A medical missionary’s son, Dan Bulkley, was born in Thailand and schooled in India and California.
Graduating from college with a Masters in Physical Education and Health, he served 4 ½ years in the military in the Second World War. From 1950-1977, Bulkley taught at Southern Oregon College, starting programs in track and field, cross country, tennis and skiing. He helped set up and served on the Mount Ashland Ski Patrol for 28 years as well as the Southern Oregon Nordic Club.
When he was 70 years old, Bulkley was talked into running in a National Masters meet. That year he set a world record in the hurdles and appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.” From age 70 to 84, Bulkley was unbeaten worldwide in the two-kilometer steeplechase and the 300-meter hurdles.
At world championships, he earned 29 gold medals in track, 16 in cross-country and one in the pentathlon. In 2015 at the age of 98, he competed for the 20th time in the Senior Games, winning both 200-meter and 50-meter dashes for ages 95-99.
Bulkley says, “You don’t slow down when you grow old; you grow old when you slow down.”
Sources: "Dan Bulkley, Athlete Extraordinaire." Ashland Tennis and Fitness Club, Nov. 2015. Web. 4 Jan. 2016.
