Golden years? Yes, if you mean medals.

Emanuel Wilkins may be retired, but his competitive edge is as sharp as a cleat.

By 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, he had collected six medals, two of them gold, in the Norfolk Senior Olympics, and was hoofing it across the track field to try and nab something in the talent contest. He was late, because the contest was inconveniently scheduled at the same time as his one-mile race walk.

Never mind that the buff 63-year-old had gotten a gold in golf the day before, and a silver in bowling on Monday. Or that he still had four more events on Thursday - table tennis, basketball, spades and Texas Hold 'em - before heading over to the Virginia Senior Games in Virginia Beach this weekend for eight state events.

There he'll join about 1,000 contestants, ranging from their 50s to 90s, from across Virginia and some other states, vying for medals in events that started Thursday and run through Sunday.

Wilkins is an example of an elite brand of athlete whom senior game officials are seeing more of. These athletic events for people over 50 are not just about people riding the van over from the local senior center to play a friendly game of badminton any more.

More contestants are training all year and arrive with fire in their eyes and ripples in their muscles.

Wilkins, for instance, can be seen power-walking up and down Battlefield Boulevard not far from his home in Chesapeake, particularly in the weeks leading up to the Norfolk Senior Olympics, which were Monday through Thursday.

The retired civil service worker lifts weights every other day, plays golf twice a week and works out regularly at a Norfolk senior center.

If 60 is the new 40, Wilkins might be crowding 30.

And he's not alone. During the one-mile race-walk event Wednesday, 68-year-old Carolyn Tody of Norfolk managed to edge him out in the third lap, her chin thrust forward, her shoulders swaying back and forth as she strode determinedly down the track. Tody, a regular in half-marathons and 10Ks, joked with Wilkins that they should cross the finish line arm in arm.

He smiled politely but had none of it. In the last quarter lap, he threw himself into high gear, beating her to the finish line by seconds.

"I was saving the kick for the end," he said afterward, sucking some serious wind. "She had me workin'."

Jim Stutts, executive director of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society, which organizes the Virginia Senior Games, said the nature of the games has changed over the years.

Norfolk's event is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the state started its games four years before that.

"When we first started, it was a social event," Stutts said. "Now we're seeing a lot of very young people - in their 50s and 60s - coming out, so competition has gotten much more fierce. They're passionate about what they're doing."

The contenders keep a close watch on the age brackets, celebrating a move up because they'll be the young lions again, in age groups that tend to thin toward the top.

But the older ranks are hanging tough as well. Among them is 88-year-old Edward Hill.

The sinewy Norfolkian - who sports his gray hair short on top and long in the back - has competed in some type of senior games every year, save one, since 1984. His medals fill a grocery bag.

Last year, a heart problem broke his 22-year run. On Wednesday, though, he was back in the game, garnering four more gold medals at the Norfolk games, two in running, and one each in shot put and discus.

He used to compete in several jumping events until his children made him give them up, fearing broken bones. The retired engineer will compete in five state events this weekend, hoping to qualify for nationals, which he's already attended a couple of times.

"I'll be 89 in January," Hill said. "I'm looking forward to 90, because I'll be in a new age bracket."

Though competition is fierce at the senior games, there are still those who come solely for a good time.

Some used canes and wheelchairs for balance during the half-mile and one-mile walks Wednesday, and others held hands as they casually lapped the field at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.

"Is it still Wednesday?" one man asked on his third lap around.

When 87-year-old Chaney Gibbs of Norfolk stepped forward for the shot put, she asked if there weren't something smaller to throw.

She rose to the occasion, however, putting a little spit on the ball before hoisting it far enough to win a medal.

"If you're in an age group by yourself, you win," she said. "It's great!"

While Wilkins did the half-mile walk in six minutes wearing the latest in spandex sportswear, 93-year-old Kitty Taliaferro kicked back and came in 17 minutes later wearing floral street clothes.

Her sun hat fluttered in the wind as she held tight to her purse with one hand and jabbed an umbrella in the ground for balance with the other.

"I did it!" she proclaimed at the end to cheers of friends and volunteers.

A short while later, Wilkins missed his chance to capture a talent contest medal - he had planned to recite some original poetry - but a couple of singers and dancers nabbed the medals before he could get there.

He took the loss in stride.

"I have done all God wants me to do today," he said, gathering up a fistful of clanking medals and a spare pair of tennis shoes to head home to rest before his events at the state competition.

But he couldn't resist a parting comment: "Next year, can you move the talent contest to Thursday?"

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com