MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (BVM) — Are you someone on the wrong side of youth who used to compete in a sport back in high school or college and wonder whether you could get back into that groove again?

This is the story of Chris Dariotis, Jr. and his second run at competitive weightlifting starting at age 50. Dariotis, 71, had competed in weightlifting up until he was 28 and decided to move back to Edmonds, Wash., to work in construction with his brother and father. He had a successful career and along the way bought 18 acres of land near La Conner, Wash., where he still maintains a small farm with a roadside stand named La Conner Gardens. From 1977-1999, he did some general conditioning in commercial gyms to keep fit into middle age. Then at 50 serendipity stuck.

One day in one of those gyms, a man came in and told Dariotis about USA Masters Weightlifting, which promotes competitions for those 35 and older. He showed Dariotis a list of American records and many of the names on that list Dariotis recognized as lifters he had competed with when he was younger. He thought, “If they could do it, perhaps I could too.”

Chris Jr. had the resolve at 50 to take on this challenge because, when he was 9, his father Chris Sr. took him to a gym and made a little contest for him with a basketball as the prize: Do one chin-up. But he couldn’t. How about one sit-up? Not a chance. The consolation prize was starting an exercise program with his father and two brothers. They would drive together from Edmonds to Seattle to exercise at the Washington Athletic Club, which was about the only gym around in 1958.

The work paid off. Dariotis credits the weightlifting for the strength he needed to qualify as a high school shot putter in the state meet representing Lakeside School in Seattle. Going to college in Los Angeles at Occidental led to his training with the Mavrik team. Dariotis entered competitions and did well enough to participate in the Teenage National Championships in 1968 in Philadelphia.

“I lifted enough to win that competition with a best lift of 305 pounds in the clean and press, but due to an entry form mix up, I was disqualified,” Dariotis said. “That disappointment drove me away from the sport and I went on a three-year walk about that took me to Australia, India, Europe and Africa.”

Eventually, the 28-year-old Dariotis emigrated to Canada to continue college at the University of British Columbia. While there, he joined the Spartak Weightlifting club, coached by three-time Canadian Olympic coach Wes Woo.

“We were a group of about 15 lifters who would train once a week in Wes Woo’s basement, with the goal of training five times a week,” Dariotis said. “With the Spartak team I traveled across Canada, competing six times in the Senior National Championships. The first competition I finished fourth in my division, but I finished first in the next five championships, the second best record in British Columbia history. With my heaviest total I lifted 300 kilo grams (660 pounds) in the two lifts as a 181 3/4 pound lifter.”

But those competitions were 22 years in the rear-view mirror when Dariotis decided to get into the Masters circuit. Living back in Washington, Dariotis started slowly, training two-to-three times a week. In 2000, he felt confident enough in his abilities to travel to Orlando, Fla. to compete in The World Masters’ Championships. He finished second by a difference in total of ten pounds. He was hooked.

“Competing in Masters’ Weightlifting became a way for me to highlight my abilities while enjoying trips all around the world and making lots of new friends,” Dariotis said. “To date, I have competed in 15 Masters’ world Championships winning eight and setting 25 National, Pan American, or World records along the way.”

This story isn’t all triumph. In 2014, at the competition in Copenhagen, Dariotis ruptured his quadriceps tendon while attempting to break the clean and jerk world record with a lift of 127 kg (280 pounds). Recovery was slow and many doubted that he would ever lift again, but he has. The draw of competition is too strong.

When asked what his biggest learnings from training and competing were, Dariotis had a simple answer.

“As a young person, weight training is the best way to increase athletic performance,” he said. “As a fully mature person you might have the opportunity to demonstrate what levels of accomplishment you can achieve while interacting with other high achievers. As an aging person, sport can give you a way to stay active and give you an opportunity to travel the world while representing your country, meeting new friends, and keeping up relationships with old friends.”

Not bad advice from a 71-year-old with experience.