Age Isn't Slowing These People Down!
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121604)
Gainesville, Florida
September 25, 2016 3:55pm CST
This morning, we hosted a Florida Senior Games swimming qualifier at one of the pools I mange. We had several hundred athletes ranging in age from 50-90 years old participating. Some of the swimmers competing looked like they could still compete with college athletes!
After the event was over, I asked one of the meet winners, a 74-year old man, if he would race against one of my lifeguards, for fun, to see who would come out victorious! He gracefully accepted the challenge, and we huddled as a lifeguard team to see which one of my staff was the fastest swimmer. After determining our best swimmer, we set up the competition. Fortunately, the timing system was still in place, so we joked that the results would be "official." They stood up on the starting blocks, and at the sound of the horn they were off! The event was a 50-meter freestyle, and the 74-year old man was racing against my 20-year old lifeguard.
Any guesses to who won?
12 people like this
13 responses
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
25 Sep 16
I bet it was the 74year old! Though one of my ex-student was an Olympic marathon champ and he can still beat me any day at 68
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
26 Sep 16
@moffittjc well I volunteer to teach senior citizens computer technology once a week. I have taught several classes now. I specialise in PC, Mac, Tablets, and smartphones..
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 16
@Drosophila Wow, now I know who to call when I can't figure out how to use something on my smartphone!
{which is often}
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 16
Yes, it was the old guy! He was quite an athlete!
You have an ex-student that is 68? Are you a teacher? A professor?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471456)
• Switzerland
27 Sep 16
@moffittjc I have seen old men doing great at the recent traditional Swiss games, especially mountain climbing and log throwing.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Sep 16
Yes! That man was an amazing athlete!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Sep 16
@LadyDuck My goodness...I'm a relatively young man and I can't throw logs! The only thing I would be throwing in that situation is when I throw out my back from trying to lift that heavy log!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 16
It was! He barely won, though! If the race would have been 100 meters instead of 50, my lifeguard would have easily won!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 16
@jstory07 I'm not...it makes my lifeguards look bad! LOL
Actually, of all the lifeguards I had on duty today, none of them were former swim team members. We train our lifeguards for strength and endurance, not speed. But usually, when I have former swim team members on staff, they can usually beats the pants off of anyone they race against!
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
25 Sep 16
But they should be sitting at home staring blankly at a tellybox screen, not continuing to live a full and frolicking life ... what is it with old people these days?! ;)
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 16
I know! They are setting the bar higher for the rest of us! What if I don't want to live a full and frolicking life when I get old? I'm going to look like a total slacker! I was looking forward to playing bingo and shuffleboard, taking long afternoon naps, and drooling absentmindedly in front of the TV. Now, I have to actually be active and in good physical shape? What is this world coming to?
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Sep 16
Yes, the guy won, but it was very close! If it would have been a 100-meter race instead of a 50-meter race, my lifeguard would have won!
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
25 Sep 16
The old man?! I hope to be like those old people too in 20 + years. I dare not lay down and give up fun.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 16
Great attitude! I plan on staying young all the way into my hundreds! I'll be having fun all the way up until the day I give up the ghost!
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
26 Sep 16
How awesome that there are senior citizens who can swim .. I would drown in an ankle deep ocean ..lol..
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Sep 16
Yes, the man won, but barely!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Sep 16
@KristenH In the back of my mind, I wonder if my lifeguard let him win just to make him feel like a king? I guess we'll never know!
1 person likes this
@KristenH (33385)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
26 Sep 16
@moffittjc Woah! Talk about a narrow margin.
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (19941)
• United States
27 Sep 16
That's so cool. Did you give him a prize?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Sep 16
The only prize he got was bragging rights for beating someone young enough to be his granddaughter!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340223)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Oct 16
I think I'll go with a narrow win for the 20-year-old. I haven't read the comments yet.
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Sep 16
@OKennedy I think he did win by a nose hair! In fact, I think it was one of his nose hairs sticking out of his nose that touched the wall first!
1 person likes this
@OKennedy (1130)
• United States
27 Sep 16
@moffittjc lol hey a wins a win even if it was by a nose hair damit it's a win that fact that he's that old and doing it is impressive if I was winning I'd probably collapse a minute into the race haha
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
26 Sep 16
I love stories like this about older people keeping active. Since you're asking opinions and not telling right away my guess would be - the 74 yr old?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Sep 16
Haha, yes! But he barely beat my lifeguard! If it would have been a 100-meter race instead of a 50-meter race, my lifeguard would have overtaken him and beat him.
