Doing exercises is more appropriate for older people rather than playing sports — for their safety. A few seniors, though, dare to engage in risky athletic activities.
Scottish Mavis Paterson’s physical prowess in cycling defies convention. In May, she biked 1,000 miles around Scotland, from the Mull of Galloway and back, CNN Sports reported.
It took Paterson a month of pedaling 50 miles a day to circle Scotland fully and, in the process, raise funds for the benefit of local charity Macmillan Cancer Support. For company, some local bikers rode with her for several days.
Paterson started cycling in Canada in 2008 as knee pain made running hard. In 2019, she cycled the length of Great Britain, from its most southern point at Lands End to its most northern point at John O’Groats, becoming the oldest woman to complete the famous route, according to CNN.
Cycling also was the granny’s coping mechanism after the successive deaths of her three adult children. At 85, she still intends to embark on more endurance challenges and charity fundraising to continue to ride in memory of her children.
Meanwhile, on 1 October, Octavio Carrillo played a historic basketball game in Colombia’s professional basketball league.
The player of the Cundinamarca Condors was fielded at the end of the losing match against Titanes. Carillo’s one minute and 46 seconds on the court made him the oldest guy to ever play in a professional basketball game without scoring, rebounding, or dishing an assist.
According to a team official, Carillo, a criminal judge in Bogota, tried out for the team to fulfill his dream of being a pro cager. He passed all the physical, technical, and tactical tests to make it to the Condors roster.
At 65, Carrillo broke the record held by American Nat Hickey, who played two games in the defunct Basketball Association of America in 1948 when he was 45 years old, Euro.eusero.com reported.
Carrillo was also older than Philippine Basketball Association star Robert Jaworski, who last played for his team, Ginebra San Miguel, at age 50 in 1997.