Florida's Sunshine State Games Notable Athletes
See who got their start at Florida's Olympic-style Sports Festival

Athletes of the Year selected from 2007 Sunshine State Games

Florida’s Sunshine State Games 2007 Athletes of the Year brought home quite a few medals during the summer.  But the 2007 Athlete of the Year award caps a summer of successes for Jessica Randolph, 12, a swimmer from Davie and Joe Shanahan, 71, a track & field athlete from Casselberry.  The pair earned their awards during the 2007 Summer Games, held June 13-15 in Polk County.  They were chosen from more than 5,000 of Florida’s finest amateur athletes competing in 24 sports in the 28^th Annual Olympic-style Sports Festival.

A member of the Plantation Swim Team, Jessica Randolph, won a total of 11 medals at the 2007 Sunshine State Games swimming competition, with seven gold, three bronze and a silver medal.  Of her seven gold medals, six were in events of 100 yards or more. 

She won races by a little and by a lot.  Three of her races were decided by six seconds or more and the other four gold medal winning performances were by two seconds or less.  Her silver medal came as part of the 200 Freestyle Relay Team, as the 12-year old Randolph was swimming with girls age 15-19.  Her three bronze medals came in heats where the top three finishers were within one second of each other.  Randolph has been a member of the Plantation Swim Team since she was seven and attends American Heritage School in Plantation.

Joe Shanahan’s busy summer schedule included three medals in the 2007 Sunshine State Games Open and Masters Track & Field competition.  He won a gold in the 400 meter dash and silver medals in the 200 meter dash and 800 meter run, in the 70-74 age group.

He also ran the same events at the 2006 Florida Senior Games State Championships, last December, and won a silver medal in the 200 meter dash and a bronze medal in the 400 meter dash.  With those medal-winning performances, he qualified for the 2007 National Senior Games, where he participated in July in Louisville, Kentucky, but did not win medals.  He won a pair of bronze medals in the 200 and 400 meter dashes at the 2007 State Games of America, in August, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“I’ve been thinking about competing on a national level for a couple years,” said Shanahan.  “I’ve been pretty successful locally so I decided to get serious and give it a shot.”

Shanahan, a member of the Notre Dame track & field team in college and a retired Air Force Colonel, has been busy over the last few years as he ran in the 2005 and 2006 Sunshine State Games Open & Masters Track & Field meet and the 2003 and 2004 Florida Senior Games State Championships.

Previous Sunshine State Games Athletes of the Year

2006

Tim Gehret, Ultimate, Miami

Lady Superfriends Basketball Team, Gadsden County

2005

Ryan Milmoe, Weightlifting, Fort Lauderdale (at right)

Susan Pfahler, Racquetball, Neptune Beach

2004

Shane Simerly, Judo, Niceville

Tyler Wolfe, Karate, Gainesville

2003

Samuel Valentin, Boxing, Plant City

Gertrude Zint, Rowing, Edgewater

2002

Anita Perkins, Track & Field, Belle Glade (Summer Games)

Larry Parzynski, Canoe/Kayak, Cape Coral (Summer Games)

Felecia Gostisbehere, Figure Skating, Margate (Spring Games)

Andrew Stroud, Fencing, Safety Harbor (Spring Games)

2001

Alina Syukova, Synchronized Swimming, Longwood (Summer Games)

Robert Wimberly, Wrestling, Fort Lauderdale (Summer Games)

Melanie Vega-Borja, Judo, Wellington (Spring Games)

Chad Schiferl, Mountain Bike Racing, Cycling Criterium, St. Petersburg (Spring Games)

2000

Amber Davis, Weightlifting, Chiefland (Summer Games)

Alex Forbes, Swimming, Casselberry (Summer Games)

Dusty Price, Figure Skating, Coral Springs (Spring Games)

Catherine Leach, Sport Shooting, Orlando (Spring Games, pictured at right)


Other Notable Athletes who got their start at Florida's Sunshine State Games
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