Some of the nation’s best athletes are not highly paid young stars. They are senior competitors who exercise out of passion and are setting records in the pool, on the slopes, and on the track. Many of these champions are blessed with good genes, but they also demonstrate that a positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle can go a long way in determining how long a person can stay active.
Some famous senior champions include the following:
• Sister Marion Irvine, a Dominican nun from San Francisco. Sister Marion quit smoking in her late forties and discovered a talent for running. In 1984, she became the only woman over 50 to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, and she continues to set records twenty years later.
• Gus Langer, a retired engineer and high school teacher. When the 91-year-old was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995, he had set 185 world records and 329 national records.
• Leonore McDaniels, a Virginia housewife. At the National Masters Track and Field Championships in Boston in 2003, McDaniels set women’s 75-80 world records in the high jump, triple jump, and pole vault in a single day.
All seniors can take inspiration from these senior champions and set some personal records of their own. Begin by asking your doctor to give you a clean bill of health, and then set reasonable goals and build your strength and endurance gradually. You will soon find that you are looking and feeling better than you have in years.
Get Your Exercise Program off the Ground
Former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn wrote the foreword to Exercise: A Guide from the National Institute on Aging. It’s an excellent manual, available in print and online, for anyone who wants to take those first steps toward an active lifestyle. Visit http://www.nia.nih.gov/exercisebook// or write NIA Information Center, P.O. Box 8057, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8057.
