Committing to staying active and healthy into your senior years is no easy task. If you’ve noticed your body “slowing down” and are in need of some inspiration, we put together this list of some of our favorite senior super heroes. These one-of-a-kind athletes are committed to staying agile, sharp, and, most of all, vital into their golden years.
1. Sister Madonna Buder
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While most 86-year-olds are counting their blessings to still be healthy, Sister Madonna Buder is competing in Ironmans and triathlons. You heard that right, this octogenarian doesn’t let a little thing like age stop her from swimming, biking, and running alongside folks 50 years her junior. The cloistered nun is actually a late-in-life athlete, who didn’t start running until the age of 48, when a priest suggested she take a jog on the beach. She is further proof that, no matter your age, profession, or situation, there’s no excuse for not developing yourself physically.
2. Tao Porchon-Lynch
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98-year-old Tao Porchon-Lynch is living proof that consistent exercise can add years to your life. A yoga master originally from India, she started her practice at the age of just 8-years-old. Best known for the illustrious title of being the “World’s Oldest Yoga Teacher,” Porchon-Lynch lives by the mantra: “There is nothing that you cannot do.”
3. Yuichiro Miura
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Perhaps the best-known senior on our list, Yuchiro Miura is an undeniable legend in the climbing and mountaineering communities, and for good reason: he holds the title of being the oldest person to scale Mount Everest. He has actually managed to reach the peak multiple times, even after having received heart surgery. Miura asserts that he has plans to further his title by climbing the mountain again when he turns 90.
4. Ernie Andrus
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Like the incomparable Sister Madonna Buder, this 93-year-old long-distance running phenom didn’t get into the sport until he was a senior. As a matter of fact, Ernie Andrus asserts that he hadn’t done much running for many years until he retired from the Navy at the age of 64. Since then, he has participated in an array of marathons, overnight races, and even a coast to coast run. Without any signs of stopping, the inspiring senior has plans to run a marathon at 100.
