This August Ballard resident David Ortman took home six medals in the USA Track and Field National Masters Outdoor Championships - as many medals as some countries earned at the entire Beijing Olympics.

Ortman is officially the Brazil of Masters Track and Field.

Masters Track and Field is an organization that holds competitions for athletes over the age of 30. Ortman's success with the organization comes despite getting a 10-year late start.

"I always thought Masters Track and Field started at 40," he said. "When I was 39, someone said, "Oh no, Masters Track and Field starts at 30. So, I guess I missed 10 years of injuries there."

The year he was told that, the national championship was held in Spokane and Ortman took home a gold medal in the 400-meter hurtles and silver in the high jump for the 35-39 age group.

This year, the championship was back in Spokane, and 16 years after that first championship, Ortman tripled his medal haul, this time in the 55-59 age group.

He once again took gold in the 400-meter hurtles and silver in the high jump. But, he was able to add silver medals in the long jump, the triple jump, the 100-meter sprint and the pentathlon - a one-day, five-sport event.

As if that impressive display was not enough, Ortman took home five gold medals and a silver medal in the Washington State Senior Games in July while setting new meet records in four events.

He said he credits this summer's success partly to circumstance and luck.

"It helps to be the youngest one in your age group," Ortman said. "You get a bit of luck in terms of 'can you survive without getting injured' and you work hard."

Ortman, who started running track in high school in South Dakota, said despite not being able to run as fast as he could back then, he sticks with it because it allows him to compete against himself and try to do better every year. Also, participating in Masters competitions gives him a reason to enjoy getting older.

"You look forward to birthdays, especially five-year birthdays," he said. "You think, 'Yes! I'm in a new age group."

Other than an added birthday gift in the form a new age group every five years, Ortman said there are certain experiences that make competing in Masters worth all the time and training, such as the chance to compete against some of the world's greatest athletes.

"Many people may remember the high jump was transformed in the 1968-1972 era by Dick Fosbury, who invented the Fosbury Flop," he said. "He was at a meet in Eugene a couple years ago, and even though he's an age group above, we were competing in the same high jump event. I actually beat him, only because he's older and his knees have given out. But, to compete against some of these Olympians has been a real experience."

Ortman keeps in shape for competitions at the track behind the Salmon Bay School. He said on a normal day of sprint and hurdle training, he runs 800 meters to warm up, 10 short sprint repetitions and a couple of 400 meter sprints to finish up.

With his medals in last month's Washington State Senior Games, Ortman qualified in six events for the National Senior Games held next August in San Francisco and said he sees no reason to quit now.

"When you're 55 and can still run about a 57 (second) 400-meter and run about a 12.4 (second) 100-meter, sometimes you think you could beat a high-school kid once in a while."

Michael Harthorne may be reached at michaelh@robinsonnews.com or 783.1244.