Guy Dirkin, GBR - M71

Guy Dirkin is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States. Guy lives in Clermont Florida, just outside Orlando. Growing up in England, Guy was a discus thrower who set age group records and won both the English Schools Championships and the AAA’s Junior Championship. He went on to compete for the British senior team in the discus. Perhaps his best single athletic performance was in the Scottish Highland Games: breaking the World record for the 56 lb. weight for height. Guy graduated from Loughborough University in 1976 with a B.Ed. in Physical Education. After teaching high school for two years he emigrated to the United States in July 1978 to attend the University of Illinois. Here he obtained a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology and a Ph.D. in human performance psychology. During his time at the U of I, Guy was the Assistant Strength Coach to the Varsity Athletic teams for seven years. Dirkin spent the majority of his career in Health Care sales and marketing. He retired from Novartis in 2019 after twenty-five years in account management and marketing and strategy, focused on the payer reimbursement area. Guy has two children, Kendal and Jeff. Both got full scholarships to university in volleyball and basketball respectively. After a thirty year break from track and field, Guy returned to Masters Competitions when he turned 60, throwing 36M in his first competition in January 2013. He threw the discus over 50M in March 2017 and 2018. In 2018 he won the M65 discus at the World Masters Championships in Malaga, Spain. Guy also throws the hammer and weight, he was the silver medal winner in these events in Malaga in 2018. In 2023, Guy won the World WMAi discus championship for M70 in Torun, Poland. Guy competes in the throws pentathlon once in a while. Guy has been coached by Andy Vince of Throws Coach Florida since 2012. Andy is an ex UK shot putter and excellent throws and jumps coach, for all ages. Guy spent the decade of his sixties combining masters track and field with car racing. He raced a 1989 tube frame Trans Am car in SCCA and Vintage road racing events. Guy enjoys Masters Sports and has made many new friends both in the US and around the world. He finds Masters track tests his full range of skills as the genre is requires a blending of knowledge from periodization, biomechanics, physiology, nutrition, psychology, strength and power development, adaptation to aging, to name just a few variables. Above all, Guy asserts that the joy of human motion is the most addictive element.