25 Oldest People To Accomplish Amazing Feats

The misconception that you can’t learn new things when you are old is now shattered thanks to Kimani Maruge who enrolled in the first grade at 84 years old. There is therefore no excuse for the rest of us. Excuse me, I feel like reading a book or something.

And you thought you had game! Check out Doris Self. At 81 years old, she’s spanking and taking names. At the Twin Galaxies 1984 Video Game Masters Tournament, Doris was able to clench a world record with 1,112,300 points on Twin Galaxies’ Tournament Settings (TGTS) — which is the most difficult settings in the game.

Bungee Jumping is one of the most intense things you can do to feed your adrenaline rush addiction. Young people tremble at the thought of tackling this death defying feat. And so did 96 year old Mohr Keet…but he still took the plunge and entered the Guinness world record as the oldest bungee jumper ever. As if that’s not enough, Mohr jumped from South Africa’s Western Cape which is a 708ft drop!

The North Pole is a harsh environment with temperatures reaching −43 °C (−45 °F). A constantly changing landscape, life is scarce and few can tolerate the brutal cold. Nevertheless Dorothy Davenhill Hirsch of 89 years and 109 days visited the north pole while aboard the Russian Nuclear Ice Breaker Yamal.

Though the North Pole is a harsh environment, it can’t compare to the brutal harshness of the South Pole. Presently located in the continent of Antarctica 9,301 ft. above sea level the South Pole is a frozen desert with temperature reaching −58 °C (−72 °F). It is in this harshness that Simon Murray, 63 years 309 days old trekked the 1,200 km journey from the Hercules Inlet on the Zumberge Coast, Antarctica to the South Pole; a journey that took him 2 months to complete. Murray became the oldest man to reach the South Pole unsupported.

Sailing across the world is a feat in it of itself, but for someone as old as Minoru Saito, who was 77 years old when he completed a circumnavigation of the world, to actually accomplish this feat is nothing short of astounding. But it doesn’t end there; he has successfully circumnavigated the world eight times. The eighth time he circumnavigated the world going the “wrong way” meaning going westwardly against prevailing winds and currents…a feat that took Minoru 1,080 days to complete.

Smoky Dawson, was an Australian country music performer who at the age 92 years and 156 days released a collection of original songs in an album entitled “Homestead of My Dreams” making him the oldest person to release a new album. Touted as Australian’s “singing cowboy”, Dawson’s achievements are extensive and his contribution to music has won him a wide range of awards.

Dr. Leila Denmark was an American pediatrician who earned the title of “oldest practicing pediatrician” until her retirement on May 2001 at the age of 103. Not only was Leila the oldest practicing pediatrician, but was also a super centenarian living to be 114 years old. She was one of the 100 oldest people ever and at the time of her death was the 4th oldest verified person in the world.

Having children has been described as one of the ultimate blessings by some. As such, many women dream with having children but for a multitude of reason are not able to. Carmela Bousada falls into this group. At age 67 Carmela dreamed of having children of her own, so she went to California’s Pacific Fertility Center where she went through the in vitro fertilization procedure which resulted in a pair of healthy twin boys (Christian and Pau). This sparked huge controversy and criticism over the right age of pregnancy and Carmela’s disregard for the emotional and paternal needs of the newborns. Sadly, Carmela died at the age of 69, two years after giving birth to the twins.

Those who run marathons on a consistent basis are aware of the grueling training and execution needed for the event; a physical endurance test that can challenge even the most athletic and experienced runners. Gladys Burrill, 92 years old, met this challenge with a positive attitude to become the Guinness Book of World Records’ Oldest Female Marathon Finisher. She is thus rightly nicknamed “Gladyator” by her local newspaper.

Although this can be a touchy and controversial topic, for our purposes we’ll go with the Guinness Book Of World Records on this one. Vince McMahon is considered the oldest Wrestling Champion for winning a WWE title at the age of 54.

At age 28 Tamae Watanabe began mountain climbing. In 1977 she climbed Mount McKinley. She then climbed Mont Blanc, Mount Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. After her retirement she returned to her hometown and in May 2002 she became the then oldest woman to climb Mount Everest. Ten years later, in May 2012, she broke her own record, when she, now at the age of 73, again scaled Mount Everest.

Yuichiro Miura is a Japanese alpinist who in 2003, at age 70, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This record was later broken. However, on May 26, 2008, Miura once again successfully summited Mt Everest at the age of 75. On May 23, 2013 Miura again became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 80.

At age 46, Kiraly is considered the “Michael Jordan” of pro beach volleyball as he is the oldest player to compete in the sport and continues to perform at the highest level, beating competitors literally half his age. He was 44 when he won the AVP world title.

Getting rebounds in a league filled with spring loaded young athletes isn’t easy for anybody but Dikembe Mutombo made a statement at age 40 years  when he pulled down 22 rebounds in a 2007 NBA match.

Gordie Howe broke several NHL records including only player to play in 5 different decades (impressive for any sport), oldest NHL player at time of retirement (52), and oldest player to play in an NHL game. He was also the only player to play in the NHL after age 50.

During the Second World War he was a Flight Control Officer. Today Bart Bratko is the oldest flight instructor in the world at 81 years.

The oldest person to be awarded a doctorate is Emeritus Professor Dr Heinz Wenderoth (Germany), who was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hannover on 29 September 2008 at the age of 97. The subject of his dissertation was “Cell Biological Studies in the Morphology and Physiology of primitive marine Placozoons Trichoplax Adhaerens”.

On Golden Pond brought Henry Fonda his only Oscar (for best actor) but with that one Oscar he broke the record for oldest recipient of the award at 76 years. It also earned him a Golden Globe Best Actor award. Fonda was too ill to attend the ceremony, however, and his daughter Jane accepted on his behalf.

At 80 years Jessica Tandy became the oldest actress to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), for which she also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.

At 57 Jeanne Stawiecki became the oldest woman in the world to successfully climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.

Ramon Blanco holds the men’s age record for conquering the 7 summits at 70.

At 67 years old, Pavel Rezvoy, a geologist from Ukraine, became the oldest rower in the history of ocean rowing when he crossed 3,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean in 61 days.

Scotswoman Diana Hoff also crossed the Atlantic to become the oldest woman to row across an ocean solo at the age of 55.

Retired Lt. Col. James C. Warren is a former navigator of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. At the age of 87 he became the oldest person in the world to receive his pilot’s license.