Think the Olympics are just for kids? According to this Washington Post article, “in the past three Summer Olympics, 64 of the U.S. team’s 1,707 athletes have been age 40 and older—and they won 23 medals.” Proof (as if we needed proof) that FOFs are more fab than ever. And what about all the FOF Olympians from other countries? We found 7 Olympians “of a certain age,” and share their inspiring tales, here. —————————————————————————————————
Competed in 7 Olympic games including the 2008 games at age 49
In a career that spanned over 30 years, FOF Jeannie Longo (now age 53) has racked up 30 medals in the Olympics and World Championships (including a gold, two silvers and a bronze) and more than 1,100 victories.
According to a 2008 New York Times article, “Longo-Ciprelli attributes her longevity to healthy living and wise planning. ‘I eat organic food,’ she said. ‘Everything in my home is organic—from cleaners to cosmetics. I’m allergic to chemicals. And I was good at managing my career.’”
But, it hasn’t always been smooth riding for Jeannie. The FOF cycler has hit bumps in the road, including criticism from Marion Clignet, a rival and teammate from the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic games. “[Clignet] said that...it was ‘unfortunate’ that the team’s director did not include a younger rider for the road race,” reports The New York Times.
Jeannie also endured scrutiny when her husband and trainer confessed to buying doping products this past year. Prior to that, the FOF cycler had hinted at retiring before the 2012 games. In light of the trying events, Jeannie stayed strong and continued pedaling, although she ultimately wasn’t chosen for the 2012 French cycling team.
“I relaunched myself this spring.” said Longo as reported by CyclingNews.com. “As long as there is life, there is hope.”
Susan Nattrass, Canadian shooter
Competed in 6 Olympic games including the 2008 games at age 57
FOF Susan Nattras is...get this--an osteoporosis researcher who studies the effects of aging in bones on active sportswomen in their forties and older. Really, Susan could be her own test subject--this FOF was a leading trap shooter for over thirty years and in 1976, the first women to participate in a shooting event at the Olympics.
When the International Shooting Union decided to discontinue trap shooting, Susan lobbied against the decision, and after five years it was reversed. She competed in five more Olympic games up until the age of 57 and although she never won an Olympic medal, she won medals in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships.
"It will probably be my last Olympics," she said choking up, according to a 2008 article by The National Post. "I hate the expression, but I want to go out with a bang."
Jujie Luan, Chinese/Canadian fencer
Competed in 4 Olympic games, including the 2008 summer games at the age of 50.
China-born Olympian, Jujie Luan, started fencing at age 17 and less than a decade later took home a gold medal for China at the 1984 Olympics. Named a “top 35 sports star” in China, according to the Chinese Olympic Committee website, Jujie is still studied in Chinese textbooks and there was a movie made about her life. Incidentally, Jujie fell in love with Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and moved there at the age of 31 representing Canada in the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games. According to The Globe and Mail, “She plucked away at the sport as a competitor, before retiring, and then coach as she raised a family. She hauled herself out of retirement to travel the world in order to qualify for the Canadian Olympic team and...to compete in Beijing.”
"At this Olympic Games, everybody knows I'm 50 so when I'm in the piste,” said Jujie in a 2008 interview from the Olympic Games with The Globe and Mail. “It doesn't matter if I win or lose, I want to show people I'm still young," she said, "I think I'm doing not too bad."
Anne Abernathy, Virgin Island Luge athlete
Competed in 6 Olympic games, including the 2002 winter games at the age of 48. (She also qualified for the 2006 games at age 52 but an injury kept her from competing)
Dubbed “Grandma Luge” by other luge athletes, Anne Abernathy was the oldest female athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics.
Anne is consistently ranked in the top 20 world rankings, but a serious injury in 2001 left her with brain damage and nearly halted her 25+ year career. Using an alternative medicine treatment involving controlling rockets in a video game through electrical impulses, Anne was able to “retrain her brain to compensate for the damaged areas,” according to her Wikipedia page. The therapy was successful and Anne competed in the 2002 Olympic games.
“...I realized age shouldn't have anything to do with it,” said Anne in a 2010 interview with The Orange County Register. “Enjoy yourself and don't let age limit you. They tell me I broke the barriers for Olympic athletes to stay longer. I changed the way people thought about games once just 'games for youth.’ Well, everybody has the capacity of being young at heart."
Kyra Kyrklund, Finnish Equestrian
Competed in 6 Olympic games, including the 2008 summer games at the age of 56
According to FOF Kyra Kruklund’s personal website, her motto is “better late than never,” which couldn’t be more true of this “late bloomer” who competed at her first Olympic games at the age of 28 and competed in five more games including the 2008 Olympics at the age of 56. However, Kyra’s love for horses began as little girl when she would ride her godmother’s draught horses and participated in her first competition at the age of 16.
Today, Kyra serves as President of the International Dressage Riders Club and trains young riders. She even spent her 60th birthday attending the Morning Training of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
“If you always do what you always did, you‘ll always get what you always got,” said Kyra on the website, localriding.com. “If you are not happy with what you are getting, you have to change what you are doing.”
Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie, Canadian Rower
Competed in 6 Olympic games, including the 2008 summer games at the age of 48.
In her 30+ year career Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie racked up two world championship and four Olympic medals for rowing including a gold, two silvers and a bronze.
“Back when Lesley Thompson-Willie started in the sport a lifetime ago,” says an article on Canada.com, “there was no such thing as computers in rowing; races were 1,000 metres, not 2,000; and the boats were made of wood.”
After the 2000 Sydney games, Lesley “retired” to focus on coaching and her teaching career but when Lesley made a joke to rowing coach Al Morrow about going to Beijing and he replied, “Really?” Lesley immediately started training again and in fact, competed in the 2008 games.
"I have to wear distant glasses now, and [the crew] were all over me for that," says Leslie in the 2008 Canada.com article. "They were telling me, 'How could you see that when you can't even see the buoys?'"
Her rowing team placed fourth in the “Women’s Coxed Eights” event that year.
Dara Torres, U.S. Olympic Swimmer
Competed in five Olympic games and competed in this Olympic trials at age 45 (missing making the Olympic team by nine-hundredths of a second).
Possibly the most watched FOF (well...almost FOF) this summer was 45-year-old swimmer, Dara Torres. By age 41, she had won 12 Olympic medals.
“She’s a middle-aged woman who bought her first pair of reading glasses last year, dyes her hair blonde to cover the gray and can’t believe she was foolish enough to install a magnifying mirror in her bathroom, given the alarming amount of information it reveals,” according to a May Washington Post article.
A favorite to make her sixth Olympic team in the 50-meter freestyle, Dara fell just nine-hundreths of a second short from competing in the 2012 games.
Still inspiring FOFs everywhere, her 2009 book “Age is Just a Number” promises to motivate others to “achieve your dreams in any stage of your life.”
“I've wanted to win at everything, every day, since I was a kid. And time doesn't change a person, it just helps you get a handle on who you are,” writes Dara in her book. “Even at age 41, I still hate losing--I'm just more gracious about it. I'm also aware that setbacks have an upside; they fuel new dreams.”
I’ve read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot effort you set to make this kind of magnificent informative web site.
{Test This} Lisa Hoffman Beauty Swarovski Pearl Fragrance Bracelet 
{Giveaway} Two words: shopping spree 
{Then & Now} They're fab-- just like you. 
{Bedroom Confessions} Their bed is rocking!
I’ve read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot effort you set to make this kind of magnificent informative web site.