World's greatest centenarian athlete

[winjim]

Apparently the world's greatest centenarian athlete is Robert Marchand, a 104 year old cyclist with an hour record of 26.93km. I'm not too sure about the methodology of this study - centenarian's records expressed as a percentage of the current world record - so let's just file this one under a bit of fun, but it's a mighty fine thing to see >100 year olds still competing. It gives this 38 year old some hope anyway.

But spare a thought for poor 105 year old 100m runner Fauja Singh, excluded because he was born before the routine issuing of birth certificates in his native India.

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...st-named-worlds-greatest-centenarian-athlete/

 

[classic33]

He's getting younger! Still something to aim for though.

 

[winjim]

He's getting younger! Still something to aim for though.

Born 26 November 1911 but he set his record a couple of years ago so was 102 at the time I think.

Here's an encouraging bit from the study's abstract:

Conclusions although the physiological characteristics of Robert Marchand are certainly exceptional, his remarkable performance could also be due to the lower age-related decline for cycling performances compared with running and swimming.

 

[newfhouse]

I wonder if they included Fauja Singh in their study? An amazing man...

But spare a thought for poor 105 year old 100m runner Fauja Singh, excluded because he was born before the routine issuing of birth certificates in his native India.

 

[newfhouse]

D'oh...!

It's no fun getting old and losing your marbles, is it?