Olympic events dating back to the early 1900s features multi-skills challenges
The Lower Yard played host to the second San Quentin Olympics after a sixty-four year hiatus that highlighted sports for the incarcerated community.
The festivities started with the playing of the Olympic theme song, followed by the Veterans Group of San Quentin’s Color Guard presentation of the colors. Joel Natividad sang the national anthem.
Running events included a 40-yard dash, a one-mile race, and a four-by-fourhundred relay race. Physical fitness competitions featured pull-ups and push-ups.
Soccer competitions featured penalty kicks, and dribbling skills challenges.
Basketball events highlighted three-point shooting and free-throw challenges. A baseball throw, homerun derby and a quarterback challenge for distance throws let resident athletes show off their baseball and football skills.
A heavy bag race and a strongman pull competition exhibited resident muscle power.
Event creator Adrian “AD” Robinson, 51, felt motivated by the sign on the backstop of the ball field, which read “In memory of Jeffery ‘Silk’ Evans” and advised “Ball players get those arms warm.”
“The plaque on the backstop inspired me to leave a legacy,” said Robinson. “When I saw that, my thoughts turned to a vision bigger than myself, bigger than all of us.”
Robinson said he suffered from depression, anxiety, and PTSD, yet his participation in a boxing skills class helped him reduce those stress-ors.
Robinson expanded his thought process to include others suffering from similar conditions as he considered how sporting events could bring relief while enhancing rehabilitation. “It’s like one big therapy,” exclaimed Robinson.
Robinson said he relied on guidance from residents Carlos Smith, 58, and Jerry “JB” Brown, 58, to create the sporting competition.
Robinson said Coach Oola and Coach Bhatt operated in unison to make this event a success, helped by residents coach Ricky Dias, 46, Damien Alvarez,23, Tommy Wickerd, 57, Maurice Buckley; 42, Jamaal Harrison, 48, and Jerry Welsh, 54. Bighouse Fitness, Veterans Group of San Quentin, San Quentin Athletic Association.
Outside coach Kevin Rumon sponsored the event. He said he researched the history of the San Quentin Olympics and dated the last event to Memorial Day weekend in 1960.
According to Rumon, athletes from the Olympic Club came to San Quentin and performed exhibitions of pole vaulting and the high jump, which did not use landing mats but only loose hay.
Olympic competition at San Quentin dated back even further than Rumon’s discovery. The San Quentin News from May 12, 1960, said, “The 1960 ‘Tournament of Champions’ comes into existence this year replacing the forty six year old San Quentin ‘Little Olympics.’ This would date the origins of the event to 1914.
The 1960 paper also reported more team-oriented competitions. Athletes competed in baseball, basketball, volleyball, handball, horseshoes, weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling as a team concept.
This year’s Olympic winners received certificates of participation and gift bags during the completion of the events. For future events, the organizers pledged to seek more sponsorship.
“Overall, this was a great event,” said Robinson.
Editors note: This article is a reprint from last month with the correct SQ Olympic story.
