2023 Florida Senior Games Athletes of the Year Recognized at 2024 Games

The 2023 Florida Senior Games Athletes of the Year rely on family for their success in competition.

Patricia Benitez, a Table Tennis player from Orlando, teams with her husband, Ricardo Abril, in mixed doubles, besides her success in singles and women’s doubles.

Robert Cseh, a Powerlifter from Port St. Lucie, had several family members at the 2023 Games, for assistance and encouragement.

Benitez had a gold medal sweep winning all three table tennis events in 2023, to increase her Florida Senior Games medal count to 28 since 2011. She won her 10th women’s singles and mixed doubles gold medals, and increased her women’s doubles gold medal count to eight. Benitez and Abril won their third consecutive Mixed Doubles gold medal in the 60-64 age group and have combined to win seven gold medals since 2011.

She has competed in each National Senior Games since 2013 winning a women’s singles gold and silver medal and two silvers and a bronze in women’s doubles.

Robert Cseh, is an 89-year old Powerlifter from Port St. Lucie dropped 16 pounds for the 2023 Florida Senior Games, presented by Humana. He lost the weight to set a record in a lower weight class. His lift of 72.5 kg (160 lbs) won the gold medal and set the record.

For the 2024 Games, he wants to gain weight so he holds the bench press record in three different weight classes in the 80+ age groups.

Cseh has been powerlifting in the Florida Senior Games since 2015. He has also competed in Track and Field events in the Sunshine State Games and Local Florida Senior Games Series Qualifiers, throwing the javelin, discus and shot put.

Plenty of Cseh family members were in the audience in 2023, including his daughter Sharon, who claims to be his personal assistant. His brother, Eddie, was quick to point out Sharon’s services are desperately needed since her father does not own a cell phone or computer.

Benitez and Cseh become the 59th and 60th Florida Senior Games Athletes of the Year to earn the honor since 1994.

Benitez joins Deb Harrison (2018) and John Shultz (2009) as Florida Senior Games Table Tennis players to win the award. Cseh is the third Powerlifter to win the Athlete of the Year Award and the first since Segismundo Pares earned the honor in 2011. Larry Wallen, of Jacksonville, also won the award in 2007.