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VIDEO: Senior Games presents pickleball

Minnesota Senior Games: Pickleball from Mankato Free Press on Vimeo.

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  • Brothers Don Diehl of Northfield (left) and David Diehl of Akron, Ohio, compete in a doubles table tennis tournament Thursday at Minnesota State University as part of the Minnesota Senior Games. The games continue at various Mankato sites through Sunday. John Cross

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June 3, 2011

2011 Senior Games bring out feisty friendships (VIDEO)

Competitors say friendships often forged over games

By Robb Murray Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — By 8:30 a.m., Minnesota State University’s Myers Field House was buzzing with the excitement of seasoned athletes at the top of their games.

But instead of collegiate co-eds sprinting a 100-meter race or sailing over high-jump bars, the room was full of a different kind of athlete.

The 2011 Senior Games began Thursday morning, and the sport with some of the largest participation numbers was the one with the funniest name: pickleball.

Across the field house floor on a dozen or so courts, the game that is a hybrid of pingpong and tennis kept nearly 50 participants busy in the mixed doubles division.

Among the feistiest was Rachael Kroog, whose smooth stroking of the ball and fist pumping on hard-won points made it clear to anyone watching that she was here to win.

“We’re all here to win,” Kroog said. “But the really nice thing about pickleball is that it’s social.”



The games continue through Sunday. Visit mnseniorgames.com for more information.



For the complete story, see Friday's print edition or read the e-edition.

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