- Older people across the globe are breaking world records.
- The world’s oldest bodybuilder is 87 years old, and the world’s oldest hockey player is 98.
- A 96-year-old man worked at the same company for 80 years, breaking a world record.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
All across the globe, there are older people who really are proving age is but a number by pushing their bodies to the limit.
People in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and even older are breaking world records by defying the odds. Some are becoming the oldest people to box, weight lift, and dance, while others are breaking grounds by following new passions like gaming and skydiving.
Take a look at these older people who are breaking world records.
George Hood, a 68-year-old man, broke the record for the longest plank when he held it for 8 hours.
George Hood is a retired police officer and now is a personal trainer. He decided to break the world record for the longest plank to help raise awareness around mental health.
"There are times you get self-doubt. You get bored. You wonder if it's worth anything," Hood told CNBC. "Cleaning up people's mindset is a must...as every human invents themselves through a figment of their imagination and their thinking."
In 2011, he broke the record for the first time when he held the plank for over one hour. He lost his title a few years later, but in 2020 he gave it another shot and held the plank for a whopping 8 hours.
Albert Hughes Jr. broke the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest boxer at 70 years old.
Albert Hughes Jr. set out to become the oldest boxer in the world, and he started training with his military veteran son. But Hughes' son committed suicide before the match even took place. Although Hughes wanted to quit, he said he decided to fight anyway because it was what his son would have wanted.
"There would have been a time in my life when a fight like this, I would have been so thrilled for all the adulation and the attention, the glory, the glamour, the fame, the possible fortune," Hughes told IndyStar. "I could care less about any of that. It's not about none of that."
In December 2019, Hughes won his match against a 43-year-old boxer. Hughes earned the title of the oldest boxer that day.
Shirley Curry, 84, is the oldest video game YouTuber.
Shirley Curry is known as Grandma Gamer on the internet because she records herself playing video games. On YouTube, she has curated a large fanbase of over 820,00 subscribers and millions of views. Curry is known as the oldest gamer on YouTube, according to Guinness World Record. She even says her favorite game to play is Skyrim.
"I've had so many people tell me that I made them start playing Skyrim again," she told Localish. "They'll say I thought I was through with that a long time ago."
Betty Goedhart is the oldest female performing flying trapeze artist.
In 2017, Betty Goedhart became the oldest female flying trapeze artist at 84 years old. She remembers being fascinated with the sport since seeing the circus as a child, but Goedhart didn't start practicing until she was 78. At the time, she said she was "terrified" to try trapeze, but she slowly improved and broke the record.
"To me, failure is a state of mind. I found that if I worked hard and found out ways to make it work - then it always worked," Goedhart told the Guinness World Records in 2018. "And so, at the age of 85, I truly feel that I have not failed anything."
Sarah Paddy Jones is the world's oldest acrobatic salsa dancer at 86 years old.
In 2009, Guinness World Records named Sarah Paddy Jones the oldest acrobatic salsa dancer at 75 years old after winning a dancing competition. Five years later, she appeared on "Britain's Got Talent" and became an international celebrity. Today, at 86 years old, she is still dancing and even appeared on "Britain's Got Talent: The Champions."
Jones' passion for dancing began when she was just 2 years old, but she left the hobby behind when she was married at 22. When her husband died in 2003, she decided to rekindle her love of dance and took flamenco classes.
"I'm not a person for sitting down, doing nothing, or just watching TV," she told Guinness World Records. "Dancing has always been my love."
Jim Arrington is the world's oldest bodybuilder at 87 years old.
Jim Arrington is a great-grandfather from California who loves bodybuilding. He has competed in 62 competitions and won 16 of them. In 2018, he was named the oldest bodybuilder in the world, and he is still lifting today.
"Just about anything works for a while, then your body adapts and requires new challenges," Arrington told Guinness World Records. "Bodybuilding is hard work! You need to set goals, but most of all, you need to love the training. No bodybuilder is satisfied with how they look. If you want to compete, Compete! If you don't, you never will."
At 94 years old, Johanna Quaas is the oldest gymnast in the world.
Johanna Quaas was born in Germany in 1925 and started practicing gymnastics on her childhood playground. Decades later, Quaas is still performing and even competed in amateur competitions in Europe. Although she can still do a headstand, she says her favorite thing to do is the parallel bars.
"My secret is a very well rounded, healthy diet," Quaas told Guinness World Records. "I make sure not to eat too much or too little, and I eat plenty of greens."
At 96, Walter Orthmann earned the title for the longest career at the same company.
Walter Orthmann started working at Industria Reneaux in Santa Catarina, Brazil, as a shipping assistant. Eighty years later, Orthmann still works at the company at age 96 years old. He is now a sales manager and says he never wants to retire.
"In my case, I was lucky that the president of the company asked me to stay thanks to my good selling record," he told Guinness World Records. "I have a passion for work, and have noticed that most of the people I knew that retired soon lost their will to live. I like to keep my routine so much that sometimes when I drive to the supermarket I find myself actually driving to the company!"
Mark Sertich became the oldest hockey player in the world at the age of 98.
In 1932, Mark Sertich was 10 years old when he first played hockey and fell in love with the sport. He won himself his first pair of skates and taught himself how to skate on ice. Sertich has been playing ever since. In fact, at 87, he was named the oldest person to play hockey. Today, he is 98 and he's still keeping up with the young players on his tournament team in Minnesota.
"There is always a danger of injury, but over the years of playing, I don't remember ever doubting if I should keep playing," Sertich told Guinness World Records.
At 102, Irene O'Shea became the world's oldest skydiver.
When Irene O'Shea turned 100 years old, she went skydiving to celebrate. Every year since she has made the jump, and on her 102nd birthday, O'Shea made history. The Australian native became the oldest woman to skydive when she jumped 14,000 feet.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm the same as everyone else, just a normal person," she told the skydiving company.
Jack Reynolds is 107, and he has broken four Guinness World Records.
A few years ago, England's Jack Reynolds set out to break a world record on his birthday. On his 104th birthday in 2016, Reynolds became the oldest person to receive their first tattoo. The following year he became the oldest person to ride a non-inversion roller coaster and then the oldest person to ride a zip wire the next year. Most recently, he turned 107 and became the oldest to perform as a supporting artist on a TV show when he appeared on "Hollyoaks," a British soap opera.
Reynolds said he is still open to trying to break new records.
"I'm lacking [a] bit of vitality and that type of thing but I'm still game to do, if they find another one, I'm still happy to do it," he told Guinness World Records.
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