David Moore wins singles gold at Nationals after completing New York City Marathon

The 71-year-old with an exceptional racing history is a self-described ‘pickleball addict’

Winning a gold medal at Nationals is always a special accomplishment, but 71-year-old David Moore’s singles triumph in the 3.0 bracket on Monday might just be a little more meaningful than most.

That’s because Moore actually completed the famed New York City Marathon in mere seconds under six hours on Sunday before boarding a flight to Dallas to participate in the largest event in pickleball history.

Talk about an impressive turnaround…

“I started the race at 9:10 a.m. and finished at 3:10 p.m. Then, I fought my way onto a crowded subway on the West Side and went to my daughter’s place in Brooklyn where she had a nice layout of food and beers waiting for me. I ate and drank, showered, and then jumped into an Uber to the airport to take the 7:30 p.m. flight from LaGuardia and arrived in Dallas at 11:30 p.m. I slept like a baby the whole way to Texas,” recounted Moore with a smile. “My bracket opened up at 11:30 a.m. on Monday and nine-and-a-half hours later I won a gold medal, and that was more sweet than finishing a marathon.”

Originally from the outskirts of Chicago, Moore is no stranger to the marathon scene, having completed the 26.2 mile trek through the five boroughs of NYC a remarkable 23 consecutive times. 

He runs the historic race annually with a purpose – to raise money for the Ioanna C. Moore Foundation in memory of his first wife, who passed away from brain cancer in 2010. She was 55 years old.

Moore’s competitive resume doesn’t end there, with “at least 100 triathlons, one Ironman, 10 Half Ironmans, a swim on a relay team around Manhattan four times, and a swim of the English Channel with a team of four” under his belt as well.

Pickleball, however, has officially stolen his heart, after he picked up a paddle in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In 2021, I had an opportunity to go to Hoover, AL to play in the Indoor National Championships. I needed to choose between doing the Mighty Montauk Triathlon or going to Hoover, and I chose Hoover. Right there, my triathlon career was officially over,” explained Moore. “I’m addicted to pickleball. I get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and I say: ‘My name is David Moore and I’m addicted to pickleball.’ The first step is awareness, as they say.”

This was Moore’s first-ever gold medal at Nationals.

His wife, Nanjoo, was on-site at Brookhaven Country Club to cheer him on every step of the way and provide words of encouragement whenever the going got tough.

“My wife is my coach. She was there for everything, and she gave me some good advice when I was playing because I was exhausted. I kept thinking to myself, ‘I’ve gotta focus’ and ‘What a great feat it would be to win a gold after doing a marathon.’ It really was very important to me. There were some hard-fought battles, but I persevered and I’m very grateful for that,” said Moore. “I’m very blessed to be able to do this.”