Age is Just a Number – Five Senior Athletes

When people think of seniors, they may think of sweet, grey haired grandparents. Yet, there are many seniors who are inspirational athletes, breaking records and competing at a world level. Here are five may help you find some motivation to commit to your fitness practice!

  1. Madonna Buder, 87  – known as “The Iron Nun”, Madonna is a Senior Olympian Triathlete. Sister Madonna chose a life as a Roman Catholic nun and only began running at age 48, when a priest suggested she take a jog on the beach.  She’s the oldest person to ever finish an Ironman Triathlon in under the 17-hour time limit. She’s even forced the Ironman organization to create new categories — 75 to 79 and 80 to 84 age groups. She also broke the finish time record for the latter age group, completing an Ironman in 16 hours and 32 minutes.

  2. Paul Tetrick, 86 – Paul has won more than 12 USA Cycling Time Trial Championships, a road bicycle race where cyclists battle the clock instead of racing at the same time as their competitors. In October 2013, Paul crushed his previous time trial record of 34:37.5 in the 20K race, racing and beating his granddaughter.

  3. Tao Porchon-Lynch, 98 – the world’s oldest yoga teacher started practicing more than 70 years ago while growing up in India. She still teaches six to eight classes a week in New York, and leads programs across the globe.
  4. Irene Obera, 83 – an American track and field athlete, specializing in sprinting events. Over an extended career, she has set numerous world records and has won numerous world championships. She is currently a member of the W70 world record holding 4×100 metres relay team.She also holds the current American record in the W60 and W75 100 metres and the W75 200 metres.
  5. Ed Whitlock, 85  – He’s the oldest person to have run a marathon in under 4 hours. His ability to race without a trainer, in 15-year-old sneakers, and set records (2:54:48 marathon at age 73) has doctors and scientists studying his physiology.

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