Locals earn medals in Georgia Golden Olympics

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, October 2, 2024

As a local mental health therapist, Cohutta resident Maura Kalafut knows how important physical activity can be to maintaining both mental and physical health

“Bilateral movement, where you’re moving both sides of your body — walking, running, swimming — actually helps the processing of emotions,” Kalafut said. “Any kind of exertion helps to lower anxiety and depression.”

Kalafut’s chosen outlet of swimming not only helps give her that outlet of exertion, but it also picked her up a handful of medals recently from the Georgia Golden Olympics.

Kalafut was one of a handful of local competitors to bring back medals from the event, which houses Olympic-style sporting competitions for adults age 50 and over. The games this year were held in Warner Robins from Sept. 17 through 21. Medalists for the Georgia Golden Olympics are eligible to compete in the National Senior Games, which will be held starting next July 24 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kalafut’s husband, Mike Kalafut, medaled in basketball, while Dalton resident Randy Russell, who has advanced to the national games several times, picked up five swimming gold medals. Two individuals who Russell helps train, Bitsy Aldrich of Calhoun and Matt Meldrum of Adairsville, also picked up medals.

Maura Kalafut, competing in the women’s 60-64 age group, finished with a silver medal in the 50-meter breatstroke, 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle, and she picked up a bronze in 200 breaststroke.

Russell, competing in the men’s 60-64 age group, earned gold in 50 fly, 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. Aldrich, competing in the women’s 70-74 age group, earned gold in 200 individual medley, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 500 freestyle and a silver in 50 fly. Meldrum got a gold in 400 individual medley, 200 individual medley, 200 fly, 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.

Mike Kalafut competed in the men’s 60-64 basketball skills competition, earning a gold in 3-point shooting and the free throw competition.

Maura said she had been involved in swimming on and off for most of her life, but began to return to competition swimming in 2021. She said Mike played basketball in high school and regularly competed in morning recreational games in Dalton.

While Mike and Maura gear up for competition at the national games, Maura said that the Georgia games were a great event that brought together like-minded competitors from across the state.

“It was neat seeing people from the northwest corner all the way down to Brunswick,” she said. “It was neat to see everybody come together. We were competing to get to nationals, but we were also there to have fun.”