Send us a text

Dori Tharp is a remarkable 73-year-old woman, originally from Salt Lake City and raised in Hollywood, CA. She lives a life rich in family, community, and service. Dori moved to St. George, where she and her husband raised eight children. She considers herself a professional volunteer, and just some of the organizations outside her church who benefit from her time are Historic St. George Live!, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program). Additionally, Dori has volunteered at the Huntsman World Senior Games since its inception in 1987. She has served countless athletes and guests at the information desk throughout the years, and most recently, she has loved helping in the sports lounge. In addition to cherishing the opening ceremonies, the diversity of guests, and motivational athlete stories, she also greatly values our health screenings. According to Dori, “a positive attitude keeps you young at heart.”

Send us a text

Raised in the rugged landscapes of New Mexico and inspired by a tradition of faith, family, and frontier values, Kevin Shelley is a true pioneer whose career bridges technology, health, and service. Kevin’s journey began with a groundbreaking project in college, the "Virtual Human," which introduced medical simulations to education. His career then expanded to develop products like protein-rich chocolates for optimal nutrition, support microfinance and therapy for underserved communities worldwide, and now, a revolutionary robotic arm for the elderly and disabled. With his dedication to health and fitness, Kevin is also a multi-medal athlete at the Huntsman World Senior Games, embodying his commitment to helping people of all ages and abilities to lead active, independent lives.

Send us a text

Dr. Arne Olsen, a Massachusetts native, graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and completed a general surgery residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. He then completed a vascular surgery and endovascular therapy fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville. At Intermountain Health in St. George and Cedar City, Utah, Dr. Olsen has over 19 years of experience in treating all aspects of vascular disease including varicose veins, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), carotid artery disease, aortic aneurysms, and dialysis access.

Outside of his professional life, Dr. Olsen is a family man with 8 wonderful children and a very hardworking wife. He enjoys spending quality time with his loved ones. He also has a passion for music and is the keyboard player for Southern Utah's preeminent classic rock cover band, Identity Crisis. Dr. Olsen lives a relatively active lifestyle including a love for jet skiing, jogging, weightlifting, and various sports.

Send us a text

Dr. Herbert (Herb) Wilkinson, father of 5 and grandfather of 24, was born in December of 1923 and is 100 years old. Born and raised in Hurricane, Utah, where his father was the town’s first family physician, Herb developed a strong competitive spirit and excelled as an oral surgeon. As a freshman at the University of Utah, he helped win the 1944 NCAA National Basketball Championship, scoring the game-winning basket in overtime. He then transferred to Iowa, winning three consecutive Big Ten titles and earning All-American honors each season. Herb was also an accomplished high jumper, placing fourth in the 1945 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Despite an offer to play basketball professionally with the Minneapolis Lakers, Herb played a modified season and then quit due to a conflict with playing on Sundays, instead choosing to serve a mission in England for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In more recent years, he has excelled as a Masters athlete, earning numerous medals in high jump, long jump, and throwing events at the Huntsman World Senior Games. Last year alone, Herb competed and won 4 silver medals despite being the oldest in his age group, and this year, he was in a class all his own.

Send us a text

Born in Wyoming and raised in Iowa, Eva Sorensen will soon be 101 years old and has two children, three grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Throughout her life, she has lived in 21 states and Okinawa, Japan and currently lives in an independent living facility in Virginia. She corrected high school foreign language papers for a teacher as a job for The National Youth Administration (NYA), a New Deal agency that provided work and relief during the Great Depression.

During high school she went to work for a newly opened ice cream parlor making ten cents an hour. She mentioned this to her principal and he black-balled the parlor and got her a job at a fence factory making out bills of lading for twenty-five cents an hour. She worked there eight hours a day and spent two hours at school.

Eva pursued bowling as a teenager and later became deeply involved in the sport, joining multiple leagues, including military-base leagues. She participates in the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics, National Senior Games, and the Huntsman World Senior Games and has earned numerous medals, including seven in a single year. She continues to bowl, play board games, and knit while she watches football or baseball. Eva loves adventure. After her husband’s retirement, they traveled across the U.S. in a converted school bus for four years before finally settling down in a house in Midwest City, Oklahoma where they lived for more than 25 years.

Send us a text

Kathleen Harper-Hall, 86, has participated in the Huntsman World Senior Games since 2004 and served as athlete and team manager since 2022. She has won 104 medals across multiple track and field events, including the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, long jump, standing broad jump, and discus. In addition to national honors from Barbados and multiple national lifetime awards, Kathy remains active on the Executive Committees of two national associations and two Caribbean Sports Associations. She is also being inducted into the Huntsman World Senior Games Hall of Fame this year.

This mother of six, grandmother of nineteen, and great-grandmother of twelve enjoys dancing, running, and playing video games. She is dedicated to helping the less fortunate, working with children and at-risk youth, and volunteering as a sports administrator.

Send us a text

We are almost halfway through this year's Huntsman World Senior Games. Kyle and Mindy give an update on some highlights from the first week of competition and festivities.

Send us a text

Michelle Rohl was a 15-time All-American during her time at University of Wisconsin-Parkside and National Champion in the 1000-meter and two-mile during her college middle-distance running career. After trying racewalking for fun, she used it to train when she suffered from Achilles tendonitis. Michelle eventually switched to racewalking, qualifying for the U.S. Nationals in 1989 and finishing 10th.

After having her first child in 1990, Michelle focused on racewalking, becoming a three-time U.S. Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000), winning 22 national titles, and holding every American record from 3k to 30k simultaneously. She retired in 2004 to focus on family and home-schooling, but in 2018, she returned to running, winning the 800m at the Master's Championships.

In 2022, Michelle set multiple American records in distances from 800m to 10k. A concussion in April of 2023 led her back to racewalking, but it took until December for her to recover to full, healthy training. 2024 has been a monumental year where she capped the year by winning four golds at the World Championships and Pan Am Games, setting nine American records and three world records. This mother of five recently became a grandmother at the age of 58 and qualified for the Olympic Trials. She finished third, and though she did not compete in the Paris Olympics, it was the most widely publicized event from the trials.