By Nunnie Robinson, The Westside Gazette Sports Editor
“I was raised by grandma in Delray Beach, Florida. We would go in the summertime, but it wouldn’t be for pleasure. We had to go to work. What kind of work was it? Picking beans. You loaded on the truck to go to the bean farm. One day I was on my knees with the hamper used to put beans in. When I moved the hamper, I saw this huge Coach Whip snake so I took off running. So when competing today, I think about running from that snake.” — Jo Ann Sampson
Maya Angelou’s iconic poem, “Phenomenal Woman“ immediately captured my imagination after an inspiring encounter with 84 years young Jo Ann Sampson, who astoundingly, competes nationally in her specialty, sprint races. After being introduced to this amazing exemplar of excellence by Carver Ranches historian and author, Cynthia Straugn-Saunders, I naturally concluded or assumed that she enjoyed a successful, stellar career in track & field in high school and college. Boy, was I in for a shocking revelation. Having attended Miami Northwestern Senior High in the late 50s, (graduating in 1960 one year after CongresswomanFredrica Wilson, it was rather surprising when she said that athletics for young ladies wasn’t encouraged or readily available. After graduating from Northwestern, she began undergraduate studies at Miami-Dade Junior College, then on to the University of Miami where she experienced prejudice first hand before subsequently completing a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Nova University in Davie.
I immediately asked her when she began running competitively, assured that she would harken back to high school or least college so when she answered at age 62, I was completely flabbergasted. Joanne Sampson, born and raised in Miami Overtown, retired in 2000 after a tremendously gratifying and successful 40 year career as an educator. After retiring in August of 2000, boredom soon set in, causing her to ponder if she had made the right decision, posing the rhetorical question: Lord, have I done the right thing? Knowing that she didn’t want to follow the example set by so many classmates who sat under the veritable shade tree reminiscing and drinking beer, her life companion, whom she loved dearly and trusted implicitly, as an avid reader of the Sun-Sentinel newspaper, pointed to an abbreviated article which read: if you are 50 and older you can join the Senior Games which had been in existence for 12 years , though she had never heard of said games. So she called the office in Tallahassee and soon received an application. After perusing the form, she was drawn to track & field, especially the 50 and 100 meter events. An inner voice kept assuring her that she could do this.
With zero formal training, John felt developing a sound stance would be more advantageous than attempting to use starting blocks in the beginning. The initial training began with walks to the beach from where she lived, karate and aerobics – she and John, who actually believed she chose the most difficult races for her age group, began running at Traz Powell prior to her first official race which took place in February at Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes.
When John saw her run at Traz Powell, he was impressed, seeing her potential. In her first official meet, she wondered where the Black people were because she didn’t see any. John advised her to concentrate on the race, run like you stole some watermelons and don’t look back and that’s exactly what she did. Placed in the outside lane, a decided disadvantage in a sprint race, her training took over, winning easily, but momentarily taking a glance back to see where her competitors were. At the finish line, where she clocked in at 21 seconds in the 100 meters, other racers congratulated her, and even encouraged her to travel to Lakeland as this victory qualified her to compete on the state level. Her first competitive race, a resounding victory, gave her the confidence to pursue this newly discovered passion.
The rest is history as they say. This is her 13th year competing in National meets. Convened every 2 years, Ms Sampson has won a gold or silver medal in each . She also competes in the USA Masters Division where you must be 35 or older. However, she made it abundantly clear that there is no pay for elderly athletes competing in national events. Finding a sponsor has been problematic. For 5 years she had hopes that Nike would sign her, but it never came to fruition, compelling her to finance every aspect of what had become a calling. Suddenly, she glanced at Kashure, who had been sitting patiently as Jo Ann told her story. Kashure serves as her assistant, coordinating travel details, setting appointments , procuring equipment and providing personal or household items as needed. Jo Ann makes certain that she is adequately compensated though it was obvious that she executed those responsibilities from a position of love and respect, not money. Ms. Sampson interjected, “ the timing was perfect because I had a full plate as my baby girl was sick and dying and dealing with her races just made acquiring Khachure’s tech-savy skills a no brainer.
Jo Ann recounts arranging details to compete in Hawaii.
The police chief for the City of Hollywood had authorized a gift of $1,000 to help defray the cost of the flight. Hearing one of secretaries ridicule and deride her fortune and after being referred to as ‘ that ole lady’ struck a cord which caused her to turn immediately around and place that check on culprit’s desk, then leaving in her best dignified manner.
Ms. Sampson, who has 2 trainers, works out at least at least 4 days a week, specifically on the track and in the weight room.
According to Ms. Sampson, “my sprint coach knows what to do for me because I’m a sprinter, and I need the entire workout for stamina so she knows what to do for me and I’m very pleased.” Her workouts are scripted and regimented with some room for flexibility.
Jo Ann proudly wore medals that she had won this year as she competes on the state, regional and national levels. One represents her Florida state championship which she held for 9 years in her age group. She made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t run every race, that she can be selective at this stage of her career. She even traveled to Finland to compete internationally, coming in 4th in 100 meters but shuns traveling abroad. She also holds the world record for her age group in the 200.
Jo Ann believes in divine intervention, that things happen for a reason, that her second career serves as an example to others, showing them that anything is possible no matter your age or past, seeing herself as a messenger blessed by God to be an example for others.
When I hinted about retirement, her response centered around progressing to a different age category which clearly indicated that she had no plans to retire despite the financial burdens and travel. She believes unequivocally that choosing to run at 62 has been one of the best decisions she could have made. She says there are 7 women over 90 still competing and 1 from Alabama who is 102 years old which says : there is no limit!
This will be her 13th year competing as a sprinter, and she will defend her title in DesMoines, Iowa.
Along this journey, Jo Ann says that she’s met some fabulous people, traveled to places she never dreamt of seeing, learned much about her body and health and advises anyone to avoid limiting themselves mentally and physically. We all have talents so ignore the naysayers and follow your passion. She says when she gets in the starting blocks prior to gun sounding, she imagines being any age/number she chooses to be.
She does recall injuring herself in a race in Spokane, Washington involving her back and her sciatic nerve. Once she was able to return home, John took her to a specialist who recommended surgery which she emphatically rejected. After agreeing to an interview with the Sun-Sentinel, she prayed to God to guide her through the interview, knowing the pain she was in. It was then that she realized that it was a spiritual revelation from God that allowed her to persevere, confirming the Holy Spirit was using her as a messenger, a vessel to show others the way. You see sans the surgery, they could only prescribe ineffective pain pills that never worked. At the recommendation of the reporter with whom she had confided her medical condition, Jo Ann did see a chiropractor named Dr. Steve Friedman who after showing her what back surgery looked like, designed a program to not only extend her career, but also mitigate the pain which allowed her to compete!
In harkening back to the sponsorship issue, Jo Ann stated that she tried five different entities to no avail, that the impetus has to come from the people, not from me. I just couldn’t get enough people to contact organizations and tell them about me which is how athletes get television endorsements. And sometimes it’s not about color as Blacks can often be resistant or jealous about another’s success or aspirations. I’ve personally experienced that. Assuming the Nike challenge by contacting the company via written correspondence about athletic achievements as an senior citizen did initiate a response. They challenged me to reduce my 100 meters time to 14 seconds which I did. It didn’t translate into a sponsorship, but I’m extremely proud of my athletic career and my accomplishments, especially as the competition has only gotten better.
With regard to the prejudice experienced at the University of Miami in late 50s, early 60s, if you spoke openly about how you felt about an issue, they would lower your grade, or force you to rewrite a paper simply because we were having a discussion about teachers or some other subject matter such as writing false statements or labeling children. They were punitive and insensitive, discouraging individual thinking. I chose Miami initially because the federal government had a tuition free program for minority students who majored in education, and I was one of the recipients, I chose Miami. The program, called EOPI, was designed to recruit minority teachers. Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson, ‘59 Northwestern High graduate, was a beneficiary of the program as well.
One important benefit for me was being assigned a teaching position at Nova Elementary when most of the constituents were rich parents and their children were placed on a list, then selected to attend this accelerated, experimental, innovative, prestigious school. I was chosen by Dr. Schultz, my student-teacher supervisor.
She became somewhat melancholy when thoughts of her life partner John, whom she lost about 2 years ago, emerged based on the shared experiences and decisions that guided her life and the protection and assurance he provided. She recalls an incident walking along Flamingo Road near construction zone when she noticed a car moving slowly behind her. When the car didn’t go around her, she discerned that something was amiss. Suddenly, the car accelerated with her clearly in the path so she immediately jumped some side hedges to avoid being hit or even kidnapped. Where she had the mental acuity to recognize and avoid danger she attributes to Divine Intervention. Her message to youth : it’s not important who your parents are, don’t allow your circumstances to define your purpose and outcome and love yourself. You can achieve all that you set your mind to.
With no intention of slowing down, she is extremely proud of both her teaching career and her decision to become an athlete at such a late and unusual time in her life and despite the personal expense and toll, the people she’s met, the places traveled and the challenges conquered have made it all worthwhile and self/fulfilling.
Her story is sure to inspire others as they learn more about this phenomenal woman. And still I rise.
