| RIPTIDE | ▼ FORT LAUDERDALE WATCH GRANDPA GO! B NATIONAL SENIOR GAMES KICK OFF IN FORT LAUDERDALE. BY JOSHUA CEBALLOS roward County swimmer Randy May- weather is competing at his very first Olympic-style sporting event this week in Fort Lauderdale. Though Michael Phelps was 15 when won his first gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Mayweather isn’t discouraged and in no way thinks he’s past his prime. In fact, at 65, Mayweather’s one of the younger athletes competing at the National Senior Games. “When I was younger, I didn’t think I’d be a competition-level athlete at 65,” May- weather tells New Times. “But when I got out of the Navy, I saw guys who were 80 years old competing in a swim meet and I thought, If they can do it, I can do it.” From May 10 to May 23, 11,938 qualifying athletes from across the nation — between the ages of 50 and 103 — will vie for gold, sil- ver, and bronze medals at the 2022 biennial National Senior Games, the largest qualified multisport event in the world, taking place at multiple sports venues across South Florida, including Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Sawgrass Lanes bowling alley, the Ansin Sports Complex, and the Plantation Aquatic Complex. In total, there will be 21 sports, with male and female divisions, including ar- chery, swimming, cycling, and track and field, along with some games that have grown pop- ular in retirement communities, like bowling, pickleball, shuffleboard, cornhole, and power walking. Mayweather, who swam competitively in the early 1970s while attending Boyd H. An- derson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, will compete in the 200-meter breaststroke. De- spite experiencing two strokes, brain surgery, GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS ▼ MIAMI BEACH OFF THE CHARTS E THIS $170 MILLION MIAMI BEACH ESTATE IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE PROPERTY IN FLORIDA. BY ALEX DELUCA arlier this year, when the Arsht Estate was listed for a whopping $150 million, it shattered the record for the priciest sin- gle-family residential property ever put up for sale in Miami-Dade County — whereupon a three-home compound at 18 La Gorce Cir. in Mi- ami Beach said, “Hold my beer.” This month, the oceanfront estate of the late doctor, philanthropist, and University of Miami trustee M. Lee Pearce went on the market for $170 million — promptly one-upping the Arsht’s Estate’s short-lived reign as the county’s priciest residential listing. In fact, the property’s notori- Randy Mayweather, 65, of Tamarac will compete in the 200-meter breaststroke. competitors safe. Normally, participants are required to qualify in one of 53 State Games sanctioned by the National Senior Games As- sociation (a nonprofit affiliate organization council member of the United States Olym- pic Paralympic Committee), but the process was amended to allow more athletes the op- portunity to qualify. Now that vaccines and boosters are readily available and COVID-19 infections have declined, the athletes are ea- ger to compete in person for the first time since the 2019 Games in Albuquerque. Fifty-eight-year-old triathlete De Shann Schinkel is so thrilled that she has traveled all the way from Wyoming to compete for a third time at the National Senior Games. “There’s been so much darkness in our AT 65, MAYWEATHER’S ONE OF THE YOUNGER ATHLETES COMPETING AT THE NATIONAL SENIOR GAMES. Photo courtesy of Randy Mayweather and blood clots in the last few years, he says he has continued training in the pool and staying active. “As we age, this is a chance to keep up our health and do things we didn’t think we could do,” he says, “to show others that life gives you one chance but you can do whatever you put your mind to.” At age 103, golfer Linsday Tise of North Carolina will be the oldest athlete at the com- petition. “Many of them return to sports because of midlife crises, losing a spouse, or after getting diagnosed with diabetes,” National Senior Games spokesperson Del Moon tells New Times. “These are the types of people who came to sports to get back to their health and wellbeing in a way that provides excitement, goals, and motivation.” Though the National Senior Games are typically held in odd-numbered years, the competition went virtual in 2021 to keep the country during the pandemic that I’m so ex- cited to see all the smiles, all the people hug- ging each other, and the cama- raderie at the games,” Schin- kel tells New Times. “I love the camarade- rie, being to- gether and watching us still moving and taking that step every day.” The games kicked off last Tuesday with pickleball, volleyball, the 1500-meter power- walk event, and the 1500-meter race-walk. The lighting of the ceremonial cauldron at the Flame Arrival Ceremony last Wednesday at Las Olas Oceanside Park marked the offi- cial start of the games. The games are free and open to the public. “To watch anyone over 100 participating in swimming and running — it’s inspiring,” Schinkel says. “The cool part is looking at these athletes and thinking, That’s who I wanna be when I grow up!” ous real estate agents, Jill Eber and Jill Hertz- berg of the Jills Zeder Group, tell New Times the Pearce compound is actually believed to be the most expensive residential property ever put up for sale in the entire state. “To the best of our knowledge, it is the high- est price on a single folio residential property offered for sale in Florida,” writes one of the Jills (though it’s not clear which one) via email. Situated on the exclusive, gated La Gorce Is- land in Miami Beach, the Pearce compound boasts three homes — two two-story residences and a smaller one-story home with a guesthouse — each with its own private dock. In total, there are 12 bedrooms, 16 full bathrooms, nine half- bathrooms, and three swimming pools. The nearly three-acre property boasts stat- ues of Greek gods and goddesses, opulent mar- ble floors, handpainted frescos on the ceiling, crystal chandeliers, an extravagant Spanish-style “IT IS THE HIGHEST PRICE ON A SINGLE FOLIO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OFFERED FOR SALE IN FLORIDA.” courtyard, and 600 feet of front- age on Biscayne Bay with pan- oramic views of the Miami skyline. Not to mention a wine cellar, a vin- tage movie the- ater, and a private waterfront park on the property called “Domaine de la Paix et de l’Amour” (French for “Domain of Peace and Love”), decked out with manicured greenery and a waterfront gazebo. But, Jill Eber says, the most extraordinary part of the estate is that it is a collection of four different properties. “Assemblies are highly sought-after and diffi- cult to put together,” she tells New Times. “This one is ready to go.” M. Lee Pearce made his money building and operating hospitals, medical facilities, and banks. He purchased the separate properties through- out the 1980s, paying $3.1 million in total for the four lots. (Pearce tore down one of the homes to build his private park.) Pearce died in 2017, and the compound now belongs to his trust. Accord- ing to the Wall Street Journal, proceeds from the sale will benefit the Dr. M. Lee Pearce Founda- tion, which provides grants for medical research and music. The Jills emphasize that the property is rare and in demand. So if you’ve got $170 million to spend and want to live down the road from Cher’s old pad, Eber suggests you move fast. “For this property,” she advises, “the best is to get involved quickly.” [email protected] 13 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | miaminewtimes.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | MIAMI NEW TIMES NEW TIMES MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 MAY 19-25, 2022
