Julia Curran Villarreal likes to think that, at 55 years of age, she’s not at all in a state of decline athletically. But just how many more Fosbury Flops does she have left in her?
“I think I’m getting better and better, and that’s a state of optimism that is very healthy as you get older,” said Curran, a 1978 graduate of Linton High School who earlier this month won the USATF Indoor Masters high jump competition held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “There is currently a woman in her 60s who is jumping higher than the 50-year-olds, so age doesn’t necessarily define your ability to defy gravity.”
Villarreal, also the 2015 national champion, was a standout high jumper for Linton, clearing 5-8 during her senior year. But she put her jumping shoes away for 35 years and didn’t return to the sport until three years ago.
“I was taking my two boys, 11 and 13, to their soccer games and baseball games and all their sports, and as they got older, I got a little of my time back as a mom,” said Villarreal, who lives in Marietta, Georgia. “I thought to myself, ‘I wish they had track and field for grown-ups.’ ”
A trip to the Internet informed Villarreal that they do indeed have track and field events for adults, and when she saw that a USATF meet was being held locally, she decided to show up and watch.
“I wore my T-shirt and shorts, my sneakers, and I said to myself, ‘If I get the nerve, I’ll register and try it,’ ” Villarreal said. “Well, I got up the nerve and registered, and I won. I guess when you high jump for four years in high school, you develop muscle memory that you don’t lose.”
She admits she was a bit nervous, and so was her husband.
“He travels for a living, we had two little boys, and he did say, ‘I don’t think you should try this,’ ” said Villarreal, laughing. “But he’s very proud of me now, and he’s very supportive.”
Villarreal began high jumping as a freshman at Linton when she was told she was too tall to be a gymnast. After her final jump as a senior, she went to Cortland State and then modeled in New York City for four years before eventually getting married and moving to Georgia.
When she returned to high jumping in 2013, she immediately used the Fosbury Flop style, named after 1968 U.S. Olympic gold medal winner Dick Fosbury, who went over the bar with his back to the ground, as opposed to the traditional straddle technique. While she cleared 5-8 in high school, Villarreal’s winning height last week at Albuquerque was 4-6 1⁄2.
“Nobody expects a 55-year-old woman to be out there high jumping,” said Villarreal, whose sister Connie and mother Nancy Johnson Curran still live in the Schenectady area. “I do get some odd looks when I mention to people what I do. But I’ve really enjoyed getting back into it, and as a masters, the thing you have to do is not get hurt and stay healthy. Let’s be honest: Your ability does fade as you grow older, but you can build yourself up and be strong and stay fit.
“What’s been so much fun for me is going to these events and competing against former Olympians. There were 40 former Olympians in Albuquerque. Most of those people, unlike me, never stopped competing. I took a 35-year break, so it was really cool just to be in the same room as them.”
Categories: -Sports-
