in his youth.
“I was determined to participate again at the highest level,” he said.
“Eventually I won the battle.”
His family are ever-supportive of his athletic pursuits, and always ready with a joke.
“I train in the semi-darkness when it’s cooler,” Mr Stocks said.
“If I’m away too long my wife comes looking for me and says: ‘I thought I might find you lying in the nature strip’.
“My son quips: ‘Watch out for WADA (anti-doping authority), you may not pass the doping test with that heart medication’.
“This is all friendly family fun.”
Mr Stocks said he is indebted to his cardiologists Dr Tanya Stewart and Dr David Henderson for their professional care over 10 years with angiograms (three stents) and various tests.
“They have monitored my medication and condition and given me the great confidence to pursue and achieve my goal.”
His next big challenge is the Australian Masters National Championships in Darwin in 2029.
“Darwin beckons me in 2029 if and when I turn 90.”
Mr Stocks plans to give some of his gold medals to his grandsons.
By Andrea FERRARI
