In June, Mary Jo will compete in in six swimming events at


the National Senior Games in Albuquerque, N.M., which in- clude the freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, 100- yard individual medley and the 100-yard freestyle. This year finds her in the 75-80 age group. “I’m in my prime! I’m in my prime!” she exclaims, wearing a


shark swim cap featuring a fin and a red, toothy grin. Although she’s competed twice in the Arkansas Senior Olympics, this will be her first time competing at the national level. She trains by swimming an hour and a half, five days a week, with an additional hour in the evening twice a week. She decided to compete on a lark, thinking it would be fun, since all her grandchildren were early swimmers and some of them compete on swim teams. “She is just a fireball of energy and she is always positive


and upbeat,” says her long-time friend, Laurie Kasinger of Mountain Home. “She can swim circles around most people, at 75. She just never stops trying to improve herself. She’s always reaching for another goal.” “It’s about life and fun and experiences,” says her niece,


Louise Blackmon of Mountain Home, echoing similar thoughts. “She makes you want to move.” Mary Jo enjoys many outdoor activities besides swim-


ming, including scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, biking and traveling. Her most recent overseas trip, last fall, was to Sicily, Italy,


after which she headed northward to participate in a bike tour.


The trip was memorable, as Mary Jo, one of her sisters, and


two of her nieces met second and third cousins from Sicily. They also visited the church in Villarosa where Mary Jo’s pat- ernal grandparents were married, and climbed the stone steps to her grandparents’ former home. A second sister met them for the Bike and Barge between


Venice and Mantova in northern Italy, which combined 20- mile-a-day biking with sightseeing. One unfortunate moment was when Mary Jo slipped and


fell off her bike, face-planting the gravel. After she regained consciousness, she was told she needed stitches, but she re- fused because they planned to go 10 more miles before stop- ping. She got back on her bike and later applied butterfly ban- dages to her cut and bruised face. “It would have been an hour to take me to the hospital, and


hour for the hospital to do their thing,” Mary Jo says, with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I just didn’t have the time for that.”


Mary Jo Augustine, 75, works on her butterfly stroke. She trains by swimming an hour and a half, five days a week, with an additional hour in the evening twice a week.


LIVING WELL ❚ MAY/JUNE 2019 ❚ 31


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