PORT ANGELES — The public address announcer requested a brief break three-quarters of the way through the Olympic Peninsula Senior Games swim meet at William Shore Pool on Saturday.
With so many events coming one after the other at such a rapid pace, the announcer wanted to make sure the 30-plus competitors didn’t run out of gas.
“Especially for Ron,” he said.
Of course, Ron Snipe, the 67-year-old swimmer he was referring to, shook off the whole idea.
The Senior Games ironman, who passed the 1,000-medal mark Saturday in senior competition, has not taken a break in years. Why start now?
“My father was an All-American in track at the University of Missouri, and I quit a hurdle race as a kid and he kicked me in the butt,” said Snipe, a substitute teacher for the Port Angeles School District.
“He said, ‘If you quit another race, I’ll kill you.’ So I never quit another race.”
Indeed, Snipe swam his way through all 14 races he entered at Saturday’s Senior Games meet in William Shore Pool, winning medals in each.
He estimates that with that effort, combined with an eight-medal showing Friday and Saturday in horseshoes, indoor rowing, basketball and bowling, he has 1,001 career medals.
It’s an achievement Snipe has had his eye on for months, having traveled to 12 other events across the country to claim 144 pieces of hardware going into this weekend’s Games.
“That was kind of my goal [to reach 1,000 in Port Angeles],” Snipe said.
“I had to get [43 medals] in Wyoming to help me . . . 6,500 feet of elevation, it was pure hell.”
Not that Snipe couldn’t handle it.
An advocate for clean living, the stout, barrel-chested Vietnam War veteran is still in terrific shape.
As part of his training, Snipe swims 500 yards three to four days a week in the pool and walks at least two miles a day.
And his 62-year-old wife, Betsy, encourages him along the way, traveling with him to events throughout the nation.
In the past six years, that’s amounted to competitions in 34 states. That number would be larger, Snipe said, but some states don’t have Senior Games or don’t allow out-of-state participants.
“I think I’m a good example,” he said. “I do really well in swimming. In track I sort of stink. But you know what? I participate, I try, I stay healthy, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink.
“I’m a good role model for my high school kids. The kids know you don’t have to get the pot belly.
“You can be healthy.”
Snipe has been an athlete all his life, starring as a track and football star at St. Helena (Calif.) High School before eventually playing soccer at Utah State.
Once he turned 49 in 1993, he began his career as a Senior Games competitor specializing in swimming and track and field events.
He helped bring the games to Port Angeles in 2005 and now serves as commissioner for the basketball and horseshoes and is a member of the event’s steering committee.
On Saturday, he paced himself through his 14 swimming events. His focus, he said, is on out-of-state competitions.
“That’s where I get real serious,” Snipe said. “These local ones I could do really well, I could do four events and do really well, but I’d rather pace myself.
“To me it’s better to be in good shape for like Vermont [where he’ll compete later this year]. There I want gold.”
So how long does he plan on going?
“Till I die,” he said. “It keeps you in good health.
“It’s kind of sad to be 60 and be in a wheelchair. I see a lot of people my age who are like that or already dead.
“I try to stay healthy, and my dad was a real good coach and just a good inspiration.”
