Anderson has earned around 30 medals while participating in the Senior Olympics in North Dakota, Texas and Arizona, becoming part of a growing movement of seniors using athletics to stay active and connected.

The Senior Olympics, open to anyone 55 and older, divides participants into five-year age brackets. Competitors face off against others in their age group, beginning with the 55-59 category and advancing through 60-64, 65-69 and beyond. Anderson entered the 80-plus division for the first time last year, competing at the North Dakota Senior Olympics in Fargo after aging into the new bracket.

Events stretch far beyond traditional track and field. Senior athletes can choose from sprint events including the 50-meter dash, 100, 220 and the mile, along with broad jump and pole vault. Fitness categories feature push-ups and weightlifting, and additional events such as pickleball, swimming, cornhole, bowling, shuffleboard, golf and card games provide options for participants with different mobility levels.

“You don’t have to be a runner,” Anderson said. “There’s so many different events that people can pick and choose. Even someone in a wheelchair could do it.”

Andrey Anderson stands on the podium with one of his Senior Olympic medals.

Anderson has competed for roughly 14 years, only stepping back during the COVID-19 shutdown and once due to a hamstring injury. The program, he said, encourages seniors to set goals and stay active throughout the year. He continues training while wintering near the Mexican border in southern Texas, walking at least a mile a day and lifting weights.

“You’ve got to keep moving the older you get,” he said. “I’ve seen people retire and just sit around, play cards and drink beer all day. They don’t live very long.”

The Fargo-based North Dakota Senior Olympics draws hundreds of competitors from across the region. Organized through Fargo Parks and Recreation, the event uses multiple facilities, including tracks, weight rooms, swimming pools and golf courses. Athletes travel from across North Dakota and neighboring states to take part, with some, like Anderson, coming from as far as Texas.

“You meet all kinds of people — doctors, lawyers, farmers,” Anderson said. “You see a lot of the same faces year after year.”

Medals are awarded by both event and age division, making North Dakota’s event a large-scale operation. Each sprint, jump or fitness event produces three medalists per bracket, multiplied across every five-year age group starting at 55.

“They must have hundreds of medals ready,” Anderson said. “There’s medals for the 50, 100, 220 and the mile — and that’s just in running. Then you’ve got fitness, swimming, golf and everything else.”

Anderson estimates his personal count at 30 medals, one-third gold, one-third silver and one-third bronze.

For Anderson, success in the Senior Olympics is more than podium finishes.

“It’s not if you win,” he said. “It’s meeting people and the camaraderie and just staying active.”

He encourages seniors to try even one event, emphasizing that no qualification is required to enter at the state level.

“Just look up the North Dakota Senior Olympics online,” he said. “You don’t have to qualify. Anyone can do it.”

As more seniors search for ways to remain active and connected, Anderson believes the Senior Olympics fills a gap by offering both competition and community. With categories for every ability level and age extending into the 80s and 90s, he said the program proves that movement and motivation don’t have an age limit.