Kathleen Fitzgerald has spent her life moving—across the country, across careers, across decades of change. But wherever she’s gone, one thing has remained constant: a deep love for athletics and a belief in the power of competition to bring people together.
Now, as the executive director of Oklahoma Senior Games, Fitzgerald is leading a statewide effort to keep older adults active and socially engaged through competition. Under her leadership, participation has surged, events have expanded, and the organization has become a thriving hub for senior athletes. But her journey to this role has been anything but ordinary.
Fitzgerald’s passion for organizing sporting events can be traced back to her teenage years. In the seventh grade she left her home near Cleveland and went off to a girls’ boarding school. It was there, in the world of school athletics, that she first learned the ins and outs of event management—an experience that would set the stage for her future.
“They had a student-run sports program,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s where I learned to run a sports program. And that’s one of the reasons I can do what I’m doing.”
In her early years, Fitzgerald lived in several states, picking up experience and making connections wherever she landed. But through all of this change, sports was a constant in her life.
Like so many adult children, Fitzgerald found herself stepping into the role of caregiver when her parents grew older. She moved to Florida to be closer to them, immersing herself in the responsibilities of caregiving, but in her leisure time, she continued to compete in sports. It was here that Kathleen found success even competing against the fierce competition of senior games in Florida. But a fateful Facebook search would take her life in a dramatically different direction.
Life has a way of bringing people full circle, and for Fitzgerald, that meant reconnecting with a man she had dated when she was a teenager. Their paths had diverged for decades, and she was delighted to see his Facebook status was “single.”
That rekindled relationship led her to Oklahoma, where she quickly sought out ways to get involved in the community. Naturally, she found herself drawn to the senior games, where she began competing right away, but the senior games weren’t held consistently. A few years after moving to Oklahoma, Kathleen even had to go to Arkansas to qualify for nationals. In 2016, Kathleen and a group of Oklahoma senior athletes brought the Oklahoma Senior Games back to life.
Under her leadership, participation numbers have skyrocketed. Events have grown in both size and scope, offering more opportunities for older adults across the state to compete in everything from pickleball to track and field. Fitzgerald has helped bring in new sponsors, strengthen community partnerships, and elevate the profile of the games.
In addition to running the Oklahoma Senior Games, Kathleen participates in as many events as she can. She competes in water walking, swimming, long jump, sprints, and table tennis, which she has played since childhood.
“I compete in as many events as I possibly can,” Fitzgerald said.
From her days as a boarding school student to her unexpected move to Oklahoma, Fitzgerald’s life has been anything but predictable. But through it all, she has remained dedicated to the power of athletics to inspire, connect, and transform lives.
Thanks to her efforts, senior athletes in Oklahoma have more opportunities than ever to compete, connect, and celebrate the joy of sports.
