Age is only a number—especially when your goal is to stay fit forever. “If you can’t beat ‘em, outlive ‘em,” quips George Zehnder, 74, a retired pastor with St. Mark Lutheran Church in his home town of Chesterland.

While athletes are currently competing in the Olympics in Paris, earlier this month other fierce competitors from around the world descended on Cleveland for the Pan-American Masters Games—occurring at various venues from July 12 to 21.

One of 7,500 athletes from 50 countries around the globe to compete in the 2024 games, Zehnder is fresh off his July 16 gold medal win in the triathlon.

George ZanderRanging in age from 30 to 100, competitors were broken into age categories for their events. Local athlete Zehnder will turn 75 in September, so he entered the triathlon in the 75-80 age category.

Zehnder says he decided to go big when he qualified for the Pan-Am Masters. He says he was ready to compete against athletes from around the world who were also competing in the games.

“It upped the competition level,” he says.

The triathlon began at Edgewater Beach with the swimming leg. Zehnder dove into Lake Erie alongside competitors in the 400-meter swim component—approximately 1,300 feet.

He then had a mere three minutes to change out of his swim attire and into his biking gear.

Zehnder jumped on his bike and pedaled the 12.4 miles in the next race component, before capping off the competition with a 5K run. He finished the entire event in under two-and-a-half hours.

Despite his gold medal win at the Games, the road to victory was sometimes tough for Zehnder. He struggled at a timed trial for biking qualifier.

“I got blown out of the water,” admits Zehnder. “I don’t want to say [my competitors’] bikes were faster than mine, but I had a $1,300 bike and these guys were showing up with $12,000 bicycles,” he recalls. “My wife won’t let me get one of those!”

But bike cost aside, Zehnder’s gold medal win is indicative of his tenacity that led him to compete in the Pan-American Masters Games.

A 12-year member of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland’s Geauga Family Branch in Chardon, Zehnder began training for the games last September. He credits the YMCA with helping him achieve his latest fitness goal.

From rigorous cycling classes with cycling instructor Jay Burke, to the indoor training facilities during the winter months, he says he knows he picked the right place to train when he went to the YMCA.

Zehnder cites “the people, the equipment, the coaching” as helping him prepare, and the warm feelings are mutual.

George Zehnder finishes first at the 2024 Pan American Masters Games in Cleveland“Everybody knows who he is—he’s got a following,” says Geauga branch YMCA member services representative Deborah Drenik. “When he’s talking to people every day, they are amazed by what he’s accomplished and some of them are seriously considering trying it. I think that’s huge.”

Claiming a gold medal wasn’t always on Zehnder’s agenda. When it was time for the former pastor to retire, the eventual athlete knew he needed to make healthy lifestyle changes to age gracefully. He dropped 30 pounds and dedicated himself to fitness.

With a supportive wife, friends, and an encouraging environment, Zehnder worked his way up to becoming an active member of the Cleveland Triathlon Club.

Geauga Family YMCA executive director Ben Altemus says Zehnder’s successes are the types of stories he likes to share with the community.

“He comes into the branch with his head up high,” Altemus says. “He is an inspiration.”

Zehnder sticks with his adage, “once a pastor, always a pastor,” saying, “We have to honor God with our body, so that’s why the Y’s mission strikes home here.”