Area man qualifies for Senior Olympics

Fred Hingel, 55, of Austintown, will be swimming on Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

AUSTINTOWN — Fred Hingel of Austintown always has entertained aspirations of being a great athlete, but just never had the opportunity or the time and interest to focus on one particular sport.

Now, at the age of 55, the sales manager for New Dominion Agency in the automobile industry is getting his big chance — and no less than on the national stage — as a swimmer in the Senior Olympics.

Hingel, a graduate of Fitch High (1971) and Youngstown State (1975), has qualified for the 2009 Summer National Senior Games at Stanford University in Paulo Alto, Calif., in the 50-meter sprint in the 55-59 age group.

The Senior Olympics, sponsored by Humana, will begin Saturday and continue through Aug. 15; but Hingel is scheduled to swim his 50-meter finals on Sunday. And he will get one chance to win a medal.

“I will be competing in the National Senior Games for the first time. I didn’t even realize they existed until last year,” said Hingel, who qualified for the 50-meter swimming dash during a Senior Olympics regional qualifications site last year in Dayton. “There will be 50-75 [competing] in my event at the national meet.”

An independent sales agent dealing with hundreds of dealerships for almost three decades, Hingel will be among 358 athletes who have qualified for the national event from an original field of about 10,000 in state-wide qualifications.

He said that although he never played any sports in high school or college except for playground or intramural games, that he always worked out regularly to stay physically fit.

“I have been working out for the last 30 years about four times a week. My routine was riding the bike and using the treadmill and then spend an hour in the gym with the weights and machines,” said Hingel, who discovered the Senior Olympics on the internet, and thought he would try swimming or running.

“I was training at Fitch High for the 100-yard sprint and I also was in the pool swimming [at Salem Community Center and Creekside Fitness]. But it was too hard to train for both events, so I chose swimming.”

Hingel is just happy he was selected from eight regional qualifications sites throughout Ohio for the national event.

“Just qualifying and being there is an achievement for me,” said Hingel, who now has an athletic plan for his future.

“I am using this as a springboard to start some senior athletic career. My goal is to be able to do 10 events with a mix of swimming and running.”

Hingel said that he had to work while going to high school, and didn’t have the time for sports. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t good enough to compete.

“It’s true I’ve never been great at anything but it’s equally true that I’ve always been very good at most everything,” said Hingel, who believes he is ready to give his big chance his best shot.

“I’ve never smoked, had a drink, not even beer or wine. When I married I had ginger ale in my glass. I’ve never had a single cup of coffee and drink very little pop.”

Hingel believes that he is a different breed of senior athlete that will give him an advantage at the games.

“On a very personal note, I believe that something that sets me apart from most of the other competitors is some of my personal habits throughout my life,” said Hingel, who has experienced some promising moments in his athletic career.

“When I was 35, I competed in a National Fitness Competition sponsored by Foot Locker. I was first in overall flexibility and second with 34 chinups a minute. I even received a letter to compete in Moscow with the U.S. team.”

And he said he was competing against athetes a lot younger.

“Most of the athletes were in their early 20s. There were about seven or eight events in all. The finals were held in Sunny Isles, Fla., for the top 50 men and women nationally.”

Hingel also has been an ice skater and instructor.

“I’ve helped teach ice skating for Youngstown State University and [tried to] break an ice skating marathon record for the Guiness Book of World Records [in Greenville, Pa.],” said Hingel.

Fred’s biggest fan is his wife, Kim.

“Prior to qualifying for this event my husband really has not trained in swimming since he broke a record for the Red Cross over 30 years ago, swimming 50 miles,” said Kim.

Hingel also is looking forward to the 2013 Senior Olympics that will be held in Cleveland.

“I would like to train at more swimming events and track and field because that is where I was good at it,” said Hingel. “I’d really like to compete in a dozen or more events in the Senior Olympics some year.”

kovach@vindy.com