"I moved to Lund and other interests came in between, but now I'm going to take revenge," he says.
Actually, it is a sad story that has made Ove Rydén find his way back to athletics. It was when his partner passed away earlier this year that he and his daughter Jessica, 47, decided that they would compete together in the World Veterans Championships in Gothenburg in 2025. My daughter is now training at home in Canada.
As a junior, Ove Rydén was promising. He says that as a 17-year-old he jumped 14 meters in the triple jump, ran 100 meters in 11 seconds and jumped almost 7 meters in the long jump.
"Without my daughter, I wouldn't be here"
"I would never have started again if my daughter hadn't told me to start moving and not just sit and mourn.
Every Wednesday he now trains power training with IK Hakarpspojkarna in Kålgårdshallen in Jönköping. An initiative that the Swedish Athletics Federation started in 2021 to get those over the age of 60 to move more.
Hope more people dare to take part in the World Veterans Championships
IKHP leader Anna Ek now hopes that more people in the training group will dare to participate in the World Veterans Championships.
"I try to fool my whole training group. It will be a festival like no other with up to 7000 participants.
Watch Ove jump length in the clip above.