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Ping-Pong Helped One Woman Handle Her Grief
After losing her husband and her job, Carol Klenfner discovered an unexpected passion that brought her wins — in more ways than one
2-minute read
Carol Klenfner, an 81-year-old competitive Ping-Pong player, says that during a difficult time in her life, Ping-Pong gave her “a reason to get up and out of the house.”
Lanna Apisukh
Carol Klenfner, 81, is a public relations professional in New York City.
Never in a million years did I see myself competing at Ping-Pong — or anything else. I hadn’t played a single sport since I dislocated my hip in a car accident in college.
But when I was 69, I watched a PBS documentary about eight older people at a global Ping-Pong tournament, and how they were playing through pain and cancer and other hurdles. I was sitting alone in my apartment, not feeling all that good about myself, and I immediately thought, I could do this. Now I have 60 medals hanging in my house.
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The sport lifted me out of a serious slump. My husband, Michael, had been in and out of the hospital due to a long illness, and we put our family co-op in New York City on the market. Then Michael died, and I had to pack up and move out of the co-op on my own. A month later, during the Great Recession, I got laid off from my public relations job. To keep going, I set up my own little PR firm in my cramped one-bedroom apartment. It was a difficult period. After 35 years of marriage and even more years working around other people, I was suddenly on my own and figuring out who I was.
“I’ve found an eclectic community of friends I never would have met otherwise,” Klenfner says of her Ping-Pong community.
Lanna Apisukh
My friend Stephanie and I went to a Ping-Pong club one day and joined a league. For months, we just played for the joy of it. Then one day I caught myself thinking, This would be even more fun if I could win once in a while. The thought surprised me. Growing up in the 1950s, I’d learned that girls weren’t supposed to try too hard or compete too openly. But honestly, I wanted to become really good at it.
So I hired a coach. He introduced me to a group of men who played seriously; one of them, John, asked me to be his mixed doubles partner at the Empire State Senior Games. We won a medal, and I won another in women’s singles. I qualified for the National Senior Games, and it went on from there.
Competing has been a joy, but the obstacles are real. Sciatica. Foot injuries. Fatigue. The aging body! But instead of putting my paddle away, I got a physical therapist and doubled down on Pilates and exercises.
It has all paid off, and not just in wins. Ping-Pong has given me a reason to get up and out of the house. I’ve found an eclectic community of friends I never would have met otherwise. I’ve joined a book club, gained PR clients and traveled to new places.
Despite the physical obstacles she has faced — sciatica, foot injuries, fatigue — Klenfner says the wins make it worth it.
Lanna Apisukh
Along the way, I’ve learned to not let old fears stop me. Just begin. I tell that to others. It’s never too late to find something that makes you want to keep moving forward, then throw yourself into it. That’s what I’m doing — still learning, competing and, to my amazement, winning.
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