By Whitney Hunter
Senior weightlifter Dorothy Gardner may not be the age of the average athlete, but she has been putting women in their 20s, 30s and 40s to shame for quite some time.
Gardner, a professor of psychology at Savannah State University, began her journey back in 1991, when her then husband, Dr. William Gardner, ninth president of SSU, died of a heart attack.
"I immersed myself in weightlifting as a way to deal with his sudden death," Gardner said. "It was a way of alleviating anxiety; weightlifting served that purpose."
Gardner began working out at Howard's Gym on Victory drive. Soon she started bench pressing and competing in local weightlifting competitions. At the suggestion of her coach, Howard Cohen, she began competing on an Olympic level.
She credits her strength to her tomboy days on her parents' Mississippi farm as share croppers and having to run the day-to-day operations of the farm.
In 2009, Gardner was inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame. She has won 10 National Masters gold medals, 11 state and local Masters Competitions, six World Masters gold medals, and three Pan American Masters.
So how does a weightlifter in her early 70s stay in shape and compete with much younger opponents in different weight classes?
The Mississippi-born professor credits her exercise and diet regime.
"I am a vegetarian and I eat lots of vegetables, fruits and water," Gardner said. "I believe in a good detoxifying program, and I engage in a colon-cleansing process."
She also ingests daily portions of wheat grass, vitamins and bromeliad, and exercises five days a week. Gardner also works out on her trampoline and uses a chi machine, which she says helps to keep her body in sync.
She also tries to have a more positive attitude, a trait she emphasizes to her students.
"I tell my students you are the same person today that you will be at 65 with respect to your attitude and perspective on life," Gardner said. "I encourage my students to engage in self-retrospection; character will take you far."
Gardner's students have been supportive of their professor's world-class status and have even been inspired by her to go to the gym and lose a couple of pounds.
"They are excited, particularly the males and football players," Gardner said. "They think I am much younger than I am."
What drives Gardner and how does she stay inspired?
"I have an obsession with staying healthy and not sitting around being old and unable to move," Gardner said.
She enjoys coming to her office every day and contributing to the well-being of her students.
"If you give unto the world the best you have, the best will come back to you," Gardner said.