Roger Vergin, A Man Of Many Skills, Had The One Skill Athletes Cherish Most. Fight.

By Ray Glier

The last words of the last email I received from Roger Vergin before Christmas were:

“God, I miss it.”

Roger was talking about Masters Track & Field and the Decathlon. In 2023, when he stopped competing, Vergin (VER-jeen) had won seven consecutive national titles in the 10-event decathlon, which demands versatility covering speed, strength, and endurance in a range of athletic skills.

Even gravely ill, Roger’s enthusiasm for the sport could not be dampened. He truly missed it.

Roger died Wednesday. He would have been 89 August 4. The last few years of his run of titles he was taking treatments for the insidious cancer that had invaded the source-life of all cells, the bone marrow.

2023 was the last year Vergin competed and he went out in a blaze of glory.

Roger broke the USATF Masters M85 records in the 60-meter indoor hurdles, the 80-meter outdoor hurdles, and the 200-meter outdoor hurdles. 

Vergin put together relay teams that broke three USATF records and one World record.
 
Roger won ten individual USATF national championships in 2023.
 
Vergin, who was a professor at the University of Washington, among other endeavors, began Master Track & Filed at 71 and finished at 86. I first wrote about him in 2022.

Here is what’s impressive about the last 11 years of his Masters career.

Roger told me last Christmas he was 75 when tests discovered a blood clot in the portal vein, the primary vein that returns blood to your heart. He was diagnosed with thrombocythemia, which is a blood cancer with no cure. Vergin began treatments, which involved transfusions, and still competed. Roger never told me about ongoing treatments in interviews. 

Here is a link to a story on Roger figuring out how to solve his back pain. He studied sports, he just didn't compete in them.

Rest In Peace, Roger.