Gov. Nixon participates in the Show-Me State Games at Columbia College

Senior athletes from across the state competed in the Missouri State Senior Games over the weekend (June 11-13). One of these athletes was Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who for the second consecutive year, participated in the basketball skills competition. The senior games are for athletes age 50 and older.

Gov. Nixon participated at Columbia College on Friday, June 11 at 3:30 p.m. He arrived with an entourage, when he pulled up to the east entrance of Southwell in a dark SUV. President Gerald Brouder was on hand to welcome the governor.

Nixon hurried into the locker room, ready to change and get right down to the task at hand – free throws and Around the World competitions as part of the Senior Games.

Sporting gray shorts, a black top and a knee brace on his left knee, Nixon warmed up for a few minutes, keeping the onlookers interested.

In 2009, Gov. Nixon made 15 out of 25 free throws, and five out of 15 shots in the Around the World competition. This year, he beat his previous record. His final score – 19 out of 25 free throws, or 68 percent of shots made. Though still a tougher event for him, Nixon beat last year’s Around the World score by one – six of 15 shots made.

Though he didn't fare quite so well from the outside, the event did seem to make him reminisce about his high school basketball coach. "I remember a coach from high school saying, "If you can't see paint, you can’t shoot!'"

Before he left, Dr. Brouder and Bob Burchard, Columbia College athletic director and men’s basketball coach, presented Nixon with a Columbia College Cougars t-shirt.