TORONTO – If you’re an adventurous spirit entering your golden years and looking to keep that girlish figure, here are some inspirational elders and their activities of choice.
1. Swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark tank
Sixty-four-year-old Diana Nyad became the first swimmer to make the 177-kilometre crossing from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage on Monday.
The fifth time was the charm for Nyad, who was previously forced to give up the 53-hour swim, after multiple jellyfish stings during her 1978, 2011 and 2012 attempts.
U.S. President Barack Obama summed it up nicely in his tweet to her:
Congratulations to @DianaNyad. Never give up on your dreams.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 2, 2013
2. Start pumping iron
Sandra Foli started crossfit-style weightlifting five years ago when she was 68, after recovering from septic shock.
Five years later, the 73-year-old grandmother set a record at a powerlifting competition for a clean deadlift at 181.5 pounds.
“I see people one or two years older than I…in a wheelchair, and I don’t want to ever be there,” Foli told NBC News.
Check out her moves below for some inspiration:
3. Climb Mount Everest
In May, 80-year-old Japanese mountain climber Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
“I made it!” Miura said to his daughter during a phone call from the top. “I never imagined I could make it to the top of Mount Everest at age 80. This is the world’s best feeling, although I’m totally exhausted. Even at 80, I can still do quite well.”
Miura conquered the mountain despite undergoing heart surgery in January for irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, his fourth heart operation since 2007, according to his daughter. In his younger years, he became famous as a daredevil speed skier, and also broke his pelvis and left thigh bone in a 2009 skiing accident.
Watch video of Miura scaling the mountain here:
4. Run a marathon
How long does it take a 101-year-old to run a 10-kilometre marathon?
If you’re Fauja Singh—the world’s oldest marathon runner—it takes 1 hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.
Sporting a turban with his white beard blowing in the wind, Indian-born Singh said the February 2013 race would be his last.
In 2011, he became the oldest man to run a full marathon in Toronto, but Guinness World Records couldn’t give him recognition because he has only a passport (not a birth certificate) to prove his age.
And for those more interested in the arts than athletics…
5. Win an Academy Award
When he was 82 years old, Canadian actor Christopher Plummer became the oldest Oscar winner in any acting category.
Plummer won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of a father who comes out to his son after the death of his wife in 2011’s Beginners.
Turning 84 in December, Plummer’s career has spanned seven decades and included roles in theatre and television as well as film, and included the role of Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp in 1965’s The Sound of Music.
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