Locals shine in Senior Olympics
There are plenty of reasons Franklin Fisher could have stopped competing.
Years of shoulder injuries have severely limited the use of his dominant right arm, forcing him to abandon the powerful volleyball swing that had been second nature for decades. Most athletes would have accepted it as a sign their playing days were over.
Fisher had a different idea - He taught himself to hit with his left hand. He learned to serve with his left too.
"I could quit, or I could figure out another way" may never have been spoken aloud, but it has become the philosophy behind one of Warren County's most versatile athletes. Or, at the very least, Fisher is one of the area’s most seasoned athletes.
This month, that determination paid off again.
Fisher helped his 65-69 volleyball team capture a gold medal at the Tennessee Senior Olympics, then added another gold by winning the combined bench press and deadlift competition in his age and weight division. In between, he helped his golf scramble team shoot 6-under-par and finish fourth against a higher age division.
All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad weekend for someone who has spent the last several years learning how to compete all over again.
“I always want to get the word out that there's still opportunities to compete and enjoy a variety of sports no matter your age," Fisher said. "Heck, there were three or four guys in their 80s competing in the powerlifting."
That outlook has kept Fisher coming back year after year.
Since 2022, he has become a fixture at the Tennessee Senior Olympics, competing in volleyball, racquetball, golf, race walking and powerlifting. Instead of allowing age or injuries to narrow his opportunities, he has continued finding new ways to challenge himself.
His latest trip may have been his most successful.
Along with volleyball gold, Fisher claimed first place in the combined bench press and deadlift by totaling 440 pounds, improving both lifts by five pounds over last year's performance.
His golf team also put together one of the steadiest rounds of the tournament.
Playing in the 60-65 division after moving up an age group, Fisher teamed with kRandy Mullican, David Upton and Stan Jacobs to shoot 6-under-par. Mullican, the quarterback on Warren County's 1981 football team, stepped in for Bobby Cox, who was on vacation. The foursome never carded worse than a par all day, ultimately finishing fourth.
While Fisher's results stood out, he wasn't the only Warren Countian celebrating on the volleyball court.
Kevin Moore helped his 70-74 team earn a gold medal as well. A 1973 Warren County High School graduate, Moore is in his 18th season competing in Senior Olympics volleyball at both the state and national levels. He was one of the players who helped bring organized volleyball back to Warren County after learning the game while attending the University of Tennessee in the mid-1970s. Now retired after a career as a financial advisor, Moore serves as a volunteer assistant volleyball coach at Sequatchie County High School.
Joe Wehr completed the local trio of champions by helping his 60-64 team win gold. Originally from Iowa, Wehr spent his career working for an international company that allowed him to travel the world before retiring. He and his wife, Geannie, moved to the McMinnville area in 2020, where he has become active in both the community and his church.
Steve Hillis was another local standout, taking the golf course as an individual in the Men’s 60-64 division. In a packed field of over a dozen golfers, Hillis was able to place seventh by shooting 86.
For Fisher, however, the medals tell only part of the story.
He hopes more people discover what he has found through the Senior Olympics: the opportunity to stay active, make new friends and continue competing long after many assume those opportunities have disappeared.
Sometimes it simply asks athletes to adapt. For Fisher, that adaptation meant putting the volleyball in his left hand instead of his right. Years later, it's still taking him to the top of the podium.
