Athletes that have defied age to excel

[Wasatch Rebel]

I've been asked to do an article for BleacherReport.com on athletes that have defied their age to excel or even become champions. Like George Foreman at 45 becoming the heavyweight champion. Or George Blanda, still playing football in his 40s, or Curt Warner at 37. Anyway, I'm looking for some names that fit this mold. If you have any suggestions, run them by me, would ya?

[Deuce]

Both Nolan Ryan and Gordie Howe were professionally competitive for A LONG TIME.....

....off to think about some more.....

[denaliguide]

how about mark martin (49) or ken schrader (53). both guys are still making left turns at around 200mph.

[double moo]

Dara Torres

most of her competition is half her age... or less!

[Wasatch Rebel]

Those are some great suggestions, that I hadn't thought of yet. Thanks.

So, I've taken the time to find some more, and with the addition of some of the above, here is my list thus far:

ed Williams at 42 hit a home run in his last at-bat.

Dara Torres at age 41 won 3 silver medals at the Beijing Olympics

Kareem scored 27 points in a game when he was over 40

John Stockton scored 26 in 2002, when over 40.

MJ scored 43 points in 43 minutes to become first person over 40 to score 40

Nolan Ryan had 301 strike outs in 1989 at age 42

Jimmy Connors at age 39 made it to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open

Carl Lewis won the gold in long jump at age 35

Martina Navratilova at 46 competing in mixed doubles, became oldest player to win a grand slam championship in tennis

[jfeiro]

I believe Jamie Moyer is still going strong for the Phillies at 46. Didn't John Elway play until he was 40.

[jfeiro]

steve Deberg, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew........more coming

[denaliguide]

Didn't John Elway play until he was 40.

elway and john montana both played till 38

[greyhair biker]

Keith Bontrager
http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/diaries/keith/?id=keith0510
one of the pioneers of MTBing and still races.

Marla Streb - pro DH world class racer...at 43
http://www.marlastreb.com/
this woman is simply amazing

[JP]

Randy Couture... 45 years old. Still stepping into the octagon and battling guys many years younger and bigger. Non-stop, full tilt for five minutes at a time. Sometimes for three rounds, sometimes five rounds. Unless he gets stopped sometime before :haha: But hey, 45 and able to give and take a beating :mrgreen: And has held championships in two different weight classes in his 40's.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0811/mma.ufc91/images/oph0-6522-mid.jpg

[Scott Card]

Tom Jones - old and canyoneers :lol8:

Shane - his ability to BS increases with age :lol8:

Oh wait, we are talking athletes....never mind. :roflol: (It's April Fools. It had to be said)

[Iceaxe]

The GOAT... Jerry Rice was 42 when he retired if I remembmer correctly.

[live2ride]

Jenna Jameson, she looks great for a women in her 50's :roflol:

Joan Rivers a comedic athlete! looks great at 110 :roflol:

[erial]

another noteworthy effort from the roads:

Ellerbe Springs Inn Ellerbe Springs Marathon - Mar 28 - Ellerbe, NC
Andrea McGehee, 40 of Summit MO, won four times at the Ellerbe Marathon when she crossed the finish line in 3:20:53 - she finished as the overall winner, the women's winner, first masters finisher and first masters female - something we're not sure we've ever seen before. Among McGehee's prior accomplishments, we note that she was the winner of the 2008 Erie Marathon and the 2008 Fargo Marathon. Greg Troxler, 48 of Ellerbe NC, who was third in 2002, was runner-up and first male finisher in 3:25:46. Charles Flynn, 48 of Willoughby OH, finished third overall and second male in 3:26:32. Elliot Zaragoza, 34 of Chapel Hill NC, was third male in 3:29:51.
Emily Damuth, 26 of Durham NC, finished as second woman (6th overall) in 3:32:25. Rosemary Baxley, 46 of Hamlet NC, finished as third female (and second masters female) in 3:53:07 - showing continuing improvement in her marathon times as she went from 5:22:21 at Ellerbe 2007 to 4:41:05 at Ellerbe 2008 to 3:53:07 in 2009 - great improvement!

[erial]

how about mark martin (49) or ken schrader (53). both guys are still making left turns at around 200mph.

A favorite of mine, Harry Gant, won four Cup races in a row in '91 at age 51. Good ol' Dick Trickle was five years older when we won his second (and last) Busch race.

[Deathcricket]

Randy Couture... 45 years old. Still stepping into the octagon and battling guys many years younger and bigger. Non-stop, full tilt for five minutes at a time. Sometimes for three rounds, sometimes five rounds. Unless he gets stopped sometime before :haha: But hey, 45 and able to give and take a beating :mrgreen: And has held championships in two different weight classes in his 40's.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0811/mma.ufc91/images/oph0-6522-mid.jpg

Quoted for exactly what I was thinking!! 45 and pretty much the toughest man on the planet. You'd expect a 25 year old.



how about mark martin (49) or ken schrader (53). both guys are still making left turns at around 200mph.

I dunno man.. Physical conditioning is less an aspect in racing than experience and knowledge. I can understand how older people could excel in those sports. I think age would actually be a benefit yeah?

[DiscGo]

"Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.

[Iceaxe]

A favorite of mine, Harry Gant, won four Cup races in a row in '91 at age 51.

I have a signed picture of Handsome Harry and I taken during that amazing string of wins.

:2thumbs:

[JP]

Quoted for exactly what I was thinking!! 45 and pretty much the toughest man on the planet. You'd expect a 25 year old.

I dunno man.. Physical conditioning is less an aspect in racing than experience and knowledge.
Yea, he defies his age, that is for sure :mrgreen:

Mark Martin will tell you flat out, physical conditioning plays a big role in his ability. This coming from a man with experience and knowledge in racing. Physical conditioning as we age will play a big role in our overall health, so I'm gonna have to disagree with you on Mark Martin. I fully agree with ya on Randy :haha:

[Wasatch Rebel]

Thanks a lot for all the great suggestions! Now, I'm off to do the article. :2thumbs:

[JP]

Good luck :2thumbs:

[greyhair biker]

Laird Hamilton, age 45. Best surfer in the entire world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Pw7vKtqpo

my hero :2thumbs:

[Kent K25]

My question....how big of a role do performance enhancing drugs play in all these stories.... :ne_nau: I guess I'm a pessimist.

[Sombeech]

Laird Hamilton, age 45. Best surfer in the entire world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Pw7vKtqpo

my hero :2thumbs:

Here's the thing; These other athletes get Time Outs and commercial breaks.

Laird lays it all on the line. If he gets knocked down by a wave, the ref isn't going to call the fight and help him up. It'll be 20 minutes before they even find him.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Well the slideshow/article is up and running. If you want to check it out, here's the link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/149851-turning-back-the-clock-the-greatest-athletes-past-their-prime

[oldno7]

Great rundown Jim, thanks for your link.

[Iceaxe]

Here's the thing; These other athletes get Time Outs and commercial breaks.

This is what "out of bounds" looks like in an Indy car.

http://racingaccidents.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/stan-fox.jpg

[Wasatch Rebel]

Great rundown Jim, thanks for your link.

Thanks for reading it. :nod: